Page 61 of Highland Renegade
Whether he liked her or hated her, Devon had become her mission.
Chapter Seventeen
When Ian woke the next morning, sunlight was streaming in his window. He must have finally fallen asleep. He’d tossed and turned most of the night, partly because neither Rory nor Fiona had returned home with Devon, and hisotherreason—and he wasn’t sure if this was therealreason he hadn’t been able to sleep—was Emily.
The kiss they’d shared in the folly had given him an inkling of how passionate she could be under the missish guise she wore, and his wayward cock was only too eager to explore those possibilities. But also, after hearing her plight, he realized how similar their backgrounds were. She’d lost her parents five years ago and had to take care of her younger sisters, like he did with his brothers when his father had been killed. She’d done the practical thing, sacrificing herself to an old man, who sounded as if he’d not cared one wit for her, in order to provide a home for Juliana and Lorelei. He could understand why Strae Castle was as important to her as it was to the MacGregors, not that his clansmen would understand. Scots were still pitted against the English.
And now, Emily wanted to make Devon her friend. Ian wasn’t sure that was even possible.
He threw off the covers, dressed quickly, and made his way to the small dining room, expecting to find it empty this late in the morning. To his surprise, Fiona was at the table with Emily and her sisters, breaking her fast. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ye are back! Did Rory and Devon return as well?”
“Nae,” she replied.
He frowned. “Did Rory nae catch up to ye? And ye dinna find Devon, either?”
“Aye to both your questions.” She buttered a piece of toast. “Rory found me and we both found Devon.”
“Where are they then?”
She started to take a bite, then put the bread down. “They are following the dragoons.”
“What?” Ian resisted an urge to pull at his own hair. Emily sent him a worried look and he sensed she was thinking about what would happen if they got caught. He was thinking the same thing. “Are they both daft?”
“Aye, probably.” Fiona scooped up some shirred eggs, apparently not concerned that her brothers might be in grave danger.
“Will ye stop eating for a minute and tell me the story?”
“I’m hungry. I have nae eaten since yesterday morning.” Fiona eyed the eggs on her plate, then reluctantly put her fork down. “Devon wanted to find out what the dragoons were up to, so we hid in the trees and waited—”
“Ye are all daft!”
“If ye are going to interrupt, I will finish my food.”
Ian sighed. “Go on then.”
“’Twas nae long before we heard them marching along the road.” She turned to Emily. “There were only twenty of them and the eejits dinna even look right or left. If we’d had more men with us—”
“Doona speculate. Just finish telling me what happened.” Ian tried not to let his annoyance show.
Fiona glowered at him and cut a piece of ham, which she thoroughly chewed, no doubt chastising him by making him wait. Irritating as it was, he was pretty sure his brothers were safe or she’d not be drawing this out. He forced a smile.
She swallowed. “As it happens, the dragoons marched right on past us and stayed on the road to Inveraray.”
That surprised him. “They are headed to the Campbells?”
“’Twould seem so. They dinna turn and head this way, at least.” She picked up her toast. “But Rory and Devon are trailing them to make sure.”
That made sense. Ian trusted Rory to stay far enough behind—and to watch his back—to avoid getting caught. But another question remained. “I wonder why the dragoons are going there?”
“That is what Rory and Devon intend to find out,” Fiona said.
Emily cast him another worried look, and Ian groaned inwardly. Following the dragoons to make sure they didn’t double back was one thing. Snooping around the Campbell lair was quite another. As much as he had an urge to saddle his horse and ride after his foolish brothers, he had no plausible excuse for simply appearing in Inveraray.
So for now, all he could do was wait.
…
