Page 18 of Highland Hero
“I doona. I am going to see about buying a horse for ye.”
She glanced at Baron, then bit her lip. “The poor thinghasbeen carrying both of us for two days.”
“Aye, plus we will make better time if we are each on our own mount. But,” he cautioned her as he opened the door, “I doona want ye to leave this shop until I return for ye.”
She knit her brows. “Where would I go?”
“Nowhere. Ye will go nowhere.”
He turned to greet the shopkeeper, leaving Juliana no time to retort. She assumed a pleasant smile as Rory related their sad plight, but she really did not like being told what to do.
…
The woman is going to drive me completely barmy, he thought as he made his way to the public stables. They’d spent most of the morning arguing—she called itdiscussing—what they were going to do. Then she made him repeat the gist of it as thoughhemight have forgotten the plan. Did she really think him so daft?
He hoped the shopkeeper believed their story. He did have to admit that Juliana had been quite convincing, especially when it had actually looked like tears were welling in her eyes as she described her fear of being abducted and assaulted. Although that performance might have actually come from the truth of the ordeal she’d been through with Neal Cameron.
Rory snorted as he thought of what she’d done next. She’d turned sorrowful eyes at him, clutched his arm, and gushed about what a hero he had been to fight the highwaymen and get her away from them. She’d explained it so vividly that he’d almost believed theyhadbeen accosted by cutthroats. Even worse, something primal had stirred, making him want to protect the lass. He shook his head as he approached the stables. The blasted woman was already driving him barmy.
He repeated the story they’d invented to the stable master, who didn’t seem overly interested in what had befallen them. The man was much more interested in selling Rory a horse.
There was a time-honored tradition to horse wrangling—offering old or sway-backed mounts at high prices then negotiating down to more acceptable horses and prices. Obviously, the stable master had not had the opportunity to do so in quite a while, because he dragged out the process—or perhaps he was just bored and wanted company. Either way, Rory spent a good part of an hour purchasing a suitable mare at a fair price.
At least that meant Juliana had time to try on a dress or two. He’d left her with enough money to purchase whatever else she might need. Leading the horse back to the merchant’s shop, he looped the reins next to Baron’s and went inside.
Juliana was nowhere to be seen, although there were several wrapped purchases on the counter. He closed his eyes briefly, hoping she was in the back room trying on clothes, but he had a sinking feeling she was not. But when he inquired of the shopkeeper if she’d left, the man’s words chilled him to the bone.
“Aye, she left a good quarter hour ago,” he said, “with a dragoon.”
Chapter Six
When Juliana saw the dragoon outside the shopkeeper’s window, a rather wild idea came to her. It might be a bit risky, but there was no guarantee that Neal Cameron would head straight to the Grant holdings. Wouldn’t it be better to completely waylay him? Or, at least, cause him the inconvenience of being held and questioned, thereby giving herself and Rory some real time to get away? Rory would not approve since it washeridea, but he wasn’t here. Besides, she’d probably be back before he returned.
Leaving her purchases on the counter, she hurried outside. “May I have a word with you, sir?”
The dragoon stopped, looking surprised. “You are English?”
“Yes. I am the sister of the Countess of Woodhaven, who was given the title to Strae Castle by King George himself.” She waited for those words to sink in. “Is there someplace nearby where we could sit? I have some important information that you should know about.”
“Of course. There is an inn just a block over that has a public room.” He looked around. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Of a sort. I would prefer to tell you the whole story at the inn.”
“This way, then,” he said.
“You have so many medals on your uniform,” she remarked once they were seated. “Are you the person in charge of the garrison here?” Juliana gave the dragoon her best imitation of Lorelei’s flirtatious smile, although it felt completely strange.
The young man puffed up a bit, but shook his head. “No, my lady. I am just a lieutenant.” He doffed his tricorne. “Lieutenant Townsend, at your service.”
“How kind of you. I am ever so grateful.” Juliana considered batting her eyelashes, but that was going too far. Besides, she had no experience in acting coquettish, so it would probably look as though she had something stuck in her eye. “Well, I will get right to it. My…betrothed and I were returning to Castle Grant from a celebration my sister gave at Strae Castle, and we were assaulted by highwaymen. I wanted to let the soldiers know.”
He drew his brows together. “Where was this?”
“I am not familiar with the territory, but not far from here. We were able to get away, but I am afraid they might still be in pursuit.”
“Can you give me a description? How many were there? What did they look like?”
She had no idea how many men Neal would bring. There had been six with him when he abducted her. But if she said six, the lieutenant might wonder how Rory had managed to fight them all off. “I am not really sure. A small number, I think. It all happened so fast, and it was dark. They seized the carriage—thankfully, my betrothed’s horse broke loose—and we were able to get away.”
