Page 72 of Highland Hero
Rory snorted, causing Baron to do the same. The horse turned his ears back inquiringly, as if asking if they were going to continue a horse conversation. Rory leaned over and petted the gelding’s neck. “Ye wouldna understand. I doona understand myself.”
What he did understand was that he was going to be completely and totally barmy by the time they reached Strae Castle if he kept this kind of thinking up. He wasn’t some green lad dazzled with the first girl who let him put his hand under her skirts, nor was he some besotted mooncalf. Juliana Caldwell was one of the most exasperating, quarrelsome, and maddening females he knew, and yet, he was drawn to her. He enjoyed matching wits with her, and she had grudgingly earned his respect and even admiration because she had not complained once about anything since the night he’d gotten her away from Cameron. And then there’d been the kiss in the woods. Her lips had been lush and ripe and she’d fitted against him perfectly…until she’d pushed him away. He shook his head silently this time. He would be completely and totally barmy halfway through the trip if he kept this up.
The sound of a horse galloping behind him brought him out of his convoluted thinking. Why in the world was Juliana approaching at such a speed over this kind of ground? The horse could lose her footing…
The thought died when he turned and saw the mare was riderless.
He wheeled Baron around, searching the trail. He hadn’t noticed how much it twisted, and he cursed at his own dereliction. Grabbing Misty’s reins, he headed back. He didn’t have to go far before he saw Juliana lying on the ground.
He slipped from the saddle before Baron had come to a complete stop, praying she wasn’t dead. There was no spattered blood, and he saw no rock near her head as he knelt beside her. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing steadily. Perhaps it was better that she was not conscious. It would give him time to check for broken bones, since she probably wouldn’t appreciate him running his hands over her body.
He tried not to dwell on that as he felt her shoulders, arms, ribs, and worked down her legs, although his obstinate mind couldn’t completely deny the image of doing this when she would be naked beneath him. To trail his fingers—slowly—over every inch of bare skin. To feel her warm, silky… He cursed again and reached for her ankle.
“Ouch!Ow! Ow! Ow!”
He released her ankle and sat back on his haunches. Juliana had risen up on her elbows and was glaring at him. He nearly laughed with relief. If she were already angry with him, she couldn’t be too severely hurt.
“What did you think you were doing touching me all over?”
He struggled to hide his grin. So she had been awake for his examination. At least she hadn’t clobbered him.
“I was checking for broken bones. Ye fell off Misty.”
“I did notfall.”
He raised both brows. “Then why are ye on the ground?”
“Misty started acting strange.”
“Strange?”
Juliana raised herself to a sitting position. “She started sidestepping, then tossing her head and rearing. When she kicked out her back legs, I couldn’t stay on.”
Rory looked over at the docile mare, now pulling on some dry grass. “Did something spook her? A rabbit, mayhap?”
Juliana shook her head. “We had fallen behind, and I tapped her to trot. We were rounding that bend”—she pointed behind her—“and I started to slip a little in the saddle. When I pulled myself straight, she started acting funny.”
The hair at his nape began to prickle as he rose and walked toward the mare. Quickly, he unsaddled her and took off the blanket. As he turned it over, he saw the thorns. Pulling them from the wool, he held them up.
“What’s that?” Juliana asked from where she still sat on the ground.
He brought it over along with the blanket. “’Tis a thistle. ’Twas what was hurting Misty and made her act like that.”
“How did it get there?”
Rory clenched his jaw.Morag.He examined the blanket again and saw the small indentation where the thistle had been placed. “It was originally between the saddle and the blanket.” He grimaced. The conniving harridan had placed it there so it would not go all the way through until they were well away from Invergarry. Well away fromhelp. “As we rode, the pressure of ye sitting in the saddle pushed it through the cloth. It probably happened when ye lost your balance and pulled yourself up.”
Juliana frowned. “Would the grooms not have checked the blanket before they saddled the horses?”
“They should have.” He hesitated, hating himself for not thinking of it sooner. “I am nae sure who saddled the horses this morning.”
“But even if someone else did…Morag told us the horses had been brought around.” Juliana’s voice trailed off, and her eyes widened. “Do you think she would have put it there?”
He was silent for a moment, then nodded. “I am almost certain of it.”
“But…why? Why would she want to hurt me? I was leaving.”
Rory took a deep breath. “I told her we were handfasted.”
