Page 52 of Highland Sword
He’d looked for her the night before. The folk filling the Great Hall had been loud and boisterous as Lachlan was carried in a chair to the room to join the festivities. All were happy about the return of the travelers, and the added announcement by Searc and Cinaed that Aidan would have their support in standing for election to Parliament only added to the noise and celebration. Many approached to congratulate him. Countless words of encouragement were directed toward him, along with a few teasing remarks from Sebastian. He’d wanted to see Morrigan, to speak to her, to find out her opinion of this new change of plans. But she never approached, and the only time he saw her was as she left the hall.
Aidan noticed her gaze was drawn to the door of the room he’d just left. Perhaps it was the dim light of the hallway, but she looked pale.
“Would you care to go in?”
She frowned and shook her head. “I’m on the way up to the top of the tower.” She stepped around him.
Aidan began to follow her. “May I join you?”
“I don’t know why you ask, Mr. Grant. You always do what you want.”
She nearly ran up the stone stairs, but Aidan kept pace with her.
“Dealing with you, Miss Drummond, I know it’s better to ask first.”
“I’m finished intentionally injuring you.”
“So you admit that this last blow you delivered to my eye was intentional?”
“I admit to no such thing.”
“You said ‘intentionally,’ proof that there was premeditated malice involved. You clearly had control over your actions.”
She turned around to face him. She was standing on the step above him, and they were face-to-face. They had another flight of stairs to go to reach the top, but light poured down on her, bathing her in a beatific glow. She might have been an angel appearing from the heavens.
“I’ve apologized too many times already.”
She peered closely at his eye. He stared at her lips. They were only inches away from his. He inhaled the scent of mountain pine in her hair. Thoughts raced through his mind of tasting her lips, gathering her in his arms, running his hands over the curve of her breasts.
Suddenly, he felt as awkward as a schoolboy.
She touched his bruised cheekbone with feathery softness, and Aidan felt his breeches tighten. Schoolboy or not, he wanted her.
“The swelling is almost gone. The black and purple are giving way to a greenish tinge. The colors improve your looks.”
“Improve, did you say?”
“Of course. You look tougher. More battle-tested. A face like that says you’re not afraid to go after what you want.” She turned on her heel and ran up the rest of the steps to the tower.
Aidan remained where he was for a moment to give his body a chance to recover. How was it that this woman was so constantly in his thoughts? Wherever he was, he foundhimself looking for her. Wondering where she was, what she was doing, and when he’d see her again.
Over this past fortnight, beauty had been redefined for Aidan: she was tall with dark brown eyes and auburn hair, and she kept a sgian dubh in her boot.
He shook his head to clear it and continued up the stairs after her.
Stepping into the open air, he saw her immediately. Morrigan was standing in a gap in the crenellated parapet. She leaned over the edge to get a better view of the men in the training yard.
“Were you down there today?”
“Not this morning. Niall started everyone early.”
Aidan knew Niall Campbell from their time in the military. Sebastian was a longtime friend of his. Campbell had been a career soldier and a good one. A lieutenant in the 42nd Royal Highlander Regiment, he had been recognized many times for his bravery and service. To have him now siding with Cinaed was a major coup for the son of Scotland.
“Does he mind you training with the men?”
“Of course not. Neither does Cinaed. Nor any of the Mackintoshes, for that matter,” she told him. “Here in the Highlands, the men like their women tough and ready to do battle beside them.”
“I know. I’m a Highlander too.”
