Page 63 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
“These were yer plans?” she asked. “To assault me faither’s keep?”
“They were,” he said. “Before Finn returned.”
He felt her eyes lift, searing heat all over his body, but he kept his gaze fixed on the table.
“And now?” she asked, gently.
“Now they’re just lines on parchment.”
Amara nodded slowly, then reached down and tapped one of the eastern routes with her fingertip. “This one’s useless.”
He quirked a brow. “Useless, is it?”
“There’s nay longer a passable trail here,” she explained. “The bridge washed out two winters ago. Hasnae been rebuilt.”
He stared at the map, then looked up at her. “And ye thought to tell me thisnow, why?”
She met his gaze evenly. “Because I trust ye.”
He grunted. “Trust me to nae use them?”
“If ye use them or nae, that would be yer choice and right as a laird and clan who has been gravely wronged by another.”
“If I were to attack Murdoch Keep, would that trouble ye?”
“I think it might, but it also might nae. I’m nae sure. Are ye askin’ me if ye can attack me family’s keep, or are ye tellin’ me that ye are?”
Quick and honest.
“I’m undecided,” he lied, to see her reaction. “Finn has returned, but nae without some very serious injuries. He’s in good hands and will survive, but ye are right – I do feel wronged. I’m well within right to attack.”
Her mouth curved. “Aye, ye are…”
That startled a laugh from him. “Aye, but I cannae attack it if ye are in it.”
Amara only shrugged, but the mischief in her eyes glinted like sunlight through smoke.
They pored over the maps together for the next half hour. He expected her to lose interest, to nod politely and feign care. But she didn’t. She leaned in. Asked sharp questions. Challenged him. Suggested an alternate flanking maneuver through the orchard walls, where the foundation was weakest from years of erosion.
It was a good idea. One that hadn’t occurred to him.
He hated how much he liked it.
“Ye ever studied siege warfare?” he asked, glancing at her sidelong.
“Nay,” she said. “But I paid attention. And I remember what frightened me faither.”
Rhys folded his arms, watching her with something like respect.
Maybe more.
Then the sky darkened.
The storm rolled in fast. Thunder cracked overhead, and the wind slapped the shutters against the stone like warning drums. The candle flames jumped.
Amara flinched.
He noticed.
