Page 8 of Highlander's Runaway Seductress
“I’ve been told Lady Dolberry was quite a seamstress and made her bairn’s clothes herself. That dress was made with a tiny cloak at the back that the child used as a blanket. Why?”
Faint memories of her wrapping herself with a piece of fabric attached to that dress flickered before Amelie’s eyes.
“Because I used to wrap myself in somethin’ like it…” she took a breath, “…and only I ken it. Sometimes I think it’s more of a dream than a memory.”
“Ye’ll come with me then? To see the Laird?” he asked. “What is the harm? Are ye content stayin’ here and tenddin’ to taverns all yer life?”
In truth, what is keepin’ me here? Is a tavern girl all I am goin’ to be all me life? And when I’m old and gray, what then? That is if I live that long.
“I…” she paused to look away, “I am tired of living this way, and though I wanted more for meself, there was nay way I could have had more. If what yer sayin’ is true…” Amelie took in a shuddery breath. “I’ll go with ye.”
I’ll go, though I ken it’s madness.
“I already ken what ye are gettin' from takin’ me there. There has been talk about the rewards in the tavern, so I ken that is what ye’ll get.”
“Aye,” he nodded, “it is. I willnae lie to ye.”
“Where are ye from Damien?” she asked.
“The farmland in Inverness,” he said, “but I daenae stay in one place too long. I travel to find whatever work I can.”
“I see,” Amelie added. “And where were ye when ye heard about Laird Dolberry?”
“I was at Cawdor Castle,” Damien replied. “Some tavern people were discussin’ it.”
“And ye chose to take it upon yerself to find the Laird’s daughter.” Amelie said. “I suppose the silver will set ye on a good way.”
“And ye will have a life that many wouldnae dare dream off,” Damien replied, “so we both win.”
Thinking about her job at the tavern, Amelie wondered if it were worth it to leave that job and chase after something that could be a lie, but she had already given her agreement to Damien.
She had always wondered what had happened to her family, why she had no recollection of her last name and why the only clue she had to her family had been her locket. Amelie challenged herself to believe it.
The chance that she had a possible father out there was incredibly tempting, and not to try and find him because of doubt was something Amelie felt would haunt her for the rest of her life. Was it not better to try, and possibly fail, rather than live with the uncertainty forever?’
“Would ye be ready by the morrow?” Damien asked her.
“I should be,” Amelie replied, while hefting the basket higher. “I have to sort it out with the tavern’s owner first.”
“Good,” he grinned.
“How do we go about this?” she asked.
A wide grin slanted across Damien’s face. “The only way we can, lass. We will have to go to Dolberry.”
And so, chasin’ after the wind begins.
4
The next morning, Amelie skeptically stared at the medium sized boat with two sails, bobbing on the waves. Damien had told her that he had hired it for three days. In her hand, she held a small sack with her clothes, a blanket, her life’s savings, and a gold pendant, while she gazed at Damian who stood at the water’s edge.
Now, she saw him in the bright light of the unusually sunny day, Amelie admired his tall, lithely, muscular body. He looked to be in his early twenties, but for his young age, his youthful features were jaded.
His hair was rebellious, thick, ink-black and looked untamable. Briefly, she wondered what it would feel like if she slid her hand through it. His chin and jaw jutted out proudly—daringly even—and his crooked nose, probably from being broken a few times, showed that he did not live an easy life.
Damien’s eyes flashed a bit cold at times, while in others, a wild blue fire was lit inside them. She could see a hardened soul burned beneath his flickering gaze, a gaze that swept over everything and took it all in at once.
Waves of controlled tension pulsed from his lightly muscular frame, and her body responded to his potent energy, trembling and jittery a times with nerves of excitement. When he looked at her, her blood grew hot under her skin.
