Page 31 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
Emily was more grateful than she could express. She wanted to thank him, tell him how happy he had made her, see the twinkle in his eyes when he was pleased.
“Why did ye nae tell me that yesterday?” she demanded.
“Because ye were runnin’ yer mouth and breakin’ into me study, and I wasnae inclined to help ye.”
Emily gritted her teeth as she looked down at her plate, contemplating throwing a bread roll at his head.
“Ye will learn that ye have to trust me, lass. There is reason in everythin’ I do.”
Emily turned to Freya, anger running through her with alarming intensity. “Did ye say ye were goin’ to show me the gardens?” she asked, eager to put some distance between herself and the Laird before she did something foolish.
“Aye,” Freya said as she rose and waited for Emily to join her.
“Keep a sharp eye, and dinnae leave the castle grounds,” her brother warned.
Freya nodded solemnly but then took Emily’s arm and gave her a sly wink.
Emily wasn’t sure what she meant by it until she was led down a back corridor and up some stone steps to a small doorway. Freya opened it, and instead of the gardens, Emily was gifted with a view she had not expected.
Below her were sharp rocks and crashing waves with an endless horizon stretching out ahead of them. The doorway led to a narrow balcony at the base of one of the castle walls. It was stunning.
Freya, whose wild beautiful hair was tugged backward by the wind, looked every bit the Highland queen as she inhaled deeply and flashed Emily a grin.
“Other than the library, this is me favorite spot. I didnae tell me braither I would show ye this—he doesnae think it is safe.”
Now that she looked around the balcony, Emily could see why. The edges were crumbling into the water below them.
“It’s beautiful”, she said.
“I kenned ye’d like it. Ye have a wild spirit.”
“What makes ye say so?” she asked curiously.
“The way me braither behaves with ye,” Freya replied cryptically. “He isnae like that with many people, certainly nae after so short a time.”
Emily frowned. She wasn’t sure Adam felt a great deal around her, apart from vexation. But then her mind wandered to the kiss again, and she decided that maybe Freya was right on that score.
She wanted to ask her more about the topic, but the wind suddenly whipped at their skirts, pushing them both backward into the wall.
The two women shrieked with delighted alarm as they clutched at one another, and Freya gripped Emily’s arm and pulled her back to the door.
“We will come another day when the seas are calmer,” she said swiftly and opened the door for them to descend.
But as Emily left the balcony, the wind whistled behind her, a silent reminder of forces in the world far beyond her control.
12
As they emerged through the main entrance of the castle and into the sunshine, Emily looked around her with interest.
The courtyard looked very different in daylight. She recognized the arches she had run through the night before and shuddered at the prospect of walking through them again.
As they passed beneath the first archway, Freya walked with her down the familiar gravel path. The statue in the center of the gardens was neither an angel nor a demon, but a pegasus, its wings spread as though it might take flight at any moment.
“Me maither commissioned it after me faither died,” Freya said, following Emily’s gaze.
“It’s beautiful,” Emily replied as they walked beneath it.
“It represents strength and nobility,” Freya added, but her expression was grave. “Me braither almost had it knocked down when he became Laird.”
