Page 24 of Sutherland's Secret
“So he’s lying.”
She held out her fists, showing him the scars that circled her wrists, and looked at him with her dark blue eyes.
Brice circled one of her wrists lightly with his fingers, stroking the raised scar. “Did he do this to ye?” he asked softly in an attempt to control his rage.
She nodded, tears shimmering in her eyes.
Brice closed his eyes against the stab of pain he felt in his gut. “Ah, Eleanor. If I could kill the bastard for ye, I would.” He felt her other hand cover his, and he opened his eyes to find her looking up at him. “No,” she managed once more.
He smiled. “I hope that is not the only word ye know.”
Her lips twitched in a smile and she shook her head. She removed her hand from his and touched her throat. “Hurts.”
“I can well imagine it does.”
“My fault. Blackwood.” Her lips trembled, and despite the circumstances, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She was so slight, her bones poking into him. But she was also warm, and her body fit to his so perfectly. She sighed and rested her head on his chest. He placed his cheek on the top of her head and closed his eyes.
He had an English officer in his great hall, looking for the English lady in his arms. Brice’s situation couldn’t get any more dire, but he found that at the moment all he cared about was holding this woman in his arms.
Chapter 11
Brice watched Blackwood sip his Scotch.
His body was still warm from the feel of Eleanor in his arms. It was something he would never forget. He’d instructed her to keep the door barred and to open it only to him.
He’d also instructed Hannah to take all of the female servants out of the great hall. Blackwood and his men were being served by Brice’s youngest warriors, who were none too happy to be serving English soldiers.
“Sutherland.” Blackwood leaned back in his chair and observed him with those glittering eyes. “I don’t recall that you fought at Culloden. On either side.”
“I didn’t raise arms against the English, if that’s what ye’re asking.” He’d not joined the Jacobite cause, nor the English cause, but he’d not forbidden his men to raise arms in either. A few had fought at Culloden for the Scots. A quick look at his men who still ringed the room confirmed that at least three of them were here. He’d also lost a few warriors in the battle. Their absence was felt keenly, but Brice was not about to mention any of this.
“I thank you for your hospitality,” Blackwood said. “We’ll stay tonight and will most probably leave tomorrow to continue our search.”
Brice didn’t want these men under his roof one more moment, but there wasn’t much he could say, so he nodded.
Blackwood’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll stay in the area for a time.”
Is that a threat or a warning?
“Sutherland land is a fair bit far north for a lass to be finding herself wandering,” Brice said.
Blackwood’s lips thinned. His fingers drummed on the scarred wood of the table. “She lost her escort.”
Brice took a sip of his Scotch and studied the man, who was clearly agitated. “I assume you had the man flogged for his lack of attention.”
“Indeed.”
“If someone I loved was missing due to another’s negligence, I would be tempted to throw him in the dungeon.”
“Rest assured that he will not see the light of day for a long while.”
And did ye manacle him as well?Brice bit his tongue to keep from asking. The longer he spoke to Blackwood, the less he liked him. He just wanted the man gone from his home and away from Eleanor.
He could only imagine what she was doing in her chamber. Probably hiding in the corner with her dagger. She would not sleep tonight, that was for sure. Not with these men under his roof.
Not for the first time, he wondered what Blackwood had done to her. How had she come to cross paths with such a wretched man? She had a story to tell, and he would hear it. Soon.
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