Page 75 of Sutherland's Secret
“I want to try to go home,” she said.
Each word hit him like a blow to the heart: He was losing yet another woman to that blasted country. But he couldn’t blame Eleanor. It was her home, after all, and he knew she desperately wanted to see her family.
“That is yer decision, then?” he asked.
She hesitated, then nodded. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life in fear of Blackwood. A few months ago, the younger Eleanor would have done just that. The new Eleanor wants to stand up and fight.” She reached across the table and curled her fingers around his. “You’ve taught me so much, Brice. If not for you, I wouldn’t have the courage to defy Blackwood and return to my family.”
He turned his hand around until they were palm to palm. “You’re a mighty fine warrior, Eleanor Hirst.” His voice was rough with emotion. He’d found an injured bird on the side of the road. He’d nursed her back to health and taught her courage, and now she was flying away from him. It was as it should be, though his heart hurt to think about living the rest of his life without her.
She smiled, her gaze locked on their hands. “That’s the best compliment you could have given me.”
“It’s the truth. You’ll do what needs to be done to bring Blackwood down. I have every faith in you.”
Tears dripped from her eyes and still she did not look at him. “What will happen to us?” she whispered.
He hesitated, the thought hurting too much to put into words. She lifted her tear-filled gaze and he saw the truth. She was lost to him as surely as Alisa had been.
“Ye will go back to yer wonderful life with yer wonderful parents, and hopefully ye’ll think kindly on Scotland and the Highlands.”
A tear fell from each eye and her blue eyes sparkled with more. “I fear I won’t fit into my old life. I’m not the same girl who left with Charles. I fear my family won’t know me anymore.”
“They’ll like this new Eleanor better.” Lord knows he did.
She looked away. Brice didn’t think his heart could ache any more than it did right now, and this wasn’t even goodbye.
“I’ve been thinking about how to get ye to England safely. I’ll contact the Campbell and ask him for help.”
“I thought you hated Campbell.”
“ ‘Hate’ is a strong word. I dislike a lot of what he has done and the fact that he has turned his back on Scotland. But he has English ties, and he would know the safest way to get ye to England.”
“What is this of the Campbell?” Colin sat down beside Eleanor and straddled the bench, holding an apple. He spat on the floor when he said the name Campbell, as he did every time he discussed the man. He took a bite of the apple and chewed, looking back and forth between Brice and Eleanor.
“I’m returning to England,” Eleanor said softly, shooting a swift glance at Brice. Brice kept his gaze firmly on Colin and pulled his hand away from Eleanor. He missed her touch, but he needed to accustom himself to living without it.
Colin looked at Brice in shock. “And ye’re trusting Campbell to get her there? Are ye daft, man?”
“He’ll take good care of her.”
Colin leaned over the table to study Brice closely. “We’re talking about the same Campbell? Iain Campbell, the traitor?”
“He’s no’ a traitor.” Although he walked a fine line. “He’s liked by the English. If his men are stopped by the soldiers, they’ll be given safe passage. Unlike us.”
Colin sat back and munched on his apple for a moment.
If only Brice could take her to England. But what then? Her family would never approve of him—a brute from the Highlands who hid Jacobite supporters and spirited them out of the country. No, he was entirely unsuitable for the daughter of a powerful marquis. He didn’t want to see their disapproval, and neither could he take the time away from theStaranand Graham’sTèarmannairand the untold other responsibilities that the castle laid at his feet.
“I can get her there,” Colin said.
“How?” Brice asked.
“I can smuggle her in on one of my ships.”
Brice shook his head. “Nay. Yer men I do no’ trust. They’re unsavory, and I would fear they would no’ treat her right. Besides, she canno’ show up at her parents’ doorstep with smugglers.”
“But she can show up with Campbell’s men?”
“Campbell’s men are welcome in England. They support the English.”
