Page 15 of Abducted By the Highlander
The knot of dread in the pit of her stomach that had temporarily eased while riding beside Hugh tightened, spreading tentacles of alarm throughout her blood. As Hugh dismounted, several men appeared from hidden crannies in the surrounding cliffs, where they’d doubtless been keeping a lookout, and one of them, an older man with a patch over one eye and a badly scarred face, came over to them.
“A good day’s hunting.” He cast his good eye over her, and she tried to suppress a shiver of fear, before his gaze fixed on the wagon behind her and the horses they’d brought with them. “Unexpected.”
Hugh handed a couple of bulging sacks to a nearby woman, who pulled open the ties and peered inside. Apparently satisfied by the contents she gave a sharp nod before handing the sacks to a younger woman.
“Aye,” Hugh responded to the other man’s remark. “As we were returning, we crossed paths with bandits attacking this lady’s escort. There was no choice but to bring her with us.”
Hugh’s compatriot—Symon—appeared, with Grear by his side, and Roisin grasped her hand as Symon, also, handed a couple of sacks to the woman. Belatedly, it occurred to her what the bulges in all those sacks were.
Hugh had been poaching.
The older man smiled, and it was a chilling thing to witness. “Ye didn’t strike me as the type, Hugh, but then we never really know our fellow man, do we.”
Her grip tightened around Grear’s fingers, who was shaking so badly Roisin feared she might collapse. But then, she wasn’t feeling so fine herself, either, although she was certain Hugh hadn’t brought her here for the purpose the other man was slyly implying.
“The lady and her maid are under my protection, Darragh.” Hughdidn’t raise his voice but there was a note of pure steel in his it, and Darragh inclined his head, although a mocking smile remained on his face. “Selling the horses will bring in much needed supplies, and the goods in her wagon will cover any inconvenience until I can arrange to return her to her people.”
She shot him a startled glance. Had she misunderstood? Was Hugh going to give these people everything she’d brought with her?
“A fair enough exchange.” Darragh turned his attention to her, and she wanted to sink through the saddle and disappear from the malevolent gleam in his eye. “And who might ye be, then?”
Her voice locked in her throat and her heart thundered so loudly she feared everyone could hear it. Why couldn’t she respond the way Isolde or Freyja would have when questioned by a fearsome stranger?
When it came to courage, no matter how hard she tried to be brave, her resolve always faltered.
“Too good to speak to the likes of us, then.” There was more than a thread of contempt in Darragh’s voice now. As though he could sense her terror, Ecne licked her gloved fingers through the gaps in his basket.
“No, Darragh, the lady is just recovering from her ordeal. Her name is Lady Roisin MacDonald of the Western Isles.”
She didn’t dare glance at Hugh. While she was falling apart, he was keeping his word to ensure her safety, by concealing her connection to William Campbell who, for whatever reason, these people despised.
“A MacDonald from the Isles, are ye?” Darragh’s palpable distrust faded, and he gave a sharp nod. “I thought Hugh had picked up a damn Campbell. And where were ye heading, my lady?”
To visit my sister. But the words merely hammered inside her head, while she remained as mute as ever. Would this interrogation never end? Everyone was staring at her, as though she were a pitiable halfwit.
“Lady Roisin was on her way to Oban, to catch a ship back to the isles.” Hugh offered her a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes, a silentwarning not to contradict him.
As if she would.
“Can the lass not speak for herself?” Darragh hadn’t taken his gaze from her, and she screwed up her nonexistent courage, and managed to force out a few words.
“I can speak for myself.” Dear God, if only she’d never left Eigg, she wouldn’t be here, needing to respond to a man who looked as if he’d not think twice about tossing her off the side of the mountain if the mood took him.
But if she hadn’t traveled to the mainland, she wouldn’t have met Hugh again and discovered the truth about his disappearance. It didn’t make her feel better. At least if she’d stayed at home, she’d be able to remember him the way he’d been on Eigg, instead of having all those rose-hued memories shattered by this surreal reality.
“Good,” Darragh said, “There’s little in the way of hospitality we can offer ye, since the damn Campbells took everything we own, but ye’ll be safe enough here for now. Maybe we’ll even ransom ye. Are yer relatives rich, Lady Roisin?”
Appalled, she stared at him and after a heartbeat he laughed, as though he found it all a great jest. “I’ll leave that to Hugh. He has a good head on his shoulders for such things. But for now, welcome to what remains of the grand bloodline of the MacGregors of Argyll.”
The MacGregors? Hugh had brought her to a rebel outpost of the MacGregors?
But they were deadly enemies of Clan Campbell. And although the MacGregors hadn’t personally offended the MacDonalds of the Isles, there was a tacit understanding between her clan and the Earl of Argyll. When it came to the feud between the Campbells and MacGregors, the MacDonalds were firmly behind the earl.
A new kind of terror clutched deep inside as the truth hit her.
She’d been wrong to think Hugh had forsaken his name. It was so much worse than that.
He had forsaken his clan.
