Page 37 of Abducted By the Highlander
Goddamn it. She was still gentle and kind. But he had never imagined she possessed this other side of her, where she didn’t agree with everything he said, but questioned his beliefs and rebutted his comments, and he didn’t simply find the revelation astonishing.
The discovery made her more irresistible than ever.
Symon shook his head and shrugged. “Don’t worry, Sergeant, I’ll not say a word to Darragh. No wonder ye never spoke of her again. Ye never had a chance to win a noblewoman like her.”
At least Symon was right about that. He’d never had a chance with her, not from the moment the earl had summoned him to Castle Campbell last spring.
There was no point telling Symon he was wrong. It would only make Hugh’s denial look suspicious. All he could do was continuewith the subterfuge that he was a lowborn Campbell and not the son of a well-respected, if not vastly wealthy, laird. For no peasant could hope to win the hand of a noblewoman who could trace her lineage back for almost a thousand years.
“She must never know.” His voice was hoarse, and he tightened his grip around the saddle he held as he thought of the inkwell he’d bought at the market, now secure in his saddlebag. It had been a hasty transaction, without the bartering he usually employed, but he hadn’t been able to risk either Roisin or Symon discovering what he was doing. “Give me yer word, Symon.”
Symon gave him a strange look. “Ye have it, but are ye blind, man? The lady can scarcely keep her eyes from ye. I’m certain she knows well how ye feel about her.”
Christ, he hoped not. The memory of their kiss burned through him, a mocking echo reminding him that was all he’d ever have and curse the heavens, but it wasn’t nearly enough. “Lady Roisin was merely playing along, as I asked her to.”
“If ye say so.” It was obvious Symon thought he’d lost his mind. “Though there was no need for any deception when it was just the three of us in the room at the inn, was there, now?”
Hugh swung away from Symon’s curious gaze and began to groom Deagh Fhortan. No, there hadn’t been any need for him to hold her hands or become entrapped in her innocent gaze, and yet he had. He couldn’t help himself. And now he’d given away the fact he and Roisin had known each other before the bandits had attacked her.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Symon to keep his word. For all that he was a MacGregor, the man had proven himself throughout the time Hugh had known him. It was because Symon had so easily guessed Roisin was the lass Hugh had been thinking of that night so many months ago when reckless secrets had been shared that rattled him.
But no one else knew of that and there was no reason why anyonehere should suspect he and Roisin had met before yesterday. Still, he needed to be more careful. Innis had already guessed he was more interested in Roisin than he should be. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down, not even for a moment, if he wanted to keep their brief, shared past concealed.
*
Roisin pulled outthe napkin of food and the apples from the saddlebags and she and Grear took them into the tent. She’d seen how much fresh food Hugh and Symon had brought back and no longer felt guilty about not sharing her small hoard with the women. And even though she had a feeling Innis would ensure she and Grear received their fair share of supper tonight, it was still comforting to have a little spare food in the tent.
“Did anyone bother ye while I was gone?” She gazed anxiously at Grear, who shook her head.
“No, milady. I stayed with the women, as mistress Innis promised, and looked after the bairns.”
Although she’d trusted Innis to keep her word, it was a relief to hear Grear confirm it.
As Grear and Ecne tucked into their pasties, she took out her knife and cut up one of the apples to share with her dog. But her mind wasn’t on her task. No matter how she tried to stop herself, she couldn’t help replaying her last conversation with Hugh. Indeed, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it throughout the journey back to the camp, and by the time they’d arrived, she had reached the uneasy conclusion that maybe Hugh had shut down their conversation because of Symon.
Not because of her, at all.
She gave an impatient sigh as she gave Ecne a slice of apple. Was that really true, or did she simply hope it was? She was certain shehadn’t misinterpreted his interest when he had been on Eigg, or since they’d met again in the Highlands, and he had never spoken to her so abruptly before.
She sat on the edge of her trunk and pulled the kerchief from her head. Before her sisters had wed, they had both had moments where they’d doubted the sincerity of William and Alasdair. Roisin had never quite understood it. To her, it had been as bright as starlight that Isolde and William, and Freyja and Alasdair, had belonged together.
Alas, it was very different when she tried to sort out the tangles between herself and Hugh. Even Amma didn’t believe they belonged together and that was before Roisin had discovered Hugh had been banished from his clan. God only knew what her grandmother would think of him now.
There was a muffled tap on the flap of the tent and Grear pulled it open to reveal Hugh standing there. Hastily she straightened her spine, grateful that Ecne distracted his attention by pawing his boot in greeting. It gave her a welcome moment to compose herself. Although, who was she trying to fool? She lost her composure every time she caught sight of the man.
After giving Ecne a good scratch behind his ears, Hugh caught her eye. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I’d like a word.”
She stood and waved him inside, although it felt ridiculous to invite him to enter his own tent. “Of course.” And then she looked at Grear. “Maybe ye can see if Innis and the women need some help?”
It was shocking that she was encouraging Grear to leave her alone with Hugh, but if she needed to apologize to him for jumping to conclusions earlier, she certainly didn’t want an audience.
Grear nodded, and left, calling Ecne to accompany her, and the tent flap hung half open, allowing the late afternoon sun to spill into the dim interior.
How magnificent Hugh looked, with his face wreathed in shadows as the light streamed in through the open tent flap behind him. Fromthe first moment she’d seen him at Sgur Castle, he’d taken her breath away, for he was surely the most compelling man she had ever met. But had he always possessed the hint of raw danger that was as much a part of him as his incomparable blue eyes? How had she not felt that wild undertow before, or was it purely a consequence of this rebel life he now led?
When he didn’t immediately speak, unease slithered through her. Had he come here expecting an apology from her? While she was half convinced she owed him one, there hadn’t been any need for him to sound so condescending in the inn and a small flicker of vexation heated her blood. For all she knew, he had meant every word and the excuses she’d made for him lived entirely in her head.
“I wanted ye to know,” he urged. She held her breath in anticipation. “Darragh’s decided we are moving on at first light. But don’t despair. My pledge to return ye to yer kin remains true.”
