Page 68 of Abducted By the Highlander
But most of all, she wanted Hugh’s final words to stop echoing around her head in an endless, pitiless, refrain.
*
Later that afternoon,after Freyja’s insistence that she bathe and change into one of her sister’s gowns, Roisin sat on the bed in thesmall chamber the earl had allocated for her, with Ecne asleep on her lap. It felt strange and oddly wrong to be resting on a bed in the middle of the day, and whenever she wasn’t picking apart Hugh’s last comment, she was worrying about Innis and the rest of the women and bairns.
But at least they’d had the foresight to leave Darragh, before the earl’s men had come upon them. She shivered at what their fate might have been otherwise. If only she could be certain that they would one day arrive safely in Eire and be able to build a new life.
She kissed the top of Ecne’s head and tried to quell the restlessness that wouldn’t leave her. How she longed to escape this chamber and take Ecne for a walk in the grounds. But Hugh had accompanied the earl and his men back here and the last thing she wanted was to accidentally come face to face with him.
Not yet. Not until his polite, distant, dismissal stopped haunting her mind with every beat of her heart.
And maybe not even then.
There was a knock on the door and instantly her foolish thoughts flew to Hugh. Had he come to her to explain he hadn’t meant his cold farewell? Instinctively, she straightened her shawl and patted her hair as Grear, who had been dozing on the other side of the bed, jumped up and opened the door.
Freyja came inside and Roisin told herself she was relieved it wasn’t Hugh. Unfortunately, she didn’t quite believe herself.
Her sister smiled at Grear. “Could ye allow me some privacy with Lady Roisin, Grear?”
Grear bobbed a curtsey and after a quick glance at Roisin, left the chamber.
“Ye’re looking better already.” Freyja nodded in approval before settling herself beside Roisin on the bed and scratching Ecne behind his ears. His entire body rippled with pleasure. “How are ye feeling?”
Heartsore.
“I’m fine, Frey. Truly.”
“That’s good.” Freyja appeared inordinately focused on Ecne. “Now then, I hope ye know ye can tell me anything. There’s nothing ye can say that will shock me, ye understand?”
Roisin understood only too well what her sister was saying. She was only surprised Freyja was being so coy about things. Frey always said what she thought and damn the consequences.
That didn’t mean she had any intention of telling her sister what she and Hugh had shared in that cave. Distress churned through her, but she refused to let her feelings show on her face. She didn’t regret what had happened between them. But how she wished Hugh hadn’t mortified her so when she’d gone to him in the clearing.
“The MacGregor men did not abuse me if that’s what ye’re asking.”
Freyja finally stopped petting Ecne and patted Roisin’s arm, instead. “That is good to know, indeed. But if anything did happen, ’twas not yer fault.”
Roisin sighed. “The men were rough, but who wouldn’t be after a life on the run for five years?”
“Hmm.” Freyja gave her a doubtful look, but Roisin hadn’t finished yet.
“And the women and bairns. Ye have no idea how they live, Frey. ’Tis heartbreaking.”
“There were women and bairns?”
“Aye. Thank God they left the camp before the earl found Darragh.”
Freyja patted her arm again and Roisin wasn’t sure whether her sister was trying to comfort her or herself.
“Ye know the earl would treat the women and bairns kindly, don’t ye? He is a fair man, Roisin.”
“He’s yer half-brother through marriage, Frey. Of course ye must see the good in him.”
Freyja cocked her head and frowned. “Ye know me better than that, surely? If I thought he was a monster, I’d tell ye so.”
Roisin had to concede her sister was right. But regardless, Alasdair was related to the earl through blood, and Freyja hadn’t seen how the women and bairns had scrabbled to survive.
She shook her head. This was likely something they would never agree upon, but she wasn’t going to fight her sister over it. “I glimpsed a life I’d never imagined before, and it’s not something I’ll ever forget. But I’ll tell ye this. There is not so much difference between MacDonalds and MacGregors.”
