Page 24 of Abducted By the Highlander
“Darragh is well aware we are not foolish.” There was a hard note in Elspeth’s voice, but Roisin had the strongest impression she was just as angry as the younger woman. “Something else is troubling him. I’ll speak to him later. Let him know our medicinal stocks are running perilously low. Do not fret, Innis.”
“Do not fret?” Innis practically spat the words at Elspeth. “I swear to God, if I—” She cut herself off and glared at Roisin, as if she’d only just become aware of her presence. “Aye,” she said, even though Roisin hadn’t said anything. “This is what our life is like on the run, unable to source our most basic needs.”
“’Tis not the lass’s fault.” Elspeth drew in a deep breath. “’Tis rarely women’s fault, after all.”
Innis hiked her bairn more securely against her shoulder. “Yet we are the ones who suffer.”
Roisin knew of the disputes between Clans Campbell and MacGregor, but the truth was it had scarcely touched anyone on the Western Isles. They backed the Campbells because it was politically astute to do so, but until her sister, Isolde, had been personally affectedby the feud, she had scarcely given it further thought.
But Isolde, through her bravery, had survived an attack from a rebel MacGregor and the danger had passed. And once again life on Eigg had returned to its tranquil state.
Roisin had never wondered about the upheaval the MacGregors had endured after being driven from the land of their ancestors. And there was no need to wonder now, since the stark reality was here, in front of her eyes, with these displaced women and their bairns.
There was no doubt in her mind they were continuing the same conversation from the previous evening or that the herbs they so desperately needed were ones that men would never require for their medical uses.
If Freyja was here, she wouldn’t hesitate to share her knowledge or her supplies. Her sister was a fierce advocate for women having the means to regulate their own fertility in a world ruled by men and their desires. She wouldn’t care if there was a chance Innis would scorn her or Elspeth deride her for interfering. Freyja only cared about providing the best medicinal aid she could to anyone in need.
How she wished her sister were here with her now.
Her heart hammered and panic slithered through her chest like a greedy serpent, but she couldn’t remain silent when she had the means to help Innis. Clutching the ends of her shawl for added courage, she faced the women.
“I’ll be glad to share my herbs with ye.”
Innis gave an impatient sigh. “I doubt ye have the ones we need.”
It was a rebuff. Roisin licked her lips, gripped her shawl tighter, and pressed onwards. “I have juniper, rosemary, and sage.”
Silence followed her comment. Certainly, all the herbs had culinary uses. It was also plain that the women understood what she had really just shared with them.
“Do ye now.” Innis’s voice was soft, but there was no hint of the antagonism that had heated her previous words. “And ye’re willing to share with us?”
“Aye. They may help for a while, at least.”
The women glanced at each other, but unlike the other times when they’d conversed, there were no half-hidden smirks or rolling of eyes. It seemed unspoken messages passed between them, and then Elspeth spoke to the little lass, Rhona.
“Fetch some bannocks for the lady and her maid.”
*
It was atorturous night. And Hugh wasn’t thinking of the hard ground. He’d slept in worse places than on a damp pile of moss and at least it hadn’t rained again for which he was thankful.
The reason for his discomfort was because just an arm’s length from where he lay, was Roisin. He heard her whispered conversations with her maid, although he couldn’t discern the words, and her dog’s snuffling sounded strangely loud in the still night air.
Despite the long day, sleep eluded him as he stared into the dark sky, where stars glittered through the gaps in the clouds. Since the earl had banished him from his old life, it wasn’t a rare thing for him to be awake at night where his thoughts invariably drifted to the brief, shining moments he’d spent with Roisin.
How many times had he fantasized about sharing his bed with her? Or imagined how she’d look, with her hair spread over his pillows? Even though the nightly visions had tormented him with their inevitable impossibility of ever coming true, in an odd way they’d also kept him sane.
’Twas never a good thing to tempt fate with deeply buried wishes and that was the truth. Roisin was, if ye counted his tent, all but in his bed, and God knew, that damn tent was nearly all he owned right now, and yet she had never been further away from him.
In the early hours of the morn, he undertook his usual two-hour watch, but he spent as much time scanning the camp to ensure noman went near his tent as he did on lookout for any suspicious activity in the surrounding area.
’Twas no good. He could scarcely concentrate on anything without weighing up how those actions affected Roisin’s safety. The responsibility didn’t simply lay across his shoulders like a mantle. From the moment he’d caught her in the forest, the knowledge that her very life depended upon whatever he said or did had consumed him like a veritable fever.
It was glaringly obvious that the longer Roisin remained under his protection, the harder it was to keep his hard-won façade as a redshank from cracking. They’d been in the camp for less than half a day and he wasn’t sure how long it would be before Darragh guessed he had known Roisin before rescuing her from the bandits. And if the MacGregor chieftain suspected that truth, he’d soon conclude Hugh was no ordinary mercenary.
It was a relief when dawn broke across the mountains, and he could finally stop pretending to sleep. Except for a couple of the men who were finishing their night watch, no one stirred, and he took advantage of the silence to build a small fire and fetch some water for Roisin’s and Grear’s use.
Once that was done, he stood and glanced at the tent. It was still early, likely too early for a lady such as Roisin to rise, but already the MacGregors were stirring, leaving their tents and starting the day.Should I wake Roisin?
