Page 23 of Abducted By the Highlander
The fact her sister was now wed to Alasdair Campbell, favored half-brother of the earl, certainly threw a new light on the likelihood it was one of the earl’s enemies behind the attack. Lady Freyja was, after all, the earl’s sister through marriage, and he would certainly take such an affront to his close kin’s honor personally.
Considering Clan MacGregor had been on the receiving end of the earl’s wrath for the last five years and their lands confiscated, it was certainly possible they might undertake such a risky venture as kidnapping a noblewoman for gain. The question was whether the earl would have paid whatever was demanded without dispute or instead hunted the perpetrators down and slaughtered them without mercy.
He was inclined to believe the latter. The earl didn’t take kindly to threats. Although surely, had the bandits succeeded in their plan, he would have attempted to rescue Roisin first?
It was all conjecture at this point. At least he could be certain it wasn’t Darragh MacGregor who had ordered the attack, and maybe the bandits had nothing to do with the MacGregors at all.
He had no way of knowing the truth. But one thing was certain.
Roisin’s continuing safety was entirely in his hands.
Chapter Eight
Roisin opened hereyes as Grear left their makeshift bed and watched her open a tiny crack in the flap of the tent. Light flooded into the tent and with a sigh Roisin sat up and wrapped her arms around Ecne, who had spent the night snuggled between her and Grear.
Every part of her body hurt, but since she’d never slept on the ground before, with only a blanket and length of linen wrapped around her, it was only to be expected. She had a good supply of willow bark in her satchel, and she would make a soothing tea for them both as soon as she managed to find the clan’s water supply.
And build a fire to boil the water. She doubted the women would offer her the use of their own fire and besides, she didn’t want to ask them for anything else if she could possibly help it. It had been humiliating enough asking for a few bones for Ecne.
Although that was nothing compared to the aftermath, when Hugh Campbell had insisted she take the food from his plate.
Heat burned through her. She knew she shouldn’t care what he thought of her. Not now when she had discovered he wasn’t the man she’d always imagined he was. But it didn’t matter how often she’d repeated that good advice to herself throughout the night, it didn’t change the truth.
He’d felt sorry for her. And that was why he’d given her the remains of his meal. For a moment, she’d had the alarming urge to tip his offering over his head and stalk proudly away. Except she couldn’tbear to see Ecne go hungry, and Grear certainly didn’t deserve to suffer.
She’d fully intended to share it between Grear and Ecne, but in the end her growling stomach had overruled her pride. Even hours later, she was still irked by her lack of willpower.
Grear reached for something outside, before closing the tent flap. “A pot of water, milady,” she said, placing it on the ground between them. “And there’s a small fire just outside.”
They stared at each other. It was obvious who had built the fire and left the water. Truly, she couldn’t fathom Hugh Campbell at all. It was a thoughtful gesture, as was the fact he’d spent the night outside the tent. Although truth be told she’d been torn between relief by his implicit protection and chagrin that she needed his protection in the first place. Elspeth’s mocking comment had echoed in her head, and feeling slightly foolish she had, indeed, slept with her knife beside her.
She wasn’t going to fret about it. They needed water, and here it was. She rummaged in her casket before finding a small bowl and filled it with water for Ecne, and a second bowl so she and Grear could wash. But as she and her maid freshened themselves, she was reminded that, if not for Hugh’s quick thinking in grabbing the casket that contained her personal items, she’d never be able to clean herself again until she returned to her kin.
It was galling, being grateful to him for something she had always taken for granted. But then, she’d always taken having a full stomach for granted, too, and it was only due to Hugh having shared his meal with her last night that she and Grear weren’t suffering from hunger cramps this morning.
Was relying on Hugh for every drop of water and scrap of food the only way they were going to survive this ordeal? It was alarming to face the fact she was so utterly dependent on him. Even back on Eigg, when she’d woven fanciful daydreams of marrying him one day, she had never imagined being beholden to him for her literal existence.She and her sisters, as the daughters of Sgur Castle with its formidable heritage, were wealthy heiresses who had been taught from an early age they did not need to marry to stave off destitution.
But here, deep in the Highlands, her heritage meant nothing.
She shook her head in an effort to clear her tangled thoughts. Worrying about something she couldn’t change wouldn’t help their predicament. And although, alas, there wasn’t anything to eat hidden in the casket, she found the willow bark and various other herbs so they could, at least, have something to drink.
“Heat the water for our tea,” she said to Grear who nodded. “I’ll take Ecne out to stretch his legs.”
She straightened her shawl and picked up her satchel, and Grear insisted on tidying her hair, but within a few moments they left the tent. As Grear heated the water, Roisin took Ecne towards the back of the plateau, away from the frightening drop to the glen that huddled between the surrounding mountains.
As Ecne sniffed the rocks and the mosses and lichens that covered most of the plateau, her gaze drifted to where the women had emerged from the far side of the plateau and were making their way through the campsite to her.
They weren’t coming to seeher, but they clearly wanted to get away from the men who gathered among the tents. Was Hugh there? She couldn’t see him and apprehension flickered through her. But there was surely no need for alarm. He was likely simply beyond the rocky outcrop that lay behind the horses and her wagon.
It was too annoying that his absence made her anxious, but the stark truth was, whatever darkness consumed him and had led him to this existence, he was a slender thread to her past, and she clung onto the belief he spoke the truth when he promised he’d find a way to give her safe passage to Creagdoun.
The women stopped a short distance from her, and Roisin kept her gaze fixed on Ecne. Every fiber of her being wanted to return toHugh’s tent to escape the women, but Ecne was enjoying himself and so she straightened her spine and gripped her wavering courage before it had the chance to flee into the mountains.
She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She had the right to stand here. It wasn’t her fault the women had decided to gather scarcely a stone’s throw from her.
“He has no right to forbid us from leaving the camp.” Innis sounded furious, and Roisin cast her an inadvertent glance. “Does he think we are foolish? We know how to forage without being caught by our enemies.”
Hastily, Roisin refocused on Ecne. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she could scarcely block up her ears, could she? And she wasn’t going to return to the tent just because the women were discussing something they obviously didn’t want the men to overhear.
