Page 2 of Abducted By the Highlander
Patric cleared his throat. Loudly. And she realized she was smiling at Hugh in a completely besotted manner. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she quickly inclined her head in the faint hope he might not notice. “Ye are most welcome.”
Hugh bowed his head, but as he passed by her, following in Patric’s wake, he turned his head her way. “I hope I’ll see ye again.” His voice was low, meant only for her ears, and there was no time to respond, even if she had thought of something to say. Instead, she silently admired him as he strode after Patric, leading his horse.
His midnight black hair was pulled back with a length of velvet, and surely she had never witnessed such fine, broad shoulders before on a man. As the rest of his men followed him, she hastily made herway back to the castle, and as she and Grear entered the great hall, her grandmother and Freyja greeted her.
“Campbells from Argyle,” Freyja remarked. Clearly, Patric had sent a message to them before he had led the men to the stables. “Let us hope they recognize Njord and can return him to his kin.”
Roisin pulled off her gloves before catching her grandmother’s eye. She supposed she’d better let her know what she had done. “Amma, I invited Hugh Campbell and his men to stay for supper.”
“Ye did what?” Freyja sounded astonished. Not that Roisin could blame her. “Ye spoke to them?”
“’Twas hard to avoid them.” She busied herself by taking off her surcoat and handing it to Grear, so she wouldn’t need to look at her sister. “I only did what Amma would have done herself.”
“Ye did the right thing.” Amma gave her an approving smile before turning to Grear. “Let the cook know, Grear, and see that more places are set for our guests.”
Grear bobbed a curtsey before leaving the hall and Roisin went over to the hearth to warm her hands. As Amma and Freyja pondered the likelihood of whether Njord might be the missing William Campbell that Hugh sought, and Isolde’s intended, no less, Roisin gazed into the flames of the fire, but all she could see in her mind’s eye was Hugh’s captivating smile. She dearly hoped she had the chance to talk with him again before he left Eigg.
Her daydreams were interrupted as Patric strode into the hall with Hugh and his men, and Roisin spun around from the fire as her grandmother welcomed them to the castle. Servants brought out jugs of warm mead for their guests and after giving Amma an elegant bow, Hugh came over to her.
“We meet again, my lady.” His voice was low, his gaze focused entirely on her, and her cheeks heated. No man had ever sought out her company before, although to be fair she had never wanted a man’s attention before. But there was something irresistible about Hugh andshe had no wish to melt into the shadows the way she usually did when strangers invaded her peace.
“’Twas inevitable.” Good Lord, had she really said that out loud? She had never made a teasing remark to anyone she hadn’t known all her life. But it came so naturally when Hugh was standing in front of her.
Ecne pawed Hugh’s boot, and he grinned before giving her dog a friendly pat. “There’s a good lad.” He glanced at her. “What’s his name?”
“Ecne.” She was inordinately thrilled Hugh paid such kind attention to her sweet lad.
Hugh cocked his head. “’Tis an unusual name.”
“I named him after the god of wisdom from the Tuatha De Danann.” How she loved those myths from Eire. But not everyone was aware of them. “Do ye know of the legends from Eire?”
“Not well, but I should like to learn if ye’d be willing to share them with me.”
He was interested in something that fascinated her beyond reason. Could he be any more perfect?
“I would be happy to.” How formal she sounded, but luckily Hugh didn’t appear to notice. Encouraged by his easy charm, she added, “If ye wish, I could show ye my illuminated manuscripts of the myths.”
There was no mistaking the admiration in his eyes. “Ye illuminate manuscripts? That is an impressive accomplishment, indeed.”
His compliment warmed her down to her toes, and he hadn’t even seen any of her work yet. Before she could think better of it, the words spilled unhindered from her lips. “Ye had best save yer kind words until I’ve shared them with ye.”
Before he could answer, the castle doors swung open and Isolde and Njord entered. Hugh gave her a smile and bowed his head before turning around. And then he gave a sharp inhale of breath. “God’s bones, William.”
As Hugh strode across the hall, warmth flooded through her. Njord really was William, Isolde’s betrothed, and she looked at her sister, expecting to see her own happiness at how destiny had entwined them together reflected on Isolde’s face.
Her sister appeared to be stunned into silence, and a ribbon of concern flickered through Roisin. Hugh and his cousin spoke for a while and then, without warning, Isolde spun on her heel and stalked out of the castle.
That was unexpected. But she supposed it was a shock and Isolde simply needed a few moments to herself. As Njord, or, rather, William, strode after her, Amma called her personal guard over, but Roisin’s attention was fixed on Hugh, who now stood alone.
She glanced at her grandmother, who was deep in conversation with both Freyja and her guard, before returning her attention to Hugh. Was she truly contemplating going to his side and striking up another conversation?
Before she could change her mind, she slowly made her way in his direction. She was still some distance from him when he turned to face her, almost as though he’d been aware of her stealthy approach and she came to an abrupt halt at the harsh expression on his face. Trepidation inched through her. What if he wanted to be alone?
But when he caught sight of her, he smiled, and her apprehension dissolved.
“I am so thankful yer cousin is safe and well,” she said.
“Aye, ’tis a great relief.” For a fleeting moment, his features hardened but then vanished so quickly she half-wondered if she had imagined it. “We shall forever be indebted to the ladies of Sgur Castle.”
