Page 56 of Abducted By the Highlander
“Roisin.” Urgency throbbed through his voice, but she refused to acknowledge his concern. Why was he concerned, anyway? She was as securely trapped today as she had been on the day he’d first brought her to Darragh’s camp. Even if she and Grear escaped, where would they go? She had no idea where they were. They could ride for days without encountering another soul, and what were the chances that if they did meet anyone, they would be inclined to help?
She was, after all, no longer in the Small Isles, where everyone knew of the MacDonald daughters of Sgur Castle and who would no sooner harm them than they would chop off their own arm. Instead, they were trapped in the wild Highlands where, it seemed, enemies lurked in every shadow, and no one could be trusted.
“Roisin,” Hugh said again, and she reluctantly caught his gaze. Why, even now when she could no longer believe anything he said, did butterflies collide within her breast and starlight spike through her blood every time she looked at him?
“What?” She wanted to sound indifferent, but instead she just sounded so weary she wished she hadn’t said anything at all.
He took a step closer to her, and Ecne wriggled with excitement in her arms.
“I couldn’t risk sending yer letter.” His voice was low, as though he imparted a great secret, but she didn’t know why he bothered. Noone was around to hear him. “If it fell into the wrong hands, it could have put ye in danger.”
“It did fall into the wrong hands.”
He sucked in a jagged breath, and she couldn’t fathom why the sound made her heart ache so. Perhaps this was what the death rattle of love felt like.
“That’s down to my carelessness.” Frustration threaded through his confession but if he expected her to be impressed by his candor, he was sadly mistaken. “But ye’re right. I should’ve destroyed it.”
Her lethargy vanished, and she glared at him. “Is that supposed to make me feel better about the fact ye lied to me?”
“I didn’t want to run the risk of anyone connecting ye to William Campbell. And I was right to be cautious. Fergus MacGregor knew exactly who William was.”
It was just as well she was still holding Ecne, as she had the alarming conviction that otherwise she may have slapped Hugh’s face.
“Ye still don’t understand, do ye? It’s not that ye didn’t send the letter to Isolde. Ye could have told me ye thought it too dangerous. But no. Ye let me believe it was possible and that ye had found a messenger to take it to her. Why would ye do that?”
She wasn’t sure he could look more taken aback even if she had physically attacked him. “I tried to tell ye it was dangerous. But ye were so set on it. I couldn’t take away the hope shining in yer eyes.”
Stung, she stared at him as she recalled their conversation on the way to the town that day. And realized that he had, indeed, told her sending a message to her sister was dangerous.
But she’d insisted. And he had capitulated. Or so she thought.
He’d never intended to send her letter. And the reason he’d agreed to, simply so she had hope to cling to, was somehow even worse than him deciding not to for his own purposes. As though she was a fragile creature who needed coddling.
“I see.” Ecne continued to struggle in her arms, but she wasn’tgoing to release him because she knew he would greet Hugh. How happy she had always been that her beloved dog was so fond of Hugh Campbell. She had taken it as another sign that she and Hugh were meant to be together, for Ecne had impeccable taste when it came to who he bestowed his affection upon.
It appeared both she and her dog had lost their senses when it came to Hugh.
She settled Ecne more securely in her arms and attempted to find whatever remained of her pride. “How exactly were ye planning on escorting me to Creagdoun? Ye never did tell me. If I couldn’t send a letter to Isolde, I imagine it was too dangerous for ye to communicate with yer mysterious contact, too. Was that all another fabrication?”
“What?” He frowned, as though her question made no sense before his brow cleared, and he shook his head. “Of course it wasn’t a fabrication. I sent several messages to—” He clamped his jaw shut and shot a furtive glance over her shoulder, as though ensuring no one could overhear them. “Why would ye think I hadn’t taken action to reunite ye with yer kin?”
Was he serious? “Why would I think ye had? Ye didn’t tell me the truth about my letter to Isolde. Ye’ve never told me anything about how ye intended to get me to Creagdoun. How can I know ye haven’t lied to me about everything?”
“I haven’t lied to ye.” He exhaled an impatient breath as though he considered she was being unreasonable and then he raked his fingers through his hair in a distracted manner that was entirely too endearing. “Except in the matter of yer letter. But I’ve explained about that. I did that to protect ye. Why can’t ye see that?”
The irksome thing was, she could see it. Hehadwarned her before they had gone to the inn that sending the letter could be dangerous. But he’d still let her go through with the farce of writing the cursed thing. Her face burned as she recalled how hard it had been to find the right words and how Hugh had watched her from across the table. Atthe time she’d been grateful for his patience, but now she knew all he had really been doing was indulging her.
The humiliating memory seared into her mind, and she wanted nothing more than to stalk back to the cave, so she didn’t have to face him any longer. But that was the easy way out and would only prove she couldn’t face a bitter truth.
She offered him a brittle smile as she recalled the guilt that had flashed across his face when Darragh had been berating him. He was still hiding something, and she was determined to know what it was. “What exactly were yer plans for me, Hugh?”
Except it was starkly obvious. He had made little attempt to hide his interest in her, and the women had gently teased her about it from the day after she’d arrived in their camp. But Innis had seen the truth and tried to warn her, and instead of heeding the more experienced woman’s advice, she’d been offended by the slight against Hugh’s character.
His charm had got him what he’d wanted, and she had no one but herself to blame. How easily he had won her over, with his recollections of the time they’d spent together on Eigg and his assurances that he’d always intended to return to the Isle for her.
She doubted he’d spared her a second thought once he’d sailed away from her eighteen months ago.
“My plans?” He gave a hollow laugh that sent prickles along her arms. “I never had plans for ye, Roisin. How could I? But I’ll tell ye this. When I was in the town today, I came this close to doing all in my power to keep ye with me, whatever the cost to ye.”
