Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

“You will leave me,” he commanded. The women quickly obeyed and soon the two men were alone in the great hall.
    “I have a traitor.” Thomas was furious and could hardly contain himself. “Three Englishmen found Charlet and shot her in the arm. Blair killed two but the third got away. Blair thought only of getting her to safety and did not give chase.”
    “Will she die?”
    “I hope not. He has taken her to a new place and even I do not know where she is.”
    “How have you heard this?”
    “Blair took her to his brother’s home and I agreed it was a good place to hide her. It was my mistake, Kevin. After they fled, his brother came to tell me.”
    Kevin poured both of them a goblet of wine. “Who among your people knows the English?”
    “Some have taken English wives, but I do not know who would betray me. The question is who knew Blair had Charlet? I have searched my mind and I can think of no one.”
    “The mistake is not yours, ‘t is mine. I took Charlet out through one of the hidden door s and gave her to Blair. No one saw me, I am sure of it. But then we had to explain her absence to the clan. Several hours later, we made it look like Charlet was sent away in the opposite direction. I suspect when Blair was gone too, the traitor guessed he had her.” Kevin took a swallow of wine and sat down at the table. “I made a greater mistake when I first brought her here.”
    “I remember, but we had to ask the other clans if they were missing a baby. The MacGreagors would have been suspicious had we not made inquiries.”
    “Aye, but we made it easy for the Englishman to inquire about a baby found sixteen years ago. I should choke the King of England. This is his mess, not ours.” Kevin finally smiled at his old friend. “Some of it has been quiet entertaining, I must admit. Sit and share my wine. I have much to tell you and you cannot guess how complicated this has become.”

    The rain stopped by the time Blair woke up and he quickly glanced around to make sure they were not in any danger. Then he noticed Bridget was on her side with her back to him and was using his arm for a pillow. He remembered when she did it and loved having her so close. She trusted him and she was not afraid of him, but it didn’ t mean she had any feelings for him. She was probably just cold and wasn’t aware of what she was doing. He warned himself one more time not to fall in love with her, but he feared it was becoming too late.
    She was cold, her arm hurt and her eyes were wide open. But she liked being close to him. His body was warm and strong, and her strength, she felt, was dwindling by the minute. Somebody actually wanted to kill her and she was upset enough to cry. She was tired of being on a horse, she needed a real bath and it didn’t look like they would eat much that day.
    He felt wetness on his arm and realized it was a tear. He was afraid she was still asleep, so he softly whispered, “You are crying?”
    She nodded. “I am a woman; we are supposed to cry sometimes.”
    “I did not know that.”
    She scooted closer to him still. “There is a lot you do not know.”
    He put his cheek against the back of her head. “Such as?”
    “I do not want three names, I do not want to be English and most of all, I do not want to be bonnie. I want to be plain. ‘Tis the only way to know if a man loves me and does not just want a bonnie lass in his bed.”
    “A lad who loves you will also want you in his bed.”
    “And therein lies the problem. How will I know if he truly loves me?”
    “Perhaps he will tell you.”
    She sat up, wiped her tears and moved around until she faced him. “Duff says it constantly, it means nothing.”
    He was suddenly riled and sat up as well. “Who is Duff?”
    “He is a stupid lad who walks into walls gawking at me. I hate him!”
    He was pleased to hear that. Blair dismissed his jealousy and got to his feet. “Was he badly injured?”
    She took his hand when he offered it and got up as well. “Duff broke his nose and I hope ‘tis crooked w hen it heals. Are you married?”
    “Nay.”
    “Do the lasses walk into walls gawking at you?”
    “Not that I am aware of.”
    “Why not, you are as handsome as any other lad.”
    He was amazed she thought he was handsome. He’d never heard that before from any woman. But this conversation was going to get him in big trouble, so he picked up the plaid and began to fold it. “We will have ample time to resolve your problem