Midnight Honor

said.”
    “I was relieved, aye. But no' for the reasons ye may have thought.”
    “You would have signed a petition supporting me as clan chief?”
    “Are ye sayin' ye dinna think ye would make an able leader?”
    “I would make as good a leader as any man, and a better one than most,” she said evenly. “I simply did not think you, of all people, would approve a woman in that position.”
    “Well, if ye're pressin' for a confession, I can think of better positions for a lass, aye,” MacGillivray murmured through an enigmatic smile. “But I've seen ye prick the rumps o' yer cousins with a sword, an' I've watched ye bring down a stag with a single shot. I've seen ye lead the three o' them into a mêlée against twice yer number, an' I've heard the crowds cheerin' for ‘wild rhuad Annie’ when ye came away bruised, but not too bloodied to keep ye from throwin' yerself back into the fray. Mind, that was before ye traded yer powder horn an' firelock for fancy silk skirts an' fine lace ruffles. An' before ye started talkin' like a lady and sippin' yer soup from a spoon, instead o' the side o' the bowl.”
    “I could say the same for you,” she countered, launching an eyebrow upward as she inspected him boldly up and down. His enormous shoulders were clad in the full formal dress of a gentleman, with doublet, waistcoat, and ruffled sleeves complementing the red-and-blue plaid of his kilt. “Clean shaven, your hair curled and tucked into a ribbon while you sup at the Lord President's table. Your buckles are polished and”—she leaned forward, sniffing the air delicately—“is that French water I smell? With your fiancée not even here to enjoy it?”
    His eyes narrowed. “Who told ye I had a fiancée?”
    “Lady Drummuir, if it matters … which it should not.”
    “No,” he mused. “It should not. No more so than the cause o' the burn on yer cheeks that was not there yesterday.” He reached up through the darkness and ran the tip of his finger along her chin and throat. “Ye should tell yer husband to use asharper blade when he shaves. 'Tis a shame to chafe such fine, smooth skin.”
    Anne backed away, her heart giving one loud slam against her rib cage. “I hardly think Angus's shaving habits are a matter we should be discussing.”
    “Nor are ma intentions toward Elizabeth of Clunas.”
    She started to say, “I fail to see—” but snapped her mouth shut again and hugged her upper arms against a sudden chill. “You said you had to speak to me about something. We will be missed in a few minutes.”
    “You, mayhap. I've already made ma excuses.”
    “You're leaving already? But—?”
    “Savin' a dance for me, were ye? Sorry to disappoint, but I've paid ma respects an' not a drop o' blood shed but ma own.” He reached inside the front of his coat and, for a split second, his face was turned to the light, revealing a new twist to his smile—that of pain.
    When he withdrew his hand again, the fingers were wet and shiny, slick with blood.
    “My God! What happened to you?”
    “It's naught but a wee hole,” he said, waving away her concern. “The shot went in an' out clean enough.”
    “Shot?
You were
shot
!”
    “A wee bit louder, lass.” He scowled and looked up at the second-story windows. “I dinna think they all heard.”
    “Shot,” she hissed. “What do you mean you were shot? When? Where? And what the devil are you doing here playing the gentleman fool?”
    “Aye, playin' is the word for it. For if I'd not come tonight, actin' as if nothin' was amiss, I'd likely be swingin' from a gibbet by morn's mornin'.”
    Anne shook her head even as she reached down and struggled to tear a strip of linen from the bottom layer of petticoat. “I don't understand.”
    “After ye left last night, one o' the lads said as how he thought he heard horses in the woods. We went out after them, an' sure enough, found where a troop o' bloody redcoats had been hiding in the trees near the edge o' the glen. They were easy enough to follow in the snow, but—”
    She looked up sharply. “It was
you
. You were the ‘renegades’ the major mentioned earlier.”
    MacGillivray only shrugged. “He's no' as stupid as most
Sassenachs
. He left men to watch their backs while they rode away. One o' them saw us an' gave off a warning shot. Before we knew it, the soldiers came in at the gallop an' we were in the middle of a fight.”
    She straightened and folded the linen into a thick wad. Batting away