There was no way she saw him leave or heard him coming which meant she’d just assumed he was there.
Or maybe she was just as aware of his presence as he was of hers. For the past couple of days, it had driven him mad to realize that every time she was near, he could sense her. “Yesterday I was amused. Tonight, I am less so,” he said dryly as he stepped out into her view. “I have no problem risking yer reputation if it means keeping ye safe. If I catch ye here again, I will tell yer brothers.”
“Ye were supposed to be hunting,” she said sullenly.
“I would much rather be hunting than following ye around,” he shot back. “But I am starting to think that I need to tell the others I want ye as a wife to keep ye safe.”
Her eyes widened. “Ye wouldnae dare.”
“Marry the likes of ye and chain myself to a woman who only wants to cause me problems? Not bloody likely,” he muttered. “But I willnae have the Sinclair Hellion be the reason that the Hamiltons be known as the clan who cannae protect their guests. I mean to keep an eye on ye at all times to keep ye from getting into trouble.”
“Ye are welcome to try it.” Her eyes flashed dangerously, and he took a step toward her. A rustle behind him stopped him, and even her eyes widened. There was a group of people leaving the tavern, and they were about to walk right into them.
Holding a finger up to his lips, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the path and behind a patch of bushes.
“What do ye think ye are doing?” she hissed.
“Be quiet or the whole clan is going to wonder why I am hiding behind the bushes with a boy.” He thought about clamping a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, but the little hellion would probably just bite him. “And then I will havetae out ye.”
That had her snapping her mouth shut. The group rounded the corner, and Hamish held his breath. There wasn’t enough coverage for them. Hoping that she wouldn’t shout in surprise, he pulled her closer and pushed her into the bushes, trapping her between it and his body. If the group caught sight of them, they’d only see him.
Luckily, they seemed too drunk to notice that anything was amiss, but when they walked behind the bushes, they stopped.
“Garret, ye are dumber and drunker than an English sailor if ye think I am about to let ye put yer hand up my...oh!”
Grace’s whole body froze, and even her chest stopped its rise as her eyes rounded in the moonlight. The other couple laughed as the man continued to fondle his companion, and the noises coming from the woman made it more than obvious that she was enjoying it.
Hamish couldn’t help it. He’d been aware of Grace from the moment that she set foot on his land, and even when she wasn’t aware, he continued to think of her. Now that she was flush up against him, he stood no chance. His body responded to Grace’s warmth even when he willed it not to, but he kept his hands firmly planted on her waist, fighting against the temptation to allow them to roam. A man had to be drunk off his arse not to notice the female body beneath the male clothes.
Pressed up against him, she was warm and supple. He nearly groaned thinking of how soft she would be under his touch, the little noises she might make. She drove him mad in more ways than one. The woman confounded him.
Finally, the two couples moved on, but Grace was still frozen as she stared up at Hamish. Her pouty lips parted just a little, and he tried to get a grip on things. It was clear that their act of voyeurism had affected her as well.
All he had to do was let her go and walk away and never touch her again. They never had to talk about this. Maybe she wouldn’t even notice that he was hard as stone. Instead, her body moved just a little, rubbing up against him, those large green eyes staring up at him, pleading for something, and he was lost.
With a groan, he lowered his head to hers. As soon their lips touched, her body relaxed and melted into him, and he couldn’t help but pull her tight against him. It was obvious that she was innocent, but that only seemed to make him hotter for her.
From the moment he’d laid eyes on her a year ago, he wondered what she’d taste like. What she’d feel like molded against him. Now he knew. She was sweeter than anything he could have imagined. Stronger than any drug, the kiss had him reeling, and he deepened it, shaping his hands over her sweet little derrière, drawing her even tighter against his hardness. If she wasn’t wearing trousers, he could have lifted her skirts and slipped into her warm heat right then and there.
He bet she would be the perfect fit for him. Clenching around him, all wet and hot.
A whimper escaped her, and with it, there was a roar of laughter from the tavern. Before it was too late, he remembered that there was only a small grouping of bushes separating them from a humiliating scandal.
Reluctantly, he pulled away. For a moment, all he could do was stare at her. When was the last time he’d lost control like that?
“Come on,” he said roughly. “Time to get ye back.”
Thankfully, she didn’t say a single word.
The meetings were quiet behind closed doors. Moira and Cora tried to keep Grace occupied the next day, but Grace was restless. It was difficult to think of anything other than that kiss, and she had no one to talk with about it. Moira and Cora were her friends, but they were also her brother’s wives, and she knew where their loyalties were. Moira especially might decide that Hamish and Grace were meant to be together and push for Connor to pressure him into marriage.
Just because Grace enjoyed a kiss did not mean that she would enjoy a marriage. At least, that’s what she told herself over and over again. Besides, Hamish had made it more than clear that he didn’t want to marry her.
Maybe that meant it was safe to kiss him again, to explore the sensations that had taken over her body, making it terribly hot and yearn for something she didn’t understand.
“Nay,” she told herself fiercely. She would not be kissing Hamish Hamilton again.
Cora and Moira both paused in their walk and turned to her with a frown. “Nay?” Moira asked curiously. “Ye doonae want to walk to the training field? I thought ye wanted to watch the soldiers practice?”
Actually, she didn’t, but if she told Cora and Moira that, they would know that something was up. “Nay, I do. I just had something else on my mind.”
“Care to share?” Cora asked.
No, she did not want to share. “I was just trying to talk myself out of sneaking out again tonight,” she lied and then immediately felt guilty. She didn’t lie to Moira and Cora. Look what this trip is turning me into!
“Actually, I amnae feeling well,” she said, layering another lie onto the first lie. “I think I am just going to go back, but ye ladies should enjoy yerselves.”
“We will walk ye back,” Moira insisted.
“Nay!” Grace shook her head emphatically at Moira. She felt like she was going to burst if she didn’t tell someone, and she needed to get away. “Nay, please, I doonae want to ruin yer day. I will be fine.”
Before they could ask her what was wrong, she turned and fled. Even when she reached the keep, she still could not breathe.
“Lady Grace?” the guard asked with a frown as she hurried to her door. “Is everything all right? I thought ye were attending the evening practice with Lady Moira and Lady Cora.”
She would have to lie. Again. “Aye, but I forgot to get something. Cora offered to mend one of my dresses. I tore it the other day.”
The guard just grinned. It was common knowledge that Grace was hard on her dresses, and yet her brother continued to buy the most expensive ones for her. In her room, she stuffed her stableboy clothes into a bag and headed back out, making a show of thanking him.
Careful to make certain that no one was watching her, she veered to Cora and Alec’s chamber on the second floor and changed out of her dress. Back in her disguise, she breathed much easier. Doing her best with her hair, she tucked it in, pulled the cap low, and hurried out. At least no one could get upset about her jumping out the window.
She desperately
needed to talk to someone, and Maggie would be able to keep her secret. Hamish might be furious, but Grace had no intention of staying out long. She’d just have a quick conversation with her friend, get some advice, and be back safely in her room before anyone knew that she was missing.
Turning, she kept her head low as she headed to the tavern. Just as she reached the building, the door opened, and she saw Maggie leaving the tavern. She was about to call out when she realized that Maggie was with another woman. Not knowing who the other woman was, she kept quiet and followed behind. Eventually, the two women separated, and Maggie continued on.
Grace was just about to call out when a shadow came out of nowhere and pounced on Maggie. The woman didn’t even make a sound as she hit the ground.
Grace watched, stunned. Then, adrenaline hit her. With a high-pitched war cry, Grace reached for her blade only to remember at the last moment that she didn’t have her normal access to her thigh holster. The figure turned on her, a large cloak whirling sinisterly around his large frame, and Grace only had a moment before he was on her. The man struck again and again at her abdomen until she was curled up in a fetal position on the ground. Pain radiated from almost every spot on her body, and she could taste the iron of her blood in her mouth.
Hazily, she realized that the strikes had stopped. Looking up, she saw a glint of silver and blue just before the blow hit her in the face, and then there was nothing.
8
The evening meeting ended on a quiet note, and Hamish tried not to look anxious about leaving as he rose from the table. All he’d been able to think about the night before and all day was that kiss. When Grace didn’t join the rest of them for breakfast, Hamish couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of him. Was she regretting that kiss?
Wanting to find her, he asked around before discovering that she had gone out with Cora and Moira to the training fields. Of course she would rather watch the men train. It didn’t surprise him one bit, and it would be an easy way to accidentally run into her and see how she was doing without looking as though he was deliberately seeking her out.
“Ladies,” he greeted as he joined them. The sun had just set, and twilight was covering the fields. Soon it would be so dark that all the spectators would be able to hear the clash of the blades. Practicing at night taught his soldiers to rely on more than just their vision. They needed to rely on their hearing and their instinct.
A quick look around told him that Moira and Cora were alone, and they weren’t paying any attention to the men on the field. In fact, they were quite deep in conversation
“Hamish!” Moira’s smile was genuine, but there was some concern lurking in those eyes. “Ye aren’t here to tell us that the others are fighting in the great hall? When we left, we heard some nasty arguing from the open window.”
“There was a clash between the Armstrong brothers and the MacSeavers. Fletcher and Brodie have been butting heads for days but there was nothing that I could have done to smooth things over. Nay, the meeting progressed well otherwise. I am pleased as are yer husbands. I imagine they will be out here shortly. ‘Twould not be well for ye ladies to walk back by yerselves.” He cleared his throat and wondered how best to bring up Grace. He wasn’t used to being subtle. “I heard that ye were here with Connor’s sister.”
So subtlety wasn’t his strength.
“Actually, we were just discussing her,” Cora said softly. “She was in her chambers for most of the morning, and she didnae seem herself this afternoon. We thought this might cheer her up, but she said she wasn’t feeling well and left.”
Not feeling well? His stomach twisted. Then she should have been in her chambers, which he knew was empty, or he would have passed her along the way.
Damnation, she went back to the tavern! What is so fascinating about that place to her? And how did she get out if Cora had not been there to help her?
“I see. Well, if ye ladies will excuse me, I have a few things I need to do before dinner. I trust I will see both of ye there?”
They nodded, and he tried not to seem panicked as he walked away. It was still early in the evening, and the patrons of the tavern weren’t near drunk enough to let her disguise pass.
He had just passed the bend when he heard the first scream, and his heart leaped into his throat.
Grace!
Taking off at the sound of the scream, he broke through the bushes just in time to see the wicked glint of a silver blade poised over her body. With a roar, he launched himself at the attacker, but the man rolled out of the way just in time. Hitting the ground hard, Hamish pushed himself up and readied himself for another attack, his own dagger in hand, but the man took off to the woods.
All of his instincts told him to run after the attacker, but there was too much blood on the ground. With a howl of frustration, Hamish turned to Grace. She was unconscious and there was a wound on her head, but the steady rise and fall of her chest told him that she was still breathing.
The other figure on the ground wasn’t so lucky. “Ah, Maggie,” he murmured when he cradled her face in his hands. Her hair spilled out on the ground, soaked in the blood around her.
He had been too late to save her, but he would make damn sure that Grace didn’t follow suit.
Returning back to her, he picked her up and carried her to the nearest cottage. Angus, a large old man, opened the door with a cranky bellow, but he took one look at Hamish and stepped aside.
“I need ye to find Lorna and send her here and then head to the keep and get Sinclair and MacKay as well as my guards. We have a killer to hunt,” Hamish said darkly.
“Is that a lass?” Angus asked in bewilderment. “In trousers?”
“Go!” Hamish thundered. “Now!”
He laid Grace on the bed and carefully moved the hair away from her wound. His gut twisted when he saw the jagged gash on the side of her head.
It felt like an eternity, but only a few minutes must have passed before Lorna arrived. Her own cottage was luckily just a short distance away. He hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know the young and pretty healer, but she was clearly made of strong fortitude. One look at Grace and she all but kicked him out of the small room when she charged into it. “I cannae work with ye hovering,” she sniffed. “She is a lady, and I will need to undress her to see the extent of her wounds.”
“She has a wound on her head,” he told her, ignoring her push to get him to leave.
“Aye, I have eyes and can see that, and if ye doonae delay me, I might also find that she has a wound on her belly before she bleeds out from it,” Lorna snapped. “Out. Now.”
All Hamish could make himself do was back into the corner and watch anxiously. Lorna growled, but she wasted no time in peeling the clothes off Grace. As more skin was exposed, Hamish knew that he was being discourteous, so he stomped from the room.
The door opened and chaos reigned.
“Where is she?” Connor roared while Alec’s eyes flashed in a panic, and he gripped the hilt of his sword. Moira and Cora both rushed in after him along with a party of his guards led by Reed and Tavin. They were covered in sweat and breathing heavily, having been interrupted from their practice.
If they continued to bellow, Lorna would kick them all out. “Ladies,” Hamish greeted quietly. “Our healer is in with Grace now, so ye may join her if ye wish. Connor, Alec, ye will remain out here if ye are still in temper. As far as I know, Grace will be fine, but she is still unconscious.”
His men looked at him expectantly, and Hamish hesitated. He didn’t want to leave Grace behind, but her family was here now, and one of his own was still out on the grounds. “The rest of ye, come with me. Maggie has been murdered.”
“Murdered!” Alec growled in outrage. “I thought ye had this clan under control!”
“There will be no hurling accusations, or do I need to remind ye that there are four other clans currently on my land?” Hamish said dangerously. If they all started accusing each other, the fallout could be
a bloodbath. “We will keep this quiet until we understand what has happened.”
“I will go with ye. I want to see the lass for myself,” Alec said finally.
“Be careful.” Cora rose up on her toes and kissed her husband gently on the cheek. His arm came around her possessively as he pulled her close, and for a moment, it became obvious that there were no other people in the room but them. Hamish had the good sense to look away only to see that Connor and Moira were sharing a similar moment.
He didn’t have time for this.
“Let us be off. Take care of yer sister while we are gone.”
He and Alec led the men out, and it was only a short way to Maggie’s body. Several of his men let out low moans of despair when they saw her. Pretty, sweet Maggie was a favorite among the clan. It was a dark day indeed for them to lose her and to such a violent method.
“What was Grace doing out here with Maggie anyway?” Alec demanded. There was no telling what he would do when he realized that she’d been dressed as a lad, but there was also no way Hamish could keep Grace’s secret. He’d already held his tongue for too long, and look at what had happened.
“I believe she befriended the lass,” he said quietly. “Ye should know that Grace has been sneaking out at night in trousers, so I doonae believe she was the target of the attack. I think she happened upon Maggie’s murder and tried to intervene.”
“Fool-hearted lass,” Alec whispered. “That is her through and through. How did ye find her?”
“I heard a scream. Came upon the scene just before the culprit could finish the job. He was wearing a heavy cloak that covered his face, so I didnae see much. I dared not give chase when I didnae know the extent of Grace’s wounds.” There was no reason to tell them that he was looking directly for her.
“For that I thank ye,” Alec said, his voice heavy. Hamish had seen the love Connor had for Grace when he first visited the Sinclair keep, and it was clear now that the love extended to Alec as well.
Hamish nodded shortly. “Fan out,” he ordered his men. “Look for anything that might give away the identity of our killer. Ye two, take Maggie back to Lorna’s and alert her family that we will make time for a funeral.”
Highlander's Hellion Bride: A Scottish Medieval Historical Romance (Highlander's Deceptive Lovers Book 3) Page 6
