Brin looked at the redhead. “My uncle Ruari?” he said, much too loudly, “he’s got a new puppy.”
Her embarrassment faded in an instant, and she found her legs hurrying her over to Ruari’s side. A fuzzy brown creature was cradled in his hand, its entire body moving as it exuberantly wagged its tail.
“A puppy? Truly?” she asked, unable to contain her own excitement.
“Aye,” Ruari said, smiling at her. “His name is Heckie. Would you like to hold him, my lady?”
“Please call me Juliana, my lord. We met before, and Brin reminded me that your name is Ruari. I’m pleased you’ll be escorting us to the abbey, my lord. You are the laird’s brother, aye?” She gave a brief curtsy.
“No need to be so formal with me, Lady Juliana. I was about to put Heckie down to take care of his needs before we mount up, but you can pet him if you’d like.” She stroked the dog’s fur, savoring in his softness and the tiny yips he made.
“I like the name,” she said as Ruari set him down in the grass. “Heckie is perfect for him. Is he going with you? Do you have a basket for him?”
Ruari chuckled. “Nay. He’ll ride right here,” he said, patting his chest. “His mother rejected him so he’s quite young. I wish to keep him warm.”
Juliana couldn’t stop herself from staring at the man’s chest, and her mouth went dry at the thought of being curled up against the heat of this man. Did he have hair on his chest? She’d seen the men practicing without shirts in the lists. Her next thought was whether it would be red or dark. Perhaps blond?
The grin he gave her made her blush. Had he guessed her thoughts? She turned around and headed back to her horse, more than surprised to find herself airborne a few seconds later. She barely had time to register that Ruari had picked her up—his hands were around her middle!—when he tossed her onto her dear horse’s saddle.
She landed with an oof, grabbing Winnie’s mane.
“My apologies, I intended to be more gentle.”
An older man she recognized from the other day came up behind him. “Forgive him,” he said in a condescending tone that reminded her of her father. “He may look like a man, but he has the mind of a lad still.” Why was he being so critical of Ruari?
She didn’t miss the glare Ruari gave him. Nor did she blame him.
Brin scurried up behind the older man, staring up at him. “Uncle Ruari knows what’s best, Neil. Why would you say that?”
The lad’s affection for his uncle was as obvious as the older man’s disdain. Her gaze shifted to Joan, who’d stayed silent through the whole exchange. Her sister was watching everything with a distant gaze.
Another horse flew into the gathering, stirring up a cloud of dust. Neil held his arm up across his eyes and bellowed, “Padraig, could you not be a little more cautious?”
Padraig gave him a crooked grin and said, “Nay. Wanted to make sure you all know I’m here. I’m going along with you.” He jumped off his horse and bowed toward Juliana with a dramatic swish of his arm. “My lady, you can trust that Ruari, Brin, and I will get you to the abbey safely.”
She didn’t miss the way the older man glared at Padraig, nor the way he stomped off to his horse.
“Are you two related?” she asked. “But not from the same clan?” They wore different red plaids, something she’d noticed that first day.
“I’m from Clan Grant, fostering here with my cousin and Clan Cameron,” Padraig said. “But I’ll see that you have a most enjoyable visit.” He winked at her and headed back to his horse, the others all mounting and readying their mounts.
Joan rode up to her. “You need to watch out for him,” she said in an undertone.
“The lad named Padraig? But why? He seemed nice.”
“Because he was flirting with you. Beware lads who flirt or smile at you. Or ones who try to help you.” Joan’s gaze traveled from Padraig to Ruari and Brin, before shifting to Neil and the rest of the guards. “You must be careful.”
Juliana liked talking to the lads. Although some men were stern and unapproachable, she hadn’t found that to be the case with the Camerons she’d met, and Padraig was the most high-spirited person she’d ever met. But she didn’t know how to say that to Joan, at least not this stricter version of Joan, and so she simply responded with a slight nod. Her gaze shot to Ruari, who’d mounted and taken his position at the head of the group. He spoke to the guards, assigning them various positions, then turned to them. “Ladies, ’tis a three-hour journey. If all is well, we’ll stop after two hours for a wee break. This should ensure our arrival will be before dark.” He then tucked the puppy inside his tunic and motioned for the group to move.
If she could travel next to Ruari, she’d be as pleased as that pup, although that was a thought she could decidedly not share with her sister.
***
As Ruari led the group out, he positioned himself exactly where he wished to be.
Close to Juliana.
Heckie fell asleep against his chest, so he didn’t need to worry about him, but he kept panning the area for possible marauders or reivers. He didn’t expect any trouble along the way, but that could change at a moment’s notice.
An hour into their journey, Juliana found her way up near his horse. “My lord Cameron?”
“Ruari, you mean?” He cast a sideways glance toward her, doing his best to maintain his view of the glen ahead of them.
“As you wish, Ruari, but you are leading this charge so you should demand respect.”
“I prefer to earn respect,” he said, “but I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Did you have a question?”
“I’m just worried about the puppy. Do you not think we should stop for him?” He noticed her staring at his upper arms, something he hadn’t expected from such an innocent lass. One who was considering becoming a novice, no less.
He also caught her glancing at her sister to see if she was watching her.
She was indeed.
“I’ll not stop for just a pup,” Ruari said. “Are you trying to tell me you may need to stop?” He didn’t look at her as he said it, because he was quite sure she’d blush at his comment.
Brin, who was riding right behind him, let out a bark of laughter, something lads often did when discussing private habits with lasses. Ruari glared at his nephew over his shoulder, something that quickly silenced him.
“Nay, I’m fine,” she said with a hasty retort…and a shade of red he hadn’t seen in a while traveled up her neck and across her cheeks.
In fact, he’d embarrassed her enough that she dropped her horse back behind him, which he hadn’t wanted to happen. But mayhap it was for the best. Neil was keeping his gaze on everything Ruari did, eager to find fault.
Half an hour later, Ruari came upon an area with some good cover, a place where the ladies could relieve themselves without damaging their tender sensibilities. Lifting his hand, he slowed his horse and glanced back at Padraig and Neil. “Quarter-hour break.”
Within minutes, Juliana and her sister were headed off into the bushes. Brin ran into the bushes ahead of the rest of them, and all Ruari could do was shake his head. He could remember being Brin’s age, when everything in the world looked bright. He’d lost that feeling a long time ago.
Perhaps it had happened shortly into his marriage.
He took care of his own needs, then awakened Heckie and set him down in the grass to do his business.
Most of the others were busy off in the bushes, but Juliana approached him, her eyes on Heckie. She lifted him and cuddled him close to her bosom, giving him the unsettling feeling of being jealous of a dog, but he didn’t let his gaze linger. His focus was on their surroundings.
Their group had scattered. A bad feeling came upon him, but before he had time to shout out a warning, four horses charged at them, sending Juliana in a panic because one of them was headed straight for her.
Ruari didn’t think. He acted. He bellowed for his men to mount up, tossed her up onto his horse, and c
limbed on behind her, sending the stallion in the opposite direction of the attacking reivers.
Yelling back over his shoulder, he said, “Brin! Hide behind Padraig.”
He rounded a section of the glen and was fortunate to find a group of trees behind a rock formation large enough to conceal them, even with his horse.
His brain was in a turmoil. He was the leader of the group. Should he have left Juliana and gone after the reivers, or had he done the right thing getting her away from them?
He honestly didn’t know, but he’d made his choice.
She turned around and buried her face in his chest with a whimper, and he wrapped his arm around her, just then looking down to see the pup still in her grip. “Heckie, you better say thank you to the lass for saving you. Those horses would have trampled you in no time.” He hoped talking about the animal would distract her from any shedding any tears.
She leaned back to look at Ruari. “I fear I’ll squish him.”
Heckie gave a high-pitched yip and she laughed, a sound that was as sweet as anything he’d ever heard.
“I think you saved him.”
“Who are those men?” she asked, looking up at him with such awe and trust it humbled him. Her face paled as the sounds of battle carried to them over the rocks, her gaze shifting toward the cacophony.
He had to distract her. He couldn’t have her fainting and falling off his horse. “Juliana, look at me.” His finger reached for her chin to turn her face back toward him. Reluctantly, she complied.
“Who are they?” Her eyes drifted back toward the battle as yelps of pain filled the air.
“Reivers of some kind would be my guess.” He cupped her cheek and turned her back toward him again.
Meeting his gaze, she whispered, “I don’t like this. Why are more men attacking us? I thought the abbeys were supposed to be safe.”
He could see the misting of tears in her eyes. “’Tis most difficult to watch and hear such violence, especially if you are not accustomed to it,” he said softly, wishing he could shield her from it. “We were afraid there would be more reivers about now that the Channel of Dubh has been ended.”
“The Channel of Dubh?”
He couldn’t believe she’d never heard of it, but it was clear her father had kept her hidden from the world. “There was a large group of men who were involved with selling young lads and lasses across the water.”
“Selling them for what?”
He wouldn’t poison her innocence by telling her.
“’Tis not important. The group paid unsavory characters to work for them, but a group of young Highlanders put an end to them.”
“’Tis good news, is it not?” she asked, cuddling Heckie under her chin.
“Aye, but that means there are more men looking for coin.”
She leaned toward Ruari and whispered, “But they wouldn’t kidnap me, would they? What would they want with me?”
Ruari nearly groaned at her thoughts, wondering at the same time why no one had told her about men and women and the ways of the world. Instead of thinking about how he could answer her, he stared at her pink lips, plump and ready for him and a scant breath away from his own. He could just have a quick taste…
“Juliana!”
Joan’s voice carried across the glen. He’d been so entranced with Juliana’s lips that he hadn’t noticed that the sounds of battle had dissipated.
Starting, he turned her around and grabbed the reins, guiding his horse back in the direction of the battle. Neil, Padraig, Brin, and Joan were all on horseback. Padraig was bloodied up quite a bit, but Neil and Joan appeared fine. Brin looked ecstatic.
“Brin, you are hale?” He had to bring his nephew back to safety or his brother would kill him.
Brin nodded. “’Twas so exciting! I stayed with Padraig just as you said, Uncle Ruari.”
“All survived?” he asked, his gaze surveying the rest of the guards. Everyone appeared to be present, although some of the men were still joining them.
“Aye, our men survived, not the others,” Neil said. “We took care of the reivers, but where the hell were you? You’re in charge of the group.”
Ruari didn’t like being accused of negligence in front of everyone, so he just said, “Aye, I am in charge. My decision was to protect an innocent lass from a group of reivers and I accomplished my goal. You all have fared well, so clearly I did not make a mistake.”
His tone was brusque enough that no one said anything except Joan. “And what did you do to my sister back there?”
Her tone was even more accusatory than Neil’s had been.
“What did I do? Naught. I protected her. ’Tis my job.”
“Joan! What are you saying?” Juliana asked. “He protected me. We did naught else. We hid in the trees until the fighting was over. And I was pleased with his protection. Those men…one came straight toward me.”
“Where is your horse?” Joan asked.
Juliana’s eyes widened as she glanced about. Her lower lip started to tremble. “Nay, did they hurt my horse? Winnie?”
“Nay, they wouldn’t have,” Ruari said. “She’s probably hiding or perhaps she’s run off.”
Padraig said, “I didn’t notice your horse, but sometimes they’ll return to where they started.”
Ruari instructed four of their men to search for the beast, and they quickly fanned out to do so. Several moments later, they returned, shaking their heads.
“No horse anywhere, my lord.”
“Then Juliana will ride with me until we arrive at the abbey,” Ruari said. “We’ll search for your horse on the way back to Cameron land. There could be more reivers out there, so I don’t wish to spend any more time here. We move on.”
Although he wished the mare would be found for Lady Juliana’s sake, he didn’t mind the prospect of riding behind her for the rest of the journey—if he could stand to have her sweet backside moving against him for so long.
Neil said, “Finally, you made a good decision. We all move forward. Those men were after something, but I don’t know what.”
Ruari glanced at Neil, but he said nothing.
He didn’t want Juliana or Joan to guess what the reivers had been after.
It was either one of the lasses or both of them.
Chapter Six
Once they arrived at Stonecroft Abbey, Juliana thanked Ruari for protecting her, but she barely had time to get the words out before her sister dragged her away. Joan yanked on her arm so hard, she could barely keep up with her.
“Joan, please slow down,” she whispered in an undertone. “You’re hurting me.”
Joan ignored her pleas and continued to yank her along until they were inside the abbey, the door slamming shut behind them. A nun in the foyer took one look at Joan’s face and turned away, rushing down the passageway.
“Joan, what’s wrong?” She had no idea what had possessed her sister to act so strangely.
“What’s wrong?” Joan barked. “You were alone with that man on top of a horse, then you rode in front of him the whole way here. You were too close!” The expression on her face was one of sheer fury. She’d never seen her sister like this before.
A feeling of misgiving stole over her. Joan had changed even more than she’d thought.
“My horse disappeared. Believe me, I would rather have had my dear mare to ride, but she’s gone and I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.” Her voice hitched as she said it.
Joan let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, her lips moving as if she were counting.
Or was she praying?
“Joan?”
“Juliana, you don’t understand the way of men. You were at great risk of being molested by that man. You should never have allowed him to take you away from the group.”
“But one of the reivers was coming straight at me. I fear what could have happened had he grabbed me. Ruari saved me. He did naught wrong.”
Joan’s hands grabbed her by the shoulders, a punis
hingly tight grip that frightened her. “Ruari? Did he try to kiss you?”
Juliana thought of how close their lips had been at one time. The truth was she’d wished for him to kiss her, but they’d been interrupted. She stared off at the columns in the passageway, wondering exactly how his lips would have tasted. Although she’d never been kissed before, she guessed it would have been quite delicious…
“Juliana!”
She whipped her face back to her sister, blushing at her thoughts.
“He did kiss you! I can see it in your face. You must go and beg the Lord’s forgiveness. You must pray for the rest of the eve.”
“Joan, nay. He did not kiss me. Please stop this.” She gasped as her gaze caught a wet patch on the fabric over her sister’s thigh. “Joan,” she pointed. “You’re bleeding. You were cut. Oh, dear, you must sit down. Mistress Jennie is back on Cameron land. Is she the one they spoke of? Is she a healer…” She spun in a circle, desperate to find help, as her sister glanced down at her wound. “But she’s not here.”
“Oh…oh…” Joan grasped for Juliana’s hand, her knees buckling.
“Help! Please, someone help.” The door flew open and the man named Neil came in and caught Joan just before she collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.
“Sister!” Neil shouted. “We need assistance.”
Three nuns rushed down the passageway, one ahead of the other two. “In here, bring her in here. There’s a pallet for her.”
Juliana followed helplessly as Neil carried Joan into a small chamber and carefully settled her onto the pallet, taking a moment to study her wound through the gown. “Get a healer. She needs to get that tended or she’ll have the fever.”
A strong presence filled the room, and without even looking, she knew Ruari had joined them. She took a step back and leaned against his chest, grateful to have his support, needful of his touch. His hand settled on her hip, to her surprise, but she had no desire for him to move it.
Her world had crumbled apart in just a matter of a few hours.
Attacked twice by reivers, her horse lost to her, Joan chastising her, and now her dear sister had fainted from her wound.
The Banished Highlander Page 4
