by L. L. Muir
She shook her head. Just having him locked in the carriage had proven too distracting. And just as she had on the road, she realized it had been a mistake to capture him in the first place. But she forgave herself. How could she not forgive herself? One look at him, and…
“Too much trouble. Someone would have gotten hurt.”
And not just her.
Sleeping in the carriage with the other girls was the last thing Mallory could stomach that night. With the appearance of Connor, she’d been reminded of Bridget and Vivianne and the nights they’d slept in another such carriage, and the memory made her miss them all the more. So she took a blanket to the far edge of the clearing, made the best of the soft grass, and considered herself lucky to be out from beneath stone roofs that might collapse in a strong wind. The warm, soughing breeze chased the insects away along with her lonely thoughts. The last thing she remembered were the murmuring voices of William and Kenneth, the two boys keeping watch.
The weight of a heavy arm across her middle brought her instantly awake. The night was silent around her. Crickets held their breath along with her while she tried to understand what was happening. She wouldn’t cry out for help unless she needed it, and considering the probability that only Connor would dared lie down behind her, she feared who might be injured if she raised an alarm.
“Connor?”
“Aye. Who else, considering yer Bonnie Black Brian has met his end?”
She ignored the warm tingles that bubbled through her at the sound of his deep, rumbling brogue and the feel of his breath on her neck. “Did you say bonnie?”
“Blue Brian seemed to think so.”
“Where did you see Blue Brian?”
“In a jail, if ye must know. Why do you sound so interested in that pirate when ye already have yer trinket?”
She sighed. “Let us not argue. I only worried that he might be nearby, that is all.”
“Terribly cautious for a woman without the sense to sleep inside the carriage.”
“I should have. I see that now.”
He put a hand on her shoulder, pulled her onto her back, and frowned down into her face. “Now, ye sound suspiciously reasonable. Not at all like the Mallory I ken.”
“I was never reasonable?”
He shook his head, then his gaze dropped to her lips.
How many times had she imagined such a moment? “Connor?”
“Aye?” He addressed her mouth.
“I need you to go away.”
“Need?” He looked in her eyes again. “Why?”
“All right. I want you to go away. Forget about me. I am fine. I have these…friends. I am in no danger.”
“Ye ken nothing of the danger, lass. Every villain in Scotland is watching the roads from England—even the smaller roads, ye ken? There is a fever for English ransoms and many a desperate man.”
“I understand. There is also a contingent of Englishmen that assume every Scot near the border is guilty.”
“Aye. Just so.”
“Then you need to head north. I want you to be safe.”
“And ye’ll head south, then? To home?”
“Eventually.”
Connor shook his head with a hard, disgruntled expression on his face. “Mallory Naylor, what mischief are ye up to now? Surely ye cannae mean to help those foolish lassies complete their own quests?”
She resisted the urge to lift her chin in defiance. “I certainly do not.”
“Then what mean ye to do?”
“I will get them home safely.”
“Oh, ye will, now?” He grinned. “With yer small Scottish army, I suppose?”
“I will not explain myself. I have a plan. A good plan.” She narrowed her eyes. “And you are not a part of that plan.”
“A plan in which every one of yer wee clan will live happily ever after?” He lifted a finger to her cheek and began to stroke the outline, but she fought the distraction.
“In which they will all be safe.”
“And Miss Vivianne? I assume she has gone on her merry way to Edinburgh?”
“Naturally. I do not suppose Sir Ian—”
“Naturally. And just as obviously, ye should allow me to help ye. Sure, but there is room in yer plan for another swordsman? A man good with small blades?” He dropped his head closer. “I’ll be needing mine back, by the by.”
“I told them to put the knives in your saddle bag. They should have told you.”
“Perhaps they thought it best I find out the painful way, aye?”
She shook her head. “They are good boys.”
“Weel now, it will hardly matter if they ride into Glasgow with two English lassies in their possession, so to speak.”
“I told you, I have a plan.” She tried to appear confident and hoped that the moonlight wouldn’t give away her worries.
Connor lifted her shoulder, pushed her onto her side again, and scooted up behind her. “Ye can tell me this plan in the morning. Now sleep.”
She gasped. “No, sir. You must lie somewhere else.”
“Nay. Tell me I am wrong, but the only safe place for me, when yer young cocks begin to crow, is hiding behind Black Brian.”
Chapter Nineteen
In spite of the blanket, Mallory awoke chilled to the bone with a thin layer of dew covering her hair. A fresh pine fire popped and crackled with invitation, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the dream she’d had.
Not a dream!
She sat up, fully awake, and looked behind her. There was no sign that Connor or anyone else had been there, warming her through the night, but he had. Either that, or her dream had been the most vivid of her life.
Alas, the bed-warmer in question was one of the four men seated around the campfire, murmuring. He turned then, as if he sensed her attention on him. “Come warm yerself, lass.”
“I will not,” she said, and got to her feet. “Not until I dip my stick in the bushes.”
Barks of laughter woke up the rest of Scotland, whether or not it was prepared to rise.
Though all they had to break their fast was hot tea and dried meat, no one complained. Mal kept the fire and conversation positioned between herself and Connor, unwilling to discuss her plans with him. Of course, at some point, she would have to insist he get on his horse and ride away, but there was no point being rude until it was absolutely necessary. When everyone was ready to travel again, however, necessary was at hand.
She approached him, finally, while he saddled his horse. Before she could say a word, he turned on her. “The lads told me all about it, love. How you stormed in to rescue the lasses and claimed to be Black Brian’s woman.”
“Claimed! I thought they’d believed me.” She didn’t dare look at the others. “All this time… They never said.”
“They’re certain yer heart is too good to have warmed to a man like that.” He smirked. “And none of them thought the bastard was bonnie in the least.”
“Bonnie? Blue Brian told you he was bonnie?” She realized, suddenly, why Connor had mentioned it. He was jealous. “I must admit, he reminded me a great deal of you.”
Connor unhooked his stirrup and picked her off the ground in one smooth movement. She squeaked in surprise. Not many men were big enough to lift her.
“Was he a brute, like me?”
“Sweet as a kitten, when I got to know him.” She tried to keep a straight face but failed.
“A kitten?” He set her on her feet but didn’t let her go. “How I heard tell, ye never had a chance to get to know the man. Though it bothered ye when he died?”
Mallory blanched. She wasn’t prepared to talk about Black Brian’s death, and she tried to pull away.
“Easy, lass.” The Highlander tried to pull her closer. “Would that I had been there to give ye comfort when ye needed it.”
She shook her head and spun out of his grasp. “Time to go our separate ways, Sir Connor. I must insist.” No matter the truce he might have negotiated with the boys, hav
ing Connor with them would only cause problems. She had more important things to accomplish than wonder when she’d get a chance to kiss him again.
“Mallory, look at me.”
She finally relented, if only to get him moving. “You cannot change my mind.”
“Tell me yer plan, and I shall help ye improve upon it.”
“Thank you, but no. Fare thee well, Connor.” She strode calmly to the far side of the carriage and opened the door. Connor was suddenly beside her, handing her up. “Go away, sir. I do not want your help.”
He stepped back as if she’d slapped him. She ignored the pain burning in her breast at the thought of hurting him, but she had to chase him away somehow. After closing the door with a snap, she knocked on the wall of the carriage. It jerked into motion and she closed her eyes and listened for the sound of Connor riding in the other direction.
They hadn’t gone far when his voice made her jump, coming from just outside the window. “Ye may not want my help, Bonnie Brian, but ye need me…if only to bring back yer smile.”
Chapter Twenty
Connor had said the words in jest, but he wondered now just what had happened to change Mallory into such a sober woman. The old Mallory would have teased him into a frenzy by now--flaunting her lovely dark hair, glancing at him from beneath sultry eyelashes, and striding about as if she didn’t know he watched every sway of her hips--daring him to come closer. But this Mallory was earnest when she’d pushed him away.
She didn’t want his help? Perhaps not. But what lass, so far from home, wouldn’t welcome a capable man into her guard? Someone she could trust in the most dangerous of circumstances?
Was her plan so foolhardy she dared not share it? As for planning, it was only a month ago she and her friends had entered Scotland with not enough thought to their safety and far too much confidence in their costumes. They might have been capable of hunting and cooking in the open, but they’d fallen into enemy hands as soon as they’d crossed the border.
What was her plan this time? To dress the lads as lassies and put beards on the girls?
He shouldn’t be surprised if she planned just that. But he would bide his time and buzz around the perimeter of the little group until they forgot about him and loosened their tongues. If that failed, he would just have to find another way of loosening Mallory’s.
Mallory realized Janine and Mary were watching her.
“Sorry?”
Mary reached across and put a hand on her knee. “Do you worry that Sir Connor will leave? Or that he will not?”
“Neither,” she said. “I worry he will wheedle our plan out of the boys. I should have warned them.” She went back to chewing her lip. If she stopped the carriage, Connor would want to know why. He’d be listening, waiting for someone to slip.
“Is that all?”
“Is it not enough? When he caught me the first time, he forced me to go with him, to surrender my own plans and do what he thought was best. If he’d have left me alone, I would have been home by now…”
“You were at the Duchess of Forsythe’s ball!”
Mallory rolled her eyes. “Of course I was. Do you think I just happened to be wandering around in Scotland, looking for English maidens to rescue?”
The pair squirmed around in their seats like a piece of ham on a very hot skillet. They grasped each others’ hands as if they couldn’t bear their glee. But there was no use hiding her secret any longer, when they would just as easily hear Connor speak of it.
“You hadn’t come to Scotland for just a wedding, then?” Janine shook her head. “Now that we’ve seen what kind of man you’ve been running from, we must insist on hearing the entire story!”
Mallory resigned herself to share the bare bones of her complicated history with Connor. Though she hadn’t intended to, she gave away the first names of both Bridget and Vivianne, but the rest was easier to tell that way.
“After they’d gone to such lengths to help Rory and Bridget marry, we all got swept up in the notion of falling in love, I suppose.” She smirked. “At least Vivianne and I did. Connor and Ian were so busy congratulating themselves, they practically forgot about us. And Bridget was completely overwhelmed by her change of fortune, and the fact that she was now married to the man she loved, she no longer needed us.” Mal shrugged. “So we left. Bridget promised to give Connor and Ian incorrect information, should they ask. Then we set off to complete our own private tasks.”
She studied the lace at her wrist for a long moment, remembering just how useless and abandoned she’d felt after the wedding…
“I had a silly notion in my head that, after the first ceremony was over, Connor would swoop in like some pirate, insist we marry, then carry me away. But…there was no swooping.” She looked at the girls for corroboration. “Would you not have expected something like that? That is to say… Surely, you understand. When you first laid eyes on Connor McGee, was your first thought not of marriage?”
Janine sighed and blew a strand of white hair away from her mouth. “Not my initial thought, no.”
Mary giggled and nudged her friend. “Not mine, either.”
Embarrassed, Mallory shook her head and looked away. She had shared too much of her own mind, and had invited them to do the same.
“Obviously, you love him,” Mary said. “So you should be quite pleased he came after you.”
Janine sighed. “I hope a man like that falls hopelessly in love with me some day.” She then bit her lips together and closed her eyes, as if she would take back the words if she could. But it was too late.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe a young man named Padruig Harris fits that description. The same Padruig Harris who risks life and limb to take you home to his clan and marry you if I can procure passage for the journey. And you,” she turned to Mary. “You have promised yourself to William, the young man who sees no impediment to taking you for a bride and living hand to mouth in the Highlands if only to save you from a violent father.”
Mary winced. Janine nodded, but her gaze never lifted. Mary then watched her friend for a moment, squeezed her hands, then took a deep breath. “We have confessions to make, milady.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Two lads urged their horses forward and came to ride on either side of Connor. William and Kenneth, if he remembered them correctly. William was the one who remained within reach of the brunette when possible.
“Sir Connor,” Kenneth started, “we would like to hear how you earned your knighthood.”
“At so young an age?’
“Aye.”
“Ye would not know of the Battle of Vigo Bay.”
“Aye.” William joined in. “The English and the Dutch against the Spaniards.”
“Aye. And when the English are wont of sailors, where do they find them?”
“Scotland,” they answered in unison.
“My two friends and I joined on a lark. We sailed to Cadiz, intending to take the port and ensure a naval base on the Iberian Peninsula, but we failed. On the return journey, we discovered and attacked the Spanish treasure fleet from America. We captured or destroyed the galleons and the entire French ships-of-the-line.”
“And what treasure did they hold?”
Connor shook his head. “They’d already unloaded the silver, but I was given one of the small ships as a token of Rooke’s appreciation. His nephew went into the drink and I went after him. For that, my friends and I were knighted by Queen Anne.”
“William and I plan to join the navy. We only wish it was the Scottish navy…” He then gave his friend a funny look. “I suppose I will have to join it alone, now.” Reluctantly, Kenneth slowed his horse and turned back, to fall in with the rear guard.
Connor looked at William, who stared intently at the clouds ahead. “Ye’ve changed yer mind about the navy, then? In favor of a certain English lass, perhaps?”
William smiled and moved his horse away as well. But Connor recognized that look, that certainty, t
hat no man can control his destiny if he has come too close to a clever lass.
With clouds gathering low in the sky, the interior of the carriage grew dark, but Mallory would not tie up the window coverings just for more light. It was important their conversation stay between the three of them, for the time being, and if they didn’t keep their voices hushed, there would be trouble.
“You understand, do you not?” Mary leaned close and clutched Mallory’s gown. “We had no other way to protect ourselves.”
“Of course I understand.” Mal and her friends had been in much the same situation when McMurtry and his men had taken them captive. If the round man would have left the three of them in the care of young impressionable lads for a week or two, they’d have convinced those boys to let them go, and she admitted as much.
“But they couldn’t let us go,” Janine said. “Black Brian would have hunted them down and killed them. They were sure of it. So they stayed, and waited, and promised that, after the ransom satisfied Black Brian, they’d make sure we got home safely.”
“They are good boys, it is plain to see. But I wonder if you needed to toy with their affections.”
“It was too late. By the time we realized they would have helped us either way, we’d already started…”
“Seducing. That is the word you are searching for, Janine.”
The girl nodded and hung her head again. Mallory realized she shouldn’t be so hard on them. They’d found a way to survive, and no one should be blamed for that. But she couldn’t ignore the dread in her stomach, when she thought about what needed to be done—a couple of young men were about to have their hearts broken.
And she knew exactly what it would feel like.
While their experiences of being kidnapped were similar, she realized Janine and Mary hadn’t anything else in common with Bridget, Vivianne, and herself. They’d heard the same dare, they’d gone to Scotland, but the girls across from her hadn’t known any of the same passion. They hadn’t given their hearts away. And they weren’t willing to give up anything significant in order to be with the boys they’d beguiled.
