In the gloom she thought she saw him smile. “Ye said it again, lass. We.”
“I did, didn’t I?” She paused, taking a deep breath. “That’s because I’m coming with you.”
Her own words shocked her. Shouldn’t reaching Dun Saith be at the top of her priority list? But, she realized, her own needs came second to her desire to see the villagers safe. The scene when they’d arrived was etched into her memory. The burning houses. The injured villagers. The kindness shown her by Morwenna and Able. If she could help stop any more attacks like this one, it was worth a few days discomfort.
Magnus watched her in that intense way of his, his eyes like deep pools. “I had heard,” he said quietly. “About the bravery of lasses from yer time. But now I see it firsthand.”
“Bravery?” Izzy snorted. “You wouldn’t say that if you could see inside my head. I’m terrified!”
“And yet ye do what ye must despite this. That is what courage is, lass.”
Izzy stared at Magnus, taken aback by his words. She had never considered herself brave. Quite the opposite, in fact. Her life rarely called for acts of courage—unless facing down Mrs Arnold over her credit card arrears counted. She wasjust Izzy Ross. Quiet. Boring. The kind of person nobody noticed.
But Magnus did. He seemed to see something in her that she didn’t see in herself.
“Well,” she said, embarrassed and desperate to change the subject. “So that’s decided then? We’ll go looking for a blacksmith tomorrow?”
He bowed his head. “As my lady commands.”
“Right. Great. In that case, I suppose we should try and get some sleep. Um. Good night.”
She climbed to her feet and grabbed some of the blankets that Morwenna had sent out for them. With a command to Snaffles to stay with Magnus, she scurried up the ladder to the loft.
A thick layer of dry hay filled the small space. How was she supposed to sleep in this? She’d never even been camping for Heaven’s sake! Ugh. She doubted she would get any sleep.
She spread the blankets out on the straw and crawled into them, pulling them tight around her against the chill of the late winter night. Below, she heard the hay rustle as Magnus moved, settling himself down for the night.
Why had she just volunteered to go gallivanting god-knows-where with a fifteenth century Highland warrior she barely knew? What was happening to her? Was it only this morning she’d been getting yelled at by Mr Hargreaves over his bank charges? It seemed a million miles away. A million miles and a hundred lifetimes.
And yet, the strangest thing in all of this was that, as she closed her eyes, she didn’t feel scared. Not at all. Magnus layonly a few feet away and with him so close she felt safe. Safer than she could remember.
So despite her assumption that she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep, Izzy fell into dreamless slumber.
Chapter 8
Magnus did not sleep well. He couldn’t seem to find a position that didn’t aggravate his aching ribs. The painkilling medicine that Isabelle had given him seemed to have worn off and it hurt when he lay on his back. It hurt when he lay on his side. Lord, it hurt when he even so much as breathed. It didn’t help that Snaffles had fallen asleep with his head on Magnus’s calf and the big hound was not keen on moving.
So he sat half-propped against the hay bale behind, watching as the lantern outside guttered out and full darkness came to the barn. He could still smell smoke on the air and knew it would be a good while before wind and rain cleansed it. Come the morrow, these people would have a heavy task on their hands, rebuilding what had been destroyed and putting their lives back together.
Your fault, a voice said in the back of his mind.All your fault.
