Of course there is, he told himself.She’s going to restore the magic and save Skye, so of course you would be thinking about her.
Aye, that must be it. It was most definitelynotthat lustrous hair of hers, or those deep, intelligent eyes, or that fiery temper, or the way she stood up to him like nobody else did. It was most definitely none of that.
He glanced at the sky. The sun had crested the horizon, a brilliant red orb in a cloudless sky that promised a glorious day to come. And the lass was missing it. He’d been up for two hours already. What was keeping her?
He growled under his breath and was just about to march back into the keep to find her when the door opened and Ingrid came to stand on the top steps, followed a moment later by Jenna. The two women paused and looked out into the bailey, taking in the fresh morning air.
Arran stopped in his tracks. Jenna hadn’t seen him yet, and she andIngrid shared a word or two and then a soft laugh. The sound of it sent a strange ripple of… something… right through Arran’s body. It was as beautiful as the trilling of a robin on a winter’s day. She was, he noticed with satisfaction, wearing the dress he’d sent up for her. Just as Rosaline had said it would, the dress fitted Jenna perfectly, accentuating all her feminine curves and the deep burgundy color only highlighted her glossy black tresses.
“Shut yer mouth, my laird,” Mal said sardonically. “Or ye may catch flies.”
Arran cleared his throat and gave his cousin an annoyed glance.
Jenna and Ingrid came down the steps and Arran went to meet them. “Glad ye could join us.” He winced as the words came out sharper than intended and sounded slightly sarcastic. “I… er… trust ye slept well?”
Jenna pulled at the neck of the dress as though uncomfortable. “Fine. I slept just fine. Thanks for asking.” Her tone was stilted and formal and, was Arran imagining it, or did she look a little pale?
“Well, if ye are ready, we had better be going. We have a lot of ground to cover today.”
He led Jenna over to where the horses were waiting. Bran, his huge black gelding, pranced and snorted as Arran approached, wanting attention. Arran reached up and patted him on his sleek neck.
“Easy, boy,” he murmured. “Ye’ll be getting a run soon, I promise.”
He moved over to the smaller white mare, Sunflower, that Mal had been holding. Taking the reins, he led the horse over to where Jenna stood, eyeing the horses suspiciously.
“Can ye mount unaided, or should I have a mounting block brought?” he asked.
“Eh?”
“I said, can ye mount unaided, or should I—”
“I heard what you said. But it sounded like you expect me to ride that thing.”
Arran glanced at Sunflower. The docile mare was drowsing, head hanging down while she waited patiently. “Aye, I expect ye to ride ‘this thing,’ whose name is Sunflower, by the way. How else do ye expect to tour the island today?”
Jenna glanced at Sunflower. “Um. I don’t know how to ride. I thought that was pretty obvious yesterday.”
“I thought that was just because ye were disorientated from the trip through time.”
“Nope. Disorientation had nothing to do with it. Before yesterday, I’d never ridden a horse in my life.”
Exasperation rose up in him. “Then why did ye agree to come riding with me today? In case ye havenae noticed, this isnae yer time, and here we get around by our feet or by horse.”
“Yeah, I noticed!” she snapped back. “But I thought you might have a carriage or cart or something I can ride in.”
“Lass, if we took a cart to tour the island, we wouldnae be back at Dun Tabor before harvest!”
“Well, how was I supposed to know that?”
She glared at him and Arran glared right back. From the corner of his eye he saw Mal, Ingrid, and the rest of his men watching this exchange with wide-eyed fascination. It wasn’t often they heard somebody speak to their laird in such a fashion, but this infuriating lass from the future had no fear of him and was not intimidated by his rank in the least.
It was irritating and refreshing in equal measure. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his annoyance.
“Then ye will have to ride with me,” he said in as polite a voice as he could manage.
She hesitated. “With… you?”
“Aye. Bran is easily strong enough to take the pair of us.”
