She flushed. “None of yer concern.”
He snorted. “Ye cannae say that, nae if ye wantyerquestion answered.”
She glowered up at him, jaw clenched. Ryder stared straight back. It was hard to say how long they might have stood there, eyes narrowed and glaring at each other, if the rain hadn’t begun to fall.
It was a gentle patter at first, but anybody who knew Scottish rain knew that it would soon grow heavier. There was general grumbling among the crowd, and people began to take themselves off toward the Keep. There was food out in the Keep courtyard for the common folk, carefully sheltered under awnings, so they could eat there and find some shelter.
Megan glanced around, suddenly uncertain.
“This rain is goin’ to bucket down in a moment,” Ryder said. “Best come inside.”
“Maybe I daenae want to.”
“Then daenae,” Ryder responded simply. He turned around and walked away, leaving her to follow. There was no need to look behind, actually, as he already knew that she was following him. He allowed himself a slight smirk, waiting to hear her footsteps patter after him.
Megan swallowed, watching him walk away. The invitation had told her that Laird MacCulloch was hosting the competition and that it would be held here, outside his Keep, at noon today. Right up until that morning, she’d been determined not to go.
And yet here I am,she thought grimly.Am I a fool, or just desperate to put meself in danger?
She’d imagined that Laird MacCulloch would be an old man, perhaps middle-aged. Some brawny man with hair growing on the backs of his hands and climbing up out of his collar. Somebody like her Da.
This man was… was different.
Handsome.That was the first word that had jumped into her mind when she saw him, an irritatingly accurate assessment for such an infuriating man. He smirked at her, and it made her want to slap him.
He was tall, much taller than she was, with thick arms and a broad barrel chest, shoulders big as a tree trunk. He had curly black hair, almost long enough to be wound back in a ponytail, and sharp, vulpine features.
His eyes were something she’d noticed from the first time he’d glanced at her. He had green eyes, green as grass. It was a rare color and somewhat mesmerizing.
Mesmerizing? Nay, it is nae! Daenaet be a fool, lassie. He’s nothin’ to ye. Whatever this is, itisa trap.
Megan stood on the grass, the rain falling increasingly heavily, and stared after him.
I could just walk away. I could go back to Lily and Alasdair. I could visit me sisters…
Megan gulped. She imagined life in any of their homes, loved and welcomed, but not quitebelonging. Ladies were meant to settle down and start dreaming of marriage and children at her age, and Megan wanted neither. Was it such a crime to want adventure? Why couldn’t she settle down to find love like her sisters had?
Is there somethin’ wrong with me?
Around her, people shuffled past, heads bowed against the rain. They all streamed in through the Keep walls, heading for distant stalls laden with food. Megan’s stomach grumbled.
She cursed at herself under her breath.
Looks like I’m goin’ in.
Her boots made a sticky, sucking sound as she pulled them out of the muddy grass. She stumbled forward, where the grass gave way to rough paved stones, worn smooth by countless feet over the years. Her footsteps echoed, and as she entered the courtyard, the murmur of many voices rose around her. Blinking around, she regained her bearings.
Keep MacCulloch was famously tall, rearing up high against the gray sky. Megan blinked up at it, rain falling into her eyes. Everything was gray, its color washed off by the rain. She was vaguely aware of people staring at her, eyeing her curiously.
Then, quite without warning,hewas beside her. She blinked up at Ryder Cairn, Laird MacCulloch himself. She scowled.
“Are ye goin’ to tell me what ye want?” she said at last, voice tight. “Or shall I guess?”
Laird MacCulloch snorted, glancing at his man-at-arms. Megan recognizedhim.
“Did ye get that hole in yer shirt sewn up?” she asked, jerking her chin at him.
He gave a wry smile. “Me wife did it. Ye narrowly missed meetin’ her. Perhaps later.”
