“The Sioux Indian tribe, indigenous to the area I come from, believe that you must view the whole person with your eyes and heart if you are ever to know whom you truly deal with. Part of you hides beneath that cap.”
“It disguises my gender, nothing more,” she insisted.
“It disguises much more, and I intend to discover who you truly are, Storm.”
She jabbed him in the chest. “Be careful, Burke. You may not like what you discover.”
Chapter 4
Dunwith had once been a thriving village surrounded by tenant farms, all owned by the landlord whose manor house sat on a rise looking down over the land. Like many villages throughout Scotland, it had repeatedly suffered poor harvests. Poverty and famine were driving thousands to flee Scotland for the promise of rich land and bountiful harvests elsewhere.
Some Scots had left years earlier and had found that promise in America. Burke wondered if Storm had ever considered joining the throngs of disillusioned Scots.
“Stay here,” Storm ordered, catching his attention. “I’ll be right back.”
Burke watched her disappear into the dense woods after she took the rolled bedding Tanin carried. He wondered what she was up to, but he didn’t ask. Instead he had watched her actions and had begun to learn about her.
Storm knew the forest as if she were part of it, as if they beat to the same pulse. She never stopped to make certain her direction was accurate. She paced her steps and maneuvered around the trees and hills, never faltering in her footing.
“Storm handles herself well,” Tanin said, drawing his attention.
“She’s just a pint-sized thing. You would never expect—”
“She counts on people thinking her fragile.”
“I have to ask you,” Burke said. “Didn’t she ever think of looking for a better life elsewhere?”
“You mean emigrate like so many have been forced to do?”
Burke nodded. “Exactly. What does she have here?”
“Her dignity and her home,” Tanin answered with pride. “Storm couldn’t watch helpless as her people suffered. She took action and was immediately forced into the thick of things.”
“And into the thick of danger,” Burke reminded him with concern.
“It was her choice.”
“Was it?”
The crunch of leaves alerted them to Storm’s approach. He turned to greet her and was struck speechless. She was dressed in a brown skirt, long-sleeved tan blouse, and brown wool vest. A deep green shawl hung loosely over her shoulders and around her arms, and her black hair bounced in waves around her lovely face with each step she took.
That she was a beautiful woman was undeniable.
“Ready,” she said, handing Tanin the rolled bedding to carry at his side.
“So this is the real Storm,” Burke said with a smile.
“Don’t be so sure.” Storm grinned and bent down to dust her hands with dirt. She applied some to her face here and there, though to Burke it did nothing to mar her beauty.
“Disguise?” Burke asked.
“We’re weary, hungry travelers in search of food. We need to look the part if we want to be trusted and so my friends are not made suspicious when we speak with them.”
Burke nodded at her sensible reasoning, though he didn’t need to copy her actions. His face was already grime-ridden. He couldn’t wait to wash the dirt off him.
“We stay no more than thirty minutes,” Storm said.
“Is that enough time to find out about my brother?”
