“Aye, she’ll improve in a few months, after she delivers the bairn. Mayhap this will be their last.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jennie sneaks away from Clan Grant without telling her brother.
Jennie filled another saddle bag and snuck down to the stables. She waited until Mac was alone. “Mac.”
The old man jumped at the sound of his name. “Jennie. What is it? I’d not heard you.”
“You must help me.”
“Aye, anything, lassie.”
“I need a horse, and I need a few guards to travel with me to Cameron land. Who can I trust?”
Mac let out a slow whistle. “Lass, if you do this thing, you will be taking your life in your hands two different ways.”
She scowled at Mac, unsure of his meaning.
“One, there are many reivers about. Two, you will be sneaking out without telling Alex. I take it he has refused your request for escorts?”
“Aye, but I must go. The abbess at Lochluin Abbey told me ‘twas divine intervention that brought me there in time to save Aedan. Now he is going into battle again, and he could be dying. I’ll fret terribly until I see him with my own eyes.” Her eyes misted at her confession.
Mac stared at her for a long moment before walking over to a horse and saddling him. He spoke to a stable lad and sent him off in the opposite direction. “I have five guards who will protect you. Get yourself set. You’ll need to leave in a hurry.”
Jennie had only been traveling half a day when the rumble of horses’ hooves met her ears. She motioned to her guards to move off the regular path and hid in a copse of trees, waiting to see who was approaching, quite sure it had to be a group of Grant warriors because there were so many. Hellfire, but she was not going back—no matter what her brothers said.
As the horses drew near, her heartbeat sped up. What if it wasn’t the Grant warriors? She could be in danger if not. She thought of what Brodie had said about how war drew the most unsavory of men.
Suddenly, the rumble came to a halt. It was still a good distance away, so she crept out from her spot to see if she could determine who was approaching. As soon as she stepped out from hiding, a throat cleared off to the side. She jumped and whirled around in time to see Alex standing in front of her, his arms crossed as he leaned against a tree.
“Handfasted? You handfasted without seeking my permission?”
She tipped her head back and bellowed to the heavens. “Brodie! ‘Tis the last time I ever confide in you.”
Brodie came up on his horse, his grin wide. “Sorry, lass. Mac and I both consider your safety a priority. You didn’t think Mac would let you go without telling his laird, did you?”
Alex pointed back to her horse. “Mount up. Cameron is under attack and we need to get there soon. You’re lucky we are too far for me to send you back. I will not split my men, and we need all the guards we have to help him. You will go to the abbey while we join the battle. ‘Tis expected to take place tonight.”
Alex whistled for Midnight.
“But Alex, who is the traitor?” Jennie stared at him as he mounted the horse, hoping he knew the answer.
“Hmmm…my own sister did not trust me enough to tell me that she handfastedorthat she was in love with the Cameron,and now you wish for me to share my news with you?” Alex galloped ahead of her, leaving her in his dust without a backwards glance.
Hell, but Alex was angry, and he had every right to be. She found a log and mounted her horse so she could follow in his path. Aye, he was stubborn, but she would be relentless. If there was one thing she knew to be true, it was that her brother loved her. And that meant he would forgive her. Eventually, she was able to catch up with him. “But Alex, you were so distraught over Maddie that you wouldn’t have listened. If you recall, I did tell you I had feelings for him.”
“Would I not? And you know that how?” His gaze bore into hers and she finally knew how it felt to be under attack by Alex Grant.
Jennie didn’t answer; she couldn’t answer. Somehow, she knew she had failed her own brother, and it hurt. How could she make it up to him? She hung her head and fell in behind him, her eyes misting.
He yelled at her over his shoulder. “You will go to the abbey as instructed, sister, and if I must tie you to a tree in front, I will. You will not impede this battle in any way. Understood?”
Jennie whispered, “Aye.” They rode hard, and she spent a good portion of the time sobbing. She had disappointed the man she loved like a father.
What should have been the happiest day of her life had turned into a disaster.
The Grant men arrived in the middle of the night, stopping at the abbey on the way for just long enough to leave Jennie there before they continued onward. Before they left, Jennie moved over to Alex’s horse and gazed up at him. “I’m sorry I failed you. But please help Aedan. Do not allow the attackers to win. You must save him. I love him, Alex.”
