But that didn’t change anything. “Ye’re bold with threats, but next time the Menzies touch foot on our land, they’ll be crushed underfoot beneath the heel of our cannons, our arrows, and, worst of all, our wrath. Before ye threaten me, consider if ye want to lose most of yer clan, beginning here with the twenty-three of ye who are left. Tomorrow night there will be fewer of ye until there are no more of ye. I’ll leave the choice to ye, Chief. The morning light will decide yer future. Go home and live? Live fer a se’nnight longer? Or, if ye dare try to get near m’ betrothed, die quick?”
The chief remained silent. No surprise there. The Menzies weren’t only fearless. They were prideful. Darach would let him think on it until morning.
He took a step back, disappearing into the shadows. Making certain he wasn’t being followed, he made his way toward where he’d left Janet.
He hadn’t gone far at all when he walked right into her.
She’d defied him again. She’d followed him to the Menzies’ camp, risked her damned life to hear what he told Menzie…
Hell. She’d heard what he told Menzie.
Chapter Eleven
“Get movin’.”
Janet felt rooted to her spot. Menzie wasn’t going to leave until she married either him or Darach. How the hell did the men in her life keep getting her into the same troubles? Why would Darach claim to be her betrothed in the first place?
“Janet, come on with ye now.” His voice was so gentle it almost made her weep. She didn’t argue with him. “We’ll discuss this, aye?”
She nodded, still too stunned to take it all in. She had to marry Darach to avoid Roddie. Why would Darach do it? She was stunned by his promise to wed her, shaken to the core. Who was she to him that he should protect her so? How far would he go to prove his claim on her true? Her pitiful heart flipped. She didn’t mean anything to the Highlander. Did she? He was doing this for Ravenglade. Was the zeal of his dark promises to Roddie, should the chief go near her, sincere? Why would it be? He didn’t even like her. Did he?
“D’ye think he’ll be gone in the morning?”
“Nae,” he said behind her. “He’ll be here.” He didn’t sound happy about it, but why would he? Was he truly going to have to take on the Menzies alone? The men at Ravenglade were still recuperating from the last Menzie attack, when the bastards promised a peaceful talk inside. They would be of little help in a fight.
“What will we do?” she asked him, turning slightly over her shoulder. “And don’t tell me not to include myself, Darach. Ye know I will.”
Silence for a moment, then he said, “Aye, all right, then. The first thing we’re goin’ to do is get some sleep.”
She agreed that sleeping was important, but she wasn’t in the least bit sleepy. She looked off into the distance, wondering how far they were from home.
“Has the fire ring gone out?”
“Nae,” he answered quietly. “’Tis on the other side of the forest.”
She turned around to look at him behind her. There was little to see, save for the silhouette of his broad shoulders, the angles of his handsome face cast between darkness and the pale light of the moon. “Are we lost?”
It was mad, she knew, but she could see his eyes in the dim light, vast, moonlit fields beckoning her to join him, to trust him.
“Nae, lass,” he said softly, “we’re no’ lost. The fires are still burnin’ and we have nothin’ wet to aid us in goin’ through them. Fer that reason, and because we’re bein’ followed, we’ll be sleepin’ oot here tonight.”
Her heart pumped faster. She looked around but couldn’t see much. “Followed? How many? And why have ye waited until now to acknowledge it? Does nothing faze ye?”
“One. I didna’ mention him right away because there was no reason to tell ye until we come to that bend and I have a better chance of killing him. And verra’ few things faze me. Ye are one of them.”
She stared at his back as he passed her. She fazed him? How? There was no time to ask him as he led them around the bend to a small clearing, where he had a leather bag waiting. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to go through the fire with no protection. She, on the other hand, hadn’t thought her actions through at all.
“Stay here, Janet,” he said while he started a fire. “Give me yer word.”
She gave it. She knew they couldn’t get back inside Ravenglade through the tunnels with someone on their tail. She didn’t want to see what he had to do to keep them all safe and alive. She didn’t want to distract him and risk an injury. She waited by the flames, alone with the night sounds. To keep busy she went through his bag. She found water and a great plaid, which she laid out before the fire. Sitting on it, she rifled through the rest of his things. She found a small dagger and placed it on the blanket next to the dagger she’d brought with her. Feeling a touch safer with two weapons, she bit into an apple. A forest creature moved a little closer and made her wish Darach were there.
She looked down and eyed the plaid. Images of him sleeping… or not, washed over her and she was no longer able to push aside her trepidation about the night. She was going to have to sleep next to him, just as she had in her dreams. Lord help her. What if he kissed her again? What if she couldn’t sleep unless he did? She let the truth of her heart torture her. She loved him. She tried not to. She’d done her best to forget him for seven months, but she loved Darach Grant. The flint of steel in his eyes thrilled her to the bone and infuriated her. His mouth… oh, saints help her, his mouth carved by decadence and sinful pleasure, tempted her beyond all reason, and challenged her at every end. She knew who he was and what it made him, her kin’s enemy, no matter how much they smiled at him while they were the Grants’ tenants, and an extremely dangerous rogue because of the power her heart gave him.
But there were moments… moments when she forgot who he was and saw only a kind, extremely alluring, permanently arrogant, staunchly protective… guardian. Heaven knew she needed help. Was Darach it? She closed her eyes against the stars and drew her knees to her chin. She remembered his words to her the night he arrived.
… ’tis I come to save ye whether ye like it or no’.
Why would he do it? His cousin had sent him here to save his castle. Roddie had agreed to leave if she was handed over. Why was Darach ready to kill him and start a feud… over her?
