He set his finger under her chin, lifting her face so he could take a closer look. “Where did you get the cuts on your face then?”
“Cuts? Oh, must be from when I escaped last eve. I ran through the forest and couldn’t see in the dark, so I got caught by the brambles. Are there that many?”
Her father just arched his brow at her, and she scowled, wondering why Gil hadn’t said anything.
“Papa, have you seen Gil? Is he hale?”
“Aye, he’s over there giving a couple of fools a battering with his fists. Even with a slice in his leg that nearly cut it in two, he’s still able to handle two men by himself. I guess he’ll be able to protect my daughter, should he choose to ask for your hand, Lizzie.” He put particular emphasis on the nickname, which she’d asked everyone in the family to stop using when she was ten summers.
“He’s the only one I allow to call me that, Papa,” she said, lifting her brow.
“Don’t I know it. I remember when you said we all had to stop calling you that. It switched to Eliza and then Liz and then none.” He crossed his arms and looked down at her with such emotion it nearly choked her up.
“I love you, Papa. I don’t like watching you fight.”
“Your mother has coddled you in that respect, but I’m quite proud of you for escaping. How did you get out of the tower? ’Tis a long drop, lass.”
“I was on the second floor. I waited until dark and then tied the ropes from the canopy together, climbed out the window, and went out the back wall. I wasn’t going to marry him, Papa. Gil is to be my husband.”
He gave her another odd look, then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I guess I’ll have to finally let you go,daughter, but I’ll always love you. You knew we’d come, didn’t you?”
“Aye, but I thought I was in England.”
Her father drawled, “So did I.”
Gil appeared behind her father with Loki and Thorn next to him. She shifted, ready to run to him, but he shook his head. The longing in his eyes told her that he had only held back out of respect for her father, so she listened.
Her father turned around. “Who do I have to thank for stopping the pot of boiling oil from pouring on my head?”
Loki and Thorn both pointed at Gil.
“Stone from his slinger hit one of them right between the eyes,” Thorn said.
Gil added, “Loki must have heard me because he took out the second one.”
“My thanks to both of you.” Then he narrowed his attention on Gil. “You met someone from your past over there in the corner?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Elizabeth finally returns home, ready to declare her love,
but Alex asserts his rights as a father.
The Grant war whoop echoed out over the land as Jake and Connor arrived with more Grant guards.
The worst was finally over.
They arranged to have Magnus escort MacTear to the magistrate, along with some of his men. The rest would be settled under Grant guards until word came back from Edinburgh. Gil settled Lizzie on his horse, then mounted behind her. Before the horse could take a single step, Alex Grant came bounding up next to them on his warhorse.
He held his hand out to his daughter. “Sorry, Gil, but this honor still belongs to me.” Then he gave his daughter a look she’d never seen, one of a vulnerable man. “Elizabeth, I feared I’d lost you, one way or the other. Do an old man a favor.”
“Oh, Papa, you’ll make me cry.”
Gil didn’t hesitate. He lifted Elizabeth, his strong, capable hands wrapped around her waist, and settled her in front of her father.
They rode back, Jamie, Jake, and Connor in the lead, with Alex, Loki, Thorn, and Gil behind them. About ten score of warriors took up the rear of the group. It was a ride of joy and celebration, though it would take them a couple of hours to reach the castle.
When they were far enough from the others not to be overheard, her father said, “Now I’d like to hear just exactly what this lad means to you. I’m going to lose you to him, am I not?”
