“Peace,” he said, shaking firmly.
“Peace,” the laird replied. “Lindsey, I have fresh clothes to replace those if you desire. They are somewhat ripe.”
“Very much so,” Lindsey replied.
She changed in a side-room, listening as Tavish and the laird talked about what rumors were spreading regarding the English king. Once she was changed, she walked back out to find both men on their feet.
The laird turned to her. “Now you should both make haste. Your companion tells me you wish to free your father from captivity.”
“Aye,” Tavish said, picking up the velvet bag before turning to Lindsey. “Ready, lass?”
“I am,” she replied.
The laird took them to the stable. “This is a fine beast,” he said, slapping a black horse on the flank. “Name of Dom after me. He will serve you well. God speed Tavish Sinclair and may you safely return to your home, Lindsey MacMillan.”
“Farewell,” Tavish said, helping Lindsey onto the horse before climbing up behind her.
“Goodbye,” Lindsey called over her shoulder as they rode through the courtyard. Behind her, the laird and apothecary waved until they were out of sight.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Tavish said, leaning forward and kissing her forehead before laughing properly for the first time in days. “You just walked intae MacIntyre castle and retrieved the stone without even breaking intae a sweat.”
“I don’t know about that,” she replied, trying to ignore the tingle running up the back of her spine. “The climb up the garderobe wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.”
“We have the stone,” Tavish said. “Ah can go home at last.”
Lindsey winced. She hadn’t thought about it for some time but he had just reminded her. She was going home too. Her time with Tavish Sinclair was almost at an end.
All she would have to remember him was a kiss and a locket. It would have to do. She had warned herself not to get too close. It was her own fault if this hurt. The kiss meant far more to her than to him. That was clear. He didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that she was going.
She had done what she’d promised. It was time to go back to where she belonged. Put all this behind her. Get the locket, quit her job, put her all into doing up the house with her mother. That was what mattered, not the smell and heat coming from the man mountain on the horse behind her, her arm around her waist, making her feel so safe she could cry.
