She was softening.
An uneven bit of road caused her to lift from her saddle and land with enough force to rattle her teeth, but her mount barely seemed to notice. The destrier (her mare had come up lame after she’d fallen) belonged to Duncan’s Irishman. The beast was far too big for her, but after her fall she appreciated its solid strength.
She didn’t even want to think what would have happened had Duncan not arrived when he did.
Though she would not mourn the death of the Mackintosh brigand who’d tried to abduct her, she did regret that it had been at Duncan’s hand. For a moment she worried that there would be a battle, that the Mackintoshes would seek to avenge their leader’s death. But after a tense moment they’d gathered up his body and left. The rash young captain had signed his own death warrant by trying to shoot Duncan in the back. He’d gotten no better than he’d deserved.
But Jeannie doubted his father would agree. The dead captain, the man who’d tried to abduct her, was the Mackintosh chief’s youngest son. And there was another problem to consider. The older Mackintosh warrior had recognized Duncan. She wanted to question him about it, but there hadn’t been an opportunity. As the path was too narrow to ride two abreast, conversing was impossible. In truth, she was too anxious to do so. Though Duncan had assured her that Ella was unharmed, Jeannie wouldn’t truly believe it until she had her little girl in her arms.
The torches were blazing by the time they thundered through the castle gate and the ghostly mist had settled low over the gray stone walls. She didn’t wait for assistance. As soon as the groomsman took her reins, she hopped down and raced up the stairs.
She burst through the door and the first thing she saw was her daughter. Ella stood in the entry, looking up at her with eyes wide, cheeks rosy from the fire, and the most abashed expression Jeannie had ever seen on her face. Her tiny mouth trembled. “I’m sorry, mother.”
Tears sprang to Jeannie’s eyes. Emotion engulfed her in a big, hot wave. All that she could have lost suddenly crashed down over her. She didn’t say anything, just knelt to the ground and gathered her child in her arms, holding on to her as if she would never let her go.
She glanced up and through the tears saw that Duncan had come up behind her. Their eyes met. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He bowed his head.
The tears flowed until Ella started to wriggle. Jeannie took her by her small shoulders and held her a few feet away from her, giving her the sternest look she could manage at the moment. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again. Do you realize what could have happened?”
Ella bit her lip. “I didn’t think anyone would confuse me for a deer.”
Jeannie paled. “What!”
Duncan winced at her side.
Ella looked up at him uncertainly and bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I?”
He shook his head and then looked at Jeannie. “I thought I’d wait until later to fill you in on all the details.”
Jeannie looked back and forth between the two of them. “One of you had better tell me exactly what happened.”
Duncan sighed. “It was hard to see through the snow and trees. Ella was partially behind a bush and with her clothes”—Jeannie noticed that Ella was still wearing the clothing she’d purloined from her brother’s trunk—“one of my men thought she was a deer.”
Jeannie sank to the floor and looked up at him. “You stopped him.” She didn’t need to ask, she knew.
He nodded.
Overwhelmed, Jeannie sat in stunned silence.
Ella eyed her warily. “Mother? Are you all right?”
Jeannie shook her head. The tears and hot swell of emotion were choking her again. He’d saved her daughter’s life.
Duncan held out his hand and helped her up.
“I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?” Ella asked Duncan.
He gave her a solemn nod.
Jeannie recovered enough to find her breath. “You disobeyed me, Ella. I told you I didn’t want you hunting. You can’t just run off like that and do whatever you want just because it seems like a good idea.”
One man had lost his life, and only by a miracle had it not been two. William had been found with an arrow in his back, but was still breathing.
Ella tilted her head, her little mind clearly at work. “Did you get in trouble for running off, too?”
Duncan made a sharp sound that he quickly covered up with a cough, but Jeannie glared at him anyway. Ella was quick witted—too quick witted for her own good. Her innocent remark rang uncomfortably true. “I’m an adult, Ella. I can make my own decisions. And I made sure people knew where I was going.”
