“Then let us break bread, for I understand ye have ordered yer men to pack up yer camp so ye may journey to another village,” Fraser said.
“Given our success, I believe we will return to Sands Airgid early,” Kai said.
The news pleased Miran, for she preferred the comfort of her bedchamber to a tent, and the warmth of the manor house over the winter cold. “Has there been news of Cadha?” she asked.
“Nay,” Fraser said. “If yer maid travelled northward, someone would have seen her, for we send riders out every day to patrol our lands. We may be few in number, but we prefer to be well-informed if someone is planning to attack. And as for the sea, tis not the time of year for ships.”
“I appreciate ye making an effort to find her,” Kai said. “The longer she is missing, the more I believe she has met a cruel end.” He gazed at Miran.
“Let us hope the woman dinna suffer,” Fraser said with a grim expression. “The northern region is sparsely populated as ye know, villages few, civilized men even fewer.”
After what Cadha had done to Miran, she deserved to suffer—at least the darker side of her felt so. However, the merciful side, the part of Miran that feared God and felt compassion, hoped for a miracle—that Cadha had found her way back to Sands Airgid.
Several hours after the morning meal, Miran and Kai, her maids, the soldiers, and the new additions to their ranks were on the path to the last village, southeast of Lagrith. Kai rode close to Miran, never letting her out of his sight.
“Ye know we are dangerously close to Sutherland territory,” she teased him.
He shrugged. “Maybe I need a form of entertainment before we return home.”
“Ye would seek out a fight?”
“I welcome battle any time.”
“Ye are no different than any man, then. I am disappointed, Captain, for I thought ye had more sense than the average Highlander.”
“Am I no’ a Highlander?” he said in that brogue.
She eyed him, imagining his golden skin, his chiseled body, those strong arms hidden under his tartan and fur cloak. “Aye, ye’re a Highlander if ever I saw one.”
He chuckled, throwing his head back. “Did I not tell you, Miran. When I gave up my past, I meant it wholeheartedly.”
She dinna doubt him. But why? The life he had, the life he could probably get back if he returned to Constantinople. Surely his father, his beloved mother would welcome him with open arms. It had been years since he’d seen them, years since his sire’s betrayal. Forgiveness would come over time.
“If I were ye, I’d go home.”
Kai reigned his horse in, slowing down, grabbing the lead on her mare. “What did you say?”
His reaction surprised her. “I dinna mean to upset ye.”
Colin rode up to them. “Is everything all right, Captain?”
“Lead the others onward. We will catch up shortly.”
“Sir?” Colin said, obviously concerned.
“I require a moment alone with Lady Miran. If it will make you feel better, Colin, have a couple soldiers stay within shouting distance of us.”
“As ye say.” Colin bowed his head and rode on.
“Why are we stopping?” Miran asked.
“I believe we have unfinished business, lass.”
“I doona like when ye call me lass!”
“Why not?”
Because it had a way of making her feel frantic. He had a command of many languages, often said things in a tongue she couldna understand, or enunciated common words in a way that made her wish she could be somewhere else. “Ye know how to manipulate me so I feel unsure of myself.”
