Even though Flora’s own body shook with fear, she forced herself to put on a brave face. Drawing on the last of herstrength, she put an arm around her friend, who was most upset. When they’d been held, Flora had taken pride in her ability to keep her head level; now, that ability was being put to the ultimate test.
“Fate has ensured we all survived,” Gabriella said, giving Flora the best approximation of a smile that she could muster, “and now, it’s time that ye start worryin’ about yerself. Ye look dead on yer feet, Flora. Are ye sure ye’re all right?”
“I’m as fine as I can be,” Flora assured her as she untangled herself from the other girl. It was as close to the truth as she was willing to utter. She forced herself to remain steady as she watched her friend intently. “If we have truly been rescued, then I will recover. We all will.”
Gabriella started to say something else, but immediately stopped when Laird McGowan approached them. His shadow stretched between the two girls, and it was even more imposing than his physical form. Flora stared at him, blinking slowly as she waited for his declaration.
Lucas was his name, she learned. And it seemed as if he was highly respected by the other men that had come to their rescue. All of them deferred to the man, and while she hadn’t heard the conversations that were taking place, she could tell that whatever he said was law here.
I daenae ken if they’re actually rescuin’ us… I daenae ken if we can trust them. But they’re nae rough with us like the others were. That must count for somethin’.
“This is all of the girls they abducted, aye?” Lucas asked, his eyes lingering on Flora. He looked down at her injuries, his brow furrowing before his gaze flitted back to her face. “We daenae need to go lookin’ for any others?”
“Nay,” Gabriella breathed when Flora didn’t immediately respond, her voice shaking. She was taking charge, likely in an attempt to shoulder some of the burden along with Flora. “Nay, this… this is all of us.”
While Flora thought that Gabriella was telling the truth as best she could, her mind flashed to a cell at the end of the corridor. They’d all believed it to be empty as they’d never seen it opened, but she’d thought that she’d heard crying from the cell on more than one occasion. And once, in the dead of night, she was sure that a man was barking orders into the room.
But if there were someone else, we’d ken, wouldnae we?
Flora nodded after a moment to confirm Gabriella’s story, giving Lucas a tight smile. She knew that the other girls were looking to her for how they should react to their new situation. From her perspective, they didn’t have any better options. There was no way they could get away from their rescue party, and even if theycould, they didn’t have anywhere to go.
“That’s good to hear,” Lucas said gruffly, still watching Flora. “When me men get back, we’ll start back to the castles. Ye’re goin’ to be split to make it more difficult for anyone we dinnae find to come after ye.”
Flora glanced down the path that the men had ridden down shortly after they’d gathered the men participating in the hunt. In the end, it had taken longer for them to track down all of the women. It felt wrong to be so proud of the girls, but they had fought to survive.
Perhaps we’re nae as weak as those monsters thought we were.
As the Laird watched his men approaching, Flora let herselfreallylook at him. He was so muscular that she could nearly see the definition of his arms through his doublet. It unsettled her, though a small thrill ran through her that she was too exhausted to attempt to name. If she let herself believe that he would keep her and her friends safe, then she knew that he would be more than capable of protecting them from anything that dared threaten them.
And his face…
It had been difficult to make out all of his features beneath his beard while he’d been fighting. Now, she could see that he kept it well-groomed, trimmed, and clean, and under the hair, he had a strong jawline. Her eyes drifted to his mouth, and Flora found herself wondering if a man’s mouth should look so soft.
I may have hit me head. I daenae ken what’s happenin’ to me.
“I’m goin’ to check on the others,” Gabriella muttered in her ear.
Flora followed her gaze to where the other two girls had drifted. She nodded, gesturing for Gabriella to go ahead. As soon as the girl was gone, Flora wrapped her arms around herself, feeling more alone than she thought she had any right to.
She jumped slightly when Laird McGowan stepped closer to her a few moments later. He wasn’t touching her, but there was barely an inch between the two of them. The heat from his body warmed her own, and she nearly leaned into him to absorb more of it. She hadn’t realized until now how cold she was.
“Are ye feelin’ well?” he asked, his voice low, only for her to hear. “I ken ye told yer friend ye were, but I can tell ye’re battered. Are ye hidin’ any injury that I cannae see?”
Flora stared up into his gray eyes, no longer stormy without an ongoing fight. He’d smoothed his hair, so it wasn’t so wild, and since the wind had stopped, it lay perfectly in place. He was handsome, she realized, and that made him all the more intimidating.
It meant that he could get away with more nefarious things.
She opened her mouth to tell him that she felt fine now that she was no longer trying to run, but nothing came out. It was as if the words became lodged in her throat. She tried again, more forceful this time, but still, she couldn’t speak—not to him.
Instead, she nodded, giving him the most genuine smile she could muster. Then she looked down at the ground, wondering why panic gripped her each time she attempted to speak toLucas. It was a frustrating, limiting development. There were so many questions swirling around in her head, but she didn’t think she’d be able to voice a single one.
Where was Castle McGowan, and how far away was it? How long would she be there? Where were the other girls going, and were they all going to be forced into labor? Were they in debt to the Laird now that he’d saved them?
It was as if the questions were all on the tip of her tongue, but Flora couldn’t get a single word out. Her frustration only seemed to make the issue worse. She bit her tongue as her brain tried to force her lips to say anything. Her eyes burned as though she were about to cry, and that was enough to stop her from trying. If the other girls saw her upset, their fragile mental barriers might come down too.
She shuffled closer to Gabriella, opening and closing her hands. When her friend tilted her head in question, Flora whispered, “I daenae ken what will happen now that they’ve… helped us.”
“Are ye suggestin’ we run?” Gabriella replied, her eyes flashing to Lucas, who was watching his men approach. “Now?”
