Kicking.
Punching.
Pinching, aye, pinching!
A crazed wildness about her that he had never seen anyone possess—sane or mad. Somehow he managed to pin her arms behind her and lifted her bodily against him while Finlay dragged himself up from kneeling in the creek.
“If you take her back tae the convent this very night, Gabriel, none of us would fault you for it!”
* * *
Hearingthe strapping warrior’s pronouncement only made Magdalene struggle all the harder, even though her arms were useless against Gabriel’s steely grip.
Aye, it was working! Her plan was working! She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to sneak away from him while he relieved himself—though her cheeks flared hot at the memory of hearing such a thing. For a second she had feared his gesture in the woods for her to lift her skirt had meant he wanted to…wanted to—
“Wife,enough!”
Gabriel’s voice filled with such anger that she felt a moment’s fear, Magdalene nonetheless continued to wriggle against him though he began to crash through the trees with her toward the clearing.
Aye, she’d done it now and he was going to head right back to the convent, no matter that Seoras had ordered they must reside together at MacLachlan Castle!
Escaped from him right under his nose while he had watered the tree.
Kicked his hulking warrior between the legs, although she really hadn’t meant to—and then kicked Gabriel in the same place, not her intention at all even if it had worked to her advantage. Who would have thought that could bring two grown men to their knees?
Such relief filled her that her ordeal would soon be over, Magdalene felt tears burn her eyes.
Thank goodness she had slept away most of the journey so she’d had plenty of strength to make good on her attempt to escape. She had come so close, too, to clearing the creek and setting off into the opposite woods until Finlay—aye, that was the giant’s name—had caught her from behind, making her shriek in surprise.
So she hadn’t escaped, but what did it matter? She couldn’t wait until she saw the look on Sister Agnes’s face to have her back again—and so soon! She knew the Reverend Mother loved her like a granddaughter and would welcome her with open arms—
“Back on your horses, men!” came Gabriel’s stern command, the flurry of activity around them truly amazing to see as Magdalene’s excitement only grew. “We canna stay here now for all the commotion. God knows who might have heard my wife scream.”
“Aye, Gabriel, we couldna believe it, either—och, you’ve got your hands full with that one,” said Cameron while Conall stepped forward to help.
“Shall I lift her up tae you?”
Magdalene exhaled in a whoosh as she felt herself fairly tossed into Conall’s arms while Gabriel mounted, but only for a moment before she was hoisted up unceremoniously onto the saddle.
Right back where she started, Gabriel’s arm clamping tightly around her, his other hand jerking at the reins.
“We’ll not sleep tonight, but stop a short while here and there tae rest and water the horses. With that pace, we’ll be well on our way back tae MacLachlan Castle by daylight. Ride, men!”
MacLachlan Castle?
Stunned, Magdalene stiffened within Gabriel’s embrace, but he only held her all the tighter.
His angry breath fanning her ear.
Frustrated tears tumbling down her cheeks.
Chapter 5
“Home at last.”
Magdalene didn’t stir at Gabriel’s words, his exhaustion evident in the loosening of his grip around her. Instead she kept her eyes closed, her head lowered as the din of voices shouting out greetings to him and his men grew louder.
Finally, she could breathe properly! He’d held her so tightly for much of the journey that her ribs ached, which made her feel certain that she’d find angry purple bruises upon her skin from his rough treatment.
