“So, who is she?” Lachlan asked.
He should have known he wouldn’t escape the grilling so easily. Niall turned to his brothers. All of them stared at him intently, arms crossed, which meant they weren’t going to go anywhere until he answered them. Even his mother and the two younger lads looked expectant.
He gave them a brief accounting of what had happened to Annie, finishing with what, he hoped, would put an end to the questioning. “I had to get her out of Glasgow. Any of ye would have done the same.”
“’Tis one thing to get the lass away from danger.” Lachlan raised a brow. “’Tis another to bring her home with ye.”
Rauri poked Ewan and laughed. “Like a rescued kitten.”
Gavin gave the younger boys a look. “I doona think Niall considers the lass a kitten.”
“I doona ken,” Cory, one of the twins, said. “Kittens have sharp claws—”
“And that one looks like she does, too,” Carr, the other twin, finished the sentence. “If I were Niall, I would take care nae to get scratched.”
Niall turned on them. “If I wereye—both of ye—I would take care what words I choose to speak. ’Twas Annie who stayed by my side while I lay fevered on the ship. ’Twas Annie who talked me back from near death. ’Twas Annie who got mehere—”
“Ye owe her much, son,” his mother said. “If she needs a safe haven, she is welcome at our home in Arisaig for however long she needs it.”
“A generous offer, but one that has already been made.” Ian stepped down from the steps. “We have ample room here. Jillian has already taken to her and I’ve learned to trust my wife’s instincts.”
“And avoid her wrath, mayhap?” Braden asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
Ian grimaced. “That too. Perhaps we should all go inside before she has reason to chastise my hospitality.”
“A good idea,” Niall said and offered his arm to his mother, walking ahead of his brothers to the door.
He might have eliminated the incessant questions he’d seen lingering in their eyes for now, but he knew it was only postponement before they started asking all sorts of personal questions about Annie.
Questions he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer.
Chapter Twenty-One
The MacDonalds left five days later, thundering out the gate at a full gallop, the same way they’d arrived. The castle, even with servants bustling about their daily work, suddenly seemed silent as a tomb. Even the twins’ constant shenanigans felt subdued. It was almost as though Niall’s brothers were their own vortex of energy, zapping everything in their path.
Annie looked up from the book she’d been attempting to read when she heard footsteps outside the parlor. Almost as though she’d conjured him, Niall appeared in the doorway, dressed casually in breeches and boots with a riding coat over a linen shirt open at the throat. For a moment she felt something almost like panic at his attire. Was he planning to ride after his family, after all? They’d decided—or rather Ian and Jillian had—that Niall and Annie would remain here for another week or two.
“Are ye planning to go somewhere?”
Niall nodded. “I thought I would ride into the woods and finally thank the old crone who saved my life.”
Annie started to say he really shouldn’t be riding, but stopped herself. It had been a week and she doubted Niall would accept any more excuses for not getting on a horse. It had been a minor miracle that he’d refrained from brawling during the past several days, since his brothers seemed to enjoy provoking each other. Annie suspected their continual badgering of each other was just a reason to trade punches that often had them rolling in the dirt. If she lived a century, she’d never understand why men liked to fight.
“Are the twins going to show ye where the cottage is?”
“Nae.” Niall smiled. “Jillian said the crone has a tendency to disappear when she’s disturbed. Ian gave me directions.”
“Is it far?”
“Perhaps a mile. Would ye like to go with me?”
“Aye.” Annie closed her book and set it down. Fresh air, especially on a day that was unseasonably warm and filled with sunshine, was probably just what she needed. A ride through the countryside, even a short one, sounded wonderful. And she’d learned that protocol was much more relaxed in the Highlands. Even when Ian’s twin nieces had gone riding with Niall’s twin brothers, no one had accompanied them. There would be no need for a chaperone for a short afternoon ride…or even a riding habit. “I’ll go change into my breeches.”
“I’ll get the horses saddled, then.”
Ten minutes later they were on their way. Thankfully, the forest lay behind the castle and they did not have to use the treacherous shale path that led down to the loch. It took less than half an hour to reach the tree line. The fragrant scent of pine filled the air while patches of brown leaves still clung to oak branches overhead. Bracken crackled beneath the horses’ hooves as they went deeper into the shadowed recesses of the forest.
“Ye are sure ye ken the way?” Annie asked as the vegetation and trees grew more dense.
