Why did his horse stand there so patiently while hers felt the need to prance about and embarrass her?
But what amazed her most was the way Ewan looked on top of his horse as he controlled the powerful, spirited steed with ease. He sat confidently in his saddle with a raw masculine aura that brought heat to her cheeks and a strange pounding to her chest.
Even ill-kept and half-drunk, he was an incredibly handsome man and she couldn’t help but wonder what he would look like with a bath, a shave and fresh clothes.
Truly, he would be devastating.
Perhaps his condition was a godsend after all. Dressed as he was, it was much easier for her to remember that he was nothing like the type of man she fancied.
That he was as ill-refined as any man could possibly be. He lacked manners and couth.
But what he lacked in personality, he more than made up for in looks...
Nora!
She shook herself mentally. Whatever was the matter with her? She was acting like her mother’s maid who was ever quick to chase after any passably handsome man, with no regards to the man’s heart or consequences of her actions.
Nora always looked at what a man was on the inside. A pretty package might be beautiful to behold, but if it contained an asp, it was better cast aside than cradled to one’s bosom.
She’d lived her life always by that motto and no one, not even Ewan MacAllister, was going to change her.
Without a glance back at her, Ewan clucked his tongue at his mount, and spurred it forward.
Once more, Nora was incredulous at his actions as he and the horse tore across the craggy land where any step could send both man and horse flying into peril.
Why, they’d be lucky if the two of them didn’t break their necks!
“Well, if you be thinking that I intend to run after you at that careless pace, you’ve another think coming, Ewan MacAllister,” she said, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her.
He might be Lord High-and-Mighty with a horse, but she wasn’t so foolish with her life. She actually wanted to get to England in one piece.
So she urged her mare forward and trotted much more carefully through the mossy landscape.
When she reached the edge of the meadow, Ewan was stopped and waiting for her with one hand fisted on his hip. His horse strained restlessly against the bit wanting to run some more, but Ewan held him under control.
By his face, she could tell the man was greatly peeved at her.
“Gathering wool, are we?”
“Nay,” she said primly, “merely practicing irritating you and by the looks of your face, I’d say I’m doing a rather remarkable job of it. My mother always says that any effort worth pursuing is worth pursuing well.”
Growling, he scratched at his beard and eyed her fiercely. She wondered if the man even knew how to smile. If he realized just how fierce a specter he looked.
“You’re a spoiled lass, aren’t you?”
“Aye” She tilted her head impishly. “My father says ‘tis one of my more endearing qualities.”
He grunted at that, then turned his horse about and led her into the thick forest.
This time, his pace was much more reasonable. So much so that she had little trouble keeping up with him.
Now that they were in closer proximity, Nora began asking the questions she’d wanted to ask earlier. “How long will it take us to reach your brother’s castle? We are on MacAllister land, are we not?”
“Aye,” he said, his gaze focused on the area before them. “But we’re on the outer reaches of it. I can usually make the ride in a day and a half, but if you insist on this pace, it will probably take us a year or more to reach it.”
She scoffed at him. “Do you always race about like a madman, then?”
He didn’t answer.
