Page 22 of Falling for His Cousin’s Betrothed

“Robert, I don’t subscribe to that sort of defeat.” Laila tilted her head. “I’ve always been taught that one must fight for what is just and good.” She stopped again, this time placing a hand on the mare’s side. “She’s a good horse, by the way. What did you name her?”

“Bonnie.” Robert gave the equine’s neck a pat, then loosened the reins as they ambled along. “Bonnie Bell.” He looked down at his boot, then sighed. “I want to apologize for all of the chaos my presence has created. I caused you harm by allowing you to travel with me in the forest. Then all of the misery of facing Quest’s demise and the weather…” He paused and bit his lower lip. “I shouldn’t have exposed you in such a way. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Robert. I don’t need an apology. That adventure of ours will always remain close to my heart. I think of it with a sort of cheeky fondness, if you will.”

Robert laughed. “I’m sure tending to my wounds and witnessing the death of my horse wasn’t the most romantic of escapades.”

“Well, I look upon it as a bonding experience.” Laila chuckled and watched a group of children run across the field by the stream. The weather was warming up for a Scottish autumn, and she considered herself lucky to be on a walk with the man she desired.

“No. It was a poor decision on my part to put you in a position where your reputation could be sullied. I should have thought it through with more logic but I was so taken by your beauty.” He looked into her eyes and took a deep breath.

“We had no choice, Robert. We found each other in the strangest of places and under the direst of circumstances.” Laila looked as if she would cry. The last few days had filled her with such a wide range of emotions she wasn’t sure how to process them all.

“This is all true.” Robert sighed.

It was now cloudy, and they walked along the riverbank, watching as the same group of children they’d spotted earlier now continued their games along the sandy shore. One boy threw a ball high into the air, and another hit it forcefully with a long, pointed stick. Cheers of laughter erupted as they ran along the path until they could no longer be seen, the ball captivating their interests and taking them far beyond the bank.

“I remember when I first laid eyes on you in the forest.” Laila clutched her hands and leaned her head on Robert’s shoulder. “I was so worried for you. I thought you might have been dead.” Her eyes widened as she recalled his slumped body, the gaping wound on his head, the haunting moans of pain emanating from his mouth. “It was a serious situation.”

“That it was, lass.” Robert reached for her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. “You and I are truly bonded now because of it.”

“True.” They both stopped on the path and looked out over the shoreline. The sun was now low above the horizon, soft and yellow, reminding them of the many more mornings to come. Laila watched as it dipped lower behind the hills, then she tightened her scarf and looked back at Bonnie Bell. “She seems content with all of it.”

“Yes. She’s a good mare,” Robert replied.

“I still can’t recall why you were attacked, though. Did you ever tell me?” Laila realized she had never gotten the full story. With Robert being in and out of consciousness while they were in the woods, the only matter she had expressed interest in at that time was his survival. “What happened to get you out into that thicket to begin with?” Laila didn’t want to talk about Alastair, the arrangement, or anything else that would cause her grief. All she wanted right now was to become closer to Robert and to learn more about his story.

“I really have no idea who hit me,” he said, rubbing his head in reflection. “I suppose there are a few purported suspects, yet I can’t say with conviction that either of them are at fault.”

“And you don’t know why they would have followed you all the way out into the deep wilderness?”

“I do not.” Robert looked up and sighed. “But I do know I have you to thank for my survival. You took care of me, and most importantly, you believed I would survive.” Robert looked at the boys as they made their way slowly back toward the riverbank. He grinned for a second, remembering his own days as a youth, mornings filled with shinty and rugby, afternoons peppered with stickball and horse riding, nights sculpted by stone skimming and drinking.

“I wonder who was brazen enough to seek you out and strive to see you dead.” Now that they were back in the Highlands, far removed from the thicket and brambles, there was space to contemplate the attack. Who was at fault and why would they have come after him? Laila knew that the clans were predisposed to quarrel. That was a given, especially considering how tightly knit their relationships were. At the same time, she knew that none were so brutal as to carry out a hit on a laird, an earl, or a duke.

“My cousin is next in line for lairdship, but it still doesn’t quite make sense to me as to why I’d be a target. I don’t have any tight affiliations with the clan, and I don’t know who would be so angered as to see either him or I in a seat of power.” Robert shook his head.

“Do you trust him?”

“Alastair is blood, so I do trust him. In fact, after all these years of adulthood, I find that he’s one of the few people who I can. Why do you ask?”

“I’m wondering if he might’ve had anything to do with the attack. I suppose I feel that he might have an ulterior motive. I’m not sure what it is…can’t put my finger on it.”

“Laila, either way, he is my family, and I have to show him respect. Perhaps since you are going to soon be married to him, I can visit you on occasion at his castle and see that you are still as beautiful as you are right now.” He looked at her as the sun began its descent, the light settling on her cheekbones at just the right time. The warm light on her face gave her an angelic glow, and he wished, at that moment, that he could clutch her firmly in his arms and kiss her with sensuous desire.

“I believe it would only make me crazy to see you and not be able to touch you.” Laila held his hand and looked on, the sun now dipping beyond the riverbank, the light now subdued on her face. Robert looked over his shoulder and watched as Bonnie nibbled grass beside the hedgerow. He then got up, brushed the dust off his pant legs, and made his way to the boulder that overlooked the river. He leaned against it and watched as Laila gathered a few stones. After a brief silence, the two walked together to where Bonnie grazed and decided to head on to the square for some baked goods.

“I should hope that we meet again soon, Laila. I know you aren’t enthused with having to marry Alastair, but maybe it will work out in the end for you both.”

“You don’t believe that. Do you?”

“Right now, I only believe that you and I should enjoy a beer from the inn .”

“Fair enough!” Laila laughed, and they continued their journey into town.