Page 16 of Highland Steel

“What?” spat Newell. “You think Highlanders are going to take us in? They hate the English. They call us Sassenachs. If we go to their clan, we’ll have our throats slit as we sleep.”

Upon hearing this, Blaine wailed louder.

“Stop it!” she spat, glaring at her brother. “Now take Blaine and finish preparing our horses. And I don’t want to hear another word about us dying.”

“Stop being so bossy,” said Newell, still sore at her for taking back her sword.

“Get going,” she ordered, pushing them gently toward the horses while she took off for the stables to talk to Logan and find them a place to live.

When she approached the group, all of the men except for Caleb were huddled in a circle off to the side of the stable talking silently. They were no longer laughing. They seemed to be looking down at something but she couldn’t see what.

“What’s so interesting?” she asked, causing them all to jump. She giggled, since she didn’t think anything could startle a Highlander.

“God’s toes, it’s only ye,” said Logan, holding his hand to his chest.

“You almost sound disappointed,” she replied, feeling suddenly unwanted. “Who were you expecting?”

“We thought it was Caleb,” said Ethan.

“And a guid thing is wasna,” added Hawke. “Logan, Caleb is goin’ to have yer head.”

“What do you mean?” asked Rhoswen. “What are you looking at?”

“Dinna fash yerself about it,” said Logan, stepping up, trying to hide something.

“Let me see.”

“Nay,” answered Ethan, also stepping in front of her to block her view.

Rhoswen’s eyes flicked from one man to the other. She was never going to get results if she had to overpower them. Instead, she would have to outsmart them instead.

“All right. I’ll be waiting for you by the tavern,” she said, turning and pretending to leave. She saw Caleb emerge from the tavern, and stop to talk to her brother and sister. Looking back over her shoulder, she waited until the men had turned back around. Then she spun around and ran up to them, pushing between them before they had a chance to stop her. She laughed, until she looked down to the ground and saw Logan’s wolf eating an animal. It was a long, skinny animal, covered in blood.

“Oh!” she cried, reaching out and grasping on to Logan’s arm. Her eyes opened wide and she felt as if she were going to retch.

“Bid the devil, Rhoswen, we told ye no’ to look,” said Logan.

“W-what is . . . that?” she asked, horrified to see the mutilation.

“It’s just Jack’s meal,” said Logan.

“How awful.” She raised her hand and hid her eyes. Logan reached out and put his arm around her shoulders. Liking the way it felt, she leaned in close, resting her head against Logan’s chest.

“He’s a wolf,” Logan reminded her. “He hunts to eat and has to eat to live. It’s the way of nature.”

“I know. But w-what was that?” she asked, not sure she wanted to know.

“It looks like some sort of weasel, as far as we can tell,” said Hawke.

“A weasel?” Her heart jumped. Suddenly it all made sense. They were looking at a dead weasel and also didn’t want Caleb there. “Is it . . . Caleb’s pet?”

“We canna really tell, but it damned well could be,” said Ethan.

“Logan, Caleb is goin’ to kill ye for this,” said Hawke, staring at the wolf and shaking his head.

“What am I goin’ to kill Logan for?” asked Caleb, surprising them, since they didn’t know he’d walked up behind them. Even Rhoswen jumped this time.

“Caleb,” said Logan. “We didna ken ye were there.”