Page 44 of A Dangerous Highland Affair

“Nae fash, we’ll manage that wi’ nae bother,” said Neacal, taking up the reins again and bringing the mare to a slightly pacier trot.

“That’s what we thought yesterday, afore the weather an’ the night intervened,” said Teasag. “An’ o’ course, the horse was tired… I mean, I want to reach the toon afore those clouds reach me!”

“Aye,” said Neacal. “An’ we shall…. There’s a point on the road where it leads into Blackness. I can leave ye to go on yer way an’ I’ll continue on foot back to the vill…,” Neacal stopped himself dead before looking over to Teasag. He didn’t want to give away too much about where he was going or what he was doing.

Unfortunately, Teasag had other ideas.

“Which village?” she asked, her frown deepening. “There is nae village close by, at least, there ne’er used to be!” she said, turning to look at him properly for the first time in ages.

Teasag fixed Neacal with the full beam of her aqua eyes. In the bright morning light, they were clear and bright, not a trace of tiredness from the night spent sleeping in the open. Neacal marveled at their perfection.

“Och, um, it’s just a wee small place,” he said, trying to make light of what he’d just said. “It’s nae worth bothering aboot, a few miles west,” he indicated somewhere vaguely behind them, hoping that Teasag would be satisfied.

“So then, what’s yer plans when ye arrive in the toon?” he asked. Of course, he wanted to know every detail about Teasag, but as his deep blue eyes smiled at hers, he had an ulterior motive for his question; hopefully, it would stop her questions.

Waiting for an answer, Neacal quickly scanned the misty green landscape around them. Although it looked as if they were alone on the winding path, for now, the twists and turns of the road made it impossible to know if someone else would be along at any moment.

“I dinnae ken,” she said flatly. From the sound of her voice, she didn’t want to discuss the matter further. Then, with a slight bite in her tone, she looked up at Neacal. “Ye dinnae ha’ to go wi’ me any further, if it’s going to put ye to any trouble. The place ye pointed to is several miles awa’ already!”

“Absolutely nae, it is nae trouble!” he said, but even as he said it, he looked warily over his shoulder.

Neacal knew all too well how easy it was to be ambushed in areas such as this. He was adamant he wouldn’t leave Teasag alone there, even though going nearer to Blackness was out of his way and fraught with other menaces.

The raincloud following them around the glen side was threatening to catch up, and mindful of this, Neacal took the reins of the nut-brown mare again and urged her to move quickly.

Trotting along, Teasag recovered herself a little, and Neacal felt her fingers digging into his ribs with a small nudge.

“Listen, I’m sorry if I was off wi’ ye afore. It’s just, this journey has set me thinking,” she said wistfully. When he glanced, Neacal saw her looking thoughtfully out to the slowly emerging town on the horizon.

“Aye, the dreaded homecoming,” said Neacal solemnly. “I ken it all too well!”

It was meant to be lighthearted, but the look that Teasag gave him was anything but.

“Aye, it is,” she said softly. “I was meant to ha’ fame an’ fortune afore noo!” she smiled ruefully. Neacal wanted nothing more than to take her hand, but rounding a windy mud track in a gale-force wind meant he needed to keep both hands firmly on the reins.

“At the very least, I was meant to ha’ some coin in my pocket an’ some prospects o’ more!” she added, bringing a more practical look to her face. “An’ I suppose I’m just a wee bit bothered that maybe some folks will look at me an’ wonder what I am doin’ back, wi’ nothing or naebody…!”

Neacal observed Teasag’s face. He knew he should be keeping his eyes peeled against the vista up ahead, but the sadness in her voice cut through him.

“Naebody?” Neacal said, inquiringly. This was the first time that Teasag had made a reference to anything like this. Of course, since last night, he had been surreptitiously trying to find out whether she was seeing someone. And although she had been coy about telling him in so many words, he was rather hoping her kiss had said it all.

Not that it mattered, for after this journey, they might never see each other again, a thought that made Neacal shiver involuntarily with dismay.

“Aye, well, ye ken, maybe it’s different for a man, but folks expect a lassie to ha’ plans for marriage by the time she’s the ripe age o’ twenty-one!” she said. Her words were teasing, and her eyes flashed with humor, but the tone of her voice was serious.

“Any man would be privileged to ha’ ye,” Neacal said, choosing his words carefully. In the silence between them, it had been hard to know what to say for the best.

And the longer they rode in silence, the more fearful he became that he had done something wrong.

“Mm,” said Teasag, with a faint, dismissive wave of the hand. “O’ course, I’m nae interested in all that, at the moment!”

At that moment, a raging gust chose to take her handkerchief and fling it crazily into the wind, blowing it away like a linen bird. “Nae!” yelped Teasag failing to catch it.

“An’ that shows ye how my luck is!” she said, pouting for a second before her features softened into a smile. “Still, it could be worse, at least I’ve got my brother to stay wi… what about ye? Ha’ ye got any family yer going to see?”

Teasag brought her arm around Neacal’s body once more, this time locking it extra firmly around her other hand. Securely bound together and entwined around his waist, Neacal felt the heat of her touch reach the base of his spine. A feeling of bliss catapulted through him.

“Family?” asked Neacal, distracted. He was veering off into a fantasy. All he could think about was the thrill of her touch - all other thoughts were secondary.