Page 63 of A Dangerous Highland Affair

Then, almost as soon as she’d appeared, the woman disappeared. It happened so fast that Teasag had to rub her eyes to make sure what she saw was real.

In an eyeblink, the cat-like woman had gathered herself up, giving her long brown hair a shake, and simply disappeared, dissolving into the open and vanishing, like a puff of smoke.

Yet the imprint of the mysterious woman left Teasag with the uneasy sensation that she had been seen, and the woman was still watching her from afar.

Glancing around nervously, Teasag wondered where she had gone. It was not like there was anything for the woman to hide behind—she was in the middle of a field in front of an open lake. There were no trees or bushes to hide in - anywhere.

Teasag looked about, unsure of the situation. Just a few moments ago, she had thought she was alone, but, as she was beginning to learn, trees had ears in this part of the world, and there was an eye behind every blade of grass.

It took her several minutes to get settled again before she managed to convince herself that the woman was either a figment of her imagination or must have already passed through the glen.

Teasag was just beginning to sharpen her charcoals again—a little clumsily, against a couple of rough rocks when her heart gave another start.

There was someone else out there, and this time it was Neacal.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

She was there!

Suddenly, Neacal’s heart stopped beating as he caught sight of Teasag, cut against a haze of green.

For a minute, he thought he was dreaming. Blinking hard, he adjusted his eyes for the light. But no, she was there. Sun was streaming in, hazily, from a gap in the gray sheet of cloud, hanging low across the sky, but all the same, the shape of Teasag was unmistakable.

Her long blonde hair was billowing across the landscape, free from its caul. Neacal hid a grin. Even though she could not see him, he felt guilty, enjoying the sight of her looking so free.

She seemed to have endless trouble with her hair and now was no exception. Almost as soon as he started watching, she began fussing, trying, mostly in vain, to subjugate it into her caul.

Eventually, after much plaiting and re-plaiting, of which Neacal watched, helplessly agog, Teasag gave up and with a quick shake of the head, her silken locks flowed free, billowing out into the darkened gray skies.

She was so beautiful, the sunlight taking her pale complexion and imbuing it with warm, golden tones. Neacal had to steady himself on his horse—which was harrumphing impatiently beneath him. The sight of this woman running her fingers through her hair was doing things to him.

Now Neacal’s heart beat in double time.

The last forty-eight hours had passed in a whirlwind, he had traversed the length and breadth of the Highlands, and yet the only memory he had was of her.

And yet, he so nearly could not have seen her. He was riding at such a speed that he barely had time to register the road ahead, never mind girls in the middle of fields.

Peering closer, Neacal scrunched his eyes to get a better look. It had to be said it was not exactly where he was expecting to find her, squatting there alone in a deserted field.

However, the lea was not far from the woodland village he had taken her to, and as Neacal was already on the road out of the woods, perhaps it was not so surprising he should bump into her.

However, her sudden appearance so close to their base gave Neacal pause for thought, had she come looking for him, he wondered?

“T-,” he was about to shout her name when a sudden doubt came over him.

Although it was definitely her, he was assured of that at least, Teasag’s memorable bright blonde hair was hard to miss, and her soft features, bathed in the light were unmistakable, even at this distance.

Should he disturb her? A shot of uncertainty rippled through him. She looked so peaceful sitting there, he suddenly felt that he shouldn’t disturb her.

All the same, his curiosity was enough to make him dismount from the skittish stallion and go and stand by the low hedge separating him from the field where Teasag was sitting.

What was she doing there? Neacal wondered as he screwed his eyes and continued watching. She seemed to be completely alone, but with an expression of intense concentration on her face.

For a moment, Neacal thought she was hurt, and in that instant, the blood seemed to congeal in his veins. He was halfway to taking off and running over to her when suddenly, she flinched.

Neacal froze, watching closer as Teasag searched about as if looking for something nearby. Then, it clicked. From out of her opened knapsack she produced a rolled piece of paper, which she immediately began sketching onto.

Ah! A sigh of recognition passed through Neacal, as he could not help but gaze on her as she worked, putting down everything in the landscape vista around her.