Page 23 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

Elspeth jumped off and began to run around the camp. "Bruce!" she called but got no response. "Bruce!" she yelled, crying profusely.

What if they had divined her ruse and gone in the opposite direction? What if that baker had seen her coming from the path from Loch Lomond? What if the soldiers took Bruce? How would she face anyone now?

Sobbing, she slumped on the ground. Tallgrass bent around her, giving her shame and distress some privacy from the world. She cried quietly into her arms, feeling hopeless, and utterly miserable.

"What's wrong with ye?"

Elspeth gasped. She looked up. "Bruce!" she jumped up on her feet. "Where have ye been?" she cried, hitting him on the arm; she was so upset. "I was worried sick!"

"I was foraging for food," he said, but Elspeth didn't believe him. It was the way he avoided eye contact. He was hiding something.

That shifty look was the last straw. Something inside her snapped. It no longer mattered that time was of the essence and they needed to pack up and leave. She had had enough of being treated like some criminal by Bruce Grant when she had given him no reason to treat her so.

"Donae lie to me, Bruce Grant!" she thundered. "Ye were nae foraging for food, and yer nae here to see the countryside. Ye donae trust me to tell me the truth, that's fine, but I willnae tolerate lies."

She was so infuriated her breathing was rapid, and her fists clenched tight by her side.

"I've got enough supplies to see ye on yer way," she said, tears of rage brimming her eyes. "Ye can have yer way. I'm going to Laird Labert's. At least he doesnae treat me like a criminal." She turned away from him.

"Elspeth, wait." He took hold of her elbow, but she wrenched it away.

His touch did things to her, and right now she didn't want her anger to melt. She wanted to hone it so she could get away from him and the strange feelings he created in her.

"There's nae time," she said, walking back to camp. "Three English soldiers questioned me in town. I managed to escape, but there's no telling if we're safe."

"Soldiers?" Bruce paled. "Elspeth, wait. Ye cannae leave like this. If the English have been alerted they will be looking for us on all the paths. We need to hide for now. Come on. We'll tie the horses in that grove."

He took the lead and began to dismantle the camp. Throwing dirt on the embers, he got rid of the fire. Leading the horses, he tied them up in a nearby grove, leaving a generous amount of apples and feed for them. Then he collected a few rations from the saddlebags and took Elspeth's hand.

"Come on," he said.

"Where?" Elspeth was still angry, but now she was also mystified by his behavior.

"On a secret island," he said. A small smile lifted the corner of his lips.

Elspeth was spellbound by his change in demeanor. He held out his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, she took it. Warmth suffused through his fingers to hers and trickled to the small of her back.

At that moment she discovered a frightening truth about herself. She trusted Bruce despite all the reasons her mind came up with for her not to. Her heart believed in him.