Healing the Highlander (11 page)

"That must have been some battle." And he must have been one lucky guy to have survived it.

"This?" His hand traced the path the scar took down his left side. "Different battle."

He'd been wounded in battle more than once. Hello? Fourteenth century, she reminded herself. The

history books wouldn't call it a brutal time for nothing.

"You should try to go back to sleep. The sun will be up soon and we'll need to be on our way." He pulled on his boots as he spoke without looking in her direction.

She nodded her understanding, still unable to drag her eyes from his bare chest as if she'd never been taught the first thing about manners.

He waited for a moment more and then caught up his shirt from the little stool where it lay. With a flick and a flutter, the linen closed down over the sight Leah found so fascinating and, at last, the spell was broken. She leaned her head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, eyes closed, still envisioning him shirtless as if the image had been burned into her eyelids.

Good thing he'd had his plaid on or she might have been tempted to ...

The sound of the door opening wiped the vision from her mind.

"Where are you going?"

Andrew smiled at her from the doorway.

"The monks rise well before the sun and I've arrangements to make before we leave. You should try to go back to sleep for a little longer." With that, he was gone.

Right. Sleep. Like there was any chance she could sleep now, with all those totally inappropriate thoughts about Andrew and his chiseled naked chest dancing through her head.

Even if she could manage to put that out of her thoughts, there were plenty of other worries to keep her eyes wide open, from how many days of travel remained before they arrived at Dun Ard all the way up to and including what sort of reception she might find when she reached her destination. And to top it all off? English soldiers running around somewhere here in the monastery. Not just any English soldiers, mind you, but ones who had traveled from England with the man Richard had decided she should marry. English soldiers who were looking for her, whether they knew it or not.

Maybe even searching right this minute. Searching for a woman who matched her description. And if they discovered her? They'd drag her butt back to MacQuarrie Keep before she had the chance to find the help her family so desperately awaited, and Grandpa Hugh would have absolutely zero chance of survival locked away in the auld tower.

No, there'd be no more sleep for her this morning.

Tossing away the woolen blanket, she clambered off the bed and looked around the little room, her gaze settling on the only piece of furniture other than the bed.

The desk, obviously made from solid wood, turned out to be considerably heavier than it looked.

It took some effort to drag it in front of the door, but once it was done, she felt better. Granted, if the soldiers did come and demand entrance, it wouldn't slow them down them for long. Still, it was the best she could do right now.

She stood a few moments longer, staring at her handiwork, as she rubbed the pendant she wore between her thumb and forefinger. If only Andrew were at her side.

"Well, this is stupid," she muttered, pushing her hair out of her face. It was irrational to wish for Andrew. If the soldiers actually came for her, his being there couldn't very well stop them.

For a fact there would be no going back to sleep,

but simply standing in the middle of the room stressing over what was to come was absolutely crazy-making. She whipped the blanket off the bed and folded it neatly before gathering Andrew's things off the floor and doing the same with them.

If nothing else, she could see to it that everything was in readiness to leave as soon as he returned.

Drew strode the length of the hallway and took the winding steps down to the main level, regret pounding in his head.

The only bright spot in his life at the moment was that his sister-in-law had been right. The stretching poses she'd shown him had helped his leg a little.

Now if he could only find a stretch to soothe his wounded pride.

He would give anything not to have woken Leah. Anything to take back her having seen him.

Though, if she'd had a nightmare as she claimed, it might have been equally upsetting for her to have awakened to find herself alone.

Equally upsetting? Hardly. He was fooling himself to even attempt that rationalization. He hadn't missed her staring at the hideous scars on his chest. She hadn't been able to tear her eyes away from the marks, her mouth hanging open as if there were no words to account for his disfigurement.

And she hadn't even seen the worst of it, not by any stretch. If the woman thought his chest wounds distasteful, the one stretching from his thigh to his hip would send her screaming from the—

Stop it!

He paused in midstep, struggling to clear his thoughts and relax his fisted hands.

What Leah thought was of no consequence to him. He might be hideous but she might well be Fae, and given a choice between the two? There was no question which he found more distasteful.

Resolved, he continued to the great hall, stopping in front of a small wooden box that sat near the door. The silver coins he pulled from his sporran landed with a dull thud when he dropped them through the slot into the coffer. Either the priory hadn't seen many guests of late or their guests hadn't felt obliged to contribute to the brothers' good work.

"Blessings on you for your continued generosity, Andrew."

Drew spun around to find Brother John standing behind him. How the old monk could move so silently was beyond his reason, but it wasn't the first time the prior had managed to surprise him.

"You'll be on yer way soon?"

Drew nodded his answer. The sooner they were away from the priory, the better.

"Do you think I might trouble yer kitchens for victuals to carry with us this day?" While he could easily go a full day without stopping to eat, he wasn't so sure about his traveling companion. A simple fare of bread and cheese would enable them to keep moving without the need for a break to prepare a meal.

"It's no trouble. I'll see to it myself. Is there anything else we might do to assist you and yer lady?"

Actually, there was something else.

"I would be grateful for the loan of a mount for my wife." Not having to ride double should increase the ground they could cover each day. "I'll have it returned to you as soon as possible."

In answer, the prior clapped his hands twice and the young novice Drew had seen last night came running down the hall as if he'd been waiting behind a nearby door for exactly such a summons.

"Have the stables make ready our guest's horse and tell the stable master to choose one of our gentler mounts for Lady MacAlister. Hurry now, Rufus. Our guests have a long day ahead of them and are anxious to be on their way."

"My thanks, Brother John."

"No trouble at all, lad. I'll see to it that the kitchens make ready a light repast to carry along with you. It'll be waiting with yer mounts when you and yer lady are ready to depart."

Drew bobbed his head respectfully before taking his leave of the prior and heading back upstairs to the room he shared with Leah.

Other than Brother John and young Rufus, no one appeared to be up and about yet, a fact Drew took as a positive sign. If he could just get Leah up and moving quickly, they might be fortunate enough to be on their way without encountering Moreland or his men again.

He paused in front of the door to his room, sparing only a moment to debate his next action. A knock seemed the only chivalrous way to enter and yet, if she slept, a knock loud enough to wake her risked waking others.

He needn't have worried.

"Who's there?" sounded in response to a light rap of his knuckles against the wood.

"Drew," he answered, pushing the door open as he spoke.

Only the door didn't open more than a crack.

"What in the name of all that's holy?" Bracing his legs, he shoved his shoulder into the heavy wood, his efforts rewarded by a loud scraping noise.

"Hold on for just a minute." Leah's hissed order wafted through the small opening, followed by a distinctly unladylike grunt and more scraping.

Hold on? He didn't think so.

Another shove and the door gave way enough for him to slip through the opening.

Leah stood a few feet away, hands on her hips, her lips pursed in what he already recognized to be her look of irritation. Next to her, still braced against the door, stood the wooden desk that had earlier resided at the foot of the bed.

Drew arched an eyebrow, pointedly looking from her to the desk and back again. "What had you thought to accomplish with that?"

She shrugged, folding her arms in front of her. "I thought it might slow down any unwelcome visitors."

"Ah."

Apparently she'd been more worried about the English soldiers than he'd realized.

A quick glance around the room told him she'd been busy as well as worried. Their things sat on the bed, all packed and prepared for them to leave.

He motioned toward the bundles. "You're ready to resume our journey, then?"

She nodded her agreement, throwing the plaid over her head and flipping the tail around her shoulders in a , quick, practiced motion. "Ready."

He carried the bundles, with her padding along quietly behind until they reached the stairs.

"I don't suppose you happened to bump into . . . um . . . anyone in particular while you were down here before?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I saw only Brother John. None of the other guests stirred in the hall, if that's what yer asking."

"Thank goodness for that," she murmured, sounding relieved.

He completely agreed. For a change, good luck appeared to be on his side.

They hurried along, their footsteps echoing through the deserted hall, into the entryway and out through the great door.

One look at the bailey and he stopped. Behind him, Leah bumped into his back.

There, directly ahead of them, the novice Rufus waited with their mounts, flanked by Moreland and all his men.

"I guess that explains why you didn't see any of those guys inside, huh?" Leah whispered as she peeked around his back, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt.

"How fare you this morning, my friends?" Moreland's deep voice boomed through the bailey. "We've waited our departure to accompany you on your journey this day."

Proof once again that luck was a fickle bitch where he was concerned.

ELEVEN

Could it possibly get any worse than this? Leah pressed against Andrew's back, doing her best to appear subtle in her attempts to study the English soldiers surrounding their horses.

Surely Andrew could come up with some excuse to keep these men from riding along with them today. Having them around was bad. Very bad. Because that Moreland guy had to be at least halfway intelligent to be a knight and halfway was probably more than enough for him to eventually figure out that she was the woman he sought. He'd already told them she resembled the description he had.

Crapola and double crapola.

As if he read her thoughts, Andrew spoke up, his deep voice vibrating in the ear she held against his back.

"Our thanks, Sir Moreland, but my wife and I would never think to ask such an inconvenience of you and yer men. We ken the importance of yer quest and we'd be naught but a burden to slow you down."

"Nonsense, MacAlister." Moreland stepped up into his stirrup, seating himself on the back of his mount as his men followed suit. "We would be remiss in our duties to our king's loyal subjects if we left the two of you to manage on your own. As you well know, dangers lurk in the wilderness of your journey. My men and I will see to your safety."

Andrew started forward and, reluctantly, Leah let go her grip on his shirt, breaking the oddly comforting connection she'd had with him. As silly as it was, a wave of relief flooded over her when he reached back to grasp her arm and guide her to his side as they made their way down the stairs.

He was only one man. It wasn't as if he could actually make a difference should Moreland and the pack who followed him realize she was his uncle's intended bride.

And yet, with his hand at the small of her back, she felt somehow protected.

"There's no a need for you to slow yer own progress on our account. We'll make my sister's home by nightfall, so we've no so much wilderness to cover in our travels this day."

Leah relaxed into Drew's hold when his hands tightened around her waist possessively. His actions accompanied his words as if he were accustomed to lifting her up onto her mount on a regular basis, giving it no thought as he spoke.

"So much the be
tter," Moreland replied. "Accom
panying you to your sister's home will allow for easy

"Easy entry?" Andrew echoed, his hands dropping to his sides. "I'm no sure I understand yer meaning."