“All I wanted was to get this journey over with,” he said under his breath as he tied the basket behind the saddle, “and now we’ll be traveling at the pace of a peddler.”
Margaret sucked in a startled breath when the Highlander suddenly appeared behind her. He stood so close that she felt the heat from his body. He lifted her and Ella onto the horse.
When he swung up behind her, she was suddenly surrounded by brawny male Highlander. A blade of grass could not have fit between them anywhere. The hard muscles of his thighs rubbed against hers, his breath ruffled a loose strand of her hair on the side of her face, and her backside was pressed against his…
She would just have to do her best to ignore him.
“One peep from you as we leave the village,” he whispered in her ear, “and the bairn stays behind.”
Margaret refrained from pointing out that she’d been quieter than he had.She’d learned long ago that men resented being told of errors in their thinking.
They rode into the black night and left the village behind. Despite the uncertainty and dangers that lay ahead, when she felt Ella’s heartbeat beneath her palm, a wave of happiness spread through her. She and her daughter were making their escape.
CHAPTER 9
Margaret awoke from a deep sleep to find herself lying flat on her back with the Highlander leaning over her.
“Have a good sleep,m'eudail?”my treasure, he asked with a wicked grin.
She had no notion where she was or, more importantly, how she came to be in this position. The last thing she remembered was riding through the night. She blinked, struggling to clear her head, but it was hard to gather herself while staring up into those deep blue eyes.
“Please move so I can get up,” she said, doing her best to pretend she did not feel the least bit awkward about finding herself practically lying under her kidnapper. “And I am not your treasure.”
“Ye are a treasure to me—or ye will be once I deliver ye,” he said with a wink, and offered his hand to help her sit up. “So ye speak the Gaelic? I suppose that means ye understood all my cursing as well.”
“Quite well, as a matter of fact.” After their former king learned Gaelic to win the hearts of the Highlanders, her family required her to learn it in the hope of winning his.
“That will make things easier for ye where we’re going.” With a smile in his voice, he added, “M' eudail.”My treasure.
“Where’s Ella?” she blurted out, suddenly remembering she had a daughter. Her hand went to her chest. “God forgive me, I’m a terrible mother!”
“’Tis all right. The wee lass is right here.” The Highlander put an arm around Margaret’s shoulders and turned her to the side.
When she saw Ella a few feet away busily playing with a pile of sticks, Margaret was able to breathe again.
“She helped me gather moss for our fire, didn’t ye, Ella?” he said. “Now she’s sorting the sticks for me, big to small.”
Ella looked up from her task and gave the Highlander a serious nod. Margaret was surprised he made such an effort to entertain Ella and succeeded so well.
“She’s a fine helper, she is,” he said.
Ella swelled with the compliment. This Highlander certainly knew how to win over her daughter. Though Margaret would not succumb to his charm herself, it warmed her heart to see Ella so content.
“Shall we make some porridge?” he asked Ella. “’Tis almost noon, but we slept so late we missed our breakfast.”
Weslept?She swallowed hard when she looked down and saw a long dent on the other half of the blanket. Good heavens, the Highlander had slept right beside her. And there were more nights ahead. She really had not thought this through when she decided to escape with him.
Before she could recover from that revelation, Ella started to run past her. She caught her for a moment and gave her a hug, a sweet reminder that Ella was worth the risks she was taking.
A short time later, the Highlander and Ella were side by side before the fire, in deep contemplation of the bubbling oats.
“Would ye say ’tis ready?” he asked.
Ella answered by holding out her bowl.
“Careful. ’Tis hot,” he warned as he gave her a scoop, then he scooped up another bowlful for Margaret.
“Thank you.” Margaret felt awkward having him wait on her. She was accustomed to being the one who took care of others, and she did not know any men, other than servants, who cooked.