Page 45 of The Highlander's Pirate Bride

Once he’d returned with the rabbit for the pot and warmed himself by the fire, Maxwell ventured outside again to climb on the roof and see if he could repair some of the crumbling peat. This would keep the interior dry, now the snow was coming again.

He was all but frozen when he returned but he grinned at her in satisfaction. “‘Tis nae a bad job I’ve done. ‘Twill keep out the cold wind and the snow fer a day or two.” He rubbed his handsover the flames and stamped his feet, shaking the snow out of his hair.

While he was gone Aileen had loaded the old iron pot with pieces of rabbit, chopped onions and herbs and water from the rainwater cistern outside. It was not long before a mouth-watering aroma filled the air.

While they waited for their supper to cook, they stayed close by the fire, Maxwell on the bench, his long legs stretched in front of him while Aileen sat cross-legged beside the hearth. They drank tea she made from some dried chamomile and exchanged stories about their childhoods growing up on neighboring islands.

Aileen noticed Maxwell’s forehead creasing.

“What ails ye?”

He shook his head. “’Tis naught I have any control over, lass. The weather has ruined me hopes of making it tae Torridon before Sutherland could intercept us there. I hoped we’d be away at sea tomorrow or the next day at the latest. But it will be slow going through the snow from here on. Especially when we reach the Torridon Hills.

“And ye think his men will be waiting fer us there?” Her stomach lurched. For the past day she’d been blissfully able to erase Sutherland and his soldiers from her thoughts.

“Me guess is that he’ll have a couple of men at the points where he’d expect us to be. Torridon is one of the obvious places. But our chief worry will be once we’re at sea. I daresay his men will be prowling the waters between the mainland and our islands, aware that we’ll make fer safety at either of the isles of Canna or Barra.”

She clicked her tongue. “If we can find another small birlinn and keep our sailing fer the night, we’ve a good chance of sneaking past any patrols he might have sent fer us.”

“Indeed. That’s me hope.” He ran a distracted hand through his hair. “He’ll be in bigger boats than ours, with more men. But they’ll nae be as swift.”

“Then our chances of beating them are good. So…” She grinned up at him. “Fer now, we’ve the joys of our bed, the warmth of the fire and a fine rabbit stew tae look forward tae.”

—

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

After a night of love-making – sometimes drowsy and sweet, sometimes fierce with passion, it was only the dying fire and the creeping cold that brought them from their bed the next morning.

After they’d dressed and devoured the last apple and slice of oatbread, along with the remainder of Aileen’s stew, Maxwell dared a peek out the door. As he’d both feared and hoped, the snow had kept on through the night. The morning dawned with a bright, sunny sky and birdsong had returned, but the snow was deep.

He stepped outside. If the sun kept on shining there was every hope the snow would thaw sufficiently for them to set off again.

Venturing inside again, he was greeted with Aileen’s anxious face. “Well?”

“Much as I’d love tae hole up here fer the rest of me days, I fear we need tae make our way through the snow. It will be slow-going into the hills, but if we dinnae head off today there’s nae certainty it willnae snow again.’

She sighed. “And there’s only so many rabbits in a warren.”

“Aye, lass.”

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