Page 10 of Intrigued By A Highlander

“Nay, no one.”

“One thing we have in common,” she said, and his reply was another question.

“Have you not one friend?”

“Have you?” she snapped.

“Your sharp retort tells me you are friendless.”

Her annoyance had her snapping at him again. “And you are not?”

“I know people, but I don’t believe I would call them friends.”

That he finally responded to her question had her reciprocating. Besides, it would benefit her for him to know who her friend was. “I have one friend… The Monk.”

His response was not what Dru expected.

“The Monk is a respected and feared mercenary, a good ten years older than me but still a highly skilled warrior. How is it you know him?”

“You are acquainted with him?”

“Nay, I fought alongside him once, but we didn’t speak. And you?”

She told few people how she and The Monk truly met. “We came upon each other one day.”

“Like you and I did?”

Dru thought about that for a moment. The Monk had saved her life and, in a way, so did Knox. If he hadn’t agreed to wed her, the cleric would have seen her sent to join the women who Lord Torrance kept to pleasure his men. Though he would have had to catch her first.

“I suppose it was similar, though I wasn’t naked.”

“So, The Monk saved you from a terrible fate just as I did.”

“I suppose so,” she said, thinking it best she said no more on it.

“What makes you think we will find anything in the village we go to?”

Dru was glad he changed the subject. She may want to find out all she could about Knox, but she had no intention of him finding anything out about her.

“They are a gossipy bunch and eager to learn news and spread it.”

“And you have news to share that would be of interest to them?”

“I do. I am going to let them know that a big, fearless mercenary is in pursuit of Autumn.”

His scowl told her he wasn’t pleased with that.

“You intend to enter the village alone?”

“They know me and will talk to me. All you need to do is walk around so I can point you out. They will be eager to share any news of Autumn they may have heard.” His scowl turned to a stern look, and she was aware of what he intended to say, though more warn. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of running off. I will see this done and our marriage as well.”

“Make sure you do,” he cautioned.

Dru grinned. “We have to work on trust in our marriage.”

“You have to work on being an obedient wife.”

She laughed. “That’s something I will never be.”

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