Page 15 of Intrigued By A Highlander

She grinned. “Nay. I’m good.”

“Get on then,” Knox said.

He hesitated, reluctant to let her go. He wasn’t sure if she had gotten the information that he needed, though he doubted anyone would bother her now—not after he had come to her defense. Still, leaving her on her own unsettled him. Dru had a way of attracting trouble like bees to honey.

“Urchin!” Knox called out.

She turned, hands on her hips. “The name is Dru—” Her grin widened. “Giant.”

“Knox,” he corrected her, loud enough for the whole village to hear. A ripple of gasps followed. His name carried weight, and now that everyone knew who he was, a few, if any, would risk crossing him. Just what he wanted.

He approached her, suppressing a smirk. She was making him come to her.

Her grin faded the moment his arm slipped around her waist. With little effort, he lifted her so that her face was level with his.

She barely had time to react before he spoke, his voice low enough for her ears only. “The woods… soon.”

Her grin returned. “Anyone tell you that you were a man of few words.”

“Stay out of trouble,” he ordered loud enough for all to hear.

Or else what?The words nearly slipped from her lips, but the warning in his dark eyes had her thinking better of it.

Instead, she simply nodded. “Aye.”

“Soon,” he whispered as he set her down.

She didn’t waste time. There was still one person she needed to see.

Dru hurried through the market, past the last few scattered stalls, and toward the outskirts of the village, where a familiar cottage stood.

“Who goes there?” an elderly man called out from where he sat on a bench in front of his small cottage that looked in need of desperate repairs.

“It’s Dru, Albert,” she said.

Albert, his face creased with age, nodded, his concern evident. “Are you alright, Dru? I didn’t detect your usual offensive scent.”

She laid the blame once again on… “Cramond Abbey.”

Albert nodded, accepting the excuse as easily as everyone else had.

Dru dropped down on the bench beside him, reaching for the apple she had tucked in her plaid. She took his hand and placed the fruit in his palm.

He chuckled. “Funny how age has taken my sight, weakened my body, yet left me with good teeth and sharp hearing. Thank you, Dru. I look forward to these apples you bring me.”

“And I count on that sharp hearing of yours and look forward to our visits.”

Albert took a bite, savoring it, then let out another chuckle. “People are fools. They talk in front of blind men as if we were deaf too. Idiots the lot of them. Is there anything in particular you’re looking to hear about?”

“Autumn, Lord Torrance’s half-sister,” she whispered.

Albert went still. “That’s a dangerous one, Dru. Stay away from it.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t. It means my freedom.”

He sighed heavily. “That saddens and frightens me to hear. Be careful, lass. The consequences could be deadly.”

“I know. That’s why I need your help. Have you heard anything?”

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