Page 48 of Intrigued By A Highlander

Silence had been between them since this morning when she woke up alone and even when she did find him, he had not spoken a word to her. Oddly enough, she held her tongue, something she rarely did, though she wasn’t sure why.

She was still trying to comprehend what had happened last night between them and the consequences if it should continue. Fear warned her to keep her distance. Love, which was what she thought she was feeling, told her otherwise. And warnings hovered in the middle that she couldn’t ignore.

She also couldn’t ignore this silence between them any longer. “I don’t like this discomfort between us.”

“Better than it be otherwise,” he said briskly.

His cold, stoic manner annoyed her, but then he had been clear. She wasn’t what he was looking for in a wife and yet he had kissed her three times. And hadn’t she made it clear as well, telling him she wanted no husband?

She sighed heavily as she walked to the edge of the rippling stream. She dropped down, eager for a drink. She had barely drunk a handful when she thought she heard her name called. She turned and saw that Knox had led Star downstream for her to drink.

A quick glance around proved she was alone. It had to have been her mind playing tricks on her. She scooped up another handful of water and barely got it to her mouth when she heard it again. This time stronger.

She tilted her head away from Knox to where she believed the sound came from and she spotted a familiar face peeking through bushy branches. She got up slowly, glanced at Knox, turned away from her, and slipped past the bushes.

“I need help, Dru.”

“What’s wrong, Busby?” she asked, moving closer to the young man, his grime covered face nearly as filthy as his dirty garments. He’d always been slim, but now he looked like he had been starving for some time.

He wasn’t one to allow himself to get in such poor shape. Like her, he was on his own and had managed to do well for himself, so she was surprised to see him in such dire need.

“My usual haunts are overrun with mercenaries and they are scooping up any young man they can find and forcing them to join with them in the hunt. I’m not a warrior. I can’t kill. I don’t even know how to use a weapon. I’m starving and I don’t know where to find safe shelter. I caught sight of you and the giant and knew it was a sign from the heavens. Please help me, Dru.”

“Of course, I’ll help you and I know just where to send you.”

“And where would that be, wife?” Knox stepped out from behind the bushes and his hand shot out to grab the lad by the arm when he went to take off.

Busby’s eyes shot wide. “Wife?”

“Don’t hurt him, Knox,” Dru pleaded. “He’s a friend.”

“You told me that you had no friends.”

“She would say that as would I about her, but only to keep each other safe,” Busby said. “People can be cruel to friends of those they want something from.”

“Please, Knox, he needs food and a safe place to stay while the mercenaries hunt for Autumn.”

Busby gasped. “You search for Autumn?”

“You know her?” Knox asked.

Busby glanced nervously at Dru.

“Let him eat while he tells you what he knows,” Dru suggested.

“Sit by the stream,” Knox ordered. “I’ll get the sack of food.”

Knox heard Dru assure Busby as he walked away. “Everything will be fine.”

When Knox was a distance away, Busby whispered, “You married him? Why? You said?—”

“I had no choice, and I have no time to explain it now,” Dru said. “Just know that it isn’t a marriage meant to last. Before he returns, I need you to deliver a message for me.”

“Hurry and tell me.”

Knox glanced at the pair, whispering, and he got the feeling Dru was telling the lad something she didn’t want him to hear.

He dropped the sack in Dru’s lap. “Why the whispers?”

---