Page 13 of Kilty as Sin
“Lass, the path is about to get rocky.”
“About to get?” she snapped before she remembered she wasn’t speaking to her captor-slash-rescuer.
To her irritation, the man chuckled. “Aye, well, ‘tis about to getrockier. I ken ye’re angry with me, but ‘twould be best if ye held onto me for this next bit.”
Grace sniffed and twined her fingers together in her lap. “I’m certain I shall be quite safe holding onto the saddle.”
After all, she’d spent the last few hours trying her hardest to keep from touching him. Or relying on him.
“Suit yerself,” the man muttered, just as he lurched to the side. The horse stepped delicately up a scree-covered slope, alongside a burbling brook, and each footfall seemed to toss Grace in a different direction.
With a muffled squeak, she reached for Barclay’s belt, and stiffened when she realized what she’d done.
If he’d made a comment, if he’d crowed that he’dwonby her grabbing for him…well, Grace wasn’t certain what she’d do. She wasn’t strong enough to throw him off the horse, but she’d bloody well think about it for a moment or two.
But he didn’t.
Mayhap he’s focused on the journey. This pathdoesseem perilous.
Or mayhap it hadn’t been a competition at all and he just wanted her to be safe.
The horse missed its footing, and she sucked in a breath as they slid down the slope a stride or two. Instinctually, she pressed closer to the man before her, her shoulders hunching forward and her forehead dropping to his broad back.
She wasn’tafraid, not exactly.
Grace hadn’t allowed herself tobeafraid, through this entire mess. Since the moment she’d discovered Father’s plans, andcouldhave fallen to pieces, she’d kept her chin up and her gaze toward the future.
Instead of weeping and pleading, she’d explained her feelings reasonably. When that hadn’t helped, and Father had been determined to sell her to an evil man, Grace had begun to plan. She’d written letters, she’d set her steps toward her freedom, and she hadn’t looked back.
And she hadn’t let herself be afraid. Not then. Not now.
It was just…Barclay had promised he’d keep her safe.
He’dvowedit.
And she did feel safe with him, despite the fact he was heading south, toward Father’s holdings.
Why did he have to turn out to be on a mission?
She’d prayed the Hunter had heard of her from the Mother Superior and had come to rescue her. Instead…
He did rescue ye.
Well, aye, not just from the bog, but from those men.
But he’d rescued her to return her to her father. Her father and Laird MacGill.
Just the thought of the man—with his cruel gaze and his harsh slaps—made her shiver. Mayhap ‘twould have been better to allow those men to take her.
What are ye saying?
If it came down to spending the rest of her days living with a man like MacGill, having to watch him hurt innocent people and being able to do naught…mayhap ‘twould be better to be dead.
She shuddered again.
To her surprise, Barclay’s hand—his large, callused hand—came back to rest on her knee.
That was it. It just rested there, its weight comfortable and warm.
