Page 32 of Beloved Enemy
Charlotte bit her lip and happily stared at him.
“Ye mean to take them to the common field?” He asked, pointing to the placidly grazing goats.
Brought back to reality, she stammered, “Y-yes, that’s what I was doing when she got away from me.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I guess I should go that way, back through the woods.”
“Nae, come this way,” Reid said, beginning to move in the direction from which he’d come, leading his horse by the reins.
They walked in the tall grass, along the edge of the wood, side by side, with the three animals plodding along behind them.
“What are you doing out and about so early?” she asked, trying to sound casual, though she realized she was, as ever, nervous in his company.
He gave her a look that suggested it wasn’t early at all. “I’ve been out surveying. The rain three days ago caused some flooding near the river. I wanted to see the damage for myself.” His tone was matter-of-fact. He added, “I’ll be away soon. I’ve a meeting with Duncan of the MacFarlanes. One of those reivers had papers with MacFarlane’s crest on them.”
“Away?” Charlotte’s stomach knotted. “For how long?”
“Nae but half a day. I’ll be home before nightfall.”
“Oh.” She exhaled, too quickly, betraying her relief. “Good.” He raised his brow, a subtle arch that questioned her response. “I mean, when you said ‘away,’ I thought you meant for days or weeks, but you promised to take me to Ben Nevis, remember?”
“I did, and so I will,” he replied.
But Charlotte’s relief lingered, and it wasn’t just about Ben Nevis. The thought of him being gone, even for a few hours, left her uneasy. Despite staying with Una, she realized she wanted to be close to Reid, or at least not far from him. She couldn’t explain it—maybe it was the fact that he was the only one who knew the bizarre truth about her time-travel. Or maybe it was something else, something deeper. A connection she couldn’t yet define but felt every time he looked at her with those sharp hazel eyes.
She stole sideways glances at him, marveling at, well, everything about him, but right now specifically how he embodied the lord and master of this realm—or laird, as she’d heard him called. Reid Nicholson owned, managed, and governed everything as far as the eye could see. A wave of admiration washed over her. It was astonishing to think that someone who appeared to be in his early thirties could bear such immense responsibility. Being the protector, defender, andprovider for an entire population—his clan—was monumental. Many thirty-year-olds that Charlotte knew still played video games.
And while thirty seemed too young to shoulder such responsibility, she also believed Reid to be an old soul. She had a feeling that Kingswood, the entire demesne and everything included, was simply in his blood, in his soul.
“What’s it like?” He surprised her by asking. “The time in which ye live?”
“Oh, wow,” she began, her brain spinning. “There are a million things different.” She showed him another smile. “It’s not all angry possums and ironic humor. Um, let me think. We’ve got flying machines, tiny boxes that hold all the knowledge of the world, a magical potion called coffee that brightens my day, cars—um, vehicles—that make transportation fast and easy. There’s electricity, power inside houses that give light and heat at the flip of a switch. Refrigerators, which are like ice boxes that preserve food for long periods of time. Um...oh, space exploration. We send rockets into space and men have walked on the moon.”
Charlotte hadn’t noticed it earlier, but saw it now as they neared, that the open field led to another ruddy path, upon which Ried might have been riding when he noticed her. They turned right and took the lane back toward the village.
Another glance at Reid showed him staring at her with a dark frown.
Charlotte returned his scowl, nearly offended. “I’m not making it up—and there’s more.” With the leashes in hand, she ticked off on her fingers more modern amenities. “Vaccines, TVs, smartphones, democracy, antibiotics. Okay, so obviously just listing them means nothing to you, but I assure you, it’s all true. Actually, when I think about it, it’s really amazing, allthe things invented, and the parts of the world and beyond that we’ve explored.”
“Ye sound sincere,” he allowed, but there was a depth of disbelief in his tone now, “but I ken ye went too far with the mention of flying machines and men walking on the moon.”
Charlotte gave a small laugh, though she tried to mask her disappointment that Reid didn’t believe her. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. If the roles were reversed, she'd probably think it all sounded absurd, too.
“I can see why you’d think that,” she said, keeping her tone light. “I mean, if you told me that people here fly on dragons or that animals talked, I’d be skeptical, too. But I promise I’m not making up any of it.” They walked close enough that it was easy to shift sideways and nudge her shoulder against his arm. “C’mon. You know you’re curious. You want to know all about those flying machines—airplanes, they’re called—and how we put a man on the moon.”
Reid finally cracked a smile, a heart-stopping one that once more lit up his rugged, handsome features.
Charlotte’s heart did a little flip at the sight, and her playful smile grew wider.
“I ken ye are more story-teller than anything else,” he said.
Even as he seemed to insist still that she was lying, Charlotte was unperturbed, having two smiles from him today.
“Ah, but you want to believe me,” she suggested as they came close to the common field. “Let me know when you do. I’ll tell you everything I know about the twenty-first century.” When he stopped near the low fence surrounding the pasture and faced her, Charlotte winked at him. “And if you ask nicely, I might even draw you some pictures to illustrate our modern inventions.”
Though she thought she detected still a glimmer of laughter in his hazel eyes, Reid gazed down at her with that neutralexpression he often wore, giving nothing away. “If ye’re asking for curiosity, I’ll grant ye that much,” he replied in an even tone. “Curiosity is natural when faced with something so fantastical. Belief, mind ye, is another matter.”
Charlotte made a face of resignation. “I might have guessed as much about you.”
His gaze lingered on her for just a heartbeat longer than necessary before he turned his attention to the shepherd boy who came to collect the goats from Charlotte.
