Page 32 of Highlander's Secret Heiress
So where had she gone? The answer came to him almost at once as he noticed that her men’s breeches were not there. Lachlan smiled as he realised that his fiery servant must have gone out to practise her swordsmanship again.
I might have known,he thought, smiling. He clattered downstairs with no thought to the noise he was making, so eager was he to reach Jeannie.
After he had selected a blunt weapon from the store to practise with, Lachlan headed out onto the training field to find Jeannie; he spotted her at once, but not where he had expected to. She was not carrying a wooden sword, as he was, but a lethally sharp broadsword in a scabbard strapped to her hip.
A bolt of anger shot through Lachlan as he saw her tightening the girth on a black mare, and he realised that she was runningaway from the castle and from him. He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, and she whipped her head around to face him.
By the light of the small candle he was carrying, he looked into her dark grey eyes which were now wide with fear. Alyth released her foot from the stirrup and looked at the ground, avoiding his eyes. She was terrified, but tired, and all she wanted to do now was go home.
“Where are you going with one of my horses?” he asked angrily.
“This is not one of your horses,” she replied. “It belongs to Laird Robertson.”
“And you are taking it back to him?” Lachlan asked angrily. He was standing only a foot away from Alyth, and she had absolutely no chance of escape: she was trapped.
“No,” she answered, “I just want to go home.”
“Why? Home to where?” Lachlan was mystified, and his anger suddenly evaporated. “Tell me, Jeannie.”
However, she refused to look up, and he lost patience. He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him, yet still, she said nothing.
“If there is a problem,” he tried to talk calmly, “please tell me about it. Whatever it is, we can sort it out together.”
“No, Lachlan,” she replied, shaking her head. “Let me go. I want to go home. I need to.”
Lachlan looked into her eyes for a long moment and watched them fill with tears. He felt infinitely sorry for her.
“Please stay,” he begged. “Davina needs you, and I need you too. I know you’re holding something back from me, but whatever it is, please tell me. I promise I won’t hold it against you.”
Lachlan watched helplessly as she shook her head. “No, Lachlan,” she replied. “I am a servant, and you are a Laird. Iwant to go home to my family. They need me, and I need them. I have been away long enough.”
“Who is your family?” Lachlan asked. “You were running away because your father was forcing you to marry. Has that changed?”
Again, Alyth shook her head. “No, but I will find a way to escape it. We were never meant to be together, Lachlan.”
“Jeannie.” His voice was almost a growl. “I make the rules here, not you. Of course, I won’t force you to stay, but I can help you change your fate.”
“And how could you do that?” Alyth asked. “Taking me as your mistress? Definitely not your wife—think of the scandal.”
That made Lachlan think for a moment. What status would Jeannie Dunbar have in his home? Yet as he looked down at her, he knew he could not let go of her. Perhaps he could buy her a cottage and she could set up home there? He could see her as often as he liked; perhaps they could even marry in secret.
Lachlan stopped his train of thought immediately, aware that it was becoming rambling and ridiculous, and brought himself back to the present. He wrapped his arms around Alyth and held her close for a moment.
“I love having you around me,” he said fondly. “You are good for me, Jeannie. You make me feel happy in a way I have not since Sandie died. When I met all my former friends and realised how empty-headed they were, I thought of sitting down and having a conversation with you. I want us to be friends. The fact that Davina likes you is tremendous, of course, but…” he tailed off, but the look in his eyes said everything he could not put into words.
Suddenly, his lips swooped down on Alyth’s, and she was lost in a world of sensation out of which there was no escape. For a fleeting second, he thought she would push him away, but instead she did the opposite and pulled him so close to her thattheir bodies were pressed together with no space between them. She rubbed herself on the bulge of his erection and left a moan of triumph that she had brought him to this impressive state of arousal.
Lachlan broke the kiss and lifted Alyth into his arms, then took her to the tack room, where all the riding equipment was kept. He laid her down on the straw-covered floor then kissed her again, frantically and hungrily, until she was almost dazed with delight.
“Every time I looked at you, I wanted to do this,” Lachlan said hoarsely. “Thinking about you was driving me mad, Jeannie.” He kissed his way down the side of her neck, then once more came to the barrier of her clothing.
Alyth could read his mind as she saw him looking at her tunic. He wanted to tear it from her body, but a moment of sanity returned as she realised that the pendant was there. She could not possibly let him see it.
“Don’t,” she whispered, “I have nothing else to wear.”
He looked disappointed, then he asked hopefully, “There will be a next time, will there not?”
Alyth hesitated; uncertain as to what she should say next. She desperately wanted to say yes, but did not want to sound too eager. “If you wish,” she replied.
