Page 83 of The Wrong Bride
“I have faith in ye, Hugh. Don’t lose faith in yourself.”
CHAPTER 22
For two days after Hugh sent the letter to Owen, Riona lived on tenterhooks. She remained mostly with Maggie and Lady McCallum, both of whom spoke cheerfully about everything from thread to rain. Riona had a hard time achieving any sort of cheerfulness. Hugh was avoiding her in private, and she could not blame him. Every time he saw her, he must be reminded that the well-being of his clan was now in jeopardy. So far, Hugh’d been right, that the average person didn’t seem to know or care that the earl had returned with a sister who wasn’t Riona.
At night, Hugh slept in his own bed, and more than once she found herself creeping through the dressing room on sleepless nights to put her ear against the door, wanting just to hear him breathe. The words “I love you, Riona,” had begun to seem like a dream that she’d awakened from into a nightmare.
On the third morning, she was startled out of sleep by Maggie shaking her.
“Riona, wake up!”
With a gasp, Riona bolted upright. “What’s wrong?”
“Hugh left to meet Owen without us! Get up, get dressed, I have a gown laid out for ye.”
“But—but—”
It was hard to talk when Maggie was yanking stays over her head and nightshift.
As Maggie tugged on the laces, Riona asked, “Did you overhear Hugh’s plans?”
“Nay. But I was informed by someone sympathetic to us. No need to concern yourself with whom.” Maggie pulled a petticoat over Riona’s head and tied it at her waist, then did the same with her skirt.
“Maggie, but who—”
“Never ye mind.”
Frustrated, Riona helped Maggie slide the masculine waistcoat of her new riding habit up her arms and laced it in front. There was no doubt Maggie was frantic to follow Hugh. And Riona was fine with that. She grunted as Maggie shoved a stomacher down behind the laces.
“Sorry,” Maggie said. “Here are your coat and boots.” She tapped her toe while Riona donned them. “Let’s go!”
They had no problem taking horses from thestables. Brendan loved being able to help his new sister. It wasn’t until they were outside the curtain wall that Riona felt able to speak freely.
“Maggie, were you told where Hugh is going? I can’t see him, and even if we could, he’d see us.”
Maggie stared out over McCallum land. Mist hovered above the surface of Loch Voil down below them, and curled up the path. The sun wasn’t yet visible, but the sky was golden in the east as if the mountains wore halos.
“The whisky land,” Maggie said with conviction. “That’s where I was told Owen wanted to meet him.”
“But . . . what if we catch up to Hugh?”
“We won’t. There’s more than one path, and I’ll take a different one.”
Riona opened her mouth, then shut it again. She’d already gone along with Maggie’s plan; there was no point in quibbling. Maggie’s gaze was fixed on the rising path before them with determination.
Several hours later, Riona began to recognize the land, and knew they were near. The path narrowed through a copse of trees, then opened up to the vast bog that crossed the glen. And not fifty yards ahead of them, Hugh and Owen faced each other, and the tension in the lines of their bodies was a visible thing.
Maggie caught Riona’s reins and whispered, “Let’s stay within the trees and listen.”
They both dismounted but weren’t noticed, because the two men were focused on each other. Owen was a tall, lean man, who wore his sandy-colored hair pulled back in a queue rather than hidden beneath a wig. He was not dressed as a Highlander, but wore elegant breeches and coat, with a waistcoat, fine shirt, and cravat beneath, very much an earl.
Riona glanced at Maggie, who seemed to absorb Owen with her focused gaze.
“Your father told me I could not have Catriona to wife,” Hugh was saying heatedly. “I could not permit him to break the contract that was promised to my clan.”
“So you kidnapped my cousin?” Owen said levelly, but with indignation in his voice.
“Your father put her in Cat’s room—and I was fool enough to fall into his trap. Did he even tell ye about Riona being missing?”
