Page 9 of Highlander's Runaway Seductress
“What are we doin’ on this?” she asked.
“Instead of travellin’ by land, it’s easier to go by the river,” Damien explained. “Dolberry is on the hills a few miles over the parish of Tarradale, so we’re goin’ to sail to Beauly, and get horses from there. The winds are favorable, so we might get there in under an hour.”
Amelie’s arms wrapped around herself as she began to reconsider if what she was doing was right. A part of her was not sure about jaunting off with a man she hardly knew into a situation that felt more like a fantasy.
The weak silver sun was glinting off the waters, and after staring at the shifting hues, Amelie asked, “Are we goin’ now or nae?”
“I’m waitin’ for another,” Damien replied, his cheeks hinting red at the arches. “His name is Benjamin McLowe. He was the one who helped me find so much about ye. I thought it would only be right to take him along.”
Amelie flinched a little at the conviction in Damien’s voice; he genuinely believed that she was his daughter, while she could barely envision it herself.
And share in the rewards, I take it.
“He’s an early riser, but his knees ache in the cold mornin’s,” Damien said, “I think it would best for us to sit awhile.”
He led her to a wooden stump and while she sat, Damien chose to stand. Looking at his profile, Amelie’s eyes dropped to his hands: they were broad but long fingered, sporting calluses and scars. Again, she was sure that Damien did not live an easy life.
Gazing at him, Amelie realized her feelings about him were utterly scrambled. He was mysterious, withdrawn, but still, his presence was as powerful as a king’s.
Her eyes followed him wherever he went and the memory of his touch from last night was still as present as when he had actually touched her. He left her feeling disoriented, confused, and most perplexing of all, wanting another touch.
For all her naïveté with men, Amelie knew what attraction was. She had been drawn to a few men before, but none as powerful as Damien. Shivers ran over her skin when he looked at her and she wondered what his kiss would feel like.
Amelie licked her lips nervously before asking him a question, trying to make conversation. “How old are ye?”
“Three-and-twenty.” The corner of his lips flattened.
She was about to ask more, but the expression on his face halted her from doing so. Instead, she told him about herself.
“I’m only ten-and-nine. What ye said about me family name, startled me a little. I daenae ken me last name. All I ken is me first, Amelie, or many from the bar call me, Leelee.”
“Do ye care for it?”
“Hm?” she asked. “Workin’ at the tavern?”
“Nay,” he said, brushing a lock of hair from his face, “the nickname, do ye care for it?”
“It doesnae matter to me, much,” she shrugged. “I sort of like it. It’s nice. I dinnae have any parent or family to give me a nickname, so I appreciate it. Did yer parents give ye—”
“He’s comin’,” Damien cut her off abruptly.
Turning to the mouth of the dock, Amelie stood and watched as an older man, with thin blond hair that looked silver under the light, came closer to them. He was holding a sack and while he moved, she noticed that he was walking stiffly. Damien was right about the man’s knees, and by choosing the boat to go upriver, it would give the older man some comfort from riding or walking all day.
“Ben,” Damien greeted with a smile. “How are yer knees?”
“Troublesome,” Mister McLowe smiled deprecatingly. “Thank ye, for goin’ to all this trouble for me, Damien,” he then turned to Amelie. “Ye must be the most fortunate lass in this land.”
Reddening, Amelie shook her head. “We daenae ken that yet, Mister McLowe.”
He gave her a genial smile, “I suppose we’ll see, and please, call me Ben.”
A stiff wind buffeted her dress, the sails of the boat, and Damien’s hair, causing him to turn to the boat. “We should be goin’.”
He helped Mister McLowe and his pack into the vessel first, then got Amelie seated. When Damien joined them, he cast off the mooring line and sat at the till. Amelie looked under the slats where a pair of rowing oars lay. Damien was steering them close to shore away from stronger current in the middle of the water.
Dredging up the courage, Amelie said, “I’m still not sure about this. What if I amnae the person ye believe me to be? What then?”
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