Page 12 of Pretty in Plaid
“Aye. Verra well.”
“Good. We will run to the horses then.”
He expected her to balk at the prospect of running a mile, but she merely nodded and said with a short laugh, “Wish I’d kept on my stays.”
He narrowed his eyes but didn’t ask why until they started to run, and she clutched her breasts to her chest. That made him grin and also feel bad for her at the same time.
“I understand now,” he said as they ran, eyeing her clutched breasts.
Kenna laughed. “The stays would have kept them in place, but it’d be hell to breathe.”
“Aye.”
“And I dinna think ye’d want me to pass out along the journey.”
“Nay.” He chuckled, thinking about offering to hold her breasts if she needed a rest, but he kept the vulgar jest to himself.
Less than a quarter-hour later, without having any interference, thank the saints, they arrived at the barn where he’d boarded the two horses during his short mission. Inside, two Jacobite rebels nodded and accepted the coin Sorley passed them.
“Mistress J,” Sorley said, bowing to the smaller of the two rebels.
Dressed in breeches, shirts and frockcoats, with caps decorated in a white cockade, the two stood sentry at the barn door. The shorter of the two was Mistress J, and the taller one Sorley guessed was her cousin. The rebel lass was making a name for herself across the Highlands, and he knew when he’d needed help that she’d be the one to ask. She had delivered on her promise, and he would deliver on his end of the bargain.
“Retriever,” she said with a slight bow to her head.
If only they could stay longer and chat. He thought that Kenna and Mistress J would get along quite well, for the latter was a rebel fighter who spent hours in the dark raising a rebel army, weapons and coin. Her bravery was impressive, to say the least, and to be admired.
Sorley recognized the same rebel spirit in Kenna.
The two women eyed each other, and then Mistress J stepped forward and held out her hand. Kenna clasped it in a show of solidarity. Both of them smiled as if sharing some silent secret.
“Welcome to the right side.” Mistress J nodded her approval. “We shall meet again.”
Mistress J’s companion handed Sorley a satchel full of supplies that would keep Kenna and him fed until they reached her uncle. The journey to Kyle of Lochalsh, where they’d catch a ferry across to Skye, was going to take several days.
Then the two rebels melted into the shadows, leaving Sorley and Kenna to mount up and be on their way.
“Ye have impressive friends,” Kenna said as they exited the barn.
“Ye know Mistress J?” Sorley glanced down the road. No sign of their rebel friends, nor the dragoons he’d expected would have started a search by now.
“Everyone knows who she is, including me, though this was the first time we’ve formally met. She was fantastic.” There was admiration in Kenna’s voice. “To be honest, I’d thought her to be made up.”
“Ye’d no’ be the only one,” Sorley chuckled. “I thought the same too.”
They headed down the road, keeping a steady pace as they made their way southward. He wanted to get a good distance away before dawn, when they could no longer hide under the cover of darkness. Of course, they were not necessarily safe anywhere. Dragoons wandered the woods as if they owned all of Scotland outright.
It was not the journey itself that worried Sorley. Nay, indeed, the only thing that worried him right now was how he would keep himself from kissing Kenna again. Every time he looked at her, he thought of that soft whisper of breath when he’d pressed his lips to hers. The heat of her mouth; the passionate way she’d returned his kiss.
There was a lot more to Kenna Forbes than he’d thought. So many layers to peel back to discover who she was. And he found himself eager to do so. Such as, how in the world did a lass trained to be a lady know how to wield a weapon—and keep that weapon in her tightly wound, decorative hairstyle? The dagger she’d pulled on him had been a surprise!
Indeed, the next three days traveling together were going to be fascinating. Sorley grinned, his gaze on Kenna, and his heart stuttered when she grinned right back, a twinkle of mischief sparkling in her bonnie blue eyes.
5
Kenna startled, falling to the left in the saddle as she’d started to drift to sleep again. They’d been traveling for hours through the night, going slow when necessary and speeding up when the roads were clear.
She was unaccustomed to staying awake through the night, and while the fear of the dragoons chasing after them had kept her awake the first few hours, exhaustion continued to sway her ability to remain upright.
