Page 1 of Love’s Charity

Chapter One

December 26, 1712

Ben Nevis

Scottish Highlands

“Iam freezingme arse off. I hope ye’re happy, Marianna.”

“A curse on ye, Evander Shaw Cameron! I hope yer willy freezes off as well.” She shoved her furry hood aside and spat at him. It disappeared in the driving snow. Probably froze midair and joined the storm.

She only used his full Christian name when sorely vexed at him, and that was every waking hour since those infernal rumors had come to a head. That was also why they now found themselves floundering through the eastern pass beyondTor Ruadhin the middle of a snowstorm. If only they had kept their fighting between themselves. But nay. Dear Marianna would never be one to keep anything calm or private when she considered herself wronged.

The treacherous drifts glistened in what little light managed to filter through the heavy gray clouds. It might only be late afternoon, but it looked more like dusk. Every snorting breath fogged in the air, then frosted their faces, be it theirs or the horses. The powerful, shaggy beasts plowed forward, seeking a safe path that wasn’t arsehole deep.

After knocking away the frosty crust from his beard for the umpteenth time, Evander decided Chieftain MacCoinnich had come up with this penance to kill them rather than force them to stop tormenting everyone in the keep with their explosive quarreling.

He shot a sharp look over at Marianna, his eyes tearing from the bite of the storm’s icy sting. “Do ye need me to take yer reins so’s ye can don another wrap?”

“I do not!”

Stubborn woman. Even now, freezing to death, she refused to go along with anything he said. He set his jaw, nudged his horse closer to hers, and snatched the lines out of her hands. “Don another wrap. A cloak or a fur. Something. Now!”

For once in all the time since he had both loved and hated her, she finally did as he asked without arguing. The shock of it nearly knocked him from the saddle. Why couldn’t it always be like that between them? Her being all gentle and cooperative? Andlisteningrather than judging. The wish warmed his heart, made him feel almost brave enough to try to win her again. Attempt to make her listen to the truth and convince her to believe him.

“Thank ye,” she said, not nearly as snappish but loud enough to be heard over the howling wind. “Do ye think they are trying to kill us?”

“The thought had occurred to me.”

“I guess setting fire to Lady Catriona’s skirts was more than the MacCoinnich could overlook from us.”

“Aye.” Evander made a note that in the future, whenever he dodged something flung at his head, he needed to mind the candelabras. Thankfully, his adoptive father, Ian Cameron, and the clan priest, Father McBride, had convinced the chieftain that the charity of tending the clan’s less fortunate would be more beneficial than a month or more spent scraping muck out of the dungeons and garderobe sluices.

A peppering of sleet mixed with the snow hitting his face jolted him from his fuming. “We willna get much farther with it getting worse. Best find shelter as soon as the pass opens up into the pines.”

“How far ’til that?” she shouted over the strong gusts whistling through the mountain pass. The force hit them so hard, the mounts swayed and side-stepped through the drifts.

“Just up ahead.” But he couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t see a feckin’ thing other than shadowy outlines of whatever existed out here other than themselves. Even though he had traveled this route many times, everything looked different through the frozen lens of the storm.

“Dinna let her freeze to death,” he prayed under his breath. If aught happened to her, he could never live with it. God forgive him for his quick temper and his part in dragging them into this death trap. He swore then and there that if they survived, he would do better by her. Or at the very least make more of an effort to not irritate her when anyone else was around.

Another glance at Marianna increased his worries. He could barely see her in the driving snow. She hunched forward in the saddle, shielding her face as best she could. The woman could anger him quicker than any soul alive but also fill him with more joy and hope than he ever knew existed. If they made it through this alive, somehow, someway, he would make everything right between them.

The horses plodded onward, their shaggy coats and heavy manes protecting them. “Ye’ll have extra feed when we stop, lads,” he promised them. “I’ll see to it.” The beasts would welcome their horsebread this evening and had well earned it.

They had to reach the forest soon. To survive this weather depended on shelter and a fire. He slipped out of the saddle, held tight to the reins of both mounts, and took the lead. If he didn’t encourage the beasts, they might very well stop right where they stood and wait out the storm, shelter or no shelter.

“Get back on yer horse!” Marianna shouted. “Ye’ll freeze in these drifts.”

He ignored her and plodded on, bending against the blasts of frigid air gusting all around. The wind seemed worse here, but Evander hoped that was because they had reached the end of the pass and were no longer sheltered on each side by the mountain. Darker outlines towered to the left of them, bolstering his hopes even more. Trees. The horses needed little urging to turn into the forest of thick pines.

The sudden silence inside the shelter of heavy, snow-laden boughs made his ears ring. Marianna straightened in the saddle and let the extra fur drop around her shoulders. “Aye, now this is much better.”

It was. But it was still bitterly cold. “Pull that fur back over yer hood, ye ken?” He hoped she would obey as easily as she had before.

She did not.

“Do ye think me an eedjit? I have the sense to keep myself warm, thank ye verra much. ’Tis none of yer concern, anyway.” With a curt shove, she pushed back her fur-lined hood as well, revealing the mane of golden silkiness that had been his downfall. Well, to be truthful, her long blonde tresses, ample curves, and quick wit had all cast their spell upon him. And those things didn’t begin to complete the list of temptations when it came to his former lady love. In all honesty, ’twas the entirety of Marianna Jennett Kennedy that had been his undoing. His dearestMejjy.May God have mercy on his soul.

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