Page 17 of Highlander's Lady of the Lake

“There’s too much at stake,” Chrisdean said with a small shrug of his shoulders. “The English can defeat us with little effort noo. The Lowlands wouldna fight, na when the King promises to na harm them. What do ye think they’ll do? Do ye think they’ll choose to fight with us rather than save themselves? Their clans and their families?”

“I support yer cause,” Nimue assured Chrisdean. “But I willna marry ye.”

Chrisdean began to walk away with a sigh, but he soon stopped and turned to look at Nimue once more. “Weel, at least ye dinna seem to hate me anymore,” he said. “Ye havena called me any names so far.”

Nimue couldn’t stop a small smile from spreading over her lips at the quip. “Och, I wouldna say that I dinna hate ye,” she said, her tone teasing. “Dinna flatter yerself, I dinna give ye that much thought.”

That was a lie, of course. Nimue hadn’t thought about anything else but Chrisdean for days and knowing that drove her crazy. She didn’t want him to occupy her every thought. She didn’t want to think about him at all.

“I dinna think that’s true,” Chrisdean said, giving her a lopsided smile of his own. “I think it’s just somethin’ that ye say to convince yerself that it’s true.”

“Dinna ye have things to do today, me Laird?” Nimue asked. “Will ye spend yer entire day tellin’ me that I’m a liar?”

Chrisdean laughed at that as he approached Nimue once more. The look that he gave her made the air catch in her throat, as though she had forgotten how to breathe.

“Will ye marry me?” he asked.

Nimue shook her head. “Na.”

“Then, will ye let me show ye the land?” he asked. “Ye have barely left yer chambers since ye came here. Surely, ye wish to see some of the Highlands?”

It hadn’t occurred to Nimue just how much she missed being outside, even after only a day or so of being kept inside the castle. The Highlands were new to her, as she had never been there before, and since she was there already, she didn’t see why she couldn’t accept a tour of the place, at least.

“Fine,” she said. “I suppose we can do that.”

“Verra weel, follow me,” Chrisdean said, and Nimue did so, following him around the castle, out the front doors, and toward the stables. When she came face to face with the horses, though, her excitement faltered.

“Will I need to ride a horse?” she asked.

“Aye, sure ye’ll need to ride a horse,” Chrisdean said. “Did ye expect me to carry ye around?”

“Dinna ye have a . . . a carriage or . . . I dinna ken! Somethin’ other than a horse?” Nimue asked. The last thing that she wanted to do was be on a horse again, especially if she wasn’t even going back home. “I truly dinna wish to ride a horse.”

The look that Chrisdean gave her was curious, but he didn’t ask her the reason behind her refusal. Instead, he took her hand in his and gently pulled her closer to one of the horses, guiding her to pet its mane.

“See?” he asked. “They are all verra gentle. Ye have nothin’ to fear.”

Chrisdean’s words were not reassuring in the slightest. The moment Nimue’s hand touched the horse, she blanched, the color draining from her face. Flashes of a horse’s hooves rushed through her mind, making her hands tremble, and her knees buckle under her weight.

“Nimue . . . it’s alright,” Chrisdean continue. “I promise ye, nothin’ will happen to ye. I’ve tended to these horses meself, and I’ve never had a problem with them.”

Nimue gave Chrisdean a distrustful look, shaking her head. “I dinna ken. I . . . I dinna like horses, and I’d much rather walk.”

“Ye’ll barely see anythin’ of the Highlands if we walk,” Chrisdean pointed out. “I’m askin’ ye to trust me, just this one time, and then if I prove to na be worthy of yer trust, ye can call me as many names as ye wish. We’ll share a horse if ye so wish. All ye’ll have to do is hold onto me.”

Chrisdean’s words brought a smile to Nimue’s face. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought it would, she reasoned. After all, she had traveled all the way to the Highlands on horseback, and nothing had happened to her, save for some psychological damage, which was more because she had been kidnapped rather than the fact that she had been on the horse.

Besides, the horse that Chrisdean had chosen for them did, indeed, seem to be very gentle. Despite her apprehension, Nimue tried to convince herself that she would be just fine and that it would be good to get out of the castle for a while. It would also be helpful, she thought, to get to know Chrisdean as much as she could and to open up to him, too. Perhaps if she could make him empathize with her, she would also be able to convince him to let her go home.

“Fine,” she said in the end, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. “Fine, we can take the horse. But dinna blame me if ye find yer ribs bruised after the ride.”

She fully expected her grip on Chrisdean to be crushing, as she knew that she would be deathly afraid of the horse. She reminded herself that it was nothing Chrisdean hadn’t experienced before, though. All the way to the Highlands, he kept complaining about her tight grip on him as they rode.

“Ach, ye’ve already crushed it all to bits, lass,” he told her, waving a hand dismissively. “Come noo. Let’s get ye on the horse.”

With Chrisdean’s help, Nimue mounted the horse after the stable boy had prepared it for them, and just like that, she froze. She had to remind herself to breathe, drawing in long puffs of air and pushing it out of her mouth, until Chrisdean joined her on the saddle, and she finally had something to hold onto.

“See? It isna so bad,” Chrisdean said, but Nimue could hardly hear him over the buzzing of her ears. She thought that ‘bad’ was an understatement, and she cursed the moment that she agreed to get on that horse. “Do ye trust me?”

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