Page 76 of The Wrong Highlander (Highland Brides 7)

Evina followed her gaze toward the large group of men hurrying across the bailey toward them and sighed. “O’ course they are.”

“O’ course,” Saidh agreed good-naturedly. “Goodness, my Greer and yer Conran look ready to choke someone.”

Evina considered the men and had to agree. They certainly did look upset. Glancing to Saidh with curiosity, she said, “Ye do no’ seem worried.”

Saidh shrugged with unconcern. “Greer would ne’er hurt me, and Conran wouldn’t hurt ye either. They’ll sputter and growl about yer safety, and me playing at swords while with child, and no doubt drag us back to the keep berating us the whole way. O’ course,” she added, “ye and I will act annoyed and refuse to speak to them and they will take us to our rooms to apologize and end up pleasuring us in the end.” Grinning, she glanced to Evina and assured her, “Ye’ll find there is nothing sweeter than a joining to make up after a fight. They are most eager to please then.”

Evina’s eyebrows rose at this news. She found it hard to imagine that Conran could do more to please her in the bedchamber than he already had. But she was willing to find out if there was. She also appreciated Saidh’s blunt speech. She was really beginning to like the woman a good deal and thought they could be grand friends. She liked the other women too, and was starting to think she was lucky to be marrying into this large family.

“Evina!”

“Saidh!”

“Here we go,” Saidh murmured as the men reached the practice field and Conran and Greer broke off from the group to start through the battling warriors toward them. She then said under her breath, “Remember, ye must act very annoyed and use words like high-handed and phrases about his ordering ye about like a child and such.”

Evina merely smiled with amusement and shook her head. She wouldn’t use those words unless Conran actually acted high-handed and ordered her about like a child. Of course, judging by the expressions on the faces of the two men as they approached, she suspected both of them would.

Conran was the first to reach them. He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward him, his mouth opening to begin his berating when a grunt of pain from behind her made Evina turn toward Cormag. She expected to find he’d dropped his sword on his foot, or given his battle partner a blow that had left his arms vibrating. Instead, she found herself staring blankly at the arrow sticking out of his back. She’d barely registered with bewilderment that that was what it was when the lad started to fall and someone—Conran, she presumed—tackled her from behind and dragged her to the ground.

Evina hit the hard-packed earth with a pained grunt of her own, and then promptly tried to crawl out from under Conran to get to Cormag. The lad had fallen just a foot away from her, and she wanted to check him, but Conran caught her around the legs and repositioned himself over her until his body shielded all of hers.

“Stay put,” he growled.

Evina was surprised she actually heard him over the hue and cry that was taking place around them as the Maclean warriors took note of what had happened and began to spread out in search of the culprit behind the arrow. A glance around showed that Jetta, Murine and Jo were now being covered by their husbands. Jo held little Bearnard tight to her chest, and her husband had his arms around both of them. Meanwhile Geordie, Rory and Alick were making their way toward them through the shifting bodies of the shouting Maclean warriors.

“Are ye all right, Evina? Ye were no’ hit, were ye?”

Evina turned her head to see that Gavin had rushed over to kneel next to them. Beyond him, she could see Saidh on the ground with Greer shielding her with his body as Conran was doing with her.

“Nay. I’m fine,” she said a little breathlessly. It was hard to breathe with Conran on her back. Her gaze slid to Cormag then and she asked with concern, “Is he alive?”

Gavin shifted to lean over the lad. Cormag had landed on his stomach, but her cousin now turned him onto his side and after a moment announced, “He’s breathing.”

Evina closed her eyes with relief, and then opened them again to glance around and see how close Rory was. Cormag needed him. She would never forgive herself if the boy died. This was all her fault. The arrow had no doubt been meant for her, and probably would have hit her had Conran not grabbed her hand and tugged her toward him when he had. Her attacker was still here and out to get her, and she’d brought him down on the men by coming here herself. Cormag’s getting hit with the arrow was all her fault.

“Is she all right?”

Recognizing Rory’s voice, Evina glanced around at that question, and nodded abruptly. “Aye. I’m fine. But Cormag needs ye.”

“We need to get Evina and the other women back to the keep,” Conran said as soon as Rory moved to kneel next to Gavin.

Geordie nodded. “Aulay and the others have already started back with the other women. ’Tis just Evina left. We’ll accompany ye and watch yer back.”

Evina’s eyes widened at those words and she glanced to where Saidh had been just a moment ago, surprised to see that the woman was gone. A glance in the direction of the keep showed Greer carrying her away at a run. The other men were ahead of them, each man carrying their own wives like precious children as they raced toward the keep.

It seemed the Buchanan men and their friends MacDonnell and Sinclair had a fondness for carrying their wives, she thought wryly, and then gasped in surprise when Conran was suddenly off of her and scooping her up too. He broke into a run the minute he had her in his arms, and Alick and Geordie fell in behind them, literally guarding his back.

Frowning, Evina glanced past them and yelled, “Donnan, bring Cormag up to the keep for Rory. He needs to tend him!”

Much to her relief, the man heard her. He continued barking orders at the men around him, sending them to search the bailey from top to bottom, but he also glanced her way and nodded to let her know he’d heard. Then he moved to where Rory and Gavin still knelt by Cormag. Alick and Geordie moved closer together then, blocking her view, and she settled into Conran’s arms with a sigh as he carried her to the keep.

He didn’t berate her the whole way back as Saidh had predicted. But then the situation had changed somewhat and Conran probably didn’t have the breath to berate her as he ran, Evina thought as he charged up the stairs to the keep, bouncing her around in his arms. He didn’t slow once in the keep as she’d expected; instead, he charged across the great hall, hurrying past the group made up of his family and the Sinclairs, and started up the stairs.

“Conran, we have to discuss what to do about—” Aulay began with concern.

“I’ll be right back,” he growled, not slowing.

Evina eyed him warily as he reached the top of the stairs and carried her to her door. Geordie and Alick were still following and Geordie rushed around to open the door for him.

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