though it would come at the cost of teasing. She’d happily allow him to tease her mercilessly if only she could see him again.
“I see ye are still undecided.”
Duncan’s voice lifted her from her internal musings. “I am still angry.” She cringed to hear the snarl in her voice. She hadn’t intended to put so much emotion in her response.
Duncan regarded her as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, face grim. “I knew ye would be. Ye were right about us. We have acted as barbarians. I was told my behavior the last time I saw ye was explained.”
“Yes, your father said you were angry with him.”
Duncan took a deep breath. “The man who struck ye attacked and injured a guest at my father’s table without provocation. I should have killed him! Now we share an enemy, one who knows the truth of ye. I fear he could spread this knowledge, bringing enemies here. I have failed to see the wisdom in many of my da’s decisions regarding ye. This one was the tipping point. It dinnae occur to me ye would think yer appearance offended me. I apologize for making ye think so.”
Fury ripped through Anna. “To hell with apologies and pity from you and your father, Duncan MacGregor! I neither require nor want them! I would prefer respect, and the men of your clan at least to act like they possess honor!” Anna closed on him, hands at her sides tightly curled into fists.
Duncan stepped back, hands raised in surrender. Struggling to regain her composure, she spoke through gritted teeth. “I thought we were going for a ride?”
Duncan laughed and boarded his horse, tension eased. “Aye, we were indeed.”
She mounted Orion, and looked MacGregor in the eye. “Shall I fetch my weapons?”
“Nae, ’twill not be necessary. I know ye dinnae trust me, but ye are under my protection.”
“Mayhap you have not noticed, sir, but I do not require your protection.” Vestiges of anger colored her voice.
Duncan’s cheeks darkened and his eyes flashed, but he clamped his mouth shut and rode out the door, keeping whatever it was he wanted to say behind his teeth.
Neither spoke for several minutes, allowing the tension to ebb once again. As they rode through the village, Anna noticed it was much like her own had been. Viewing the community from a prisoner’s viewpoint on the ride in, it had appeared differently.
Duncan pointed out the smithy, butcher, weavers, mason, and the rest. “And once a sennight, there is a market when the villagers buy, sell and barter goods and services.”
Anna nodded. “’Tis much as my home was.”
As they passed the small mud-and-stone crofts, she noticed each had a small fenced garden as well as chicken houses and pens with pigs. Cattle and sheep stood in the meadows alongside acre after acre of plowed fields. They passed vineyards, orchards, and several storage barns along the way. At the back of one, she spied a large number of beehives. Anna was struck by the beautiful setting. Everything appeared green, lush and growing, with the scent of flowers in the air. The steep hills and rock balanced the ruggedly beautiful land.
Anna stole several sidelong glances at her guide. She watched the play of his muscular body, moving as one with his horse. Admiring him is surely madness. She tried to summon the anger she’d felt at the stables as a shield against such foolish thoughts, but found it had waned. Part of her wanted to remain angry, but after being outside in this beautiful setting, she found no appetite for it.
“Your home is beautiful. It is similar to mine, but also very different.” Thoughts of home tugged at her heart.
His sky-blue eyes sparkled, and in them she saw pride for his home, his clan. “Aye, I knew ye would like it. Now I need to convince ye to stay.”
Furrowing her brow, Anna found herself at a loss for words. She didn’t know how to respond to him, nor could she understand what his smile did to her.
I should still be angry, damn him!
They rode beside the small river winding through the village and past a miller’s wheel. Following the river downstream, they came to a body of water so large she could barely see the other shore.
“Fadagorm Loch. We share it with the MacFarlane clan, our allies. Their lands are on the far side of the loch, to the west. We trade with them and work together to protect our territories. To the north live the