The Scot's Pursuit - Keira Montclair Page 0,36

spend one night in his bed. Do you remember when you saw me with Alick MacNicol near the chapel?”

“Aye.”

“We married. My uncle had promised to speak to my sire, but both of us feared he wouldn’t see reason…and we were so close to the chapel. We said our vows then and there. After Alick left, my sire dragged me to Osbert Ware and made me marry him, but I ran away last eve after dark.”

“I’d wondered,” Jep said, tapping his lip, “but how could someone wed you to Ware if you were already married to Alick?”

“My sire paid the priest. It cannot be valid. He twisted my arm until I accepted. I’m hiding in a cave, but I need my bow and quiver. I’d take an extra, too, if you can find one that won’t be missed.”

“Ah, lass. I’ll get you whatever you need, including a horse. We found a couple of new ones so I’ll gift you one of those with a bag of oats. I can give you some dried meat and some oatcakes, but ’tis all I have out here.”

Relief rolled over her. “My thanks to you. You are a dear friend, Jep.”

“Your sire is a fool for treating you the way he does.” He left with a promise to return quickly. She paced in the small area until he returned. He had another sack, two bows, two quivers full of arrows, and two more plaids thrown over the horse. “I put as much food as I could inside the sack. I’ll save what I can for you if you return another day.”

“My thanks. If you see Alick MacNicol, tell him what I’ve told you.”

“I will. He’ll be back someday, and I’ll send him after you.”

She gave him a swift hug and left, walking her horse out past the line of trees so she wouldn’t be seen when she mounted. Finding a log to assist her, she climbed onto her horse and set him to a nice canter until she felt comfortable allowing him the gallop he wanted so much. Jep had given her a fine horse. Now she just had to wait.

Patience. She needed patience until Alick came back.

Chapter Eleven

Alex Grant watched from the parapets, still upset that Emmalin didn’t trust him to keep John safe. He reminded himself of what his dear wife, Maddie, had said to him about rescuing Claray, Sela’s first-born daughter. At the time, the lassie was being held captive by some cruel men. The smartest move, strategically speaking, would have been to wait to rescue her, but Maddie had insisted on acting at once.

I must protect the bairns of our country. You consider everyone else, but I have purpose, too, and ’tis no less important.

How his love for her had grown in that moment. She’d stood up for what she believed in and refused to relent. He’d given in to her request and they’d saved wee Claray, something for which Sela had thanked them many times.

Emmalin was no different than Maddie, only her protectiveness was for her own son. A small smile crept across his face. His sons had asked him at one time what they should look for in a wife. He hadn’t thought to mention one particular feature that made a woman invaluable in his eyes.

Find a woman who will fight for your bairns.

Emmalin was doing exactly that, and he admired that she’d stood strong against him, something many women wouldn’t have done.

“You raised your daughter well, Finnean.”

He didn’t know if his old friend, her father, could hear him from the heavens above, but he thought it possible. If so, the old laird was smiling down on his daughter, watching her fight for her land and her bairns.

The battle had begun. He kept his eye on the number outside the curtain wall, trying to guess how many the English had in the fight. He thought there were more than ten score, a bit less than the number Alick had told him he’d overheard last eve.

That thought made him pace. True, they had more than enough guards to defeat such a number, between Grant warriors and the well-trained MacLintock warriors his grandson worked with every day, but he still didn’t like being surprised. He paced down the parapets, keeping watch over his grandchildren especially. Dyna was rapidly firing from atop the curtain wall, taking out many, judging by the screams he heard, and the men were fighting well.

After nearly an hour of hard battle, most of the English had been