“Nay, I wasn’t,” she said, but she could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe her.
“Come on,” he said, taking her by the elbow and guiding her through the woods. “I suddenly have a powerful hunger fer some food.”
“Me too,” she said blindly, stumbling through the dark with the candle in her hand. He stopped and turned around and leaned forward and blew it out.
“Save thet for times when it’s needed,” he told her.
“But I can’t see anything in the dark,” she protested.
“Just stay close te me and ye’ll be fine.” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her through the thicket. She wasn’t used to moving so quickly in the dark, and stubbed her toe and bent over in pain.
“Stop going so fast,” she complained. “I hurt my foot. I’ll need to walk slowly.”
“Dinna bother,” he said, scooping her up into his arms. She dropped the candle and grabbed for him so she wouldn’t fall. Then, with her arms around his neck, she held on while he whisked her to safety by the fire.
Onyx put the lassie down by the fire, glad to see the boys already had the rabbits cleaned and were roasting them over the fire. But when he looked closer, he realized there were three animals on the fire instead of two.
“What the clootie is this?” he asked, noticing Ian and Aidan hunkered down and looking at something on the ground on the other side. “Did ye string up Tawpie or what?”
His cat growled lowly from the shadows at that comment, and Onyx bent over and scooped it up, running a hand through its fur.
“Thet’s squirrel,” Ian said without turning around. “Aidan threw a rock and killed the poor thing.”
“Oh, guid,” said Onyx. “Thet’s more fer us te eat now.” Tawpie licked his hand seeming to like the idea as well.
“No’ guid,” he heard Aidan’s muffled voice. “I didna mean te do this.”
“Do what?” He didn’t have time for games and these two were driving him crazy. “What is it ye have there?”
“Ye’d better see this fer yerself,” said Ian, getting to his feet and running a hand through his hair.
“Hold her,” he told Lovelle and shoved the cat into her arms. “I dinna want te find her on the spit next, if Aidan decides te throw another rock.”
“I . . . no . . .” she protested, but Onyx just walked away and she followed to see what his friends were looking at. “It’s a baby squirrel,” she blurted out, and Onyx realized she was right. The little red fuzz ball looked up with wide, scared eyes.”
“Kill it and we’ll have more food,” said Onyx, walking away as it meant nothing to him.
“Thet’s what I told him, but he refuses,” said Ian under his breath.
“Then give me the damned thing and I’ll do it.” Onyx pulled his dagger from his belt, but Lovelle stepped in between them, dropping the cat in the process.
“Don’t,” she said. “Please. It looks like it’s only a baby.”
He stopped and looked at her and just shook his head. “It willna make it through the night without its mathair. And thet is no’ goin’ te happen, as in another minute what’s left of her will be in our stomachs.”
Tawpie’s head lowered and the wildcat took a step forward, looking at the squirrel. Then it took another step and crouched down, getting ready to pounce.
“Nay,” said Aidan, pushing the cat away. “Dagger tell yer cat te leave it alone.”
“Tawpie wouldn’t kill it,” Lovelle said, no sooner getting the words from her mouth when the cat pounced forward toward the squirrel showing very long, sharp teeth.
Lovelle screamed, and Onyx lurched forward and scooped up the kitten. Its fangs were showing, but Onyx just grabbed the kitten’s mouth and held it closed. “Dinna make me angry me little pet,” he warned it.
“What was that?” she asked. “A moment ago the cute little kitten was curled up on my lap and now it turns into a killer.”
“Tawpie’s a wildcat o’ the Highlands, I told ye,” Onyx explained. “’Tis in her nature te kill, as she only eats meat.”
“I had no idea,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself and looking at his pet in a whole different light. She was obviously back to hating cats again.
“Now come on and let’s eat, and save some o’ thet roasted squirrel fer me cat. Mayhap then she’ll get it out o’ her system te eat the baby.”
Lovelle sat down by the fire and Onyx took the spit and handed it to her. “Care for some?” he asked, almost laughing when she realized it was the dead squirrel he held in front of her. She just shook her head and looked back to the cat and the baby squirrel.
“I’ll just have some rabbit,” she said. “Because I’ll never be able to eat squirrel again.”
Chapter 5
Lovelle awoke, feeling quite warm to her surprise. She figured she must have slept closer to the fire than she realized, and thankfully it had stopped snowing. She’d never slept on the ground before, and rolled over on the blanket she’d been using – the only one that was in the travel bag, and reached out to hug her pillow. She put her leg over it. It was so warm and comforting. It was . . . she didn’t have a pillow. Her eyes popped open to see Onyx staring at her. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face.
The sun was shining already, and in the daylight her sense of color was close to normal. This was the first time she was seeing him in the daylight, and suddenly she realized how eerie his eyes were after all. “Bid the devil!” She gasped and pulled away from him, crying out in surprise. Disappointment showed in his eyes by her reaction.
“Somehow I thought ye were different than the rest.” He pulled away from her and stood and straightened his clothes. “I guess thet was me first mistake.”
“I . . . I don’t know what you mean,” she said, scurrying to a standing position.
He reached down and picked up the blanket and shook it out before he folded it into a neat square. When he did, Tawpie let out a loud shriek and ran out from underneath it.
“Dinna ferget I can tell when ye’re lyin’.”
He didn’t give her a chance to respond, but went straight over to the travel bag on the horse and put the blanket inside. “What the clootie is this?” He pulled out the baby squirrel and held it in the air.
“Thet’s me squirrel,” said Aidan, rushing over and scooping it up in his hands.
“Ye’re no’ takin’ thet thing with us.”
“He can ride in the travel bag,” said Aidan.
“That’s where me kitten is goin’ te ride,” Onyx replied.
“I dinna suppose they can ride together?”
“No’ unless ye ne’er want te see yer pet again. Ye saw how intent Tawpie was on stalkin’ it last night.”
Lovelle walked up shaking her head, not believing these big, strong men were arguing over a baby red squirrel and a small but very dangerous wildcat. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms, and they both looked her way.
“I’d like to get to the MacKeefe camp as soon as possible to get the book and return to England in the next few days. So . . . if you don’t mind.” She stepped around them and pulled herself up into the saddle, trying not to look at Onyx, or she’d risk flinching again. She was anxious to be on their way.
“The fire’s out.” Ian came to join them, getting atop his horse as well.
“I dinna remember sayin’ we were leavin’ yet,” said Onyx.
“I’ll keep the squirrel in me plaid fer now,” said Aidan, plucking the animal from Onyx’s hand and tucking it inside his plaid. Then he donned his sword and mounted his horse as well.
“Well, I guess thet leaves us, Tawpie. Where are ye?” he called to his cat, pushing the blanket inside the travel bag. The cat was crouched down by the smoking embers of the fire, gnawing on the bones from last night’s meal. “Come on,” he said, scooping it up and throwing it into the travel bag. It snarled at being taken away from what it was doing, and Lovelle moved her leg quickly since it was
right next to the bag.
“I don’t want that wild animal riding so close to me,” she protested.
Onyx strapped on his weapons and pulled himself up behind her on the horse. He leaned over and whispered into her ear, his hot breath caressing her cheek like the stroke of a scorned lover.
“Tawpie’s no’ the wild animal ridin’ close to ye thet ye need te worry aboot. Now try te relax, as we’ll be there soon.”
With that, he jabbed his feet into the sides of the horse and it took off so quickly she fell back against him once more. She felt the heat from his body right through her cloak, and suddenly she wondered just what she’d gotten herself into. She only hoped there would be other women there when they reached the MacKeefe camp. Because any more of these Scottish madmen around her and she was going to go mad herself.
* * *
They reached the MacKeefe camp late that afternoon, and Onyx was only too glad to jump off the horse and not be pressed up against Lady Love any more. He had thought she was different than everyone else. She hadn’t seemed to be bothered by his appearance last night. It had felt so good to have her curled up next to him, sharing his warmth as they slept under the stars, whether she knew what she was doing or not.
But this morning something changed that he didn’t understand. She’d flinched when she’d looked into his eyes, just like everyone else did. That bothered him immensely. They didn’t speak much at all on the rest of the journey, and now that he was home, he hoped he wouldn’t have to talk to or be near her at all until they collected the book and headed back to England to save his mother.
He reached into the travel bag and grabbed his kitten, placing it on his shoulder. He was starting to walk away when he heard Lovelle from behind him, still atop the horse.
“Aren’t you going to help me down?” she asked, almost like she wanted him to touch her.
“Ye dinna ken how te dismount a horse by yerself?” he asked.
“I’ll help ye,” said Ian, reaching up and grabbing her around the waist, and bringing her down to the ground in one swift motion. She looked up to him and smiled, and he let his hands linger at her waist. For some reason, that bothered Onyx.
“Ian, thet’s enough,” he said, not wanting his friend making a move toward Lovelle. Ian looked up and scowled at him and then walked away from her.
“Boys, you’ve returned.” Storm’s mother, Clarista, rushed from the cottage, and right behind her was Storm’s father, the past chieftain of the clan, Ian MacKeefe.
“Who are ye?” asked her husband, perusing Lovelle with a curious eye. At one time he had hated the English more than anyone, but that all changed when he was reunited with Clarista, his English lover, and when his own son, Storm, married an Englishwoman as well.
“Chieftain,” said Onyx, walking up to them. Old Ian MacKeefe held the position of chieftain while living at camp when his son resided at Hermitage Castle. So in respect, both father and son served as chieftain at the same time. “This is Lady Love,” he said. “She’s a Sassenach – I mean an Englishwoman.”
“Lady Lovelle de Lacy of Worcestershire,” Lovelle corrected him with a sideways glance.
“Welcome,” said Clarista with a wide smile. “What bring you to the Highlands, my dear? It’s not often we see English this far north.”
“Well, I am not really here of my own accord.” She glanced over to Onyx when she said it.
“Thet’s right,” said Aidan, petting his squirrel wrapped in the long end of his plaid. “Dagger kidnapped her.”
“He did what?” asked the chieftain. “Dinna tell me thet, as we dinna have enough men here te fight off an army o’ Englishmen when they come after her.”
“No one’s comin’ after her,” said Onyx. “What Lady Love didna tell ye is thet she ordered her men te stay behind and said she was comin’ o’ her own free will.”
“What is goin’ on here?” asked the older man, the impatience in his voice growing. He squinted one eye as he spoke. “If ye three played one o’ yer little games again, I swear I’ll have yer heids.”
“I’m only here to get what Onyx’s mother stole from my family and then I am leaving,” said Lovelle.
Clarista’s eyes dropped to Lovelle’s hand and looked at the ring she wore. “Isn’t that Fenella’s ring? Where is she?”
“The English took her back wit’ them across the border,” Ian supplied the information.
“Onyx,” said Clarista, “is everything all right?”
How could he answer this without getting the woman worried? She was the matriarch of the MacKeefe clan and always there when someone needed comforting. She’d had a hard life and knew disappointment as well as anyone, but also knew joy after being reunited with her son again after many years.
“Me mathair killed a man,” he said in a low, strong voice. “And then she lied te me. I dinna understand any o’ it, but I am here te collect a book she stole and hopefully save her life.”
With that, he turned and left, with Ian and Aidan following right behind him.
“I dinna like this. There is no guid going te come o’ this,” complained the chieftain. “I ne’er shoulda let ye talk me inte lettin’ Fenella stay wit’ the clan after the deith o’ her husband. Thet woman was ne’er anythin’ but trouble, and now so is her son.”
He stomped away in a fury, leaving Lovelle standing there with Clarista.
“Would you care for a bite to eat, my dear?” she asked, putting her arm around Lovelle’s shoulder. “Come. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the clan.”
“Are they all like those three?” she asked, glancing over to Onyx and his friends who had stopped near a grove of trees and were having a competition of who could throw their dagger with their eyes closed and still hit a gnarled branch that was leaning crooked across the sky.
“Nay, thank goodness, those three are the only madmen of the clan since my son Storm married a good Englishwoman to calm him down. Come now, and join us, as we are just preparing a meal of mutton stew. Do you like it?”
“I’ll eat anything,” she said, “as long as it is not cat or squirrel.”
Chapter 6
“Dagger, stop yer madness,” said Ian leaning back on a straw pallet in one of the stone huts with a thatched roof that he had shared with his friends as well as some of the other men of the clan for years now.
The room was a shambles, as Onyx had tore it up looking for the book so he could save his mother and get the hell away from Lady Love already. He’d lowered his guard and started to have feelings for the lassie, and for some odd reason he’d thought she felt something too. Until this morning when she acted repulsed by him. That action alone told him that he’d been mistaken.
“So glad te have ye back,” said Tam, a boy of five and ten years that they shared the hut with.
“Aye,” said Fergus, another man of the clan a few years older than Onyx. “We really missed the way ye keep things clean around here.”
The sarcasm in their voices was not missed by Onyx as they opened the door and headed out, leaving just him and Ian in the room. Aidan walked in as the other men left, and plopped down on the pallet next to Ian with the baby squirrel in his hands. Tawpie shot out from under the table and stopped and lowered her head, then moved forward slowly, stalking the squirrel.
“So did ye find it yet?” asked Aidan, feeding his new pet with crumbs.
“Isna thet thing deid yet?” asked Onyx, frustrated in his search. He picked up a sleeping pallet and looked underneath, then threw it down and stabbed his dagger into it, ripping it open, causing straw to spew everywhere.
“Nay, it’s no’,” said Aidan. “And it isna as young as we thought. I think the fall from the tree stunned it, but it seems te be recoverin’ nicely.
“I need te find the book,” said Onyx. “Now are ye two goin’ te help me look or are ye jest goin’ te sit there and watch me?”
They looked at each other and just shrugged, doing nothing to lend a hand.
�
�Jest sit here I guess,” said Ian, leaning back with his hands behind his head.
“Ye seem as if ye’re a little uptight today, Dagger,” commented Aidan, petting his squirrel.
“The faster I find the book the faster I can get away from her.”
“Och,” said Ian. “Dagger’s in love.”
Both Onyx’s friends started laughing, and this only upset him more.
“I dinna care at all fer Lady Love,” said Onyx, but upon saying his pet name for her, it only made things worse.
“He’s in love wit’ Lady Love,” said Ian with a smile. “How charmin’.”
“Ye o’ all people,” said Aidan with a shake of his head. “Fallin’ fer a Sassenach. What is the world comin’ to?”
“I dinna care fer her,” he said, but he couldn’t fool his friends.
“Bed the lassie already,” said Ian. “When ye’re no longer hot and bothered, ye’ll get yer wits aboot ye and fall fer a Scottish lassie as is proper.”
Tawpie lunged for the squirrel, but Aidan moved to the side and the kitten fell flat on her face atop the pallet. “Do ye think ye’ll get her te scream the way yer triplet did fer me when ye didn’t show up in the stables? O’ course, I dinna mind. After all, a threesome wasna that bad, I must admit.”
“Haud yer wheesht,” Onyx ground out, telling them to shut up, but his friends just both started laughing instead.
Onyx wasn’t in the mood for this today, and lunged at them with the dagger in his grip. Aidan moved to the side just in time, and Onyx’s dagger came down between his friends into the pallet as he ripped it apart, looking for the book. Tawpie pawed at the straw inside, being the only one helping him.
“Ye are such a crabbit today,” said Ian. “Mayhap ye need te go fer a walk by the burn and cool yer heels a bit. This isna like ye te make such a fuss.”
“I may as well,” he said, “as ye two are no help, ye scunners.”
Wildly Romantic: A Multi-Genre Collection Page 46