Page 15 of A Hellion for the Highland Hawk
What did he do?
“I willnae let a stranger that—nay offense to ye, lass—acts half-wild and looks half-mad anywhere near me daughter,” the Laird growled, his green eyes flashing with anger.
Isla scoffed. “So ye’d rather that word went around that ye’re torturin’ lasses in yer dungeons? Aye, that’ll serve ye well with the gossipers.”
“Torture?” Nancy raised her hand, her stomach dropping. “No one said anything about torture, and there’s no point. You won’t get anything out of me that I haven’t already said.”
The Laird ignored her, his irritation firmly funneled toward his aunt. “I daenae care what the gossipers say.”
“Well, perhaps ye should,” Isla insisted. “We’ve had enough unrest, nephew. This is supposed to be a time of peace, so show yer people that ye’re peaceful! The poor lass is clearly dazed and in need of shelter and care. Nae even the Hawk would be so cruel as to deny her that.”
“Ye daenae ken what she is,” the Laird shot back, his hands clenching into fists.
“I ken that after a bath, sleep, some decent food and room where she doesnae have to be so afraid, she’ll nae seem half-wild or half-mad anymore,” Isla argued. “The lass is just lost. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
As if to ignore her point, the Laird closed his eyes and drew in another deep breath. He almost looked peaceful… if it weren’t for the cords standing out in his neck and the tense biceps and the balled-up fists and the grim line of his mouth.
“Fine,” he muttered, opening his eyes again. “The lass can stay for a week until she finds a way to return to wherever she came from, and we cansayshe’s Freya’s nursemaid, but she willnae be near me child alone.”
Isla breathed a sigh of relief. “A generous gesture indeed, nephew.”
“Nae so generous,” he replied. “She’ll be yer responsibility.”
Nancy put her hand back up. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“Aye, ye can have a say,” the Laird said, taking a half step closer and leaning close to her ear. “Here’s yer choice, lass. Ye can bathe in nice, hot water and rest yer head on a soft pillow and eat yer fill at me expense, or I can chain ye up down here and see what it takes to…” He leaned closer still, and his hand came up to turn her face toward him, his mouth so near that his breath mingled with hers. “…coax the truth from yer lips.”
Nancy’s mind went blank, her lips parted, her breath lodged somewhere between her chest and her mouth. She couldn’t even begin to think of speaking, though her expression must have answered for her.
“That’s what I thought,” he said quietly as he drew back up to his full height. “A pity.”
With that, he went to the door, made a pointed show ofturningthe iron ring, and left.
Still, it was at least twenty seconds after his departure that Nancy finally reminded herself to breathe, though it would be a lot longer before her heart stopped racing.
I don’t think this is a dream anymore.
CHAPTER 6
“Ye come with me,”Isla said, placing a gentle hand on Nancy’s arm.
Nancy hadn’t moved in a while, hadn’t said anything, hadn’t been able to think beyondWhat the heck. It was all fun and games, having a six-foot-five-at-least Highlander whispering dark and sexy things at a kissable distance, until the fact that it might all be real hit.
Swords and sarcastic remarks and playing along with the fantasy had lost their edge, dulled by the potential danger she was in.
“Aye, let’s get ye in a nice guest chamber, and I’ll have a maid come up to tend to ye. I’d offer ye the help of a healer, but we daenae have one here anymore,” Isla said in an uneasy voice as she took Nancy by the hand and tugged gently. It was no easy feat with the baby sleeping in the crook of the older woman’s other arm.
The realization that she was being an inconvenience snapped Nancy out of her daze a little. Just enough to follow Isla without much resistance, though she paused to collect her bag first, and checked twice to make sure her medicine was still in there.
What am I going to do? Run off? If I’m really in 1710, it’s not like I have anywhere else to go.
Her stomach lurched at the thought, her head prickling as if it were filled with static. She was no great fan of physics or even science fiction, but she’d picked up enough to know that what she was thinking wasn’t possible. It just wasn’t.
How many big-brained physicists and theorists had mulled over the idea of time travel, done the complicated math, looked at it from every angle, and figured out it was impossible? They were experts, and they claimed it couldn’t happen, so what the heck was going on?
I should take notes for Emily,she thought absently as she wandered back up the damp and drafty stairwell and followed Isla through cavernous hallways, adorned with fine tapestries and banners and paintings.
Her mind drifted back to the tapestry in the museum. It had been timeworn and damaged in places, which was no surprise, considering it had survived over three hundred years of hanging on walls, being lost and found.
