Page 16 of Claimed by a Highlander
More of that? Heaven help her! Much as she found the notion tempting, she could not let it happen again. She had enjoyed his kisses far too much. A few of those, and a lass could forget all good sense.
As for traveling with him, ’twas fortunate indeed that she would not be doing it much longer. Now that they had lost the queen’s men, it was time to set her plan in motion to find a safe haven—and escape her rescuer.
CHAPTER 6
With any luck, Sybil could reach one of her sisters before nightfall and avoid spending another night with her Highlander. Judging from those kisses, he hoped to claim his husbandly rights sooner rather than later. His injured leg, which seemed to be healing quickly, would not deter him a second night—and if he kissed her like that again, she was not sure she could trust herself to tell him nay.
Her first step to escape was to find out where she was.
“I confess that I don’t know precisely where the MacKenzie lands are,” she said. “Can ye tell me about our journey?”
“The MacKenzie lands are vast,” Rory said. “Our journey will be long and harsh.”
Well, that was not the least bit helpful. “What route will we take?”
“The least traveled.”
She rolled her eyes. Before she could make another attempt, he drew the horse to a halt behind a dense holly tree. Her heart thudded in her chest as the fears she had forgotten for the last few hours came flooding back.
“Why are we stopping?” she asked, darting glances around them. Had the queen’s men found them again?
“’Tis well past noon,” he said. “Ye had no breakfast. I’ll not see ye starve by missing your dinner too.”
He wished to feed her? That was all? Sybil drew in a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. Rory lifted her off the horse and helped her to sit on a flat rock.
“You’re pale,” he said, looking at her as if she was a pathetic creature. “Ye need sustenance.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “And I’m in no danger of starving.”
“I’ll have it ready before ye know it.”
He tucked a slingshot into his belt and disappeared into the brush. Despite herself, she felt uneasy with Rory out of sight, but in a surprisingly short time he returned with a pair of plump quail and started a fire. He really was a most resourceful man. While he cleaned and fixed the birds on sticks over the fire, she strolled over to where Curan was grazing.
She rubbed his long nose and fed him the last apple from the bag. You could tell a lot about a person by the animals he kept. This horse was well cared for and trusted his master.
“Curan likes ye,” Rory said.
“How can ye tell?”
“He’d let ye know if he didn’t,” he said. “Curan nearly killed the last person who tried to give him an apple.”
“Why would he do that?”
“The man was attempting to steal him,” he said.
“He’s as clever as he is handsome.” Sybil leaned close to Curan’s ear and whispered, “Just like your master.”
As promised, Rory had the meal ready before long, and the roasted quail was delicious.
“You’re a fine cook, Highlander.” Sybil was surprised he knew how. Certainly no one in her family did.
“I have a name,” he said, sounding a bit surly.
“Don’t ye usually have others to see to your meals,Rory?”
“A Highlander must know how to survive alone,” he said. “Anyone should.”
“I may never have plucked a quail, but I’ve organized a grand feast of a dozen courses for three hundred guests, including royalty.”
