Page 25 of Highlander’s Sweet Poison

Alone with Jillian, he studied her. She seemed more upset about being accused of being unfaithful to her husband than she was about killing him. To his knowledge, she hadn’t sought anyone out after Fulton’s death, but then, after the fallout, perhaps her lover had chosen to distance himself from her.

Or perhaps Fulton was wrong.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Jillian sighed. “I am no adulterer, and I have no plans to become one.”

“Nay, I think ye have too big of a heart for that,” he acknowledged. “I am sorry for Tearloch. He, Clyde, Fulton, and I were quite close.”

“I remember now.” She smiled just a little. “Clyde was kind to me, even after Fulton’s death. He is a good man. It will be good to see him again.”

Clyde was a good man and his best friend, and Graeme felt no jealousy at the news. Instead, he drank his water and shared some bread with Jillian, and when the men returned, he left to relieve himself, knowing that while they might not like Jillian, they wouldn’t dare harm her and would make certain that no one else did.

When he returned, they mounted. Duff and Robbie rode in front with Jillian in the middle, and Graeme and Tearloch brought up the rear.

“If ye wish to leave my service and my clan, I wilnae stop ye,” Graeme said quietly so Jillian wouldn’t hear. “But if ye stay, yer fealty extends to her, and ye will respect that.”

“I wouldnae leave ye now, not even for this. But he was yer cousin, and ye have betrayed him,” Tearloch said stiffly. “But I will be there for ye because as I said, I wouldnae lose ye too.”

“Ye will protect her.”

At first, Tearloch didn’t say anything, and when Graeme shot him a hard look, he sighed and nodded. “Aye, as my mistress, I will protect her. Until ye can see reason again.”

They didn’t speak again for the rest of the trip.

By the time they reached MacSeaver lands, night had fallen, but they didn’t stop, and when Graeme saw that Jillian was struggling to stay awake, he slid her off her horse and into his lap. “We will be there soon,” he promised her. It would be easier if she were asleep because he feared what would be waiting for them.

Two hours later, when they reached the keep, the council was standing in the front, waiting for them. He had sent a messenger ahead last night to see to it that their chambers were ready.

He had not told the messenger of his marriage.

Baldie beckoned two of his waiting soldiers forward. “Secure the prisoner,” he ordered.

“Nay,” Graeme growled, and his men stopped. “Do not presume to order my men again.”

Baldie’s eyes widened, but he nodded his head just a little. “My apologies, Laird. I assumed ye would be tired after yer journey. Did ye knock the lass out?”

Just then, Jillian began to stir in his arms. “Duff. Robbie,” Graeme said quietly, and they quickly dismounted and reached for Jillian. Her eyes opened as she flowed down to the ground, and then he was there next to her. “Escort my wife to her chambers.”

There was a gasp at that, and Jillian turned her head to stare at them. “Oh,” she said quietly. “I see that we’re home.”

“This way, my lady,” Robbie said quietly, and he and Duff walked toward the keep. Baldie quickly moved to block the path, and Duff put his hands on the hilt of his sword.

“Now is not the time!” Graeme said, and Baldie moved and let them pass. They all watched in silence as they disappeared through the door of the keep.

Then, Baldie roared. “Ye have let the whore bewitch ye!”

14

It was too late, and he was too tired to deal with the council, so Graeme dismissed them, promising to meet with them in the morning. They left angry, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before the whole clan learned what he’d done.

“Tearloch, I knew ye are anxious to see to yer wife,” Graeme said quietly. “Spend the next couple of days with her, and then ye can report for duty at the week's end.”

Hesitating, the guard opened his mouth to say something more, but then he just thanked him quietly and left. Graeme met with the guards to get a report from his absence, and when he headed back to the keep, he saw a lantern still glowing in the smithy.

Clyde.

Wondering if his friend felt the same way that Tearloch did, he stopped by and leaned in the doorway. With blond hair that was usually covered in soot and ash and a large reddish beard, Clyde was a large and intimidating-looking man, but most by now knew of his quiet and patient demeanor. Even when they were younger and raising hell, Clyde was always the voice of reason.

Would Graeme regret not having the voice of reason by his side before he decided to wed his cousin’s widow?