Page 34 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

“Would ye like to accompany me on a walk around the lower gardens?” Mrs. Duncan asked, standing at the threshold of Aurora’s chambers. “I thought that ye may wish for a reason to get out of the castle. Ye’ve been knittin’ quite a bit.”

“Perhaps I am tryin’ to outfit the entire castle with scarves and gloves before the winter season arrives,” Aurora said as she set her needles aside, grateful to have an escort.

She had not left her chambers since she had eaten this morning. The strangeness of the passage that she had seen the night prior still stuck with her. It was as if the air in the castle had chilled with the weight of her discovery.

And she could not stand the idea of running into Hendry, not when the memory of being pressed against the wall was still burned into her mind.

“Well, I am sure that our residents would be quite grateful to have somethin’ made by the Lady of the castle,” Mrs. Duncan said, waiting politely at the door as Aurora rose to her feet. “Where is yer wee brother?”

“I believe he that he is in the kitchens,” Aurora said, threading her arm through Mrs. Duncan’s. “He has taken to ‘helpin’’ the cook, but I am inclined to believe that he is simply tryin’ to get extra helpin’s of our meals.”

“He is a growin’ boy,” Mrs. Duncan replied, barely containing a laugh. “Of course he is findin’ ways to get more food. If ye would believe it, Laird Anderson did the same thing when he was Adair’s age. It is simply what boys do.”

Aurora hummed, unable to conjure the image of a much younger Hendry tiptoeing into the kitchens for extra servings of meals. Though, from what Mrs. Duncan had told her, Hendry was much more likely to be helping in the same way that Adair was. But still, it was difficult to imagine the fearsome Highland warrior as anything other than the man he was today.

“Then I suppose the staff has a bit of experience in feedin’ hungry boys,” Aurora said softly as they made their way down the stairs.

The foyer was empty when they stepped into it, the castle doors open to let in the warm breeze. Sunbeams slanted into the room, and as Aurora and Mrs. Duncan got closer to the entrance, the entire room seemed to warm. Aurora’s eyes fell closed when the first beams of golden light fell over her cheeks.

“It truly is a lovely day,” Mrs. Duncan mused, nodding politely at the shepherd who was running toward the furthest boundary of the wall. “I am pleased ye were willin’ to join me.” She stopped in front of a flowering bush, the delicate pink petals light and fragrant. “Though, I suppose that I should have kent that ye would jump at the opportunity to be movin’ about.”

“Aye, ye ken me well,” Aurora said with a soft laugh. “I was quite relieved when ye came to get me. I was beginnin’ to dread makin’ a plan for the rest of me day.”

“Well, ye will still have to take care of that yerself,” Mrs. Duncan said, her voice not unkind. “But this is a welcome distraction. Besides, now that ye’ve got yer color back, we daenae want ye to lose yer strength.”

“I willnae allow that to happen,” Aurora said, the knot of anxiety that had been coiling tighter and tighter in her chest finally loosening as they continued on their way. “Even if me only form of exercise is pacin’ the perimeter of me room.”

A genuine laugh spilled from Mrs. Duncan’s lips as she pulled Aurora to the right. The plants grew thicker here, carefully manicured despite the wild quality that they seemed to hold onto. They were slowly approaching the forest, the trees thick with the sound of birdsong.

“And we would probably have to wrestle ye into bed to make ye get even the slightest bit of rest,” Mrs. Duncan said, her footsteps slowing as they got closer to the edge of the garden.

“Do ye see somethin’?” Aurora asked, following her line of sight.

When she spotted a set of hoofprints, her stomach swooped. It had not been a deer; she had seen someone on a horse. But then, as they went further, there were even more sets of prints, much more than the singular rider she had thought she had seen the night prior.

“This is nae good,” Mrs. Duncan said under her breath, the woman’s usually calm demeanor showing a crack that made Aurora feel as if the world was imploding. “We must get the men. I must have forgotten that we had riders comin’ out this way. It is best if we ask.”

Aurora nodded, unable to speak. It was as if someone had wrapped their hand around her throat and was squeezing with all their might. She knew better than to even attempt to agree. When Mrs. Duncan turned, her grip on Aurora’s arm tightening, Aurora let herself be taken along.

She could tell that the other woman was trying to exude calm for her benefit. It was not doing a thing to soothe the storm that was brewing in Aurora’s chest. She had spent so long hiding. She knew suspicious tracks when she saw them.

And she knew when someone was hiding their feelings.

They were nearly to the courtyard when Mrs. Duncan’s footsteps grew faster. Hendry was standing there, speaking with Willy. They seemed relaxed, or at least as relaxed as Aurora had seen them since she had arrived here.

“Laird Anderson,” Mrs. Duncan said when they reached him. “I was hopin’ to find ye.”

“Ye look as if somethin’ is troublin’ ye,” Willy said, his eyes darting between the two women.

Hendry’s face was carefully blank, his gaze fixed on Mrs. Duncan. Aurora did not know why, but she longed for him to look at her. For some reason, she longed for his acknowledgement.

“What is goin’ on, Mrs. Duncan?”

* * *

For a long moment, it seemed as if Mrs. Duncan was not going to speak. It only made the sense of foreboding even stronger. Hendry held his tongue, though, refraining from pushing.

Finally, she asked in a tone that was much too casual for the depth of information she was revealing, “I was just wonderin’ if we had any riders headin’ out through the east.”