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THE TWO ENGLISHMEN were easy to find. They had gone back to the clearing where they first found the horse, hoping to find the necklace. Frustrated, they threw Bethia’s sack and clothing in the pond, and then when darkness would not allow them more time to look, they made their beds and went to sleep.
Just an hour after dawn, the two MacGreagor men left Bethia to care for their horses and went in on foot. She never heard a sound and when they came back, they brought three more horses. She did not question him and did not need to know, but when Hannish came to help her mount her horse, he hesitated.
She swore she would not touch him again, but when he cupped his hand around the back of her head, she put her arms around him without hesitation. Then she put her head on his chest and listened until his heart calmed down.
He had not meant to touch her, but he could not seem to help himself. If she had resisted, he would have been horrified, but she didn’t resist. Instead, she was giving him exactly what he needed. Still it did not mean anything other than comfort and he cautioned himself to think of it as only that. “I pray no one will ever hurt you again.”
“You are a good lad, Hannish MacGreagor.” Being in his arms seemed so right and she dreaded having him pull away, but they needed to be gone from there. She waited for him to make a stirrup with his hands and then got on the horse. This time the magnificent golden brown stallion was hers...she had earned him. “I am much better and I do not want Greer to suffer Luella another day. We can go faster.”
*
THEY DID GO FASTER, Bethia’s back didn’t hurt as much and none of them said a word until they rested for the night. Then Brendan asked a hundred questions about Greer. It made Bethia smile.
*
IT WAS LATE IN THE morning when they arrived and boldly entered the English manor Bethia called home for two years. Already they could hear a woman yelling. “‘Tis Luella,” Bethia whispered. She led the men down the hall to the parlor and then stood aside.
As was usual for Luella, she was unhappy with the way Greer did the dusting, and her rage made her mousy brown hair come unpinned and fall down in her face. Hannish opened the door, walked in and reached Luella just in time to grab her hand and stop her from slapping Greer. Luella caught her breath and slowly turned to see who had a hold of her. At the sight of the man dressed in a Scottish kilt, her eyes grew wide and she swallowed hard. Little by little, she began to back away. Assured she would not strike the servant, Hannish let go of her arm.
Brendan started to rush in, but once he saw Greer’s beauty, he stopped. She was tall, wore a shortened pink gown and apron denoting her station as a servant. Her long, slightly tousled blonde hair was most becoming and her soft blue eyes took his breath away. Gathering his wits finally, he went to stand in front of her protectively.
Bethia walked right past Luella and grabbed Greer’s hand. “Do you still want to go with me?” She smiled at Greer’s eager nod. “Then get your things.”
Greer grinned, “They have been packed for a week.” She rushed out of the room, down the narrow hall and up the stairs.
While they waited, Hannish looked around the room. The English sat in tall back chairs the same as the Scottish, but they were not sturdy enough for the Highlander men. The floors were wood, the walls were decorated with paintings and the tables were built too skimpy for his taste. He was immediately disgusted with the place.
In less than a minute, Greer was back. Yet when Brendan came to her and held out his hand, she backed away. He was truly the biggest man she had ever seen. His blond hair was tied back, his beard was trimmed and his brown eyes were not threatening, but it was all she owned and she did not trust him. “You’ll not have it, not a bit of it, do you hear?” Her Gaelic was so rusty, he had trouble understanding her.
“I do not want it, lass, I only mean to carry it for you.”
Greer took her eyes off the giant and looked at Bethia. Only after her friend nodded did she let him have the bag. “You might have said so.” She turned, walked to Luella and poked her in the chest until Luella backed into a chair and sat down. “What shall we do with you?” she asked in English.
Luella looked terrified, but managed to muster just enough courage to scold the servant, “I’ll not have you talk to me that way.”
Greer gritted her teeth. “She’s the one what got you beat, Bethia. Let me slap her just once.”
Bethia glared at Luella. “Just once? How about the ten times common for stealing?”
Greer moved her face just a little closer to Luella’s. “And another ten for lying...and another ten for all the times you blamed me for your mischief.”
Under the threat of being injured, Luella’s rosy cheeks were becoming a dull gray and her eyes were widening. She mustered just enough gall to protest. “You wouldn’t dare hit your mistress. The penalty is death.”
Bethia put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. “She is right. Besides, the MacGreagors do not hurt lasses—even cruel lasses like this one.”
Greer looked wounded. “Do you mean to just let her be after all her meanness? There must be something we can do.”
Hannish did not understand a great deal of English and was beginning to worry about their escape, “We must go.”
Bethia nodded and turned to Greer. “What does she treasure more than anything else?”
“The golden goblet her father...” Before she even finished the sentence, Greer was off and running back down the hall and up the stairs.
“No!” shouted Luella. “You cannot have it, ‘tis mine.”
Bethia shrugged, “Yet you think nothing of stealing from others. It will be a good lesson.” She watched Greer come back and stuff the goblet into her bag. “Have you any food?” Greer nodded, grabbed Brendan’s hand and headed for the kitchen. “Get her salt, her hair brush and her hand soap too.”
The Highlander, Luella noticed, was still close enough to grab her. Nevertheless, she narrowed her eyes at Bethia. “James will be furious when he finds what you have done.”
Bethia couldn’t help but smile as she walked around to the back of Luella’s chair. “James has suffered a slight misfortune. What made him foolishly follow me into Scotland I cannot imagine, but I doubt you will stay up late worrying about a brother you will be pleased to be rid of.” She paused a moment and walked back around to face her cousin. “The sad thing is, James was the only one who could protect you from a contemptible marriage. Who knows what will happen to you now.”
“James is...”
Bethia nodded. “‘Tis hard to say who killed him, it could have been any clan. The MacGreagors found a new home while I was away and the MacDonalds took over their old one. Therefore, James ventured onto MacDonald land.”
“How do you know this?”
“The Baron mentioned it, although he hardly spent a moment making his report to me in his haste to get back to England. I am surprised he is not yet here. Perhaps he was so frightened, he fled to his own home where he now hides under his bed.”
Bethia was about to leave when she turned to say one more thing. “As I recall, the Baron has repeatedly asked for your hand in marriage. What an undesirable lad, I shudder to think of any lass taking to his bed. Pity James is no longer here to prevent such a marriage.” She smiled at Luella’s dread filled expression and left the room.
Outside, Brendan and Greer were already mounted and three bags were tied to the back of the extra horse. Hannish helped Bethia mount, got on his horse and led them out the gate. At full speed, they raced their horses away, but instead of going straight north, Hannish turned them back toward Cameron land.
He was worried about Bethia’s injuries and feared Luella might send an English guard to chase them. After a time, he relaxed a little. No one was following and Bethia seemed to be holding up fine. Even so, after a couple of hours, he found a stream and halted to rest the horses.
Greer was so excited she started to pace beside the stream and could hardly contain herself. “I cannot believe I am free. Who is this lad and why does he stare at me? Can I truly marry anyone I want? Will I be...”
Bethia laughed. “The lad is Brendan and he stares at your beauty. The other lad is Hannish.”
“The one you ...”
Bethia quickly interrupted her and spoke in English. “Please do not say anything about what I told you, I do not want him to know of my suffering.”
“As you wish. Tell this...Brendan person to stop staring at me.”
“Tell him yourself, you need to practice your Gaelic anyway.”
Undaunted, Greer walked up to Brendan and poked him in the chest. In her best Gaelic, she meant to threaten him with death if he didn’t stop staring at her. She got the words all messed up and promised to be with him until death instead. When he smiled, she wrinkled her brow. “What is wrong with him, Bethia, is he daft?”
Bethia quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her away. “He will be now. You just promised to marry him.”
Greer put her hands on her hips, “What? Impossible. Please tell him to wipe that silly grin off his face.”
Bethia put her hands on her hips too. “You tell him. You cannot do any more harm than you already have.”
Timidly, Greer turned and walked back to Brendan. “I made an error.”
“He does not speak English.”
Greer began to wring her hands. “Can you not interpret?”
“Brendan, she did not mean it, her Gaelic is confused.”
His silly grin turned to mock sorrow. “She does not love me?”
Greer understood that, rolled her eyes, dropped her hands and walked away. “I may regret wanting to become a MacGreagor someday. In fact, I may regret it already.”
