A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (26 page)

“
There
’
s no where between here and Eilean Donan that I
’
d want to stop for the night with a woman in tow,
”
he explained bluntly.

Muira opened and closed her mouth several times before she was able to make a sound. 
“
What do you mean by that?
”
she demanded hotly.

“
I
’
d really rather not say,
”
Lachlan snort, cracking his neck and then reaching to rub his right shoulder with his left hand.

“
Well- what are you suggesting that we do, Lachlan?
”
Muira demanded. 
“
Travel through the night?
”

“
No, it would be too dangerous to travel once the light fails, and the horses won
’
t go that long without a rest,
”
he sighed practically. 
“
We
’
ll have to find a spot to camp out.
”

Muira just stared at him.  Camp?  Outside?  In the middle of November?  Was he
mad
?  She had never camped anywhere in her life and had no intention of starting now!  There were all kinds of wild animals roaming around, not to mention the creepy crawlies, and the fact they had no food, and
…

“
It
’
ll be all right, Muira,
”
Lachlan said, finally softening his voice when he looked up and saw her horrified expression. 
“
I know the land around here like the back of my hand.  I can find us somewhere safe to spend the night.
”

Muira shot an imploring glance in the direction of the driver and footman, but- although they were both Camerons and Lachlan was a MacRae- they seemed very willing all of a sudden to follow his orders. 

Oh dear
, Muira could feel the prickle of tears behind her eyes.  She was going to turn up on the doorstep of Lachlan
’
s home looking like the something the cat dragged in, and that was only if they survived the night!

..ooOOoo..

Muira was freezing.  She hadn
’
t known that it was possible to be so cold!  Her teeth were chattering so hard that she feared they were about to be worn away, and the shivers wracking the rest of her body were no less severe!

The men were outside, sitting around a roaring fire and talking, after skinning, cooking and eating the hares that the young footman, Billy, had managed to snare while Lachlan was starting the said roaring fire.  Muira had eaten as much of the hare as Lachlan had been able to persuade her to try, warmed herself by the fire until she had felt roasted, and then begged her husband to let her retire to the carriage.

She was firmly of the opinion that it would be safer inside.  No matter how cold she might be.  She was not going to sleep in the dirt and be eaten by ravenous wolves!  Her heart quickened a little, supposing the wolves could get inside the coach?  She shrank down under her cloak and told herself very firmly that she was
not
going to cry.

She did however let out a little scream when one of the doors of the coach swung open.

“
Muira!  It
’
s me!
”
Lachlan
’
s voice broke through the inky darkness, and Muira started to breathe again. 
“
God, it
’
s freezing in here!
”
he swore. 
“
Come back outside,
”
he commanded, reaching for her. 
“
It
’
s warmer by the fire.
”

“
I
’
m f-fine where I am, thank y-you,
”
Muira shivered, sinking back into the seat, starting when a warm hand touched her cheek.

“
Like hell you are,
”
he cursed, heedless of his manners. 
“
Muira, you can
’
t stay in here and freeze,
”
he sighed, concern more clearly evident in his voice now that he
’
d soften his tone. 
“
I won
’
t let you.
”

“
I
’
m all right,
”
she whispered weakly, suddenly aware that she could see her own breath in puff of icy air.

Lachlan grumbled something she didn
’
t hear, and then he sat down next to her, bundling her into his arms, swearing again when he felt just how cold she was all over.  He began rubbing her hands between his own, bringing them to his lips to warm them with his breath.

Very slowly Muira felt some of the feeling return to her limbs.  She stopped shivering quite so violently and cuddled close to her husband
’
s body.  They stayed wrapped up in each other
’
s arms for a while, until the cold began to seep into Lachlan
’
s blood too, chilling them both.

“
We have to go out by the fire, Muira,
”
Lachlan grunted.

“
No,
”
she squeaked, clutching at him tight. 
“
It
’
s not safe!
”

“
It
’
s safer than staying in here and freezing to death,
”
he growled.  Muira whimpered miserably and clung to him harder. 
“
Look lass, I
’
m going to stay awake all night anyway,
”
he said soothingly. 
“
Nothing with hurt while I
’
m there.
”

Muira blinked up at him through the darkness.  The heat of the fire
was
growing more and more tempting. 
“
You promise?
”
she whispered.

“
I promise,
”
he nodded, and she could hear the smile that was suddenly tugging at his lips. 
“
Now, do you trust me to keep you safe?
”
Lachlan asked, his voice all of a sudden surprisingly serious.

“
Yes,
”
Muira murmured, without a second of hesitation. 
“
You
’
re the only one I trust to keep me safe.
”

..ooOOoo..

True to his word, Lachlan forced himself to remain awake for the whole of the night.  Both the coach driver and the footman offered to take at least one shift on watch, but Lachlan assured them both that he would be fine.  Besides, he might find himself
…
warming to Muira, but that didn
’
t mean he was in a merry rush to trust every single member of her clan.

However, when dawn finally broke over the Scottish highlands Lachlan was feeling utterly exhausted.  His body had yet to fully recover from the rough treatment he
’
d received at Castle Cameron, and another sleepless night rendered him almost completely useless.  He wanted nothing more than to crawl home to his bed and sleep for a week. 

Sadly, Lachlan knew that he wasn
’
t going to be allowed that indulgence until he and Muira had had their audience with the Laird
…
and had done some very serious explaining.

Muira was curled against his side.  She had dozed fitfully throughout the night, waking every hour or two in a panic, until she had been assured that he was still there.  At least she had slept a little though.  Lachlan was bothered on her behalf that the trip had gone so badly. 

He felt like he
’
d let her down.  Lachlan thought he knew that Muira had turned to him, at least in part, because he had represented a stability and security that she craved and had been lacking.  He hoped she wasn
’
t regretting her choice
…
he frowned, and turned the curious thought over his head.  Why should he care if Muira
was
regretting their marriage?  Surely it didn
’
t matter to him?

“
Morni
ng already?
”
A drowsy voice murmured, interrupting Lachlan
’
s thoughts.  He smiled down at his wife and nodded. 

“
Dawn at any rate, but we may as well get moving as soon as we can.
”
  She looked pale, he realised with a guilty pale, there were dark shadows under her usually bright eyes and the bruises that he
’
d thought were healing seemed to be standing out more vividly than ever.