Aidan (6 page)

“But it’ll
take several days te do thet, and I dinna even have a horse.”

“Then
go find the damned curs thet tried te accost me and get them te give ye a ride. I’m sure they’re lurkin’ around here somewhere. Now go back and tell that bluidy bastard, Lord Ralston, thet I’ll get him the information he needs, but if he harms me sister in any way, I’ll make sure he ne’er gets his hand on the stone. Do ye understand?”

“I canna let ye outta me sight.
Thet was orders from Lord Ralston himself.”

“
Why no’? Ye ken I willna run. Me sister’s life means more te me than anythin’. I am goin’ te try te get the Scot te show me the stone. Now do as I say and be gone from me sight, as I dinna want such a filthy, traitorous liar in me presence.”

“Ye are aboot to become no better than me, so I wou
ldna point fingers if I were ye. All right then, I’ll go. But if ye are tryin’ te trick me, I assure ye yer sister will no’ live te see ye again, so dinna cross us. Do ye understand me?”

“
If I wasna so dizzy from the whisky, I’d jump off this horse and bury yer face in the ground jest fer threatenin’ me. Now go,” she said, seeing Aidan coming out of the pub. “I dinna want him te see us talkin’.”

Tasgall
had no sooner stepped away from the horse than Aidan was mounted behind her with his squirrel on his shoulder.

“Isna the
t the gypsy man ye came with?” he asked.

Damn, too late. He saw them talking.
She just hoped he hadn’t heard their conversation.

“Aye,” she said.

“Where is he goin’?”

“
Tasgall has decided te go find a new band o’ gypsies fer us te live with, or mayhap a horse and supplies anyway. He said he’ll catch up to me later.”

“
Was he yer lover?”

The thought of this almost caused
her to retch. “Dinna make me laugh,” she said. “If Tasgall e’er tried te touch me, I’d have severed his head from his body with me dirk.”

“Re
ally? I find thet interestin’ since ye dinna seem te carry any weapons.”

“The English guards took them from me,” she said, thinking quickly. “But I plan on
replacin’ me weapons soon.”

“With what?”

“What do ye mean?”

“I dinna see a sporran o’ coins at yer waist, and ye said ye just lost e’erythin’ when the English attac
ked yer camp. Ye dinna plan te hoor yerself out te get them, do ye?”

“If thet’s what ye think o’ me,
Aidan MacKeefe, than let me off this horse right now, as I’ll no’ be comin’ te yer camp with ye after all.”

“Who said we were goin’ to me camp
?” he asked.

“Well . . . I jest assumed ye would want
te get a good rest. And that ye’d want te sleep on thet stone thet gives ye guid dreams.”

“I ne’er said the dreams were guid.”

“But I thought ye said I was in yer dream?” She turned to look at him and his lips were so close to hers that she wondered if he was going to kiss her again. She really wanted him to. But to her disappointment, he just turned his head and looked the other way.

“Ye were in me dream, but if it was guid or no’ is yet
te be seen.”

Effie wasn’t sure what that meant, but liked the fact that she was in his dreams, and also the fact he’d called her his dream angel.

“So do ye have somewhere te stay, Effie?” he asked her.

“Nay,” she admitted. “I am homeless and have no friends.”

“Couldna ye go back te the MacDuffs?”

“I dinna ken them. I told
ye me mathair wasna a part o’ the clan, though she had the bloodright te be there. I dinna think they would want me, tho.”

“Then ye’ll come with
me te the MacKeefe camp until we can find ye a place te stay. I willna leave ye alone, as the English soldiers might come back and try te cause ye trouble again.”

“I’d like
te come with ye,” she said, as they rode up to meet Aidan’s friends. She smiled to herself thinking how easy this was going to be. She’d collect the information of where the stone was, then direct her sister’s captors right to it when they arrived. Aye, before she knew it, Coira would be free and they’d head overseas or somewhere to start a new life – just the two of them together.

Chapter 5

Making it back to the MacKeefe camp couldn’t be done in a day, so Aidan decided they’d stop and camp for the night at the
north edge of Loch Lomond. The sun was just setting. The day had been hot, and they were all weary, and Aidan wanted nothing more than to wash off the dust from his travels, taking a swim in the water.

After the horses were taken care of, and the supplies unloaded that they’d picked up at the trade fai
r, Aidan continued to set up camp by tending to a fire.

“We’re goin’ up te the
bluff te take a swim,” said Onyx. “Did ye want te come with us, Aidan?”

He wanted it more than anything, but didn’t want to leave the girl unattended.

“Nay, I’ll hunt something fer us te eat,” he said.

“Go ahead, join them,” said Effie.
“Just give me that bow and arrows you brought from the fair and I’ll take care of huntin’ fer our dinner.”

“Mayhap ye’d better stay after all,” said Ian, giving him a look that Aidan knew meant he didn’t trust the lassie.

The two took off up the cliff, and Aidan just added more kindling to the fire. His squirrel rooted around in the dirt, looking for food.

“I k
en ye want te go with them,” Effie said. “Just go.”

“Nay, I dinna want
te leave ye alone.”

“I’m a gypsy,
I live off the land. And we dinna see anyone followin’ us, so I’ll be fine.”

He just looked back down to the fire and shook his head. He was
torn, and though he trusted that she wouldn’t leave, he was trying to proceed with caution, as his friends had warned him to do. Aidan always was the most trusting one of the three of them, and had on more than one occasion been burned because of it.

“I dinna ken if it’s a guid idea.”

“Oh. Ye dinna trust me, jest like yer friends.”

He looked over to her and saw the disappointment on her face.
He didn’t want to make her feel this way, he only wanted to please her. She was the most beautiful lassie he’d ever met, and he loved her fearlessness. He got to his feet and went over to the supplies and pulled out a bow and arrows.

“Ye can use these,” he said. “I willna be gone long. And
dinna go too far from the camp as once ye get away from the fire, ye may encounter a wildcat or a wolf.”

“I can protect meself,” she said.

“Aye. I saw how well ye did thet with those English guards.”

“If I’d had a weapon, they’d be deid right now.”

“I’m no’ so sure, lassie. Now jest do me a favor and dinna shoot any squirrels,” he said, “as I dinna want me pet killed. Reid, go on up and hide in a tree,” he said over his shoulder. The little red squirrel scampered up a tree and away from them.

Effie watched in amazement as the man’s squirrel seemed to understand him, and on command disappeared into the trees.

“Thet is a strange pet fer anyone
te have,” she said, shaking her head.

“No’ as strange as Onyx’s pet,
” Aidan mumbled, walking away.

“What does he have? A pine marten or somethin’
?” she called after him.

“Nothin’ thet tame, I assure ye. Now jest call out if ye need me, as I won’t be far.
And if ye think ye’er goin’ te catch somethin’ te eat, ye’d better hurry, as it’s startin’ te get dark.”

She watched him disappear into the thicket, thinking there must be some sort of pond they were going to swim in up on the cliffs. She had no idea why t
hey just didn’t swim in the lake. She’d never understand these men.

She picked up her
bow and arrows and used her senses to tell her where she might find prey. It wasn’t going to be that easy once it got dark, Aidan was right. And the sun was starting to set, so she’d have to hurry.

She didn’t have to hunt long before sh
e spotted and took down a carrion crow that was irritating her with its squawking. She also managed to shoot a red grouse as well, just before it got dark. She was sure the men would be impressed with her ability to use a weapon and hunt. She didn’t know too many women who could do what she’d just done and in such a short amount of time. They would eat well tonight. It might not be a deer, but it was still a meal.

She was going to head back to camp, but the lake l
ooked so inviting, so she stayed. She was hot and felt so dirty, not only from the road but from being locked in a cage and also pawed by the English guards.

Effie
looked around but didn’t see the men, and figured she had time for a quick dip before she headed back. She threw down the dead birds at the edge of the lake and quickly removed her clothes and slipped into the water. That’s when she heard shouts – and they were coming from up at the top of the cliff.

As darkness started to cover the land
, she looked upward to see three naked men diving off a cliff into the waters below – not far from where she was. They were laughing, shouting, and having fun. She knew immediately it was Aidan and his friends.

“What the hell are they doin’?” she asked aloud. It was dangero
us enough to dive off a cliff during the day, but to do so when it was nighttime was only something a madman would attempt.

She decided to get dressed and head back and start the meal, but when she stepped naked from the
water, she was greeted by a low growl. She looked up to see some sort of wild animal, possibly a wolf or a hound. She wasn’t quite sure what it was in the dark, but it was very large. It had its head lowered as it moved into the moonlight, enabling her to see it better. It had long legs and very long, scraggly grayish hair, and she could barely see its eyes. It was moving quickly toward the dead birds. When it saw her, it looked up and showed its teeth, then changed its direction. The thing looked gaunt and possibly injured, as it had dried blood on its fur and limped when it came toward her.

She didn’t know what to do. Her clothes as well as her weapon were on the other s
ide of the animal. She’d never be able to get to them before it attacked her. She should have backed up and slid back into the water for safety, but if so, she knew the animal would probably steal both of her birds. She couldn’t have that. She was hungrier than hell since Lord Ralston hadn’t fed her much. Besides, she wanted Aidan to like her, and she wanted to impress him with what she’d caught for dinner.

So inste
ad of walking away from the animal, she shouted at it, waving her arms in the air, and daringly moved forward.

* * *

Aidan was already
swimming, making his way toward shore when he heard Effie shouting. He looked through the darkness and spotted her on the shore just a short distance from them.

“Haud yer wheesht,” he called
out to his friends. “I think Effie is in trouble.”

Onyx and Ian stopped their splashing and looked toward the shore as well.

“Is she naked?” asked Ian, squinting his eyes, trying to see through the darkness.

“Aye, I think so,” said Aidan. “But what the hell is s
he doin’?” Then he saw the animal coming toward her, and instead of backing away, the fool girl was going straight for it. “She’s bein’ attacked!” He swam full force through the water with his friends right behind him. He made it to the shore first, being the best swimmer of the three of them, and ran down the water’s edge as fast as he could to save Effie.

Effie made her way closer to the dead birds on the ground, planning on grabbing at least one of them before the wild animal stole them, when out of nowhere, Aidan darted out from the darkness, hitting her like a stone wall, taking her down with him into the water. The water splashed over her head and she sputtered for breath.

“What t
he hell are ye doin’?” she shouted, now down in the water with Aidan’s body – his naked body - covering hers.

“I’ll protect ye, lassie. Jest stay here.” He jumped to his
feet and headed toward the animal, taking it down to the ground as well. He had no weapons on him, no clothes, no anything, but wrestled with it as if he were doing naught but arm-wresting another Scot at the pub.

Then his friends darted out of the shadows as well, both of them naked, too. She just sat there in the water with her mouth open, as the moonlight spilled over their bodies. Each of them just as fit as the next,
and she could only think this was one of her lusty dreams. No woman she knew would ever be witnessing what she was seeing in front of her very eyes.

The animal
growled and snapped at Aidan, and twisted, kicking up its legs as Aidan tried to hold it down.