All for the Heiress (12 page)

“I feel a bit rusty, hopefully we willna end up in the ice age.”

“Don’t worry,” Piper said, rummaging in the apron of her period dress. “I still have this handkerchief of Catie’s and this rusty old knife Quinn left behind. We’ll get there.”

“Good thinking, lass. I have to admit I didna even consider bringing something like that.”

“We’re a good team,” she said, picking at the knife handle, lost in thoughts of the past several years.

He tipped her chin up, his gaze serious. She noticed the slight crinkle around his eyes and the few strands of grey at his temples. She would have had a few as well, if she wasn’t so militant in keeping them at bay. He leaned forward and kissed her, gently at first, but growing more passionate, so that they both almost forgot what they were out there for.

“We are a good team,” he agreed when he pulled away. “Now concentrate, and let’s go find that wee rabblerouser.”

After they completed the spell, and they both found their bearings, they set out toward the castle. At the top of the hill, they noticed a swathe of forest that had been burned nearly to the ground, which tipped them off they had successfully returned to the right time. Her many times great-grandmother had set a fire to help cover Lachlan’s escape, effectively faking his death in this time.

The freezing weather kept them to a speedy pace, and Lachlan stayed hidden while Piper made her way to the back door, trying to remain confident. All she had to do was find Pietro and beg a couple horses, and see if Mellie had shown her face. She kept her head down, and since she greatly resembled all the Glens, no one gave her much notice until she made it through the kitchen and into the main hallway, then she didn’t have a clue what to do.

She worried more about someone discovering Lachlan, than for herself. Since he was supposed to be recently deceased, all hell would break loose if he turned up alive again.

A guard approached her, his face going from friendly inquisition to confusion as he got closer. He’d clearly thought she was someone else and blinked a few times before he bowed.

She straightened her spine and nodded as confidently as she could. “Please take me to Lady Bella,” she said, not bothering to fake an accent.

Over the years she’d become better accustomed to giving orders and acting like she was in charge of things, and while the guard still had a slightly suspicious look, he immediately turned and set off up the stairs at her self assured tone. She had to work to keep a straight face as she followed him, taking in everything about her castle, unable to believe she was finally inside it in this time.

It hadn’t been exactly fun the first time, riding into the courtyard exhausted and soggy from rain, everyone looking at her with censure because they thought she was Lachlan’s mistress, while Bella, his legal wife at the time, made a scene. She could laugh about it now, but it had taken years to get to that point.

Bella called for the guard to enter after he knocked, and when she followed him in, Bella’s eyes nearly boggled out of her head. She stood there gaping and Piper prayed she wouldn’t scream.

“Thank ye, ye may leave us,” Bella said to the guard, finally finding her voice. “Please send my husband straight away.”

“Oh, you’re already married to Pietro? I mean, Connor,” Piper quickly corrected, relieved the guard was already gone and hadn’t heard. She didn’t want a little thing like forgetting Pietro went by his more Scottish sounding middle name to get them tossed in the tower. “That’s wonderful.”

Piper squeezed Bella’s hands and drank her in. She had a small baby bump, barely noticeable. Piper stupidly almost asked which baby it was, knowing from Quinn’s long ago visit that she had three children, but then bit her tongue, reminding herself that to Bella only a short time had passed since they’d all been together. It was important not to give away anything she knew about Bella’s future. She got that particular cloudy headed feeling as she tried to keep the timelines straight.

“What brings ye back so soon?” Bella asked worriedly. “Did Lachlan not return to ye?”

“Yes, he did. He’s here, too.” She hurried to explain when Bella went pale. “He’s well hidden, don’t worry. It’s actually been ten years for us since we last saw you,” she said. “But we’re here because of something that happened around that time.”

“Merciful heavens,” Bella groaned.

Pietro burst into the chamber, his face already full of fear, then going comically blank when he saw her.

“Piper?”

“They’ve got themselves in a muddle again,” Bella said, and Piper felt the old twinge of not exactly being fond of her ancestor.

“It isn’t our fault,” she said. “We’re looking for someone.” She explained about Mellie, but neither Bella nor Pietro had seen her in the last few days.

“She was smart not to come here. I’m sure she would have been hassled since we’re still on high alert to strangers, and if anyone saw her, they might not have told me about her for days,” Pietro said. “I would have loved to see her again, though. What made her do something so daft? She was always so agreeable.”

Piper waved her hands in a sweeping gesture. “True love? I don’t know. She kind of had a crush on someone from this time, who came to our time a while back.”

“Say no more,” Pietro stopped her before they all got completely confused. “Come along and I’ll get ye some horses.”

***

Piper’s riding skills had greatly improved since the last time she’d rode across the countryside in the eighteenth century, but after a few hours she ached everywhere, and if the baby hadn’t been kicking the hell out of her the whole time, she would have worried more than she already did. She wondered if the little whippersnapper was enjoying itself.

She prayed she could soak in a big tub of steaming hot water when they arrived. Lachlan frequently asked her if she wanted to take breaks, and he made them go at a maddeningly slow pace to keep her from getting overly jostled. She wanted to get there as soon as they could, thinking a sore backside was better than having to camp out overnight. It was freezing cold, and she worried about Mellie being out in the elements. She was a practical, sturdy girl who could take care of herself in the twenty-first century with no doubt, but this time was an entirely different kettle of fish.

“Oh, what could have made her do something so stupid?” she wailed, unable to keep it in any longer.

Lachlan pulled his horse closer to hers and reached over to pat her arm. “I’ve been thinking that myself. Love, ye dinna think she and—” he stopped abruptly, and looked to the trees at their left.

He stared hard, and though she hadn’t heard anything, Lachlan’s senses were far keener. When he motioned for her to slow her horse, she complied without question.

They crept along for several minutes with Lachlan on high alert, then he shrugged and relaxed. “I guess I’m hearing things. Still, stay close to me.”

She didn’t have to be told twice and she nudged her horse to walk right next to his. In her anticipation to finally see his farm, she almost forgot what he’d been saying before he got sidetracked by the invisible foe.

“What were you saying before?” she asked. “Did you think of why Mel might have come back here?”

“Aye, I had a mad notion. Ye thought Mellie might have left sometime after my harebrained sister and good for nothing brother came to our time?”

“Lachlan,” she said sternly. “We’re going to be seeing them in a few hours, can’t you have a better attitude? After all these years you should be over it.”

He eyed her baby bump. “I canna believe we’re going to subject our sweet Daisy to the torments of a sibling.”

She laughed at him, knowing full well he was ecstatic about the new baby, and that deep down he couldn’t wait to see Catie and Quinn again. She poked him to get back to his theory.

“Ah, right. Well, wasna that about the time that she and—”

A definite crashing sound interrupted him and two raggedy bandits jumped into their path, wielding knives and desperate looks.

Piper screamed as Lachlan maneuvered his horse between the two men and her, but one had already grabbed her horse’s bridle, viciously jerking its head down, then reaching for her leg. Lachlan hit him across the back of his head with the flat side of his sword, then whirled in his saddle and punched the other man who had been trying to make off with the saddle bag. The fierce blow made him stop trying to untie their cargo, but after shaking his head, he tenaciously rushed them again.

With an oath, Lachlan slid off his horse and swept the bandit’s feet out from under him, leaning down to smash him in the face, this time knocking him out completely.

Piper’s heart pounded so hard she couldn’t get out another scream when the first man recovered from his sword slap and succeeded in yanking her off her horse. She hit the ground hard, with a cry of pain. She managed to kick the man’s shin as he jumped onto her horse, prepared to cut his losses and leave his comrade behind.

Lachlan roared with rage when he turned to see her on the ground, and rushed to her side, running his hands over her face.

“I’m fine,” she said, feeling a reassuring kick from the baby. She took his hand and held it to her belly, and his stormy eyes cleared when he too felt a solid kick from within. “Go get that bastard.”

He eyed the rapidly retreating scoundrel, then looked with distaste at the other one, laid out flat in the road. “I willna leave ye with him still alive, love, and I know how ye dinna like me to kill people. Let me roll him into the ditch and we can share my horse for the rest of the journey.”

She groaned, and kicked the unconscious jerk in the ribs before Lachlan dragged him a short way into the forest and tied him to a tree.

“He’ll either finagle his way free or his friend will come back for him,” Lachlan said as they set off again. “When we get to my border, there should be men around we can tell.” He was silent for a moment before admitting, “It would be good to have a phone about now.”

She laughed, though she was still shaken up. She was glad to rest against his strong chest as they meandered down the road, and was surprised when he began humming.

“Well, you’re awfully cheerful,” she said. “Did you actually enjoy that?”

He tightened his hold around her. “Of course I didna like to see ye mishandled that way, but I must admit it did feel good to fight again after such a long time. I was beginning to fear I was getting old and soft.”

He held the back of his hand up so she could see the slight scrapes across his knuckles. She grabbed his hand and kissed it, too glad they’d got away with such minor injuries to get upset over his old savage tendencies.

He was a perfect modern gentleman in her time, and they lived in a town where crime was practically unheard of, so it had been a very long time since he’d been in a fight. She loved both facets of him, the fierce warrior, and the kind and gentle man he was when nobody threatened them.

“I almost hope Quinn does something idiotic so I can take another swing or two,” he said.

She felt fairly certain he was teasing, but made a mental note to tell Quinn to be on his guard.

As he had hoped, several men rode up to greet them when they finally made it to Ferguson land late that night. They nearly fell off their horses when they recognized him, instantly lowering their weapons. Two of them rode out to scout for the thieves, while one raced to the main house to alert Quinn to their presence. It was too dark to see much as they made their way along a winding path, closed in on both sides by tall, craggy outcroppings. The mountains loomed close and by the light of the moon and the lantern they’d been given, she eagerly tried to take in what she could.

When Lachlan jumped off the horse to help her down, no sooner had her feet hit Ferguson soil than she was surrounded and enveloped in hugs. Quinn slapped Lachlan on the back and then whirled her around while Lizzie and Catie danced and squealed, taking her hands and patting her belly. Questions spilled out of everyone and they were swept into a warm, inviting sitting room, tea and a variety of food set before them. Piper barely registered a thing, she was so tired from the journey and overwhelmed by the welcome.

“Are ye back to stay?” Catie asked, almost sounding eager.

“Ye both look so different,” Quinn said before they could answer. He eyed her midsection. “Ye either made quick work of getting married, or ye’ve been gone longer than we’ve been back.”

“Aye, we’re married,” Lachlan rumbled, and Piper quickly took his hand in case he thought Quinn’s innocent question was somehow a punching offense. “And we’ve been gone a verra long time. This will be our second child. I’m getting to be an old man, lad.”

Lizzie pored over the pictures of Daisy she’d brought, and when Piper asked if she and Quinn had any plans they both choked and turned red.

“I know it seems she’s getting long in the tooth, but she assures me we have plenty of time yet,” Quinn said with a shrug, not seeming overly concerned with having children any time soon.

Lizzie elbowed him half-heartedly for the crack. “We’ve only just got married,” she explained, tugging at her dressing gown collar. “And, er, I’ve started a small business with some of the village women, so that keeps me busy.”

Quinn held up his foot, swathed in a cushy suede boot that looked shockingly twenty-first century. “They’re fine, aye? I can walk for miles without feeling fatigued and my back never gets sore anymore.”