A Lesson in Passion (24 page)

When it was over, the remaining Sinclairs rode
off, most likely in search of others in their clan to bolster their
numbers. Two Sinclairs lay dead and one MacDonald lay wounded
seriously enough to cause concern. Despite all this, Broderick's
only concern was for the young girl hiding in the woods.

He ran toward the trees calling her name.
Before he even entered the forest, Elspeth walked out, revealing
that she hadn't listened to him and stayed close by to watch.
Broderick didn't know if he should be angry, disgusted or happy.
Angry because she hadn't listened. Disgusted that she was forced to
watch such a display, watching him as he killed another man. Or
happy because she was safe for the moment.

Before he could think twice, he hugged her
tight and whispered that everything would be alright. The look on
her face confused him. She seemed pleased, if not almost excited.
Broderick didn't have time to figure it out. He called out to the
men, ordering two of the MacDonalds to accompany their injured man
back to their keep. The rest would continue their ride back to
McKenna land. God willing, they would make it without
incident.

Broderick insisted that Elspeth ride with him.
He reasoned that it was for her protection, but in reality, he knew
it would be one of the last times he got to hold her. He wanted to
feel her soft skin and smell the scent of her hair. She was so
beautiful and perfect, he had a hard time thinking about letting
her go.

As they rode on, Broderick felt his skin
prickle and the hair on the back of his neck rise. Something was
coming and it wasn't good. Before he could consider the
possibilities, he heard the battle cry. Without a second thought,
Broderick and the rest of his men began to ride their horses hard,
trying to find a defensible position where his handful of men could
ward off the greater numbers.

*
*
*

It was late afternoon and the sun was already
on its decline toward night. The group of McKenna soldiers, Ian and
Ginny had made steady progress toward their destination. Ian was
relentless, only allowing a single break for Ginny to relieve
herself in the bushes. The tedious journey was having its effect on
her and she wasn't all together sure she would be able to put her
plan in action after riding on a big horse all day.

Ian had explained, in very few words, that he
wanted to be on the outer edge of MacDonald land before they
stopped for the night. It would be safer, she assumed, but would it
save her ass from being bruised and abused? She thought
not.

Daydreaming about getting off the
horse, Ginny was shocked when the soldiers and Ian came to an
abrupt halt. Looking around to see what had caused the change,
Ginny could see a group of men, all on horseback, riding
dangerously fast toward them. Ginny squinted to see who they were,
only to notice a larger group of men riding dangerously fast behind
them.
What the devil?
she thought only seconds before Ian screamed and raced forward
at breakneck speed.

Ginny didn't think, she only held on for dear
life. All the men in their group had followed suit and were racing
toward the first group. When they had gotten closer, Ginny could
finally see that the first group comprised McKenna's, with
Broderick's unmistakable mass in the front. Holding onto him, much
like Ginny, was another woman. Presumably, the MacDonald
girl.

All at once, Ginny was on the ground, while
Ian and his men continued forward. The second group, wearing kilts
that Ginny had not yet seen, were barreling down after the united
McKennas. Standing alone, in the middle of the field, Ginny was
exposed, but strangely calm. She watched as Broderick broke off and
rode with his passenger toward Ginny.

“Elspeth, stay here with Ginny. I
swear on my honor that no man will get past me to ya,” Broderick
stated as he set the MacDonald girl down with care.

“Aye, thank ya, Broderick,” she
replied, looking mesmerized by the large, gruesome man.

With that, Broderick rode off to join the
melee, which now consisted of two groups, no longer on horses, with
swords drawn and angry shouts rendered. It was an awesome sight,
with the numbers nearly even, slightly favoring the other clan.
Large men, mostly hairy and dirty, ready to slash each other beyond
repair. It made Ginny somewhat sick.

“My name is Elspeth MacDonald,” she
spoke in a quiet, unassuming tone. It almost made Ginny laugh at
the lightness of it, like she were introducing herself over
tea.

“I'm Ginny,” was all she could get
out before the ringing of swords broke over the sounds of cursing
and shouts. Still, Elspeth was bound to know more than she did.
“Who are they?” she asked pointing to the unknown clan.

“The Sinclairs. They dinna want
this alliance between the MacDonalds and the McKennas. This is the
second such encounter we have endured. Broderick was able to
protect me from the first onslaught.”

Well, well, well, it would seem
that young Elspeth has a thing for Frankenstein
, she thought to herself as a smile formed on her face. Before
the young girl could spot it, Ginny quickly went back to looking
grim. It's not like she didn't know who would win this
battle.

“Were they the ones who stole
Aileana?” Ginny asked, before realizing that Elspeth probably
wouldn't even know what she was talking about.

“Aye. My father received
information exposing them. He would have aligned our clan to the
McKennas after the treachery, but that was when Broderick came to
collect me.” With her head down, she whispered, “I am to marry the
Laird McKenna.”

“Yeah, I know. You don't seem too
pleased about it.”

“Why should I be? I am sure the
Laird is a fine man, but I dinna know him. Will he be kind, like
Broderick has been? Will he generous and sweet, like Broderick? Or
will I be miserable for the rest of my life without
love?”

Ginny eyes widened as she listened
to the drivel.
Dear God, really?
she thought to herself. Maybe she hadn't learned
her lesson, since she was still in it for the sex. Ginny could
admit a large attraction to Ian. She could also admit that she did
care for him, quite deeply. Love, though? Would she jump in front
of an arrow to save his life? Maybe not. She didn't even know if
she was capable of such emotion.

“So what are you going to do about
it? Stand here and whine or put down your foot and demand what you
want,” Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Damn she could
play the part when she wanted to. This situation, of course, would
get her what she wanted as well. Ian, in bed, forever. It suddenly
occurred to Ginny that it might just mean that: forever. She had no
idea if she would ever leave here, or would her brain continue to
concoct this story as long as she lay comatose somewhere
else.

The sound of swords clashing brought her out
of her reverie. Two of the Sinclairs lay on the ground, covered in
blood and not moving. The rest were back on their horses and riding
off, into the sunset so to speak. The rest of the McKennas came
running over with their horses to the two women standing there. Ian
was at her side in moments, speaking volumes if Elspeth were paying
any attention. She wasn't, of course, because her attention was
solely on Broderick, who was by her side in a moment as
well.

One of the other McKennas spit on the ground
and said, “They will be back and in greater numbers. We shouldnae
stay here too long.” Ginny smiled. It sounded like a line from Star
Wars, when Obi Wan warned about the Sand People. Ginny had to admit
that sometimes, she was a big nerd.

“Aye,” Ian agreed. “We need to find
a priest.”

Ginny spoke up. “A priest? Did someone die,”
she looked over at the two Sinclairs on the ground. When no one
answered, she turned at saw that they were all looking at her like
she was an idiot.

“What?” Ginny asked her large
audience.

Ian took her by the arm and walked her away.
When they were out of earshot of the group, he turned her to face
him and said gently, “It is for my marriage, Ginny. I dinna care
about the Sinclairs. They can rot in hell. If I dinna marry
Elspeth, I canna expect the alliance with her father.”

Oh, right,
she thought to herself, now knowing why they all thought she
was an idiot. Turning her eyes to the ground, she spoke softly,
“I'm sorry. I guess I forgot about that.” She looked up into his
eyes and saw something she didn't expect to see. She saw regret.
Had he thought about them being together once before the marriage?
Ginny imagined he was feeling exactly the same way she was.
Strangely enough, it made her feel better.

Putting on her game face, knowing that she had
put a bug in Elspeth's ear, she said, “Well, let's go find a
priest, shall we?” Ginny linked her arm with Ian and led him back
to the group.

The change in Ginny's voice disconcerted Ian.
All of a sudden, she seemed quite fine with the idea of him
marrying someone else. They walked back to the other men and she
waited for him to give his order. Why was she so... happy? The
entire trip had been grim and now she seemed almost excited to
continue.

“Ewan, where do ya think we might
find a priest?” Ian asked one of his soldiers. Ewan was famous for
knowing where to find anything.

“There is a small village to the
north with an abbey attached to the land. One of the monks can
marry ya.”

Ian mounted his horse and reached down to grab
Ginny to haul her up. Ginny stepped away quickly and suggested,
“Ian, maybe now would be a good time to get to know your fiancée.
I'll just ride with someone else.” As Ginny walked over by
Broderick, it took only one look from him to know that he was not
willing to be her partner. So, she walked back to Ewan, who was
smiling in her direction.

“Ewan, would you mind carrying me?”
she asked, almost chipper, knowing full well that Ian was probably
madder than a hornet right now.

“Aye, my lady. It would be my
pleasure.”

“You're so kind,” she said,
chancing a look back at Ian, who was indeed, rather pissed off. Ian
fixed his gaze on Ewan. The look, which left no room for
misunderstanding, spoke of murder for any inappropriate action made
on Ewan's part. Ian then fixed his gaze on Ginny. He was angry and
maybe even hurt. This would have been their last chance together.
Ginny expected otherwise, so she simply smiled and
winked.

Ewan took hold of Ginny and placed her gently
on his lap. Not as big as Ian, Ewan still had powerful thighs that
made a nice cushion for Ginny. He looked strange, having jet black
hair and sharp brown eyes. His olive complexion looked more worthy
of an Italian man, than Scots. He did not suffer from insufficient
conversation, and spoke almost non-stop to the abbey. Knowing
nothing would come of it, Ginny flirted with him and kept up her
end of the conversation.

Ginny watched Ian and Elspeth as they rode to
the north. Ian was stiff as a board, which was nothing compared to
Elspeth, who looked as if she would snap at any moment. Not much in
the way of conversation transpired between them. Ian was making it
very clear that he was no more amendable to this marriage than she
was. Thankfully, they wouldn't be marrying each other, Ginny was
certain of that.

Ginny began to sing snipets of
America's
Sister Golden Hair: Well I tried
to make it Sunday, but I got so damned depressed, that I set my
sights on Monday and I got myself undressed. I ain't ready for the
altar, but I do agree there's times, when a woman sure can be a
friend of mine.

The further they rode, the colder it got.
Ginny had almost forgotten about the cold. She turned her head to
look at Ewan and said, “Ewan, I'm sorry. I'm very cold. Do you mind
if I lean up against you to warm up?”

Ewan looked at Ian and smiled wanly. “Of
course, my lady. I would be happy to assist ya.” Then he whispered,
“I dinna want to anger the laird though.”

Ginny saw his predicament. If he kept Ginny
warm with his own body, Ian would probably pound him into the
ground. On the other hand, Ewan certainly didn't want to say no to
her. “Maybe I could just discreetly put my hands on you to keep
them warm. That would help.”

“Aye, my lady. Discreetly,” he
whispered, which almost made Ginny laugh out loud.

Ginny put one hand on Ewan's chest,
outside his shirt, so it looked like she was only steadying
herself. The warmth tingled through her fingers and up her arm. Her
mother would always tell her, “Cold hands, warm heart,” but Ginny
would have preferred to have warm hands anyway. When she got older,
she would tell her mother that she'd rather be a cold hearted bitch
if it meant having warm hands and feet.

• * Chapter 22 *
  

Just north was a two hour horseback
ride. By the time they reached the abbey, Ginny's ass was as numb
as her hands and feet. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Ginny
was walking around trying to regain some feeling. She kept
tripping, with the pins and needles in her feet making her
uncomfortable. Ian always seemed to be right there to keep her from
falling though.