The Highlander’s Witch (9 page)

Skye nodded not even hearing what had been said.

Oh,
my
God!
America
hasn’t
even
been
discovered
yet!

“Ah, lass, I have troubled ye with this talk of war and such. I apologize.” Elizabeth said as she gently squeezed Skye’s arm. “Let us turn our thoughts to other things, shall we?”

Good
idea,
let’s
begin
with
when
they
started
burning
witches
at
the
stake.

Skye looked around the room, taking in everything with new eyes, marveling at what must be the beginning of the fifteenth century when she caught a man following them at a distance.

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Why is that man following us?”

“Follow—oh him.” She smiled and touched Skye’s arm. “You mustn’t think you are a prisoner. I had the same thing happen to me when I first arrived. It satisfies the counsels’ concerns tis all.”

“Oh.”

She frowned at the man and then shrugged. “He is also there for yer safety. Tis not like I need remind ye that these are troubled times.”

Looking at the man and the fierce way he held himself, Skye shuddered.

“Not like I have a choice.” She snorted to herself.

Later that evening, as she sat eating out of a small silver trencher with a knife and spoon given to her by Elizabeth, Skye watched in amazement at the activity that took place during a meal. There were small bowls of salt and platters of meat and fish, bread and something like butter within arm’s reach, and so many more things coming and going that she couldn’t keep up, and it all tasted delicious.

Nothing was as she had imagined the fifteenth century would be like.

Not that she had ever thought about the fifteenth century.

Doug would be so envious of her!

She loved the wine most and knew she needed to drink it sparingly because her third glass had her face feeling flushed and her nose and cheeks were starting to go numbish.

She giggled at the thought of ‘numbish’.

Not wanting anyone thinking she was laughing at them, she concentrated on her food and watched the people around her in awe.

Although Skye tried not to look at Aiden, she found herself doing so throughout the meal.

He was wearing the kilt again and she so wanted to lean over and see what was past those manly thighs of his and hidden under the tartan. Gritting her teeth, she looked away again and began tapping her foot to the music when the couple next to her leaned over and began talking.

Aiden hated that he kept staring at Skye and hated more that other men looked as well.

Her hair hung loose this time and its curls made his fingers itch to wrap around them. Her face was glowing and her eyes sparkled as she chatted with the couple beside her.

“Fair pretty be the lass when cleaned up, aye?” Collin asked, laughing.

Aiden narrowed his gaze on his brother-by-the-law. “Ye be married to me sister, I no be rovin with yer eyes, if I were ye.”

Collin threw back his head and roared with laughter, causing several people to look at the main table.

Aiden glared at Collin before realization struck and he had to chuckle. “I dinna wanna hear nothin from ye, do ye ken?”

Turning away, Aiden caught Skye watching him and he sobered, drinking her in until she blushed and looked away.

Collin patted him on his shoulder. “Aye brother-by-
marriage, I ken. Mayhap more than ye do.” When he noticed the girl blush and look away he grinned further. “More than the lass ken, as well.” Collin chuckled.

He
is
beautiful
, was all Skye could think when Collin’s laughter had caught her attention and she turned to look at the two.

When the scraggly beard never reappeared, she was glad. Aiden’s face was strong and manly, only his eyes, so vividly blue, could go from fierce to mesmerizing when he smiled.

Caught staring, she blushed furiously and jerked her gaze away, staring unseeing in front of her but not before she had seen his smile showing even white teeth framed by a mouth she instantly wanted to kiss.

Chapter Five
 

S
kye woke up to pure darkness and squeaked, stiffening in fear as her mind imagined being back in the cell before she forced herself to accept that she was no longer with the rats.

Trying to see the dim room with what little light came from the glow beneath her door helped her see the candle on the bedside table had melted to nothingness.

Unable to stop thinking about rats, Skye slid out of bed, grabbed her dress from the chair, and leapt back on the mattress to dress.

Shoes in hand, she called out to the guard.

There was a noise on the other side followed by,
“Gu
dé?”

When Skye asked in Gaelic if she could come out, there was another long pause before the door opened and a strange guard looked in with a frown on his face.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t go back to sleep.”

She hated how her voice quivered when she spoke, but thoughts of rats nipping at her feet as she crossed the room would not go away.

His face remained emotionless.
“Dé
tha
thu-fhéin
ag
iarraidh?”

Realizing she’d reverted to English, she cleared her throat and answered him. “Ummm. Can I get a glass of water?”

She breathed easier when he nodded and they headed to the kitchens. She was surprised to find it a buzz of activity, which promptly stopped once they saw her.

She blushed at the attention until an older woman stepped forward. “Ye be the English lass, aye?”

“Glenys?”

When the woman looked surprised, Skye went on. “Elizabeth spoke so highly of a woman named Glenys and then you spoke English, I just assumed. I am sorry if I’m wrong.”

“Nay, ye have the right of it.” She turned to the other women and clapped her hands, commanding them to go back to work. “What can I do fer ye?”

“I couldn’t sleep, and I thought I could get some water. If it’s okay with you?”

“Aye, follow me.”

After handing her a mug with water in it, she sat her at a table, away from the women working.

Not wanting to go back to her darkened room, Skye watched as the women prepared for the coming day. Conversation was slow to start amongst them with her there but gradually picked up, although is a more subdued manner.

When Skye heard they were one short due to a sickness, an idea occurred to her.

It took some doing, but she convinced Glenys to let her help and before long, she was peeling potatoes and grinning happily. By the time the sun began to come through the open door, she was chatting away with the other women and laughing as they gave a young girl tips over an upcoming date with a boy that had come calling the previous day.

That was how Aiden found her, with an apron around her gown and her head covered with a kerchief while slicing potatoes and laughing
.

He stood unnoticed listening to the sound of her mirth and his gut clenched, his manhood hardened, and all he could think of was covering her mouth with his own while he plunged into her wet depths and turning her laughter into moans of desire.

He left before he made a fool of himself.

Glenys placed a hand on Skye’s shoulder. “Tis time for ye to leave, lass. Folks be arisin an ye need to be out there eatin an no in here cookin.”

Skye looked outside to see the sun rising and smiled.

Taking off her apron and the kerchief she wore to cover her hair, she thanked Glenys.

“May I return tonight, if I can’t sleep?”

Glenys looked at the girl in front of her and saw the need to be accepted. She’d worked next to her girls as if she was one of them, never acting mightier, nor did she slosh in her duties, always there to do what was needed next.

“Aye, ye be more than welcome.”

“
Tapadh
leat
.” Skye grinned happily, holding the other woman’s hands as she thanked her before walking out with a smile.

She stopped short when she saw a handsome man standing waiting for her, instantly taking in his dark blond locks as long as Aiden’s.

“Change of the guard, huh?”

When he didn’t speak, she spoke slowly in Gaelic, trying to say the right words.

“I’m not really hungry and I’m not sure what I can and cannot do.” Sighing, she looked around. “Is there somewhere I can go to just get some fresh air?”

A short while later, Skye held back a thick tapestry in an alcove, enjoying the beauty of this foreign land. She knew Scotland was beautiful because of the detailed descriptions Doug gave them from his visit a few years back, but this was breathtaking.

Ignoring the chill, she watched as the sun rose over the distant hills, casting an orange glow across the open land and showing the deep violet hue of the hills.

She took in the breathtaking scenery and sighed.

“Missin home, lass?”

Skye jumped and turned to see Aiden standing close by, the guard a number of steps away with his back to them. She looked at his hardened face wondering how she could be so attracted when he was so primal and forbidding in appearance with all the hard angles and set mouth.

Drawn to his even white teeth, she wondered how he looked when he smiled.

A sudden grin had her heart leaping into her throat as heat spread throughout her body. She tried to swallow it down as her breath caught at the sight of a simple smile.

Beautiful

Lost in the way creases appeared around those to-die-for blue eyes, softening every angle on his face. Even the slight dimple in each cheek captured her attention before drawing her eyes to his mouth.

“Or tis dreamin ye be doin?”

Skye jerked her eyes up to his as she realized she had been staring and licked her lips only to watch his smile disappear when he lowered his gaze to her mouth.

Her heart flipped and she felt achy in all the wrong places at that darkened look. She turned her face away and looked back out the window silently demanding her body to regain control.

“Which be it, lass?” Came the low sensual question.

Think
Skye,
what
was
the
question?

Oh
yeah.

“Miss home?” She shrugged and gave it consideration, glad for the distraction. “It’s hard to explain really.”

“Will ye try?” Came the soft request.

Skye looked at the man before her and everything inside her cried out to tell him all, wishing he was a witch so she could explain away how his voice made her insides melt and longed to step inside the power of his embrace even after everything he had put her through.

Instead, she looked out over the landscape holding back the desire to stare at him as well as to spill her life story, completely confused over her feelings.

“My sister, Sarah, and I grew up with loving parents. They took us everywhere with them so we were pretty used to traveling.”

Sorting through her thoughts and taking a steadying breath, she pushed aside the hurt feelings of being left behind when her parents took their final vacation to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary and the plane had crashed, killing everyone.