Chapter Eight
Megan jumped up, tugging on the plaid, pulling it completely off Gregory, and then, shocked at seeing his naked body, threw it at him, leaving herself naked. Then, looking down at her own body she attempted to cover everything with her hands.
Gregory couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. “What the devil’re ye doing lass?”
“We’re naked!”
“Aye. We took our clothes off last night. Doona ye remember?”
She hurried over to the clothes laying in front of the fire and quicky found her pieces and dressed herself. She headed to the opening at the front of the bothy.
Gregory struggled into his clothes. “Wait, Megan. Where are ye going?”
“Outside. To the bushes.” As she turned to him, her face was once again bright red.
“Nay. Wait for me. I canno’ let ye go outside alone. Did ye forget we’re being tracked?”
She took a deep breath, and now with them both dressed, seemed a bit more relaxed. “Nay I dinna forget, I just didn’t think.”
“’Ye have to think, lass. We are still in danger, even though we split up from the others. Once our pursuers catch up to them, they will immediately ken what we did and try to find the path we took.”
“Will they find out from yer men?”
He grinned. “Nay. If they try to engage my well-trained warriors with the idea of getting information from them they will ne’er find us because they will all be dead.”
Gregory took her arm to help her over the wet ground and roots.
As much as he believed that she would have liked to do without his help, she gripped his arm as her foot started to slip out from under her.
“Ye are pretty confident of yer men’s abilities.”
“Aye.”
He stood alongside the bushes, his back to her while she did what she needed to do. He decided to return her to the bothy where she was relatively safe before he took care of his own needs.
“Do we have food?” she asked as they walked back.
“Nay. But there is a small village no’ far from here where we can get a meal.”
“Is that safe?”
He shrugged “If we are careful.”
Once she was settled back in the bothy he told her that when he was finished, they would leave.
*
While Megan waited for Gregory to return, she made sure the fire was out, grateful that there had been enough wood to last the night.
She spent time outside, but not too far from the bothy, gathering more wood that she could carry to replace what they had used.
Then she fumbled through her satchel and tried her best to clean her teeth and brush her hair into some semblance of order.
She would ask Gregory to make one more walk with her to the creek so she could wash her hands and face.
While she waited, anxious to get away from where they were and to a real village, she thought of the man and how ’twas possible he would end up her husband.
The quick glance she’d gotten of his muscular body was enough to have her both nervous and excited to see if the marriage bed with him was different from Robert’s.
Then she felt guilty. Robert had not been a bad husband. He was just more interested in his warrior training and visiting the ale house in town than he was with her. That could very well have been her fault, since as a barren woman she probably held little appeal.
If he hadn’t been killed they would probably have had a long, boring marriage. Was there any reason for her to believe life with Gregory Mackenzie would be any different?
He was second-in-command to Laird Mackenzie so he obviously had a great deal of training to do. As she’d told Gregory earlier, she would be content to do whatever job Lady Mckenzie assigned to her, but would love to continue to learn more about healing.
What was confusing was why seeing his body had her now questioning her earlier thoughts about having him go his way and she go hers. Robert had had a warrior’s body also, but she had been annoyed that he went his own way all the time.
’Twas a strange thing.
Gregory stepped into the space carrying a sack of water. “I use this to drink from when there is no cup available. I thought ye might want some.”
Megan stood. “Actually, besides a drink of water I could use some of it to wash my face and hands.”
He handed her the sack and nodded. “While ye do that I will see to the horse.”
She nodded and proceeded to drink first, then used what was left to wash her hands and face. Feeling refreshed, she waited for Gregory to return. Her stomach growled, reminding herself of the promise to find a real meal.
“We’re ready to leave,” Gregory said.
Megan stepped outside, happy to see sunshine. She glanced at Gregory who scooped her up and placed her on the horse. He swung up behind her and after making sure she was wrapped with the plaid and settled, he urged his horse into motion and they were off.
Happy with the fair day and the idea of a real meal, she found herself smiling for the first time in days.
“I can feel yer smile from here,” Gregory said.
She turned to see him grinning at her. Again, her stomach fluttered and something strange happened to her woman’s parts. Something she’d rarely felt before.
It might have been the bright sunlight, or her brief sense of happiness, but Gregory seemed even more handsome to her today.
He must have used the creek to wash his face and dampen his hair. His blue eyes looked even more brilliant since he was really looking at her. Her breath caught and she looked away, then shifted. There was no good to be had in developing a fancy for the man.
He would never feel the same since he was marrying her to fulfill a duty.
The village was larger than Megan had assumed. Various shops lined the two streets that faced the village green. Butcher, greengrocer, baker, shoemaker, blacksmith, tailor, and a carpenter were as much as she could see as they made their way into the village stable.
Once they left the horse with instructions to brush him down and feed him, Gregory took her hand and they stepped into the bright sunlight.
“Ah, just what I was looking for,” he said, waving toward the end of the line of shops. A nice size building faced them, with the words: “The Ram’s Head,” on a large painted sign hanging over the door.
As if to emphasize his comment, his stomach let out with growl. It seemed they were both in need of decent food.
The alehouse was dark and the smoke from the fireplace, because of the small chimney, was unable to leave the building, giving the place a very hazy appearance.
Gregory placed his hand on her lower back and directed her to a table in the corner.
“My, ’tis dark in here. Shouldn’t we find another table?” Megan asked, looking around. The smoke was already burning her eyes.
“Nay.” He pulled out a chair for her. “We’re in hiding, remember? I rarely turn my back to the door when I’m somewhere unfamiliar. And knowing one of Gunn’s or Sinclair’s men could stop in here, I prefer to see him before he sees me.”
Megan shivered and ran her palms up and down her arms. “I hope the food is good.”
Just then a young lass approached them. “Good day to ye. What can I get for ye?”
Gregory looked over at Megan.
“Do ye have cider?”
The girl smiled. “Nay. Only drinks we have are ale and whisky.”
What she could use was a hot cup of tea. But that wasn’t an option. “I’ll have an ale.”
“Ye can bring me an ale also. What are ye serving today?”
Megan felt a sense of something strange when she saw Gregory offer his best smile at the girl who returned his smile until Megan was ready to smack her face.
Whatever was wrong with her?
“We’re still serving breakfast. We have eggs, bacon, ham, tatties, and black pudding.”
“I’ll have it all,” Gregory said. Another bright smile.
She wanted to kick him. “The eggs, ham, and tatties for me,” Megan said coolly.
The lass nodded and left them. Megan looked over at Gregory, feeling as though she should say something. “I doona care for black pudding.”
He grinned. “No’ everyone does.”
Within minutes, the lass set down the two mugs of ale and two plates of food. She stepped back and said, “Ye look like good people, ye ken?”
What was this lass about?
Gregory leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and frowned. “Aye.”
She moved closer. “Early this morning, there was a mon in here looking for a mon and lass traveling together. The description he gave is verra similar to ye.”
Gregory nodded and picked up his fork. “Thank ye lass.”
She walked off and Gregory nodded at Megan. “Eat up lass. We need to be on our way.”