Chapter 21
T ired and hungry, covered in scratches from branches, and with leaves tangled in their hair, Sandy and Brigid kept walking until dawn.
“How much further is it?” Brigid asked. Her tears had finally stopped, but her head felt heavy and hollow. She wanted nothing more than to lie down in her bed at Gillies Tower and sleep for an entire day.
“I’m afraid it will be a while longer,” Sandy said, rubbing his face with his hand. “We are heading home, but not too directly. I don’t want to lead Edmondson’s men all the way back to Gillies Tower.”
“I’m tired,” Brigid said lamely.
Sandy managed to smile at her. “I know,” he said, and reached for her hand. She clutched at him like a lifeline. This countryside was unfamiliar to her. Without Sandy, she would be utterly lost.
Her body ached all over. With every step, one word echoed over and over again in her mind: failed .
She was Finn’s only hope in this whole century , and she’d failed. How alone must he feel? How frightened? The entire rescue mission had been a disaster.
And, worst of all, Sandy had been right. Her near-capture had distracted him from his own mission. Without her getting in the way, he could have grabbed the time travel equipment and got out of there. Brigid had ruined everything for everyone.
They didn’t even know where Mary and Tam were. Had they made it home safely?
Sandy finally pulled her to a halt beside a small woodland pool.
“Drink up,” he advised. “It’s good water here and I bet you need it.”
Brigid crouched down by the water’s edge and took a few grateful gulps. The water was cold and clean, and deeply soothing. She wiped her mouth dry and sighed with relief. She hadn’t realised just how parched she was.
“We should stop and rest here for a while,” Sandy said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”
Brigid smiled weakly.
“A rest would be wonderful,” she said. “But it seems a bit exposed here. Anyone could see us.”
Sandy grinned. The expression brought a spark of hope back to Brigid’s tired soul.
“True enough,” he said. “But take a look at this.”
He offered Brigid his hand and helped her to her feet. With a dramatic flourish, he waved his hand at the rocks beside the pool. Brigid frowned at them. What was he doing? Then he brushed back the thick undergrowth, and she realised. There was a small cave in the rocks, almost entirely hidden by a thick screen of greenery.
She clambered inside and found more to wonder at. The cave was lit by a narrow shaft in the ceiling, but somehow it had remained surprisingly dry and comfortable. Sandy lay down his thick cloak on the ground, and he and Brigid huddled together.
Brigid leaned her head against his shoulder. With the weight off her neck, it felt as if her burdens eased a little. She sighed, letting herself relax into Sandy’s warmth.
And then the tears started again. She sobbed gently, and Sandy wrapped his arm around her. He pulled her close against his chest and whispered soft, comforting things into her hair. Brigid clung to him, drawing on his strength. After a few moments, she managed to pull herself together and wipe her eyes as the tears slowed.
“Here,” Sandy said, handing her a handkerchief. Brigid took it gratefully and wiped her face.
“Don’t worry,” he said, smoothing her hair. “We’ll think of something.”
“It’s all my fault,” Brigid whispered against his chest.
“No, it’s not,” Sandy insisted. “I think that Edmondson’s men were waiting for us. They guessed what we were going to do, somehow.”
Brigid digested that for a second.
“Do you really think it’s not my fault?” she asked, twisting to look up at him.
“Absolutely,” he said quietly. “Brigid, you are one of the bravest, most competent people I’ve ever met. You’re better than almost every man I know.”
Brigid caught her breath as she abruptly realised how close their faces were. Sandy’s arm was still wrapped around her, holding her against his chest. Even in the dimness of the cave, his eyes were a vivid green as they stared down at her.
Barely daring to breathe, Brigid closed the distance between them. She pressed her lips to Sandy’s in a single, brief kiss. Then, embarrassed, she tucked her head against his chest again.
Sandy tightened his hold, pulling her even closer against him until she once again relaxed with her head on his shoulder.
“We’ll figure things out,” he said, playing with a lock of her hair.
Brigid knew she should feel guilty for what she’d just done. How could she kiss another man when she was supposed to be thinking of Finn? But, somehow, it didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with kissing Sandy. If anything, it felt right.
But that was for a good reason, she told herself sternly - and it wasn’t because she was falling in love with Sandy MacLeod. It was because she needed him. She couldn’t possibly survive without him, here in the wilds of eighteenth-century Scotland. She would be helpless here without him. An occasional kiss - or perhaps a little more - was a fair price to pay for that. It didn’t necessarily mean that she enjoyed it.
Well, she did enjoy it a little. More than a little. But it didn’t matter. She was going to rescue Finn, and then she was going to marry him.
They might have faced a major setback at Edmondson’s camp, but the overall plan had not changed. They just needed a new idea for rescuing Finn and stealing Edmondson’s time travel equipment.
This was far from over, Brigid told herself. She and Sandy could still do this - but they would have to work together.