Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
His expression was serious, and as she drew nearer, she made out faint lines of worry and weariness about his eyes. Despite the wound he had inflicted on her, she could not help but feel a little sympathy for him. After all, he was doing his best to protect her from Sinclair and from himself.
He was about to mount up when she planted herself in front of him, preventing him from getting into the saddle.
His dark brows rose as he looked down at her. “Hello, Catriona. Would ye mind movin’ aside? I have tae be somewhere, and I dinnae have time tae waste.”
“What a surprise,” she replied with an edge of sarcasm. “Why is it that whenever I see ye, ye’re always rushin’ off to somewhere in a hurry?”
“That’s the life of a laird, I’m afraid. The responsibility never stops. Now, can ye move aside or dae I have tae move ye mesel’?”
Against her will, the thought of having his hands on her again sent shivers racing up her spine. But she only lifted her chin, determined not to show it.
“Just answer me question and maybe I’ll move out of yer way.”
“I dinnae have tae tell ye me movements,” he retorted with a hint of weariness that touched her more than she liked.
“Maybe ye should. If yer urgent business concerns Sinclair, then mayhap ye should remember ’tis me he’s huntin. Yet ye’ve told me naethin’ about what’s happenin’.”
His frown deepened as he leaned down to her and lowered his voice. “I’ve sworn tae protect ye from the man, have I nae? That should be enough fer ye.”
That vexed her. “If ye were in me shoes, would it be enough fer ye?” she demanded.
He glanced around as if worried others might be listening, but the stable was all but deserted apart from the horses in their stalls. When he looked back at her, his face had softened.
“Catriona, please, let me go.” He sounded almost pleading.
“Just tell me where ye’re goin’,” she insisted, hardly knowing why it was so important to know, except that the conversation was keeping him there with her a little longer.
He sighed. “I was goin’ tae ride out tae clear me head.”
Triumph burst in her chest and she smiled. “Grand. Then there’s nay reason ye cannae take me with ye. I’ve been locked up in the keep fer over a week, and I need tae clear me head as well.”
He shook his dark locks emphatically. “Nay. Ye’re stayin’ here. ’Tis the only way I can guarantee yer safety.”
“But ye already said ye’ll protect me. Are ye sayin’ I’m nae safe with ye?”
“Ach, good Christ, lass, ye’re impossible,” he muttered.
“Right, is what I am, and ye ken it, Malcolm Gordon,” she told him, certain he was about to crumble. The thought of getting astride a horse and flying across the meadows was thrilling, and she was not about to give up the chance easily.
“Go on and let me come with ye,” she said more persuasively.
She watched him wavering, willing him to say yes.
“Ach, all right, ye can come,” he grudgingly agreed at last.
“Och, thank ye!” Catriona exclaimed softly, clapping her hand gleefully. “Can I ride Brianna?”
She thought she spied a whisper of a smile ghost across his lips but his eyes were stern. “Dinnae push yer luck. I told ye, she’s nae safe fer ye tae ride yet. Ye can take out another of the mares.” He jerked his chin at a chestnut mare a little further down. “Matilda there will dae ye fine.”
Buoyed up with anticipation for a bracing ride, Catriona decided not to quibble, having already won a major concession from him.
“Aye, she will at that,” she agreed.
A short time later, they were both mounted up and clattered across the cobblestones and out through the gates.
They warmed up the horses first, taking them across the pastures at a brisk walk then a slow canter.
“This feels very familiar, ye and me back in the saddle, ridin’ side by side,” Malcolm said, glancing over at her.
She laughed, the worries that had been tormenting her temporarily blown away by the sense of freedom she felt being atop a horse again, the wind blowing through her hair.
“Are ye referrin’ tae the escape last week or back when we were younger and used tae ride all over ye’re faither’s lands?” she asked, keeping pace with him.
“I was thinkin’ of the escape. But now ye mention the past, aye, I remember when we would ride out in summer down tae the Spey and follow it tae the sea.”
“Aye, we’d take a wee picnic with us when the weather was fine and make a day of it on the beach,” she said, laughing at the happy memory.
“And d’ye recall that we’d sometimes head a wee bit further east tae Buckie and go sailin’?”
“Of course, I remember,” she exclaimed. “We’d catch fish and bake them in coals on the sand. They were delicious. I loved Buckie, all those wee fishing cottages, and the folks were always so kind tae us. We had some lovely times there. I’d love tae visit it again.”
He shot her a sideways glance and said something that surprised her. “Mayhap ye and Duncan and Elaina can visit in the summer and we’ll all go together, relive the good times, eh?”
His unexpected suggestion warmed Catriona’s heart, but at the same time it confused her even more. Why paint such a bright picture of a future that would never be, for had he not decreed their passionate kiss a mistake?
Besides, if Sinclair has his way, I’ll have nae future.
For horrible as it was to contemplate, despite Malcolm’s promise to protect her, there was a strong possibility that she and everyone she loved might be dead this time next week. But she did not want to spoil the carefree moment by pointing out to Malcolm what he already knew as well as she did.
Brushing all thoughts of Sincalir aside, determined to make the best of her temporary liberty, she pressed her knees into Matilda’s flanks and galloped ahead. Exhilarated as always by the speed and the breeze blowing on her face, she found herself laughing irrepressibly.
When she exchanged looks with Malcolm, who had come up alongside her, she heard him laughing too. It made her laugh even more, for it was truly wonderful to be riding together, both of them as carefree as they had once used to be as children.
They thundered up the side of a hill and reined in at the top, panting and flushed. Catriona looked across the flat moorland into the distance and had a sudden crazy idea.
“Shall we have a race, like we used tae?” she asked Malcolm, feeling the spirit of competition stirring within her.
He laughed. “If ye wish. But I warn ye, ye’d best be prepared tae lose.”
She tossed her head. “Och, ye’re so certain of winnin’, are ye?”
He slapped the stallion’s neck. “On this one? Aye, I’m certain of it. Matilda’s a fine horse, but Warrior’s bigger and more powerful.”
“Maybe so. Let’s race and find out, shall we?”
Catriona knew she was good horsewoman, and though he was undoubtedly right about Warrior being more powerful than Matilda, she was determined to put up a good show, even if she lost in the end.
“Shall we race tae that big old elm over there?” She nodded to a point about half a mile distant, near the edge of some woods, where the broken, blackened fingers of an elm blasted by lightening raked the sky.
He nodded. “All right, ye’re on. Ye can count us down.”
Catriona’s stomach tightened with excitement as they levelled up the horses.
“On three. One, two, three!” she cried eagerly, getting off to a flying start.
Beside her, Malcolm leaped away, the muscles in Warrior’s powerful flanks rippling as he powered ahead.
Keeping low in the saddle, Catriona urged Matilda to go faster, the mare’s hooves thundering across the grass as they flew over the ground towards the broken tree.
Malcolm, having the advantage, soon took the lead, his laughter trailing after him.
But Catriona was not dismayed. To be racing was enough in itself, she felt like a young girl again, out on one of their daring adventures.
She felt truly alive, all her worries snatched away by the breeze along with her own joyful laughter.
Beneath her, she could feel Matilda enjoying being given her head, the pair of them working in harmony to close the gap between them and their competitors.
Of course, Malcolm reached the elm first. But it was only a few seconds later that she reined Matilda in next to him. The horses panted and snorted happily as they jostled and danced about each other.
“A brave effort, Matilda, me beauty,” Catriona murmured, unable to stop smiling as she patted the horse’s neck in gratitude for giving her such a thrilling ride.
“I told ye we’d win,” Malcolm said, looking heart-stoppingly handsome with his face flushed, hair blown back, a triumphant grin on his face.
“Aye, but only because Warrior is more powerful. Ye said so yourself,” she replied, shocked by the teasing note in her voice.
Reigning in her excitement, she tried to sound more light-hearted when she said, “Matilda did a grand job. A sugar lump and extra oats fer ye at dinner today, me chestnut lass,” she told the mare.
“Shall we take a ride through the woods? There’s a nice trail that goes through the middle,” Malcolm suggested, turning Warrior in that direction.
“Och, I’d love tae,” Catriona replied, wheeling Matilda about as well. They set off at a canter, riding side by side, towards the woods.
After a few minutes, she said, “This route feels familiar. I’m sure we used tae come this way before.”
“Aye, we did, many times. There’s a pretty spot in the woods with a burn and a wee stone bridge where we used tae stop quite often. D’ye ye recall?”
Catriona felt a warm glow of recognition in her breast. “Aye, I dae! We’d take off our stockin’s and shoes and paddle in the water and build wee boats out of sticks and sail them under the bridge,” she declared as the memories flooded back.
“Och, I cannae wait tae see it again, Malcolm. Let’s go there now. ”
“I thought ye might like it. It’s where we’re headed.”
The glow in her breast expanded at the thought he wanted to please her.
But as with so many things with Malcolm, the idea confused her as well.
When she thought about it some more, she realized with some disappointment that he would have gone to the burn without her anyway and had not set out especially to please her.
Any pleasure she derived from revisiting their old playground was naught but a happy coincidence because she happened to have forced her company on him.
The trail carved a broad path beneath the trees, wide enough for them to ride two abreast. They moved at a walking pace without talking for quite a while, the only sounds the soft, rhythmic thudding of the horses’ hooves on the damp, leaf-strewn ground, the jingling of their reins, and the myriad songs of the birds, who flitted amongst the branches as they passed.
The air smelled leafy and fresh. It was idyllic.
Catriona heard the silvery, bubbling music of the burn even before they emerged on its banks, the familiarity of its song giving her a little shiver of pleasure.
“Och, it hasn’t changed,” she said, gazing around in wonder at the little clearing with its picturesque stone bridge. She looked up admiringly at the lush greenery surrounding them, and then down at the dark, peaty banks of the burn.
Malcolm slid from Warrior’s back to the ground, his boots thudding softly.
Catriona was so caught up in nostalgia, she was startled to feel his hands spanning her waist and lifting her down to stand next to him.
His touch kindled heat within her once more, but since nothing could come of it, she deliberately moved away a few steps.
Enchanted by the spot, she looked up at him, smiling. “’Tis so very pretty here, Malcolm. I’m truly glad tae see it again. Thank ye fer lettin’ me come here with ye.” She truly meant every word.
“Aye, ’tis a lovely spot. I come here sometimes on me own, tae think. The sound of the water calms me,” he replied.
Wondering what had prompted such an admission, she wanted to ask him why he needed calming but thought better of it. It too had the ring of flirtation she had already decided was best avoided.
They walked down to the edge of the strand and stood there, letting the small waves lap at their boots. The horses wandered down too, standing alongside them, dipping their heads to drink their fill.
“I can see why ye come here,” she remarked, adding after a short pause, “’Tis funny, even in such a magical place as this, when ye’re a bairn all ye think of is fun and havin’ adventures,” she reflected. “But when ye grow up, ye come tae somewhere like this just for some peace.”
Malcolm nodded. He sat down on a flat rock. She sat on another, a foot or so away. The silence that fell over them then was companiable rather than tense. It was almost as though they had travelled back in time, to a past where they had been so happy together.
Perhaps it was the feeling of being removed from the real world that prompted her to challenge him on his conflicting behaviour towards her.