alone with her. He would probably need every moment of that time to ease her anger and regain the ground he had lost owing to Maude’s arrival at the cottage. By the time they reached Scarglas, he wanted her to have told him of the challenge she faced and to have accepted his part in the battle ahead. He also hoped to renew his wooing, to regain her trust. One glance at her face told him that might prove to be the hardest battle of all.
CHAPTER 5
Keira glanced over at Liam and silently cursed. The man looked so pale she was surprised he was still in the saddle. Her anger and disappointment had obviously smothered the healer in her for a while for she had not taken a moment since fleeing the cottage to consider what a long, hard ride might cost him. Even she was feeling a bit sore, and she was not suffering from any injuries. Since he had taken the lead in their flight from the enraged Lord Kinnaird, she wondered why he had said nothing about the pain he was so clearly suffering. Manly pride, she supposed, and shook her head over such foolishness.
“I think ’tis time we stopped for the night,” she said.
“’Tis still light enough to ride,” Liam said, although he ached to get off his horse and rest his leg.
“Aye, but ye look ready to fall out of that saddle.”
Liam hated the fact that she could see how he suffered with each movement Gilmour made. “Nay, I—”
“Sir Liam, I am nay strong enough to catch ye if ye start to fall or move ye from wherever ye land, and a fall could cause serious damage to your leg. Ye are but a fortnight from having all of that binding off. Do ye truly wish to start at the beginning again?”
He gave her an ill-tempered grunt in reply. “About an hour from here, there is a wee village. We can rest there.”
She knew it was all the concession he would make, so Keira said nothing more. Men could become stubborn when their pride was at stake. There was a chance that if she pushed the man too hard, he would try to ride even further than the next village, and she had no wish to spend the coming night keeping a vigil over his unconscious body or resetting his leg. Instead, she decided just to keep a very close watch on him until they reached their destination. She just hoped the man had the good sense to give up before he swooned.
By the time they rode into the little village, Liam could barely see straight. He reined in before a small alehouse that let rooms to travelers and fought the urge to let himself just fall to the ground. Taking slow deep breaths, he pushed aside his pain and struggled to steady himself before Keira came to help him dismount. He hoped she was quick for he desperately wanted to get into one of old Denny’s surprisingly clean and comfortable beds.
Keira studied Liam closely as she helped him dismount. For the last few moments of their ride, he had looked so poorly she had been tensed and ready to hear his body hit the ground. He was still pale, but once off the horse, he no longer looked in danger of fainting. She did, however, keep close to his side as they entered the alehouse. A moment later, she heartily wished herself miles away as a fulsome, dark-haired woman cried out his name and nearly knocked him off his crutch with the force of her embrace. Liam had obviously passed this way before, she thought crossly.
He was cursed, Liam decided, as he gently, but firmly, extracted himself from the buxom Mary’s rather tenacious embrace. Although he was willing to concede that he may have been greedy in his enjoyment of women, he did not think he deserved this amount of punishment for his sins. There was no need to look at Keira to know how she was taking this smiling proof of his somewhat intemperate past. He could almost feel the chillof her anger. This was going to make it even harder to convince her that Lady Maude was simply deluded.
“’Tis good to see ye again, Mary,” he said politely, his hands on her arms to hold her at a distance.
“Och,
CHAPTER 5
Keira glanced over at Liam and silently cursed. The man looked so pale she was surprised he was still in the saddle. Her anger and disappointment had obviously smothered the healer in her for a while for she had not taken a moment since fleeing the cottage to consider what a long, hard ride might cost him. Even she was feeling a bit sore, and she was not suffering from any injuries. Since he had taken the lead in their flight from the enraged Lord Kinnaird, she wondered why he had said nothing about the pain he was so clearly suffering. Manly pride, she supposed, and shook her head over such foolishness.
“I think ’tis time we stopped for the night,” she said.
“’Tis still light enough to ride,” Liam said, although he ached to get off his horse and rest his leg.
“Aye, but ye look ready to fall out of that saddle.”
Liam hated the fact that she could see how he suffered with each movement Gilmour made. “Nay, I—”
“Sir Liam, I am nay strong enough to catch ye if ye start to fall or move ye from wherever ye land, and a fall could cause serious damage to your leg. Ye are but a fortnight from having all of that binding off. Do ye truly wish to start at the beginning again?”
He gave her an ill-tempered grunt in reply. “About an hour from here, there is a wee village. We can rest there.”
She knew it was all the concession he would make, so Keira said nothing more. Men could become stubborn when their pride was at stake. There was a chance that if she pushed the man too hard, he would try to ride even further than the next village, and she had no wish to spend the coming night keeping a vigil over his unconscious body or resetting his leg. Instead, she decided just to keep a very close watch on him until they reached their destination. She just hoped the man had the good sense to give up before he swooned.
By the time they rode into the little village, Liam could barely see straight. He reined in before a small alehouse that let rooms to travelers and fought the urge to let himself just fall to the ground. Taking slow deep breaths, he pushed aside his pain and struggled to steady himself before Keira came to help him dismount. He hoped she was quick for he desperately wanted to get into one of old Denny’s surprisingly clean and comfortable beds.
Keira studied Liam closely as she helped him dismount. For the last few moments of their ride, he had looked so poorly she had been tensed and ready to hear his body hit the ground. He was still pale, but once off the horse, he no longer looked in danger of fainting. She did, however, keep close to his side as they entered the alehouse. A moment later, she heartily wished herself miles away as a fulsome, dark-haired woman cried out his name and nearly knocked him off his crutch with the force of her embrace. Liam had obviously passed this way before, she thought crossly.
He was cursed, Liam decided, as he gently, but firmly, extracted himself from the buxom Mary’s rather tenacious embrace. Although he was willing to concede that he may have been greedy in his enjoyment of women, he did not think he deserved this amount of punishment for his sins. There was no need to look at Keira to know how she was taking this smiling proof of his somewhat intemperate past. He could almost feel the chillof her anger. This was going to make it even harder to convince her that Lady Maude was simply deluded.
“’Tis good to see ye again, Mary,” he said politely, his hands on her arms to hold her at a distance.
“Och,
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