Read Online Return of the Highlander by Julianne MacLean - Free Book Online Page B

there. They appeared to be engaged in another heated discussion about something.
    A twig snapped under her boot. They both shot irate looks at her.
    Releasing his grip on the bridle, Logan stepped back and strode toward the fire, while Darach turned his horse into the clearing and dismounted.
    “We need to get moving, lass,” Logan said. “You’d best pack up. No time for a hot breakfast this morning as bad weather’s coming in from the north. And unless you want to stop along the way to take shelter—which I assume you don’t—you might want to prepare to get wet.”
    Without so much as a word to each other, Darach and Logan set about packing up the camp. The tension was thick as mud.
    * * *
    Rain began within the hour—a gentle mist at first, followed by a heavy downpour that swept a cold chill straight down the center of the Great Glen.
    In light of the unusual humidity during the past few days, Larena found it a welcome respite at first, but by noontime, her teeth were chattering. Though she was wrapped in a blanket, she shivered incessantly beneath her gown and wished the rain would stop and the sun would break through the heavy cover of cloud.
    The weather, however, was not the only chill during the journey that day, for Darach and Logan traveled apart. Logan rode at the front of the column while Darach brought up the rear, both of them wearing their tartans drawn up over their heads to keep dry. Not one word of conversation was exchanged all morning, and eventually Larena could suffer the silence no more.
    Briefly, she considered galloping ahead to ride beside Logan, but she chose instead to slow her pace and wait for Darach to catch up with her.
    “Is something wrong, lass?” he asked with concern as his horse trotted up beside Rupert.
    “No,” she replied. “I’m just bored.”
    “And you think I can remedy that?”
    Rupert nickered and tossed his head.
    “I don’t wish to be entertained,” she told him. “I only wish to talk.”
    Darach’s eyebrows pulled together in obvious unease. “About what?”
    While the cold rain continued to fall hard, Larena paused to consider how best to approach the subject. “If you must know, I’m curious about what you and your brother have been arguing about over the past few days. And please don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I heard you on the beach the other night and I saw you again this morning. Based on our discussion last night, I can only assume it has something to do with me.”
    “Isn’t that a bit vain, lass?” he asked. “To assume our private quarrels are all about you?”
    She raised an eyebrow. “Point taken, but when I spoke to Logan about it, he told me you didn’t approve of him flattering me with his attentions, and based on what you said to me last night, I see that it’s true. But I feel there is something more you’re not telling me.”
    He looked away with impatience. “What makes you think that?”
    “Because something about this arrangement has you both on edge.”
    “Of course it does,” he conceded at last. “You’re a Campbell and I’m a MacDonald, which makes this whole situation a thorny one.”
    “Logan doesn’t seem to have a problem with it,” she reminded him, “which leads me to believe that the problem lies with you.”
    Darach shook his head with frustration. “What does it even matter, lass? You’ll be rid of us soon enough.”
    She pulled the blanket more snugly about her shoulders. “It troubles me because I am carrying an important document that means everything to me, yet I am not certain I can trust you.”
    His gaze burned into hers. “Of course you cannot trust me, lass. Or Logan, for that matter. You shouldn’t be trusting anyone. Not in your current situation.”
    Larena scoffed. “Unfortunately, I have no choice, for I am at everyone’s mercy.” She faced forward to contemplate all the problems that lay ahead of her. “I must also trust that Lord Rutherford will