Vernon couldn't understand, but he didn't really care. The Englishman was leaving, which meant one less man guarding his quarry.
"Good. Come Fiona. We've little time tae get Jenny fitted well and proper,” the old woman said, and motioned for one of the younger girls to follow. “We canna have the lass lookin’ like a rag-a-muffin in Edinburgh."
Edinburgh? Interesting. The brat was going with the Englishman. Although he would have to deal with her new bodyguard, snatching Maxwell's daughter from the road would be a lot easier than getting her out of the castle. Still he carefully noted the stairs the women took. Knowing the layout of the castle might be to his advantage at a later date, but he couldn't get up those stairs now. There were too many people, and he couldn't chance getting caught.
He left the kitchens and headed for his hiding place in the wood, not far from the road. There he would wait.
* * * *
Two days later, after hugs from Tuck, whom Jenny had ordered straight to bed—again—and a hug from Elspeth and Fiona, Jenny, Ian, and Michael were on their way.
They'd been riding for nearly an hour, when Jenny couldn't take the silence any longer. “You know you could've avoided all of this,” she said to Ian's brooding back. And he was brooding. He'd avoided her the last two days. He'd even made himself scarce while Michael helped her get more accustomed to sitting on a horse and being led around. It wasn't easy to get over her fear of the animal, but the mount chosen for her seemed docile enough, and she was determined.
Ian hadn't spoken a word to her since they'd started out that morning, and Michael wasn't much for conversation. His favorite and only topic was Fiona. Jenny needed a good mental exercise to get her mind off of things, like glasses, horses, pregnant women, love, and Ian Southernland was just the man to do it. So to speak.
Shaking off the dangerous avenue of her thoughts, she focused on her goal. Conversation. “If you'd planned better—” she said, and as expected was promptly interrupted.
"I tried to persuade you not to come,” he said, facing forward.
"I meant the first night we met."
He groaned at the age-old argument, bringing a crooked grin to her mouth.
He tossed the lead to Michael and let his horse fall back along side hers. “I was not willing to take that risk,” he said.
"Through clear and deductive reasoning the conclusion is unavoidable. There was no risk."
"Deductive reasoning based on inaccurate information provides inaccurate results,” he said.
"True. However, my information is not faulty and is based on sound experimentation.” She almost smiled, enjoying this odd little banter. And this time he couldn't interrupt their debate by picking her up, she thought smugly.
"Incomplete experimentation. More, much more is required."
She knew she should be getting angry, as usual, but the steady gate of her horse lulled her into a more complacent mood. Maybe because she remembered Ian's vow not to let anything happen to her. Silly thought, really, but it helped. It helped quite a bit, knowing that he cared, in his own way. She now had two people who cared about her. On vastly different levels, yes, but still that was more than she had before coming to Scotland so many months ago.
"I will experiment more. When I return home,” she said, forcing her thoughts back to their discussion.
"You mean that one more trip will prove your theories?” Ian laughed. “Not much of an experiment."
"It'll have to be enough. I can't risk causing any problems with a lot of traveling .” She knew they had to be careful how they discussed the portal. Although Michael was probably daydreaming about his fiancé, they didn't need him hearing them discuss something so unusual.
"Where is your sense of adventure?” Ian sighed. “The sites one could see, ‘twould truly be amazing. The torch,” he said dropping his voice low. “Automobiles, airplanes, and the other many wondrous
"Good. Come Fiona. We've little time tae get Jenny fitted well and proper,” the old woman said, and motioned for one of the younger girls to follow. “We canna have the lass lookin’ like a rag-a-muffin in Edinburgh."
Edinburgh? Interesting. The brat was going with the Englishman. Although he would have to deal with her new bodyguard, snatching Maxwell's daughter from the road would be a lot easier than getting her out of the castle. Still he carefully noted the stairs the women took. Knowing the layout of the castle might be to his advantage at a later date, but he couldn't get up those stairs now. There were too many people, and he couldn't chance getting caught.
He left the kitchens and headed for his hiding place in the wood, not far from the road. There he would wait.
* * * *
Two days later, after hugs from Tuck, whom Jenny had ordered straight to bed—again—and a hug from Elspeth and Fiona, Jenny, Ian, and Michael were on their way.
They'd been riding for nearly an hour, when Jenny couldn't take the silence any longer. “You know you could've avoided all of this,” she said to Ian's brooding back. And he was brooding. He'd avoided her the last two days. He'd even made himself scarce while Michael helped her get more accustomed to sitting on a horse and being led around. It wasn't easy to get over her fear of the animal, but the mount chosen for her seemed docile enough, and she was determined.
Ian hadn't spoken a word to her since they'd started out that morning, and Michael wasn't much for conversation. His favorite and only topic was Fiona. Jenny needed a good mental exercise to get her mind off of things, like glasses, horses, pregnant women, love, and Ian Southernland was just the man to do it. So to speak.
Shaking off the dangerous avenue of her thoughts, she focused on her goal. Conversation. “If you'd planned better—” she said, and as expected was promptly interrupted.
"I tried to persuade you not to come,” he said, facing forward.
"I meant the first night we met."
He groaned at the age-old argument, bringing a crooked grin to her mouth.
He tossed the lead to Michael and let his horse fall back along side hers. “I was not willing to take that risk,” he said.
"Through clear and deductive reasoning the conclusion is unavoidable. There was no risk."
"Deductive reasoning based on inaccurate information provides inaccurate results,” he said.
"True. However, my information is not faulty and is based on sound experimentation.” She almost smiled, enjoying this odd little banter. And this time he couldn't interrupt their debate by picking her up, she thought smugly.
"Incomplete experimentation. More, much more is required."
She knew she should be getting angry, as usual, but the steady gate of her horse lulled her into a more complacent mood. Maybe because she remembered Ian's vow not to let anything happen to her. Silly thought, really, but it helped. It helped quite a bit, knowing that he cared, in his own way. She now had two people who cared about her. On vastly different levels, yes, but still that was more than she had before coming to Scotland so many months ago.
"I will experiment more. When I return home,” she said, forcing her thoughts back to their discussion.
"You mean that one more trip will prove your theories?” Ian laughed. “Not much of an experiment."
"It'll have to be enough. I can't risk causing any problems with a lot of traveling .” She knew they had to be careful how they discussed the portal. Although Michael was probably daydreaming about his fiancé, they didn't need him hearing them discuss something so unusual.
"Where is your sense of adventure?” Ian sighed. “The sites one could see, ‘twould truly be amazing. The torch,” he said dropping his voice low. “Automobiles, airplanes, and the other many wondrous
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