“’Tis nae denying that, since he fought for the Old Pretender too.” Simon grimaced. “but our bonny prince doesnae like to take orders either.”
“Well, heisour prince,” Greer interjected. “What do ye expect?”
Charlotte managed not to laugh at the surprised looks on her brothers’ faces. They probably didn’t think their sister had been listening to a word they said. She quickly straightened her own lips.Shewas probably not supposed to be listening either. Still, she glanced over at Niall, who seemed to have recovered from Greer’s outburst.
“He may be our prince, but he is nae a seasoned warrior,” he said.
Simon snorted. “He doesnae think things through, from what I heard. A bit of a hothead, he is.”
Greer narrowed her eyes. “’Tis close to treason ye speak, brother.”
“’Tis the truth.”
Simon glanced her way again and Charlotte wondered if he’d made the statement on purpose to test her own reaction. Or…maybe feed her a tidbit that he might not be as strong a Jacobite as his brother and sister? Did he think her a spy, who would send a message to her “friends” to let them know? Or to that colonel at the fort?
She closed her eyes briefly and gave herself an inner shake. Her writer’s imagination was taking over again. There was nothing nefarious about this conversation. They were simply discussing a decision that had been made by one of the top commanders of the Jacobite army. Plus, shehadread that Bonnie Prince Charlie was stubborn and arrogant and young.
“However that may be,” Niall said, “we doona ken if the prince agrees with Murray or not. We will have to wait and see.”
That put an end to the conversation, but Charlotte kept the thoughts in her mind. A prince and a first-in-command at odds with each other did not bode well.
****
Two days later, they were back in Inverness, this time to check at the inns to see if her friends had either checked in or responded to the notices that had been left. Niall thought Charlotte appeared to be nervous, but whether that was because it was just the two of them today or because she anticipated—ordidn’tanticipate—news of her “friends.”
He hated that he was still in doubt about her story. It didn’t help that both Simon and his father were skeptical. While he could sympathize with a lass wanting to run away from a marriage she didn’t want, it was very odd that her companions had not stuck around to find her. Then, too, there was the fact that she was a Campbell. He wouldn’t put it past the Duke of Argyll to send a woman to infiltrate a Jacobite stronghold.
As bad as that possibility was, it would be even worse if Charlotte’s nervousness was because she was alone with him this morning. Damn it. Helikedthe lass. He wanted her to trust him.
“Well, here we are,” he said as they approached the first inn. “Let’s see if your friends are about.”
Charlotte gave him a wavering smile. “It would be wonderful to find them.”
They had no luck there nor on the second or third stop. The wind had also picked up, and it was beginning to snow. Charlotte looked decidedly more anxious, but again, he didn’t know if was the negative results they were having or because a storm was approaching.
“Maybe we should head back?” she asked.
“’Tis only five miles to home,” Niall answered, “and we’ve got only a few more stops to make. Do ye nae want to check those first?” He hoped she would, since his father had given him an order to make sure all inns had been checked. Still, he would come back later if she wanted to go home. To his relief, she nodded.
“I suppose that would be best.”
By the time they’d finished—with no luck—the storm had gathered strength and the snow fell more thickly. Niall thought about checking into a room—rooms—themselves to wait it out, but it seemed rather unnecessary, given how close they were to the castle and the horse knew well the way. Besides, he’d never hear the end of it from Simon if they stayed in town overnight. Or from his sister either, probably.
By the time they reached the stable where they’d left the horse and buggy, Charlotte had pulled her cloak tighter and wrapped the wool scarf more securely over her head and tugged on her gloves.
Niall hesitated. “We can get a room—rooms—and stay the night, if ye think ye’ll be too cold.”
Her eyes widened, whether in surprise or wariness he couldn’t tell. Then she shook her head.
“I’ll be fine. As you said, it’s only five miles.”
Niall asked the stable master for extra blankets. The man only had one on hand that wasn’t a horse blanket, so Niall laid it over Charlotte’s lap, tucking the edges in behind her, his hand brushing her side as he did so. It gave him an unexpected tingle.
Resisting the urge to tuck the whole blanket around her, he climbed up beside her on the bench and clicked the reins. As the horse moved outside, he felt her hand touching his thigh. He inhaled sharply, not daring to look at her. What was she doing? Not that he minded…she could stroke his whole leg if she wanted to. Warmth filled his nether regions at the thought. Then he felt a different kind of warmth and realized she had simply spread the blanket out to cover his legs as well. He did glance at her then and caught her watching him, a look of amusement on her face.
Amusement? Had the lass noticed his physical reaction? If she had,amusementwasn’t exactly the reaction he’d have hoped for.
But then again, she didn’t look afraid anymore.
