Page 25 of Taken By the Savage Highlander

“I cannot let him get into my head like this,” she said as she finished the last of the salmon.

She took a few minutes to finish her tea before slipping into her now-dry gown. At some point before leaving that morning, Cameron had hung the garment near the hearth. It was warm against her skin, feeling like an extension of the embrace he had given her the night before.

Thinking like that is bad for my heart.

Once she was dressed, she picked up the tray and carried it out of the watchtower. Birdsong greeted her when she stepped into the sunshine. It was almost as if the Land was apologizing for the rotten weather that had pulled her from her sleep.

“That does not fix the damage you’ve done,” she said, casting a pointed look at the cliffs rising in the distance.

In response, a soft breeze caressed her cheeks. She smiled, carrying that foreign but not unwelcome touch all the way across the rolling green grass. As she got closer to the castle, she was able to appreciate the full scale of the damage sustained the night before.

While she could tell that most of the wooden window frames had been ripped from their hinges, the bulk of the damage seemed to be focused on the food storage. Most of the men in the castle were out in the yard, working with the kind of coordination that spoke of competent leadership. Though she did not see Cameron there, she had seen the way everyone had looked to him the night before.

He is such an enigma to me.

Shaking her head before she could think of his lips or search for him in the organized chaos, she walked to the front of the castle. The doors were still intact, and as she climbed the stairs, they opened up. A beat later, Tilly stepped into the sunlight.

“Me Lady!” she exclaimed, rushing forward to take the tray from Margo’s hands. “I was just comin’ to get ye! Laird MacLeod told me to come and get ye after ye ate before he left to help in the village. He said he was bringin’ ye breakfast and to give ye time to enjoy it.”

“It seems your timing was just a little bit off,” Margo teased as they entered the castle. Conversationally, she said, “The watchtower was much nicer than I expected it to be.”

“Aye, it was rebuilt fairly recently,” Tilly said, passing the empty dishes to a servant as she led Margo toward her quarters. “Another storm took out the original structure.”

“That’s terrible,” Margo replied, a shiver running down her spine at the sheer power of this Land. “Do you have to rebuild things often?”

“Nay, nae really,” Tilly said thoughtfully. “I cannae recall a time that somethin’ we weren’t plannin’ on repairin’ anyway got damaged. The repair on the pantry and storage area is long overdue.” She caught Margo’s eye, a playful sparkle in her gaze. A strand of hair fell loose from her braid. “I think that it was the land’s way of remindin’ us to take care of our home.”

Margo hummed thoughtfully, but immediately filed the theory away as plausible. It fit with her own thoughts that this place had a spirit, a consciousness. The fact that Tilly had lived here her entire life only made Margo more inclined to believe her.

Perhaps the Land is not as hostile as I believed. It just guides with a… firm hand.

Both of them fell silent as they traversed the corridor. There was no one else along their path, and it seemed that nearly everyone was in the West Wing of the castle assisting with rebuilding. Margo cursed the quiet and the way her thoughts drifted back to Cameron. She could not shake from her mind the way his body had felt against hers.

She was sure that she had not dreamed it now. Running into Tilly and hearing that the Laird had been in the watchtower with her allowed Margo to trust her thoughts. He had delivered the tray to her bedside himself.

Yet he still pushed me away after the kiss…

“Margo!” Eleanor called as soon as they walked through the door of her quarters. A kitten skittered away from her lap, puffing itself up because of the sudden noise. “Tilly told me that you got to sleep in the watchtower! Can you show me sometime?”

“I will have to ask Laird MacLeod to be sure, but I do not see why I could not,” Margo replied, leaning forward as Tilly began removing her gown. “It’s nothing all that exciting. Though, I suppose that the view is unlike anything back in England.”

“Laird MacLeod will likely allow it,” Tilly murmured as she helped Margo out of the dress. Putting it to the side and grabbing a clean garment, she added, “We arenae actively usin’ it at the moment.”

“Will you ask him for me?” Eleanor pleaded, grabbing onto the gray kitten just before it pounced on the hem of Margo’s gown. “He’s a bit intimidating.”

“I cannot say you’re wrong,” Margo replied, unable to stop herself from chuckling. “But I will ask him for you.”

“Thank you,” Eleanor smiled. She redirected another kitten with a huff. “Can we take the kittens to the courtyard? I believe they’re getting tired of being cooped up in here.”

“You’re probably right,” Margo murmured as Tilly finished up the last button on her gown. “But I am worried we will get in the way of the men working on the repairs.”

“They should probably go down to oversee the damages in the village by now,” Tilly said, already walking over to where the kittens were playing. “I’m sure they’ll like gettin’ a bit of fresh air and sunshine now that they’re more active.”

“As long as you’re sure we won’t be in the way,” Margo said, scooping up two of the kittens, “then I believe that we should let them play for a while.”

Eleanor grinned before grabbing the gray kitten. Tilly took the last two, then walked to the door. Margo and Eleanor followed her, walking quickly through the castle as the tiny animals squirmed in their grasp. Once they were outside, Eleanor hurried over to claim a small corner for themselves.

As Margo went to follow her, she stopped short, blinking several times at the group gathered around one of the benches. At first, she was sure that she was imagining the sight of Cameron sitting above a small crowd of children. But when he lifted his head, meeting her eyes, she knew it was real.