A Bewitching Bride by Elizabeth Thornton Read Free Book Online Page B

her mouth to cover her yawn.
    “Don’t go to sleep yet. You haven’t told me what happened in the hothouse.”
    She opened her eyes and tried to concentrate. “The French door was ajar,” she said slowly. “I thought Dr. Rankin might have gone outside to smoke. So I stepped outside. I think I said his name. That’s when I heard the door close. It doesn’t open from the outside, so I knew that I couldn’t go back in.”
    She paused as she brought the scene into focus. “Someone was there. I knew it wasn’t Dr. Rankin. I smelled the tobacco and . . . and something else.” He was silent as she took herself through the experience one step at a time. “I smelled whiskey,” she said slowly. Shock rippled through her. “How could I have forgotten?”
    “Why did you run? Anyone might have gone outside to smoke a cigar. And Dr. Rankin likes his whiskey.”
    “He . . .”
    “Yes?”
    “He wouldn’t answer me. I’ve never been more afraid in my life.” Her voice trailed to a halt.
    “Go on. What happened next?”
    She swallowed hard. “He caught up to me at the dry stone dike beside the witches’ stone. Do you know it?”
    “I know it.”
    Her voice began to tremble. “I think I must have gone a little mad. I lay in ambush for him and leaped at him from the top of the wall.”
    “You fought back?” He sounded incredulous.
    “I didn’t know I had it in me.”
    There was a long silence as he considered her words. Finally, he said, “Rest up. You’re safe now. Macduff and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
    Her eyes closed. There was no dark now, no shadows behind her eyes. She felt as light as a snowflake floating on air.
     
     
    Gavin adjusted the covers at her chin, then turned back to see to the fire. The stack of birch logs was low, but there was a scuttle of peat beside the grate to keep them going. He arranged the lumps, leaving enough space to allow air to ignite the peat. He wasn’t used to lighting and tending fires. There were always servants in the homes he visited to take care of the menial tasks. Oddly enough, when he was out on the hills or climbing the peaks, he had to do everything for himself and never gave it another thought.
    He stayed up to see to the fire. Peat was not his favorite fuel. If it wasn’t placed just right, it would smother the flames, and the fire would go out. Birch logs were better, but they didn’t last long. Coal would have been his first choice, but hauling coal to the Highlands was a costly business. A true Highlander would scoff at him. He was a townsman while they were a hardy lot.
    When he was satisfied that the fire was not in danger of going out, he spread his blanket in front of the fire, doused the lamp, and made to lie down. Macduff got there before him. Gavin elbowed him to the side and ignored the growls and baring of teeth that met his efforts.
    “Any more of that,” he said, “and I’ll throw you outside to fend for yourself.”
    The growls subsided, leaving Gavin free to contemplate what the girl had told him. She hadn’t lied. He’d been with her in his dream when she’d run from the man who was pursuing her. He’d felt her pain and her shortness of breath as she tried to outrun him. He hadn’t seen everything, but it was enough to convince him that she had told him the truth. But she hadn’t told him everything.
    Had she not been so exhausted, he would have kept on probing about the note she had received. Most people would have been suspicious when she refused to share its contents, but not he. His intuition was honed to a fine point, and he sensed an emotion behind her reluctance. What was it?
    He thought about it for a minute or so, then moved on to something else that troubled him. Will had not kept his appointment with the girl. Was his friend delayed, or was there a more sinister reason for Will’s absence? He remembered their conversation at the reception, and he felt deeply uneasy.
    Will had wanted to confide in him, but