dreary nights.
âItâs just so many Âpeople,â she said. âAnd such a large space.â
It had started to feel far too much like a crowd.
Maddie didnât do well in crowds.
âYou must know from my letters that I canât abide social gatherings like these. My shyness is the reason I invented you in the first place.â
âInvented me? Lass, you didna invent me.â
âNo, youâre right. I invented someone understanding and kind.â She crossed her arms and hugged herself. No one else seemed likely to do it. âHave you never heard the phrase painfully shy ? The attention of a roomful of Âpeople . . . for me, itâs an icy blast in the dead of winter. First my skin starts to prickle all over. Then I go numb. And then I freeze.â
âLook around you.â
He swiveled her to face the hall, then stood behind her, placing his hands on the railing and bracketing her between his arms. His solid chest met her back, and his chin pressed against her temple. The pose was intimate and oddly comforting.
He indicated his men one by one. âOn the end there, Callum lost his hand. Rabbie has a leg full of shrapnel. Fyfe wakes screaming every night, and Munro can scarcely sleep at all. Then thereâs Grant. He canât hold onto a memory since Quatre-ÂBras. Even if he noticed something amiss with you, heâd forget about it in an hour. Thereâs not a soul in this hall without his own burdens.â
Not a soul?
She craned her neck to look up at himâÂall six perfectly formed feet of him. âWhat burden do you have?â
âThe burden of duty.â His voice lowered to an intense whisper. âI led those men into battle. When they were weary and chilled and sick with fear, I pushed them on. I promised theyâd see the day when theyâd come home to their wives, their sweethearts, their bairns, their lands. Instead, they came home to nothing.â
His anger was palpable, drawing the small hairs on the back of Maddieâs neck tall.
âTonight,â he said, âIâm taking their future back.â
âSo thatâs why you want this land? For them?â
He nodded. âIâve made it clear Iâll not stop at lying, blackmail, or thievery. But just in case it needs underscoring, mo chridhe, youâre going down there if I have to sling you over my back and carry you like a sack of oats.â
âThat wonât be necessary.â
He released the railing, took a step back, and offered his arm.
Maddie accepted it. She couldnât delay any longer.
Arm in arm, they descended the stairs. She was aware of the dozens of eyes on her, chilling her like a wintry windâÂbut at least she had a tall, braw Highlander to offer some shelter.
Aunt Thea gave her a warm smile as she passed. That helped, too.
They made their way toward the center of the room. Along the way, Logan paused to introduce her to his men. Each soldier bowed to her. Between the graveness of their manner and the stormy, candlelit setting, Maddie felt transported back to another time. She might have been a medieval bride, accepting the fealty of her lairdâs clansmen.
It was a comfort to know he was doing this out of loyalty to his men and not simple greed. Even if he despised her, at least she knew he was capable of caring for someone.
âHereâs Grant,â Logan said as they reached a large, hulking man at the end of the line. âYouâre going to meet him several times.â
âWhatâs all this, Captain?â Uneasy, the big man rubbed his shaved head with one palm and looked around. âWhere are we now?â
Logan reached out and placed a firm hand on Grantâs shoulder. âBe easy. Weâre back in Scotland, mo charaid. The warâs over, and weâre at Lannair Castle in Invernesshire.â
The big manâs eyes turned to Maddie. He looked at her as though he were
Gary Pullin Liisa Ladouceur
The Broken Wheel (v3.1)[htm]