Page 38 of Glasgow Rogue

“Well, ye might want to get back on the steps so ye doona get trampled,” Ian said as the lead horses came galloping over the bridgeway and through the gate.

Annie turned back to stare at what looked like a small army pushing through and in the next instant felt a powerful arm encircle her waist, lifting her none too gracefully and letting her feet and arms dangle in the air. Ian reached the steps in four long strides and deposited her beside Niall.

“The lass does nae listen well.”

Niall grinned. “Ye have that right.”

Annie frowned at both of them. “’Tis nae like they are going to gallop right to the door.”

“Doona be too sure,” Niall said. “Those are my brothers.”

Niall’s brothers? Annie whipped her head around.

Now that the horses had reached the cobblestone of the bailey, the dust had settled and she could get a better look.

There were five massive men in tartans, with long, flowing manes.

Three had black hair like Niall’s and two—who looked like twins—had auburn.

Three younger lads wearing caps were behind them, along with a portly gentleman clad in hat and coat.

The seven men dismounted almost in precision and strode forward.

As they approached, Annie could see they all had light-colored eyes, although some were blue or green, not gray like Niall’s.

Still, there was no mistaking the whole group of them were related.

They split apart to make way for the gentleman and the lads.

“Mother?” Niall asked and limped down the steps to the person removing the hat, showing a tidy bun of dark hair streaked with gray. He swept her into a hard hug. “When Ian told me he sent a rider, I expected ye would follow in the carriage.”

His mother stepped back and fixed him with a look that was surprisingly like the one he’d used on Caitlin and Caylin. “Do ye think I am going to crawl across the country at a snail’s pace when my son could be dying?”

“Aye.” A younger, higher-pitched voice said. The speaker pulled off a cap, allowing riotous red curls to tumble down around her shoulders. “Just because we are female does nae mean we cannae keep up!”

“Margaret—” Before Niall could say more, the girl hurled herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, her feet leaving the ground. His injured leg buckled and he stumbled back, but managed to keep his balance.

“Ye eejit!” one of the young lads said, pulling his sister off.

She spun on him. “Doona call me that, Rauri!”

“Well, ye are daft to try and knock over Niall when he is hurt,” the other lad said.

“Ye shut your mouth too, Ewan,” Margaret snapped, her face nearing the color of her hair. “I was nae trying to fell Niall—”

“I am fine,” Niall interrupted. “Doona fash.”

“But she’s still an eejit,” Rauri said.

“And daft,” Ewan added.

Their mother held up a hand. “Enough.”

They subsided into silence, but the looks the three gave each told Annie their conversation would continue once out of earshot of their mother.

“See what ye are missing?” one of the men said to Niall.

“’Tis nae wonder Alasdair made off for London and Aidan followed ye to Glasgow,” another said. “’Tis the only way to get a bit of peace and quiet.”

The brothers all laughed and Margaret looked furious, although she held her tongue.

Annie had a sudden empathy for the girl.

She looked to be a few years older than Caitlin and Caylin, but quite a bit younger than herself.

It couldn’t be easy dealing with ten brothers.

Especially if they were all as obstinate as Niall, who shouldn’t be putting a lot of weight on his leg for a long period of time.

Not that telling him that—again—would do any good. She stepped forward.

“Margaret? I am Annie Ferguson.” Seven pairs of male eyes suddenly focused their attention on her. Laughter turned to inquisitive expressions as they studied her. She suddenly was acutely aware that the dress Jillian had brought up to her last night was a bit too snug in the bodice.

“And who are ye, Annie Ferguson?” one of the men who had golden eyes the color of a wolf’s asked. “There are nae Fergusons for miles around.”

“I am from Glasgow.”

The wolf-like look intensified, as though he were closing in on prey. “Glasgow? Did ye come with Niall, then?”

“Aye, she did, Lachlan,” Niall said and came to stand by her side. “The lass was in danger.”

“Probably from ye,” a brother with bright blue eyes said.

“Back off, Braden.” Niall practically growled the words.

Knowing smirks appeared on the other brothers’ faces.

Annie didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking.

She wasn’t about to let these men get any ideas.

She certainly didn’t want Ian thinking her of loose morals, especially if he’d talked to the twins after dinner last night.

“Niall is my guardian,” she blurted out.

“Your guardian?” another, whose hazel eyes were only a little less wolfish than his brother’s, questioned, while all of them laughed. He turned to Niall. “I have nae heard ye ever called that before. Is it a word the lasses use in Glasgow to—”

“Shut your mouth, Gavin.”

“I think ye are making our brother mad,” one of the auburn-haired twins said.

“’Tis a pity we cannae have a good brawl about it,” the other one added.

Niall glared at both of them. “Ye will have your brawl as soon as my leg mends in a day or two.”

“A day or two?” Annie put her hands on her hips. “Ye are nae going to be brawling in a day or two.”

“Ah! A feisty one!” Braden said. “’Tis the type ye like, is it nae?”

Gavin nodded. “I will wager there is an interesting story to be told here.”

“Aye. Do tell.” Lachlan moved a step closer and Annie had the distinct impression she really was his prey.

Niall looked about ready to get into fisticuffs regardless of his wound. Annie remembered something her father had once told her about picking her battles. This was not going to be one of them. She held out her hand to Margaret.

“Would ye like to come with me inside?”

Margaret grinned at her, a knowing look in her eyes. “Aye, I would.”

****

Niall watched his sister and Annie leave with mixed emotions.

Part of him was glad Annie had been wise enough to extricate herself from the web of interrogation his brothers were weaving around her, but the other part of him wasn’t sure that pairing off with Margaret was any better.

From the conspiratorial exchange of glances, Annie and his sister were probably well on their way to becoming allies, which did not bode well.

“So, who is she?” Lachlan asked.

He should have known he wouldn’t escape the grilling so easily. Niall turned to his brothers. All of them stared at him intently, arms crossed, which meant they weren’t going to go anywhere until he answered them. Even his mother and the two younger lads looked expectant.

He gave them a brief accounting of what had happened to Annie, finishing with what, he hoped, would put an end to the questioning. “I had to get her out of Glasgow. Any of ye would have done the same.”

“’Tis one thing to get the lass away from danger.” Lachlan raised a brow. “’Tis another to bring her home with ye.”

Rauri poked Ewan and laughed. “Like a rescued kitten.”

Gavin gave the younger boys a look. “I doona think Niall considers the lass a kitten.”

“I doona ken,” Cory, one of the twins, said. “Kittens have sharp claws—”

“And that one looks like she does, too,” Carr, the other twin, finished the sentence. “If I were Niall, I would take care nae to get scratched.”

Niall turned on them. “If I were ye—both of ye—I would take care what words I choose to speak. ’Twas Annie who stayed by my side while I lay fevered on the ship. ’Twas Annie who talked me back from near death. ’Twas Annie who got me here—”

“Ye owe her much, son,” his mother said. “If she needs a safe haven, she is welcome at our home in Arisaig for however long she needs it.”

“A generous offer, but one that has already been made.” Ian stepped down from the steps. “We have ample room here. Jillian has already taken to her and I’ve learned to trust my wife’s instincts.”

“And avoid her wrath, mayhap?” Braden asked, his blue eyes twinkling.

Ian grimaced. “That too. Perhaps we should all go inside before she has reason to chastise my hospitality.”

“A good idea,” Niall said and offered his arm to his mother, walking ahead of his brothers to the door.

He might have eliminated the incessant questions he’d seen lingering in their eyes for now, but he knew it was only postponement before they started asking all sorts of personal questions about Annie.

Questions he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer.