Page 39 of Glasgow Rogue

The MacDonalds left five days later, thundering out the gate at a full gallop, the same way they’d arrived.

The castle, even with servants bustling about their daily work, suddenly seemed silent as a tomb.

Even the twins’ constant shenanigans felt subdued.

It was almost as though Niall’s brothers were their own vortex of energy, zapping everything in their path.

Annie looked up from the book she’d been attempting to read when she heard footsteps outside the parlor.

Almost as though she’d conjured him, Niall appeared in the doorway, dressed casually in breeches and boots with a riding coat over a linen shirt open at the throat.

For a moment she felt something almost like panic at his attire.

Was he planning to ride after his family, after all?

They’d decided—or rather Ian and Jillian had—that Niall and Annie would remain here for another week or two.

“Are ye planning to go somewhere?”

Niall nodded. “I thought I would ride into the woods and finally thank the old crone who saved my life.”

Annie started to say he really shouldn’t be riding, but stopped herself.

It had been a week and she doubted Niall would accept any more excuses for not getting on a horse.

It had been a minor miracle that he’d refrained from brawling during the past several days, since his brothers seemed to enjoy provoking each other.

Annie suspected their continual badgering of each other was just a reason to trade punches that often had them rolling in the dirt.

If she lived a century, she’d never understand why men liked to fight.

“Are the twins going to show ye where the cottage is?”

“Nae.” Niall smiled. “Jillian said the crone has a tendency to disappear when she’s disturbed. Ian gave me directions.”

“Is it far?”

“Perhaps a mile. Would ye like to go with me?”

“Aye.” Annie closed her book and set it down.

Fresh air, especially on a day that was unseasonably warm and filled with sunshine, was probably just what she needed.

A ride through the countryside, even a short one, sounded wonderful.

And she’d learned that protocol was much more relaxed in the Highlands.

Even when Ian’s twin nieces had gone riding with Niall’s twin brothers, no one had accompanied them.

There would be no need for a chaperone for a short afternoon ride…

or even a riding habit. “I’ll go change into my breeches. ”

“I’ll get the horses saddled, then.”

Ten minutes later they were on their way.

Thankfully, the forest lay behind the castle and they did not have to use the treacherous shale path that led down to the loch.

It took less than half an hour to reach the tree line.

The fragrant scent of pine filled the air while patches of brown leaves still clung to oak branches overhead.

Bracken crackled beneath the horses’ hooves as they went deeper into the shadowed recesses of the forest.

“Ye are sure ye ken the way?” Annie asked as the vegetation and trees grew more dense.

“Ian said to follow the deer trail.”

“What deer trail?”

Niall pointed down. “That one.”

Annie peered over her saddle. She could faintly make out what looked like trampled dirt a few inches wide. “I doona think a deer would fit on that.”

Niall laughed. “A deer could stick to that trail at a dead run.”

“I hope we doona meet one,” Annie replied.

“Doona fash, city lass.”

“Are ye making fun of me?”

Niall flashed her a grin. “I would never do that.”

“Hmph.” Annie decided she didn’t want to argue the point, but simply enjoy the ride. The path was too narrow to ride alongside anyhow, so she was content to let her mare amble behind Niall’s horse.

The forest, once they’d ceased talking, held its own conversation, she realized.

The wind had a melody, rustling the leaves on the trees, whistling through the open spaces, while murmuring more quietly through the branches of pine.

An eagle soared overhead, releasing a high-pitched shriek as it dove for prey.

Blue jays and magpies chattered away. Annie heard something scurry through the bracken and hoped it wasn’t going to be dinner for the eagle.

They broke through the forestry into a little, circular glade with a small, white-washed thatched cottage precisely in its center. A child was bent over near the door, tending some herbs. She straightened as the horses approached and when she turned, Annie gasped.

No child, only a young woman who was short. But that wasn’t what made Annie stare. The girl’s long, brown hair had a golden streak through it exactly like the one on the girl Annie thought she’d seen while the old crone attended Niall. She grabbed her saddle. What on earth was happening?

The girl smiled at Niall, her tilted eyes the same color green as the pines. “Ye are here to see my grandmother, I suspect?”

Niall dismounted. “Aye, if she is the one who saved my life at the MacLeod holding a week ago.”

“Wait here. I will get her.” She stepped into the house and shut the door.

He turned to Annie. “Let me help ye down.”

“Nae. I…” She couldn’t very well say she wasn’t sure her legs would support her while she was trying to make sense of everything. She felt slightly dizzy. “I will wait where I am.”

A minute later, the door opened again and the healer came out. Annie breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least this old woman looked like the crone who’d come to the castle.

She gave Niall a toothless smile. “I see ye survived.”

“Aye. I wanted to come and thank ye personally,” Niall said, “and ask if somehow I can repay ye for saving my life. Do ye need anything for your cottage? Food? Clothing? Wood cut? Just say the word—”

“’Tis nae necessary,” the crone replied. “My granddaughter sees to all those needs.”

“Does your granddaughter ever accompany ye when ye heal?” Annie hoped her voice didn’t sound shaky.

The woman gave her a sharp look, her dark eyes growing even darker. “Why do ye ask?”

“I…” Suddenly, Annie felt really foolish. How could she say, “Because I thought I saw her exchange places with you,” and not sound completely insane herself? “I…just wondered. She was gathering some herbs when we arrived.”

“Aye, that she does, but ’tis I who make the rounds to heal.”

Niall gave Annie a curious look, then turned back to the crone. “Well, if ye think of anything I can do for ye, please send word. I will be at the MacLeod home for another week or two.”

“I will remember that,” the old woman said.

“Well, thank ye again,” Niall said as he mounted his horse. “I am forever beholden to ye.”

As they headed their horses toward the deer trail, Annie couldn’t resist turning around once more, but the crone had gone inside and there was no sign of the granddaughter.

“Is something troubling ye?” Niall asked. “Ye look worried.”

“I…” There was no explanation for what she thought she’d seen. She didn’t understand it, and Niall certainly wouldn’t. “Nae. I just doona want ye to overstrain your wound.”

It wasn’t really a lie, after all. She clicked her tongue at her mare and moved ahead of him so he wouldn’t ask any more questions.

****

Inside the cottage, the crone watched them leave through a curtained window. She slowly straightened and ran her hands over her white hair, turning it back to brown and gold and then smoothed the wrinkles from her face.

Strange that the red-haired woman had actually seen her the night she’d healed Niall. Care would need to be taken for the next two weeks while the woman was still here, since it bode trouble for mortals to discover her. The faerie uttered a spell and cast it silently on the wind. Forget…

Only MacLeods should be able to see the descendant of the Faerie Queen.

****

The sooner they could leave the forest, the better.

Even the woods seemed to agree for there was only silence, save for the tread of the horses’ hooves.

No birds chirped and nothing stirred. Not even the wind.

The air itself felt heavy, as though Annie sat under a blanket as she rode.

What she needed was blue skies and sunshine.

The whole experience at the cottage had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.

Annie had almost talked herself into believing the experience in Niall’s bedroom had been because she was tired to the point of exhaustion.

That she’d only imagined the transforming of facial features because of the effects of the herbal mist. Not that she was given to flights of fancy, but still it was a more or less rational conclusion.

But seeing a young woman in the middle of the forest that looked identical?

Annie wished the girl had reappeared while they were there so she could have studied her more.

Maybe it had been the hair with its strange streak of gold that had made Annie think the girl resembled the other one.

Maybe they didn’t really look the same after all—Annie frowned, feeling confused.

She shook her head. There was no sense pursuing this line of thought unless she wanted to drive herself mad.

Since her mount seemed to have no trouble following the twists and turns of the trail without any direction, she looked back over her shoulder to check on Niall.

At that moment, a red deer bounded across the path and her mare reared, causing Annie to lose her balance.

She landed on her backside with a hard thump as her horse cantered away.

“Are ye hurt?” Niall asked as he slipped from his saddle and knelt beside her.

“I doona think so,” Annie said, feeling embarrassed that she had been so lost in fanciful thoughts that she’d not kept a tighter rein. She started to get up, but Niall put a hand on her shoulder.

“Doona move just yet. Let me see if anything is broken.” He placed his hands on her ribcage and Annie’s breath hitched. He looked up quickly. “Does that hurt?”