Page 23 of Proven By The Highlander (Highlander Forever #15)
CHAPTER 23
L eanne dressed slowly, feeling a little self-conscious about doing so in front of Caelan… though the warm glow of his attention on her did make her grin a little. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so desirable, so admired… the way he looked at her made her feel strangely powerful, more beautiful than she’d ever felt before. He dressed himself, too, then the two of them made a quick breakfast of some bread that Caelan had traded for a few days earlier, with the last of a small pot of preserved fruit that the farmer had included with the bread. She smiled to herself at the thought that he was popular among the farmers he traded with… it didn’t surprise her, truth be told. She wouldn’t be surprised if more than a few of the farmers’ wives looked forward to his visits for reasons other than a desire for fresh fish…
Over breakfast, they discussed the plan of action for the day. Caelan was a little worried about the search party that was out looking for him, but when she explained who was in it and when they’d first set out, he seemed to relax a little.
“They were out late last night searching,” he said. “And Graeme doesn’t like to work his men too hard. When it comes to tracking, you need your wits about you, and tired men miss things and make mistakes. They’ll be resting back at the Keep, I’d warrant.”
“You’re sure?” She bit her lip, worried about the search party stumbling upon the two of them. “I just don’t want to see you locked up if we can avoid it.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t hide in this cave for the rest of my life, can I? If that’s the risk we take, then that’s the risk we take.” He smiled softly, reaching out to touch the side of her face.
“I suppose I’m a little worried too,” she admitted, biting her lip. “I mean… I stole a horse and ran from the Keep. What if they’re hunting for me, too?”
Caelan shook his head. “Clan Grant wouldn’t hold that against you,” he told her firmly. “There was no harm done to the horse you took — you heard them taking it back with them last night. And you’re not a prisoner of theirs, you’re a guest. It’s well within your rights to come and go as you please.”
“I guess so.” But she didn’t feel convinced. Caelan gave her a sad little smile.
“Tell you what — if they catch us, I’ll tell them I took you prisoner by force, alright? Then it’ll be my fault we’re out here.”
“No,” she said fiercely, taking his hand in hers. “I won’t have you do that. I’m here of my own volition, and if that gets me in trouble, then so be it.”
“You’re a brave woman, Leanne,” he said with a faint smile. “Foolish, some might say, but brave.”
“We have that in common, then,” she challenged him, raising an eyebrow, and was rewarded with one of those soft smiles of his. She hoped like hell she’d see more of that smile in the days to come… but for now, she’d be grateful for every single one she could win.
They set out together after breakfast, Caelan wearing the cloak they’d slept in, Leanne with her own riding cloak wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the chill of the morning. She hadn’t realized quite how far they’d come from the Keep — she couldn’t even make out the castle in the distance, and as they headed down the shore she realized that they were rounding a part of the Loch she’d never been to before. Still, with Caelan at her side she felt a lot less nervous than she had the night before. It was a shame Hamish and his men had taken her horse back, she thought with a sigh as the trek along the shore continued. It would have been nice to ride, maybe with Caelan sitting on the horse behind her… it was then that she wondered where his horse was, but she didn’t ask. Perhaps it had been a borrowed horse and he’d since returned it.
They stopped now and again to study the shoreline, looking for anything that might suggest a body had washed up… but she had to admit, as the day wore on, that her hopes weren’t high for finding any trace of Bram. If it really had been as long as he said, she knew from her studies of decomposition that the body wouldn’t be more than bones at this point… and that was assuming that wild scavengers hadn’t dragged it off. It was a rather unpleasant thought, of course, especially given that Caelan had told her Bram was his identical twin, so she could picture all too well what the body might look like…
Nevertheless, they kept walking, and as they walked she coaxed him into talking a little about what he knew about the area, hopeful that they might come up with a more detailed plan than just searching for a body that was unlikely to be found. It wasn’t easy going. She could sense how tense he was as they walked, his eyes constantly darting back and forth toward the road that ran along the shore of the Loch, and whenever a traveler went past he’d grab her and hurry them both to a hiding place to avoid being sighted. Most of the time, the passerby didn’t even bother to glance in their direction, but Leanne supposed that Caelan hadn’t gone undetected as long as he had without putting this level of care into it.
“Some of the best trackers in the country are part of Clan Grant,” he told her when she complimented him on his attention to detail. “I’m not taking any chances here.”
And so they kept walking as the sun climbed into the sky and the early morning gave way to noon. As worried as Leanne was about what they were doing and why, she couldn’t help that a treacherous part of her was rather enjoying strolling along a picturesque lakeshore with a handsome man at her side… and the occasional half-smiles she caught on his face told her that she wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Once or twice, she plucked up the courage to take his hand in hers, and they’d walk hand in hand for a few hundred paces… or until Caelan saw something he wanted to take a closer look at. He’d explained that a mile or so along the road there was a small fishing village — very small, barely more than a cluster of cottages, but still worth a visit. He’d asked around a year or so ago about whether anyone had found a body, but nobody had, and he hadn’t stopped in since, wary that the fishermen might pass on word to the Watch if they got too used to seeing him.
“Why don’t I ask them, then?” Leanne suggested. “I’ll go in, see if they’ve heard of someone new to the area moving in.” They’d talked about the possibility that Bram had gotten out of the water alive somehow, and started a new life on the shore, far from the Keep. Caelan had been doubtful of the idea, but Leanne was grasping at straws at this point, and she’d insisted it was possible. Perhaps he’d hit his head when he fell into the water, or perhaps his near-drowning in the Loch had interfered with his memory and he’d forgotten who he was. At any rate, it was worth checking in again.
“I just don’t think he’d have forgotten me,” Caelan said softly now, and she realized his mind was on the possibility of finding his brother alive again, much as hers was. “We were thick as thieves our whole lives, Leanne. We grew up together, we trained together, we joined the Watch together… he simply couldn’t have forgotten me or left me behind on purpose, Leanne.”
She sighed, torn between wanting him to feel hope for finding his brother alive, and not wanting to contradict his convictions. “All we can do is search, right?” she said, squeezing his hand.
He nodded as they walked, his face drawn.
“I mean, you haven’t even done a full lap of the Loch yet, have you?”
“That’s true,” he allowed, grimacing a little. “I’ve not searched the rockier areas thoroughly — I decided to focus my attentions on tracking the Monster before I could, and she tends to stick either to open water or coves like the one I’m camped at.”
“Well, there you go,” Leanne said brightly. “There’s two tasks for us to get started on. Ask in the fishing villages about whether they’ve met a guy who looks like you recently and check the rocky bits of the coast for any signs of someone coming ashore.”
“I appreciate what you’re doing here, Leanne,” Caelan said, but she could tell from the tone of his voice that he had more to say. “And honestly, for the pleasure of your company I’m willing to suspend my hunt for a little while. But once we’ve finished a lap of the Loch, I’m going back to it, do you understand?”
She grimaced, knowing from his tone that the only thing to change his plan was to find Bram… so she swallowed her anxiety and nodded agreement, affecting a confidence that she didn’t feel. One lap of the Loch would take them a good while, she reassured herself. She’d bought the Monster some time at least… and bought herself some time to gradually talk sense into him regarding his intentions of putting her down.
That was, unless the Watchmen caught them first…