Page 38 of Strachan (Hostage Brides #2)

Damn Rory. He would insist on stopping to fiddle with his saddle. Could he not have made it secure before they left Fellscarp?

And damn Donnan for staring at her again.

Lowri often caught him doing that since he had tried to steal a kiss, and she had rejected him.

She would feel his eyes on her, and when she looked at him, Donnan would look away and act nonchalant. It irritated her, and Peyton’s words echoed in her head.

‘Donnan and Rory are now men, lass, not lads. And you are a woman. They will be looking at you differently.’

God forbid!

Lowri had very little patience with most people – all fools and idlers, but she had a fierce love for Peyton.

He had been prepared to lay down his life for her, so his opinion mattered.

Her heart swelled with joy and pride at the man he had become, even as it soured with a little jealousy at the bond between her brother and Cecily.

They had a bairn coming, and they were as happy as two souls could be.

She often thought it might be nice to feel the warmth of a man’s embrace now and then, to feel safe and protected, to let go of the tension always coiled deep in her belly.

She stared at Donnan and Rory, trying to imagine what it would be like to have a man of her own.

But she felt nothing, no stirrings of lust or excitement, just the usual mixture of fondness and familiarity one has for old friends.

Eaden had been different, but then, she had been but sixteen and as innocent as a newborn lamb.

Had he been her first love?

His advances had flattered and frightened her in equal measure.

She had trembled like a fool every time he smiled her way and she caught naked admiration in his black eyes.

Even now, thinking of Eaden brought a clenching low in her belly and a ripple of self-disgust in her mind.

He had been corrupt, vicious and without a conscience, and she longed to hate him more than she did.

Had that leering attention ever been love? Was love even real? One of the nuns at the convent had told her that marriage was not about love.

It was about duty.

Its purpose was to bring forth children, and lust was a heinous sin, leading to hell.

And Lowri had replied, ‘Is it not the other way around, and isn’t marriage hell? Who would want the drudgery of endless childbearing? And why would God give us lust if he didn’t want us to enjoy ourselves?’

Lowri laughed at her folly.

She had received a good whipping for that outburst, richly deserved, like all the others.

‘Why are you laughing?’ said Donnan.

He’d been staring at her again. ‘A memory. Nothing,’ she snapped.

‘Tell me why we are out here so far from home, Lowri?’ said Rory.

‘Because I have found out that Griffin Macaulay has ten nice, plump cattle over at Bluff Point.’

‘You cannot be thinking of stealing them,’ cried Donnan. ‘Hell’s teeth, lass. Why poke that bear? Was he not just at Fellscarp shouting vengeance at your brother?’

‘Aye, an insult for which he must pay. Nobody talks to Peyton like that and gets away with it. Macaulay will never know who took those cattle, and he dare not accuse my brother. Peyton is too fearsome.’

Donnan grimaced. ‘Aye. He’s a good deal harder than he used to be.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Lowri.

‘He means that your brother gave us a stern warning not to have lustful thoughts about you,’ said Rory, looking at his feet.

‘What nonsense. I am not the kind of woman who inspires lustful thoughts.’

‘Are you not?’ said Donnan with a wicked grin.

‘No,’ she growled.

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Well, there’s lads around Fellscarp who say you are bonnie.’

Lowri punched Donnan in the arm.

‘Ow! What was that for?’

‘I’ll have no more of that talk, and you two should not gossip about me like a couple of twittering lasses.’

‘That hurt, and I was only teasing,’ whined Donnan.

But the look on his face was guarded, and Lowri got a trickle of unease down her spine. Could Peyton have been right? Sometimes, Donnan’ gaze seemed too intent and a little predatory. Did he think of her when he lay abed at night?

Lowri shook off her misgivings. She had better things to think about than filthy young men and their urges. She would soon have cattle to sell. The money would help her brother, for he had suffered terribly. It was all her fault that Peyton had almost been beaten to death. She should never have ridden out that day. And she had dragged his wife into danger, too. She had to make amends to Cecily, for she had misjudged the lass terribly.

‘Hurry along, you two. I want to get clear before dawn,’ she said briskly.

They rode on through dusk’s last rays of light and into darkness. The high ground of Bluff Point came into view, and with it, the dark bulk of a herd of cattle.

‘I don’t like it. Too quiet,’ said Donnan, fidgeting nervously in his saddle. ‘We should turn back before we are seen. There is still time.’

‘If you don’t like it, go home, and I will do this by myself,’ said Lowri.

Her resolve hardened. She would never get a better chance. The night was clear and starry, and the moon hung low over the hills, casting an eerie blue-black glow. The breeze carried the snorts and heaving breath of the cattle.

It was all as she had planned. What could possibly go wrong?