Page 53 of Highland Steel

Furious, she slammed the door shut, feeling as if she didn’t know Logan at all. One minute he seemed to really care for her and the next he was refusing to help her and then flirting with her sister.

“I’m done!” she said through gritted teeth. Nothing was going her way. If Logan wanted her sister, then so be it. She didn’t want a man who had eyes for every lassie he met. She might not have had a second thought about what she’d just seen if he hadn’t told her earlier that he bedded the daughter of his enemy just after meeting her. The man truly had no morals. Then again, he had done the same thing with her.

The door to the hospice opened and Blaine rushed inside. “Sister, look what Logan made for me.” Blaine was happy and excited. She held up a wooden cross on a leather cord around her neck.

“He made that?” Rhoswen suddenly felt even more jealous than before.

“Aye, he whittled it for me. He told me I could hold on to it when I’m upset and that it might help to make me feel better. He is truly skilled with his hands. Don’t you agree?”

“Oh yes, I agree he is very skilled with his hands,” she said, thinking about how he’d made her cry out in passion from just his touch. “Of course, it seems as if he’s had plenty of practice.”

“What’s the matter, Rhoswen?” asked Blaine innocently, talking but still staring at the cross in admiration. “You seem angry or upset about something.”

“I am,” she spat.

“Did I do something to displease you?” Blaine rubbed the cross furiously with her fingers, looking up at Rhoswen with fear in her eyes. Her smile disappeared. “Rhoswen, what is the matter?”

The girl had looked so happy for the first time in a long time. But now, in a matter of minutes, Blaine was back to being the frightened, sad girl and it was all because of Rhoswen.

Rhoswen let out a deep breath. Her sister was simple at times, and very childlike in a lot of ways, but Rhoswen couldn’t be mad at her. If there was anything going on between her and Logan, Blaine probably didn’t even realize it. Whatever happened had to be all of Logan’s doing.

“I’m happy for you, Blaine.” Rhoswen put her arm around her sister and pulled the girl to her, kissing her atop the head. “I’m sure that cross will help you to find the comfort you need. It was a perfect gift.”

“I think I’m starting to like living here with the MacKeefes, Sister.”

Rhoswen pulled away. “Well, don’t get too used to it,” she told her. “I don’t think the MacKeefes want us as part of their family.”

“Why not?” asked Blaine.

“I’m not exactly sure, but it doesn’t matter. We are English and we don’t belong here.”

“Are we going home then?” asked her sister, looking sad about the idea.

“I don’t know where we’ll go right now, but don’t you worry. We’ll figure it out.” She gave her sister another hug, glancing out the window. She saw Logan sparring with Newell and they were using real swords this time. Her brother actually wasn’t half-bad. He’d learned in a few days from Logan what their father couldn’t teach the boy in several years. Logan truly had a way with people and he was amazing.

It made her sad to think about leaving, but his words made it clear that he didn’t want to help her and that they couldn’t stay here. She wouldn’t go near him anymore today, because she didn’t want to be tempted to make love with him again. She was better off without him, she tried to convince herself. Still, all she could think about was Logan.

The door opened and Newell ran in, sounding really excited. “Sisters, come watch me spar with a real sword,” he told them. “Logan said I’m a fast learner.”

Funny, she thought. That was the same thing Logan told her. She started wondering if he’d really meant the things he’d said to her or if he used the same few lines on everyone. Either way, it didn’t matter. Come tomorrow, she’d be long gone from here. If he wasn’t going to help her save Lockie, then she would do it on her own.

“Go on,” she told her sister. “I’ll be along soon.”

Her siblings left the room and closed the door. She watched their happy smiles as they talked with Logan. Logan was good for them, she had to admit. He’d already spent more time with them then her father ever had. Her heart went out to him, and she couldn’t stay angry, no matter what he decided. She was falling in love with him but, now, she decided that only made her weak.

You need to get vengeance for our family, her father’s words echoed in her head. Kill Ranulph Drummond. Do it for me, Rhoswen. Find justice. Do it for your sister, Ailsa, and for your poor mother. That’s all that matters.

Once again, Rhoswen’s heart hardened and she started to think that mayhap her father was right. She was in charge of her family now and would have to make the decisions. Rhoswen needed to start thinking like a warrior, a leader. Not like a lovesick girl who depended on men with muscles to get her out of harrowing situations.

Suddenly, she wished for a cross to hold like Blaine had, to ease her worries. Because tomorrow, she would find a way to get to Clan Drummond, even if she had to go by herself and walk on foot to get there. She wouldn’t give up her hope of saving her nephew, and only hoped that she wasn’t already too late. She would do this by herself if she had to, and she wouldn’t leave the Drummonds until little Lockie was safely in her arms. It was a plan, but she’d yet to think it through. Because even if she managed to get inside the Drummond castle walls, she had no idea how she would ever leave there.

Chapter 17

Logan awoke early the next morning, collecting up the items he’d whittled and adding them to the pile of things that the clan planned to trade with Bug, the traveling merchant, as soon as he arrived.

“What’s all the noise about?” complained Caleb, turning over on his bed. Logan had a candle burning and didn’t care that lazy Caleb liked it quiet when he slept. They shared the hut and he had just as much right to make noise if he wanted to.

“Get out of bed, ye lazy bones,” said Logan, stacking the items into a wooden box. “I’ve never seen anyone who liked bein’ in bed as much as ye.”