My Daring Highlander (4 page)

“Did you carve this?” she
asked.

“Nay, my da did. ’Tis from the antler
of a stag the former chief killed over twenty summers ago. I was a
wee lad then, but I remember them returning from stalking deer.
Everyone was excited and happy about the successful
hunt.”

Though she had never talked with his
father, Conall MacKay, beyond a greeting, she’d often seen him at
Dunnakeil and knew him to be a friendly, hearty and boisterous man,
quick with a laugh but also quick to defend those he
loved.

“The knife is beautiful.” She was
touched by his generosity, but he seemed unaffected that he was
giving away personal items he must have treasured for many years.
Or was he merely hiding his emotions? His eyes held no regret, only
affection, when he observed her. He made her feel as if… she was
special.

She swallowed hard and lowered her
gaze. No one had ever made her feel special before. No one had ever
cared whether she could defend herself or not.

“I’ve always wanted a weapon,” she
confessed.

“In truth?”

She nodded, remembering how she used
to dream of having a weapon with which to defend herself and her
sister during her father’s violent rants. Such a thought was
blasphemous, she knew, considering she was not honoring her father.
But she had never done anything to deserve his wrath, nor had her
sister or their poor mother.

“Why?” Keegan asked.

She could not tell him the truth and
instead shrugged. “I admire those who are good
fighters.”

“Well, mayhap you will be a good
fighter when I’m through with you.” Keegan smiled.

Heavens!
Did he expect her to spar as the men did during
practice?

“The first thing you need
to learn is how to draw the
sgian
quickly.” He moved his right hand near his left
wrist and, within a blink of an eye, he held a knife in his hand.
“Did you see how I did that?”

“Nay.” He’d drawn the knife so
swiftly, ’twas but a blur.

Keegan returned his knife to its
sheath on his left arm, then pulled back his other sleeve to reveal
another on the right forearm. “I never want to be without a
knife.”

“I see.”

“Watch. I’ll do it slowly so you can
see what I’m doing.” He gradually moved his right hand toward his
left. His fingertips slipped toward the inside of his wrist and
tugged the handle. The knife slid out and he palmed the hilt. With
the next demonstration, he repeated the movements a bit faster, but
still not with the speed he’d first used.

“You try it,” he said.

After relaxing her arms for a moment,
she lifted them as he’d done. She pulled at the knife within the
sheath on her forearm. It would not budge. She tugged harder and
the knife slid out smoothly into her hand.

“Aye. Very good.” Keegan grinned and a
different expression entered his eyes, darkening them. The way his
eyes changed amazed her. Sometimes they were pale and bright as the
sky on a clear day. Other times, like now, they resembled the sky
at twilight. She wished she knew what he was thinking so she could
figure out why his eyes changed so much.

“I’m proud of you,” Keegan said. “Now,
return it and draw it again. Often in the Highlands, who lives and
who dies is determined by who can draw their knife, dirk or sword
the quickest.”

Her stomach knotted with the thought
she had to be quicker than an outlaw warrior. She did as he’d
suggested and returned the knife to the sheath.

She yanked it out again, faster this
time.

Keegan stood back, crossed his arms
over his chest and nodded. “Keep going.”

Concentrating on the task instead of
Keegan’s intriguingly broad shoulders and muscled arms, she
repeated the process several times. She was amazed at how she
became much swifter and more proficient each time. She smiled. Of
course, she wasn’t yet as fast as he was, but she likely never
would be.

“Och, lass, you have a beautiful
smile,” Keegan said.

She halted in the midst of returning
the knife to its sheath, her hand shaking.

He quickly grabbed her hand. “Careful.
Don’t cut yourself.”

She released the knife, her hands
trembling. That’s what he did to her… him and his distracting,
complimentary words.

He pushed the knife into the sheath
and stepped back. He tried to hide his smile but she saw it easily.
The heat rushing over her intensified.

He cleared his throat and sobered.
“One thing you have in your favor, Lady Seona, is the element of
surprise. Most men won’t expect you to be carrying such a stealthy
weapon. Likely, an attacker won’t strike you with a blade. His main
objective won’t be to kill you immediately.” He frowned, his
expression turning lethal. “He’ll probably try to restrain you or
capture you. He might grab you from behind, or he might rush you
from the front.”

Imagining such things happening to
her, she felt the blood drain from her face and a cold chill pass
over her.

Keegan halted, eying her. “Did I
frighten you?” he asked.

“Nay.” She didn’t want him to think
her a complete ninny. While thoughts of being captured by a
barbarous stranger did scare her, ’twas not more than she could
handle. She had never been one to faint or grow frantic. Besides,
she wished to be strong like Isobel. She admired her friend greatly
for many reasons. “Go on,” she told Keegan.

“If some knave gets his dirty paws on
you, you’ll want to learn how to make him release you so that you
can escape. If you injure or kill him in the process, so much the
better.”

“Heavens,” she whispered, unable to
imagine killing or seriously injuring a tough, depraved outlaw. But
mayhap she could if she learned how.

“Keep your weapon a secret until you
can successfully draw and wield it for your benefit,” Keegan
instructed.

“’
Tis a good
idea.”

“If a man grabs you from behind, he’ll
probably put one hand over your mouth to muffle your screams. Then,
he’ll wrap his other arm around you to restrain your arms while
lifting you off your feet.”

She nodded, imagining how that could
happen.

“If your arms are restrained, you have
to make sure your hands remain close together so you can draw your
knife. Once he is distracted by looking to see if he’s been
spotted, withdraw the knife and grip it like this.” Keegan held one
of his own knives in a backward position with the blade pointing
toward his elbow. “Once you can move your arm freely, stab back
into his groin or gut if possible. You’ll have to put some force
behind it and stab deep.”

She nodded again, her face heating a
bit with the mention of stabbing a man in the groin. But he seemed
not to notice.

“Don’t try to stab through leather
armor. ’Tis too tough for the small blade to penetrate,” Keegan
said. “Make it count because if the first strike isn’t deep, he
won’t be injured and he won’t release you. He’ll only get angry,
and that’s when he’ll want to hurt you.” Keegan frowned darkly as
if simply imagining the violence angered him. “If you stab him
deep, he’ll shove you away from him.”

“Aye,” she said, realizing she’d have
to practice stabbing if she was to get it right.

“If he then comes back for you again,
unarmed, turn the knife around and slash at him. If he takes out a
knife of his own, flee. In fact, running is your best defense. Only
use the knife if you have to.”

“I can run,” she said.

“Good.” Keegan gave a slight grin.
“You’ve made much progress in a short time. I’ll teach you more
tomorrow.”

“Oh.” She was a wee disappointed their
lesson was over already, but her aunt would be looking for her
soon. “I thank you for the knife and for taking the time to
instruct me. You’re very generous.” She glanced toward camp, not
wishing to return. She enjoyed talking to Isobel, but her aunt and
the maids were tedious and dull, doing naught but complaining.
Whereas Keegan was the most fascinating person she’d ever met.
Still, she had best bid him good evening lest he think her a
wanton.

“Och. Did you see that lovely
waterfall across the glen? I just noticed it.” Keegan pointed at a
distant granite mountain where a generous waterfall sluiced down
over rocks for several hundred yards. The snow at the top of the
tall mountain was no doubt melting and feeding the
stream.

“’
Tis beautiful,” she said.
The idea that Keegan wanted to show her something lovely warmed her
heart. “I wish we could go closer.”

When Keegan remained silent, she
turned back to find his eyes more intense as he stared at
her.

“I wish… a lot of things,” he murmured
in a low and mysterious tone. His charming grin was gone, replaced
by a more serious expression.

“What do you wish for?” she
whispered.

His blue gaze, far darker now than
usual, slid from her eyes to her mouth and back again.

“Seona?” Isobel said, approaching them
between the horses and tent. “Your aunt has noticed your
absence.”

Chapter Four

Isobel’s unexpected
presence yanked Keegan back from the brink of temptation.
Saints!
He’d almost told
Seona exactly what he wished for—a kiss. He’d hungered to claim her
lips for months, but he couldn’t do it now. He wanted to kick
himself.

Isobel grinned as she approached. “I
hope you can forgive me for the interruption, Keegan, but Lady
Patience is looking for Lady Seona. Dirk went to tell her we were
taking advantage of the privacy of the bushes for… you
know.”

Keegan nodded. “’Tis not a
problem.”

When he glanced back at Seona, her
face was rose-colored. She was so lovely when she blushed. He
wanted to grin but clenched his jaw instead.

“I thank you again for your
generosity,” Seona told him as she moved toward Isobel.

Keegan gave a brief bow. “My
pleasure.”

Watching the lass walk away, he
regretted not making use of the brief amount of private time they’d
had together and stealing a kiss.

“’
Slud,” he muttered. Nay,
he should never kiss her. He turned away to stare at the waterfall
in the distance. The natural beauty of it only made him think about
Seona and how he wished she was still by his side. He’d treasured
watching the wonder and delight on her face as she’d looked at it.
She had wished to go closer to it, and he was more than willing to
take her. But that was impossible at the moment. Just as impossible
as the two of them being together.

Kissing her would only make him yearn
for her more. And that would be of no benefit to him.

Truth was… Seona could never belong to
him the way Isobel belonged to Dirk. His chest ached with
regret.

“Are you well?” A deep voice came from
behind him.

Keegan turned to find Dirk standing
there. “Aye.”

“Were you doing what I think you were
doing with Lady Seona?” Dirk asked. Was he teasing Keegan? ’Twas a
rarity.

“Depends on what you were thinking. I
didn’t kiss her, if that’s what you mean.”

“Och. Well, you’re not as much of a
rogue as I thought.” Dirk gave a slight grin.

“I wanted to,” Keegan confessed.
“Damned badly. But that would’ve been madness. She’s a lady and her
father will never approve of me.”

Dirk frowned, considering Keegan
closely for a long moment. “You want… to marry her?” he asked as if
realization was suddenly dawning.

“Of course. ’Twould be my fondest
dream.”

Dirk raised a brow. “When did you
decide this?”

Keegan shrugged. “Months ago. I know
it seems daft, considering I hadn’t actually talked to her much
until today. But when you meet the perfect woman for you, you just
know somehow. Am I right?”

“Indeed. I respect your honesty. I was
not quite so honest with myself when I was falling for Isobel. I
thought I was going mad having such feelings for her. But, in
truth, ’tis normal. I have never been so happy in my life as I am
now.” Dirk grinned and glanced back toward camp, most likely hoping
to catch a glimpse of his wife.

“I greatly admire what you and Isobel
have. ’Tis what I want to share with Seona but…” Keegan shook his
head, knowing he was wishing for something he could never
attain.

“You never know. Why don’t you ask for
her hand?”

“Hmph. Everyone has said her father
insists she marry a chief or someone with a title and
property.”

Dirk observed him, his expression
serious. “If you truly want her, don’t let her go. Isobel was
betrothed when I met her, and I was certain she was beyond my
reach, too. But ’twas not the case. Sometimes you must take a
chance.”

Keegan nodded, though he didn’t know
how he could marry Seona if her father wouldn’t permit him to. What
would happen if Keegan stole her away? Although kidnapping a bride
was common practice among some clans, surely her father and his men
would hunt Keegan down like an outlaw if he dared such a thing.
Once he met Chief Murray, he’d know more about how to deal with
him.