Wild Highland Rose (Time Travel Trilogy, Book 2) (13 page)

Marjory
'
s face drained of color.  If she was feigning surprise, she was doing a damn good job if it.  Either that or she was shocked that Allen knew.  Cameron stood, torn between the tw
o of them.  Brother and wife. 
So much for not getting involved.

"
No one has proven anything, Allen.  And even if they had, don
'
t you think I should be the one to exact my own revenge?
"
 
He shot a look at Marjory, who was glaring at them both.  At least anger had brought the color back to her cheeks.

"
You
'
ve no
'
exactly been of a right mind,
mo bhràthair
.
"
  Allen shrugged, tightening his hold on the now struggling Marjory. 
"
Besides, time was we shared everything, did we no
'
?
"

"
Maybe.  But I think I draw the line at wives.  No matter how odious they may be.
"
  He shot a mocking smile in Marjory
'
s direction.  And was rewarded with a sneer.  So much for gratitude. 
"
Come on, Allen.  Enough is enough.  Let her go.
"

Allen paused, studying him, then apparently satisfied with what he saw pushed Marjory away.  She stumbled, but before she could fall, Cameron caught her, the feel of her heart beating against his chest setting off a riot of emotion.

As soon as he was certain she
'
d found her balance, Cameron released her, stepping back, quelling his surging hormones.  Ignoring her, he turned to face his brother. 
"
I want you to leave her be.
"
  He didn
'
t have any power over Allen, but it was clear that the man at least cared for his brother.  So maybe he
'
d listen.

Allen shot a venomous glance in Marjory
'
s direction. 
"
She
'
s no
'
worth protecting.  But I
'
ll abide by your wishes.  At least until Father arrives.
"

It was a beginning.

Allen started toward a pathway off to the left, then stopped to look behind him. 
"
Aren
'
t ye coming?
"

Cameron shook his head, reaching out to capture Marjory
'
s hand as she edged away. 
"
I
'
m going to stay here.  I need to have a word with my
wife
.
"
 
He shot her what he hoped was a firm look, but given the mutinous expression in her eyes, he doubted it had any effect.

"
Suit yerself,
"
Allen shrugged. 
"
But if I were ye, I
'
d get a bigger knife.  That one would nary skin a cat, let alone the vixen ye
'
ve saddled yerself with.
"
  With a last withering glance at Marjory, Allen walked into the trees.

Marjory released an audible breath and tried to pull free, but Cameron kept his hold, turning her so that she was facing him. 
"
Are you all right?  He didn
'
t hurt you
,
did he?
"

"Nay, not in the way you mean."  She stared at the ground refusing to meet his gaze. 
"
I
'
m fine.  If  you
'
ll just let me go, I should be getting back.  People will be worried.
"

Despite the bravado of her words, he could feel her shaking.  It seemed Marjory wasn
'
t as impervious to fear as she
'
d like him to believe.

"
I
'
m sorry he did that.
"
  Cameron wasn
'
t certain why he was apologizing.  After all he hadn
'
t done anything. 
"
It
'
s lucky I heard you scream.
"

"Well, dinna think I needed your help.  I was going to get away.  I just hadna found the right opportunity."  Marjory lifted her chin in defiance, blue eyes flashing.

Cameron released her, stepping back to put distance between them. 
"
Well excuse me, your high and mightyship.  I was only trying to help.  From my perspective it didn
'
t look like you were exactly holding your own.
"

"
I would have gotten away.
"
  Her eyes narrowed, but her lower lip trembled, and he could see tears pooling in her eyes.

"
Maybe so.
"
  He said, not certain how it was she could manage to make him feel concern and rage all at the same time.  She was impossible. 
"
But I didn
'
t think I should take the chance.  Saving your sweet behind seems to have become a habit of mine.
"

He watched the heat rush to her cheeks, not certain the emotion that inspired it.  What was it about this woman
?
  Every time they were together he had to fight a desire to either beat her or kiss her senseless.  And under the circumstances, neither seemed a valid option.

"Where, may I ask,
did you get my sgian dubh?"  s
he asked
with a frown
, all emotion safely banished, no doubt to some far icy corner of her heart.

He struggled for comprehension, her words not making a lick of sense. 
"
Your skeen what?"

"
Sgian dubh
."  She said it slowly, but the repetition didn
'
t help.  She sighed.  "The little knife in your hand."

Cameron looked down, comprehension dawning. 
"
This is yours?  I found it in the pool.
"

"
When?
"
  She shook her head
, her look disbelieving.

"
Just after I awoke in the woods.  Before you found me.  I wanted a drink, and when I knelt beside the water, the knife was there.
"

"
Is no
'
possible,
"
she scoffed. 
"
Yer brother took that knife from me years ago.  It couldna have been in the stream all that time.
"

"
It looks as though it
'
d
been there quite some time, actually. See for yourself.
"
  He held out the knife, and she snatched it from his hand, almost as if she were afraid he
'
d pull it away again. 
"
I take it it
'
s important to you.
"

She nodded, still staring at the tiny blade in her hand. 
"
'
Twas my mother
'
s.
"

"
I see.
"
  He didn
'
t see anything at all.  But it was obvious that she wasn
'
t of a mind to explain.

As if to emphasize the point, she sheathed the knife in a loop on her belt and gave him a frigid smile. 
"
Not that I'm ungrateful for what you did,
"
her words lacked conviction,
"
but what were you doing wandering around out here on your own?
"

"I could ask the same thing of you."

Marjory squared her shoulders, eyes flashing again.  "I happen to be the mistress of this valley.  As such
,
I come and go as I please."

"Well, as far as I can remember," he grimaced, "and I'll grant you that's not far, I am free to come and go as I please, too.  And before you so rudely interrupted my wandering, as you called it, I was trying to find a way out of this valley and back to where I came from, wherever the hell that is."  He paused for a breath, anger
heating his face
.  "And that, my dear wife,
would mean that I would be escaping you, permanently."

He turned and started back in the direction of the burn, frustration churning in his gut.  The woman was maddening.  Though alluring.  And not his wife.  Hell, she wasn
'
t even a friend.  Which meant he had no ties to her and no reason to stay here.
 
No reason at all.  Which made it all the more confusing that a part of him wanted nothing more than to do just that.

Without looking back, he continued to crash through the brush with no regard for his exposed skin.  He hardly felt the scrapes and scratches as he pushed forward toward the stream.  Damn the woman, what was it about her that got under his skin?  He should have let Allen have her.

Except of course that he wouldn
'
t have done something like that.  No matter how things had been between Marjory and Ewen, and no matter what her father had done, no woman deserved that.  No matter the century.  A low hanging branch gouged at his head.  He cursed, but continued walking.  At this rate, he'd be at the landslide site in no time.

"You're going the wrong way."

He turned at the sound of her voice, groaning in frustration.  "Are you following me?"

Marjory stood by a small evergreen, its branches a perfect backdrop for her delicate beauty.  Cameron caught his breath at the sight.

"I'm no' following you.  I came after you.  There's a difference.  I dinna want you to get lost."  She tried, in vain, to look nonchalant.

Cameron smiled, pleased for reasons he couldn't quite put a name to.  "You did follow me."

"Very well, have it your way then, I followed you, but only to tell you you're going the wrong way.  The pool lies over there."  She pointed back the way they had come.

"And why, may I ask, should I trust you?  If Allen is to be believed, you tried to kill me."

"
Allen is a fool.  If I
'
d wanted you dead, you wouldna be standing here
blathering
blethering
at me.
"

"
And why should I believe that?
"

"Because I've never lied to you.  There is no love lost between us, but I've never told you anything less than the truth."

"I beg to differ.  You're lying now."

Marjory colored furiously.  Anger making her eyes shoot fire.  "About what?"

"About the reason you followed me."

"You really are insufferable."

Cameron gave her a mock bow.  "I seemed to have learned from a master."

"So, tell me then, why do you think I followed you?"

Cameron smiled at the frustration painted across her face.  "You are following me, Margie, my girl, because you don't want to be alone."

She blanched, her face suddenly devoid of all color.  "What did you say?"  Her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear it.

"I said that you don't want to be alone."

She stared at him.  "No.  I mean, what did you
call
me?"

Cameron frowned, trying to remember.  "I don
'
t know.  Obviously something that upset you."

"You called me Margie."  She sank to the ground, looking incredibly small against the backdrop of trees and foliage.  Her face, if possible, turned even whiter. 
"
Margie, my girl
.
"

He dropped to his knees beside her, reaching to rub her cold hands in his. 
"
If I did, I certainly didn
'
t mean anything by it.
"
  He continued rubbing her hands. 
"
I was just being sarcastic.
"

"My father was the only one who ever called me that."  She spoke as if she were lost in memory.  Tears filled her eyes.  She seemed to have forgotten he was even there.  "'Twas his special name for me.  He'd laugh and ruffle my hair. 
'Who loves you best, Margie, my girl,' he'd say.  'Who loves you best?'
"  Her tears were falling in earnest now.

She wiped them away with the back of her hand, valiantly fighting to pull herself back together.  He eased down beside her, keeping her hand in his.  Not really certain why, only knowing that he wanted to take the pain away.  He waited for her to say more, but she remained silent.  Taking a deep breath, he decided to risk her wrath.