Highland Lover (10 page)

superstitions people were afflicted with. Alana could see no sign that Gregor was troubled by such

things, but she did sense that he was uneasy. That she could accept, for such things made her a little uneasy as well.

She nodded, capitulated, and began speaking the full truth. “Aye, it was.” Alana was not quite sure

why he smiled at her so beautifully, but she felt compelled to return the expression with a faint

smile of her own. “I wasnae surprised when word came that she might have been hurt and had gone

into hiding. I had seen it in a dream. It was the evil mon who wanted to hurt her this time, although in my first dream he was all arrogance and strutting brutality.”

“And this time?”

“That was still there, but I sensed a desperation in him as weel. The anger of the defeated, if that

makes any sense.”

“It does. Defeat can enrage some men.”

Gregor realized his unease had faded. He was mostly intrigued now. Alana still spoke of it as a

dream, but it truly was a seeing and they both knew it. He was a little surprised over how pleased he was that she had ceased to deny it, but decided it all had to do with trust. By acknowledging such a

dangerous secret to him, she revealed that she trusted him not to shun or betray her. To be gifted

with such trust would please anyone.

“The other mon wasnae in this dream, either,” she said.

“What other mon?” he asked.

“The beautiful mon who was also hurt. My first dream was of Keira being hurt, but I had another. In

that dream the beautiful mon was hurt and Keira was tending his injuries. They walked away

together,” she murmured and then frowned, still puzzled over what that meant.

It annoyed Gregor to hear her keep referring to that other man as the beautiful man. “What did this

mon look like?”

“Och, weel, beautiful.” Since Gregor did not look at all happy with that vague description, Alana

struggled to recall exactly what the man had looked like. “Dark copper hair, blue-green eyes, and

verra clear, perfect features. Tall, lean, graceful, and strong.” She shrugged. “Beautiful. Odd, but it seemed to irritate Keira.”

It certainly irritated Gregor. He did not like the thought of such a man wandering through Alana’s

dreams, even if it was in the company of her sister. Suddenly, he had to swallow a laugh. He was

jealous of a man in a dream. A heartbeat later, he frowned, deciding that that was not really all that amusing. He had never suffered from jealousy before, and he did not like it. Matters between him

and Alana were growing complicated very quickly and, worse, she seemed completely unaware of it.

It was humbling for a man who had almost always had any woman he desired, and with very little

effort on his part.

“Ye see most clearly in your dreams, lass,” he said. “’Tis that and the fact that there was naught odd or confusing in your dream that told me it really wasnae a dream, but a seeing. Do ye have them

often?”

“Nay. The ones I do get concern Keira. ’Tis why I dinnae consider it a true gift, but more as part of being Keira’s twin, just part of the bond we share as we shared a womb. She has had one or two

about me. We have always been able to ken when one of us faced some danger.”

That was far more acceptable to him than a full gift of the sight. Gregor could even understand it

more easily as simply a close bond between siblings. “Aye, I understand that, for my cousin

Sigimor has a twin and there were times when he claims he just knew his twin was in trouble. I

have two brothers who claim a similar ability to ken such things about each other.”

“I need to find her,” Alana said softly, the cold horror of the images in her dream making her voice

tremble with the fear she felt for her sister.

Gregor put his arm around her waist and tugged her closer to him. “We will find her. Ye cannae

return to wander about the country alone, lass, and weel ye ken it. Ye were most fortunate the

Gowans respected your guise as a child. Sad to say, others wouldnae have cared that ye werenae a

woman grown yet and taken ye as one. Stupid the Gowans may be, but they obviously have some

honor in them. Ye cannae expect that from everyone ye may meet, and ye willnae be finding your

brothers soon, either. Nay, ye will have to search for them, too. I will help ye in your search.”

“But ye were headed home,” she protested, although she would welcome his help.

“There was no compelling need for me to reach Scarglas. I can go home later.”

It would be good to have a strong man at her side as she searched for Keira. Alana hated to admit it, but when she had lost her brothers’ trail, she had been afraid. Finding herself all alone in a land she did not know was not an experience she wished to repeat. When the Gowans had appeared she had

become almost painfully aware of her own utter helplessness. Clever and fast she might be, but she

had faced the harsh truth that sometimes, that was not enough to survive.

There would undoubtedly be a few problems born of having Gregor at her side for longer than it

took to escape the Gowans. She would have no chance of curing herself of her strong attraction to

the man. It would be almost impossible to make any cool, well-reasoned decisions about him if he

was with her night and day as he was now. It had not been easy to control her infatuation when they

were imprisoned together, even though it was dark and he had thought her a young girl. Worse, she

had awakened from her fever to find those feelings were still strong. The brief embrace they had

just shared had only made matters worse, for she could still feel his touch, still taste the heady

warmth of his kiss.

She inwardly shrugged after another moment’s thought. If this was the mate fate had chosen for her,

there was little she could do to stop her heart from reaching out to him. Whether she was at his side for mere hours or long weeks of travel, her heart would go its own way. Although she had always

held fast to a doubt or two concerning her kinswomen’s tales of finding the perfect mate, of

knowing just when it happened and having little control over one’s emotions, she had also always

dreamed of such an experience. She had just expected her perfect mate to be a more ordinary man,

one much more suited to a little wren of a woman.

Alana hastily pushed those thoughts aside. The most important thing facing her right now was

finding her sister. If she lost her heart to some man along the way and then had it thoroughly broken, it was inconsequential when weighed against Keira’s life. The dream she had just suffered through

would linger in her mind and chill her blood until she saw Keira again, alive and well. Once that

was accomplished, she could begin to deal with whatever else fate had handed her.

“’Twill be a comfort to have some help,” she finally said. “That dream showed a mon trying to

choke the life out of Keira, yet I still cannae feel that she is dead. Still, I truly need to see her with mine own eyes ere I can rest easy. There is a darkness in her life right now, and I must see that she has escaped him or help her do so.”

“We will find her, Alana,” Gregor said. “We will get your answers for you and put that dark seeing

to rest.” He again dared to steal a brief kiss, a hasty brushing of his lips over hers. “Now, rest.

Tomorrow or the next day we begin our journey.”

“Why the uncertainty about when?”

“I wish to be sure that ye are strong enough and that your first day of travel isnae in the rain.”

“Ah, a good plan,” she murmured as she turned onto her side, her back toward him.

“Thank ye,” he drawled.

“One should always have a plan.”

“Did ye have one when ye set out after your brothers?”

“Aye.” She scratched the cat’s ears when he curled up against her chest. “I told ye. I was following

them until we had gone too far for them to send me back. Then, I would join with them in the

search for Keira.”

Gregor bit back his opinion that repeating what her plan had been did not make it sound any more

sensible. “Why did ye think they would need your help?”

“Because of the bond I have with Keira. I was sure I could find her.”

“Ah, of course. The dreams.”

“Aye, and, weel, just a feeling, a pulling on my heart, if ye will. Keira and I have always kenned

where each other was as we grew up. It didnae completely fade away when she got married and

moved away to Ardgleann. In truth, I wasnae surprised when I heard the rumor that she had been

hurt. I had felt her pain, felt that something was wrong with her. I had thought it was but grief o’er what had happened but, nay, it was more, and I sorely regret that I did naught. I should have acted

the moment I got that feeling.” She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling sleep tighten its hold on her.

“Still, it wouldnae have made any difference, I am thinking. No one would have listened, just as

they refused to heed me when I assured them that I could find her.”

“A strange stand for your people to take, considering how many of them have an odd gift of their

own.”

“So I thought. ’Tis fate playing games with me. Those who should have heeded me did not. I lost

my brothers’ trail e’en though I am a good tracker. And despite my having excellent hearing and a

keen sense of danger approaching, the Gowans rode right up to where I was camped. Then,

although I am fast, have good endurance, and can hide in the veriest shadow, they had no trouble

catching me. Each step of the way there was trouble. I have ne’er been so plagued with stumbles

and barriers.”

Since Alana was not given to false conceits, Gregor accepted that she had the skills she claimed. He

had also seen her run and knew she had endurance as well as speed. If he were a superstitious man,

he would think some unseen hand was moving her along like a piece upon some chessboard, doing

all it could to steer her along a set path. It did seem that she had suffered an extraordinary turn of bad luck, the sort that cried out for an explanation. He inwardly shook his head, refusing to give in to any superstitious whims. It was all exactly as it seemed to be—bad luck.

“Keira could be anywhere,” he said, turning the conversation back to the matter of finding her sister.

“She was hurt and afraid when she left Ardgleann. How can ye ken where she is hiding?”

“Our bond, remember.” Alana hid a yawn behind her hand and felt the fog of approaching sleep

start to cloud her mind. “And aye, she was hurt. Of that I have no doubt. So, how far could she go? I ken she would have gotten herself off Ardgleann lands, but after that, I dinnae think she would have

gone much further. If we head for Scarglas, I am certain I will be able to, er, sniff her out, although I dinnae ken how I can be so certain of that. I just am.”

Gregor was not sure how she could know such a thing, either, but felt no urge to question her

certainty. She was planning to head in the very direction he wanted her to go—toward Scarglas.

Although he was not yet absolutely sure this was the woman who fit, as Sigimor was wont to say,

he grew more so every day. He wanted to get her to Scarglas, and he strongly suspected that by the

time they reached his home, he would be wanting to keep her there.

He raised his head and peered over her shoulder, smiling faintly when he saw that she had fallen

asleep while he had been tangled up in his own thoughts. The cat was curled up against her chest,

its head upon her breasts. Her slim arm was curled protectively around the beast. Gregor shook his

head as he gently settled himself against Alana’s back, grimacing as she nestled her backside

against his still-aching groin. It was going to be a long night. If at all possible they would leave in the morning, he decided. Too many more hours spent alone with Alana in the cottage, curled

against her all night and close to her all day with little to distract him, would surely cause him to lose his mind. It was time to head home.

Chapter 7

“We cannae take the cat, Alana.”

“We cannae leave the poor lad behind, Gregor. ’Twould be too cruel.”

Gregor stared down at the cat that sat by Alana’s feet, leaning slightly against her leg and purring.

The animal had the wit to choose the best ally, he thought. He, too, had not liked the idea of leaving the animal behind. Since the cat obviously had been treated like a pet by the previous owner of the

cottage, he suspected it would not fare well on its own. However, he had accepted the cold fact that

it had to be done since he and Alana had a long, hard journey ahead of them, on foot and with the

Gowans undoubtedly hunting them. They could not take a cat along on such a journey. Alana and

the cat obviously thought otherwise.

“A cat cannae make such a journey,” he said, feeling compelled to offer one last protest.

“Weel, ’tis verra possible he may wander off or the like, and I ken we cannae waste any time

hunting for him, but at least we can try to bring him along. I can carry him in a sling I can make

from a blanket so we dinnae have to fret o’er his ability to keep up with us.”

“I believe I will fret o’er being caught by the Gowans again instead.”

He had to bite back a laugh at the disgusted look she gave him. She even glanced worriedly at the

cat as if afraid the beast might have been offended by so callous a remark. The cat looked smug.

“People dinnae take cats on journeys,” he said.

“Aye, they do. My cousin Gillyanne always takes her cats with her whenever she travels. And my

Aunt Elspeth also traveled with a cat. ’Tisnae so unusual.”

Gregor decided it would not be wise to say what he was thinking, that just because her kinswomen