Free My Highland Love: Highland Lords Series by Tarah Scott Page B

they
watched.
    "Nay," Michael whispered.
    Marcus strained to make out the figure's form
in the moonlight, but the hill cast too dark a shadow on the
valley. "God damn it," he muttered. "If anyone has given away our
presence—" The loud neigh of a horse broke the quiet. "What the
bloody hell?"
    "The horses," Michael hissed as the Campbell
horses bolted.
    Shouts rose, and the Campbells sprang up and
after their mounts.
    "What are they up to?" Marcus yanked his gaze
back onto the figure in the shadows near the horses. He leaned
forward in the saddle and was riding to the left of the camp.
    "Take two men and bring back that rider,"
Marcus said. "Be careful not to alert the others to our
presence."
    Marcus turned his attention onto the Campbell
men running through the trees in an effort to retrieve their
scattered horses. Then waited.
     
    The light sound of a boot treading close came
from the darkness and Marcus jerked his head around.
    "Laird," one of his men said, "come quick. We
have the rider."
    He pulled his breacan close and backed away
from the crest of the hill, jumped to his feet, then hurried
downhill at a near run. At the bottom, he broke through the circle
of his men, hand on the hilt of his sword.
    "Nay! Laird, stop!" came a chorus of low
voices.
    Marcus felt his sword arm jerked back, but he
saw the prisoner even as someone grabbed his other arm. He went
stock still. "Elise?"
    "Yes," she replied.
    Even in the shallow light of the cloudy
darkness, he could discern her drawn expression. "Are you
unharmed?"
    She smiled, her mouth quavering a little. "I
have a blazing headache, but I'll live."
    Marcus started forward, but two of his men
seized his arm. "Release me." He yanked free, then took two steps
and halted before her. "You are the rider?"
    "Yes."
    She swayed. Marcus caught her to him.
    Elise clutched at his shirt, burying her head
in his chest. She didn't move for a long moment, then took a
shuddering breath and mumbled against him, "If I could sit
down."
    He whipped off his cloak and wrapped it
around her. Marcus slipped an arm beneath her and she threw her
arms around his neck when he lifted her into his arms. He knelt and
gently settled her in a seated position on the ground. Her arms
remained tight about him for a moment, then finally relaxed.
    Marcus straightened, his gaze falling on her
bare feet. "Where are your shoes?"
    She glanced from her feet back at him. "I
took them off. What woman attempting an escape would go barefoot?"
She gave him a hopeful look. "Sensible, don't you agree?"
    "Sensible?" he repeated.
    Elise abruptly grasped her stomach. Marcus
held her head to the side as she wretched violently. The convulsion
ceased and he wiped her mouth with the tartan.
    She sat up. "Had to happen eventually," she
croaked.
    "Will you be all right?"
    She nodded but averted her face. "I'm much
better."
    Marcus stood. "Michael, you, Brian, and Finn
remain here. Get the horses," he said to the remaining men, then
looked at Elise. "I assume you freed their horses?"
    She nodded.
    "Marcus," Michael said. "We stumbled upon two
Campbells. They were the guards west of the camp. Seems we were
wrong. They had moved. Probably the only ones who had horses."
    "Dead?"
    The older man nodded.
    Marcus's men returned with the horses.
    He took Alexis's reins and mounted, then said
to Michael, "It may take some time, but I won't leave before
catching every last one of the bastards. If so much as a shadow
flickers, get out."
    Michael nodded, and Marcus reined his horse
around, his men following.
    * * * *
    Marcus stood, legs apart, staring down at
Elise. She sat on the couch, head bowed, her gaze on the carpeted
floor of his library. He took a deep breath and seated himself
beside her.
    "A day on the trip home and I held my
tongue," he said. "Then a day here at Brahan Seer. You're well
enough now to answer to me. What in God's name were you doing?"
    "I promised Michael I would come."
    "Michael would not hold you to any