Free Kissing the Countess by Susan King Page B

her chin. She glanced anxiously at Evan Mackenzie, who stood tall and calm beside her pallet.
    "Thank the Lord! She's here!" Reverend Thomas MacConn shouted over his shoulder, waved, then crossed the threshold. He moved stiffly, using the walking stick like a cane. Four men came in after him, their large forms further blocking the light as they swept in fresh, chilly air. Catriona shivered.
    "Girl, are you safe?" her father asked, striding forward. "The Lord be praised. We feared that something awful had happened again on these slopes—" He stopped, staring at Evan. "Sir," he growled. "And are you who I think you are?"
    "Aye, no doubt." Evan inclined his head. "Greetings, Reverend MacConn."
    "Papa, I'm fine," Catriona said hastily. "We were caught by the storm—oh, Finlay!" She greeted her older brother with relief as he came toward them. "And Mr. Grant," she greeted the third man, Kenneth Grant, the laird of an estate at the far end of the glen, who acted as the doctor in the glen. The fourth man she had never seen before. Good Lord, did her father have to bring the entire village in his search party? Soon the whole glen would know of her disgrace.
    Under four gazes that registered various degrees of surprise and suspicion, she felt keen embarrassment. She sat on the floor in her chemise, her hair flowing loose. The plaid was obviously the only makeshift bed in the room, and it had clearly been shared. And the man beside her was dressed in shirtsleeves, unbuttoned vest, and trousers. Even worse, his shirt hem was untucked, his black hair mussed, and he had no boots on.
    Surely the truth seemed as crystal clear as the cold morning air that poured into the shabby ruined interior. Kenneth Grant kicked the door shut behind him as if to punctuate a tone of disapproval, even anger.
    As her father, brother, and the two others stared at Catriona and Evan, a few seconds felt like a slow agony.
    Her father grew red in the face as he turned to Evan Mackenzie. "You, sir!" he said in English. "How is it you are here with my daughter, in a—shameful state!" It was not a question. Her father was not a man to ask, but to inform.
    Evan regarded him calmly. "Reverend MacConn, I assure you there is an explanation."
    "We were stranded in the storm, in the freezing cold," Catriona said. "Mr. Mackenzie was injured in a fall—"
    "Injured?" Kenneth Grant asked. "I act as the physician in the glen, sir. Miss MacConn—are you unwell or hurt?"
    "I'm fine," she said. "But Mr. Mackenzie—"
    "It's nothing," Evan said.
    "Mr. Mackenzie?" her father asked. "Is that what he told you his name was?"
    She looked from him to Evan. "I do not understand."
    "That is not just Mr. Mackenzie," her father said, glowering. Catriona looked at Evan in surprise. He glanced away.
    "Father, they need the food and the plaidies we've brought with us." Finlay hefted a knapsack over his shoulder. "They have had a bad time of it, no doubt. First we should get them home and let Mr. Grant treat them. Later we can learn the details of their wee adventure."
    Evan shoved a hand through his rumpled hair and glanced at Finlay. "Thank you, sir."
    "I want the details now," her father growled.
    "The important thing is that they're safe," Finlay said.
    Grant nodded. "True. And if the gentleman is hurt—"
    "They look hearty to me," Reverend MacConn said. He folded his arms and glared at Evan.
    "Good grief, Kildonan, what happened to you?" The fourth man stepped forward. "Deuced good to see you, sir. Bad night, eh?"
    "Bad enough, Fitz," Evan said quietly. "Good to see you. Miss MacConn, this is Mr. Arthur Fitzgibbon."
    "I feared the worst when that storm blew in yesterday and you did not return," Fitzgibbon went on. "So I rode back through the glen and met these gentlemen, who were out searching for Miss MacConn. We had to wait until the weather cleared to come up here, though. Bad night all around, with that ice, and no picnic coming up here this morning, either. What luck to find you