her fear. She kept giving worried glances down at his dog. MacBain assumed the hound also frightened her.
Nicholas wasn't being much help. He just stood there grinning like a simpleton.
MacBain demanded his assistance by glaring at him. He decided he shouldn't have done that when Johanna took a quick step back.
'Does she speak Gaelic?'
MacBain addressed his question to Nicholas. Johanna answered. 'I have been studying your language.'
She didn't speak in Gaelic when she answered. Her hands were folded together in front of her. The knuckles were white from her hard grip.
Mundane conversation might put her at ease, MacBain decided. 'And how long have you been studying our language?'
Her mind went blank. It was his fault, of course. His stare was so intense, unsettling, too, and she couldn't seem to form a thought. Dear God, she couldn't even remember what they were talking about.
He patiently asked her again. 'Almost four weeks,' she blurted out.
He didn't laugh. One of the soldiers snorted with amusement, but MacBain's glare stopped him.
Nicholas was frowning down at his sister, wondering why she hadn't told the laird the truth. It had been closer to four months since Father MacKechnie began instructing her. He caught the look of panic in his sister's eyes when she glanced up at him and he understood then. Johanna was simply too nervous to think straight.
MacBain decided he didn't want an audience during this important meeting.
'Nicholas, wait here. Your sister and I are going inside to talk.'
After giving his command, MacBain moved forward to take hold of Johanna's arm. The hound came with him. She instinctively backed up, realized what she was doing and how that cowardly retreat must have looked to the laird, and quickly moved forward again.
The huge beast growled at her. MacBain snapped an order in Gaelic. The hound immediately quit the low, menacing sound.
Johanna was looking ready to faint again. Nicholas knew she needed a bit of time to get her courage back. He took a step forward. 'Why didn't you allow my men and Father MacKechnie past Rush Creek?' he asked.
'Your sister and I must come to terms before the priest is allowed here. Your men won't ever be allowed on our land, Nicholas. Have you forgotten my terms? We went over the details when you were last here.'
Nicholas agreed with a nod. He couldn't think of anything further to ask.
'Father MacKechnie was very upset over your command to wait below,' Johanna said.
MacBain didn't appear to be overly concerned about alienating a man of God. He shrugged. Her eyes widened in reaction. During the three years of her marriage to Raulf, she'd learned to fear priests; the ones she had known were powerful and unforgiving men. Yet MacKechnie wasn't like the others. He was a kind-hearted man who had risked his life to come to England so that he could plead for the Maclaurins.
She wouldn't have him insulted now. 'Father MacKechnie is weary from the long journey, m'lord, and would surely appreciate food and drink. Please show him your hospitality.'
MacBain nodded. He turned to Calum. 'See to it,' he commanded.
He thought his agreement over her request would ease her fears about him. He had just proven he could be an accommodating man, after all. Yet she still appeared ready to bolt. Damn but she was a timid thing. His pet wasn't helping matters much. She kept worriedly glancing down at the dog, and every time she stared at him, the hound growled at her.
MacBain considered grabbing hold of her, tossing her over his shoulder, and carrying her inside, then changed his mind. The thought amused him, but he didn't smile. He held his patience, put his hand out to her, and simply waited to see what she would do.
From the look in his eyes, she knew he had guessed she was afraid of him and that he was finding her timidity amusing, too. She forced herself to take a deep breath, then put her hand in his.
He was huge everywhere. His hand was at least twice the size of her own, and he certainly must have felt her trembling. He was a laird, however, and she assumed he would never have attained that position of power without gaining a few gentlemanly manners along the way, and she therefore assumed he wouldn't mention her shameful condition.
'Why are you shaking?'
She tried to pull her hand away. He wouldn't let go. He had her now, and he wasn't about to let her get away.
Before Johanna could come up with a suitable explanation to his question, he turned and pulled her along up the steps and through the doorway.
'Because of your unusual weather,' she blurted out.
'Our what?' He looked confused.
'Never mind, Laird.'
'Explain what you meant,' he commanded.
She sighed. 'Nicholas explained that the weather here is warm all year around… I thought he'd told you about his…' She started to say lie, then changed her mind. The laird might not understand how amused she'd been over her brother's outrageous fabrication about the Highlands.
'His what?' MacBain asked, curious over her sudden blush.
'He said it was unusual to have such cold winds here,' she said.
MacBain almost burst into laughter. He caught himself in time. The weather was actually unusually warm for this time of year.
He didn't even smile. The lass had already shown she had tender feelings, and he didn't suppose laughing at her naivete would soften her attitude toward him.
'And you believe everything your brother tells you?' he asked.
'Yes, of course,' she answered so that he would know she was thoroughly loyal to her brother.
'I see.'
'The cold is the reason I am trembling,' she said for lack of a better lie to tell.
'No, it isn't.'
'It isn't?'
'You're afraid of me.'
He waited for her to lie to him again. She surprised him with the truth. 'Yes,' she announced. 'I'm afraid of you. I'm afraid of your hound, too.'
'Your answers please me.'
He finally let go of her. She was so surprised by his remark she forgot to let go of his hand.
'It pleases you to know I fear you?'
He smiled. 'I already knew you feared me, Johanna. I'm pleased because you admitted it. You could have lied.'
'You would have known I was lying.'
'Yes.'
He sounded terribly arrogant, but she wasn't offended-she expected arrogance in a man as big and ferocious look ing as this warrior. She realized she was holding onto him then and immediately let go. Then she turned to look around the entrance. To the right was a wide staircase with an ornately carved wooden railing. A hallway led behind the staircase, and on the left of the entryway was the great hail. It was in ruins. Johanna stood on the top step and stared at the devastation. The walls were charred from fire, and the roof above the hall, what little there was left of it, hung down in a long strip to rest against the blackened sides. The smell of old smoke still lingered in the air.
Johanna went down the steps and crossed the room. She was so disheartened by the sight of the destruction, she felt like weeping.
MacBain watched the change in her expression as she looked around the room.
'My husband's men did this, didn't they?'
'Yes.'
She turned to look at him. The sadness in her eyes actually pleased him. She was a woman with a conscience.
'A terrible injustice was done here.'
