Ransom

She curtsied and tried to leave but he stopped her with his next remark. 'If you're not going to marry Matthias, then there is another matter I wish to speak to you about.'

'There is?'

'Yes.'

She waited, but Ramsey couldn't seem to get the words out. How could he crush her by telling her that her mother didn't want her? He couldn't do it.

'I seem to have forgotten…'

Brodick came to his aid. 'Michael.'

Ramsey glanced at his friend. 'Michael?'

Brodick nodded. 'You were telling me you were going to ask Bridgid to help you with your brother because of his tender years, remember?'

Ramsey leapt at the idea. 'Yes, that was it. Now I remember. Michael's with the Maitlands now.'

'Yes, Laird, you already told me he was visiting with his friend.'

'Yes, I did,' he said, feeling like an idiot. 'But when he comes home…'

'Yes?'

Ramsey looked to Brodick for help.

'Ramsey doesn't have time to devote to his brother, and he also feels that Michael needs a woman's influence.'

'Yes, that's right,' Ramsey agreed. They were both making up the story as they went along, but Bridgid didn't seem to notice.

'I would be happy to help with Michael.'

'Then it's settled.'

'What's settled? What exactly do you want me to do?'

'Move in here,' he explained. 'There are three empty chambers upstairs. Choose one and move your things in as soon as possible. You're going to have to leave your home, of course, and I know that it will be difficult for your mother and you,' he added, proud of the fact that he hadn't choked on the lie.

'You want me to live here? Laird, it wouldn't be proper. People would talk.'

'Then sleep with the servants in the quarters behind the castle.'

She contemplated him for several seconds without saying a word, then slowly nodded. The sadness he saw in her eyes was heartbreaking, and it was then that he realized she understood everything.

Straightening her shoulders, she took a deep breath and said, 'I'll be happy to help with Michael, but shouldn't I wait until he returns home before I move my clothes?'

'No, I want you to get settled as soon as possible.'

'Then if you'll excuse me, I'll get my things now.'

Ramsey granted her permission and watched her walk away. Her proud bearing impressed him, more so because he had seen the tears brimming in her eyes before she turned her back to him.

She paused at the entrance and called out, 'Laird?'

'Yes?'

'Don't judge my mother too harshly. She cannot help the way she feels. She's newly married and wishes privacy with her husband. I'm in the way. Besides, it's time that I left home.'

'Do you think that's the reason I asked you to move in here? Because your mother wants privacy?'

'Isn't it?' she asked. 'What other reason could there be?'

Lust and jealousy, Ramsey thought, but he wasn't about to tell her the shameful truth, that her stepfather lusted after her and her own mother was jealous of her daughter's beauty.

'I've explained my reason. You will help with Michael, and that's all there is to it.'

'You're a kind man, Laird,' she said. 'But…'

'But what?'

Her smile was fleeting. 'You really don't lie all that well.'

Chapter Twenty-One

Nothing was ever easy. After a long and tedious conversation with Brisbane and Otis, Gillian's head was pounding from all of their evasive answers. They were sweet, gentle men, but terribly stubborn. Though neither one of them would admit it to her, it soon became apparent that, while they knew where Christen was, they weren't going to tell until they had spoken to her and gained her permission. Gillian tried to be patient and was finally rewarded when Otis accidentally let it slip that Christen did live on MacPherson land. Gillian's heart leapt with joy, and she began to prod them relentlessly, but to no avail.

So certain was Gillian that Christen would come running as soon as she heard her sister was there, she agreed to wait until the men had talked to her. She begged them to speak to Christen as soon as possible, explaining that time was running out and that she must return to England soon. She didn't tell them why.

Feeling edgy and frustrated after the elders took their leave, Gillian wanted to be alone for a few minutes, and so she took a walk along the stone path that meandered among the buildings of Ramsey's holding. Reaching the top of a hill, she found a shady spot under a tree and sat down. She spread her skirts over the soft tufts of grass and then closed her eyes and cleared her mind, letting the mild, sweet breeze brush against her face. When she opened her eyes again, she took a long look around her. Ramsey's estate was beautiful… and peaceful. Beneath her, the people of his clan carried on the daily routine of their lives. Soldiers sharpened their weapons, while other men bent over their tools, tilling the land for their next crop. Women sat in doorways visiting as they ground the grain for their next loaves of bread, and their children skipped nearby, playing a rambunctious game with a large smooth stone and a stick.

For a brief moment, she was at peace too, taking in the tranquillity of the scene. But then her mind wouldn't let her rest. It raced with all the questions she wanted to ask Christen when she saw her again. She prayed that her sister would remember her, and that her memories would be fond ones. Liese had kept Christen's memory alive with amusing stories about the two of them. She told them over and over again so that Gillian wouldn't forget her sister. Christen didn't have anyone to help her remember, but Gillian hoped that, because she was older, she wouldn't have forgotten.

A woman's shout pulled her from her thoughts, and Gillian turned around just as a young, fair-haired lady came running up the path. Her brow was wrinkled by distress, and Gillian soon understood the reason why, for hot on her trail was a big brute of a man with a look of determination gleaming in his eyes. On closer inspection, she realized the brute was more boy than man.

'I've told you to leave me alone, Stewart, and I mean what I say. If you don't stop pestering me, I'll…'

She stopped suddenly when she spotted Gillian. Almost immediately, she smiled and hurried forward, oblivious now to her unwanted suitor. Stewart stopped and backed away to listen.

'Good day, milady.'

'Good day to you,' Gillian replied.

'My name's Bridgid,' she said as she curtsied haphazardly. 'Don't get up,' she added. 'You're the lady from England, aren't your?'

'Yes,' she answered. 'My name's Gillian.'

'I've been searching everywhere for you,' she said. 'I was hoping that if you weren't too busy, you would take a few minutes to answer my questions about England. I'm very curious about the people who live there.'

Gillian was surprised and pleased. 'I'd be happy to answer your questions, though I must confess you are the very first person I've met who has shown any interest at all in my country. Do you like England then?'

'I don't know if I do or not,' she answered with a laugh. 'I've heard terrible stories about the English, but I'm determined to find out if they're true or not. The men here tend to exaggerate.'

'I can assure you without even hearing those stories that they are false. The people of England are good men and women, and I'm proud to be one of them.'

'It's noble of you to defend your countrymen.'

'I'm only being honest, not noble. Tell me some of these stories and I will convince you they're false.'

'If the stories are exaggerations, then I'll probably change my mind and want to see England one day, though I cannot imagine my laird would allow it. Is your country as beautiful as mine?'

'Oh, yes,' Gillian replied. 'It's… different, but just as beautiful.'

Another soldier had joined Stewart and stood beside him gawking at Bridgid and Gillian. He, too, was little