Moon Awakening

Ulf's sneer was now directed entirely at his brother. 'Then prove your superiority instead of making a mockery of it.'

Lachlan sighed. 'She is innocent.'

Emily was confused. Of what had she been accused?

'You kissed her to determine if she had been touched or not?' Ulf asked, sounding marginally approving. 'To test whether or not she told the truth?'

'Yes.'

Emily stared at both men for several seconds before fully comprehending the import of their conversation. When she did, she wished the earth would open up and swallow her. She had responded with lascivious abandon to a test the odious laird had been making on the veracity of her words. While she had been lost to something beautiful and she had believed meaningful, he had merely been trying to discern if she told the truth or not.

It was humiliating… and it hurt.

Nevertheless, she was shocked he'd drawn that conclusion, considering how wantonly she had incited his ardor.

'He might refuse to touch an English wife,' Ulf mused.

'Not even for the sake of his pride would a Chrechte warrior refuse to mate his wife. Honor demands he touch no other.' Lachlan shook his head. 'Nay. She is not his wife and we have only her word she is his betrothed, though I am inclined to believe that part of her story.'

'You are certain of her innocence?'

'He has never even kissed her.'

Ulf looked at Emily, his expression mocking. 'She is that unskilled?'

'She is completely untouched.'

'She was,' Ulf said with a smirk, now obviously thinking his brother's actions bordered on the heroic.

Why shouldn't he? She had been thoroughly humiliated by her response to the kiss. And that had to be obvious by the blush burning her face and neck. No doubt Ulf was most pleased by such a circumstance, but she wanted to strangle Lachlan.

He had promised not to hurt her, but once again he had lied… for he had hurt her more than she wanted to admit, and not merely her pride. She felt wounded, but she would not give him or his horrible brother the satisfaction of knowing that.

And she was never going to believe another word Lachlan said. A man who could kiss like he meant it—but didn't—could not be trusted.

When they got back to the others, Emily forced herself to apologize to the warrior she had hit with the driftwood. Her words were met with a shrug and then the man turned his back on her.

Fine. She wasn't going to be hurt by his rejection. She was through being so tenderhearted around these barbarians. She took their feelings toward her entirely too seriously. Hadn't she lived almost her whole life with her father and stepmother thinking less of her than if she were a servant in their household?

The only person in the world who truly loved her like family was supposed to was her sister Abigail. And Emily was in the Highlands to spare her sister the same fate. She could face anything and anyone for such a cause.

She wasn't going to run again… unless she was sure of her destination and her chances of true escape were high. She was going to endure and do it with a smile on her face just to confuse them. She would show them she was no weakling, no matter how foolishly she had behaved thus far.

Cait rushed to her side and took both Emily's hands in hers. 'Are you all right?'

Emily squeezed Cait's fingers. 'I am fine. I do not know why I ran. It was foolish.'

'Your emotions overcame you. I could see it happening, but could do nothing to help you. It was not surprising after the time in the boat. You were terrified; I could smell your fear. You masked it well, but I was right beside you,' Cait said with obvious admiration. 'I did not know huma… I mean the English had that skill.'

Emily shook her head. 'Sometimes you say the strangest things. Do you know that? Just because I am English does not mean I am a weakling.'

Cait laughed. 'I'd say, after the way you handled that soldier who came after you. It is obvious to everyone here you are no weakling.'

'I did not handle Lachlan as efficiently.'

'Naturally not. He is laird. He would not be so if he was not stronger than all the others,' Cait replied consolingly.

Was that why his kisses had turned her inside out? If it were true, then perhaps Talorc's would be just as powerful, but somehow she could not believe that would be the case.

Chapter 7

She was not surprised when Lachlan ordered one of the other soldiers to take her up on his horse for the ride to the castle. After all, now that he had answers to his odious questions, he had no need to touch her. She refused to be bothered by that.

The warrior named Angus put his hand out to her and she smiled at him as she took it for a lift up. He looked confused by her smiling all right and stopped in the act of puffing her onto his horse with a stupefied expression on his face.

She simply waited, wondering how simpleminded were these soldiers that her poor plan was having such success so quickly.

'Angus!'

Lachlan's command snapped the soldier from his reverie and he swung Emily into his lap.

She sat primly forward, but turned to smile up at him once more. 'Thank you kindly for allowing me to ride with you.'

'He allows nothing. I have ordered it,' Lachlan growled.

Emily ignored him, deciding then and there that her campaign to confuse the soldiers with her cheerful countenance would not stretch to their leader. She never wanted to speak to him again.

She faced forward without another word. The trip up the cliff was not as harrowing as the water crossing, but she did give thanks to God more than once that she had no fear of heights. The trail zigzagging up the side of the cliff was barely wide enough for the large war horses, its right side a rock face and the left a sheer drop back down.

Unless there was another path to reach the cliff-top castle, she could not imagine a force of any strength could ever surprise the Balmorals with their arrival, or even make it as far as the castle unless the Balmorals wanted them to.

Cait had been right. There was no way her brother would be able to rescue them once they were inside the castle walls.

When they reached the top of the cliff, they could see the drawbridge was down and so they rode right into the lower bailey before they stopped and dismounted. Men and women wearing the Balmoral plaid looked with open curiosity upon Emily and Cait. They didn't scowl like the Sinclairs had even though Emily knew her dress had to give away her Englishness.

One older woman with a kind face and eyes very like Angus's even came forward. 'Who is that you have with you, son?'

'The Balmoral's captive. She's promised to the Sinclair.'

'So, we've taken two in retaliation for Susannah, then?' The woman's face creased in a satisfied smile.

'Aye, we have.'

Drustan laid a possessive hand on Cait's protruding belly. 'Nay, we have taken three.'

Cait's eyes filled with tears and Emily wanted to smack him.

But keeping with her intent to confuse them, she smiled instead. 'I still say it is a poor man who takes his