Lass' Valor (The Pith Trilogy) by Kara Griffin Page B

for her to speak, and tried
to measure the passion in her eyes.
    “My
lord, may we stop to rest?”
    “Aye.”
Brendan called a halt. He’d misread her look and smiled at the way she went
off.
    Bonnie
ran to Kate as soon as her feet touched the ground. She took her hand, leading
her into the woods. His niece danced around and he smiled, knowing why.
    “She’s
bonny.” Gil stood next to him, watching them disappear through the shrubs.
    Brendan
saw Gil grin, but he ignored his obvious chaff.
    “You’re
a lucky man.”
    “What
do ye mean by that?” Brendan shoved him, knocking him back a step, causing
Gil’s arms to flail.
    “I
see the way she looks at ye.”
    “How
does she look at me?” Brendan felt his jaw twitch and wondered why he was
aggravated. He should be happy the woman looked at him at all.
    “You
know, like she’s interested.”
    “With
all this paint on? Nay, ‘tis your imagination. Don’t try to pull that cosh with
me, Gil. I am not as naive as my brothers or Douglas. They might fall for that
cosh about women looking at them a certain way, but I won’t. Don’t start
trouble.”
    “If
ye don’t want her, just say the word.” Gil laughed. “What do ye plan to do with
her?”
    Brendan
scowled. “I’m taking her home. What the hell do you think I’m doing with her?”
    “That’s
telling, Brendan. Aye, telling indeed.”
    “Go
to hell, Gil.” He stomped away. If there was one thing Brendan couldn’t
tolerate, it was teasing from his comrades. He’d had to put up with it from his
brothers for years, and wouldn’t take any ribbing from his friends. Finally,
the lass and his niece returned from the shrubs, and they could be on their way.
    During
the long day, Kate seemed to get their names all mixed up. Gil mentioned a few
times, when they’d stopped, about her calling him by numerous names. The last
time they stopped, Gil said he corrected her, but she still called him Gregory
or Graham. Brendan grinned at her delightful absentmindedness.
    The
sunset brought the cooler night and they camped beside a wide stream. Brendan
laughed when Kate whisked Bonnie away for a bath then made her eat a good
amount of food before letting his niece settle down for the night. Some of the
men joined them. He watched his men converse with Kate, and he couldn’t help
smiling when she mumbled something about them not being heathens. She probably
thought they’d been out raiding the countryside. England was rife with rumors
of pillaging, some true, some not. Many Scottish clans did raid by the borders,
especially the Barclays.
    “Lady
Stanhope, where are you from?”
    Gil
sat next to her, a little too close in his opinion. Brendan listened as he
sharpened his sword with a stone, trying to appear uninterested in their
conversation.
    “Cheshire.
Gerald, where exactly is the MacKinnons’ land located?”
    “Milady,
I’m Gil or Gilbert, not Gerald. Their land is located in the Highlands, just
past the black bracken of the hills of the northeast region. ‘Tis a good
distance from the border.”
    Brendan
almost laughed at Gil’s insulted tone.
    “Oh,
I cannot wait until we get there. We’ve been traveling for days and I know
Bonnie wants to get home. She misses her family. Will it take us much longer?”
    “Another
day or so.”
    That
night at camp, Brendan watched her tell Bonnie a story. He wanted to know about
the details of their flight from England, and knew there was more to tell. The
lass was English, so he presumed that’s where they fled from. He had to have
patience, and would find out when they reached home. Brendan wasn’t usually
patient, but he didn’t want to press her for the details. She seemed troubled
enough, without him plying her with questions. Besides, he knew Colin would ply
her with enough to make her pretty head spin.
    Bonnie
curled up next to her savior. Aye, that’s what the lass had called Kate— her
savior . Brendan longed to lie next to her too, but there he was on