Page 19 of Highlander’s Beautiful Liar

“Ye don’t look it,” the cook said with a rueful shake of her head.

Mary returned and handed her a sword that was covered in scratches and dings. Cora held it awkwardly and shook her head. “Mary, I can’t take this. I can’t even wield it.”

“I won’t let ye leave unless ye take it,” the young servant protested. “Just carrying it will help deter trouble. Please. It belonged to my brother.”

“Belonged?” Cora said with a frown.

Sadness passed over her friend’s face. “When Laird Seth MacKay took over, my brother Dennis didn’t agree with him. He ended up leaving. He said he’d come back for me, but I haven’t heard from him in months.”

Cora could tell that Mary didn’t really want to part with it. Reaching over, she hugged her friend. “I’ll send it back when I get to London. I promise.”

There was a disruptive sound from the hall followed by male laughter. Cora’s eyes widened in panic, and Louisa grabbed her and dragged her from the kitchen. “Ye have to go change and leave the castle through the servants’ tunnels. That way no one will see ye. Go. Go!”

She cast one last look at the two women who were helping her before scurrying away. Her heart pounded in her chest as she quickly got rid of her dress and changed into the trousers that were three sizes too big and the large shirt. Belting the clothes, she slipped the bag over her head and gripped the sword. Taking a deep breath, she glanced out the room. When the coast was clear, she made a mad dash to the serving tunnels and finally out to the stables.

Niall, the stable hand, frowned at her. “If yer planning on passing yerself off as a man, yer gonna have to do something with yer hair. Come here, lass.”

He led Cora to the back of the stables where he handed her a cap. Cora did the best she could to pull her hair up and stash it under the cap. Glancing up at Niall, she saw his eyes go wide and immediately drop to the floor. Whirling around, she realized that they were no longer alone.

Alec Sinclair crossed his arms and frowned at her. “Only an idiot would take ye as a boy. Ye can’t hide the curves of yer body under those clothes.”

Cora’s hand dropped to the hilt of the sword, and Alec’s eyes followed the movement. “Are ye that daft, Claire?”

No. She wasn’t. Dropping her hands to her side, she jutted her chin out defiantly. Other than nipping a few things, she hadn’t done anything wrong yet. “I’m just taking a ride. It’s easier for me to ride at night and in disguise.”

“Is that why ye’ve been acting nervously all day? And stealing food? For a night ride?”

“Midnight snack,” she said shortly. “I’ll return to my chambers.”

She tried to brush past Alec, but he reached out and grabbed her arm. “Why don’t I escort ye back to yer chambers, Miss Claire. That way ye won’t have to worry about yer safety.”

“Am I safe from you?” she said darkly. Niall gasped, but Alec’s stare never wavered.

“If ye thought that were true, ye wouldn’t be running, would ye? Not that it matters what ye think. Yer not leaving.”

The man grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly from the stables. He walked so quickly back to the castle that she had to stumble to keep up. The sword smacked against her leg awkwardly, and she knew that she’d have several bruises in the morning. “Laird Sinclair,” she cried out. “Please stop. Please. Please!”

She yelled and jerked her arm away. He turned around and there was fire in his eyes. “What were you thinking, lass? Ye were going to escape in the middle of the night by yerself? Did ye think that ye’d make it all the way to England on yer own? Ye wouldn’t even make it out of Scotland alive. If the terrain didn’t kill ye, someone would!”

“You don’t know what you’re doing by keeping me here,” she said as she rubbed her arm. She was humiliated to feel the tears springing to her eyes. “You have to let me go.”

“I doonae understand ye,” he growled in frustration. “I’ve offered ye my protection, but ye won’t tell me anything honest. Now I find ye trying to escape the castle within a day of cozying up to Innes Campbell.”

Cora gasped and backed up a few steps. “Cozying up to him? Is that what you think that I’m doing?”

“I don’t know what ye’re doing because ye won’t tell me!”

“I can’t! If I thought that you could help me, I would tell you, but I can’t. I know that you’re frustrated, but I’m protecting you.”

“Protecting me?” he gaped at her. “First of all, it takes more than a Sassenach like ye to protect me, and second of all, ye don’t even know me. Why would ye protect me?”

Wiping her eyes, she shook her head. “Niall is going to give me a horse now, so you might as well either let me go or take me back to the dungeon.”

“Damnation, woman. Is that what ye want?”

“I want you to let me go!”

He stopped and stared at her. With a sigh, he grabbed her arm, but this time it was more gentle. He slowed his pace as he led her back through the tunnels, but he didn’t head back to the servant chambers. Instead, he took her back to his own.