Page 13 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

And he isnae likely to tell me, either. I’m only here to play the part of his wife.

With a sigh, she made her way into the garden. There was no point in dwelling on the man that would be her husband for too long. Like she had told herself since she had arrived, she had other, more pressing matters to worry about.

After the last conversation they had shared, she was beginning to think she underestimated the mess she had gotten herself into. She supposed, logically, that a wife would be required to provide her husband with an heir. Due to the nature of their brief negotiation, she had not thought he would leave any of her terms unspoken. Had she known that she would be required to lie with him…

I still would have said yes.

The realization stopped her in her tracks. Her head spinning, she walked over to the first bench she saw, the one nearest the herb garden where this mess had started. She did not know what she was supposed to do with the admission to herself.

“I still willnae lie with him,” she said, the declaration uncertain to even her own ears.

Tilting her head back so she could feel the sunlight on her face, she let time crawl by. Birdsong, unlike any she had heard before, echoed through the trees. She wondered what other creatures lived in this secluded part of the Highlands.

She was not sure how much time had gone by when a shadow fell over her, a large body blocking out the sun. Opening her eyes, she squinted up at the figure. When her vision adjusted to the brightness of the sun, she realized it was Hendry.

“It has been quite difficult findin’ ye for a conversation,” he told her. “It seems ye have a habit of makin’ yerself scarce.”

“I am only here to honor me bargain and obey me duty,” she said, embarrassed that her avoidance of him had been so obvious. The only thing she had done was leave the great hall when he entered and stay away from rooms she had noticed he frequented. “I have nay reason to be standin’ around with ye makin’ small talk.”

“I havenae wanted to speak with ye about trivial things such as the weather,” he scoffed, turning toward the scenery. “I have been busy takin’ care of castle affairs that were neglected while the Managers were dealt with.”

“I assumed as much.” She knew her answer was clipped, but she was afraid of where another conversation might go. “I havenae needed anythin’, so I thought it would be best to leave ye to take care of whatever had yer attention.”

Hendry grunted, letting the quiet sit between them undisturbed for a beat. His voice sounding as though it were part of the landscape, he said, “I have come to inform ye that I will be away from the castle for several days takin’ care of some business that cannae be attended to on Anderson land.”

“Thank ye for informin’ me,” she said.

Hendry tilted his head down toward her once again. Her breath caught under the intensity of his stare. The heat from the last time they had spoken was still there. It almost felt as if he were daring her to mention it.

I’m imaginin’ things, surely.

“I willnae be away long,” he told her, his voice was low, rugged.

She shivered, something she could not seem to stop doing in his presence. It frustrated her so much that she had not even stopped to think about why she was having such an intense reaction to him. The only thing she knew was that it was something far more complicated than fear.

“I will try nae to notice ye are gone,” she said, resisting the urge to stand and make herself taller. If she were to do that, it felt like admitting that he had won somehow.

She reached up, tucking a strand of her flaming red hair behind her ear. The ringlet curl stubbornly did not stay in place, falling against her cheek once more. Hendry’s gray eyes tracked it, the heat there intensifying. If she were standing, she thought, he might actually reach out and attempt to tuck the lock away as well.

“That will be all,” Hendry said abruptly. Then, as if he did not want to give her a chance to say anything else, he turned and marched away from her, heading straight to the cabin on the far end of the herb garden.

His behavior might have been confusing, but she was almost certain that he would stay there until she had gone back into the castle. She doubted she would even see him again before he left.

I should nae feel so disappointed at that prospect.

* * *

“Ach, Aurora said she saw ye here almost an hour ago,” Willy said, barging into the cabin without bothering to knock.

“I am takin’ care of things here before I leave,” Hendry grunted, gesturing at the herbs drying behind him. “If I daenae get these into jars, they will be too dry when I return. It would be a waste of an entire harvest if I daenae finish.”

Willy sniffed, seeming to pick his next words carefully. When he spoke, it was stilted and a little awkward. “Ye are nay longer a hermit tendin’ herbs in the mountains, Hendry.”

Rather than speaking, Hendry raised an eyebrow. His hands continued to work, stripping away the medicinal leaves from the stem he was holding. By all accounts, he was still very much a hermit tending to his herbs.

“Ye have a bride now, a future Lady Anderson,” Willy said, stepping up to the table and positioning himself opposite of Hendry. “The clan will expect ye to begin actin’ like a husband. Ye cannae just disappear for days at a time on a whim.”

Hendry grunted, continuing to meticulously sort his plants. Dismissive but not quite as confident as he might have been even an hour earlier, he said, “They expect me to continue to behave as their Laird. If I determine that me presence is needed outside of Anderson lands, then it is their responsibility to trust that their leader is doin’ what is best for them.”