Page 45 of Bound to a Warrior
She would have halted her steps, the thought jolted her so, but Duncan would surely question her abrupt halt and she would not know what to say.
Her thoughts far surpassed the gait she kept alongside him. Why did he do it? Why speak as if he took a vow? Why pledge anything to her? He owed her nothing. They worked together to survive. That was the way of it, pure and simple. And yet…
She recalled with clarity the moment that she and Duncan had been chained together. How could she forget it? Here had been this large Highlander warrior that towered over her and whose width even thwarted her shadow as the shackles were locked. And he had been scowling. She thought he had looked ready to devour her.
They had no time to speak, nor had Duncan looked as if he had wished to say a word to her. They had been forced to walk at a grueling pace and it had been through his actions that she had gotten to know his nature.
The first time she had tripped, his large hands had been quick to grab her and more gently than she had expected. He then had told her to be careful here and watch her step there. She had soon found herself taking hold of his hand if she felt herself unsteady. And when she had, he had wrapped his fingers around hers.
In a short time she had learned he was an honorable man whom she could trust and she supposed that had been why she had so easily stepped off the side of the cliff with him.
“Your thoughts are deep this morning.”
Mercy glanced over at him. Her heart fluttered and for a moment she felt that she couldn’t catch her breath. She didn’t know what it was she saw in Duncan this time that she had never seen before, but there was something there and it touched her heart in a way she had never known.
She shook her head. “Tooheavy.”
“Share what burdens you.”
“Haven’t I burdened you enough?” she asked with a tinkle of laughter.
“You are no burden and what burden there is”—he raised their clasped hands, the chain rattling—“we share.”
A sudden thought had her asking. “What did you think when the soldiers chained us together.”
“How lucky I was to be shackled to a beautiful woman.”
“You did no such thing,” she accused, her eyes and smile wide.
“I give you my word.”
“But you must have had doubts—”
“Doubts about what?” he asked.
“How our differences would hinder us?”
“What differences?” he asked.
She poked his chest playfully. “You big. Me small.”
He laughed. “What you lack in height, you make up for with your tenacious nature.”
He was praising her courage again and she appreciated it, especially with it coming from a Highlander warrior.
They talked on and off throughout the morning and grew silent as they traversed a steep hill and just after entering the woods beyond, Mercy sensed a change. She couldn’t say what it was but somehow she sensed this land was different. There was a reverence to it, as if it demanded respect, and she didn’t mind at all paying homage to it.
“We’re on Pict land now?” she asked softly.
“Once we came over that rise we were, but they saw us approach long before that,” Duncan said.
“Then we are welcome?” she asked.
“Anyone who means no harm is welcome.”
“They will greet us?”
Duncan shook his head. “No. They will watch us.”
