“Nay,” Conall snapped, his gaze sliding from the woods to the bunny he held. He felt foolish and awkward standing there holding the damned thing. It wasn’t full grown, too small to make a meal of, really, but it was soft and warm and trembling something fierce. Rabbits were not known to take stress well, and this one was obviously distressed. It would probably drop dead ere they reached MacFarlane, he thought, and hoped she didn’t blame him for it.
“Ye do no’ think she might be fleeing, then?” Payton asked after several more minutes had passed. When Conall glared at him for the suggestion, the younger man shrugged and pointed out, “She seems to be taking an inordinate amount o’ time.”
“Mayhap she’s got herself lost,” Hamish suggested.
“Here, take this and I’ll go find her,” Conall said with exasperation, crossing to Hamish to pass him the rabbit when the man reluctantly held out his hands. Turning on his heel then, he strode into the woods in search of his errant betrothed. It took him several minutes to find her. Or at least her blue-covered bottom sticking up into the air. The lass was on her knees in the grass, her head down near the ground as she poked a hand into the hollow of a tree, feeling about.
Conall halted abruptly at the sight and then gave his head a shake and strode forward. “What the devil are ye doing, lass? Ye’ll ruin yer gown like that. Get up.”
Claray’s behind dropped at once to rest on her feet as her upper body rose and she glanced over her shoulder. She then turned to scoop up something and twisted to hold out her cupped hands and show him what she held. “Look what I found, Laird Wolf. Is he no’ the sweetest thing?”
Conall paused next to her and peered down at the small ball of fine pale silver down in her hands. Recognizing what she was holding, he immediately closed his eyes and prayed for patience.
“He’s so small I near to stepped on him ere I spotted him,” Claray said now. “There was some red brown fur and a patch of blood near him. His poor mother must have been moving him to a new nest when she was attacked and carried off. I was just trying to find her nest to see if he had any little brothers and sisters left behind too. There appears to be a nest of grass and leaves in this hollow, but ’tis empty. It must be the old nest. I considered looking for the new one, but fear ’twould be impossible to find. It could be anywhere and we really do no’ have the time to search properly, so I suppose we’ll ha’e to leave them,” she said sadly.
“And that one too,” Conall growled.
“What?” she asked with surprise, raising a frown his way.
“’Tis vermin, lass,” Conall said shortly. “Just drop it there and let us go.”
“’Tis a stoat kit,” Claray said, scowling right back.
“Aye. Vermin,” he repeated with irritation.
“But ’tis just a babe, m’laird. It’s only got one eye open yet, so ’tis no more than five weeks old. ’Twill die if left on its own,” she protested.
“’Tis vermin,” Conall said for the third time with exasperation. “Besides, stoats as young as that one can no’ stay warm on their own. ’Twill probably die anyway.”
“Oh, aye,” she murmured, peering down at it with concern, and then much to his amazement, she tugged the top of her gown away from her chest and eased the small creature inside to nestle between her breasts. “That should help to keep him warm.”
Conall gaped at her, so stunned he didn’t even think to help her to rise when she then struggled back to her feet.
“We should probably go, m’laird. The MacNaughton’s men could be on our trail,” she reminded him as she headed away.
Conall stared after her briefly, and then gave his head a shake and hurried to follow.
“Wait. Lass, ye can no’ . . .” His words died out when she paused and turned to smile at him, her head tilted in question. He had been going to insist she leave the stoat behind, but she looked so damned sweet . . . Giving in with a resigned sigh, he asked instead, “Did ye tend yer business ere ye found the wee beast, or do ye need another minute?”
“Oh.” She flushed, but shook her head. “Nay. I’m fine, m’laird. I found the stoat after . . .” Rather than finish the statement, she waved vaguely back the way they’d come, but it was enough.
Conall could only be grateful. With the way things were going, had she not already accomplished the deed and yet needed to relieve herself, she’d probably stumble upon the nest with the rest of the orphaned stoats and insist on bringing them along too. The lass seemed to have a soft heart when it came to wee creatures. It was something he’d have to work on with her once he claimed her to bride, he supposed. But for now, Conall merely nodded solemnly, and took her arm to escort her out of the woods and straight to his horse.
He noted the questioning looks Payton, Roderick and Hamish were giving him, but ignored them as he mounted and then leaned down to lift Claray up before him. The moment he had her settled, Hamish moved up next to them to hand Claray her rabbit.
“Oh, thank you.” She gave the man a beaming smile as she accepted the wee bunny and immediately cuddled it to her chest.
Conall considered mentioning the stoat inside her gown and to be careful not to crush it, but caught himself at the last moment and shook his head. Both critters would probably be dead ere they reached MacFarlane anyway, he thought, and urged his horse to move.
Chapter 3
Conall expected Claray to lean back into him again and go to sleep as she had for the first part of the journey, but she didn’t. Instead, she sat up a bit, her head swinging one way and then the other in response to every sound in the woods they traveled through. He didn’t know why she bothered—there was little to see. The sun was fully gone now, and night had blanketed the land, making the woods on either side of them nothing more than dark masses they were passing by. But her tension was making him tense in response and he finally pressed her head to his chest in a silent order to sleep.
She rested there for all of a heartbeat before popping back up to sit upright again.
Conall was about to verbally order her to sleep when she asked, “From whom was the message ye gave me uncle?”
Conall scowled down at the top of her head, but since she couldn’t see it, in the end he just answered, “Yer da.”
“Oh.” She seemed to consider that briefly and then asked, “What did it say?”
“That ye were needed at home,” Payton responded when Conall didn’t.
“So, me da sent ye to save me?” she asked, her head turning to his fair-haired friend rather than Conall.
“Aye,” Payton said, and then commented, “Ye seem surprised.”
“I am,” she admitted. “I thought ye’d come to fetch me in response to Mairin’s message to our cousin Aulay Buchanan.”
“Who’s Mairin, lass?” Roderick asked.
“Lady Mairin Kerr, me cousin,” she explained. “’Tis she I’d gone to Kerr to visit. Her mother, me mother’s sister, passed this last month and Mairin is now the lady o’ the castle. She wrote that she was a bit overwhelmed and would appreciate me advice and assistance for a bit as she settled into her new role. O’ course I could no’ refuse. I ken how hard ’tis to step into such a position at first. Especially while still grieving.”