Highlander's Guardian Read Free Page B

apartments rose high and overlooked all. The king who’d imprisoned his chief, and the king he sought an audience with.
    He caught Annie up, and with a hand on her lower back, steered her across the inner courtyard toward the side entrance near the service quarters. ’Twas best they bypassed the great hall and surrounding rooms which would be abuzz with people so close to the dinner hour. The less people who saw their damp hair and clothing, the better.
    Annie slipped through the open doors and peeked down the corridor. “’Tis clear. I didnae realize ’twas so late. Aunt Elizabeth will have already left her chamber and joined the guests for the evening meal.”
    “Then we’ll change quickly and find her.” He led her down the gloomy passageway lit by the odd candle in an iron wall sconce. Along the darkest section, he stopped outside her paneled door next to her aunt’s chamber and nodded at her. “I’ll wait here.”
    Annie tipped her ear up. “I hear something.”
    The heavy clomp of booted feet traveled toward him. Quickly, he nudged her out of sight into the recessed alcove beside her door. “Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “No’ a noise.”
    “I cannae believe you lost track of the MacLeod chit in the woods. I gave you one simple task, to follow her,” a man rasped as he stormed past them with another man, their tall, shadowed bodies blending into the dark.
    “I watched her for a mite,” the other man said, “until she stumbled upon MacLean and the two vanished into the woods. I couldnae find where either of them had gone.”
    “Are they talking about me?” Annie hushed as she slid her hands around his waist and tucked her head under his chin.
    “Aye.” Colin wrapped his arms around her as the men disappeared around the far corner. “This is what I’ve been warning you about. Your cousin is the Chief of MacLeod. Not only is he deeply favored by the king, but any alliance formed with you brings with it Rory’s might.” Frustration burned through him. “Did you recognize their voices?”
    “Nay.” She stared down the corridor. “And ’twas too dark to see. You should follow them, discover who they are. There’s time if you hurry.”
    “I cannae leave you alone after what I just heard. If there is one man seeking you, there could well be another. All here are aware you seek a husband.” He opened her door and stopped in the pitch black. “Why has your maid has no’ lit your fire or a candle?”
    “I told her that could wait until I retired for bed. I thought I’d be back in plenty of time to dress afore it got dark.”
    “Wait here. I’ll find us some light.” He strode down the hallway to the last lit candle, collected it and returned. Annie stood shivering and rubbing her chilled arms. He set the candle in the holder on her side table and ushered her across to her curtained ambry. “Choose something warm and change, as quickly as you can.”
    “Is your tunic drying out, or will you need another for the evening meal?” She selected a pale blue gown and stepped behind the silk dressing screen next to her four-poster bed with its sweeping navy velvet canopy and golden tassels.
    “I’ll need to change.” Although, he wouldn’t be leaving her alone, not after what he’d heard in the hallway. “We’ll stay together.”
    “When the maid returned with my laundry this morn, by accident she left one of Rory’s tunics behind. Rory will never know if you wish to borrow it. It’d save you a trip to your chamber.”
    “Aye, I’d appreciate it.” Changing here would be far more preferable than having to sneak her to his wing which housed so many of the single men.
    “You’ll find his tunic on top of my trunk under the window.”
    “I see it.” He tugged off his shirt, donned the white tunic and retied his black doublet.
    “It appears I shall need a hand.” Annie stepped out from behind the screen holding her gown’s low-cut silk neckline to her chest. The full swell of