The Wicked Ways of Alexander Kidd (The MacGregors: Highland Heirs)
boys when she was supposed to be learning to sew.
    The veil lifted; his smile on her was soft, indulgent. “Come now, the others are waiting.”
    She nodded and followed him on the path behind the mountain as the mist began to roll in from the Cuillins to the north.
    “Speak to yer faither, Kyle. Please.”
    “Aboot what?”
    “Aboot speaking to my faither aboot me going to France to see our grandparents. I’ll return. I promise.”
    He shook his head as he made his way over the steep rocky incline. His steps were sure and silent enough not to disturb the others waiting for them… or the deer they meant to hunt. “Yer faither willna’ let ye go alone, Trina. No matter who speaks to him.”
    “Come with me then,” she offered, holding back his wrist before they reached their hunting party. “He’ll let me go if ye’re with me. He knows that ye’re clear-headed and confident, and ye could fight us oot of trouble if ye need to.”
    He laughed, cutting her off. “He also knows that I’m Colin’s son, driven as my father was to discover thesecrets in men’s hearts. I’m the last person yer faither wants traveling with ye to France. Who the hell knows what we would get ourselves into before we even reached Brittany and our grandparents?”
    She sighed rather than give voice to the endless possibilities his query stirred. She had no doubt that they would find adventure on their journey together. Kyle was the reason for her sanity. He spoke true about his desire to learn everything there was to learn about everyone in Camlochlin. He did it well, and without truly letting them know everything about him.
    But she knew.
    She knew he was bored playing his wee games with the same minds. There was nothing left to learn, not here.
    “Think of the interesting people we will meet.”
    He blinked at the gossamer mist descending on them. “If tragedy befell ye I would no longer wish to live. And yer faither would see my wish fulfilled.”
    “Ye insult me.” She brooded instantly and pushed ahead of him. “Ferget my offer. I dinna’ want to journey with someone who believes my life is in anyone else’s hands but God’s and my own.”
    “Fine,” he called out, staring after her. “I didna’ want to go with ye in the first place.”
    She let her mouth fall open since she wasn’t facing him. She snapped it back shut before she pivoted around and marched back to him.
    “Because ye dinna’ want to have to protect me. Is that it?” Before he answered she poked him in the shoulder. “’Twould more likely be me protecting ye, Kyle MacGregor!”
    He smiled, either afraid of her or confident enough not to laugh right in her face. No one in Camlochlin foughtlike Kyle. He’d mastered every weapon he put his hands to and practiced with his father every day without fail. Why? She wanted to ask him many times… especially now. What was his purpose at becoming the best? Who was he planning on fighting on Skye?
    “Kyle.”
    “What?”
    “Help me with this endeavor!” she pleaded, knowing no one but him would offer to go with her. “I will go mad if this is all there is to my life! I’ll be married by next summer and fat with bairns by the summer after that! Help me, please. I will not allow myself to be injured. I vow it. Dinna’ fret over me.”
    She wasn’t certain if he was smiling or not. The mist was thick and the moon was behind them, over the water.
    “I’ll always fret over ye. But I’ll do what I can to help ye.”
    She squealed and flung her arms around his neck. “Thank ye, cousin.”
    “Och, Kyle,” a voice called out from a few feet away. “What did ye promise her now?”
    Caitrina released Kyle and turned to offer her younger brother a smug grin—one that he couldn’t see in the dim light. “Mayhap, Cailean, if ye were more willing to assist me in my endeavors, I would not have to rely solely on Kyle.”
    “If yer endeavors continue to shock no’ only our clan but the other four clans we

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