Seducing a Scottish Bride by Sue-Ellen Welfonder Page B

features into a mask of indifference as he clapped a hand on
     his grandfather’s shoulder in greeting before claiming his own seat.
    For the moment, all was well.
    And if none of the craning-necked long- noses gawping at him from the trestle tables called for a bedding ceremony, all would
     remain so.
    He hoped.
    An innocent woman’s life depended on it.
    A goodly distance away, but closer to Dare than most wise folk would wish to tread, Sir Marmaduke Strongbow reined in his
     steed. His face grim-set, he raised a hand. As he was staunch friend to Clan MacKenzie and respected by all, the men riding
     behind him followed suit, halting their mounts until nothing moved in the deeply forested glen except the thick swaths of
     mist curling about the trees.
    Mostly great Caledonian pines and firs, save the fringe of birches along the nearby burnside, they were scarce visible, their
     glistening trunks little more than dark smudges hidden by fog.
    The kind of fog that curled a man’s toes and lifted hairs he didn’t know he had.
    Sir Marmaduke shuddered, then drew his sword and laid it across his knees.
    “We’re being watched.” He slid a look at Duncan, his voice low. “I’ve felt it since —”
    “Mayhap since those two riders galloped away from yon heather ridge?” Duncan glanced over his shoulder, his gaze snapping
     to a steep, boulder-studded rise. “They were MacRuari scouts, belike. Valdar wouldn’t be the man he is if he hadn’t posted
     men to watch for us. He’ll want his hall readied for our arrival.”
    Sir Marmaduke shook his head. “We aren’t being observed by men. ’Tis something else. A sense of —”
    “ O-ho! Something else, you say.” Duncan glowered at him. “Now you see why I’m not pleased about my daughter coming here.
     Why I’ve brought along half my garrison as her escort and refused to let Linnet and Arabella accompany us.”
    Shoving a hand through his hair, he glanced at the scudding clouds. Low and steely-gray, they sped past, almost as if they
     couldn’t wait to reach the next glen. “For once you have the right of it, English. Glen Dare is filled with
things-that
-
aren’ t-men
. Peer hard at any clump of heather or outcrop and you’ll see them.”
    Sir Marmaduke adjusted his grip on his sword. “I vow I can do without the pleasure.”
    Listening to them, Gelis allowed herself a none- too-discreet roll of her eyes. “If anything otherworldly dwells here, then
     they are moor fairies and rock sprites. I would like to see them.”
    “So speaks a maid whose life was spent within the shelter of Eilean Creag’s walls.” Her father narrowed his eyes on the enclosing
     mist, his scowl deepening. “Would that you were still there. Fairies and sprites are the last creatures you’ll find on this
     tainted ground.”
    “Have a care, my friend.” Sir Marmaduke pinned him with a warning stare. “You’ll frighten her.”
    “I will, eh?” Duncan spluttered. “A naked army of your hump-backed, cloven-hoofed landsmen wouldn’t scare her.”
    “And you should be glad of it!” Gelis flicked the end of her braid at him. “You love me best because I am fearless.”
    “Humph.” Duncan shifted in his saddle. “You would be well served to have a bit of your sister’s prudence.”
    Gelis laughed. “Arabella has enough
prudence
for us both. A lifetime’s worth and then some!”
    “Even so,” Sir Marmaduke put in, “a touch of caution wouldn’t hurt you. I wouldn’t have believed it, but this glen truly is
     darker than it should be. Do not forget what we’ve told you; one word and we’ll come for you. Faster than you can blink.”
    “Such a help-cry won’t be necessary.” Gelis smiled, excitement already beating through her. “I like it here. No harm will
     come to me, as I’ve explained.”
    Duncan mumbled beneath his breath.
    Gelis straightened her back and looked about, seeing not the gloom, but the fine red glow of the autumnal bracken and the
     sparkle