02 Highland Secrets by Amanda Scott

Author:Amanda Scott [Scott, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

THE CAVE CALDER FOUND proved to be deeper and dryer than Diana had expected. It was also dark inside, and rather chilly.

“Take care that we don’t find ourselves in a wildcat’s lair,” she warned with a shiver. His hand felt tight around her arm, as if he did not intend to let her go.

“I don’t fear wildcats, lass. Mind your head. There’s an outcropping here.”

Ducking obediently, she said impulsively, “Do you fear anything?”

He chuckled, and the sound warmed her, but all he said was, “I don’t think I’ll tell you what I fear most, lassie.”

She felt an impulse to remind him that she had not given him permission to speak so informally, but guilty certainty that he had done so before without censure told her that under the circumstances she would be unwise to attempt it.

“We could use some light,” he said, edging forward. She could barely see his shape now, but she knew he was groping ahead as they moved deeper into the cave. “I didn’t expect to find more than a shallow cavity in the rocks here,” he said.

“Neil and Dugald would be more comfortable here, too, I think,” she said.

“I agree, which makes me wonder why Dugald did not—Ah ha!” Amusement colored his voice when he stopped where he was and added with exaggerated politeness, “Would you like to take a seat, Mistress Diana?”

Bewildered, she allowed him to draw her forward, not objecting even when one of his large hands cupped the top of her head protectively to keep her from bumping it against the sloping rock ceiling. To her astonishment, when he guided her hand, she found herself touching wood, then metal. When she felt with her other hand as well, she too began to chuckle.

“Kegs? Whisky kegs?”

“Aye,” he said. “I’ll wager that’s just what they are, and full ones at that if you’ve got a thirst. There seem to be about a half dozen of them, which explains why Dugald did not lead us here in the first place, and why he was loath to see us come here. I daresay he is sitting in the other shelter right now, begging his Maker to see that we proceed only far enough inside to get out of the rain.”

“For that matter, sir, why did we come so far?”

“Because I possess a curious nature,” he said. “And don’t suggest, lassie, that I should call Dugald over here now to explain this.”

“Are you angry with me?” she asked bluntly.

“I am.”

When he said no more, she realized that her heart was pounding again, harder than it had years before when her father had called her to account for some childhood misdemeanor. She wanted to explain herself, to soothe away his anger. As it was, she could not even obey his suggestion that she sit on one of the kegs. They were small, and the ground in the cave was uneven, making them tipsy. As a compromise, she sat on the sloping floor with her back against the rough wall. When he sat beside her, a disconcerting quiver shot through her body.

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