Highlander Most Wanted (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #2)(89)

“When do they arrive?” she asked in a small voice.

“Within the hour. Graeme brought word from a messenger that they were an hour away and riding swiftly. They must have come the moment they received my missive.”

She hastily wiped at her tear-stained face. “I must make haste. I need to dress, and my hair is a mess.”

Bowen leaned forward and kissed her slow and sweet. “I’ll send Rorie and Eveline to attend you.”

He reluctantly rose and started for the door.

“Bowen?”

He turned back and she launched herself into his arms once more, pressing her mouth to his. She kissed him hungrily and with quiet desperation. A farewell.

He held her close, crushing her in his arms, holding her as if he’d never let her go.

And then, because if he didn’t leave her now he never would, he gently pulled himself from her grasp and walked away.

Chapter 43

Eveline and Rorie fussed and worried over Genevieve’s appearance in between bouts of Rorie raging that Bowen had no right to interfere and send word to Genevieve’s family.

“ ’Tis because he wants what’s best for Genevieve,” Eveline said gently. “ ’Tis what you should want as well.”

Rorie’s face crumbled as Eveline put the finishing touches on Genevieve’s hair.

“But I shall miss her. ’Twas like having another sister, and a lass can never have too many sisters.”

Genevieve hugged the younger woman and squeezed her tight. “We’ll always be sisters. Of the heart, if nothing more. I’ll not forget you, Rorie Montgomery. Or your kindness.”

Rorie gave her a teary smile as she pulled away, and then Genevieve hugged Eveline, holding her fiercely. She waited until she’d stepped back before she spoke to Eveline, so that the other woman would understand her words.

“You’ve an understanding heart, Eveline. I was sore afraid to face you after all I’d done. I would not blame you if you’d insisted I leave your keep. But you welcomed me and you were kind. You’ve been a friend, even in the short time we’ve been acquainted. Thank you for that. I’ll not forget you either.”

“You must stop,” Eveline choked out. “The three of us will all be weepy messes when you greet your family. You are a special woman, Genevieve McInnis. Never lose sight of that. What you endured would break a weaker woman, but you’ve become stronger for it.”

“Promise me you’ll visit,” Rorie said fiercely. “I’ll worry until I know you are happy and settled. And if you ever have need of anything, you’ve only to send word.”

Genevieve hugged them both again, then took a step back to smooth the dress she’d dug from her trunk. It was one that her mother had lovingly sewn as part of her wedding dowry, and one of the few that remained of her trousseau.

“Do I look all right?” she asked anxiously.

Dread and fear crowded her heart at the thought of the upcoming reunion with her family. She could not bear to see disappointment in their eyes. It would kill her to bring shame to their name.

“You look beautiful,” Eveline said softly.

Rorie leaned from the window and then ducked back in, her eyes wide, her voice hushed in awe. “ ’Tis time, Genevieve. Your clan approaches. They stretch as far as the eye can see. I vow they’ve brought the might of their entire army.”

Genevieve hurried to the window and stared out, seeing, for the first time in a year, her father’s banner, unfurled and flowing in the wind.

’Twas an impressive sight, and one that brought a lump to her throat.

He’d come for her.

Bowen and Graeme rode with a small contingent of Montgomery warriors to meet Laird McInnis just outside the walls of the courtyard. Laird McInnis called a halt to his men and shifted on his horse as he eyed the Montgomery brothers.

Beside him, an ornate litter pulled by two horses came to rest beside the laird and Bowen could see a woman sitting, but the moment the horses stopped she sat up, her expression anxious and expectant.

“Where is my daughter?” the laird demanded.

His features were drawn into a warrior’s mask. ’Twas evident he did not know if he came to fight, but ’twas equally evident he was prepared for any outcome.

“Laird,” Graeme said respectfully. “I am Graeme Montgomery, laird of the Montgomery clan.”

“I know well who you are,” Laird McInnis said impatiently. “I want to know where my daughter is and if she is well.”

“Your daughter fares well,” Bowen spoke up.

The laird’s gaze fell on Bowen, his eyebrows drawing together.

“Are you Bowen Montgomery?”

“Aye, I am.”

“You are the one who sent the missive.”

Bowen nodded.

“Your missive was detailed enough, but there is still much I would know. The story was too fantastic to be true.”

“I assure you that everything within the message I had delivered to you is true,” Bowen said soberly. “Ian McHugh attacked Genevieve’s escort on its way to her betrothed and slaughtered everyone save Genevieve. He was obsessed with her and kept her imprisoned at his keep until the Montgomerys and Armstrongs attacked and killed him.”

The woman beside Laird McInnis gasped and put her hand to her mouth in horror.