He saw a spasm of irritation cross her lovely face before it was quickly hidden.
“I am,” she replied neutrally. “I assume you are coming for the festivities?”
“Indeed we are,” Bernard confirmed. “I am one of the laird’s men.” It was the closest thing Bernard could think of to describe the strange relationship between himself and the family.
She nodded. “I thought so. I wrote your master’s invitation out myself.”
Bernard smiled even though the term master irritated him. However, this woman was not to know the unusual relationship that he enjoyed with William and the laird.
“I came to scout out the road ahead, and the rest of the party is following behind me.”
“I see.” Janice’s voice was brittle. She did not feel like explaining to this stranger how desperately she needed to escape the confines of the castle for a while. “Then I will accompany you to the castle.”
“Thank you, mistress,” Bernard replied, smiling widely. He was truly delighted. This young woman was as lovely as he had been told, and he could not help but admire her. As well as that, the curvaceous lines of her body had awakened every one of his masculine urges, and he was suddenly finding his saddle very uncomfortable.
“I will wait here,” she told him, turning her horse around to face the castle again.
Bernard turned around and retraced his horse’s steps. He felt quite shaken by the encounter with the loveliest woman he had seen for a long while, and he knew that William would be too. He could not wait to see William’s face when he unleashed his stupendous surprise.
* * *
“We are very close now,” Bernard announced as soon as he emerged from the trees again. “There is a shallow glen beyond the trees and a castle on the hill about a mile after that. That is our destination.”
“Thank God for that!” William rubbed his backside as he mounted up again. “This is killing me!”
Laird Ballantine grinned. “You cannot die yet, Son,” he pointed out. “We have many, many ears to whisper into when we get to Howdenbrae.”
He narrowed his eyes, then winked, and William sighed. The whole enterprise was beginning to sound like a mountain of very hard work.
“Indeed we have,” Bernard agreed, winking at his friend. “And do not forget that we might also be the target of some who are making plans of their own.”
William scowled at his friend. “If I looked like you, it would be much easier. The ladies swoon at your feet, and don’t deny it.”
“Thank you, William,” he replied. He knew that he was handsome; there was no point in denying it, but he did not have William’s exuberant, outgoing personality. Now he said, “Looks fade, but a warm personality and a good sense of humor last forever. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
William had opened his mouth to answer when they emerged from under the trees and saw a woman sitting on a chestnut horse facing the castle. She turned at the sound of their approach, and William’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.
3
When Janice saw the horseman in the distance, she rightly assumed that he was having trouble finding his way and went to assist him. However, as she came closer and closer to him, she realized that he was different from any other man she had ever met. This was no ordinary working man; his uniform proclaimed him to be a soldier, and she recognized the Ballantine clan emblem on his livery.
He was sitting astride a huge black stallion with a white star on its forehead, but then he needed a warhorse because he was the biggest man she had ever seen. He was also the most handsome, and for a moment she was mesmerized by the golden brown of his eyes, which were so unusual in a Scotsman. His features were perfectly symmetrical, with high sloping cheekbones, a slightly aquiline nose, and firm, sculpted lips. It was the kind of face women would fall in love with and men would kill for.
When he looked up and met her eyes, he smiled. Janice felt her heart skip a beat, and after they had exchanged names and he had ridden away again, she found herself trembling. What was wrong with her? She felt distinctively uncomfortable dampness between her legs and a sweet, pleasant ache. Worst of all, she had the almost irresistible urge to kiss him, something she had never experienced before because she had never found the right man. However, she thought that she had now, as she fixed her gaze on his firm lips and tried to imagine how they would feel pressed against hers.
Then she pushed the fantasy away. This broad, muscular, delicious man was not for her. She was destined to be the wife of a laird, probably a man who was twenty years older than she was. Still, she could dream, even if she knew it was a dream that would never come true.
Five minutes later, the stranger was back with a small party of men and horses. The red-headed man who rode beside Bernard had a look of utter bemusement on his face, and his eyes were fixed on her until Bernard spoke to him and he turned away. The man who rode beside him was obviously his father since they looked so much like each other. Behind them came two more guards and two pack horses.
The laird rode forward and introduced both himself and William.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, mistress,” he said pleasantly, bowing as he spoke. “Thank you for inviting us to your home.”
Janice smiled, although it was all she could do to keep her eyes from straying toward Bernard.
“You are most welcome, M’Laird,” she replied, inclining her head politely. “Follow me, and I will take you to the castle.” She turned her horse around and rode beside them.
* * *