He cocked an eyebrow. “Yers or mine? I daresay we're almost a league away from yer faither’s keep. ‘Tis too far tae trek, especially on a twisted and bloody ankle.”
He nodded at her leg, and Jane followed his gaze. The area around her left ankle was swollen, but he'd wrapped some rag around it while she slept. The realization that he'd helped her treat her wound sent a flurry of gratitude through her, but she pushed it away immediately. If not for him, she wouldn't have hurt her ankle in the first place.
Jane watched as Darach moved around the fire. The light from the flames sent odd shadows flickering across his face, making him look like a demon one moment and an angel the next. He ignored her for the better part of the night as he roasted some game on the open fire and then walked over to dump some of it at her feet.
“Eat,” he ordered and started to walk away.
“What is this?” Jane demanded.
“Rat,” he chuckled. “I hear ‘tis a befitting meat of troublemakers.”
Jane picked up the meat and hurled it, watching with satisfaction as it clipped his cheek before falling to the floor.
“Why, ye insolent little lass!” he roared.
Jane tilted her chin up in defiance, attempting to look stronger and more confident than she really felt.
“I went out of my way tae find food for ye, and ye hurl it in my face?”
Jane scoffed. “I dinnae have a care for the hospitality of an abductor. For all I ken, ye could be tryin' tae poison me.”
She watched him shake his head in exasperation.
“That was nae poison. It was a squirrel I caught tae ensure ye have something tae eat and nae faint from hunger.”
Her mind raced with thoughts of how thoughtful he'd been yet again, but she scoffed them away.. “I am nae hungry for the foods of lawless men.”
Jane heard him whisper obscenities in Gaelic under his breath.
“Hush now,” he told her in a deceptively calm voice. “Ye need tae eat tae gain strength for this journey, my lady. And believe me, harming ye in any way is the last thing on my mind. But the more ye fight against my plan, the harder it will be for both of us,” Darach said and tried to move toward her.
“Leave me alone!” she roared, her face twisting in anger. “I have nae need of yer food or yer mercy. So, stop acting so friendly. Ye insulted my family and kidnapped me, my laird! Excuse me if I’mtoo fretfulfor ye,” she spat with more calmness as she watched him stare at her.
He nodded with a curse, then turned to walk away. Her stomach suddenly rumbled, and she hunched over as if to stifle the sound.
He turned to her then. “Fair enough. Starve yerself.” He chuckled. “I'll leave some meat for when ye want it.”
“I am nae hungry,” Jane snapped.
His laughter cracked against the air. “Yer belly disagrees, lass. If ye're going tae try tae lie, ye need tae learn tae be believable.”
He walked off then and sat some distance away, loudly chewing his meat.
“What are ye aiming tae do with me?”
“I told ye already. I will bargain ye for my companion, a valuable daughter for a valuable friend. Yer faither wouldnae want tae lose ye.”
Jane scoffed. “I wouldnae be so sure yer plan will work, my laird,” she whispered into the night air.
“It will. He willnae want tae lose his beloved daughter.”
Her heart panged. She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. If only he knew how wrong he was. She was far from beloved. He had stolen the wrong girl.
“When ye eventually get caught, my faither will have yer head on a pike for this.”
Darach didn’t bother to respond and just chuckled instead, which infuriated her more.
“There’s a blanket by the fire. Grab it and join me tae get some sleep. We leave at first light.”