Chapter Twenty

"S tand down," Teagan said to Edmund and his men when everyone unsheathed their blades. "They are friends." He swung off his horse, grinning as he clasped hands with the two men who stepped out of the woodland. "Adlin and Tiernan, good to see ye, my friends!"

Greer sighed in relief when Teagan introduced them to everyone. They were the MacLomains he'd spoken about. Both tall and handsome, clearly father and son, one appeared to be around her mother's age, the other Teagan's.

Adlin grinned at Teagan. "Good to see ye as well, lad." He nodded hello to the rest of them. "All of ye, for that matter." He swung back onto his horse. "Ye were close to the border, so we thought ye could use an escort."

"Aye, 'tis appreciated." Teagan swung back onto his horse as well. "We've a scout behind us, but havenae heard anything, so I dinnae think we are in immediate danger."

"Nay," Tiernan agreed, mounting his horse. "Our scout reports them heading in this direction but still a way out. If anything, they should arrive on the morn."

"Ye didnae need to put one of yer men at such risk." Teagan shook his head. "But ye've our thanks, to be sure."

"We are allies, are we not?" Adlin gestured that they follow. "Besides, 'twas not one of our men but yers. "

"Och," Teagan muttered, figuring it out in no time. "Malcolm, then?"

"Aye, he claimed only the best tracker would see to his brother." Adlin chuckled. "That being him, of course." He nodded with approval. "I tend to agree, considering the distance he covered so quickly, undetected." He shrugged. "Though I'll admit I was surprised he didnae join ye."

"Now what fun is there in that?" a swarthy, handsome Scotsman asked, grinning as he appeared on horseback out of the woodland. He clasped hands with Teagan. "Good to see ye, brother."

"Aye." He met his brother's grin and introduced him to Ada, the children, and Greer. "With any luck, Greer and I will be married this eve."

"'Tis nice to finally meet ye, lass." Malcolm glanced from her to Teagan, smiling all the wider. "I see ye've already brought me home a much-changed brother."

Had she really? She glanced over her shoulder at Teagan, who smiled in return. That must be what Malcolm referred to, for he did seem happier as a whole, didn't he? Though shadows still haunted his eyes, they were not as fierce as they'd been that first day in the courtyard.

"Changed indeed," Malcolm echoed.

"But of course." Her mother met Malcolm's smile. "Did I not say such might happen?"

She had? Greer wondered what she'd said specifically.

"The specifics do not matter," Margery would say. "I imagine the gist of it was that you would be his perfect match."

Quite honestly, she thrilled at the thought. That they might, despite being an arranged marriage, be that well suited to one another.

What Teagan had said about wishing she'd chosen him to be her husband had meant a great deal. He'd seemed so genuine. Even a touch sad. As though the idea of her wanting him seemed out of reach somehow. That perhaps he wasn't worthy enough. But then he had seemed upset about lying to her. He hadn't liked giving her a false ultimatum to free her friends from Randolph.

"'Twas downright heroic in my opinion," Margery would mutter. "And don't bother arguing it because you never gave your word to Bartholomew to begin with. He was a monster and only bound to become more of one." She'd narrow her eyes, not letting Greer get a word in edgewise. "Setting all that aside, I would think you grateful, for your future husband values honesty above all things. He did not have to tell you the truth. Yet he did because he wants to earn your trust. To have no lies betwixt you before starting your life together."

Life together? When another thrill shot through her, she realized just how much she hoped that would happen. That they would be free of Bartholomew and Randolph and able to start a life she never thought possible. One full of friendship and kindness instead of loneliness and cruelty. Because it would be that way with Teagan. She had no doubt.

"Come along, then," Adlin said, interrupting her thoughts. "There is room enough for all at a tavern just over the border. We can make a good stance from there on the morn."

"'Twill be more than a stance." Duncan's eyes widened on the big MacLomain warriors falling in around them. "The bloody Sassenach willnae step one foot in Scotland with the likes of ye at its gate!"

"Watch yer language," Ada muttered, nodding thanks to Adlin and Tiernan. "Though he makes a good point."

"Aye, 'twill be a good showing," Adlin acknowledged, yet Greer sensed more to it. As did Teagan, it seemed.

"What did ye see back there, Malcolm?" Teagan asked, suspecting it had to do with who followed. "How many do they count?"

"More than ye'd probably like," Malcolm replied. "Enough for a good battle on the morn." He winked at Duncan. "But not nearly enough to defeat us."

After Edmund bid farewell to his men, Adlin and Tiernan pulled out ahead, and Edmund fell in beside Ada. Malcolm fell back with the rest of them for privacy, so they didn't worry the children.

"Randolph is amassing quite a few fighting men," Malcolm revealed. "From what I could tell, so many that 'twill leave little protection behind at his holding."

"Damn him," her mother cursed before apologizing for her language. "Never was there a more selfish, prideful, greedy man than my brother."

"What of Bartholomew?" Teagan asked Malcolm. "Ye were given a description of him too, aye?"

"Aye, he is coming." He gave Teagan a look. "He sent a man off, as well. A messenger, I would say."

"So he rallies more men from his estate," Teagan surmised.

Malcolm nodded. "That would be my guess."

Greer heard the concern in Teagan's voice. "What of Keenan? Tell me he isnae here but back protecting our people just in case." He sighed. "'Twould not be all that hard for Randolph to learn the location of our clan."

"No," her mother agreed, equally concerned. "Yet, as you know, I'm hoping he assumes I kept the remainder of the jewels on my person rather than risk leaving them at the castle. Hence, he will pursue me. Not just that, but I'm sure he wants to retrieve Greer, Ada, and the children as he considers them his property."

"Bloody bastard." Malcolm glanced Teagan's way. "Aye, though he wasnae happy about it, Keenan stayed behind, as did half our fighting men."

"Good," Teagan replied. "Hopefully, 'twill matter naught in the end, and all will go as planned anyway."

After that, little was said until they were safely over the border and the risk of being overheard lessened.

"Welcome to Scotland," Teagan murmured in her ear. "May ye someday love it as I do."

Though the woodland had changed little, in some strange way, it felt like everything transformed regardless. That the real adventure had only just begun.

"That's because it has," Margery would exclaim. "Oh, but the times we would have had here! Times you will still have to tell me all about."

Greer blinked back tears when emotion overwhelmed her. "As if you will not be with me every step of the way."

"Perhaps," Margery replied softly, seeming closer yet further away, all at once. "But mayhap not always. Not now that you have made a friend of Teagan and will make many more friends to keep you company."

"Are you all right, lass?" Teagan said softly, wrapping his arm a bit more firmly around her waist in comfort.

"I am," she whispered. "Or at least I will be."

"Ye will," he reassured her, almost as if he understood what she meant. That her words had nothing to do with the men pursuing them.

"I think he does understand on some level," Margery would say. "He's a good man, my friend. He deserves you as much as you deserve him. You realize that, yes?"

"Yes," she would reply because she did realize such. She felt it soul-deep.

"Then why not let him know?" Margery would say. "Why not give him the new beginning he gives you? Why not give him what you know he longs for? Because his were not hollow, meaningless words earlier. They were said from a heart as damaged as yours." Her friend would likely pause, giving her a moment to think about it. "Unless, of course, you do not feel the same way about him that he feels about you?"

"You know full well how I feel," she murmured, frowning when she realized she'd spoken aloud.

"Aye, it has not been easy for ye," Teagan said softly. "But hopefully, things will get better."

Yet again, she sensed he knew she'd been talking to herself but didn't call her out.

This time, however, more needed to be said because Margery was right .

"Things will get better," she agreed, convinced of it. "But only if we begin this as we should."

That in mind, coming to a swift decision, she looked over her shoulder and said the last thing he probably expected.