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It took hiain His discipline finally cah he knew she would be a tantalizing danger to his peace of mind, he was still extre in his insult all theas MacNare to endure Beautiful woland, or so he'd heard, and this rare treasure had all but fallen into his lap

It really had been disgustingly easy None of her soldiers offered the least resistance He didn't even have to make a fist He simply walked into their camp, commanded them to kneel, and, by all that was holy, they knelt Meek as las even tossed their weapons away

Only one soldier hadto hiswatch over Lady Brenna to ered by the stream, but one of his own men—Quinlan, no doubt—silenced the soldier

Lady Brenna also heard the noise, and that was precisely when she dropped her ribbon and her cloth and started back to calishwoeous tales about dee for her to continue on

He knew she believed she was running toward her own death The look of fear on her face indicated as much One life for twelve Weren't those her exact words? Connor had been thoroughly confused by her behavior She was Haynesworth's daughter, wasn't she? Yet, she wasn't like any of the English he'd ever known In all his years of battles, he'd never witnessed a single act of true courage by any of the English… until today He thought about ed his ood idea to talk to her just yet The woet past her fear of him silence was prudent now

He clasped his hands behind his back and patiently waited for her to get hold of herself He wondered if she still believed he was a deood deal of restraint not to s to have to beco around hioing to tell her his plan now She was going to be his wife, no ree in front of the priest If necessary, he would waste the rest of the day waiting for her to calh to listen to hiht she'd been successful thus far She couldn't tell if he was a handsoet past the blue paint to notice She certainly noticed his eyes, though, but only because they were the color of darkness and as war her way His bone structure appeared to be intact He had a straight nose, high cheekbones, and a hard-looking th, and the color of night Odd, but it appeared to be clean

She didn't have any idea how long she'd been staring up at him, and she certainly didn't notice any movement on his part, yet suddenly his hand was on top of hers She stupidly looked down as he pulled her hand out froer away froers

She assumed he'd either keep the weapon or toss it away to show her his obvious physical superiority, and she was, therefore, astonished when he replaced the dagger in the leather sheath she wore hooked to the ornate belt draped around the tilt of her hips

"Thank you," she whispered before she could stop herself

What in thunder was thehim? He'd just scared the curl out of her hair Shouldn't she be giving hi for the terror he'd caused her?

Lord, she was out of her ive him a piece of her mind How could she shout at him when she couldn't even find her voice? Besides, her little dagger wouldn't have done him any real harth radiating froested he wouldn't even flinch if she tried to injure hiod or a de, yet still just a man Besides, anyone with a pinch of sense kneomen were smarter than hters on h never in the presence of their father Mother was always honest, sometimes to a fault She was also very kind and would, therefore, never say anything that would hurt anyto follow her mother's example She would try to be a little kind, but she wouldn't be coet out of this mess if she told the truth

"I don't reed He obviously didn't care if she re," she began again "I wasn't waiting for you to answer er now

"I was just a child back then Surely you haven't been considering my request all thesebetter to think about? "Yourwith an to ache with her need to shout at hih far less convivial Hoas she ever going to get through to him?

Her father would kill her if he ever found out about her ht actually worried her for a second or two before she realized how ridiculous it was Papa would have to get in line to do her in, behind the stone-silent warrior, his followers… and MacNare Good God, she'd forgotten about him MacNare was bound to be furious when he found out about his intended bride's audacity

Brenna could see only one way out of her predicament She had to find a way to make the barbarian understand

"I have to leave now Laird MacNareif I' an escort to meet me I wouldn't want to see any of you har''

The outcast suddenly reached out and took hold of her His big hands settled on her shoulders in a fir anywhere until he was ready to let her He wasn't hurting her though, and in fact, he was being extreentle

She frowned up at hi her

"Your arrival here has absolutely nothing to do with the proposals I sent, isn't that right? You have anotherNot a word, not a nod, not even a blink Was she talking to a tree?

She could feel the heat building in her face, knew frustration was the reason for her blush, and let out a thoroughly loud, unladylike sigh that sounded very like a groan

"All right, ill assume you're here because of o, I don't re you One of my sisters knew all aboutabout never finding a husband, though I doubt I even understood what husbands were for, and so to ease o through with the plan; but now that I think about it, this is my father's fault because he told me he'd never be able to find any man ould put up with me, and it's your fault too, sir, because you s else about our land, you entlemen to marry them It just isn't done," she added in a near shout "As God is th left in ain"

"What did you say to the er, mi'lady? Do you renized Quinlan's voice behind her

How in thunder could she possibly re?

She couldn't turn to face Quinlan because their leader still had hold of her, and he didn't seeo

"I probably said, 'Will you marry me?'"

Connor smiled He pulled her toward hih to stun her

He lifted his head then, looked into her eyes, and finally spoke to her

"Yes, Brenna I will marry you"

Chapter 3

The man was clearly dehts abouthim seemed inconsequential to hiet hiued, she pleaded, she prayed

And all for naught She had to resort to unladylike measures next She stoet her point across He didn't even flinch She doubled over fro up from her instep and had to take hold of his arrace herself and fall to the ground Thankfully, it didn't take her ain what pitiful threads of dignity she had left and let go of hiain She was quite proud of herself, really She never once raised her voice as she calmly listed at least a hundred valid reasons why they couldn't possiblyto the wind The barbarian didn't appear to be the least bit swayed She wasn't even certain if he was still breathing He simply listened to her with his ar-me-into-a-trance look on his face, and when she ran out of dire consequences he would suffer as a result of his insanity, he cal her behind hiet out of thisfor God's help all the while, of course Her thoughts and prayers were interrupted when Quinlan called out to hilish soldiers

The Highlander didn't need time to mull the matter over He didn't even bother to stop, but called the obscene order over his shoulder

"Kill them"

"No" She screamed the denial in a voice that shook with terror