Blue Bonnets by Marie Laval Page B

find the youngest McKenzie girl smiling at her.
    â€˜He looks mean but he’s rather nice, isn’t he?’ she asked, slipping her small hand into hers and dragging her along on the patch back to the cottage. ‘You must be glad he’s your graidhean. ’
    â€˜You’re wrong, my dear,’ Rose replied in a wistful voice. ‘He’s not my sweetheart.’
    It didn’t take long for the McKenzies to harness their horse to the cart, pile their bags and children at the back. The two women sat on the driver’s seat. The men slipped their bundles onto their back, shook hands with Lord McGunn and herself and exchanged wishes for a safe journey.
    When the family had disappeared down the path, McGunn walked into the cottage. He didn’t talk or look at her once while they packed their bags. It was as if he had never held and kissed her, back there in the snow, as if he’d never said he wanted her, and it had all been a dream.
    Her hand shook as she fastened her bag shut. Only it hadn’t been a dream. It had been real, so real her lips were still swollen from the onslaught of his kiss, and she could still feel the hot imprint of his fingers on the nape of her neck.
    â€˜We’re ready,’ he said as he brushed the ashes off the hearth before scattering them outside.
    She didn’t answer but watched him shutter the windows and secure the door. Once again, the cottage stood empty and abandoned. She sighed.
    â€˜What’s wrong?’ He glared down at her. ‘Aren’t you glad we’re leaving this place?’
    â€˜Of course I’m glad. I can’t wait to be in Westmore and prove you wrong about Cameron.’
    She adjusted her bonnet and tied the ribbons under her chin.
    â€˜You’ll have your chance tomorrow. We should get there just in time for your grand ball.’ He looked down. ‘And then you’ll get your wish.’
    â€˜What wish?’ She frowned.
    â€˜You will be back with McRae and never have to lay eyes on me again.’
    He was right. That was exactly what she wanted, so why did the thought suddenly make her want to cry?

Chapter Seven
    Rose squinted against the sunlight that bounced and sparkled on the surface of the sea. The white seabirds with black-tipped wings Lord McGunn had called kittiwakes and gannets glided on the wind in an endless dance, their strident cries rising above the roaring waves. Gusts of wind whipped strands of hair out of her bonnet and around her face, seeped through her clothes like icy fingers and left a salty taste on her lips.
    The ground shook as white-crested waves charged against the cliffs, hit the rocks with such force sea spray flew high in the air, then retreated as if to gather strength, only to move forward again. It was awesome, and exhilarating. It was magnificent.
    â€˜You’re cold.’ McGunn wrapped his arms more tightly around her.
    She stiffened. ‘I’m fine.’
    How could she tell him that the shivers coursing through her had nothing to do with the freezing wind and everything to do with him? His muscular thighs encased her body, his scent mingled with that of the ocean. Every time she breathed she felt the hard wall of his chest against her back, and remembered how it had felt to lie on top of him when he’d kissed her.
    â€˜We should be in Porthaven by late afternoon,’ he remarked as he guided Shadow along the cliff path. ‘Tomorrow we’ll ride to Westmore Manor, a few hours away from there.’
    She stared at the snow-covered moors which stretched as far as the eye could see and shook her head.
    â€˜I had no idea Cameron’s estate was so vast.’
    â€˜Half of it used to be ours before the McRaes stole it.’
    Remembering what Cameron had told her about the long, embittered feud between McRaes and McGunns, she frowned.
    â€˜I thought your ancestor Fergus McGunn was to blame for the loss of the land. He joined the Jacobite