Highland Soldiers: The Betrayal Read Online Free Page B

believe that Duncan would return to her. With one look, he would know that her love had not changed. She would tell him the truth, and he would understand. Before her father could evict her parents, they would all run away, and life would be as they always had hoped.
    Jenny walked out of the woods. A mist hovered over the ground, with scattered clear patches drifting on the crisp autumn breeze.
    “Jenny?” He came out of the haze.
    “Tavish.”
    “One of the farmers’ lads thought they saw you heading this way.” He grinned. “I’ve decided to stay one more day.”
    In her dismay, Jenny failed to watch where she was going and stumbled on a tree root. Tavish took hold of her arm to steady her, and left his hand there as they walked through the mist.
    The path led past Duncan’s cottage. She did not expect to see him come around the corner of the byre and stop. Why had no one told her he was home? His deep-set eyes locked on hers. Jenny opened her mouth as if to speak, even though they were too far away to do so. Duncan’s eyes darted to Tavish and his arm on Jenny’s arm. His dark, troubled eyes held her transfixed. Duncan turned from her abruptly and went into the byre. He was gone, and still she could not take her eyes from the spot where she had first seen him.
    “Jenny?” Tavish stared.
    Distracted, she looked up at him.
    “Stop staring. You disgrace yourself and make me look a fool.” With a tug, he led her on down the path.
    She forced her attention toward home, but her heart and her thoughts were with Duncan.

 
     
     
Chapter 4
     
    Duncan surveyed the field he had left to his father’s care. The tacksman, Jenny’s father, had already come calling to ask for the overdue rent. Duncan’s father was gone, as he was most days, leaving Duncan and his mother to run the farm and answer for the unpaid rent. His mother would not cry in front of Duncan, so he left her that morning with a cup of tea and a kiss on the forehead, and then went outside to work out his anger. The untended field contained little that was fit to harvest, other than a patch of vegetables his mother had planted and tended, so he went to the byre to put things in order. It appeared as though no one had touched it since he had left for the lowlands. Anyone else might have cursed, but Duncan had expected little more of his father. He clenched his teeth and put his mind and his muscles to cleaning the mess. In the midst of mucking out the stables, he heard Jenny say his name softly from inside the doorway.
    Duncan was not one to reveal his feelings. Perhaps he had learned by example. His father hid feelings inside a bottle, while his mother concealed hers with stoic perseverance. One would think nothing fazed her, but that would be wrong. She had passed on her pride and her dogged restraint to her son. Duncan hid what he felt were weak shows of emotion with steely control, which was now being tested. Just the sound of Jenny’s voice pierced the thin shield he had hewn to prepare for this moment. It was not pride that kept him from turning to face her. It was his heart, which he could not rein in. He would not let her see him like this. Yet, as much as she had hurt him, his heart would not give up. It would seek out the pain that would crush it. And so, with tenuous control, he convinced himself that it was better to face her now, in this place, than in public. He filled one more shovel and heaved it to the barrow, before turning to face her.
    Turning was one thing. Even meeting her eyes was within the bounds of courtesy, but to fix his eyes on hers was wholly unwise. There was no helping it. Love pulled him to her and overpowered months of bitterness that should have protected him by now.
    “Jenny.” His polite manner put distance between them. He saw that it stung, and he took some pleasure in it.
    “How are you?” Jenny asked meekly.
    With that, his pain soured. Duncan let out a bitter laugh, which threw Jenny off guard. With forced