A Time & Place for Every Laird by Angeline Fortin (ebook reader TXT) 📕

Sadly, she had rounded the bend from worriedto pure agitation.

The garage door closed behind them, leavingthem in semi-darkness, and Claire breathed a sigh of relief,knowing the world and its prying eyes were blinded to them at leastfor the time being. Perhaps now she could relax a little. Gettingout of the car, she scooped up her purse and went inside, leavingHugh to follow as he would.

Claire was flipping on the lights in herliving room when he appeared at the door. Thankfully, she kept herblinds closed while she was at work, so there was no need to racearound, closing them. “I don’t think anyone saw us.”

Hugh only snorted. “Yer people are about asstealthy as a startled stag. Anyone could hae heard ye a leagueaway.”

Claire just shook her head. “You’rewelcome.” Tossing her purse and keys on the kitchen counter, shebegan to search the cushions of her couch for the televisionremote. Maybe there would be something on about Hugh’s escape.

“Yer nae frightened of me any longer,Mistress Manning,” he said with some amusement, crossing his armsover his broad chest.

“I told you my name is Claire,” she saidabsently. “Would being afraid of you do me any good? Would you likeme to cower before you?” The urge to do so had certainly been theremore than once. She found the remote and pointed it at theflat-screen TV mounted over the fireplace and pushed the powerbutton. Any response Hugh might have made was immediatelysidetracked.

“Good Lord Almighty!” Hugh swore indisbelief as the picture came on and sound filled the room.

Claire raised a brow. “I thought you saidyou saw the monitors at the lab?”

“I did indeed. However …” Hugh waved a handat the TV. “What images does it capture? Where are thosepeople?”

“Probably on a soundstage in Los Angeles,”she said, flipping the channel away from the Ellen DeGeneres showand exploring the other local channels with dread icily grippingher heart. Nothing.

Yet.

With a sigh of relief, Claire turned it offagain and turned back to Hugh, who was still staring at the blankTV screen in horror. It was almost a pleasure to see that look onhis face, to see some small vulnerability in him. To see himlooking as anxious as she had been. He was right. She wasn’t afraidof him any longer. Or at least not as afraid, though she was stilltroubled by what she had done. Still, she would be an even greaterfool to throw her wariness to the wind along with caution. “I’llexplain the TV later. I just wanted to make sure there were noreports of your escape or mentions of the authorities out lookingfor you, publicly at least.”

Hugh ran his hands over his face with agroan. “I’m sure they will do so.”

“I’m sure they will, too,” Claire noddedgrimly, once again inwardly questioning her choices.

“So, what shall we do, MistressManning?”

“Claire,” she corrected again. “I guess youcan call me by my first name, if mistress is my only otheroption.”

“Claire, Clara,” he said with clear disdain.“A Sassenach name. An English name, just as is yer surname,Manning. In Gaelic, Clara is Sorcha. After my recent dealings wi’the English, I prefer the latter.”

“Recent dealings?” Claire askedcuriously.

“England wants tae rule Scotland. They wanttae take the lands of my clansmen, take our freedoms, and strip thelairds of their power. And so we fight. ’Tis what I was in themidst of doing when I came tae be here.” He looked so pensive thatClaire dared not ask any of the many questions she had for him.

“If they are in the same shape you are, Iguess I should be thankful I’m not English,” she said instead.

That made him lift his head. “Yer naeEnglish?”

Claire shook her head. “No, and since youhate them so much, that’s probably a good thing for me.”

Hugh cocked his head, clearly sidetracked byher words; his blue eyes alight with curiosity. “Wi’ a name such asManning, I had assumed … What nationality are ye, then?”

“I’m an American.”

“American?” he repeated interestedly.

Holding up a hand, Claire shook her head toforestall any further questions on his part. “I think there’s a lotwe need to cover before we go there.”

He nodded grimly, setting the momentarydiversion aside. “Aye, I hae many questions as well.”

“Why don’t we start with the most basic onethen,” Claire said matter-of-factly as she studied him. The kiltwas a crumpled blue-and-green plaid with a thin crossing of redthat was a few shades lighter than the darkened bloodstains allover it. A blue vest hung open over a linen shirt, which wasn’ttan, as she had thought, but simply that dirty and stained. Abovehis plaid stockings, his blood-encrusted knee looked in need ofmedical attention. “Do any of those wounds need stitches?”

Hugh looked down at the multitude of crustedwounds covering his arms, shrugging them away as insignificant. “Yeasked me before if I was hurt. I can only say that I shall be wellonly when I return to my home. This is one question I need hae theanswer tae now. Who can return me there?”

“I don’t know,” Claire told him with anapologetic wince at his palpable frustration with her answer. “Dr.Fielding might, maybe, but since he’s the guy who locked you up, Iwouldn’t think that he would help. And I don’t know what broughtyou here other than there had been some issues with Dr. Fielding’sproject so there’s nothing I can do to get you home. I assumeScotland is home?”

“Aye.”

Then Claire asked the question that had beeneating at her since she first walked into that lab. Since she hadfirst seen that kilt. “I need to ask this, Hugh, and there’s reallyno way to cushion it at all. What year is it?”

Hugh’s brows knit in confusion. “Whatmadness prompts such a question?”

Claire waited as his eyes searched the room,seeking answers, and saw the anxiety in his eyes become denialbefore slowly despondency shadowed it all. “My God!” he moaned,dropping onto his haunches. “What hell is this? What world hae Ibeen sent tae?”

Claire didn’t answer. There was no goodresponse to a person whose only hope had been destroyed. Hughrocked back on his heels, burying his face in his hands. A momentlater he rubbed his hands over his face again and