He was bound to forget such an insignificant detail. He decided to keep the thing a little longer, as a reminder that he had indeed taken a wife. He didn’t give her the blue ribbon she’d also left by the stream hours ago, either.

“I must have dropped it only a moment ago, or I would have noticed. “Yes, thank you,” she answered almost absentmindedly. He gave up after a few minutes and handed her the washcloth he’d picked up hours before. Thankfully, time was on her side, she thought, and surely, once she’d gotten her wits about her, she’d figure something out.Ĭonnor, towering over her, waited for her to notice him. Her mind was on the problem of coming up with a plan to get out of this mess. She wasn’t really paying attention to what she was doing. Several articles of clothing littered the ground around her. He found her kneeling over her satchel, muttering to herself while she searched through her possessions. After ten minutes had passed, Connor decided she’d had enough time alone and went to get her. Streamers of fading light filtering down through the trees gave sufficient illumination for the short walk to the lake that, Quinlan had explained, cut through the southern tip.īrenna was given sufficient privacy to see to her needs. A canopy of thick golden green branches arched high above her. The ground cover and the trees were vibrant with hues of brown and green, and dabbled here and there were purple-tipped flowers just waking from winter’s sleep. The glen Connor had chosen for their respite was completely surrounded by thick forest.

Brenna called out a warning and then went in search of her baggage. Her horse was cooperating, a sure sign she was up to mischief, for several times in the past she’d taken nips out of unsuspecting groomers. She pestered him with instructions for her mare’s care, thanked him for his help, and then watched like a worried mama while he led Gilly over to a spot where the moonlight wasn’t barred by the trees. He assigned that duty to Owen, the soldier with the scarred face and a smile she thought was actually quite enchanting. She noticed her own saddle was missing, assumed one of his men had removed it for her, and was thankful for that much consideration.Ĭonnor wouldn’t let her see to Gilly’s comforts.

Her legs screamed with each step she took, and she could only imagine Gilly’s discomfort.

She skirted her way around him and went running to her horse.

The Wedding by Julie Garwood