Connor wrinkled his brow, "Not in the least."
"Allow me to put it another way. To win Rachel's heart, you must set her free. If you try to control her, she will hate you for it and you will lose her."
*
Rachel was right, once she walked through the gate to the Ferguson hold, no one paid any attention to her. Instead of the large, well-kept MacGreagor structure, the Ferguson hold was much smaller and the grounds had not been cleaned recently. They need Kevin, she thought. Kevin used cleaning duties to punish the children when they needed to think about their crimes. The older the child and the bigger the crime, the longer they cleaned. Lying or stealing meant a full week of cleaning up after the horses and Rachel remembered that duty well.
She saw very few flowers around the cottages in the Ferguson hold. Their stable didn't have a roof and some of the people needed a bath in the worst way. But the Fergusons seemed happy.
Rachel had been inside for more than an hour and was about to leave when she spotted a woman watching her. She tried to ignore the woman, and when she glanced at her a second time, the woman was slightly shaking her head, as if to warn her of something. Rachel lowered her eyes to signal she understood and when she raised them again, the woman disappeared into the crowd.
*
It was an excruciating hour...after hour...after hour before Rachel finally opened the door to the Keep and walked into the great hall. Her clothes were sopping wet, her hair was a mess, most of her arrows were gone and she still wore the Ferguson plaid. As soon as she saw him, she ran into the arms of the man she'd called father for as long as she could remember.
Justin held her tight until she let go and stepped away. "We are very happy to have you back, Lass. I must go relieve your mother and sister of their worry."
Rachel nodded, watched him hurry up the stairs and then turned to Kevin. "They nearly caught me."
"Were you frightened?" Connor couldn't help asking.
Kevin rolled his eyes and Rachel tried to kick Connor in the shin, but Kevin caught her around the waist before she could. "Rachel, did you see the children?"
It took a moment to calm down enough to answer. "Nay, I do not believe they have them. I saw no injured lads either." She wasn't finished glaring at Connor, but finally turned to face Kevin. "The children must still be hiding in the forest." She looked up, watched her family come down the stairs and smiled reassuringly.