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of his sword and probably would have pulled it had she not laid her hand gently atop his arm to stop him. Her mouth was set in a firm line, and her features were rigid.
    “Weldon , he is a Highlander,” she reminded him, and pointed with her nose at his tartan. “They are fierce and easy to anger and not to be trusted in the least. Especially if they’ve been drinking.”
    “I could say the same fer the English,” he said, not caring that there were half a dozen men facing him that were skilled warriors and heavily armed.
    “ For your information, my name is not ridiculous,” she spat. “I was born on Loveday. And in case you are not familiar with the English custom, it is a day set aside for reconciliation with enemies and a time for people to settle disputes between them. And also, my parents were once very much in love. So you see, my name is fitting. However, I prefer to be called Lady Lovelle, or Baroness, if you please.”
    “Well, that is amusing, Lady Love,” he told her with a chuckle , ignoring the fact she’d just asked him not to call her that. “Howe’er, we have no day to reconcile with our enemies in Scotland, so it means little te me. Now, today is me birthday and though I was born on Hogmanay, ye dinna see me bein’ called Hog. So if ye’ll pardon me bluntness, I dinna care te reconcile with me enemies and I have friends waitin’.” He started to walk away, when she stopped him.
    “ And what might your name be?” she asked, sounding haughty, and making Onyx want to get away from her quickly. She gave the impression she thought he was below her standards and she was so much better than him. Just like a damned Sassenach. He wouldn’t tell her his name now if his life depended upon it.
    “The t’s noon of yer concern,” he said, watching her eyes narrow at his response.
    “Dagger, come on, ” Aidan called out from the stables just then. His friend stood there bare-chested, and his long, blond hair was tousled. He also had two girls clinging to him. That is, one of the girls that was supposed to be his.
    “Hurry, Onyx, as I am feeling the need to scream out,” said the sister at his side who was to be his birthday present. With that , they disappeared back into the stables and out of the cold.
    “Dagger?” asked the woman with a chuckle. “And Onyx? Well, which is it?”
    Damn, if only they had kept their mouths shut. Now she knew both his names and he wasn’t planning on giving her that much information.
    “It disna matter,” he ground out.
    “And you thought Loveday was a ridiculous name.” One of her eyebrows raised and a corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. Then she let her eyes scan down his body in much the same way he’d been perusing her.
    Onyx knew th at his mother would never willingly have anything to do with the English - ever. If they were looking for her, it most likely had something to do with her tarnished past. After all, he’d heard the elders of the clan talk about his mother through the years, saying she was light-fingered and had a habit of stealing things. Still, what could she have stolen that was so important to have the English crossing the border to find her? Especially an Englishwoman who was traveling by horseback and on such a cold night, and so far from her home.
    Nay, he decided, they didn’t need to know his mother was inside. And hopefully they’d just turn around and leave, and he could find his mother and ask her about all this in private.
    “ Ye said the woman ye’re searching fer is a Highlander, so why are ye lookin’ fer her in the Lowlands?” he asked.
    “Well, you’re a Highlander, aren’t you?” the woman asked, surveying his attire. “And yet you’re in the Lowlands. We’ve heard this pub is owned by a Highlander as well.”
    “Well, the lassie ye’re seachin’ fer is no’ here, so I’d suggest ye head on back across the border and leave afore ye anger the wrong MacKeefe.”
    “MacKeefe , did you say?” She