A Protector in the Highlands

by Heather McCollum

  The king gestured with his hand, and his mistress stepped off him, only to turn around to lay her bare stomach over the back of the couch, presenting her parted cheeks. The king, his cock hanging low, gestured first to the other man, who moved forward eagerly to slide his length between Louise’s lips.

  Charles gestured toward Harry. “Come in, Lord Covington, and finish off sweet Louise. It seems the wine has taken my vigor. The lady you’ve brought and I can entertain ourselves while we watch the three of you.” His words were slurred, and his lids lowered over his eyes as he sat naked in a high-backed chair, his long, dark wig askew.

  The man in Louise’s mouth groaned as he pumped, his eyes half closed as if pleasure overtook him. Harry leaned over Scarlet’s bare shoulder, nipping the skin as he pinched her nipple. “Duty calls. Come, sit with the king.” His lips came over to her ear. “If you please him, he will do great things for you and your family,” he whispered.

  Be an asset to your family. Her father’s words beat with her pounding heart. Harry released her to grasp her hand, tugging her to follow him. Was this what she was meant for? To be a king’s mistress and perhaps the wife of a man who would use her for political gain? Her beauty was all she had, at least that’s what her father always said. She righted her bodice and took two steps into the room. Harry smiled at her and gave her a nod. He let go of her hand and strode toward the waiting woman as he unbuttoned his trousers. Louise must have heard him for she arched her back, spreading her legs even more. Without warning, he slammed into her, making her moan though it was muffled. Harry grunted, and he leaned over her, grabbing her breasts as he beat fast and hard against her backside with each thrust.

  Scarlet looked away, her gaze falling on the king. Charles stroked his limp cock as he watched Harry and the other man pound into his mistress. “Very nice,” he said, his eyes closing, and his hand slid to the floor.

  Chapter Twenty

  Aiden remained still where he lay in the bed next to Scarlet. Her whispered voice rose with her fear and fell when it held shame. His muscles had turned to granite as he fought against the fury making his blood rush. But he wanted, he needed to hear her every word. She might never speak them again.

  “As if waking from a nightmare of shock, I realized that no one held me,” she said, and he saw that she’d opened her eyes. Scarlet stared at the wood and plaster ceiling above them, the glow from the hearth lighting her beautiful face.

  “So, I ran.” The delicate arch of her brows rose. “Back to my room,” she said, “where I tore off that awful gown.” She shook her head on the pillow but kept her gaze on the ceiling. “I bolted the door and packed my things, holding my breath the whole time, listening for footsteps. But no one came. Knowing how the court slept late, I went to Evelyn’s room just before dawn.”

  She inhaled, and he watched the rise and fall of her chest, the soft skin above the blanket as beautiful as a meadow draped in freshly fallen snow. He wouldn’t touch her, not when she was so raw and he had such anger churning in him. Keeping his hand on her arm, he pulled upon his warrior’s discipline not to react, letting her nightmare bleed out.

  “Evie roused James and Molly, and we fled back to Hollings that dawn, where Nathaniel questioned me. Mother was too ill. Evie fended him off. The only thing I told him was that Lord Covington did not offer to marry me, and that I would never wed him if he asked. Mother died that night, and Nathaniel had too much to do with her arrangements and the estate to badger me.”

  He squeezed her arm gently, letting her breathe for long moments. She wet her lips. “Harry told people that he’d disappointed me when he didn’t ask for my hand, and I fled in embarrassment. I could have remained in Hollings with that, a spinster, cared for by my brother. But a fortnight after I arrived home, Harry sent another note saying that the king desired me back at court.” She swallowed, her other hand going to lie flat upon her chest. “He sent a jewel with it, like a payment perhaps. I…I sent it back, and when Evie said there was a chance we could come to Scotland, I grabbed at the escape.” Her voice lowered, becoming small. “But he followed.”

  Her lips remained parted as she breathed. He waited to see if any more would come. He wanted to leap from the bed and ride back to Finlarig to slice his claymore through Covington and the king, but saying as much would only hurt her. And he’d rather die than see Scarlet hurt again.

  Wind blew down the chimney, making the fire dance and flatten before rising again. Aiden cleared his throat softly. “I will take ye away, Scarlet. Ye will never need to see them again.” He wasn’t certain where they would go, but he would hide her here until he’d gathered supplies and made plans.

  She rolled toward him, and the firelight showed the unshed tears in her eyes. One slid out sideways to trail over the bridge of her nose. He reached up to wipe it with the pad of his thumb, and she gave him a small smile. She shook her head. “No,” she whispered.

  His brows lowered. “No?”

  “I am done running away,” she said and pushed up onto her elbow to face him on the bed. “The things I’ve learned at the school, that you’ve taught me… Just knowing that I could defend myself gave me the strength to deal with Harry when he arrived.” She glanced down at her hands. “I don’t even think the king remembers, he was so drunk. He never even called me by name that night, and he hasn’t mentioned it or looked at me more than anyone else. It makes me wonder if Harry was offering me to him without Charles asking about me.” She met his gaze. “And now I worry he will do the same with Jacqueline.” She shook her head again. “So, we can’t leave.”

  The constant flow of fury through Aiden, and the effort to tamp it down to think rationally, made his jaw ache. He ground his teeth together and sat upright in the bed, rubbing his skull with both hands. “Then I will return with you and kill Covington.”

  Scarlet sat up so quickly, the covers flew back. “No,” she said. “He is the king’s most favored courtier right now. Charles trusts him and won’t stand for violence against him. The king will retaliate, surely ordering your execution.”

  “The man raped ye,” he said, struggling to keep the accusation from his voice. Scarlet shouldn’t be the one to bear his anger.

  “I was a maid when I first lay with you,” she said.

  “He violated your body and your soul, Scarlet.” Aiden leaned in to stroke her cheek when she looked down at the covers again. “That is rape.”

  “I…I was foolish and went to meet him alone. Some would say I led him to believe I wanted him that way. That I was a wanton with him at the ball and would do anything to get him to marry me, that I—”

  “Scarlet,” he said, tipping her chin up to meet his gaze. “Did ye ask him to do those things?” He shook his head before she could answer. “Nay, he did those things to ye, not for ye. He stole your courage and your confidence, and attacked your body and soul. He is a villain who preys on those he knows are physically weaker. He deserves no mercy.”

  Tears welled up in Scarlet’s eyes. “Then have mercy on me,” she whispered.

  He pulled her into him, holding her against his chest. “I don’t underst—”

  “How will I live if they kill you? If the king orders your execution or imprisonment? I… can’t.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Please,” she said, her voice muffled. “I am the one who must face him. I am the one who must slay my nightmares.” She pushed back, looking at him, her brows pinched. “Can you understand that?”

  How many nightmares had he woken from where his mother turned her back on him? Too many. He exhaled, and some of his fury blew out with his breath. “I may not be able to understand what ye’ve felt, lass, but I do understand nightmares and how we long to slay them.” He nodded and wiped his finger along her damp cheek. “I will help ye prepare to slay your demon, then.”

  Scarlet threw herself into his arms, and he fell backward onto the bed with her on top. She kissed him, and he caught her face in his hands, kissing her back. Wrapping h
is arms around her soft, warm body, he breathed fully. Aye, mercy. He needed it, too, for his heart felt full when he held Scarlet. She was becoming the one person in this life who could make the mess of the world seem right and just, the banisher of nightmares. She was softness when all else was stark and hard. Aye, he needed mercy, because he was falling in love with a beautiful, vibrant Englishwoman. Just like his father before him.

  …

  Scarlet set her foot in Aiden’s hands, straightening her knee as he hoisted her onto Caora’s back. It was nearly noon, and even though she’d made Aiden promise to stay hidden in Killin until Harry stopped demanding his execution, she was still worried. It was a victory that her fear was not for herself, but as she watched Aiden climb up on his white horse, she realized that fearing for someone else could be worse.

  He pulled his horse, Eigh, close to Caora. “I do not like this,” he said, perhaps for the hundredth time since she’d wrung a promise from him not to ride up to Finlarig with her.

  She nodded. “So you have said.” She looked into his clear blue eyes. “But you will be near, and I will send Kerrick or Hamish immediately to Rebecca’s for you if needed.”

  “I will have Kerrick guard ye,” he said, his frown fierce. “Though, it should be me.”

  She reached over to squeeze his hand. “How will you save me if you are dead or locked in Finlarig’s dungeons?” Smiling, she sat back and produced one of the five blades she had hidden on her. “Your rose has her thorns sharpened.” She inhaled, filling her lungs. “I am ready to face my demons.”

  He inhaled. “If Covington dares to touch ye, use surprise and then slice him well.” Before they had left the cabin, Aiden had made Scarlet run through her training drills, using her body and then her blades to defend herself. Only when she was able to escape his hold and make him fall to the floor did he agree that she could return alone.

  “I will,” she said and followed his hand with her gaze as he lifted it to make certain her hair stick was also in place.

  “Even if ye disarm yourself of daggers, keep your curls up with the stick Craig made for ye.” His gaze came back to meet hers. “And no matter what anyone says, do not open your bedchamber door to any man.”

  She nodded. “Let us go.” Scarlet tapped Caora’s side, and both horses carried their riders down toward the path that ran around Loch Tay. The day was bright, melting any remaining snow, although winter was just beginning. And for the first time since that horrible night at Whitehall, shame didn’t weigh her down. She’d spoken the truth, the whole truth, and Aiden still judged her as honorable. What she had undergone was not her fault. It was the start of making herself believe it as well.

  “A rider,” Aiden said, pulling back on Eigh’s reins.

  Scarlet’s heart rushed forward into a gallop while her horse paused next to Aiden. She squinted against the muted sun. “’Tis… Kerrick, I think.”

  “Falbh,” Aiden said, and Eigh lunged forward toward the rider. Scarlet followed, the two of them tearing across the packed dirt.

  “Ho, Aiden,” Kerrick called out as they neared. “Ye must return to Finlarig.”

  “What’s happened?” Scarlet asked, her eyes as wide as her heart was wild with concern.

  “’Tis the queen,” Kerrick said, his gaze going to Aiden. “And your new sister.”

  “Jacqueline?” Aiden asked.

  “Aye, the two of them…have disappeared.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Aiden rode in front as the three of them tore around the bramble toward the lowered gate of Finlarig. They pulled up, halting their mounts as men shouted from the gate tower.

  “Ye idiots, ’tis Aiden Campbell. And look, Lady Scarlet is with him.” Hamish threw his arms out toward them. “Lower your bloody muskets before one of them goes off.”

  Two British soldiers, one on each side of Hamish, slowly lowered their muskets. Hamish ran a hand through his mussed hair, his eyes wide with annoyance as he met Aiden’s gaze and nodded. “Been a beast of a morning,” he yelled down.

  “We’ve heard,” Scarlet called up. “Let us in so we can help sort this out.”

  “No,” one soldier yelled back. “The king says that the gate shall remain closed. If an attack is forthcoming, it must be in place.”

  Kerrick opened his arms wide. “There is no one about.”

  The British soldier squinted down at them. “So you would like for us to think.”

  “We will go through the door in the wall then,” Scarlet said and threw her skirts over the side of Caora so she could dismount. “We will leave the horses out here.”

  As much as Aiden didn’t like the idea of leaving Eigh outside the gates, it made sense, especially if he needed to ride Scarlet away from the castle quickly.

  Leaving the three horses tethered, with long leads, in a woodsy area by a stream to the side of the castle, they met Hamish at the hidden door in the wall. Aiden let Scarlet walk in and caught Kerrick’s shoulder, speaking low in his ear. “I want Covington alone.” Kerrick nodded, and they filed inside, striding through the bailey, ignoring the frowns on the armed English soldiers.

  “They were discovered missing two hours ago?” Scarlet asked, glancing up at the sun to see that it was as high as it would go on that winter’s day.

  “Aye,” Hamish answered. “She wasn’t disturbed as everyone was up late last eve, but when Molly went to bring her and Lady Jacey some tarts and fresh milk this morning, she found the king’s room and the one next to it empty. The king said that he thought his wife had slept elsewhere, though I be thinking that he slept elsewhere and has no clue when she went missing.”

  “And Jacqueline was sleeping in the room next to it?” Aiden asked to confirm.

  Hamish nodded. “She’s been serving as Queen Catherine’s lady-in-waiting. The Duchess Louise says Lady Jacqueline attended the queen last night before they went to bed around midnight.”

  “And the king?” Scarlet asked.

  “Is as flustered as a plucked hen,” Hamish said. They climbed the stairs, and he glanced at Aiden. “He thinks ye have something to do with the disappearance since ye left, too.”

  “Hours earlier,” Scarlet said.

  Hamish shrugged. “That Covington arse is heaping all sorts of blame on ye, Aiden.” No doubt because of the man’s broken nose and bruised pride. The man had no idea that Scarlet, the woman he’d manipulated and attacked, was the only one saving his bloody throat.

  They pushed into the dark entryway where another English soldier stood. “Stand down,” Scarlet said, as if she were a general. She stepped before Aiden to lead the way into the great hall where the king, Covington, Louise, and several of the students of the Roses School stood near the hearth.

  “Aiden Campbell has nothing to do with the disappearance of the queen and Lady Jacqueline Beckett,” Scarlet said, her words filling the room. “Has the entire castle been searched?”

  “Arrest him,” Covington yelled, stepping forward. Aiden nearly smiled at the sight of the man, his eyes blackened and his nose swollen with a small plaster over it.

  “You will do nothing of the sort,” Scarlet said, snapping around to stand between Aiden and the English soldier who had come forward.

  “We’ve searched the castle,” Alana said. “I know every room, and they are nowhere.”

  “I said,” Covington started, but Scarlet interrupted, her hand pressing against Aiden’s arm as he lay his palm on the hilt of his sword.

  “Aiden Campbell is currently the chief of the Campbells. He was born and raised in this wilderness and knows all the hiding places. He is the strongest of men and the most cunning of warriors. If your majesty is to be protected from whoever has abducted your queen, you will need him to lead. Locking him in a dungeon would endanger your life further, your majesty.”

  Charles looked angry, though Aiden could spot the fear in the shifting of his eyes. Scarlet was right, the man was frightened.

  “Nonsense,” Covington started, but Charles
held up one hand.

  “If you, Chief Campbell, have a way to ensure my safety, then you will remain in my charge,” Charles said.

  “The man was gone last night,” Covington said, his voice low and respectful as he addressed the king. “He could have stolen them away and is now back to claim your life, sire.”

  “Aiden Campbell,” Scarlet said, standing tall, “was at his cabin along Loch Tay all night in order to refrain from slitting your throat, Harry. He left hours before the ladies disappeared, and they were not taken to his cabin.”

  “How would you know that?” Covington said. “He could have left early and had his associates carry—”

  “Because I was with Aiden Campbell all night long,” Scarlet said. “It was just the two of us until Kerrick found us riding back this morning.”

  “You bastard,” Covington said, his blackened eyes narrowing at Aiden. He turned to the king. “He has seduced Lady Worthington. The man is a scoundrel and should be locked up.”

  Would the king be angered that Scarlet was no longer a potential virgin mistress? Would he seek his revenge against the Campbells of Breadalbane? What would the repercussions be for killing the king and his associates here in the castle? For he wasn’t about to let the man, or Covington, touch Scarlet.

  “We are betrothed,” Scarlet said, her voice strong. “Handfasted, as they would say here in the Highlands.”

  Alana squeaked, a smile on her face. Cici gasped loudly, her hands flying to her mouth at the same time Molly’s did. Izzy grinned and ducked backward to scurry toward the alcove, perhaps to find her sister. Kerrick coughed into his fist.

  “Is anyone else missing?” Aiden asked, keeping his face neutral. Scarlet must think their engagement might protect him, as if he needed protection. The only thing keeping him from running Covington through was Scarlet.