A Protector in the Highlands

by Heather McCollum

  “I know where they are likely holding them,” Elizabeth said, making the remaining four turn to her. She smiled, her face cut with shadows, reminding Scarlet of a wood carving of an old witch.

  “How would ye know that, Gram?” Alana asked.

  “That English soldier, the one who took Izzy before…”

  “Burdock?” Cat asked.

  “Aye. I was seeing him around and inside your cottage for the last month. At first, I thought he was looking for ye, but he came back and put iron bars on the windows and boarded up the back door ye had. Thought maybe he was moving in himself, hiding as he was. I was going to tell Grey, but then he said he was leaving for England.”

  “And ye didn’t tell him then?” Alana asked, her lips pinched in dismay.

  Elizabeth shrugged, and with her hair sticking out oddly, she gave the impression of someone who didn’t have a firm grasp of her mind. “The man had left for a couple of weeks, so I didn’t think of it, but he came again after Grey left, so I decided to move here.”

  Alana ran her hands over her face, much like her brother did when he was upset. “Lord, Gram, if Cat had gone back, Burdock could have caught her there.”

  “Oh, I knew Cat had turned traitor and moved in with the English in the castle,” Elizabeth said, looking at Cat. “But I can’t blame ye, with your sister here.”

  Cat rolled her eyes heavenward but didn’t say anything.

  “So,” Scarlet said. “The villains might be led by Marcus Burdock. And he could have them at Cat’s old cottage.” She glanced out into the night. “I plan to meet the villains at midnight, like they instructed in their letter, with a bag of coin.”

  Cici looked around. “Which is where exactly?”

  Cat pulled the pack she’d been carrying off her back. “Bag of rocks with a few coins on top, just like ye asked for,” she said, swinging it off her shoulder to set before Scarlet.

  “Well done,” Scarlet said, lifting the weighted bag. “By showing the scoundrels a few gold coins, the bag will hopefully win me a trip to the queen and Jacey. For it’s doubtful that they will bring the ladies close to Finlarig.” Scarlet let the slight breeze cool her warm cheeks. Her pulse was beating so fast that she would soon start to sweat, even out in the winter temperatures.

  “Ye want them to take ye, then?” Alana asked, her eyes wide. “Burdock and perhaps Finlay Menzies?”

  Scarlet swallowed. “I suppose yes, with all of you following me, possibly to Cat’s cottage.” She nodded. “Yes, that’s the plan, for them to take me.”

  “Ye are brave,” Alana murmured, and Scarlet glanced around at the other grim faces. Even Cat’s expression was pinched with concern.

  “We must all find our courage to do what is right in this world,” Scarlet said. Facing Finlay would be unpleasant, but she’d fought and won against him before. Thankfully, the demon who stalked her dreams remained inside the walls of Finlarig.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Aiden watched Harry Covington walk the inside perimeter of the bailey wall. He stopped at each English soldier to have a word with him. There were five of them now, as one had been sent north to the English encampment headed by the newly promoted Captain Morris. Each of the four held a smoking musket, ready to fire.

  Covington stopped by two of the soldiers who stood together. The three bent their heads inward as if speaking low. Covington glanced up toward where Aiden stood next to King Charles at the bottom of the stairs, his mistress at his side, but then he looked away, walking on to another soldier. Hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, Covington seemed gripped by nervousness.

  “’Tis getting dark,” Louise said. “We should go back inside.” Charles pulled her affectionately into him and murmured something in her ear that Aiden couldn’t hear. She smiled and kissed his cheek. The woman had already given him a son, and if Queen Catherine was killed, Scarlet had told him that Charles would likely wed Louise. Was that part of why the man wouldn’t let warriors leave to rescue the queen?

  Aiden’s fist tightened around the hilt of his sword. The politics of this predicament only added to the tangle. And he was certainly not a politician. He’d rather force everyone to give up their secrets and plots at sword point. But he wouldn’t jeopardize the Campbell clan of Breadalbane by acting on his own wants.

  Shite. How did Grey do this all the time as chief? Shouldn’t he be back by now? It was Christmas in a couple of days, and Aiden had had enough of playing chief. Aiden wanted his freedom back to carry Scarlet to his cabin where he would make love to her and convince her to remain with him forever.

  I love you, Aiden Campbell. Think of that while I’m gone. Blast, he’d thought of little else. Except now, his instincts kept bristling the hairs on the back of his neck as he watched Covington whispering to yet another English soldier inside the walls. He’d convinced Charles to keep most of the Campbell warriors outside, leaving the four English soldiers, Hamish, Kerrick, and Aiden inside. Only the English soldiers had muskets. The others stood armed with swords, shields, and bows, spaced evenly outside the castle wall.

  Covington moved across the bailey with clipped strides of his polished leather boots. “Your majesty,” he said with a little bow of his head. “I don’t know why the English camp north of here hasn’t sent any men. Perhaps our soldier was waylaid by the traitors.” He stood tall. “I request permission to ride there myself to bring more reinforcements to guard you.”

  The king played with the end of his thin mustache. “You are a brave man, Covington.” He nodded. “You may go, but make haste as night falls.” He glanced at Aiden. “I would send Campbell here with you, but you might be in even more danger.” He chuckled slightly, tucking Louise’s hand into the crook of his arm.

  Covington didn’t even look at Aiden, but turned on his heel, striding toward the door hidden in the wall where Kerrick had re-entered. The portcullis remained down. Aiden’s jaw hardened, as he knew that the bastard would likely use his horse, still tied outside. Maybe Eigh would throw the man, saving Aiden the trouble of breaking his neck.

  As Covington stopped before the small door, he had another word with the English soldier standing there. The soldier nodded, opening the door in the wall and closing it after Covington went through. Glancing around, the soldier stood before the door as if guarding it. Aiden watched him carefully but then looked toward the king as the soldier’s gaze perused the entire bailey. Aiden crossed his arms and braced his legs in a casual, waiting stance that belied the quickening of his pulse. For the soldier who’d let Covington out had failed to secure the door, leaving open an easy entrance into Finlarig.

  Letting his gaze slide along the top of the keep wall where Kerrick patrolled, Aiden side-stepped closer to the king. “Your majesty, I was wondering…” He turned to face the lacy, jewel-bedecked man, who looked out at the inadequate defenses he’d brought with him.

  “Yes?” Charles intoned.

  Arms crossed over his chest to keep his hand from his sword, Aiden spoke slow. “How well do ye really know Lord Covington?”

  …

  Scarlet smiled at the group of eight trouser-clad ladies, her Highland Roses, every one of them anxious to help. Elizabeth Campbell stood with them, though with her angry pout, she still looked reluctant.

  “Cat,” Scarlet said, turning to the one Rose who looked comfortable in her fighting gear, a bow over her shoulder and blades strapped around her thighs. “Once I leave to meet the abductors, you will be in charge.” Cat nodded, straightening even taller. “You all will follow me to wherever they are holding the queen and Jacey,” Scarlet said.

  Elizabeth crossed her arms. “At Cat’s cottage.”

  Scarlet nodded to her. “Very likely.” She looked to the others. “In which defensive skills do you each feel the most confident?”

  “I’ve been able to throw my mattucashlass the farthest and straightest,” Alana said, producing one from her tall boot. “And I have Robert.” She patted the dog as he sat at her sid
e, his nose to the air. “He will listen to my commands. Won’t ye, boy?”

  “I’m better at throwing than Alana,” Kirstin said. “But we’re both good.” She patted her tall boots where she must have blades hidden.

  Fiona cleared her throat. “I can throw rocks.” Scarlet’s brows rose, and Fiona twirled one of her loose curls with a finger. “My ma says it isn’t right for ladies to throw blades outside our cottage, so I’ve been practicing with rocks.” She smiled. “I can hit a cow in the forehead ten yards away.”

  “Fiona,” Alana whispered harshly.

  “Only once,” she answered. “I truly didn’t think I could throw that far. Old Besse was fine. ’Twas a small rock.”

  “Very well,” Scarlet drawled out.

  Cat pointed to the bag that she’d fashioned to look like the ransom. “Take a couple of large ones out of there.” Fiona bent to it, tugging the ropes open.

  The night sat still around them with hardly a breeze. Winter seemed to hold its breath, listening to their plans. Scarlet breathed in the cold like it was quenching water. Her hands were chilled, but she felt a little trickle of sweat slide down between her breasts.

  “I brought blades,” Martha said. “The two most balanced, which I throw the best.”

  Cici cleared her throat. “I can scream.”

  “We all can scream,” Fiona said as she clattered the rocks in the bag.

  “If Finlay is involved…” Cici said and exhaled long. “Well, he hates my scream. It makes him fall down, covering his ears. I think he sent me away partly because of it. He says I scream like a banshee.” She tipped her head. “It’s powerful.”

  Scarlet clasped her hands before her so that she wouldn’t lay her palms to her cheeks. She wet her dry lips and pressed them into a smile. “It could be a very effective diversion while some of you sneak into the cottage to free the prisoners.” Scarlet turned to Cat, who nodded, even though she looked more like she’d rather roll her eyes.

  Izzy raised her hand, flapping it in the air over her head. “And Izzy will be our ears,” Cat said. Izzy dropped her hand and nodded. “She’s silent, small, and can sneak around to listen to what anyone is saying,” Cat said. “I know all her signals, so she can use her hands to tell me what people are saying across the way.” Izzy nodded again.

  Scarlet’s stomach tightened. “I wish you would stay back, Izzy.” She held up her palm as Izzy’s face fell into a frown. “I’m just worried you’ll get hurt.” The girl splayed her hands out to them all. “Yes, I worry that any of you could get hurt. In actuality,” Scarlet started and sighed. “I worry that I’ve led you all wrong by asking you to help.”

  Cat drew closer. “Just because we are lasses doesn’t mean we can’t contribute to the security of our clan. We have grown stronger and have skills.”

  “We are ladies saving other ladies,” Kirstin said. “We’d want someone to save us if we were taken by those beasts.”

  “We are the Highland Roses,” Alana said with a smile, her hand resting on Scarlet’s arm. “And our thorns are sharp.” She hit the final p in the word with force.

  Izzy made claws with her fingers as if they had thorny tips, and Scarlet noticed that the girl had indeed trimmed her nails to points. Good Lord, what would Evelyn think of her students now?

  Elizabeth chuckled, shaking her head. She scratched the back of one ear. “This school has filled ye full of bloodlust.”

  “Gram,” Alana said. “We’ve learned that we can do more than sit and pray.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “These are strange times.” She looked to Scarlet. “If I was young, I’d run with ye. But I suppose I’ll stay behind and pray.” She snorted.

  Alana gave her a hug. “Ye’ve helped us get out of the castle, Gram.”

  Scarlet took the bag of rocks and coins, sliding it over her shoulder. “Wait,” Elizabeth said. “Ye need to cover those trousers, else they know something is afoot.” She slid back into the mausoleum, quickly returning with a soiled skirt. “I had this just inside,” she said. “I was going to wash it.”

  “Thank you,” Scarlet said and climbed into the skirt, tying it closed on the side. Anyone paying attention would surely see that she wasn’t dressed like a lady, even with the skirt, but it would help.

  She looked to Cat and nodded. “Don’t lose us. They could be on horseback.”

  Izzy jumped up and down and pointed into the woods. “She brought back the two horses tied outside the wall when she got the others,” Cat translated.

  “Two?” Scarlet asked. “Weren’t there three?” Kerrick’s horse, Caora, and Aiden’s mighty Eigh.

  Izzy shook her head, frowning, and held up two fingers. Scarlet nodded. “Thank you for your quick thinking,” she said to Izzy, who grinned widely.

  Scarlet took a deep breath. “To save our fellow women, then,” she said to her team. “The Roses have great courage. Thank you, ladies.”

  “We will follow right behind ye but stay hidden in the woods,” Cat said.

  Scarlet nodded once and turned to stride off through the woods toward the main road near the path to Finlarig. She didn’t want to be seen by the warriors outside the castle, but she wanted to be seen by the men looking for the ransom. Her borrowed skirt smelled like a dirty barn and caught on the twiggy wood of the winter bushes. She contemplated stepping out of it, but Elizabeth was right. To be taken as a simple lass, she must be in a skirt.

  With only a sliver of moon, the road was dark, helping to keep her concealed from Finlarig. She crept carefully to the road since Aiden may have ordered the men to scout the surrounding area. But the king’s order to stay at the wall to protect him must have kept the Campbell warriors in place, for the road was barren of men and movement. Around the corner from the castle path, Scarlet stepped out, her boots crunching on the pebbles. She shifted the bag of coins and rocks to her other shoulder, her heart pounding in her ears as she strained to listen.

  Somewhere behind her, the Roses would be creeping close while staying hidden. What if no one came? Should they continue on to Cat’s cottage? It was late, but was it midnight yet? Should she stand out in the open, waiting? God give me courage. What would stop the fiends from shooting her and taking the bag without bringing back the queen and Aiden’s sister? Nothing.

  The more she mulled over their possible treachery, the more Scarlet longed to return to the cover of the trees. She could find the Roses, and they could go together to Cat’s cottage. There would be no other reason for Burdock to be reinforcing Cat’s windows and blocking the back door other than to hold a captive.

  I’ll wait ’til the count of one-hundred. Then she would find the Roses. Scarlet shifted nervously and began to count in her head. Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven—

  Crack. A branch broke, and she spun in the dark toward a tiny lamp up ahead, her heart pounding. She held her breath as five men emerged from the shadows. Five. How could she fight five of them if rape and murder were on their minds? The Roses. They were a bit back in the woods. She inhaled, holding her ground.

  Scarlet fished around in the bag and produced a gold coin before her. “I’ve brought the coin. Where are the queen and her lady?”

  “Well now,” the man in front said, a smile cracking his scruffy face. “The coward sent a woman? How kind of him.” The others chuckled behind him, the sound of their deep voices stirring the panic in her middle.

  “Where are the queen and her lady?” she repeated.

  The leader stepped closer, peering at her in the glow of the lamp. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, milady, though you look quite a bit like your sister.”

  “You have me at a disadvantage, sir,” Scarlet said.

  One of the other men chuckled. “That we do.”

  The leader plucked the coin from her fingers. He tossed it in the air and caught it. “Burdock,” the man said. “I am Marcus Burdock, and you, Lady Scarlet Worthington, will need to come back with us to claim the queen.”

 
; “And Jacqueline Beckett, the lady with the queen,” Scarlet said. Or had something horrible befallen Aiden’s sister?

  Burdock nodded, watching her closely. “If the coin is in there then you can have them both. If not…” He glanced at the other men. “We will add a third to our royal party.”

  Scarlet’s breath caught inside her until she forced an even exchange and nodded. The Roses would liberate them before they had time to realize the coins barely equaled twenty pounds. “Onward then,” she said, and one of the men yanked the bag from her hands. He smelled of sweat and wood smoke and spirits. Another man, wearing a kilt instead of the dirt-stained English uniform, grabbed Scarlet’s arm, and she recognized him as the man she’d witnessed thrusting into the woman in the great hall of Castle Menzies.

  He smiled down at her. “Come along now, lass.” Scarlet made her feet move and turned to stare straight ahead into the darkness. They walked for long minutes before stopping, two of the men dodging off into the woods to bring back four horses.

  Blast. They were continuing on horseback. Had the Roses left the two horses behind when the men were on foot?

  “Up ye go,” said the Menzies scoundrel, and lifted her. Scarlet almost kicked the horse, stealing it away, but stilled her legs, waiting for the man to climb behind her. Her mission was to find the queen and Jacey, not escape. Deep breaths. In and out.

  Nausea slid through her stomach as the man’s arms came around her, and he pulled her backside into the V of his thighs. Panic fought inside Scarlet, but she squashed it back. I’ll pierce his eye with my hair spike if he touches me. The solid plan calmed her nerves, and he leaned forward, prompting the horse into a gallop through the night.

  Scarlet had never visited Cat’s cottage in the woods, so she had no idea if they were headed there or another place entirely. If the Roses couldn’t keep up, and the villains’ hideaway was somewhere else, it would be completely up to Scarlet to save the three of them. How many men were waiting at the end of the ride? Good Lord! She was acting on the flimsiest of plans.