They rode majestically in front of her like Aidan would. She gripped the reins of the horse tightly until her nails dug into her palm.
I shall not cry.
She bit her lip to fight back the tears as one of the guards spoke. “We shall arrive in Haerton by sunset.” His demeanor informed her that he had no interest in taking her back to Haerton. She did not give him a reply. “Did ye hear me? I said we will arrive at—”
“I heard you!” she answered with a sad nod.
No one spoke a word until they reached the top of a hill where Joan could see the gates of her town. “We will have to stop here. Going any further is too risky for us.” Joan turned to look at the second guard who had spoken and gave him a curt nod.
“I thank you for your protection,” she said and he nodded and turned back with his companion. Joan felt her heart clench as she saw them ride away.
This is it. No more travels. No more Scotland. No more Aidan.
She blinked away her tears as she turned her horse to take her to the gates of her town. She was stopped by the guards at the entrance.
“Who goes there?” one of the guards asked anxiously as he blocked her way with his spear.
“The Lady of Tyrill. The daughter of Viscount Matthew Hale,” she answered in a curt voice. The guard stood tall and met her eyes. Joan raised her head as if to hide her sorrow and project some confidence. The guards were dumbfounded for a moment but they regained their bearings and backed down.
“Let her through,” he said as his men opened the gates and she rode past them, ignoring the looks she got because of her unkempt appearance and clothes from her journey. With her head held high, she made her way to her father's estate.
Immediately she saw the familiar freesia fields and her estate just after it, her heart started to pound heavily.
Here I am, back to my cage.
She sighed and looked back, remembering the first night she met Aidan. He had walked her home and told her many tales from his travels.
They were all lies. He was a lie.
She shrugged away the memory reluctantly and turned to face the freesia field again. She noticed some were stained with some gold dust as she rode past them.
She knew her father would scold her and possibly marry her off to a man of higher status to make sure she was always hidden away from everyone else. She did not blame him. She did not know what to expect from him but she was ready to face the consequences of her actions.
My father was right about Aidan. He was not to be trusted. How foolish I was to fight my father for him. I disobeyed everyone for him.
She stopped at the entrance of the gate to her estate and the guards in front of it looked surprised to see her. Their gaze did not leave her as the gates were drawn open for her to pass through.
Everyone stopped upon seeing Joan. She ignored them as she got off the horse, she patted its dark mane and handed it to a stable boy. She gathered her tattered dress and made her way to find her father.
As she turned into a corner, she almost ran into Sir James. She looked up at him, he looked like he was trying hard to ensure she was real. His doubtful expression swiftly turned into an angry one.
“Where have you been? Do you know how worried we all were? You chose to run off with some Scottish vagabonds without considering the consequences!” Joan looked away as Sir James scolded her. “Your father has almost lost his wits! Many of my men died while searching for you!”
Joan saw the knight as an older brother. He was far younger than her father but older than her. She understood his worry as he had been there since she was a toddler. She knew her father trusted him with the security of the estate as well as his life.
“Why are you screaming, Sir James? Send some more men! Search other kingdoms. Lord Tyrill has said he will not spare anyone who brings bad news about Miss Hale,” Joan heard Sebastian say as he came down to meet them. He did not see Joan at first.
“Look who decided to return home,” Sir James snapped as he moved out of the way so Sebastian could see her. The older man gasped as she rushed to pull Joan into a tight embrace.
Joan was about to speak when she felt his lips at her ear. “At first, I thought you would be sensible enough to come back earlier. Joan when this is over, you and I need to have a little discussion,” he whispered in her ear so only Joan could hear before pulling back. “You have truly outdone yourself this time, child. Come.”
Joan gulped as Sebastian led her to her father's study with Sir James angrily marching behind her. She looked around for a moment.
I did not expect to be here again so soon.
“Lord Tyrill?” Sebastian called as he knocked on the door.
“What?” The door flung open and Joan saw her father looking ready to kill. His expression softened immediately his eyes fell on Joan. “Joan?” he asked shakily and she inched back, unsure of what to expect. He reached out until he grabbed her arm and pulled her to his chest, clasping her tightly to himself with his eyes closed.
Oh! I expected him to scream and shout. Instead he embraces me?
“How? How did this happen?” he asked as Joan shakily returned his hug. She was still scared, but she felt herself relax a little with her father. “Where were you?” he asked again as she started to sob in his chest.
How could I tell him about anything that happened?
“Did that boy take you?” her father asked for the third time and he felt Joan stiffened. He yanked her back, making her yelp and he took in her appearance. “He took you! Did he take you to a woman?” Joan shook as her tears refused to stop. “Where did he take you to?” he yelled at her and she flinched and shook her head. “Answer me, Joan! Where did that boy take you?”
“Lord Tyrill. Let me talk to her,” Sebastian said as she placed a hand on Joan's shoulder and her father nodded. “We need to know where you went, Joan. This is for your safety and ours,” he said in a soft tone and her sobbing seemed to reduce. “Take your time child. I just need you to tell me where you were.”
“S-Scotland, in Rattray,” she answered as the tears began to blur her vision. She flinched at the angry yell her father let out. She ran toward Sebastian, but Lord Tyrill pushed past them and rushed up the staircase. “What is father doing?” she asked, her voice cracking as she spoke.
“I do not know.” Sebastian looked at Sir James who shrugged.
As he spoke, they heard a nearby door slam shut and the Lord came down with his coat. “Lord Tyrill please do not make any decisions we might regret.”
“Sir James, prepare my coach immediately. We have to go to the castle,” the Lord commanded as he grabbed Joan's arm and pulled her to him as the knight marched off to get the coach ready.
“Father, please let go of me!” Joan tried to free herself, but his grip was too tight for her as he dragged her to the coach violently. “I cannot be seen like this, father!” He ignored her as he helped her into the coach and he followed her. Sir James got on the horse and soon they were on their way to the Duke's castle.
Joan gulped as they stood in front of the Duke. Her gaze was fixed on the marble floor of the large room. When she looked up, she locked eyes with the Duke and she hurriedly looked back to her feet. She heard a deep chuckle come from him. “I see you have found your daughter. I did not believe you had a child. Her beauty is… rare,” the Duke said, never taking his eyes off Joan.
“Yes, your Grace, and I also need to give you news of great importance.”
What news does he have to give?
“Is this about witches and curses again?” the Duke asked with a frustrated tone.
“Not at all your Grace.”
“Very well. Speak.” the Duke said as Joan looked to her father.
“My daughter was kidnapped by a Scottish lad who was in the town. She was deceived by the lies he told her and when I caught them together, I had my guards serve him some justice. Unfortunately, they merely beat him up and the next day, he kidnapped my daughter from her chambers and
took her to Rattray. As you can see her torn clothes, she had been imprisoned in hopes of getting any information from her. My Joan only managed to escape because luck was on her side. If we do…”
“Your Grace, if I may,” Joan felt the need to interrupt her father.
“Speak,” the Duke said with a small smile.
“I was not taken. I went off with my own free will. I did become friends with that Scottish man, but he did me no harm,” Joan’s words drowned out when she saw the Duke's disapproving look.
Except for the lies.
“Silence, child!” She jumped at her father's tone. “She has possibly been tortured when she was held captive. She had only just managed to escape.”
“How could this have happened? Where were your guards?” the Duke asked Joan with a concerned tone.
“No! I look this way because of my journey back from Scotland!” Joan defended but her father glared her down.
“She is delirious from hunger and speaks nonsense, your Grace. These Scots are savages that should not be allowed to roam free,” Lord Tyrill said and the Duke nodded in agreement from his seat. “They have come into our towns as spies and killed many people, they abducted a lady from her own chambers! Who knows if she is the only one that has been taken! Many more men, women and even children of Haerton may have suffered in the hands of these savages!”
“They are not savages! Your Grace, Scottish people have been misjudged. They are not savages that kill and attack anything that breathes. They are just like us! They live the same way we live. Doing anything to them may trigger a war and…” the Duke raised a hand to stop her. “But your Grace! You have to listen. These people are loving and kind. Yes, there are a few bad people among them but we have bad people among us too! You cannot claim to know them from a distance! None of them will—”
“Enough. I know of the people of Rattray and their pompous Earl in Aberdeenshire. They must be taught a lesson,” the Duke said to her and she stepped back in shock. “You are a lady. You should not be interfering in the affairs of men.”
“Women are allowed to work and some can even fight in Scotland. They are not as bad as you think, they are only different” Joan pleaded with the Duke but her father pulled her behind his back to get the Duke's attention off her.
“We cannot take these beastly acts from these savages, your Grace. We have to retaliate. We have to attack them and get this war over with. We shall burn Rattray to the ground and bring you the head of their Laird and his Earl! I only have one request your Grace. I may have lost my hand but not my wit, let me scheme the destruction of these savages, let me write their end!”
“Very well then. Your request is hereby granted. I will have an emissary alert the knights, I place them under your control. I apologize for the trauma that your daughter may have gone through and I assure you that we will bring down these brutes, and Earl Duncan, their leader.”
“You know him, Your Grace?” Lord Tyrill asked.
“Yes, my father spoke of him. If you defeat him, you will have done me a favor.”
“Your Grace please do not do this!” Joan cried as she tried to get away from her father, but his grip held her in place. “You are putting many lives at risk here. Children and women will die in Haerton. Please let us not rush into war! I beg of you!” she cried but was ignored by the two men. Lord Tyrill gave a short bow and dragged a crying Joan back into the coach.
“I will decide your punishment when we arrive back home,” Lord Tyrill said as the coach started to move.
“If I knew a war would start as a result of my return, I would have never come back home. Many lives may have been saved,” Joan mumbled through her tears. “You do not care. You only care about yourself.”
“I should care for them?”
“You do not care about the lives that will be lost in this war; the innocent children, women and men who will meet their demise in this unnecessary fight” Joan said as she looked out the window at the faces of the people on the street, living their lives without a worry.
“Are you concerned about your people or about your Scottish friend?” her father asked. Joan could sense the anger in his voice and chose not to answer him as a fresh set of warm tears ran down her face at the mention of Aidan. “Answer me!”
“I do not wish to speak of him.” She dismissed the conversation. She knew her father would act horribly if she told him about anything that had happened between her and Aidan.
It is already bad enough that a war is about to be fought. It would be worse if my father were to go after Aidan himself. With my father’s disability, Aidan would kill him with one swipe of his sword, if he spares him, Ian will not hesitate to finish the job.
I have to stop this war, Haerton is not ready for war but Rattray looks ready to pounce and devour.
One wrong step and Haerton is finished.
Chapter 18
Aidan flinched as he withdrew his now-bleeding hand from the blade he had clenched too tightly. He looked up to see if anyone saw him and found Ian staring at him, concern etched on every curve and corner of his face.
“Aidan how—” Ian began to ask, but Aidan interrupted him before he could finish the question.
“It was a slip of me hand,” Aidan answered as he wiped his bloody hand on his kilt and got back to sharpening his dagger. He resisted the urge to express any pain because he knew Ian would continue questioning him if he did. Soon Aidan slipped back into his thoughts.
She should be in Haerton by now. Maybe I could run away to find her. I can take her away and we will live on our own.
But would she even want to see me? I told her so many lies that I almost started to believe the lies I told. I am not traveler; I am as bound as she is.
"Aidan!" Aidan jumped back and grabbed his dagger up as he glared at the person who had yelled his name. It was Ian.
“What?”
“I have been calling out to ye!” Ian snapped back at him. “Yer faither requests yer presence,” Ian said as he pointed at a maidservant who had been sent to deliver the message. He tried to hand Aidan some notes but Aidan didn't take them.
“I daenae wish to see him,” Aidan said as he put down his dagger.
“He wishes to see ye! For how long will ye continue to act like a child, Aidan. Joan left on her own free will, ye cannae blame her for that. If ye have to blame anyone then it should be yerself, because ye was the one lying to her from the onset!” Ian yelled, and Aidan shrugged.
“Ye better nae act like ye had no hand in this! I wanted to tell her but ye told me to hold it in until we arrived at Rattray. Ye dared to break our friendship because I wanted to tell the truth. Daenae be hypocritical! I daenae wish to continue discussing this issue with ye,” Aidan said as he pushed past Ian and entered the estate, only to run into his father.
“I called you, Aidan,” his father said as he shot him a stern look. Aidan saw his mother come out from a room, dressed in her riding clothes, bow in hand and arrows strapped to her back.
“I was busy. I still am,” Aidan said as he tried to push past his father, but the older man yanked him back. “I said I daenae want to speak to ye!”
“I dinnae ask what ye wanted to dae!” his father shouted back at him as Aidan brushed of his father's hand. “What are ye doing about the war? The Earl wants to ken more about our enemies.”
“I told ye that I am nae interested,” Aidan snapped and the Laird clenched his hands into fists.
“Haerton struck first, Aidan; they imprisoned our people and they may have killed some of them for no reason. Haerton started this war and the people of Aberdeenshire will not be cowards. The Earl gave ye the honor of planning a war with our greatest enemy and ye want to lose all the fame and glory such a role would bring ye because of a woman? Ye ken yer people need ye to give them the information ye gathered from yer journey to Haerton.”
“All ye ken is fame and glory, faither. Love is no concern of yours. My heart matters little to ye. If the war is so important
to ye, then rally yer men and fight, but count me out. As for the plans I made, I have no intention of sharin' that with anyone,” Aidan stated.
“We cannae go to war blind!”
“Then make new plans, or ask Ian to help ye.”
“It is too late to make any plans. We must know Haerton's strength and weaknesses before we proceed,” the Laird said as he rubbed his bearded chin. “Pray tell me why Ian knows next to nothin' despite the two of ye spendin' time in Haerton.”
Aidan and his father turned to Ian. Ian reached into his bag and presented the notes he tried to give Aidan earlier. “This is the war plan that Aidan wrote before we got distracted in Haerton and our time there was cut short. Honestly, only Aidan can finish it, I dinnae ken much else.”
Highlander's Cursed Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 15
