“This is wonderful, Sebastian. If she married the Duke, she would be the Duchess and she will be protected for life. The Duke will make sure that no harm comes to his wife,” Lord Tyrill said as he looked around for the plans he had been working on. He couldn’t find them on his desk.
“But is that not forcing her My Lord? She is clearly interested in another man,” Sebastian said, looking away. Lord Tyrill stopped what he was doing and faced Sebastian.
“She has interest in no other man! Do not say such things,” the Lord snapped. He was momentarily distracted by a black raven perched on the window. “She has interest in no man except the Duke and she is still untainted,” He declared and grabbed a nearby candle and aimed for the bird out of frustration.
Sebastian flinched at the sound that came from the bird when the Lord threw the candle at it. “But what will happen when the Duke finds out? He will come to know of all of this once she is wed to him. What will you do then?”
Lord Tyrill froze at Sebastian's words.
What could happen when he comes to know of this? Would he punish her? Would he punish me?
It does not matter much if they are already married. If he punishes or shames her in any way, he shames himself.
“He can do nothing to his own wife,” Lord Tyrill insisted. “She will be a Duchess, Sebastian. This is the best way for her to have a good life.”
“But she should be happy as well,” Sebastian replied, and the Lord stopped to look at him. “She is in love and she is still very young. I know she is not my daughter but please, I beg you to consider her feelings.”
“And marry her to a savage?” Lord Tyrill snapped. “Never! She can do no better than the Duke. He will be able to take care of her. I will not allow her to marry some savage who cannot take proper care of a woman!”
“My Lord, this is not just about Joan’s future, we are talking about her emotions too. She would be devastated if you force her to do this. Why can we not leave her to wed the man she loves?”
“Because he is a barbarian! How do you expect me to let her leave England for a land full of dirt and grime!”
Sebastian sighed as he clasped his hands together. “I am begging you, My Lord, not to condemn your daughter to a sad life. She will not be happy with the Duke, we both know how he is. Joan interests him now but once he has her, he will pursue other women. Joan will only be a wife to show the town that they have a Duchess. She will not be loved for long.”
“Leave me be, Sebastian. Joan is my daughter. I know what is best for her. The Duke may be all of these things but as long as he is able to keep her protected, I ask for no more.”
Chapter 22
“How was it, Your Grace?” Lord Tyrill asked as he rose to his feet when the Duke joined him in the great hall. Lord Tyrill had visited the Duke in hopes of some good news concerning the Duke and his daughter’s outing, “I know she did not reject you.”
“Ah, it was wonderful. She seemed a little distracted but all went well,” the Duke replied with a satisfied grin. “I do want the wedding to be held after the war. It will be a double celebration. Our victory over Aberdeenshire and my marriage to your daughter.”
“As you wish, Your Grace,” Lord Tyrill said. “I have also come here to request something from you.”
“Anything for you! Just name it,” the Duke said with a laugh.
“It is about the war. We must use all means available to gain the upper hand, to do this we need to know the ins and outs of their town. They are savages but they are very skilled in building their town. We have no knowledge of how the place looks like, the strength or the weaknesses of their borders, the size of their army, or how well they are prepared. We tried questioning the Scottish prisoners in our custody but they did not say anything useful,”
“You speak the truth. We have no documentation of their town. What do you say we do?”
“I suggest that we send some men disguised as merchants to go into the town and find out whatever they can about the Earl and the town's defenses,” Lord Tyrill said and the Duke nodded in agreement.
“We are already two weeks into preparations for the war. Is that not too late? They will be on alert for spies.” The Duke asked.
“Leave that to me, Your Grace. All we need is for them to find out the best entrance into the town. They will not see my men coming. Besides, we have to do everything it takes to gain an advantage. We cannae lose to the savages.”
“I will trust your judgment on this Lord Tyrill. Is there anything else?”
“Not at all, Your Grace,” Lord Tyrill said with a quick bow. “I will take my leave now.”
“Please take this gift to Joan for me,” the Duke said and Lord Tyrill let a small smirk creep on his face.
She is in very good hands.
“I will not marry him! I refuse to!” Joan yelled at her father who had shown her the gift the Duke sent to her. It was a beautiful black mare from his stable.
Must this girl always be so stubborn.
“I do not want his horse nor his wealth! Father, you cannot make me get married to him!”
“You cannot send a gift back. It would be rude to do so,” he said as he shoved the reins in her hand. “And you will marry him. He has prepared everything for you! You would have been perfect for him if you had not thrown yourself to that savage! The Duke is willing to marry you. No man will want to marry a woman who has already been defiled by another man!”
“I do not want another man. I want the man that I love! That is all I ask for, why do I not have a say in my own life?” she yelled as she wiped her tears away.
“This man that you are willing to go against me for has not even tried to see you or sent a letter. How are you even sure if he didn't just want you for the moment?”
“Aidan would never do that to me! He loves me!” she snapped back and her father rolled his eyes at her. “There is no way for him to reach me or he would have tried. Even his father forbade him from being with me yet he protected and defended me,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Alas! His father has the ability to think. He may be the only Scott with a brain. Both of you cannot—”
“Father, please!” Joan screamed, shocking her father. “I have never been able to get anything I wanted from you. You have a fear that someone is coming to kill me because of your own sins, but I have offended no one, and in case you did not notice, I am a grown woman,” Joan hardly paused for breath as she continued to yell. “Your protection has taken more away from me than you will ever be able to give me.”
“That Highlander can do you no good! I will not sit by while my only daughter joins my enemy,” her father lamented.
“They are your enemy because you have made them so. The Scots have done nothing to incite a war, but you are relentless in your pursuit of war and you will listen to no one. You know Haerton is unprepared for war yet you chase your own vengeance at the expense of your countrymen.”
“You will not speak to me like that, child!”
“I am tired, father. I am tired of listening to you dictating what I eat and who I speak to. I have respected and trusted your judgment, but you have shown me that you do not care about mine.”
“So what if I am aching for war. That witch took my hand and killed my wife, and I did nothing to her. She took my dignity and I have an opportunity to gain it all back. The Scots have always been our enemy and I do not care how many of them I have to kill. That boy took advantage of you, I will not rest till I cut his arms off. This war will teach them not to tamper with my family or any Englishman.” He walked toward her as he spoke, “You will marry the Duke of Haerton so that no one can ever get so close to you again. The Duke is ready to do anything—”
“Aidan would have done anything for me father,” she whispered and her father looked at her curiously. “You do not know him. You have not met a Scot except on the battlefield, so you judge him even before you know him. The first time you saw him, you had him beaten up,” Joan cut in.
She still defends him. What manner of witchcraft is this?
“He is the kindest person I have ever met, father. He has shown me great kindness since the day I set my eyes on him. He taught me how to ride a horse, how to start a fire. He has been injured in a bid to save me. He stood against his family for my sake. If you could only give him a chance, you would love him.”
“But he is Scottish,” the Lord said, grimacing and Joan's eyes widened in disbelief.
“You are going to let me marry a man who knows nothing about me and kill the man I love all because he is Scottish? How can you be so selfish father?” she cried.
“Joan, I am only trying to…”
“No,” Joan interjected sharply. “You are always trying to keep me safe, but from what? Why am I suffering from the repercussions of the sins of your youth?” Joan let go of the horse and wiped her tears. “Please, I need to be alone.” She stood and walked away from her father.
“Joan,” her father called out but she ignored him.
What am I doing wrong? I only want the best for her, he thought.
“Almost there,” Aidan said as he urged his horse with a pat on the neck. He was riding through the forest, the gentle breeze calming his mind as he rode. He had not seen Ian for a while and he wanted to check up on his friend.
He could see the small cottage chimney puff out smoke from on top of a hill and he started to charge toward the cottage. There were three men in front of the cottage, trying to start a fire.
I have never seen them here before.
“Who are ye? Where have ye come from and where are ye headed?” he asked as his hand tightened on a small dagger he kept on his person.
“We are merchants from England. We are here to trade our goods,” the first one said and Aidan noticed him scrunching his nose after he spoke.
“Really?” Aidan asked with an eyebrow raised. “"Ye dinnae know about the war?”
“What war?” the first man said and Aidan noticed that he looked away as he spoke. The other two men were too poised.
These are odd men.
“What is yer name?” Aidan asked.
“Ronald Smith,” the man said and Aidan noticed he scrunched his nose again.
“So ye say ye are from England?” Aidan asked and once again the man answered affirmatively. Aidan noticed that this time, he met his gaze without effort.
“Ye should go back to England. Aberdeenshire is very tense at the moment; this is no place for Englishmen. If ye value yer life, ye should dae as I have said. Have a good day,” he said and urged his horse to break into a trot.
“Thank you,” he heard one of the Englishmen answer with shaky confidence as he left.
What about Joan? I should ask about her. They might know something about her.
He stopped his horse and turned around. “Dae ye by any chance know a lady who goes by the name of Joan Hale. Miss Hale, the daughter of Viscount Matthew Hale.”
“Yes,” another man answered hesitantly. “How do you know her?”
“She was me helper when I was in Haerton. She gave me some money and a horse to complete my journey back home,” Aidan said, his face showing no emotions. “I only want to know how me helper is doing.”
“Well, she is going to be wed to the Duke. The wedding will take place after the war,” the man said and his companions shoved him to the ground.
The first man looked at Aidan with a nervous smile. “Do not listen to what he says. All we know about the lady is that she was kidnapped and has finally returned back home,” he said as he scrunched his nose.
“Very well. I will leave ye to decide if ye will stay here or return. Aberdeenshire does not allow spies to go so freely. If ye value yer life, ye will turn back now or face the wrath of the Scots,” he said and they immediately drew their swords. “You are pointing yer swords at the wrong person. I will leave ye, but if any of ye decide to chase me, yer heads will roll. If ye ever see Joan, thank her for yer lives. Ye would not be breathing now had I not met her,” Aidan tightened his outer legs and his horse raced away from the Englishmen.
The great Aidan ran from a fight!
When he was far enough away, he let his guard down.
Joan is to be wed.
Does this mean that she has been lying to me? Has she been deceiving me about her feelings for me? Were me parents were right about her?
I refuse to believe it. She could not have lied so well. She was so innocent when I met her, or was that all part of her plan?
But her emotions were true. I could see it in her eyes. She dinnae lie. Everythin' she has said to me was true. Even if she was lying, her eyes would give her away.
She must have been forced. Her father must be the one forcing her to wed the Duke. She cannae betray me trust and love so easily.
“Aidan?” Aidan snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his name being called. It was Ian. “What are ye doing here?”
“I came to check up on ye. I have nae seen ye in a while, so I decided to come by,” he said, and Ian gave him a teasing grin.
“I thought ye told me to go away?” Ian said and Aidan cracked a smile as he got off his horse.
“I would never forgive meself if I chased ye away,” Aidan said and tied his horse next to Ian's. “You need to inform the Laird, I saw some English men a kilometer back. I think they might be spies.”
“I have been watching them. They are spies for sure. I have reported them to the Laird and the guards at the gates. They will be arrested in no time.”
“When did ye see them?”
“I was hungry for some wild berries earlier, so I decided to go look for some. In my search, I came upon them and hid near a tree before they could see me. I was able to listen to their plans. I also found out that they had been in Aberdeenshire for five days. Adding that to the journey from England to Scotland, they must have been away from home for ten days.”
“Did ye hear their plan?”
“Yes. They plan on finding the weakest point to enter Aberdeenshire,” Ian said and Aidan scratched his beard, trying to think.
“They will not find a way in except if they discover the river. It starts from the Highlands and runs all the way to the Lowlands. It is the main source of water and that is the point with the fewest guards. The English soldiers can come in through there and mingle with the locals or attack from there,” Aidan said, and Ian's eyes were wide with amazement.
“How did ye think of that so fast? I have been pondering about this for days,” Ian said and Aidan grinned at his friend.
“I am smarter than ye,” Aidan joked and Ian shoved him away.
“Bampot! Ye‘re nae so smart when it comes to Joan,” Ian said, and Aidan's smile fell as he remembered what the English spies had told him. Ian noticed the change in his mood immediately. “What is the matter?”
“When I asked the English spies about Joan, one of them told me that she is to be wed after the war,” Aidan said with his fists clenched.
“Did she lie to ye?”
“No. She was nothing but open with me. Joan is being forced into the marriage, I know it.”
“How?” Ian asked.
“Her father must have found out that she loved me and due to his hatred for me, he wants her to get married as soon as possible in hopes of getting her mind off me,” Aidan replied, and Ian shook his head.
“What if ye are wrong and she has forgotten about ye?”
“Never! Once I have the chance, I will find her. I will go to Haerton and I will bring her back with me.”
“Let's not plan our demise yet, me friend, if you went anywhere near Haerton now, it would be the last anyone would see of you. Drink with me,” Ian beckoned him forward and they went into his house.
I have made grave mistakes with Joan, but I will not stop fighting for her until she tells me to dae so to me face.
Chapter 23
Aidan stopped his horse at the entrance of the cells at the back of his father's estate where his parents s
tood over two men who were on their knees and shaking.
These are the English men I warned earlier. They must have attempted to enter the town and were captured.
Aidan got down from his horse and a nearby guard took charge of the horse. “What happened here?” Aidan asked.
“Well, we found that Duke of Haerton had sent soldiers to spy on us. One of them was able to escape but I have men searching for him,” his father replied as Aidan crouched down in front of the Englishmen. One looked frightened while the other looked like he was ready to fight his way out.
Highlander's Cursed Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 19
