by Mary Wine
The horses didn’t care for the weather. They kept to a brisk pace, eager to carry their riders to their destinations as fast as possible. The daylight faded quickly, and the sound of the wind became forlorn.
It also carried the sound of riders when they entered a narrow valley. The hills rose up on both sides of the road, making the sound echo. Brina suddenly felt unease prickling across her skin. Her father’s men frowned and looked toward the road in front of them. Her father raised his arm to stop them.
Once the Chattan retainers obeyed, the sound of approaching horses tripled. Brina looked up and felt her eyes widen at the sight of the steep terrain they were in. There was only one road here that led down to the midlands where the large abbey was. The deepening dusk masked the colors of the men who rode toward them, making it impossible to identify them until they were too close to avoid.
“Hold.”
Brina flinched, that single word echoing inside her head, for it was spoken in a voice that carried authority.
“Bad news always does travel faster than anything else.” One of her father’s captains spoke next to her and nodded toward the men coming up the road.
“There’s young Lindsey himself, and the man is riding hard.”
Connor Lindsey rode without a saddle. His stallion was a huge coal-black beast. Only a blanket was secured around the middle of its back, and Connor sat confidently atop it.
More than confidently actually. He looked pleased and was leaning over the neck of the animal to help it move faster. The man appeared half-wild, and his gaze swept over them with a quickness that drove home just how used to assessing others he was.
“I guess I should no’ be surprised to see ye here so soon.” Robert Chattan spoke slowly while Connor straightened up.
Brina gasped, the sound an impulse that rose from her chest instantly. It became clear why Connor Lindsey rode such a large stallion. The man was huge. He had golden hair and blue eyes that glittered like ice when they landed on her father.
“I was intent on riding toward Lindsey land—”
“Ye’re going the wrong direction.” Connor’s tone was hard, and her father drew in a short breath.
Robert Chattan held up one thick finger. “After I saw my third daughter settled at the abbey, for it seems that I’ve kept me daughters beneath my roof a bit too long.”
Connor’s men waited on their laird, silently watching him to see what he would make of her father’s words. Tension filled the air, and Brina shivered. There were more Lindsey retainers, twice as many as her father’s, and their laird glared at her father with eyes full of anger. Her fingers tightened on the leather of the reins, her gaze moving from side to side in an effort to determine the best escape route.
“We needs discuss Deirdre,” her father announced.
Connor snorted, and his captains mumbled beneath their breath. But the younger laird held up his hand again, and his men fell silent.
“Agreed.” But the man didn’t leave the back of his stallion, and that action declared to one and all just how little trust he had for the Chattans.
The rest of the retainers sat on top of their horses, their expressions forbidding. If the conversation turned ugly, there might be blood on the ground very soon. Their swords were still resting in the sheaths that were tied along their backs, but that could change very quickly.
“Laird Lindsey, be very sure that it was never my intention to keep this matter from ye.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed.
“Do ye expect me to believe that ye would have told me that yer daughter was meeting a lover?”
“I do.” Robert Chattan sent the two words toward the younger laird without a hint of hesitation. “If ye do nae believe that, we have no reason to be talking any business henceforth, but I’d be sad to hear it.”
Connor Lindsey snorted again. “I’m a fair bit more than sad at the moment.”
“But ye are here, and make no mistake, man, I am very happy to see ye riding toward my land to try to talk the matter through.”
Connor’s attention shifted to her, and she felt his blue eyes cutting into hers.
“This is yer third daughter?”
Sensation rippled down her back and sent her heart beating faster. Men in her own age group did not look directly at her, at least not for longer than it took them to avert their eyes. Her undyed overgown reminded them instantly that she was promised to Christ. She couldn’t recall the last time a man had truly looked at her for longer than a brief moment.
There was no mistaking the anger in his blue eyes, but there was something else there too. Brina stared at him, refusing to lower her eyes, because she felt compelled to show him that she was not timid. It was a reckless urge, but one that she failed to control. A hint of approval flickered in Connor Lindsey’s eyes.
“Maybe we still have business to discuss.” Connor looked back toward her father. “I still desire an alliance with the Chattan.”
“I see the way yer thinking is heading, and I’ll tell ye straight that the shame my eldest daughter has brought on me is enough. I will nae be open to telling the church that they will no’ be getting the daughter I promised them.”
Connor returned his stare to her, and if she were any judge of a man, he was doing his best to intimidate her now. She refused to lower her eyes, and something entered his that sent heat into her cheeks.
“Send Deirdre to the church.”
Brina felt her belly tighten. It was a twisting sensation that did what his bold stare had failed to—she lowered her eyes because she could not master her own emotions and did not want him to witness them.
“I cannae do that, man. Deirdre is no longer… pure.”
Her father growled the last word, his wounded pride obvious in his tone. Brina raised her eyes to find her father watching her with longing in his gaze. He nodded at her, regret thick in his expression.
“Ye’ve a good eye, Lindsey, for Brina is a fine daughter, but I cannae offend the Lord by sending him a child who I failed to raise with proper respect. Brina goes to the church as I swore she would. If ye will nae have Deirdre, I will release ye from our agreement.”
Connor frowned. “I need a wife who does nae come with rumors. Yer eldest might do well at the abbey, where there are nae men to whisper in her ear.”
Brina felt every set of Lindsey eyes turn toward her. She shifted beneath the weight of those stares, while her breath became lodged in her throat. Her father could change his mind. A shiver went down her spine as she looked back at Connor. With a few sentences, her father could send her to this man’s bed.
Her father grunted. “I’ve said my piece concerning Brina, Lindsey. Take yer eyes off a bride of Christ.”
Connor Lindsey looked back at her, and there was something in his expression that promised her that he was neither pleased nor content with her father’s words.
“But I’ve no’ said mine. Ye promised me one of yer daughters. Yer second is set to wed Roan McLeod, which leaves only yer youngest who is suitable for me.” Connor nodded toward her. “I’ll take her now.”
“Ye will do no such thing.” Brina spoke up without thinking about it. Surprise crossed the faces of the Lindsey men watching her, but their laird remained focused.
“I promise ye, lass, that I mean what I say.”
Brina failed to understand the rising unrest inside her, but she growled softly. The man was clearly insane with his anger over Deirdre’s betrayal, for no one challenged the church.
“So do I.”
Her father scoffed. “Brina has nae been raised to accept a husband. Ye would find her neither meek nor obedient, Lindsey.”
The corners of Connor’s lips twitched. “Aren’t nuns expected to obey the church?”
“Do nae attempt to compare the respect I have for God to something that might be given to a man.”
“Mind yer words, Lindsey. She’s promised to the church.”
“And she would no’ be the first third daughter who was exchanged for one of her older siblings when they dishonored their marriage contracts.”
Connor’s amusement vanished in the blink of an eye. Once again he was deadly serious, his eyes icy. But her father shook his head.
“I cannae agree to that.”
“You mean that ye will nae, Chattan, and I’m disappointed to hear that, for it dishonors the agreement we shook hands on.”
Her father stiffened, but Connor made a slashing motion with his hand.
“Enough. There’s a hint of snow in the air, and I am going to gain the Highlands before moonrise. Clear the way, man.”
Her father’s men began to move before their laird ordered them to. There were far too many Lindsey retainers for them to want the confrontation to continue.
“We’re nae finished, Lindsey.”
Connor was already riding past Robert Chattan as he spoke. His men surged forward, the sound of leather and hooves against the rocky soil rising around her. Brina had been pushed back by the retainers until she was near the end of the Chattan men. Her mare tossed its head, the press of so many stallions near it making the animal skittish. She leaned down, sliding her open hands along the neck of the animal.
“There now. ’Tis well and good… They will soon pass…”
A hard jerk sent her falling against the mare. Brina closed her arms around the animal’s neck as Connor Lindsey pulled her reins along with him. The mare let out a startled cry but turned and followed the surge of Lindsey retainers.
“Connor Lindsey! Unhand me daughter at once.”
Connor turned his stallion with a skill that was impressive. It was also slightly sickening, because he was a master of the beast, and he turned to face her father after leaving her behind him. His men reached for her reins and moved her behind them. She slapped at their hands, but they continued to move her until she was in back of every single Lindsey man.
“Give me yer blessing, Chattan.”
“I will nae!” Her father was furious, his voice booming through the bodies that stood between them. “Send her back here at once, Lindsey. Brina is promised to the church!”
Connor’s men began to push her even farther up the trail, four of them using their horses to herd her away from her clansmen. But it was the sound of steel being drawn that drew a gasp from her. She turned her head to see that the Lindsey retainers were pointing their swords at her father, Connor Lindsey sitting solidly in the first row of men blocking her kin from reaching her.
“I am more concerned with the promise ye made to me, Chattan. She goes with me now. When ye swallow some of that pride, ye know where to find me, but I swear I’ll defend what I consider my own if ye ride on me tonight.”
“Stop—Brina is nae yers…”
Connor Lindsey didn’t give her father any more time to argue. He turned his stallion once again, and the beast was galloping up the trail before she finished gasping with surprise. He reached over as he passed, and grabbed the reins from her shocked fingers. Her mare began running alongside his stallion. She grabbed the mane of the horse, the pace too brisk to risk sliding off the back of the animal. She’d surely break an ankle or even a leg, maybe her neck if fate was in the mood to be cruel today.
She snorted. Fate was most certainly of the mind to be unkind. She tightened her thighs around the mare, instinct making her want to stay firmly in the saddle. Her temper flared, but dying in a broken heap on the rocky road seemed an even worse fate.
The Lindsey retainers were urging her forward. She could feel the press of the horses and men behind her. Her heart accelerated, making her breathing raspy. She looked toward the ground again as desperation began to pound inside her head.
Maybe she could roll when she hit the ground…
A hard arm clamped around her waist. She shrieked because it felt like she was going to fall between the horses when Connor dragged her onto the back of his stallion. The lack of a saddle made it easy for him to place her in front of him, sitting sideways across the wide back of the animal. He released her mare and imprisoned her within his embrace.
For a moment she was stunned into stillness. Her breath was frozen in her throat, and it felt like her heart stopped.
He was so warm against her…
Her eyes widened with the shock of feeling her body leaning against his. She could even feel the beat of his heart against her shoulder. They were riding into the wind, but her cheeks burned with a blush. It was so hot she struggled to escape from the contact that was causing it. She turned on him and gained a warning flash from his blue eyes before she shoved her hand into his chin. She couldn’t think beyond the need to gain enough space between them to restore order to her thoughts.
“Release me…”
Connor grunted as her palm smacked into his jaw.
“Ye’ll end up trampled, lass.” His arms tightened around her.
“Then let it be so.”
Brina kicked, and Connor made another sound that was low and full of frustration. He leaned down, pressing her against the neck of the horse. She had to turn her face to avoid having it pressed against the stallion’s mane. Her cheek still ended up resting on the velvet hide of the animal, the sound of its breathing filling her ear because Connor looped the reins around his fists and used his body to hold her against the animal.
She lay trapped beneath him, unable to do anything more than growl with her temper.
“Being wed to me will nae be worse than having fifty sharp hooves puncturing yer flesh and breaking yer bones.”
He whispered against her ear, and the sound shocked her again because it was deep and husky. Part of her wanted to smile in response, and that fanned the flames of her temper.
“I could nae disagree with ye more.” She strained against him, snarling when he didn’t move even a tiny amount. “Get off of me.”
“I meant what I said about considering ye mine, Brina Chattan. If ye will nae behave, I will keep ye secure so that ye do nae fall.”
She felt his leg near her feet and kicked at it. The only thing she gained from him was a soft grunt.
“I can see that yer father was no’ jesting about the fact that ye are nae meek.” There was a hint of enjoyment in his voice that kept her cheeks burning brightly.
“What I am is obedient to his promise that I serve the church. Ye should respect that. This is madness.”
“It is done, lass, and ye may sit up only if ye do nae hit me again.”
“Or ye shall lie on top of me like a brute?” Maybe it was unwise to offer him a suggestion of how to control her, but she couldn’t resist the urge to bicker with him.
His chest shook as he chuckled. “Well now, if ye act like a hellcat, I will treat ye like one.”
She sputtered with her outrage and strained against him once more. “I am no such thing!”
She could still hear him laughing, and it made her furious, but she was helpless against his strength.
“I think ye just might be, Brina, and I find that a pleasing idea.”
He sat up, pulling her along with him. His hand gently wrapped around her face to keep her ear turned toward him. It was a gentle yet firm hold that shocked her again with warmth and something like pleasure.
“Struggle, and I swear I will lie on ye until after moonrise.” His words were muttered in a husky tone edged in steel that sent a shiver down her back.
But his words weren’t what disturbed her the most. It was suddenly abundantly clear why girls promised to the church wore only undyed robes. The garment kept men from getting too close. She shivered, a ripple of awareness traveling along her skin. She could
n’t seem to stop it, only experience it, since she was still bound against Connor Lindsey. She couldn’t recall the last time a man of any age had embraced her; even her father had stopped hugging her once she had passed her tenth winter. She felt oddly agitated, as though sitting still were beyond her self-control.
Was that how the insanity began?
Perhaps she had judged Deirdre too harshly for succumbing to Melor.
Dusk fell, and she faced the deepening darkness with a growing sense of dread. Connor never eased his pace. The man seemed to know his way, even as the last of the light faded and the moon hid behind dark clouds. Once the sun was gone, the temperature dropped dramatically. Brina couldn’t see the snow flurries, but she could feel the icy flakes hitting her face. She shivered once more and reached for the hood of her cloak, which was lying down her back.
Connor lifted it and dropped it into place for her.
“I can take care of myself.”
One of his hands rubbed down the length of her arm, sending a fresh wave of sensation through her. She enjoyed it and couldn’t ignore that fact.
But that was wrong, so very wrong.
“Ye’ll learn, Brina Chattan, that accepting a bit of care from my hand will be something that ye anticipate.”
“Nay, I will nae.”
He turned his head, and she felt his breath brush her cheek.
“I promise ye, lass, ye will.”
***
Connor pulled his horse to a halt hours later. The darkness made it hard to judge the amount of time that had passed since he’d stolen her away from her father. He allowed her to slide off the horse, and pain erupted in her feet the moment when she was forced to support her weight. She stomped at the ground to restore her circulation.
“Ye can take yer ease, but we are only stopping long enough for me men to do the same.”
He pointed at an outcropping of rocks that were dark shapes in the darkness. Brina went toward them because the need to escape was still pressing down on her. She was moving too fast and stepped on a stone that rolled. A sharp sound escaped her lips as her ankle twisted painfully, but she hopped and made it around the rocks to the privacy that her body needed.
