The Highlander's Princess Bride

by Vanessa Kelly

  Victoria peered ahead. “Is the road entirely blocked?”

  Heckie glanced back. “Do ye have ’em, sir?”

  “Yes, go,” Nicholas barked.

  The groom jogged up the road, while she and the earl waited in tense silence.

  Soon enough, Heckie trudged back. “It was a small one, but it did the trick. The road’s fair blocked, it is.”

  If that was a small one, Victoria had no desire to ever see a large one.

  “Any chance of digging through?” Nicholas asked.

  “Aye, if we can get enough men and shovels. But it’ll take better part of a day.” Heckie glanced up at the sky. “If this thaw holds, it should melt through in three or four days.”

  “Does this happen often?” Victoria asked.

  “Usually once or twice a winter,” Nicholas said.

  She sighed. “Then it would appear your grandfather really did plan for this. And now no one can get to them in time.” If she wasn’t so furious, she might even admire the old codger’s creative ploy.

  Anger poured off Nicholas in waves. “I could throttle him for putting you and Heckie in danger.”

  “And you,” she said. “But I suspect he knew exactly where we were when he set it off.”

  “She’s right, sir,” Heckie said. “I saw the old fellow up on the path on the other side of the valley. He kenned we were safe back here.”

  Suddenly, she wanted to laugh. “You have to give him full marks. It was quite a plan, if entirely mad.”

  Nicholas reluctantly smiled. “I would have preferred not to be dragged all the way up here only to be stuck at the end of a valley. He should have left us in blissful ignorance.”

  “I suppose that letter was to give us fair warning before the families of the young ladies descended on us.”

  “I have no idea what Angus really wants, and at this point I don’t care.” His brief flash of humor was gone. “Heckie, do you think the path is in decent enough shape to walk in?”

  “Aye, m’lord. Might be a bit snowy, but the villagers use it when they’re afeared of the snowpack comin’ down. The moonshiners, too.”

  “Moonshiners are still on my lands?” Nicholas asked in disbelief.

  Heckie shuffled his booted feet. “Sorry, m’lord.”

  “If I find out that my blasted brothers are involved—”

  Victoria grabbed his arm. “One problem at a time, sir.”

  He heaved in a breath. “Sorry. You’re right.”

  He looked so frustrated she wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss away all his troubles. Unfortunately, she was also the source of one of those troubles.

  “All right, Heckie. Take Miss Knight back to the inn at Arrochar. You can both return to Glasgow tomorrow.”

  Victoria wasn’t having it. “I’m not returning to Glasgow.”

  “You cannot walk over the pass,” Nicholas said in a tone that suggested she was an idiot.

  “I don’t see why not. I’m a very good walker, and I’m wearing boots as sturdy as yours.”

  “You are not used to walking in the Highlands in the winter.”

  “It’s not that cold, and you know it. Heckie, how long will it take?” she asked.

  Nicholas glowered. “You are not—”

  “How long, Heckie?”

  When the groom cast an uncertain look at his employer, she couldn’t blame him. Thankfully, Nicholas simply fumed in silence.

  “With a little luck, mayhap about forty-five minutes,” Heckie finally said. “Most of the track is in full sun, so ice shouldna be a problem.”

  “Oh, splendid. Just a nice little stroll,” the earl said.

  She glared at him. “If I do not come with you to Kinglas, then all this has been for naught. You’d better reconcile yourself to the fact that I’m going.”

  “You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met,” he said.

  “And you are the most pigheaded man I have ever met. Now, might I suggest we set off? Dusk will come soon enough, and we can’t leave these horses standing any longer.”

  Nicholas yanked his hat off, scrubbed his head, then slapped his hat back on. “Fine. Heckie, wait at the inn in Arrochar. Captain Gilbride and some angry fathers might be showing up there before too long. I will have to depend upon you to apprise them of our situation.”

  “Aye, sir,” the groom said with only a slight wince.

  Nicholas helped Victoria descend, then Heckie climbed in and turned the carriage around. The earl struck off across the snowy field toward the west side of the glen, setting a steady pace.

  “Keep up, Victoria,” he tossed over his shoulder.

  She stuck her tongue out at his back but hurried to catch up.

  “If you walk in my footsteps, it’ll be easier,” he said.

  “I’m perfectly fine.”

  He headed for a group of boulders that marked the base of the path. The first part of the climb was an easy switchback, but then the trail straightened out and began to rise at a fairly steep angle up to the ridgeline. Within a few minutes, Victoria was puffing and scrambling to keep up.

  Nicholas, of course, was making it indeed look like a nice little stroll.

  Soon, he stopped next to a large rock beside the path. “Take a bit of a rest. We’re almost at the top.”

  “I don’t need a rest,” she gasped.

  He took her by the shoulders and gently guided her down onto the rock. Since it was in full sunlight, it felt surprisingly warm. Not that she needed it, since she was perspiring from the climb and no doubt red-faced. While her feet were cold and one was damp from where snow had overtopped her boot, she could still feel her toes when she wriggled them.

  “It’s easy to fall on the way down,” he said, “especially when you’re tired. Just catch your breath for a minute.”

  “You’re not tired at all, are you?” she asked wryly.

  He shrugged. “I’ve been hiking these hills since I was a young boy.”

  From this higher vantage point, Victoria could see the tops of the mountains that marched away north and east. Craggy gray rock jutted up from glittering layers of ice and snow, presenting an imposing landscape. The slanting rays of the setting sun danced over the highest peaks, making them glow with orange fire. It was wild and fierce and altogether beautiful.

  “It’s breathtaking,” she said softly.

  Nicholas pointed at the closest peak. “That’s Beinn Narnain. I climbed it with Logan when I was fifteen.”

  The mountain loomed impossibly large. “That must have been quite an adventure.”

  “It was grand,” he said in a softer tone.

  She smiled, imagining him taking on the challenge with boyish determination. “I’d like to hear all about it someday.”

  He seemed to come back to himself. “There’s nothing to tell. We climbed up, and then we climbed down.”

  Well.

  There was no thaw between them, and she’d clearly been a fool for thinking it possible.

  “I’m ready,” she said, standing up.

  “Victoria, I didn’t mean—”

  She picked up her skirts and hurried past him, ignoring his aggrieved mutter. The sooner they got to Kinglas, the sooner she could stop bashing her heart against the wall he’d erected between them.

  The trail was surprisingly dry, probably due to its high, exposed position. But now the wind had picked up, its gusts flapping her skirts about her legs. One blast caught her in the face, blowing dust in her eyes. She stopped, blinking to clear her vision.

  “Here, let me go ahead,” he said. “It’s a bit tricky on the turn down.”

  Victoria nodded and moved aside. She was growing cold now, despite her exertions. The sun was fast approaching the horizon, and soon even the top of the ridge would be in shadow.

  Nicholas glanced back and extended his hand. “It’s narrow and icy here. Be careful—”

  His eyes widened as his feet started to slip out from under him. He pinwheeled his arms and went down
with a crash, his momentum carrying him toward the edge and the valley floor below.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Nick searched for cracks to grip in the brittle rock as his feet scrambled for purchase on the scree. With every scrape of his boots, debris plummeted down the steep slope. He’d fallen because he’d been fretting about Victoria instead of keeping a closer eye on his own damn feet. If he fell to his death off a trail he’d walked countless times, it would be the final irony of his life.

  “Nicholas, give me your hand!” Victoria ordered. She knelt precariously above him on the edge of the ridge, panic lurking in her gaze.

  “No, and don’t come any closer,” he gritted out. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “So you informed me before you fell on your confounded arse,” she said, reaching for him.

  Nick almost laughed. But when he lifted a hand to seek better purchase, the movement dislodged him and he slipped again.

  “If you move again I’m going to kill you,” she yelped.

  “Best not. You’ll start to get a reputation.”

  The entire day was beginning to strike him as perfectly ridiculous. It was like one of those gothic novels Taffy loved to read, but without a ghost or a villain. Of course, he did have an old castle, so maybe he was the villain. He’d certainly been acting like one toward poor Victoria.

  “Shut up,” she said as she edged toward him again.

  “It’s all right, love. It’s going to be fine.”

  “Not if I don’t help you.”

  When she wriggled down, it set off a small rockfall. A few large pebbles bounced off his head, which no longer had a hat to shield it.

  “Ouch,” he said.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Her voice quavered. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “There’s something else we could try, but I don’t want to put you in danger.”

  “I don’t care, Nicholas. Just tell me what to do.”

  “All right. Get behind that rock just there and throw me one end of your muffler. If you can brace your feet against the rock and hold on to your end, I can try to pull up and get myself over the edge.”

  Victoria scrambled up to her knees, unwinding her scarf. As she tossed one end to him, she plunked down behind the boulder.

  “All right, love. Just dig in as best you can.”

  “I’m ready,” she said stoutly.

  Nick let go of his grip on the slope and started to pull himself up. But almost instantly the fabric shredded where it passed over the boulder. He had no choice but to release it and grab desperately for a small outcropping.

  Dammit to hell.

  Victoria leaned over the edge again. Her bonnet was askew, and her hair straggled around her flushed cheeks. “Oh, God. I thought I’d lost you.”

  “I’m still here,” he said, trying to reassure her. “Listen, Victoria, the trail isn’t nearly as steep on the other side of the ridge. You can make it down on your own, if you’re careful.”

  “What? I’m not leaving you! You can’t hold on much longer.”

  “There’s a crofter’s hut at the bottom of the hill. Tommy Crookston lives there. He can bring a rope and pull me up.”

  Nick figured it would take about thirty minutes or so to make it down. With a little luck, he could hang on that long. But if old Tommy wasn’t home, he was royally screwed. There was simply no way he could climb up the rockface on his own.

  “I don’t want to leave you,” she said.

  Her obvious distress broke his heart, but he couldn’t afford to let her give in to it. Her life, as well as his, was at stake.

  “Victoria, there’s no time for schoolgirl hysterics. Get off your arse and get started down that hill.”

  She blinked in shock, then she sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve—just like a sweet, adorable schoolgirl.

  “All right,” she said, scrambling up. “But don’t you dare fall.”

  “It’s not in my plans, I assure you.”

  If he lived through this, he would do his bloody best to convince her to forgive him. After that, he would protect her from any man who tried to hurt her again.

  She was just turning away when Nick heard a scrabbling noise along the path.

  “What the hell is this?” a familiar gruff voice said from above him.

  Equal measures of relief and irritation flooded through him. Of course, it would be him come to his rescue. Irony abounded.

  “Mr. Kendrick,” Victoria exclaimed. “Thank God! Nicholas is barely hanging on.”

  “I’m hanging on just fine,” Nick ground out.

  “Doesn’t look like it to me,” Logan said, peering down at him.

  “Would you please stow it and just give me your blasted hand.”

  Victoria jabbed Logan in the bicep. “Hurry! His hands must be all but frozen.”

  She was right. Nick could barely feel his hands.

  “Hang on, old man.” Logan went prone at the edge, stretching down a long arm to reach him. He wrapped a massive hand around Nick’s wrist.

  Knowing his brother held him in a secure grip, Nick let go of the rock and grabbed Logan’s wrist in his right hand. He gazed up into blue eyes that were a reflection of his own, fighting off a torrent of conflicting emotions. “Just get on with it.”

  “Ungrateful bastard,” Logan muttered. He glanced over his shoulder. “Miss Knight, as delightful as you feel lying across my arse, it’s not necessary. I assure you I won’t fall or drop him.”

  “I am not lying across your backside,” she said. “I’m simply holding your legs.”

  “Victoria, please do what he says,” Nick snapped. He’d had quite enough of this bloody hillside.

  His brother gave a mighty heave, hauling Nick close enough to the edge for him to throw his leg up and over. He let go of Logan’s arm and rolled onto the path, panting heavily as he stared up at the dusky sky.

  Two faces inserted themselves into his line of vision.

  “Are you all right?” Victoria asked breathlessly.

  “Never better.” Nick sat up and eyed his brother, who’d stepped back and was now regarding him with a wary expression. “Logan, why are you here?”

  “I’m staying at the crofter’s cottage.”

  Victoria frowned. “Why aren’t you at the inn at Arrochar, or even in Glasgow?”

  “Because old Tommy is a friend. And because I have no intention of leaving Kinglas until I get what I came for,” Logan said, a touch defiantly. “Anyway, I heard the commotion and came up to have a look. Then I heard you shriek, Miss Knight.”

  “You saw the avalanche?” she asked.

  “We heard the bagpipes,” he said dryly. “I knew that meant Angus was up to something.”

  “You could tell it was him?” Victoria asked while she yanked on Nick’s collar.

  She was obviously trying to help him stand, but was half strangling him instead. Still, having her fuss over him was a welcome change, even if he’d almost killed himself in the process.

  “I would recognize the sound of my grandfather’s bagpipes anywhere,” Logan said. “There’s nothing like it.”

  “He is rather dreadful, isn’t he?”

  “Rather.” Logan flashed her one of his charming smiles. When Victoria smiled back, Nick felt like planting a facer on his brother’s nose.

  “What’s the old fellow up to, anyway?” he asked.

  “It’s none of your concern,” Nick said. “I told you to leave Arnprior lands weeks ago.”

  His brother stared at him in disbelief. “And I told you I’m not leaving until I get what I came for.”

  Nick began whacking grit and ice from his greatcoat. “My forgiveness? Good luck with that.”

  “Dammit to hell, Nick. I just saved your sodding life.”

  “I didn’t need you to save my life. I needed you to save my son’s life. Instead, you let him die.”

  The words surfaced from a grim place where all the ugly, sorrowful events of the past still held sway
. For a while, the darkness had retreated under Victoria’s shining light. But now that light was probably lost to him.

  “You’ll never forgive me, will you? No matter what I do.” Logan’s voice was taut with bitterness.

  Nick didn’t really want to hate his brother—in fact, hating Logan was exhausting. But he kept facing that big, black wall, one that always shifted and transformed into Cameron’s polished coffin. All his grief and rage condensed into that single, heartbreaking shape.

  He looked at Logan and shrugged.

  His brother grimaced. “Och, never mind. You never forgive anyone who hurts you, no matter how much he needs it. You couldn’t even forgive Janet, your own damn wife. Well, I won’t be like her. I won’t break myself against your stupid stone heart.”

  Nick found himself going for Logan, but Victoria threw herself in his way. When she slipped on a patch of ice, he grabbed her and yanked her against his chest.

  “Stop this nonsense.” She glared up at him. “We’re on the edge of a blasted cliff.”

  Logan, who’d pulled back a fist, muttered a disgusted curse and stepped away.

  Nick carefully set Victoria back on her feet. “Sorry, but he can never shut his damn mouth.”

  “Oh, you shut up,” his brother growled.

  “You both shut up,” Victoria said, “or I swear I will push you over the edge. I have had more than enough of the Kendrick family to last a lifetime. You are the most insanely stubborn group of men I have ever met. I am heartily sick of the lot of you.”

  “Tell us how you really feel, Miss Knight,” Logan said in a lame attempt at a jest.

  “You don’t wish to hear it. All I care about at the moment is getting to Kinglas and making sure those poor girls have not been traumatized by your imbecilic brothers.”

  Logan sighed. “What did the lads do now?”

  “Royal and the twins kidnapped three young ladies and took them to Kinglas,” she said.

  Logan looked at Nick, dumbfounded. “Is that true?”

  “We’re not sure yet what happened,” Nick replied. “But the sooner you stop pestering us with questions, the sooner we’ll find out.”