“For what?” Richard asked.
“For caring so much about me that ye are willing to do this thing that will be a great challenge. For being willing to face me uncle and the potential of him refusing us. Thank ye for loving me to the extent that ye will go through all of this. There are few men like ye in the world,” Adeline said.
Richard smiled and Adeline could see that he was warmed by her comment. She was glad that he was clearly appreciative that she saw these things in him. It brought Adeline joy to see him feel so respected by her.
“Thank you for seeing those things in me,” Richard said quietly, before drifting into a deep sleep.
Adeline was awake a little longer, still nervous about confronting her uncle. However, soon after, she also fell into sleep.
* * *
The days passed and Adeline remained hidden in Richard’s tent while she helped him heal. Mr. Hudson protected their privacy as best he could and Adeline only had to hide quickly on occasion when the doctor came to change out Richard’s bandages once or twice a day, depending on his availability.
When he was not able to change them regularly, Adeline would do it herself and the doctor would come later and commend Richard for taking such good care of his injury and keeping it so clean.
He was healing well, but it was two weeks before the doctor thought him fit enough to travel home to England.
“You will have to find a doctor there very quickly to ensure that he can maintain your healing and avoid infections. You have come a long way and healed very well, but there is still a chance that things might go wrong and you could face danger,” the doctor warned.
Richard nodded his agreement to follow all the guidelines the doctor had given him. He and Adeline had already discussed that Joanna would take care of his wounds while they were at Dunmore to see her family. They knew that the care she could provide was better than any other.
“Just ask Douglas,” Adeline had told Richard.
“Yes, he told me of how much she and Grace did for him when he was injured. I trust her. She is the one who helped you get to me, so I trust her more than I trust anyone in this entire world, next to you,” he said with his smile still intact.
He and Adeline had walked circles around his tent to test out his leg, but he could not stand without her support. A crutch was fitted for him so that he would be able to move more easily, but he was still struggling to regain his full strength.
The next challenge came when the doctor had him test out his ability to ride his steed. It had been nearly impossible.
This proved to be a great challenge in the plans that he and Adeline had made.
Ultimately they decided that Mr. Hudson would hire a carriage and drive them to Dunmore. Richard’s superiors assumed the carriage would take them to England as made sense, but there was no need for them to know that Richard would not be going home after all.
Richard was hesitant to spend the money, but Adeline had urged him. They would be able to use his steed and her mare, so they didn’t have to leave them behind.
Mr. Hudson had generously taken her mare to a nearby village to keep her boarded without the army realizing there was a stray horse about, and he had said that the stable hand there knew of a place to hire carriages.
With that decision made, Richard and Adeline held one another the night before the journey and made love once more with the knowledge that there would be those who would try and separate them the following day.
“I will nae let them take ye from me,” she swore to him.
“I know, my love. And I won’t let them keep you there. We will find a way. We will beg if we must. But we will be together, whether they like it or not. You are my wife and you will never be any other man’s bride. I promise,” he said again.
Adeline nodded, pushing her worries aside, and rested her head on his chest.
They lay like that for a long time in silence before both falling into fitful sleep. The questions of the following day continued to haunt them through the night.
A Duel To Be Had At Dunmore
“I love you, see you soon,” Richard said, giving Adeline a quick kiss on the lips and sensing her smile in the darkness.
Adeline left the tent before the sun had begun to rise and made her way northwest to the road where Richard would meet her. It had been the best option they considered for her to be out safely without being seen.
He hoped that she would arrive at the road safely and with ease. In the meantime, he waited for Mr. Hudson to come with the doctor and a few others from his convoy, to escort him to the carriage that was believed to take him back to England for the remainder of his recovery.
It was nearly an hour before they arrived by his side. Mr. Hudson had already taken all his belongings to the carriage and now they needed only to help Richard.
Standing took all his effort. The pain was intense and Richard could not help wondering if he might pass out from the agony of it. Four men helped to get him through the camp and to the carriage, where he was laid down as best as possible, with a makeshift plank for his bad leg to rest upon.
In many ways, he was relieved that Adeline would not be here to see this version of him. He felt humiliated by the pain he was in, even now, after two weeks of healing. Gritting his teeth, he tried to hide it from his men, but knew they all saw through the bravado and attempts to be strong.
Richard settled into the carriage and rested his leg, saying final farewells before he heard Mr. Hudson get into his place and move the carriage forward.
Each jolt was an agony. He tried to push it aside, remember that he had been healing for two whole weeks and should not be in so much pain, but had a difficult time denying it fully.
Richard couldn’t wait to find Adeline as they went down the road and it did not take long before Mr. Hudson stopped to allow her entrance.
“My love, you’re here!” Richard exclaimed.
“Ye thought I wouldnae be?” she laughed.
“I’m just glad to have you back beside me. I missed you these few hours,” he told her.
“I missed ye as well. How’s yer leg? Is it doing alright with the movement of the carriage?” Adeline asked.
Richard cringed that she thought to ask the question. He was embarrassed to confess to her that he was still struggling so badly. “I’m alright,” he replied.
“Dinnae go lying to me. I can see it on yer face. Ye’re in a lot of pain, aye?” she asked.
“Indeed, I am,” he confessed.
“It’s alright. We’ll get ye to Joanna before we go in to see me uncle. She has some great herbs for pain and I ken she’ll put a good dressing on it that will get ye healed quickly,” Adeline told him.
“Thank you, my love,” he said.
Richard slept a little more on the journey, needing to rest and hoping to block out the pain. He didn’t want Adeline to feel alone as they traveled, but she had told him she understood and wanted him to get rest and do whatever necessary to be free of the pain that he suffered.
He woke to Adeline’s voice in his ear, whispering to try and wake him gently.
“Me love, we’re almost there. I’ll have someone send for Joanna quickly so that she can take care of yer leg out here instead of once we get into the castle,” she said.
Richard nodded his silent agreement. The pain was worsening.
It took nearly an hour for Joanna to arrive due to how far they still were from the castle and the fact that the boy they had seen on the road and sent to get her was still young and not quick.
Once she arrived, Richard saw that Joanna’s face was filled with anxiety. She looked at his leg and seemed to struggle to control her response.
“This isnae good. Not at all. What kind of doctors do ye have in yer silly little British army?” she asked, taunting Richard and Mr. Hudson.
“Joanna…”Adeline warned.
“Sorry, it just seems terribly ridiculous that a military doctor cannae do any better than this,” she added, as
if to defend her words.
“I know it’s bad,” Richard said. “I can feel it. It’s hot. Like an infection.”
“Aye. It’s infected. But I’ve got a salve to put on it and another to help it heal faster. Dinnae worry, ye’ll be better in no time at all. I just cannae believe that after two weeks it’s still in this bad a state,” she said, shaking her head.
“It wasn’t. It was healing quite well and I was feeling fine. But then it started to get bad last evening. Not bad enough to complain, just bad enough to make me uncomfortable. The journey today has been miserable, honestly,” Richard admitted.
He felt Adeline’s eyes, with all their concern, turn to him. He knew she would be angry that he had said nothing before of his pain, but he was a man, a soldier. It was not his way to show his weakness or the ways he felt made him seem pitiful. He didn’t want Adeline to see that side of him, not ever.
“Alright, here’s the salve. It might sting a little, but it’s drawing out all the infection,” Joanna said.
Richard cringed as she rubbed the paste into his wound and over the spot that had not yet healed, where the infection seemed to fester the most. He was grateful when Adeline grabbed his hand and he held it tightly against the pain. Dizziness came over him, but he fought it off.
“Alright, now this will feel a little better. This is the one that is actually going to help ye heal. I’ll do this for ye again this evening. Then tomorrow in the morning and evening. But I promise ye that by tomorrow evening yer infection will be gone and the wound is going to look like it happened months before. Still, I’ll do it then. After that, just this salve,” she said.
Joanna then rubbed the creamy, cooling paste into Richard’s leg and he sighed in relief. It was far better and he was thankful for the numbing sensation that spread through the hole.
“Better?” Joanna asked.
“Yes. Thank you. Much better,” he replied, his eyes closed.
Joanna wrapped it in a clean cloth and Adeline held Richard. It was as if he had never felt comfort in all his life and was now being laid on a bed of feathers. He wished only that he could remain like this for a week before having to face Adeline’s family and beg their permission for them to live together freely.
At last, it was time for them to make their way to the castle. Richard sensed Adeline’s growing agitation, but now Joanna was riding with them. He wanted Adeline alone, to himself, to discuss all their options, and so they could kiss and feel one another’s presence before the coming storm.
Still, Joanna was a good friend to Adeline, and now and then she would speak of something to distract her.
It was not long before Richard saw the castle over the crest of the valley in which it sat. They made their way down and before long, reached the stables.
Richard noted that the stable boy looked longingly at Joanna when he helped her out of the carriage. Next came his shock to see Adeline and this wounded Englishman. Richard ignored the look. He knew they would have plenty to come in the following hours. It was best to get used to it now.
Adeline and Mr. Hudson helped Richard up the stairs and into the doors of the castle. Whenever a guard would try to stop them, to ask about this man who was clearly not among them, Adeline would tell them to mind their business and that she and the man had to discuss a matter with the laird.
The guards looked at Adeline curiously, but allowed them to pass. They made their way inside and received even more looks of confusion and even disgust. However, Richard did his best to ignore them all. He knew that reacting would be worse.
They sat to rest just inside the entrance to the castle. Joanna sent a boy to inform the laird that his niece was there to discuss an important matter with him and the boy returned to inform them that the laird was in a meeting, but would hear her once the meeting had come to an end.
Richard wondered how long that might be. He felt his nervousness flaring up at the thought of going before the laird of the MacGowan clan. Surely he was better than Adeline had said. He was known as a great leader and his clan adored him.
Perhaps they adored him for his lack of kindness toward the English.
There were many people coming and going, and Richard realized that rumors had spread of the injured Englishman. He was embarrassed at all the young maids who found excuses to come by and have a look at him.
“Ye’re rather popular, Mr. English,” Adeline said with a teasing smile.
“Apparently so…” Richard replied. He gazed at Adeline, enjoying her smile and the way she lit up his world with the way she spoke. Her eyes were shining brightly in the light of the castle and he wondered how he ever could have thought of allowing her to live apart from him for such fragile reasons.
As he watched her face, he saw a twitch and a change come over her. Suddenly, Adeline’s eyes were not shining. Rather, they looked frightened. She swallowed hard and then shifted them to Richard, and back to a spot behind him.
Richard slowly turned his head and made to face the figure standing behind him. Mr. Hudson shifted uncomfortably and Joanna rolled her eyes in irritation.
It was Camry.
His nostrils flared in rage and his fists were clenched, with a pistol in his right hand. Richard could see how tempted the young man was to aim it directly at his brow and pull the trigger. He watched as Camry held himself back.
“So ye’ve gathered the courage to face me outright, have ye?” Camry asked in a tight, bitter voice. It was clear that he could not believe Richard’s presence.
“It has nothing to do with facing you, lad,” Richard replied, using Scottish slang to remind Camry that he was younger and more child-like than Richard. It only fueled the fire in his eyes. Richard internally rejoiced at getting the best of him.
“Who do ye think ye are, coming here like this? Ye want to abduct me bride again?” Camry asked, threateningly.
“Indeed, it is you who stole my wife. Adeline and I told you we were already married. And she has assured me that she told you this during her time in…captivity,” Richard said, enunciating the final word to show Camry that he had been the predator all along.
“Captivity? She’s not yers, mate. She’s a Scottish woman, through and through. She’d never sink to loving some English fungus,” Camry replied.
Richard laughed. He was unable to stop himself. “Fungus? I’m quite certain I’ve never been called such a thing in all my life.”
Camry’s face turned red with anger. He was clearly unaccustomed to being mocked and it left him seemingly livid.
“Englishman, I have a proposition for ye,” Camry said, a threatening smile coming over his otherwise handsome face.
“And what is that, Scottish boy?” Richard asked in a harshly mocking tone.
The response came filled with hatred and disdain. “A duel.”
A Dual And A Future Hope
“Are ye mad?” Adeline whispered the question, exhausted by the very thought of the two men in a duel. How could Camry be such a fool? Especially now, with Richard in such a state? He could barely turn his body before Camry had the pistol ready.
“I think yer English abductor understands me well enough, dinnae ye? It’s a gentleman’s way of making decisions. Ye’re a soldier, ye can surely point a gun,” Camry taunted, well aware of Richard’s state by now.
“I understand that a boy would consider violence and death the surest ways to guarantee a woman’s affections. I also understand the insidious, blind foolishness of such a perspective,” Richard replied.
Adeline placed a hand on Richard’s shoulder to quiet him. She knew he was enjoying every chance he had to taunt Camry, but Richard had no gun in his hand and Camry was indeed a foolish boy. It was unwise to provoke him.
“Dinnae worry, lass, I’ll have ye back in me arms before ye ken it. I’ll be yer husband. Soon. We’ll live our lives together as we always hoped for,” Camry said, glancing at Adeline.
She badly wanted to in that moment to tell him of her disgust. She wanted to tell
him how deeply she hated him and how the only thing she felt stronger than her hatred for Camry was her love for Richard.
However, before she could speak, Richard responded to the challenge.
“Alright then, let’s have it. You want a duel? I’ll give you a duel. You’re a boy, a child. I’m a soldier,” Richard stated, pointing out the obvious favor he had in the fight.
“Ye forget that I, too, am a soldier. And an intact one at that. I have no wounds as ye do,” Camry replied arrogantly.
“Tell me, what battles have you fought and won?” Richard challenged.
Camry was unable to respond. In truth, he had trained and had been stationed around the country, but he was fairly new to the Jacobite military and had not been tested fully in the heat of battle.
“That’s what I thought,” scoffed Richard.
Adeline had seen enough. The idea of the man she loved, in his injured state, having a duel with a man beloved by her clan was too great a thought to bear. Even if Richard did win, her uncle would never allow her to wed a man who had taken the son of such a valuable ally.
“Stop it! Both of ye! Camry, ye’re a man with plenty to offer to the right woman. But that isnae me. I’m already wed and ye have to just accept that, because if I were to wed ye, it would be a sin against God. Ye claim to be so pious and from a religious family. So ye have to accept it.
“And Richard, love, are ye mad? Ye’re terribly wounded. And me uncle wouldnae allow ye to be me husband if ye killed the child of one of his dearest friends. Dinnae be a fool. Both of ye. Stop being foolish,” she ordered.
Camry opened his mouth to speak against her, but Adeline walked up to him and stood eye to eye.
“Keep yer mouth shut. I’ve had enough. Ye’re not going to shoot him and ye’re not going to wed me. I’d die first and then what do ye think me uncle would have to say about ye? He may be a man devoted to his allies, but he’d still choose his niece before ye. So if ye try to hurt me husband, ye’re going to kill me,” she threatened, gritting her teeth in Camry’s face.
Kidnapped Highland Bride: Ladies of Dunmore Series (A Medieval Scottish Romance Story) Page 17
