“I have no idea where we were. I went for a walk and a man attacked me. I fought him off and I tried to run back to where our cart had stopped for the night, but I couldn’t find my way back. I walked all night and then slept all day. I found an old cottage that I spent the night in. I stayed there all day yesterday as I was too weak to walk.” She screwed up her face in concentration as she tried to remember her movements.
“I’ve walked a bit further today, but I’m not sure if I’ve turned back on myself or moved further away from him. I know we’ve been in the Highlands for several days, we were heading towards Oban but I have no idea where we were when I got lost. We sometimes passed through more than one town in a day and I gave up trying to remember place names. I don’t know how Harvey manages.”
Duncan took her hand and helped her up. “Harvey Rookwood?” he asked. Colleen nodded enthusiastically, feeling more optimistic that this stranger clearly knew who Harvey was.
“Oh, Harvey trades around these parts. He comes into my village now and again too. He deals the finest mead in the whole of Britain.” Colleen smiled as she recalled Harvey making a similar claim.
“Have you eaten since you left him?” he asked with obvious concern. Colleen shook her head no and as she stood, she once again felt dizzy. This time her legs buckled under her and she would have tumbled to the floor had the tall, strong Scotsman not been there to catch her. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all, threw her over his shoulder and headed back in the direction of his village.
As she stirred and momentarily forgot where she was, Duncan patted her bottom with affection. “Don’t worry, Colleen, you’re safe with me. You have the word of Duncan MacGregor, remember?” Colleen murmured “yes” and settled down once more, thoroughly exhausted.
“You fainted, probably through hunger, but you’ll be OK. I’m taking you back to my village, we’re almost there. You can stay with me until I find Harvey. I know the places he trades. I’ll go out and ask around, see if I can find where he is. I’ll get you something to eat and some warm clothes to wear.” Colleen nodded and remained slumped across his shoulder. She found her position humiliating, but she was too exhausted to argue or struggle and she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, sensing she would be safe with this big, strong and very attractive Scotsman.
* * *
Colleen woke a little while later in unfamiliar surroundings. She panicked at first and quickly sat up, looking around the small room. She was tucked up tightly in bed. As she glanced around in confusion, a tall man sat near to the door immediately stood up and hesitantly approached her. “Duncan,” she croaked as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He nodded and smiled. “How are you feeling?” he asked, smiling down at the beautiful young Irish girl he had encountered in the woods, recalling how out of place she had looked in the Highlands.
Colleen’s stomach grumbled loudly and she blushed. “I guess I’m a little hungry,” she whispered, as he pulled the blankets away from her and helped her out of bed, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her. “Duncan, I can walk,” she protested, but she was disappointed to find she did not have the energy to fight him and she reluctantly allowed herself to be carried through to another room, where a kindly old lady smiled warmly at her.
“Hello,” the old lady greeted her, patting the seat beside her. Duncan lowered Colleen into the seat. “Colleen, meet my Aunt Annie,” he said, leaning forward and kissing the old lady on the cheek. “She’s agreed that you can stay here with her. I was going to take you into my home but I don’t think that’s right,” he stated. “People would frown on me taking a single young woman into my home, but although you’ll be staying here with my aunt, I will still be acting as your guardian until we find the man who is responsible for you.”
Colleen nodded.
Duncan left the room and a few minutes later he returned. Colleen eagerly accepted the bread and broth he brought to her. Colleen tore off a piece of bread and stuffed it into her mouth, followed quickly by another piece. Duncan smiled. “You really are hungry, aren’t you?” he said, watching her with fascination as she hungrily devoured the meal. She nodded as she continued to eat.
When she was finished, Duncan picked her up once more and carried her to the bedroom, putting her into bed and tucking her in. “You’ll be safe here, little one,” he smiled, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ll go out tomorrow, see if I can find Harvey, but until I do I insist you stay here where I can keep you safe. You’re exhausted, you clearly haven’t eaten in days and you’ve caught a chill. You’ll stay in bed until you’re fully recovered.” Colleen nodded gratefully.
“I’ve got one of the village women to wash your clothes for you. She’s also given you some more clothing,” he told her.
“That’s kind of her,” Colleen smiled, gripping Duncan’s hand tightly as he stroked her hair. Duncan looked down at her and smiled, wondering if he had been taking liberties when he had removed her outer clothing and put her to bed. He swallowed nervously as he recalled his hands running over her body and how he had become aroused and decided it would be improper to remove her undergarments. He silently chastised himself for lusting over this vulnerable young woman.
“Where’s my coal?” she whispered, feeling foolish as soon as the question had passed her lips.
Duncan smiled and nodded towards the table. “I was going to throw it away, but I thought when you were carrying it in your pocket it might be precious to you.” He smiled as he recalled his confusion at finding the dirty piece of coal and how he had almost thrown it in the bin, until his aunt had suggested she might be carrying it for a reason and he had put it in her room.
Colleen nodded.
Duncan was desperate to talk to this beautiful young woman some more, she absolutely fascinated him, but she looked so exhausted. He smiled as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, and he sat with her for a while, gently stroking her hair. Standing up, he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips before reluctantly heading home and leaving Colleen with his aunt.
Chapter Nine
Colleen woke up in the small village just outside of Oban where Duncan had taken her. She had woken, screaming loudly, from a bad dream and she was absolutely terrified.
She was disorientated and could not remember where she was. She believed for a moment that she was a prisoner in England.
Duncan was quickly at her side, taking her in his arms and rocking her gently. “Colleen, it’s OK, you just had a bad dream. You’re safe now. Duncan’s here,” he whispered.
“What’s going on?” shouted Aunt Annie from the next room. “Colleen, are you OK?” she asked with obvious concern and fear.
“It’s OK,” Duncan shouted back. “Colleen had a bad dream. She’s fine. I’m with her.”
“OK,” called Aunt Annie, settling back down into her bed.
Colleen clung to Duncan tightly, her body quivering with fear. “I’m sorry I disturbed your aunt,” she said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it. She’ll be asleep again already,” he comforted her, smiling as he heard his aunt’s soft snoring coming from the next room.
After several long minutes, Colleen finally calmed down and lifted her head, her cheeks flushed as she looked at the handsome Scotsman.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I thought the English had taken me prisoner. You must think me very foolish.”
Duncan shook his head. “No. Whatever you were dreaming about clearly frightened you a lot. Do you want to talk about it?”
Colleen nodded and took a deep breath. “I told you I was attacked the night I got lost,” she reminded him.
Duncan nodded and knelt beside her bed, gripping her hand encouragingly.
Colleen sighed deeply. “Harvey had punished me for wandering off,” she said, blushing as she recalled how he took a birch rod to her bare bottom. She shook her head, trying to clear the humiliating memory from her mind.
“I w
as supposed to go to bed, but I went for a walk. I guess I thought I was clever, defying him after he had already punished me. I really believed he was overreacting, telling me about the bad men who were all around. I wanted to prove to him that it is safe out there,” she said, barely able to believe her own foolishness.
Duncan lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly, causing her to blush.
“Go on,” he whispered encouragingly. “You’ll feel better if you talk about it,” he urged.
Colleen nodded. “I hadn’t walked very far when I came across a camp. There were several men there and I recognised the uniform they were wearing. We had encountered them earlier and Harvey had told them I was a prostitute and I had syphilis.”
She glanced at Duncan, who looked shocked that Harvey would say such a thing.
Colleen smiled. “He said it to protect me,” she clarified quickly. “The men clearly wanted to have their way with me, so Harvey made sure they wouldn’t want to go anywhere near me.”
Duncan smiled once more and squeezed her hand gently.
“Anyway, after Harvey had got rid of the men, I got angry with him. I thought he should have fought them off with his bare hands and not resorted to telling them I was a common prostitute with a disgusting disease,” she said, thinking back to how insulted she had been.
Sighing, she said: “I know he was only keeping me safe. I realise that now.”
Duncan nodded. “So what happened when you wandered into the woods?” he asked.
“I found the soldiers’ camp and I realised that Harvey was right, it was dangerous out there and I immediately knew I had to get back to him. I turned to run but someone grabbed me. He was the main one who spoke to Harvey when we first bumped into them. He had either forgotten what Harvey had told him about me, or he didn’t care,” she said, shivering.
Duncan grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders in a caring gesture, causing Colleen to smile.
Colleen’s smile disappeared as she recalled what happened next. “He got me to the floor and he removed my drawers. I fought him so much that he turned me onto my tummy to stop me from fighting him. He pulled my hips towards him and he told me that he was going to rape me in my bottom to teach me a lesson,” she said with a shudder.
Duncan gasped loudly before holding Colleen close to him and rocking her gently. “You poor girl,” he sympathised. “It’s OK. He can’t touch you now. You’re safe. I’ll have you back with Harvey very soon, I promise. For now, I’ll keep you out of harm’s way, you have my word. No-one will ever hurt you again while I’m around.”
Colleen nodded and smiled. She knew that Duncan would keep her safe. He was kind and trustworthy and she felt safe with him around.
“What are you doing here?” she asked suddenly, recalling that she was staying at his aunt’s home.
“I was up early. I came to check on you, to make sure you were OK. I’m so glad I did,” he said, kissing her cheek softly, causing her to blush once more. “Are you OK now?” he asked.
Colleen gripped his hand tighter, her eyes wide with fear. “He didn’t rape me,” she whispered, watching a look of relief pass over Duncan’s face.
“Thank God,” Duncan whispered, kissing her hand once more.
“I hit him over the head with a rock,” she told him, and then I just ran and ran. That’s how I got lost,” she explained.
Duncan nodded understandingly.
“But in my dream, he did rape me,” she told Duncan.
Duncan pulled her closer. “No, Colleen, it was just a dream. You must remember that. He didn’t rape you. He didn’t hurt you. You didn’t let him. You were a very brave girl and you overcome him.”
Colleen clung to Duncan, closing her eyes and holding on to him, inhaling his scent and feeling safe as he rocked her gently once more.
Taking a deep breath, Colleen reluctantly pulled away from Duncan, feeling a desperate need to share her dream completely with someone and remember it was not real and did not happen.
“In my dream,” she continued shakily, “he forced himself inside of me and I screamed with pain,” she recalled, closing her eyes at the bitter memory of her dream and remembering how real it felt at the time. She reached back and clutched her bottom, acknowledging with relief that she had not been penetrated in such an awful way.
“No sweetheart,” Duncan whispered. “Don’t do this to yourself. It isn’t real.”
“I know,” Colleen whispered, “and sharing it with you makes me realise it was just a bad dream and that he can no longer hurt me,” she explained.
Duncan nodded. “OK,” he reluctantly told her, “carry on.”
Colleen smiled. “I woke up then and you came to me. You chased my nightmares away and reminded me that I’m safe now.”
Duncan smiled. “That’s good, but it’s very early. Maybe you should try and sleep a little more.”
Colleen nodded. “OK, but only if you stay with me,” she whispered.
Duncan coughed nervously and got up. “You’ll be fine now,” he said, walking towards her door. “I’ll come back and check on you later,” he quickly added.
“Please,” Colleen whispered. “I only want you to sit by the bed and be there for me if my nightmares return. Please,” she begged, grinning when he sighed and rolled his eyes, taking a chair from the corner of the room and pulling it to the side of her bed.
“OK, now sleep,” he told her sternly, causing her to giggle.
Reaching out, Colleen took hold of his hand and squeezed it gently. “Thank you,” she whispered, as she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
“You’re welcome,” Duncan replied, watching her as she slept. He stayed with her for the next hour, watching her intently and stroking her hair gently when she murmured in her sleep. When she opened her eyes and smiled brightly at him, he smiled back at her.
“Thank you for staying with me,” she smiled.
“Again, you’re welcome,” he said. “I’ll go and start breakfast and I’ll see you in a minute,” he told her, standing up and replacing the chair.
“Duncan,” she whispered, as he reached the door.
“Yes,” he sighed, grinning at her as he failed in his attempt to appear stern.
“I still feel a bit weak this morning, I don’t know if my legs will support my weight,” she whimpered pathetically. “Please could you carry me again?”
Duncan laughed, crossing the room quickly, scooping one arm under her legs and his other arm around her back before lifting her from the bed and carrying her effortlessly into the living room where he put her down gently into a chair.
“I’m a bit cold,” she whined, grinning once more. Duncan raised his eyebrows. “I wonder if a spanking might warm you up,” he threatened.
“No,” she squealed, blushing as she thought of this handsome stranger baring her bottom and spanking her. How humiliating would that be? Colleen thought.
Colleen smiled as she snuggled into him. I could get used to this, she grinned, reluctantly letting him go as he prised her arms from around his neck and went to prepare their breakfast.
Chapter Ten
Over the next week, Duncan visited his aunt’s home several times a day, bringing women from the village to care for Aunt Annie and also to look after Colleen. She had a few more bad dreams and Duncan held her close until she stopped trembling.
Colleen had been surprised to wake one morning and find Duncan kneeling beside the bed, fast asleep with his head against her stomach. She had smiled warmly at him and gently ran her fingers through his hair, causing him to stir.
Colleen smiled as he woke up and looked around, confused for a moment. “Sorry,” he whispered shyly. “I was worried you might have another bad dream and I came to sit with you for a little while. I must have fallen asleep,” he admitted sheepishly.
Looking into his eyes, Colleen thought how nice it would be to wake up next to Duncan every day. She blushed and glanced away, grateful that he could not read
her mind.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, taking her face in his hands and turning her towards him. She grinned as he leaned close and for a moment she thought he might kiss her.
Colleen was disappointed when he stood quickly and turned away. “Maybe when you’re well again, you can help look after Aunt Annie until we find Harvey?” Duncan suggested.
Colleen scowled at the rapid change in his behaviour, but nodded enthusiastically. I really like Aunt Annie, she thought. She’s such a sweet old lady and she’s been so kind to me.
As Duncan gave Colleen some privacy and left her alone, he sat down with his aunt for a little while and chatted to her. When Colleen appeared, he made his excuses and left. When he returned to eat dinner with Colleen and his aunt that evening, Aunt Annie smiled as she watched her nephew and noticed how differently he behaved around Colleen. The old lady smiled as she realised her nephew was falling in love.
Over the next week, Colleen really looked forward to Duncan’s visits and one day when he went out and left her alone with Aunt Annie, the old lady grinned. “He’s a handsome young man, isn’t he?” she asked.
Her cheeks flushing pink, Colleen shrugged her shoulders. “I guess he is,” she said, chewing her lower lip anxiously. “I can’t say I’ve really looked that closely.”
Aunt Annie grinned wickedly. “I’m sorry dear. I’m only teasing, but I’m sure he hasn’t failed to notice how pretty you are too.”
Colleen’s blush deepened and she was grateful when the old lady took a hairbrush and started to brush out Colleen’s hair. The old woman’s fingers were gnarled with arthritis but she slowly and meticulously braided the young woman’s hair.
When she’d finished and Colleen jumped to her feet and went to check out her appearance in the mirror, she smiled when she saw Duncan standing behind her, gazing at her. “You look beautiful,” he murmured, reaching out to touch the long braid running down her back.
Colleen turned to face him and gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. She tipped her head back, hoping again that he might kiss her, and was slightly disappointed when he gently stroked her cheek and turned away.
The Highlander's Maiden Page 9
