Vexing the Highlander

by Terry Spear

  “I am surprised you would have noticed the arrow, Lady Umberton,” Dunlap said.

  “Oh, well, it is quite unusual and while I watched you pull your bow back taut, I realized you had the oddest shaped arrow. I wouldna have known what it was called until Lady Aila enquired if anyone had used one that I had seen. And, of course, I thought of you.”

  Dunlap’s dark gaze shifted to Aila. “You did? How would you know of such a thing?”

  Aila wanted the floor to swallow her up. She couldn’t say Alban had told her. If she did, she would make the lord aware he was also looking into who owned such an arrow.

  “Our da,” Aila quickly said.

  Wynda agreed. “Aye. We just had never seen anyone else use one before.”

  “If so, why enquire now? Something must have caused you to ask,” Dunlap said, putting her on the spot.

  All the gentlemen were quiet now. Studying Aila. Waiting. So was her sister, and Lady Umberton.

  “I was curious what it would be like to use one,” Aila quickly said, hoping she hadn’t sounded like she had finally come up with a satisfactory reason and had blurted it out. “Our da wouldna allow us to use his. And no one else we have ever gone hunting with has had them. But there were so many people on the hunt today, I wondered if anyone else might have been using such unusual bows.”

  “So you asked Lady Umberton,” Lord Dunlap asked.

  “She is very observant and I thought she might have noticed when I had not.”

  Lady Umberton preened a bit at Aila’s words.

  Dunlap smirked. “Well, on the next hunt, you can use one of the rings from my bow and some of my arrows to try your hand at it. It takes some getting used to.”

  “Oh, I am delighted, to be sure. My thanks, my lord.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Her sister was looking at her like she was mad. But what else could Aila say? She couldn’t think of another reason to get herself out of the bind she was in. She could just imagine what Alban would say. But at least she hadn’t implicated him.

  The gentlemen said they would see the ladies later for dancing, and Lady Umberton was pleased Lord Comyn and Lord Dunlap had asked her to dance later. When the gentlemen left, Lady Umberton fanned herself. “Oh my, it pays to visit with you ladies. And here all the others said it wouldna. I will see you later.” She left with her maid, and Wynda pinned Aila with a glower.

  Aila lifted her chin. “Dinna scold me. We now know who uses the arrows that wounded Sim.”

  “You are going to get yourself killed.”

  They left the great hall as the servants began to clear the trestle tables from the room.

  “I willna. I will remain in sight of everyone. There are so many that are hunting, it willna be a problem,” Aila said softly to her sister.

  “Just as Sim was shot in front of many! Not only that, but you managed to get off alone before.”

  “That was different.”

  “How so? Did you lose your way? You never said how you ended up with Alban when you and he were listening to the men speaking in the woods.”

  Aila pulled her to a stop and whispered, “I saw a white… Oh, come on.” She hurried her to their chamber and hadn’t reached it when Alban stepped out of his.

  Och, Alban would be furious with her. If she hadn’t cared about him, she would have dismissed his concern at once. But she knew he cared about her as more than just a friend and he worried about her. Well, she worried about herself too.

  She figured she would stay with a crowd of people at all times on the hunt and then nothing could go wrong.

  “What did you learn?” Alban asked Aila, coming straight to the point.

  She folded her arms. “That Lord Dunlap has nockless arrows.”

  “And he is going to show her how to use them the next time we are on a hunt,” Wynda said, looking at Alban with hopefulness as if he could save the day.

  Aila knew Alban and his brother would watch her constantly on the hunt the next day. But tonight, she was stuck dancing with Lord Dunlap for the third time already. She desperately wanted to be with Alban, who looked like he was ready to go to battle, instead of enjoying the festivities. She knew as soon as she was done with the dance, he would be questioning her about everything Lord Dunlap had said.

  “You are a most unusual young lady,” Lord Dunlap said. “I wouldna think a woman such as yourself would be that interested in…arrows.”

  “Well, you never know when the knowledge could come in handy.”

  “Do you really want to try one of my arrows on the morrow?”

  “Of course. I may no’ be very good at it, but I would love to try.”

  “I knew your father. No’ well. I dinna recall him using arrows like that.”

  Was he lying? She didn’t remember ever having seen him before. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t seen her da somewhere else when she wasn’t with him. “Lord Dunlap, when you were on the hunt, were you no’ shocked to see the king on foot when the boar charged him? Just hearing about it gives me shivers.”

  “Nay. I wasna there.”

  “You were no’?” Was he lying?

  “Nay. When the king goes after his prey, no one else can. I wanted to hunt, so I went after another boar. Several of us did. Lord Farquharson and Tarleton were with me too.”

  “Oh. Then you didna witness the servant being accidentally shot.”

  “Nay. I am certain whoever shot the poor man was trying to protect the king and Sim got in the way. Sim was one of the men who were supposed to bring the meat back, but he got a little ahead of himself, trying to please the king, I suspect.”

  If Lord Dunlap hadn’t shot the man, then who had? Someone else with nocked arrows?

  “Is anyone else using nocked arrows here?”

  Lord Dunlap looked askance at her. “Are you wanting someone else to show you how to shoot one?” He looked like he was teasing her, a little. But also curious as to why she was so interested in the arrows.

  She smiled in her most amiable way. “Of course not. I look forward to you showing me how ‘tis done.” Especially if he hadn’t been hatching any murderous plans. Not that she really cared to try it—well, yes, she did—but she had more important business to take care of then shooting arrows for fun.

  That night alone in her bedchamber with Wynda, the maids sleeping on their pallets nearby, Aila had every intention of asking her sister if she’d check with Farquharson to see if Dunlap had been with him on the hunt. Then again, what if those two men were in on it. And Tarleton too? And they’d all covered for each other. Who was to say Dunlap wasn’t just hidden in the woods and shot his arrow from there?

  As soon as she asked Wynda, her sister let out her breath with exasperation. “It isna bad enough that you are questioning everyone to death about this matter, but you now want me to also?”

  Aila turned on her side as she spoke with her sister. She needed her to understand she was not giving up on trying to learn the truth. “We need to know for certain, one way or another. What if Tarleton or Farquharson wants to marry you but they were involved in some kind of terrible plot? If Dunlap was truly with the other two men, and we can get someone else to verify it, then who else possesses arrows without nocks?”

  “What if they want to know why I am asking? Or they tell Lord Dunlap that I was inquiring about this?” Wynda pulled her covers over her shoulder.

  “You can make it sound as though you’re curious about…well, who took the boar down first? That way you are not asking if he was there with the others. You could even say that he raced past Alban to get the last boar of the hunt, and you wondered if he had missed out on the one he and the others had targeted. If one of the men says he wasna with them, then we have our answer.” It seemed simple enough to Aila.

  “All right. That should sound innocent enough.” Wynda rolled a curl of hair around her fingers.

  “I suppose you canna just come out and ask them if anyone else uses a nockless arrow,” Aila added.
r />   “Nay.”

  Still, Aila knew there had to be a way to discuss it that wouldn’t put them in harm’s way. “What if you say something about how your sister is fascinated in Lord Dunlap’s nockless arrows and wonders if anyone else uses such a thing. She becomes obsessed with the oddest things at times. Then see if he knows anyone else who might have them.”

  “Our da?”

  “What? He never…oh, aye, we said he did. Agreed, but then all you need to say is he would never let us use them and he said no one did. So that made me curious.” Aila thought it sounded reasonable.

  “If I can mention it without getting myself into trouble, I will. Otherwise, I willna. I saw that Alban spoke with you briefly.”

  She ran her hand over the covers. “Aye. He is angry with me this time. I think he was trying to make a fuss over what I had talked to Dunlap about so he could impress upon me that I shouldna speak to anyone else about such matters.”

  “Well, he is right.”

  “Mayhap there is naught to this. If so, than no one should care about my inquiries.” Aila hoped that was truly the case.

  “But if there is?”

  “Then mayhap we will be the heroines of the day.” Aila smiled at her sister, thinking what a noble thing that would be.

  “Or dead,” Wynda said, reminding her of just how dangerous this could be.

  8

  “Since naught more has happened concerning the shooting incident, I would like to believe it was just an accident.” Alban couldn’t keep his eyes off Aila any more than usual while they broke their fast that morn. They were hunting again today. He suspected no one would make an attempt on the king’s life, if that was the case the last time, with nockless arrows or otherwise.

  “Lady Aila had been quiet today, keeping to herself. Her sister doesna look happy either.” Ward broke off a piece of bread and devoured it.

  “I have noticed. Lady Umberton is sitting by a lord this morn, mayhap having caught his eye. Now, Lady Felicia is seated beside Lady Aila and I dinna think the two women get along.”

  “Unless ‘tis necessary, dinna speak with the lady today. I fear you are being watched,” Ward said.

  “Lord Gustafson? Let him observe. I was invited here. If the king wishes me gone, so be it.”

  Ward glanced at Alban.

  Alban finished his bread. “All right. ‘Tis true I dinna want to leave here, just yet. No’ while I am concerned about a particular woman’s safety. You know she is riding alongside Lord Dunlap at the hunt?”

  “Aye. She is a lady. He is a lord. Mayhap they will be a match.”

  “Mayhap he wishes something else of her.”

  “Which is why you should be careful of speaking with her, but we will both be observing the two of them the whole time we are on the hunt.”

  “Aye.” Alban wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t have a choice.

  As soon as the meal was done, they rose and waited for the king and queen to depart, and then Ward and Alban watched as Lord Dunlap joined Aila. Alban had never cared at all about anything that had to do with being titled, except when it came to Aila. Though he reminded himself that even if he were, that wouldn’t guarantee that he could obtain her hand in marriage. It still depended on the king’s whim.

  He was sure if Lord Dunlap wanted the lady’s hand, the king would give it. Maybe she was even considering such a thing, if she learned he wasn’t involved in any nefarious plan to harm anyone.

  With that thought in mind, he and Ward followed the rest of the courtiers and guests out and he intended to guard Aila’s back as much as he could.

  “Dinna be so conspicuous about it,” Ward warned him.

  Alban shook his head, but if the lord needed reminding that he and the lady were being observed, mayhap he would take greater care with her.

  Aila hoped Alban was watching out for her, but she couldn’t keep looking around to see if he was, as much as she wanted to. She just had to take it on faith that he was.

  As soon as they were out in the woods, Lord Dunlap stopped his horse and dismounted. Then he helped her down from her horse. She shouldn’t have worried if Alban was watching. Nearly a dozen paused to see what they were up to. Or maybe not. Maybe they had already heard that she intended to try a nockless arrow today and wanted to see how miserably she did. The king and the rest of the hunters were off on the hunt so she was surprised so many others were interested in what she was doing with Dunlap.

  “Aim at that tree, just in case anyone is moving in that direction beyond our sight.”

  That had her truly concerned. What if she missed the tree—with a regular arrow, she couldn’t, but with this one, she wasn’t certain—and injured or killed someone? What if she hit the king?

  “Mayhap we should try this on a target back at the keep,” she said, wishing she’d thought of that before.

  Several people snickered. She didn’t care what they thought or if they believed she was afraid. She didn’t want to accidentally hurt anyone.

  Lord Dunlap showed her how to use the arrow in the ring, pulled the string taught, and loosed it. It hit the tree right in the center.

  For an instant, she thought what had the tree ever done to him? Then he handed her the bow and the nockless arrow. And he stood behind her and showed her how to pull the string taut. She knew that part. And she was way too close for comfort. If Alban had held her in such an intimate manner, she would have loved it. Probably turned in his arms and kissed him. But with Lord Dunlap, she didn’t feel like melting into the woodland floor. She wanted to duck out from beneath his grasp.

  Everyone was deadly silent. Maybe because they didn’t want to ruin her concentration. Or maybe because they were intrigued with the lord’s actions.

  Now she wished Alban wasn’t here to see this.

  She pulled the string taut and let it loose. It struck the tree right above Lord Dunlap’s arrow. He smiled down at her. “Well done.”

  Everyone in the audience clapped. “She can go with me on the hunt any day,” a lord said whom she didn’t know.

  She noticed Gustafson was watching too. He didn’t seem pleased. But then again, he never seemed pleased with anything that she did or didn’t do.

  To her surprise, Lady Felicia asked, “Can you show me too?”

  But Lord Dunlap just shook his head. “We are here to hunt for the meal. Mayhap later we can have target practice, like Lady Aila mentioned.”

  The woman smiled sweetly, but she cast Aila a cutting look.

  Then everyone was off to the hunt, though Lord Dunlap stayed with Aila for a time. She was surprised, knowing how important the hunt was to him. “You are good with the bow,” he said to her.

  “You were an excellent teacher.” She had to say it. Her mother taught her to be a gentle lady, when she wasn’t kissing a Highlander outside his chamber, or trying to chase down evil men.

  She had hoped the lord would soon get the urge to chase after a boar, and when he finally did, saying he hoped to have the pleasure of dining with her—which completely shocked her—he took off, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You are excellent with the bow, my lady,” Alban said. “Most likely any kind of arrow, I might add.”

  “I thank you for saying so.” She smiled up at him.

  “Well?”

  “I dinna know if he has anything to do with anything. Wynda is asking if he was with a couple of lords during the other hunt when he said he had helped to take down a boar.”

  Alban shook his head. “Lady Aila—“

  “She is being careful. We have it all worked out.”

  “Somehow that doesna lessen my concern. You are dining with the earl tonight.”

  “Aye. ‘Tis no’ my choice, mind you,” she told him, as they had found themselves quite alone. “Tomorrow the king is having the boat races. Will you and your brother come with Wynda and me?”

  “I would, but the king’s steward has already told me that we willna be rowing with any of the eligible
ladies. We can follow after the boats make the halfway mark. My brother and I will try our best to catch up to you.”

  She smiled. “I have no doubt you will make it and pass us by even.”

  “I would, to prove to the lords who accompany you that they are no’ as capable we are. But in reality, I would stay close by, watching over the situation, just in case.”

  “Do you realize we are alone in the woods again?”

  “Which is the only reason we are able to have this discussion. I wonder if you are able to use a regular arrow as well as you are the nockless one, or if Lord Dunlap’s assistance made a difference.” Alban couldn’t help wanting to be the one who did the honor this time.

  “Well, there is only one way to find out.” She dismounted on her own. “Hand me your bow and arrow, sir, and we shall see.”

  Glad she was willing to accept the challenge, he dismounted, but when he handed her the bow, he also took her hand and pulled her into his arms. “Could you use my instruction? You dinna know how much it killed me to be watching Dunlap holding you close to show you how to shoot the arrow.”

  “If you think I need the instruction.”

  “I doubt you do.” But he wanted to hold her close like Dunlap had, to feel her body against his, to cherish the moment for as long as he was able. Somehow they managed to shoot the arrow, but in the next instant she had turned in his arms, dropped the bow, and was kissing him like she’d never be able to kiss him again. In truth, he feared that was so. He shouldn’t compromise her like this. Yet when it came to Aila, he had no willpower.

  He brushed his hands over her breasts, wanting her, all of her.

  “Ahem,” someone said, and both whipped around to see Ward watching them. “Lady Wynda was concerned that her sister had fallen behind and couldna keep up. But I see my brother found you.”

  “No’ another word.” Alban helped Aila onto her horse.

  “Another lesson in archery?” Ward asked, looking at Alban’s arrow in the tree. “’Tis impressive. I might have to try that maneuver with the lasses.”

  “Lady Felicia is looking for an instructor,” Aila said.