Highlander´s Enemy: A Historical Scottish Romance Novel

by Matie Cole

  “You seem nervous,” Mason whispered so that no one else could hear him. “I will care for you.”

  Bethany wrapped her arms around Mason’s waist, just as he instructed her to do so, and she leaned against his body soaking in his warmth as he did. She knew that he would take care of her, she trusted him with her, which was the first time that she had ever felt that way about anyone else. There was something different about him. He might have been her captor but he had treated her well, he had been kind when he did not have to be, and as far as Bethany could see, that spoke volumes for his character.

  The journey began, the horse ride was terrifying, but she had Mason to keep her safe and with him the entire time. He was warm and comforting, but not enough to make her worry about life back in England. Her father was likely to treat her worse than ever before because she had been kidnapped, as if it was her own fault. She could almost feel it now, she could hear him, and it was not going to be pleasant.

  All the words that he had said to her before, she would have to listen to them again, over and over again. She clung to Mason tighter as tears began to stream down her face. She was soaking his back wet, but she presumed that he would not notice, much less mind. After all, he had much more important things to worry about than her tears, and he was not the only one. No one had ever worried about her emotions before, so why start now? As she headed back into a life of more misery, the sadness overcame her.

  “Where is my son?” Mason yelled as soon as he saw George across the glade, seemingly alone. Bethany could not tell if this was a trick and that her father had a lot of people hidden out of sight, including Jackson, or if this was a weird scheme in another manner. It all seemed too strange. “I have your daughter, and you dare to come here without my son? What do you think this is? This is an exchange...”

  “Oh, it would be,” George declared aloud with a smirk. “It would be an exchange if you had anything that I wanted. But you make an incorrect assumption about me caring for Bethany. I do not want her back.”

  Even though Bethany was expecting to hear something like this, it still it her hard in the chest, leaving her a little breathless. She clutched on to her chest and tried to keep her intense emotions inside. How could her father be so cruel even after she had been kidnapped? He had no heart for her at all.

  “What do you mean?” This made Mason feel sick. He did not expect this sort of reaction. He thought that Bethany was playing a trick on him but it seemed not. “This is your child. How are you so cruel?”

  “She is no good to me.” George waved his hand dismissively. “If I can’t get her a husband then what is the point of her? As you can imagine, now everyone will think that she is disgraced and I will not be able to marry her to a decent man, to force a good alliance

  I do not care about what happens to her. It is unimportant to me. Whereas that child of yours... Jackson...” George smirked. “Now, he can really be worth something to me. I can trade him for something worth while.”

  Bethany sucked in and held a breath, the nerves starting to get the better of her. This was not going as anyone planned and she had no idea which way it was going to end up. Probably in a fight. She had heard a lot about the violence that could come with war, but she had never witnessed it and she was not sure that she wanted to. Certainly not now when she was sure that she would be expendable.

  But how could she stop this? What could she do from allowing it to get out of control?

  She caught Mason’s eye and spotted a moment of horror in his face too. He now knew that he should have listened to her now, that she was not worth anything to her father, and that this was all a mistake.

  “I want land,” George continued, enjoying the confusion that he was causing. “I want your land. If your son means anything to you then that will not be a problem. You will give me what I want.”

  Mason did not know what to do, he did not want to get in the middle of a negotiation with this man, he did not want to lose everything to George, but what would happen to Jackson if he did not?

  “What do you want me to do with Bethany?” Mason demanded, the anger circling through his body lie a storm cloud. “You do not want her because she might not marry whoever you decide for her...”

  “Kill her, I don’t care. You could kill her right here in front of me and I would not mind. I would not be here without your son, he would not be back in the jail cell in my castle, if I cared for her life.”

  He meant it as well, Mason could tell. This man only cared for power which made him extremely greedy and dangerous. Mason was not willing to risk anyone else for one of George’s tricks. He needed to get Bethany as far away from her father as possible before he was the one to end her life.

  He should not have been more protective of Bethany than her own father, she was his prisoner after all, even more so now that she could not be used to bargain, but he did not want her hurt or killed. Not like this.

  “I am leaving.” Mason jumped back up on his horse and felt the warmth of Bethany’s arms around him once more. He expected to take his son back, not her. But it was better than no one. “I will not stand here and be insulted by you. There is no chance that this is going to happen. You are not keeping my son and getting my land as well. I will not allow you to do this to me. You are wrong in every way, George.”

  George tossed his head back and laughed. He knew that he was winning right now because he had everything in his hands and Mason had nothing, just the child that he did not care for. Now Katherine, she was worthwhile to him, she married a decent man and got things sorted for him. But, Bethany had always been more of a problem child. He was glad to be rid of her. Watching Mason ride off with her in to the distance was only another problem solved for George. He knew that he would come out of this on top, and then his people would have even more reason to follow and obey him.

  But Mason was not riding off defeated, he did not feel like he had lost, he simply saw George for more of who he really was now. He knew more of who he was up against. Now, he simply had another person to protect. Bethany might not have been wanted by her father, but he was not going to shove her aside like she was nothing. She meant more to him than that. But what she was going to think of him he supposed that he would have to find out in time.

  Chapter 5

  “S o, what is your next move?” Ethan asked Mason with an eagerness to each step he paced up and down the room. He had the scent of blood up his nostrils, the desire to kill the English, and this was the closest that he had ever been. He could not see any other way out for his laird. “George Windsor has gone too far this time, refusing to even bring Jackson to the meeting. You can not take that.”

  “I was not expecting it,” Mason admitted to Ethan. “I did not think that a man could think that of his own child. Those things that he said about lady Bethany... they were absolutely dreadful.”

  “Pfft, the English are pigs,” Ethan shot back, showing absolutely no sign of being shocked at all. “I assume that he was holding back most of his feelings. He probably thinks even worse of her deep down and was hiding that. George does not care about his family, he only cares for power.”

  Mason knew that Ethan was correct, but he still found it very challenging to believe. Perhaps he was clouded by the way that Bethany made him feel deep inside, but he thought that George was unnecessarily cruel. She was not ugly and useless at all, but the loveliest creature that he had ever laid eyes upon, and had a wonderful nature as well. He would have liked to see some of her fire directed at her father, but perhaps lady Bethany did not want to get anyone killed. There was no telling which way it would go. George seemed to have the scent of blood following him around as well, just as Ethan did.

  That was why Mason took off as soon as he realized that nothing was going to go his way. He did not want to return without his son and with dead bodies accompanying him as well. No way.

  “I thought that George would want Bethany back to marry her off.” Mason tapped his chin thoughtfully. �
�I assumed that his daughters helped him to get power. He would not have any allegiance with France if it were not for his eldest daughter. I can’t understand why he would be so dismissive of Bethany.”

  “You heard him. She is no good to him,” Ethan snorted angrily. “Clearly, he can’t marry her off. She is getting much too old to be suitable for anyone worthwhile by now. Perhaps he was telling the truth about no one wanting her for their wife.” Ethan could see that he was hurting Mason with his words, and while he could not understand why, he knew that if he wanted to get his own way he would have to change tactic. “Unless he was calling you bluff because he knew that you would not do anything to hurt her.”

  “What do you mean?” Mason snapped his head up to look at his friend. “You believe it is a trap?”

  Ethan smirked. This was better. He was finally starting to appeal to the warrior as his friend. “It could be. Which really only leaves you one retaliation - If you wish to show George that he can’t mess around with you, you need to prove that you will hurt his daughter for his sins.”

  “Hurt his daughter?” Mason’s chest grew tight under the pressure of Ethan’s words.

  “You must behead her, of course.” Ethan offered Mason a one shouldered shrug. “And George Windsor will only have himself to blame. If he had conducted himself in a decent manner and exchanged lady Bethany when he was given the chance, then this would not have happened. He would not have lost his child.”

  Sickness grew and swirled in Mason’s stomach. The idea of beheading lady Bethany made him feel physically ill. It would be a waste of her life, she did not deserve to die for him.

  “But lady Bethany does not agree with her father, she has made that much very clear...”

  “Another trick,” Ethan sneered. “Of course, it is a trick. She has been trained to say such things.”

  “Does a child deserve to die for the sins of their father? It does not feel right...”

  “Children have been suffering for the sins of their parents throughout all of human history,” Ethan argued. “It has always been that way and it always will. Just because you feel like you have developed some kind of bond with the prisoner, it does not mean that she should be kept alive.”

  Mason stepped backwards, feeling like he had been punched in the face. Ethan might have suggested that he was worried about Mason’s feelings towards lady Bethany, but he had never out rightly confronted him about it. Mason was not sure how his right-hand man expected him to respond. But he resorted to anger in his defense. “I do not know what you are trying to suggest. This has nothing to do with my feelings towards anyone. Especially since there are no feelings. I am just trying to do the right thing.”

  “The right thing would be to get rid of the prisoner before she becomes another mouth to feed.”

  “You are clouded by your hatred,” Mason shot back. “War is a tactical battle. It is not a place to let emotions get the better of you. You need to think with your head, not your heart. If I kill lady Bethany, then I risk Jackson being killed and I do not want to lose my son. I also do not want this war to escalate to a place where we are not ready for it. I do not want other people killed. If I behead lady Bethany, then there is no chance that we will be able to stop this conflict. I refuse to be the one to make it worse when I do not feel like it is necessary. My priority, right now, needs to be rescuing Jackson before anything can happen.”

  “You do not know what George is doing to him.” Ethan would not let it go. “He might already be dead.”

  “Do not say that.” Mason felt himself losing control of his temper. “I do not want to hear such things said about Jackson. George Windsor needs Jackson, he said so himself. I need to get my son back.”

  Ethan parted his lips as if he had something else to say, but then he stopped himself at the very last moment. He could see the steam pouring from Mason’s ears and he knew that another step would lead him towards trouble. If Mason lost him temper completely, then there would be no going back for him. Thinking it wise to step away and to leave the moment as it was, he nodded and backed to the door.

  “I did not mean to overstep my mark.” Ethan bowed his head slightly. “I just want what is best for Scotland. I do not want your son to be harmed, he is our future laird. You are right. I have allowed my emotions to get the better of me, which is not the way that war should be conducted.”

  Mason watched as his friend left, noting the air of cold around him as he was alone. He had clashed with Ethan in the past, men stuck in fraught times such as these would always find something to disagree on, but this felt like the most intense of all those times. The way that Ethan disagreed with him this time felt more powerful than before. The last thing that Mason needed now was to have fighting within his own camp. But that was not enough to change his mind. He would not kill lady Bethany.

  “But what will I do with her?” he asked himself quietly. “She is going to become another mouth to feed.”

  Right now, he had her back in the prison cell at the top of the tower because he was not sure what else to do with her, but realistically she could not stay there forever. It did not make any sense for her to stay there forever because if George really did not want her back then she could not be a bargaining tool...

  But he also could not just let her go. She would not know where to go and what to do with herself. It seemed that she no longer had a home to go to, so she would be in a worse position than locked away.

  “Until Jackson is safe, I will not make a decision,” he finally declared to himself. “I will not worry about it for now. I can not worry about lady Bethany. Not when my son is in danger.”

  But of course, he struggled to think of anything else. He was incredibly worried about what might be going on in England, where his son might be, but George’s nasty words about the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid his eyes upon still rung hard in his ears. He could not imagine how it was challenging to find a husband for Bethany, Mason would have thought that there would be a queue of men wanting her.

  “Ethan must be right,” he told himself. “George must be playing me. There is no way that she is unwanted. She is everything that any man could ever want and more. If I had the choice...”

  But he forced himself to stop at the very last moment because he could not say those words aloud. Once he did, they would be out there in the universe and it would be too late. He could not take it back. But he could think about being the man that would marry lady Bethany, given half the chance.

  In another world, things could have been so different. He could have formed a bond with George by marrying his daughter. They could have been friends and all lived in peace... but George did not seem to want peace. Instead, he wanted power. Increasing power all the time.

  It was a shame for Mason in a lot of ways. He found it very upsetting that the first woman to have caught his eye in years was of course the one in this world who he could not have for so many reasons. Not only was she the daughter of his enemy, but there was also an age difference. It would not be the biggest age difference in the world, certainly not bigger than a lot of marriages as it was approximately fifteen years, but she might not like it. He would not force her to have feelings for him just as he did her. Clearly, she had spent a lot of her life oppressed and he would never add to that...

  Then there was the glaring fact that she was his prisoner. It would be very strange. To even think about holding her in his arms, kissing her, loving her... it was not right. A highlander such as himself could not fall for the enemy. He could only begin to imagine the outcry in his community, and not just Ethan, although his yells and protests would probably be the most vocal. No one would like it, particularly of their ruler.

  He had to set an example. He had to be the one that everyone else could look up to.

  “Although, not my prisoner anymore,” he sighed to himself. “Now, she is just a woman here.”

  Mason did not know what to do, he was very unsure of his next move. There was only on
e way that he could clear his mind and that was by going for a ride on his horse. With the wind rushing over him and nothing but nature surrounding him, he hoped that a conclusion would simply come to him. It had happened before, but the situation was not as mixed up as this one.

  This seemed to have no easy outcome and that troubled him a whole lot.

  Chapter 6

  “W hat do I do now?” Bethany’s heart had broken in a million different places. She could not believe what had happened to her, how she had ended up in this position. Deep down she had known that it would not go well, she had tried to warn Mason that her father would not want to use her as a bargaining tool, she had spent her entire life being told that she was useless, but to hear those words directly from him in front of Mason hurt a lot. She could not work out what to make of that. He really did hate her.

  There was a small part of Bethany that wanted to collapse into a heap of tears and to try her little eyes out, but it seemed that she had developed too much inner strength for that. There was no wetness behind her eyes, instead all she felt was a sheer determination to do something, anything, to make her like liveable. She was beginning to see this as an opportunity for freedom. Not right now, of course, because she was locked up in jail, but eventually, once she is out she’s decided what she was going to do next. She would be free at last.

  She would not return to England, she would not go back to where her father made her life a living hell, to where she had to be a shell of herself and she was not allowed to choose anything on her own, including a husband. The man that she would be forced to marry was always going to be dreadful, but now he would be even more worse as a punishment. Her father wanted her to spend her life suffering.