Highlander´s Enemy: A Historical Scottish Romance Novel

by Matie Cole

  So, she supposed that meant that she would remain in Scotland, in hiding, as the peasant woman she always used to dream that she would end up. Of course, the reality of it would be nothing like the romantic fantasy that she had set aside for herself, but she could cope with that. All of this had taught Bethany that she was stronger than she thought. If she had survived all of this, then anything was possible.

  Huh, maybe even a happy ever after. A content life with a nice husband and a family of her own to love. Now, that would have been everything to her, but it could have been a step too far. For now, survival was her only goal for which she needed to escape her capture. She would not be a prisoner forever.

  Perhaps Mason was a better man than her father, someone kind, someone who had been far more respectful to her than her own people had ever been but she could not trust anyone, particularly not a man. There was never any evidence that he would remain kind to her the entire time. Now that he knew she was of no use to him, there was no telling how he would change. This could turn out bringing the cruel side of him, similar to that of her father. He had become a leader for a reason, she could not forget that.

  “Here is your food.” A man with a gruff voice shoved a plate towards her. Bethany ate the bread hungrily, even though it was the most disgusting thing that she had ever tasted, nothing like the finery that she was used to. But the starving gurgling of Bethany’s stomach drove her to eat regardless. “All gone?”

  She cocked her head to one side and eyed the man curiously, wondering if there would be a way to manipulate him into freeing her from this cell. She had never been forced to do anything like this before, she could not class herself as street smart, but she would have to use everything that she had.

  “Do you know what’s next that is going to happen to me?” she asked him softly, ensuring that there was a lilting tone to her voice. She had seen her sister do this once, when trying to attract a man. Perhaps if this man thought that she would be attracted to him, then things would change. “Only, I do not wish to return home.”

  He shrugged, but stared at her a little differently now, almost as if she was casting a spell on him. “I am not given any kind of information,” he stated. “I am just the man with the lock and key here.”

  “I see.” She fluttered her eyelashes and clung to the bars like there was no tomorrow. “I would like someone to tell me because... well, I need a plan. A place to go. Scotland has been kinder to me than England ever has and, well as I am sure you already know my father is a brute.”

  The man narrowed his eyes, and Bethany panicked, wondering if he could see right through her. “Your father?” he asked curiously. “But you are a Lady, you are his daughter, his most prized possession...”

  “You might treat your daughter’s like that, but my father does not care.” She heaved out a sigh. “Laird Mason MacGregor took me back to my father and he refused to take me. He does not want me. I am sure you must have heard the dreadful things he said about me. I am too ugly to be of any use.”

  The man gasped. “I have never heard such a thing. A daughter is precious and should be treated as much.” He shook his head sadly. “Now, I have heard some terrible things about the English, but I have never always fully believed it because I know how things can be twisted to suit needs... but now...”

  “I do not think that it is all the English people,” Bethany interrupted, suddenly afraid that she had cast everyone into the same ship. “But my father, certainly. He is not fit to rule anyone.”

  The man sidled closer to her, almost as if he was seeing Bethany for the very first time as a real person rather than just the enemy. As he stared deeply into her eyes, Bethany snuck the keys from his pocket, continuing to smile calmly the entire time so that he did not suspect a thing.

  “It is a shame. I would love to be able to do something for you, lady Bethany...”

  “Please, call me Bethany,” she replied happily, glad to have the key clenched tightly between her finger tips. “I am not the Lady of England anymore. That title must relate to someone else if I am to be here.”

  The man looked at her with sympathy, really feeling Bethany’s pain. He could not even begin to imagine what it must have been like for her to be rejected by her family as she had been. He always thought that those with wealth and power would have an easy life, but it turned out that he was wrong.

  “I will go and see laird MacGregor now,” he declared in what he hoped would be a helpful tone of voice. “And, let him know that you have been through enough so it would be better for you to now have some information about what will happen next. He should give you that, you are not the enemy...”

  Bethany felt a little guilty as he wandered off. It was probably wrong to trick such a nice person in to setting her free, he would now likely get into trouble for letting her go, but she could not get too caught up in what was happening with other people. Bethany needed to do what she could to take care of herself.

  She listened intently, waiting just enough time for the guard to be gone. And, then without giving him enough time to return she twisted the key quietly in the lock. Thankfully, it sprung open and she found herself free. But, Bethany knew that she could not relax yet. Not until she was out of the building and far away from this Scottish castle and everyone who lived inside it.

  If this place was going to be anything like her father’s castle, then there would be people everywhere, no matter the time of day. Her father liked to surround himself with servants to ensure that his every need was met, no matter the time of day. But, she supposed that Mason seemed different. He was not one of the leader who had to flaunt it all the time, so maybe she was going to get lucky.

  Her heart pounded so loudly as she moved. It was beating so hard and fast, Bethany feared that it might be shaking the entire building and alerting everyone to her presence. The building was so quiet and echoing that every single sound she made was like a hurricane rocketing through her body. But, it must have only been Bethany and her sheer paranoia that could hear it because no one came for her.

  Despite her intense fear, Bethany could not help but be even more impressed by Mason as she saw where he lived, and not because he had the fanciest things as far as the eye could see, but because he kept it simple, clean, and straight forward. It portrayed him to be a man of his word, who did not need to show himself off in any manner. The respect that Bethany already had for him grew...

  But it was a respect that she could not get lost in. No matter what sort of man he was, she needed to continue on with her mission to get away from him. A mission that was going surprisingly well.

  “The door.” As soon as Bethany saw it, she started running towards her way out of the building. The horrible old dress that she had decided to wear out on her walk that day, to blend in with the crowds before she got picked up by the Scottish, had been scratching at her skin for days now, and continued to do so. But the pain was worth the running, and it would probably end up better in the long run because she would stand out more in her usual fancy attire, so Bethany did what she could to ignore it.

  This was all working out, she was getting everything that she wanted, soon she would be out of the castle and she could run until she was not anywhere near the grounds at all. Bethany knew that she would have more hardships to face from that moment, but she was taking this one step at a time. Everything else could come later. Survival, this was all survival, and she would not be able to survive here...

  “Oof.” The pitch black made it hard for her to see. Damn near impossible actually, so she did not know that she was about to hit into anything until it was too late and it had already happened.

  Whatever she had run into was hard enough to knock the wind right out of her but soft enough to still be warm. Bethany could not get distracted, she had to keep on running even if she bumped into a million different things, but that message from her brain did not quite reach her legs. Instead she found herself frozen to the spot, her eyes slowly drifting upwards and adjus
ting to the light, starting to see exactly what she was looking at... and the moment that everything clicked in to place, she knew that it was too late.

  It was a man. And not just any man, but a man who would not let her go. Her heart sunk as the realization hit her that as easy as it had seemed only moments ago, she was not going anywhere.

  Her escape plan had failed, right at the last moment, she had ruined it all. All because she went too quick, she got hasty and clumsy, the rest of her life was over and the failure began here.

  Chapter 7

  “A re you going somewhere?” Mason asked Bethany, completely bemused to find her as she was. Out of the cell and running as if she were looking for freedom. Something that he completely understood considering the life that she had been forced to live up until this point. “You are leaving me?”

  “I... I...” Bethany clearly did not know what to say. Her face had taken on an adorable shade of puce which only made it hard for Mason not to laugh at her. The whole day had been a confusing one, in fact ever since his son had been kidnapped, things had been strange, and it was only getting weirder.

  “I understand the cell probably was not the best place for you,” he told her with a smile. “I did not think about it when I brought you back here. I was simply pondering what to do with my son...”

  “Please, do not yell at the guard,” she stammered quickly. Her whole body trembled with anxiety, with intensity, with sheer terror. Bethany had no idea what Mason had planned for her. Or the guard. But it would not be good, surely. He would want to punish her for sure. “He did not know what was happening, I... I tricked him and he is a good person. He wanted to help me, but not like this...”

  “I will not yell at anyone,” he reassured her. “I know how Toby is. I know that he is caring. Probably too caring to be in charge of prisoners, as I can now see, but I like to keep him around.”

  Bethany did not know what to make of Mason’s reaction. She expected to have him hating her after she had bust free from his jail and was in the process of running away, she knew what sort of reaction this would drag from her father, but Mason was different. He was looking at her kindly, like he liked her.

  But how could he like her when she was the enemy? That did not make any sense at all.

  Although he was the enemy to her in this world, and she could not stop herself from liking him as well. He was an older man, but not the sort of old man that her father would have wanted her to marry - not that he would ever pick this man for her since the rivalry ran so deep - but the age only made him handsome, rugged, appealing to her. Lady Bethany really was naive, she had never been given the chance to get to know a man before, but even from the ones that she had seen, no one had ever affected her like this. He made her feel a tingling between her thighs, a fluttering sensation in her stomach, a strange flip flopping in her head that would not stop. It was too much, overwhelming really. She thought it best to shatter the magic of the moment by dragging her gaze away, but the magnetic pull kept her exactly where she was, losing herself in his eyes, getting sucked in further by the moment, knowing that she was in trouble.

  Mason could feel himself tumbling deeper in to the abyss of the feelings that he had now acknowledged, at least to himself, and the more that he looked at her, the more he knew that this was something real.

  Perhaps it did not make any sense and there would not be anyone else who would understand, but love did not always have to make sure, and this was definitely love that he was experiencing.

  He opened his mouth, ready to tell lady Bethany Windsor everything, not that he had any idea what words were going to come out, but he did not get that far. She seemed to snap in to action and tried to run off once more, trying to see how far she could get, but of course, Mason was faster.

  He wrapped his arms around her, laughing loudly, and dragged her back to him. Bethany stopped putting up a fight the moment that Mason touched her. Half because she knew that she did not stand a chance against this big strong man, and half because the electricity zinging through her body was too much to battle. It zinged all the way through her system, the sensation was so bolting, so intense, she fell in to him.

  “I do not think that we shall do any more running,” he declared in a chuckled voice. “There is no point.”

  She slumped forwards in his arms, giving up, knowing that she would be back in her cell before long. Bethany was never going to get the freedom that she craved. It would never happen for her. She muttered her apology practically under her breath, hoping that it would at least make him happier with her.

  “You do not need to say sorry. Instead, I would like to give you a choice.” Bethany paused and listened intently. This was probably the first choice that she had ever been given in her life and she wanted to do it right. “I will either take you back to your father...” Instantly she knew that would not be an option. There was no way she wanted to return. “Or you can stay here but no longer be a prisoner. Be my equal.”

  “What?” She felt dizzy, all consumed by his words. They were absolutely ridiculous, but also strangely glorious. “But I can not do either. I am not Scottish, no one will accept me.”

  “People will accept you in my castle because it is my decision to keep you there. I fear you will struggle more if you run away and try to survive. It can be a tough life out there on your own.”

  Bethany knew that he spoke true words. She knew that life would be awful for her out there if she were to try braving it alone, but she was not sure that remaining in the castle would work out well for her either.

  “I can not go home,” she insisted, knowing full well that this was limiting her. “It will not work.”

  “So, you wish to stay here?” When Bethany did not immediately reply to him, Mason feared that he might have pushed her too far. “You should sleep on the decision and make it in the morning.”

  “You will allow me to do that?” Bethany gasped in shock. She could not believe how nice Mason was being to her. It only made her pulse flutter even faster. “You will give me that time? You will let me work it all out? I know that is a lot to ask...”

  “I will not only give you the time, but I will give you a bedroom as well,” Mason replied. “Just as I should have done when we first got back here. You do not need to be back in the cell since you do not belong there. And, it is also pointless since you now know how to escape. You should have a bed.”

  The idea of a warm bed, even if it was only for the night, was too tempting for words. Bethany found herself nodding along and agreeing with him and following him inside the castle once more. It might not have been the big escape that she was expecting, but this was not being trapped either. She was going to be in the castle but as a guest and it seemed that was how Mason wanted it to stay.

  Mason’s hand hung loosely in hers as they walked. She probably could have snatched her hand away, but she did not want to. She liked the sensation of his hand in hers, it was electrifying, it glowed with joy, it made her swim in happiness in a way that she had never done in the past. This was new and she loved it. It made the castle look even better than before, and she had loved it as she was running away.

  “There are items of clothings inside this breech,” Mason told her as he showed her inside the bedroom. “Things that have been sent to the castle over the years, but there has been no woman to wear them. I do not know if they will be your style, but it might be better than wearing the same thing every day.”

  Bethany was amazed. She had a lot of clothing at her own home, but these were a lot nicer. At least in Bethany’s eyes. The Scottish fashion was preferable. Or perhaps it was just different but she liked it.

  “Yes, of course. I am sure it will be fine.” Bethany nodded slowly. “Thank you for everything.”

  The bedroom was lovely, it was the nicest room that Bethany had ever seen, even better than the rooms in the castle in England. She was blown away by how kind Mason was being to her. It was touching really, it almost had her emotional. Not that
she was going to show that in front of Mason. She had shown him more than enough of her vulnerability. The rest, she wanted to keep just for herself.

  “If there is anything that you need, please let me know and we will speak again in the morning.”

  Mason did not leave immediately, he paused as if he were waiting to see if she had a request right now, but considering Bethany was speechless she did not have anything to say. She wanted a moment alone to adjust to this new reality. She needed time to work out what her next move would be.

  As Mason left her, Bethany took a look through the clothing left for her and picked out a night dress to sleep in. Her mind whirled as she thought, she jumped from decision to decision, while deep down knowing that she did not really have any choice in the matter. She could not return to her father... not now.

  Eventually she lay back on the wonderfully comfortable bed and she stared at the ceiling, wondering if this was the freedom that she had been chasing after all. Sure, she had never found herself fantasizing about a life in Scotland, but that seemed less possible than becoming a mermaid. Perhaps the life that she had never dreamed of was the one that she was meant to have. Who knew, she supposed that once she had slept, if she could sleep at all, the choice would be obvious in the morning.

  Mason did not have the same nerves as Bethany, he was pretty convinced that he knew what she would do and it was exactly what he wanted as well. He had been worried about what move to make with Bethany, but now having her here, living in his castle, as his guest was the perfect solution. He did not care that Ethan and other people might complain about another mouth to feed. Bethany was worth it.

  There was a reason he had run in to her tonight, why she did not get away, and he had a feeling that it was to do with love. It was said that love would always find a way, and that was what seemed to be happening here. The love between him and Bethany was working its way in to their lives. He did not normally go out to ride so late at night, she would not normally have Toby guarding her. It had all worked out in a certain way for a reason and it was because she was destined to be his. He just knew it.