Highlander´s Enemy: A Historical Scottish Romance Novel

by Matie Cole

  “I have never been able to do that,” Mason declared loudly, in a friendly tone of voice, trying his best to break the ice. “I have always admired your ability to be able to skim the rocks.”

  “Are we headed out now?” Ethan snapped back, not in the mood for small talk. As far as he was concerned, Mason had absolutely lost his head over this woman and was about to get his men all trapped or killed. Ethan might have been going along with the plan, but he was not going to lose himself. He was going to make sure that he saved himself and as many people as he could. Save them from Mason.

  “We are today, yes. But before we go, I want to speak with you. I want to ensure that you are on board. I know that you do not agree with following Bethany’s map, but it is a way in for us...”

  “And if it is a trap?” Ethan shrugged angrily, refusing to meet his friend’s eyes. Although he supposed that Mason was not considered his friend. Not anymore. “Do you have a back up plan? Because none of us are any good to Jackson if we are locked up as well. Locked up or dead.”

  “I do not know if we need to worry about a back up plan...” Mason could immediately sense that was the wrong thing to say. “But I will ensure that no one is put at risk. If there is even a small chance that this is a trap then we will back away and regroup. We will make another plan from there. I will listen to you, trust you, let you come up with the next plan because I will know that I can not rely on myself.”

  “You should trust me already,” Ethan snapped. “Yes, I have hatred, but we should all have that hatred. They have done nothing but torment us. Nothing but try to take our land away. It would be much better if you had the same hatred as well. You can not win a war without some emotion...”

  “I have emotion,” Mason jumped in. “I just do not think that emotion has a place on the battle field. It needs to be handled with a cool and calm head. Emotions get people killed.”

  “It depends where the emotions are directed.” Ethan did not need to be looking at Mason for him to see his eyes rolling. “I do not know which way your emotions are pointed, but it does not seem to be in the right way.” Ethan backed away, effectively ending the conversation between them. “I will be there. I am ready for the fight, and I will be using my emotions to make sure that we all get out of here alive.”

  Mason was not sure what to say to that. He felt like there was something else that needed to be spilled out, but it was too late. Ethan had already walked away. Mason hoped that after all of this, once Jackson was back and everything had calmed down, they would be able to rebuild their friendship. Perhaps the fact that he would be in a relationship with Bethany officially that time and it might complicate things, but he hoped that the friendship they had always shared would overshadow everything and it would sort itself out.

  He could not worry about it now anyway. He had to think of leaving. It was time to go...

  Mason’s heart was breaking, his head shattering, his body crushing him under the weight of the fact that he could not find Bethany anywhere. He had looked as much as he could but she did not seem to be anywhere to be found. He was scared that she had run off once more. Only the thought that they really did seem to be in love kept him from losing his mind. Perhaps the goodbye was too much.

  He looked around at everyone who had gathered to join in the fight with him, allowing gratitude to run through him as he did. He was grateful that even as he was doing something a little risky, they were willing to follow him to the end. Now, he needed to make a speech, everyone was expecting it of him, but he needed to figure out a way for himself to start. He just needed to check that everyone was there...

  “Hey!” Mason spotted an unfamiliar face. One that he immediately rushed towards. “Who are you?”

  He felt like he knew this person, he could sense it inside, but he was not sure how. The closer that he got, the more he felt the familiarity flooding through him, but he still could not place him.

  “I am Bethany.” The person lifted her head up and smiled. “I am in disguise. I am coming with you.”

  Mason wanted to see Bethany before he left, but not like this. “What are you talking about?”

  “You might have my map, but you do not have me. I think that this will be so much more successful if you have me by your side.” She was determined, he could hear it in her voice. “You need me, laird.”

  “The map is enough,” Mason insisted, wishing that he could have had this conversation on his own with her. He could have persuaded Bethany to listen to him on his own, with his kisses at least. “The map is plenty. You have already put yourself on the line enough. I am not having you come with me.”

  A thick silence surrounded them. No one seemed to know what to say, not even Ethan. He was surprisingly silent through all of this, which shocked Mason as much as Bethany being here.

  “You need me to come with you. Everyone here needs me to come with you. So, I am coming.” Bethany was not going to be pushed backwards, she was absolutely determined to proceed with this. Mason could see her eyes flashing and there was no way to win her over. “I am not letting everyone risk themselves over a plan that I have put together without being a part of it. It is not right. Then if things do go wrong and I am to blame, then anyone who wants to, can take their revenge out on me.”

  Bethany looked pointedly at Ethan who was surprised by Bethany. Just as everyone else was as well. She was willing to take herself back to a place that she never wanted to go back to again just to make sure that everyone trusted her, just to show that she was a part of the Scottish clan as much as everyone else, no matter where she was born. Mason was scared for her, absolutely terrified, but proud also.

  Maybe now he was going to have to watch her as well as Ethan, but he did not mind.

  “You can ride with me,” Mason finally declared, giving up any argument because there was no point. He would not win against Bethany. She was much too feisty for that. “Come on, Bethany.”

  He helped her up on to the horse, a warmth flooding his body as she wrapped herself around him. Perhaps this was not exactly what Mason envisioned when he took Bethany out on his horse but he supposed that this was happening now. She was coming with him, she was sticking by his side, she could not stand to be away from him just like he could not stand to be away from her.

  The love flowed through him and made him swim in joy. The words flowed much easier through him now, he found himself easy to give a supportive speech to get his troops all riled up. They all seemed much more excited to get reach George's lands. Much keener to get on with their mission because of Bethany there. She had inspired them in a way that no one was expecting. She had inspired him too.

  This was going to go well, he had his lucky charm with him, the woman that he loved, there was no way this would end badly. He knew for that certain now and it was absolutely wonderful.

  Chapter 14

  “P erhaps it is better that you came,” Mason admitted as Bethany showed him the way to get inside the castle. “Much as your map was brilliant, I am not sure that I would have found it without you.”

  He was not utterly convinced that was the full truth, he was more just happy to have her around because he was head over heels in love with her company, but it felt nice to say regardless.

  “Well, it is one of those things that I have known about for years...” Bethany was embarrassed by the intensity of Mason’s compliments that she immediately batted them away. “So, it is no trouble. I will come inside with you and direct you from inside as well. Show you everything that I know.”

  Mason sighed heavily. He knew that what he had to say next would not go down well. “Bethany, I am happy for you to come here with me, I am. But I can not let you inside that castle. I am sure that there are a lot of traumatic memories inside those walls that you do not need to face.”

  Bethany shook her head lightly but without too much force. To be perfectly truthful, she could already feel a tightness to her chest that she had not experienced since she left England behind. H
er stomach was twisting and churning in a sickly way. She did not like it one bit. If she walked in to that castle, then it would likely only get worse. The fear of her father was all too much.

  “I do not want your father to get you,” Mason continued. “I do not want to even imagine what would happen to you if that man kidnapped you back. If he is as ruthless as you say he is...”

  “He is,” Bethany confirmed in a shaking tone of voice. “Which is why I worry about you.” She gripped on to Mason’s shirt and tugged him closer to her. “I do not want you to end up getting caught.”

  “I will not,” he assured her while running his fingers through her gorgeous red hair. It felt more intoxicating to touch her here, riskier. Mason was reminded of how much they would be putting on the line to be together, which was why they were taking this snatched private moment together, and milking it for all that it was worth. “I am always careful, my beautiful Bethany, and knowing that I have you to return to makes it a whole lot easier. I have something so important to fight for. I have us. Me and you. This. Because it has been wonderful for us to be together and I can not get enough of it.”

  Bethany could feel that too, the need to fight for one another, the need to stay alive so that they could finally have this happiness that they had been working towards. So far, it had been kept in the shadows, under wraps, only they knew for sure about it even if other people suspected, but once this was over they had decided to be free. She hoped now that people would accept her more because she had proved herself.

  He held her close and leaned his lips down to kiss her. Mason needed this before he went in to the fight, although he was secretly hoping that because of Bethany’s help there would be no fight, he needed Bethany more than he had ever needed another human being, and judging by the way that she was clinging to him, she needed him as well. They kissed for what felt like a life time. They kissed forever, holding on to one another like it was their last moments on earth, although they both prayed that would not be the case, and only broke apart when Bethany could not keep her words of desperation inside any longer.

  “Come back to me, Mason. I need you to come back to me. I love you.”

  It was crazy to feel so in love after this time. It probably was not long enough for her to feel this intensity which was exactly why she had kept it inside up until now. But she could not do so any longer. Even if he did not say it back, it hardly mattered. This was the moment that she needed him to understand.

  “I love you too,” he declared instantly afterwards as if it was obvious. “I love you so much, Lady Bethany Windsor, and when I come out of this alive, and I say when not if because with you on my side I know that I will, I am going to make you my bride. It does not matter what anyone else says.”

  “Really?” Marriage for love had never really been in Bethany’s mind before, she had never considered it possible for her reality. In her dreams maybe, but never in real life. Yet now the possibility was right there in front of her. Mason was offering her the day dreams, but in reality, and that was simply incredible. “I would love to.”

  They hugged once more, and this time Bethany allowed her mind to wander in a happy way. She considered what her life might be like with that sheer happiness floating through her forever. She thought about spending the rest of her life kissing Mason, holding him, sleeping in his bed, making children with him... ooh, she never liked the idea of having babies of her own before, but with Mason anything was possible. She knew that she would not mind whatever life would throw her way as long as she had him.

  But first, he had to go and rescue his son and Bethany would have to wait outside for him to return. Perhaps it was a better solution to being stuck in Scotland just waiting forever for him to come back. She would not have been able to handle that. Never in a million years. This was better than that.

  “I will have to prepare everyone,” Mason finally declared with a deep sigh. He did not want to leave Bethany as much as she did not want him to go. But they had not come to England for nothing. This was a mission that absolutely needed to be completed. The other very important person in his life needed him. “We need to make our way inside these tunnels before anyone spots us. We do not want to be caught out here or that will be dangerous for all of us. I will leave Alex outside to protect you.”

  “No,” Bethany insisted immediately. “I do not need protection here. You are the one who needs it. I have places to hide that no one knows about. I shall be fine.”

  Truth be told, Bethany was not worried about herself at all. She was confident that she could shield herself away in the lands that she knew so well, but Mason was not familiar with the landscape and she was panicked for that reason. She wished that she could ask him to stay behind with her, but he was a great leader who would not ask his men to put their own lives on the line while he did not. That was something her father had been known for, but Mason was the opposite to George Windsor, and she knew it.

  Not only that, but Jackson was his son. Mason needed to be the one to save him.

  “I do not like the idea of you out here alone,” Mason worried. “Your father will be dreadful to you...”

  “I am in disguise,” she insisted back. “I have an English accent. If anyone comes across me, then they will assume that I am just another person who is wandering through the countryside. You are the one who needs every man on your side. It is more likely to get complicated inside the castle.”

  He nodded. Mason did not like it but he knew that Bethany was right. If she was smart enough, then she could ensure her own safety in this unfamiliar place than he could. But he was not about to walk away from her without a last lingering kiss. It was not goodbye, he did not want to think of it in that way, it was simply a good luck kiss for the pair of them so they both could hold on to it to keep them safe.

  As they returned to where the restless Scottish warriors waited, Bethany’s chest grew even tighter than before. The nerves were really getting the better of her now, she was not as sure of this as she had been, but there was no backing out of it now. Not a chance. She was going to have to wait.

  Mason talked to his men in a hushed tone of voice. As he mapped out his personal plan with them, Bethany found herself unable to listen. it was too much for her. So, instead, she peered through the woodland, trying to remember the direction of the old abandoned hut where she used to play as a child. She might not have been there for a very long time, but as far as she knew no one else had ever discovered it, which was pretty incredible due to its size, so it would be a great hiding place if she needed it.

  Not that she would have the need for it, really. What she truly wanted was for everything to run smoothly and for the lot of them to be back where they were all safe as soon as possible. This lands was no longer her home, it had not ever really been her home, so she wanted to leave as quickly as she could.

  Eventually, her eyes were dragged back to the men when she felt the prickle of ice-cold eyes up on her. She already knew that it was not Mason, he always filled her with warmth and joy, so it did not come as much of a surprise when it was Ethan glaring at her, the hatred pouring even more from his veins now that they were in England. It was all consuming him, making him irrational and angry.

  Bethany did not want him to go inside the castle because she was afraid of what he might do to put other people in danger, but she knew that he would not protect her if he remained outside with her either. He would be more of a risk to her than anyone else could possibly be.

  Mason had clearly brought Ethan along on this mission for a reason, he knew what he was doing, it was not up to Bethany to question it. She would simply have to play her part and remain behind with the horses, hoping and praying that everything ran fine inside the castle and no one got hurt.

  She snatched her eyes away because she did not want to get sucked into Ethan’s mind games. If he wanted to be angry and vengeful then he could do so without her. Instead, she wanted to keep her focus on Mason right up until the moment that he
headed back towards the tunnel that she had shown him, ready to finally brave breaking in to her father’s castle. Her heart shattered in her chest as he left her, she felt her whole body slump forwards, deflated, broken. In such a short time, Mason had become the pillar to her existence and she was not sure what she would do without him.

  She needed him, she loved him, he was everything to her life. If he came back and still wanted to marry her then she would jump at the opportunity. Being the wife of laird MacGregor would make her the happiest woman alive. She did not care about how this would affect her father or how she should be expected to behave, she only cared about love.

  Chapter 15

  T he tunnels were long and dark. Mason could feel the men around him being sucked up by the intense hopelessness of the situation which was not what he wanted at all. He needed their positivity as well as his own to keep them all going. Thankfully, none of them had yet thought it right to complain out loud which flooded him with relief because he did not need things to be made worse than they already were.

  That did not stop the tension from surrounding them though, it did nothing to prevent the nerves from getting to each and every man. The idea that these tunnels ran underneath the castle and no one knew about them was a little wild, he was sure that if there was anything like this underneath his castle then he would know about it for certain, but Bethany had promised him and he believed her. Even through every pound of his heart, he believed her. She would not do anything to harm him.

  Bethany loved him and he loved her, there was nothing for either of them to worry about.

  “Which way now?” someone whispered from the back of the group. “It splits off, up ahead.”