Highlander's Fate: A Medieval Scottish Historical Highland Romance Book

by Alisa Adams

  "English!" she snapped. "If you cannot speak that then do not speak at all."

  She vaguely registered that he was French and that she liked Frenchmen, but somehow, at this point, it was not at all comforting.

  She could practically feel the man tighten like an unfired bow with the effort of keeping calm. She had no wish for that bow to be fired.

  "She needs to – take care of herself," he said awkwardly.

  Alexa nodded, untied the woman's hands, and let her go into the shadow, where there was a rustling for a few minutes.

  She came back out, straightening her skirts, then nodded in thanks, and Alexa gave her a bowl of oatmeal with a hunk of butter in it and a cup of goats' milk.

  She devoured it, then pushed back her hood. She was a very pretty woman with dainty features and long dark wavy hair, which she tossed a little to untangle before putting it back in its covering.

  Alexa tied her hands again before turning to her companion, with whom she followed the same procedure – the only difference being that she tied his feet together before giving him his bowl. She was taking no chances.

  "Thank you," he murmured, then took his hood off to run a hand through his hair.

  Alexa, squatting in front of him to retrieve his bowl, almost fell backward on the forest floor. She found herself looking into the eyes of the most desirable man she had ever seen in her life. And he was French!

  Nothing is redeeming about this country, thought Auguste Chevalier, as he contemplated the rough journey to Inverness. It was a merciless country of stone, scraggy moss, and trees that rained needles.

  There were no gentle breezes, just scouring gales that blew sideways off shivering lakes and icy mountains, freezing everything they touched. Even the flowers had spikes. What game there was consisted of fierce wolves, boars with tusks that could eviscerate a man with one swipe, and deer with huge branched horns. There was even the occasional bear.

  He had been told that the sun came out sometimes, but in all the trips he had made to Scotland selling spices, he had seen no evidence of it – not once in twelve years. And, not surprisingly, he was not seeing it now, but at least on this trip, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, where Lachlan and Shona McGregor were waiting for them. At least he had thought there was a light, till now.

  As they approached the camp, the fire had looked welcoming, and the thought of sharing his bread with another traveler very comforting.

  But when the woman, prickly and challenging as everything else in this damned country, had threatened and overpowered them he had felt it better to allow himself to be bested.

  Left to himself, he could have made short work of her, but his sister, Annabelle, was traveling with him, and even if he died, he was determined that no harm should come to her. He would not take the chance of having harm done to a single hair on her head. Her betrothed, the Laird of Arbroath, was waiting for her at the end of this journey.

  Although he might not be the man she would have chosen, he knew that an older and more experienced husband would look after her well. Auguste wanted nothing less for her.

  The woman stepped out of the firelight, and he could see by its flickering golden-red light that her hair was pale in color and that she was small in stature. The sword she carried, however, was not.

  It was almost as long as she was tall, but she wielded it with assurance, and when he saw the crossbow leaning against the tree and the dagger in her other hand, he determined to exercise great restraint. He was just about to greet her when she attacked him, and he realized that she thought he was a robber.

  She gave him no chance to speak. Beside him, he could sense Annabelle shaking, but there was a sword point under his nose, and he could do nothing. The woman would not even let him open his mouth.

  So, he acquiesced to everything she told him to do, kept quiet when she told him to and allowed her to bind his hands and feet. Annabelle was far too precious to him to allow this madwoman to harm her. If the worst came to the worst, he would fight, but he hoped that when morning came, and she could see them properly, then common sense would prevail.

  He had a cargo of spices to deliver, but it was now the least of his worries. He was sure that Lachlan and Shona McGregor would be prepared to eat their food unseasoned for a while!

  Alexa was truly exhausted, and despite her best efforts to stay awake, she drifted off into a fitful sleep in the early hours of the morning of December 30. Auguste was not asleep, and now he nudged Annabelle and worked his hands under his body from back to front so that they could untie each other’s hands.

  They stood up, chafing their wrists, and as silently as possible, collected all their weapons except for one dagger each and put them out of harm's way.

  "Eh, ma soeur, tu es bien?" he whispered anxiously. "Are you alright, my sister?" He kissed her head and embraced her for a moment.

  "Oui, mon frère, merci. Yes, thank you, my brother." She shuddered. "J'ai un petit peur. I was a little scared."

  Auguste looked down at Alexa, still dozing peacefully in the dying light of the fire.

  A jet of hot rage shot through his body as he leaned down and pulled her upward by the hair, enjoying the savage glee it gave him. He knew he was not treating her as a gentleman should be treating a woman, but at this moment he did not care. He had only just stopped himself from kicking her!

  Alexa was rudely awakened by the wrenching pain at the back of her head and squealed as she was jerked into a standing position. A hand was clenching her under her jaw from ear to ear, thumb pressing into her throat on one side, fingertips on the other. Another hand was clamped to the back of her head, forcing her to look at her enemy.

  "Reveilles-vouz, mademoiselle," said the deep voice she had heard the night before. "Wake up, miss. Thank you for your hospitality last evening, but now I think you shall taste some of ours."

  She was looking at the man she had seen the night before, his deep eyes and curled lip a picture of scorn. Alexa's eyes were wide with terror. Her first instincts had been right – they were bandits – and now she was hopelessly trapped.

  Before she knew it, she was trussed up by having her hands and feet tied together, then she was ignominiously thrown over the back of her horse.

  It had all been done so quickly and efficiently that she had hardly had time to react, but now she was weeping tears of silent misery. She had no idea who these people were and what they would do to her, but after the way she had treated them, she was sure that nothing good would be waiting for her

  Alexa was in the middle of a little convoy, and she knew that it might very well be her last journey. She had to get away.

  The woman with the dark hair rode beside her, but after a long contemptuous stare, she urged her mount onward. She looked nothing like as beautiful this morning as she had in the firelight, but then Alexa knew the truth about her now.

  36

  Castle Ness

  It was seven o'clock by the time the convoy got to Castle Ness, and by that time everyone was shivering, not least Alexa, whose bound hands and feet were now numb and immobile. Her hood and hair had protected her from the worst of the frost on her face, but she was invisible and frozen when they trotted into the castle courtyard.

  Auguste asked for the laird, and a servant rushed off to announce his arrival, while Annabelle tidied herself for Lachlan and Shona's appearance.

  Nobody was ever really ready to see Shona. It was said that she was the most beautiful woman in the Highlands, but that was also because she was the most loved, a loving and fulfilled woman too.

  When she came down from her apartments into the courtyard, Auguste and Annabelle both had the feeling of wholesomeness and joie de vivre which she seemed to inspire in everyone.

  She radiated happiness, especially when Lachlan was with her – they were quite simply made for each other. The story of how she had saved his life was now the stuff of legend. The more they downplayed it, however, the bigger it grew, till the legend was now tha
t she had saved him from the monster herself.

  But nobody compared to Shona, and there was not a prouder or more loving husband in the whole of the Highlands than Lachlan McGregor.

  Now she approached them with her beaming smile and outstretched hands, tilting her cheek for a kiss from Auguste.

  "Bonjour, Auguste! Ye aye get mair handsome every time I see ye!" She laughed. "Still no' married?"

  "You broke my heart, Shona," he replied sadly. "Alas, there is no one else for me."

  Shona giggled and flapped her hand at him, then turned to Annabelle.

  "An' ye are the lovely Annabelle!" She looked as if her personal sun had just come out. "My, what a bonny girl ye are!"

  Annabelle stepped forward into Shona's warm embrace, to be given a thoroughly typical rib-cracking McGregor hug. Shona's were famous.

  Just then a squeal emerged from what looked like a bundle of rags on a big gray horse.

  "Shona! Shona!" Alexa was screaming. She had nearly passed out with relief at the sound of her friend's voice.

  Shona rushed forward and whipped back the woolen horse blanket covering Alexa, then her hood.

  "Alexa!" She gasped in shock. "Whit hae they done tae ye, hen?" She looked up at Auguste accusingly as Alexa was helped off the big mare. "This is my friend. Whit has happened here?"

  "This – this creature is your friend?" Auguste's voice was incredulous.

  "Aye!" Shona's eyes flashed indignantly. "An' a very good one an' all!"

  She stepped right up to Auguste just as Lachlan was coming down the stairs.

  Alexa was standing, being supported by a groom and trying to chafe some feeling back into her frozen feet, while his diminutive wife was standing eye-to-chin with a man as tall as Lachlan himself.

  "What's amiss?" he asked, frowning as he put an arm around Shona's shoulders. "Auguste – it's good to see you. Alexa – what is going on?"

  Alexa and Auguste pointed to each other at the same moment.

  They said at exactly the same moment:

  "He's a robber!"

  "She's a robber!"

  Shona and Lachlan looked at each other with identical expressions of comical puzzlement on their faces.

  "But she is a laird's daughter, and you are a spice merchant," Lachlan pointed out, scratching his head. "How did you both reach these conclusions?"

  There was silence for a moment.

  "She attacked us," Auguste said, in a deeply aggrieved tone.

  "I did not!" Alexa said hotly, grabbing onto Lachlan to keep herself upright. "I stood my ground because I thought you were robbers! I know bandits! I know outlaws!"

  Auguste looked at Shona, who nodded.

  "She does." She passed a hand over Alexa's shining curls. "She wis likely scared tae death, Auguste. I will tell ye the whole story later but forgive her. She hasnae had an easy time lately." Shona kissed Alexa's forehead. "Come on, lass. Let's have a wee bit o’ mulled wine tae warm ye up! We hae plenty o' spices noo!"

  * * *

  Alexa slept for most of the day, then after a soothing bath, she reluctantly joined the others for dinner in the dining room. She felt sore, tired, angry and embarrassed in equal measure.

  Shona beckoned her to the seat beside her own, and for once, Alexa did not spend the entire meal trying not to look at Lachlan. She simply had not the spirit.

  She sat quietly and spoke not a word unless one was said to her. Shona held her hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze from time to time, and Alexa was grateful for her tactful reassurance. She ignored the Chevaliers, and they ignored her, which made for a rather awkward atmosphere.

  After a few morsels of food, Alexa felt unable to eat more and excused herself, only to find herself being followed by Auguste.

  She had reached the top of the stairs to her bedroom when he put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped as a bolt of shock shot through her. She stiffened against the wall, and if she could have pressed herself into it, she would have done so.

  "Pardonnez-moi, mademoiselle," he said, bowing slightly. "I'm sorry, mistress. I had no wish to harm you last night, and I am sure it was not your intention to harm us either. It was a cruel misunderstanding. May we talk in the morning?"

  She looked into his gooseberry-colored eyes and nodded, then slid along the wall out of his reach. Where was the brave Alexa Montgomery now, she wondered?

  Auguste's gaze followed her as she hurried along the corridor to her bedroom. She was like one of those little spiky flowers the Scots loved so much. What did they call them? Thistles? You could step on them, but you would never come away unhurt!

  * * *

  Annabelle was a gently, conventionally brought-up French woman who had never aspired to be independent, and the fiery, independent Scottish woman scared her more than a little. She simply could not wait to meet her laird, be wed, then settle down to a comfortable life of childbearing and homemaking. It was enough. But she did have to admit that although it was slightly terrifying, it was fascinating too. Seeing a woman behaving like a man was exciting, and she could admire it, but it was definitely not for her.

  "When you saved him from the monster, Lady Shona," Annabelle asked, curious, "were you scared of its teeth?"

  "No' really," Shona replied airily, giggling. "I could tell this big lump wid be too big fer her anyway!"

  Lachlan gave her a smacking kiss as he brought her the latest addition to the McGregor family, baby Angus. He was whimpering and fussing, but as soon as he was put to the breast, his troubles seemed to disappear, and he suckled contentedly till he was full.

  Shona reluctantly allowed his nanny to take him away.

  "This is what I want," Annabelle said contentedly, watching the other McGregor children amusing themselves around her. "A house and children. So peaceful."

  "Pfft!" Shona laughed. "It isnae aye like this, lass!"

  "No indeed," Lachlan agreed, laughing.

  "I cannot wait to be wed," Annabelle said with rapture, clapping her hands.

  Just then, Shona nodded and looked purposely at her husband. Alexa was walking towards them, but there was no fierceness about her today. She was wearing a simple gray shift dress with a white veil, and she looked as feminine as Shona or Annabelle.

  "Ye look lovely today, Alexa." Shona smiled at her.

  "Thank you, Shona," Alexa replied, with the hint of a smile. "I thought I might… change myself a bit today. A dress now and again will not do me any harm."

  "You look very charming," Auguste said gallantly.

  Alexa looked up into his green eyes, shocked.

  "Sir – I held a sword to your throat," she reminded him. "I tied you up! They were not very gallant things to do. How can you give me compliments? I deserve to be reprimanded if not punished." Then her voice died down to a murmur. "And I am heartily sorry to have caused you and your sister any distress."

  "And why did you do those things?" Auguste asked. "Because it was a joke? Because you wanted to rob us? Or because you were scared? I think it was the last one, was it not?"

  "Yes," Alexa murmured, avoiding his eyes. "I was terrified."

  "And you still thought to feed us." He laughed. "Come, my Lady. You threatened us – we threatened you. You tied us up –we tied you up. Honors even, no?"

  She looked up at him to see him smiling at her mischievously, then she smiled back.

  "And in time it will become one of those stories that we tell our dinner guests and then our grandchildren." Auguste was laughing openly now. "And then it will become a legend like Shona's. Come, let us forgive each other!"

  He held up a tankard of ale, and they drank.

  Over the rim of his tankard, Alexa's eyes met Auguste's, and when they put their vessels down, their gazes held for just a second too long. Neither said anything.

  Besides, it was just a glance, and no one had noticed – except Shona McGregor, who noticed everything!

  37

  Allie Macroon

  Castle Ness always had the b
iggest celebration on Hogmanay, and everyone for miles around was welcome. Its uniqueness that year was attributed to the fact that it was the only day that anyone on the northern shore of Loch Ness had ever seen Alexa Montgomery wearing a dress. An eclipse was seen more often.

  "Is that the sun comin' oot, Shona?" Ishbel McDonald asked incredulously as she shaded her eyes to look up into the sky.

  Shona drew in an astonished breath.

  "Nanny – it's Hogmanay!" she said, laughing. "Whit if it lasts tae New Year?"

  "Must be an omen," Ishbel said with suspicion.

  When it came to weather portents, Ishbel was always ready to see disasters everywhere. But there were no disasters that day. The sun rose at nine and set at three just as it did every year, except this year, it showed its face for the whole day.

  It was freezing, but Shona, Alexa, Ishbel, and Annabelle braved the courtyard and played with the children most of the day.

  By the time they went to bed just after night fell, Alexa's dress was ruined, but it had been a day of days.

  Alexa and Annabelle, while still not being entirely comfortable with each other, had called a tacit truce. Alexa was trying very hard not to show how attracted she was to Auguste, but he made it very difficult by constantly striding around the storerooms grabbing her hand then opening packets of fragrant spices for her to sniff and sample.

  He made her taste cinnamon and ginger, nutmeg and cloves, saffron then peppercorns of all colors.

  And then there was vanilla, which Alexa said must surely have been cooked in an angel's kitchen.

  "You can only smell it," Auguste said regretfully. "It must be sweetened and cooked. But then! Aaah…" He tailed off, closing his eyes and kissing his fingertips in mock rapture.

  When he opened them again, they were sparkling with mischief.

  The lanterns were striking auburn sparks off his hair, and Alexa felt quite drunk with a new helpless desire. She wanted to be swept off her feet, held against him and kissed for a long, long time.