He hurried back toward the ship, wishing to see her again. The trip to the village had unsettled him. Now that he’d made the decision to make her his wife, he wished to talk to her and tell her the plan that was beginning to form in his mind.
Chapter Seven
Arianna stood on the deck, watching for Nick.
She was thinking through all she had seen and learned over the past day. Magic, the wolves, Nick.
She had sussed out a few things. One, though she had trouble believing magic was anything other than a trick, her grandmother had always known things she shouldn’t, and those pieces of glass had spoken.
In addition, those wolves—or men or whatever they were—were awful forces plaguing her village, and Nick would help the people just like he had helped her. She could feel it deep down.
She closed her eyes and considered for a moment that she just wanted to believe this. That his handsome face and warm touch had tricked her into thinking he had the power to help and he wasn’t mad like she’d first thought.
But her heart took over. The man who had jumped in the water to save her, risked the wolves to tend her Granny, and taken a doctor to her brother was good. Deep down good. What was more, she had feelings for him she couldn’t deny. Nick had said that he’d seen them together at Granny’s cottage. She could see that too. It was so beautiful that it near brought her to tears.
A boat started rowing out toward them and she perked up, hoping it was him. She wanted to tell him how she felt.
But she soon realized there was only one man aboard the vessel instead of two. This man was tall, slightly awkward, and lean. As she squinted, she realized it was her neighbor, Haggis.
She grimaced. Haggis was clearly smitten with her and, recently, he’d grown bolder in his intentions. Almost demanding and far too pushy for her own comfort. She’d tried to avoid him whenever possible.
His were feelings she didn’t return, and she’d told him so, but he’d only smiled knowingly. “Ye’ll change yer mind,” he’d said.
She didn’t welcome the sight of him now.
He turned, and seeing her, waved. She gave him a small wave back, and he doubled his efforts to row out to the ship. Inwardly she groaned but she plastered a smile on her face.
“Arianna,” he called as he approached.
“Haggis,” she returned, attempting to keep her annoyance out of her voice. “What are ye doing here?”
“I’ve come to fetch you. That sailor, Fairfield, was it?” Haggis gave his head a small scratch. “Says yer brother is too sick, and ye need to come right away.”
“Angus?” Fear trickled down her spine, and she was already climbing over the rail, lowering herself down. She’d reached the bottom of the ladder before he’d even pulled the rowboat abreast of the ship, and she jumped in while the tiny vessel still moved.
Haggis reached up to steady her, and his hands at her waist sent shivers of revulsion down her spine. Even her body understood the difference in her feelings. It relished Nick’s touch and rejected Haggis’s. None the less, she appreciated Haggis coming for her now. “Thank ye, Haggis, fer taking me to Angus.”
“Don’t think anything of it,” Haggis replied, turning the boat and rowing toward the shore. He did not meet her gaze as he said the words, which, in and of itself, was strange. Nor did he give her anymore details.
“What else did he say?” she asked, looking intently at Haggis’s back. Something seemed off. “Why didn’t he come himself and leave the doctor?”
He did look at her then, eyes narrowed and his jaw set. “Ask him yerself.” Anger and perhaps jealousy laced Haggis’s voice.
Her breath caught as her heart beat wildly. Haggis had gotten quite tall, though thin, and he still had a grip of steal. A few days prior, he’d tried to pull her into an alley for a kiss. If her mother hadn’t caught him, he surely would have succeeded. It suddenly seemed a folly to be alone with him, and even worse, to make him angry. But she needed to hide that now. “I didnae mean to offend.” Her voice was soft, despite the fear beating in her chest. “I’m glad ye came; I’m just worried. If they both stayed, Angus must be in dire need of help.”
He relaxed his shoulders, allowing them to straighten, and then so did she. “Dunnae worry about a thing. Once I get you onto land, everything will be fine.” He shook his head as though agreeing with his own point. “Maybe we can even convince her to make your brother well.”
She blinked several times, wondering what that meant. What did he mean that she would make Angus better? Who was she, and how would this woman be able to help? Rather than soothe her, the words made her even more nervous and she clasped her hands in her lap to hide their shaking.
Scanning the beach, she tried to decide how to get out of this mess. Something on the shore caught her eye, a movement just in the shadow of the cliffs along the beach. And then she saw them, several wolf men stepping out into the sun.
Cold fear paralyzed her as she stared at their prowling movements on the beach. “Haggis,” she cried, placing her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Then she pulled it away again, her mind starting to work. “Turn around. It’s the wolves.”
Haggis looked back at her, but he kept rowing straight. “Dunnae worry about them.” He gave her an easy grin. “They are going to help us.”
“Ye’ve gone daft,” she whispered. “Please, turn around.” She managed to move as she leaned toward Haggis and clutching his bicep. Pulling on his sleeve, she crouched lower to hide herself. “Please.”
But he shook her off. Then, grabbing her arm, he pulled her close to him. She tried to shrink away, his touch making her wince, but he held her tightly in an iron grip. “They will make sure you finally listen to me. Once you do, your brother will be fine.”
He bent his head, clearly intent upon capturing her lips in a kiss, but she turned her head away. “What does that even mean?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” Then he landed on the shore, and within a second, the wolves surrounded the boat.
Arianna bit back a scream. Nothing could save her now.
* * *
Nick’s heart raced faster as he searched the ship for Arianna. No one had seen her, no one knew where she’d gone. It was as though she’d vanished.
Had he frightened her away? He doubted it. She’d been safe here, and he’d been checking in on her family. Despite any reservations she might have had, she hadn’t seemed frightened of him.
Could someone had forcefully taken her? It was possible. Though his crew hadn’t heard any scuffle. That made it less likely she’d been taken. He scratched his head. She wouldn’t have left, not while he was visiting her mother and brother.
Had she gone to check on Granny? Had Arianna been so worried about the woman she’d wished to check on her?
The image of Haggis rose in his mind and with it a twinge of foreboding. While Nick couldn’t see how exactly he might be related to Arianna’s disappearance, his behavior had been odd. It left him with an uncertainty he couldn’t shake.
And Haggis was one of the few people who likely knew Arianna was here, thanks to his eavesdropping.
Nick pushed down the panic that rose in his chest. Mrs. Granger had told him that Haggis had grown more aggressive. Was it possible that Haggis could have removed her from the ship? A low growl rumbled deep in his chest. He’d tear that boy limb from limb if he had.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to clear his anger and focus on a plan. There weren’t any more answers on the ship. Haggis was his only lead, which left him with just one avenue to explore. He’d have to go back to Arianna’s cottage and find out where Haggis lived. Hopefully his family would know where he was or what he might be up to.
He climbed back out the hull of the ship, intent upon rowing back to the shore when another ship came into view.
Pulling out a spy glass, he raised it to his eye, intent upon scanning the boat. There seemed to be no end to this string of problems today.
But as
he looked, he caught sight of his brother, Graham, on the deck. Relief made him limp as he spotted his brother Will and then Tom. He’d recognize his brother’s matching dark hair and broad shoulders anywhere.
Not wanting to waste any time, he sprang over the rail and into the dingy, rowing out to meet his brothers’ ship.
He couldn’t see them, of course, as he sliced through the water. He knew they would have the answers he didn’t and would be able to give him the help he desperately needed. He was sure they’d come for that very reason. He didn’t need to ask to know that Ewan had had a premonition and sent his brothers to his aid. Granny had been right…again.
He hadn’t made it more than halfway when Will’s voice rang out, “Brother, what’s your hurry?” He gave a quick glance back to see they had loaded in a dinghy to meet him.
“They’ve taken Arianna,” he fired back. He was aware he hadn’t explained who Arianna was or who had taken her, but his brothers would understand none the less. He supposed, that’s what was best about brothers. No exposition required.
“The wolves have her,” Ewan cried out. Nick stopped then, to crane his neck. He hadn’t seen Ewan on the deck, but he should have known the boy would be there. Hadn’t Arianna’s granny said as much?
“Do you know where to find them?” he yelled back and then began to row again. Ewan’s worry made him more eager to find Arianna and rescue her before it was too late.
The dinghies now pulled next to one another, Graham hopped out of his and into Nick’s with an effortlessness that made other men look foolish and clumsy.
Ewan nodded. “I do. But I have to warn you. This sorceress is more difficult than any we’ve faced. To beat her we need time and power.”
“We don’t have time.” Fear cut through him. “They’ve been kidnapping girls from the village, and if you’re correct, now they have Arianna. If I don’t get her back then…” He could hear his own desperation.
Graham gave him a long look. “We’ve no choice. We’ll have to go.”
He gave his brother a single nod of gratitude. Graham might be the most handsome man in all of England or Scotland, but he understood how desperate love could make a man.
And he did love her. He’d known it the moment he’d stepped on the grounds of the cottage. It was as though he’d had his own premonition and he’d confirmed it when he’d made his plan to marry her. He was in love. He should have been elated but fear was slicing through him. He couldn’t lose her now that he’d found her.
Will nodded in agreement. “We will attempt to only retrieve Arianna. We can battle the witch another day.”
Tom nodded. “Agreed.” He gave Nick a knowing smile. “It happened to you too, did it?”
Nick looked away. He knew his brother had figured out that he had fallen in love. Not that it was difficult to see. And there was no point in denying it. “Aye, it did.”
Graham patted him on the back. “Can’t wait to meet her.”
“You do know we have to go through a sorceress to get her back?” Nick raised his eyebrows as he spoke aware he was being caustic, in an attempt to calm his own fears.
But it was Will who replied. “Wouldn’t be a Fairfield courtship without one.”
They all chuckled.
“To the woods, then.” Ewan’s usual smile was missing. Nick knew Ewan like another brother and he’d come to rely on his easy confidence whenever magic was involved. His lack of ease now, had him worried.
“Speak now,” Nick gave Ewan a long look. “Is it pure folly to engage the wolves? Will we survive it?”
Ewan shook his head. “I see your future with Arianna, so I am fairly certain you survive the day.”
Nick wasn’t sure that made him feel better. What about the rest of them? His brothers? What of Ewan? “And you?”
Ewan gave him a lighter smile. “This begins a journey for me rather than ends one.”
Feeling only slightly relieved, and used to Ewan’s cryptic words, he began to row for the shore. Whatever happened today, he’d see Arianna safely returned to her family. He gave a shudder, worried about what Ewan wasn’t saying.
But his brother Graham, as if he had read Nick’s thoughts, patted him on the back. “Worry not. It is what we do. We help those who need it most. I am not sure why we’ve been cast in this role, but it is ours to play no matter what happens.”
Will called from the other dingy, gliding along beside them. “We’ll survive it. We are the four winds.”
Nick shook his head, not feeling nearly as confident that they were all that important. So much so that fate would protect them. When Graham and Charlotte had met, and they’d begun their magical journey, Ewan had told them they were a force of nature, like the wind or the trees. But Nick didn’t think that meant they weren’t prone to being hurt or even killed. It was a miracle they had survived thus far.
But he said nothing. He had to get Arianna back today, he needed to find a way to rid the village of the wolves, and he would need his brothers’ help. They were men, and they understood the consequences. They all entered the woods knowing the potential consequences. He just wished he could rid his stomach of the sick dread that weighed it down now.
Chapter Eight
Arianna looked about her, fear making her eyes open wide. She reminded herself to blink.
The wolves were everywhere. At least fifty that she could see, moving about the makeshift camp that had been constructed in a clearing of the woods.
Tents lined each side, small and simple. Except for one at the very end. It rose so high in the air with multiple peaks. It appeared to be a castle made of cloth.
Haggis ran ahead then, toward the castle tent, loping with his usual awkward gait. That was when she saw it. His loping run. It was the same as the wolf who had chased her into the estuary. It had been him all along.
She didn’t know if that made her more or less afraid. Haggis seemed intent on marrying her. If that were really true, then why had he brought her here? Would she be forced to wed him? She thought of Nick. In that moment, she understood that he was her future, or at least the one she wanted.
His warmth and strength were unlike any man’s she ever met. If she managed to get out of this alive, she’d tell him so.
Another wolf seized her arm, catching her off guard, and she jumped in fear. A scream built in her chest, but a second wolf man clapped his hand over her mouth. They dragged her toward a tent and for once, she wished Haggis would return. As much as she reviled him, she wasn’t in immediate danger in his company.
Arianna tried to fight, but the two men were far stronger. One grabbed her wrists and bound them with rope then moved to her feet. The other let out a growling command, “We’ll uncover yer mouth if ye don’t scream. Scream, and we’ll be forced to gag ye.”
She gave a nod. Being gagged would not help her cause, so she would obey. They lifted her and carried her into the next tent. She started to struggle again, not wanting to be alone with them in a tent, but the moment they pulled her through, she stopped. Sitting about the tent were six other women her age. She recognized several of them as missing girls from the village. All about her age, though each looked different from the other. One a brunette, another a blonde. One girl exceptionally short, another quite tall.
They all looked frightened by the wolves entering the tent but otherwise unharmed. The two wolves set her down and promptly left. Arianna slumped on the ground in relief.
“Are you all right?” one of the girls whispered so softly that Arianna could hardly hear her.
She gave a nod. “Are you?”
The girl inched forward also tied at her hands and feet. “Yes, we’re fine.” The girl, Arianna thought her name was Fiona, looked at the door before she spoke again. “No one has hurt us, and they keep us fed. But we’ve been trapped in this tent, some of us for days.”
“Do you know why?” Arianna asked as she tried to sit up in her bindings.
The girl glanced at the door again and then scoot
ed even closer, helping Arianna to sit. “We’ve heard them making plans. We’re to marry some of the chosen wolves.” Fiona shuddered.
“Do you think they’ll keep us tied up even after the ceremony?” one girl asked.
Another responded, “Don’t be daft, Eliza. We have to get out of here before we’re married at all.”
Arianna quite agreed. “Do you know when the weddings are supposed to happen?”
Fiona cringed. “I don’t know. You are the final girl. For some reason, they wanted seven. I’ve heard them say it.”
That was distressing. How much time did she have? She took a ragged breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
Nick needed time to come for her.
She straightened, realizing she didn’t doubt for a moment that he’d come. He’d taken care of her and her family. Hope rose in her chest. Nick would save her.
But how soon until he’d find her? She hadn’t told anyone she was leaving the ship. No one but Haggis knew where she was. Her hope was dashed as quickly as it had risen.
Somehow, she had to find a way out of this mess.
The tent flap opened, and the girls shrank against the tent walls.
Arianna’s head snapped up, but it was Haggis who entered. “She wants to see you.”
“Whom?” Arianna squeaked. She cleared her throat, attempting to sound stronger than she felt.
“The Lady of the Ise.” Haggis scrunched his eyes as though she was mad for not knowing. Something shifted in the air as everyone stared at her. Haggis’s face darkened as he shuffled toward her.
The girls stared at her as well. Fiona’s eyes had grown large. “How can you not know the Lady?” she whispered.
She wasn’t the one who’d lost her mental faculties. She’d only just arrived. Why should she know who ran the camp?
Luring a Lady’s Love: Fairfield Fairy Tales Book 4 Page 4
