Pressing her body tight against the inside wall of the carriage, she inched as far away from the door as possible. If the outlaws had not surrounded the carriage, she could have made an attempt to escape, but even if she slipped from the confines of the carriage the thick, heavy skirt of her dress would not allow her the freedom to run.
“Hail Mary, full of grace,” she whispered, clutching the small silver cross hanging from her neck; though praying now seemed as useless as a blind dog.
As she heard heavy footsteps near the door, Keira grasped the bench tightly. She would not leave this carriage without a fight. Her eyes locked on the handle as it jiggled. The clatter of metal on wood only added to her consternation. Her hands and knees began to shake violently as her breaths became increasingly unsteady. What ever could they possible want?
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our-er, my death. She finished the prayer in a rasping whimper as the rattling of the handle suddenly stopped and the door flew open.
In a flash, Keira stared into the dark blue eyes of an emotionless face. His sandy blonde, unkempt hair and thick beard gave him the appearance of a large bear, a beast if she had ever seen one. He wore a brown leather vest that lay over a saffron shirt with a braided leather belt tied around his waist. A rabbit fur lined sporran dangled to one side and the brown of his trews matched the color of hewn red oak.
He was a beast in every regard! His body alone was a weapon in its own right. Large, rounded muscles filled the sleeves of his tunic and the vein along the side of his thick neck was pulsating. The girth of his broad shoulders and chest seemed twice as wide as one could wrap their arms around and his height seemed at least a foot over her head. Even his features seemed sharp and dominating, right down to the slight crook in his nose, which appeared to have been broken at least once.
The look in his eyes and twitch of his lips made him hard to read. She could not determine if he meant to harm her or not, but either way, he scared the hell out of her. Biting her bottom lip, she met his gaze and quietly waited for his next move.
~*~
The moment Ian swung open the door; the lass who occupied the close quarters looked as if she had seen a ghost. Her face drained of color and she was heaving loudly with each breath as if she was lost in a state of panic.
Ian had certainly not expected to find a lass in the carriage; let alone one so young and without the company of at least a handmaiden. The lassie couldn’t have been more than eighteen summers. What kind of a man would allow a woman such as her to travel without real protection? A bloody senseless man, that’s who!
Her thin arms and narrow waistline were so small it gave her an unhealthy appearance, as if she had never had a full meal a day in her life. Assessing her looks further, her copper-colored hair was up in curls and braids and her royally inspired gold and red dress was far fancier than was appropriate for a trip such as this.
Ian spat on the ground. She was far too lovely for a Chisholm lass but coming upon her was good fortune. She would be his means to lure Laird Chisholm out from hiding.
“My lady,” he said as he reached his hand inside the small carriage to grab her.
As if she had the instincts of a woodland animal, the lass raised her leg to block him and kicked him with the heel of her slipper square on the jaw. Ian stumbled back a step as pain radiated along his check down to his neck. Jesus and all the saints!
Ian twitched. He had not expected her to get the best of him. The lass had the kick of a horse, he thought, as he rubbed his hand over his jaw. He would have to keep a watchful eye on her going forward.
The wide, frightened eyes of a startled doe stared back at him. Ian understood the fear she felt. He understood a lot more than he ever let on. He had seen that terror before in the eyes of condemned men. Her eyes glistened as if she fought back tears and Ian took notice of her trembling bottom lip. Instinctively, he wanted to offer her comfort, but decided to stand his ground. After all, he should care naught for a Chisholm lass.
“Tis only a lass,” Ian said to his men.
After much effort and a tremendous struggle, he managed to yank the young thing out of the safety of her carriage. He then tossed her into Alec’s arms, with a command to hold the lass still. Once the young lass stood in the golden rays of the afternoon sun, her copper-colored hair gleamed like dewdrops on a peach-colored rose and her sun-kissed complexion seemed flawless. She did not possess awe-inspiring beauty, but her simple, even features still made her quite bonny.
“What do ye want of me? I demand ye release me!” she cried.
Brave little warrior! Ian ignored her request but was not ignorant of her fear, made plain by the pitch vibrato of her voice. Ian turned his attention back to Rylan and the two young escorts.
“Be gone wit’ ye and tell yer Laird he can no’ hide from us much longer!” Rylan instructed.
The two men looked at each other, quickly stood, and scurried off toward the trees.
“Please, dinna leave me!” the lass pleaded, before the two men were swallowed up by the darkness of the forest.
Ian held no fear of the two men telling Chisholm what had taken place. In fact, he was counting on it. Knowing he now held a Chisholm lass captive, there was no doubt Chisholm would retaliate. It was as if fate had brought the lass to him.
~*~
Anger and betrayal replaced Keira’s fear the moment she saw her two escorts vanish behind the cluster of trees. Foolish cowards! How could they leave me here alone with these men? Keira looked back at the group of Highlanders salvaging what goods and supplies they could find in the carriage. Thieves! She couldn’t help but wonder why they had chosen not to kill the two young men. The outlaws were well-armed and the two young lads were no match, against even one of them. A tinge of hope that perhaps these men took pity on the weak and vulnerable calmed her rampant thoughts.
There were five of them in all. The first man she referred to as the Beast and assumed was their leader, a man with long, dark brown-colored hair who stood across the road, a blonde haired man who looked very much like the Beast but not as tall and muscular, a redhead, and the younger brown-haired one, who, reeking of whiskey and sweat, held her tightly, preventing her from running away.
Three of the men wore similar clan colors, and the others wore different plaids. None of them looked familiar, but then again, Keira had never traveled away from home as her father had forbidden it. Home. How she wished she was there now. She had not even had the chance to give a proper goodbye to her clansmen, or her sisters, as her father rushed her off to Inverness to meet her betrothed. Thanks be to God that Alys was not here with her now.
“Take only what is valuable and leave the rest. We must return to the camp,” the beastly man who’d pulled her out of the carriage, ordered.
Keira’s eyes followed him as he went to speak to the dark-haired man across the road. Straining to listen, she heard nothing as they spoke in hushed tones, but she knew with certainty she was their topic of discussion as they kept glancing her way.
“What shall we do wit’ the lass?” the man holding her called over to the other two.
“We’ll take her wit’ us,” the Beast replied.
“Nay! Please! Please have mercy!” Keira cried out, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
Keira’s body shook as violent as if the earth quaked. Where did they wish to take her, and what did they plan to do with her once they got there?
Keira tried to fight the man’s hold but he held a firm grip on her arms. She pulled and pulled until the muscles in her arms hurt, but no matter how hard she tried to get away from him, he didn’t budge. It was like being tethered to one of the giant standing stones that littered the landscape. It was impossible. Her hands turned clammy and her muscles stiffened. She felt her stomach burning as fear flared inside her, its flames licking their way to her heart.
“Easy lass! Ye keep on struggling like tha’, an’ my grip on ye will only get tighter. I do n
o’ wish to hurt ye,” the man holding her said.
“Then let me go ye bastard!” Keira shouted as she stepped hard on the man’s foot, digging her heel into his toes.
For a moment, the man released her as he winced in pain. Keira should have done that in the first place! Taking advantage of her freedom, she sprinted off toward the woods.
~*~
“Oh, bloody hell!” Ian said, shaking his head at the foolish lass. “Where do ye think ye are going?” he called out to her as Leland ran after her.
“Perhaps we should just let her go. We dinna need the trouble nor the distraction. Women cause nothing but problems,” Rylan suggested.
“We verra well cannae leave her out here in the woods. Besides, if she has any importance to Chisholm, she might be just what we need to find him,” Ian reminded him.
“Well, she will no’ be my problem! Dinna say I dinna warn ye,” Rylan replied as he turned to walk away, spitting on the ground.
Ian knew that taking the lass was a risk. But she would be safer with them than out here in the woods alone, and far safer than within the walls of Erchless Castle.
Leland returned shortly with the lass struggling and scratching at him like a feral cat.
“If ye would just stop yer thrashin’ like a wild boar Lassie, ye would know we mean ye no’ harm. We only wish to question ye,” Leland said, trying to reason with her.
“Aye,” Ian agreed. “But no’ here!” Ian stood in front of the unpredictable lass and asked, “Ye will no’ cause any more trouble fer me and my men if ye knows what’s good fer ye. Aye lassie?”
Ian gazed into the lass’s light blue eyes. Her nose was crinkled and she had a look of defiance. Ian pursed his lips at her expression. Perhaps Rylan was right. This lass was going to be a problem.
“I will no’ say a word!” she cried out. “No’ unless ye tell me who ye are and what ye want of me!”
“And if I do, ye will agree to listen to what I tell ye?”
The lass hesitated but eventually nodded her head.
“I think ‘tis safe to let her go. She will no’ be running off again,” Ian said to Leland though he meant it more as a warning to the lass. Leland hesitantly released her and went to join the others as they finished packing up the stolen supplies. “My name is Ian and what I want from ye will have to wait. We have little time and night is coming upon us fast. We must head back to the camp. T’will be dark soon and I am taking ye wit’ us.”
“I would no’ have been alone if ye had no’ denied me my escorts, and allowed us to carry on wit’ our journey.”
“Twas no other way,” he replied.
“What do ye mean, no other way?”
“Lassie, I will tell ye all ye need to know once we reach camp. Ye will be ridin’ wit’ me.”
“And if I refuse?”
Ian lowered his gaze. This lass was testing him! She was daring, he had to give her that.
Lowering his voice so only she could hear, he whispered, “Then I shall tie ye up, string ye to the back of my horse and drag ye back to camp.”
“Ye would no’ dare! I am a Lady!” she growled.
Ian raised a brow.
“Dinna try my patience lass. I am a mon of my word!”
In truth, Ian would never have followed through with his threat, but little did she need to know that. Keeping her in fear of him was one sure way to guarantee she would not run off again.
~*~
Though she had no intentions of agreeing with anything he said or asked of her, she would, for now, obey his command until she found the opportunity to escape his clutches. She refused to be subdued by outlaws and thieves. It would only be a matter of time before her father or Laird Chisholm came looking for her and she would be safe and far away from these barbarians soon enough.
There were two types of Highlanders in Keira’s mind; those who were honorable and those who lacked honor. It was clear which category these men fell into.
Standing near a beautiful russet-colored mare, the Beast stood holding out his hand to help her mount. The smug smile made Keira want to slap that expression right off his face. Clutching her fist at her side, she thought it best not to retaliate and bit her tongue.
“I will do it myself, thank ye!” she spat.
Lifting the skirt of her dress with one hand and holding the reins with the other, she raised her leg and slipped her foot inside the stirrup. The horse was tall. Taller than any beast she had ever seen. The height of the stirrup made it hard for her to lift herself onto its back. Had she not had to hold back the layers of the skirt, it might have been an easier task.
“Damn this dress,” Keira quietly cursed as she tempted to mount again.
“Hurry up lass, we have no’ got all day,” one of the ruffians called out.
She could hear the humor in his tone and could feel the eyes of the others around her, watching her. She could have done without their mockery and boorish behavior.
Before Keira had time to protest, the Beast reached for her waist, lifted her into the air, and plopped her down on top of the horse with a hard thud. Keira turned to look at him, narrowing her eyes at his proud grin.
She had no idea where these men were taking her, but she would escape soon enough, even if she had to walk all the way back from whence they came.
Her captor leapt onto the horse behind her with ease and took the reins to lead the horse onwards. Sitting on the horse’s back, she held onto its sides with a light squeeze of her thighs. Thankful for the fluff of the horses’ mane she grasped in her hand, it allowed her to pull her hips forward, keeping a comfortable distance from him without sliding back against his firm chest.
At full speed, Keira’s tightly knitted braids began to loosen. It was only moments before the ribbon that tied the braids flew off with the force of the wind. The horse veered from side to side forcing Keira to grip the horse’s withers with her hands which caused her bottom to slip back into the Beast. She felt her behind lift slightly and jostle as the mare galloped the uneven terrain. Before she knew it, she was nearly sitting on the man’s lap. Securing her atop the horse, he firmly held her waist. Sending a silent prayer to the heavens, she prayed this was not a long journey.
Chapter 4
Ian kept a steady, watchful eye on the lass riding in front of him. Torn between pity and mistrust, he started to second guess his intentions. He would never mistreat a woman the way he had treated her, but his prejudice against Chisholm made the lass an easy target and an easy bargaining chip. There was a chance the lass was completely ignorant of her laird’s treachery, but then again perhaps not. Ian could not afford to take unnecessary chances.
He watched as her body was jostled up and down atop the horse. She was barely able to hold on at their rapid pace. Her copper locks blew wildly in the wind and the skirt of her dress fluttered at her sides, revealing the top of her knee and her shapely, smooth calves and trim ankles.
Not easily swayed by a pretty face and a firm backside, Ian was drawn to the wee vixen. Normally, he wouldn’t have given much attention to the lass but her grunts and moans were next to impossible for any man to ignore, not to mention her body tightly pressed up against his. No matter how steadfast he was, he was still a man.
Ian found himself finding excuses to glance down at her. Mayhap it was the unanswered questions about her identity that sparked his curiosity; or perhaps the way wisps of her hair tickled his face like a feather, either way he could not draw his gaze from her. Feeling her backside pressed hard against his groin, Ian knew that once their reached camp he would be in need of a dip in the loch to cool his loins.
They had ridden almost an hour and the lass had remained quiet. She had not complained once. He admired her tenacity.
“Is it too much to ask fer us to stop? I need some privacy,” the lass called out.
“Ye cannae hold it?” Ian asked.
“I have no’ control o’er when nature calls, any more than I have control o’er the weather. Surely ye
must know that!”
Grunting, Ian pulled on the reins bringing his horse to a halt as the others followed suit.
“Is something amiss?” Rylan asked. “Why did we stop?”
“The lass needs to piss.”
“Dinna she know the dangers of stopping here? We have just entered into Sutherland land.”
Ian knew very well where they were. He was reluctant to stop, but knew by the tone in the lass’s voice that she was not going to be able to wait any longer.
“Why dinna ye and the rest of the men continue on to the camp? We will be shortly behind ye.”
“I dinna think that is a good idea, Ian,” Rylan warned.
“T’will be fine. It should no’ take more than a few moments.”
Rylan nodded to him and snapped the reins. Ian watched as his men took off toward their camp, still another hour’s ride south. Sliding down the side of the horse, he dismounted to help the lass down. When he gazed up to her, he was taken aback by the disgruntled lass staring down at him.
The lass’s reddened, wind-chapped cheeks and wild curly hair made her look spent, as if she had worked a hard day out in the fields under the heat of a beating sun. No longer looking so prim and proper, the fragile rose he had first seen, she now appeared as a force to be reckoned with. He could only imagine what went on in that delicate mind of hers. She did not look affright one bit, but ill-tempered and feisty. Ian had to admit she almost looked better mussed than as the noblewoman she had first appeared to be in the royal-looking dress saw was wearing. Somehow, the opulent gown just didn’t suit her.
“Do ye need assistance, my lady?” he asked, as the lass still sat perched on top of the horse.
He doubted with the thick skirt of the gown she could dismount without falling.
“I do no’ need yer help,” she ignorantly replied.
Heart of the Highlands: The Beast (Protectors of the Crown Book 1) Page 3
