by Alisa Adams
Keith glanced in the opposite direction and shrugged, wearing a mischievous smile on his face. “If ye like we could ride that way and see how far we get before the guards come tae find us.”
Rose giggled. “I don’t think that would be very fair to my parents. Besides, I was taught never to run from my problems. I must have words with Edward.”
Keith helped her back onto the horse and they tried to find their way out of the forest.
As soon as Rose’s horse had bolted and everything was thrown into consternation Lydia acted quickly and ran over to Edward. She tugged at his sleeve and he turned to face her. As soon as he saw her expression he knew that she was responsible for this.
“What are you doing?” he hissed, looking warily around in case their secret should be exposed.
“We need to act now. She knows. That Highlander told her. We have to get away from here Edward.”
“We cannot kill her. Not like that, not now… That was not the plan!”
“No, but they’ll never know what happened. I will make sure of that. I have a new plan. All our problems can go away and you can be free to live the life you want, if you trust in me now.”
“I do Lydia,” he said, although there was a notable hesitation in his voice.
He began riding with her.
13
Edward and Lydia rode into the forest looking for Rose and Keith.
Lydia's plan was to kill Keith and then make it appear like an accident. Maybe as if an animal had attacked him. But he had already spoken to Rose!
She had to think fast.
“So what is the plan now?” Edward asked.
“Rose knows, so we have to kill them both. Keith is in love with her, so he bought my bait easily. He ran after her, and now they are both exactly where we want them. Deep in the forest.”
"I do not understand," Edward said. There was doubt in his voice. He did not want to believe what they were about to do.
"Listen carefully Edward. Our excuse is that we are looking for Rose. I noticed that her horse went mad, and I asked you to go and help her. When we found her, Keith had killed her! Maybe he wanted to rape her, and she resisted. We do not know, and we did not have time to figure it out. Naturally, when you saw your beloved dead, you attacked him and took revenge by killing him. That is our story. Do you understand? We both need to look very shocked afterwards."
Edward found it hard to imagine that she would have to pretend to be shocked after killing two people in cold blood. Lydia was ruthless. More ruthless than any man he had ever seen. Edward looked at her and tried to remember how he allowed himself to come that far. He did not like Keith, and he was a man. A Highlander too, and he did not mind killing him. But to kill Rose with a sword? An innocent English woman?
"I don't know if I can do that, Lydia."
Lydia looked at him as if he was mad. And a coward. There was no love in her eyes at that moment. "We will also not get the dowry if we kill her now. " Edward tried to justify his hesitation.
"She knows!" Lydia screamed. "There is no other choice! If you do not kill her now, you lose me and the child forever." She came to a halt with the horse and Edward did the same. She stared at him.
"If you do not kill them both now, I will tell everyone about the child and us,” Lydia said. Edward was looking at her face trying to find an expression that reminded him of the woman he loved. It was hard to do that at this moment.
“And then you will lose your reputation. You will lose everything, and Rose will never marry you. There is no way we do not kill Rose and Keith today, in this forest, right now. Do you understand?"
Edward thought for a moment. "I will kill the Highlander, but I will murder no woman."
Before Lydia was able to answer, she saw something that made her stop. In the distance, she saw Keith and Rose. "Be silent, they are here," she told him.
Edward rode towards them.
The horse trotted into the middle of the clearing and Keith got down first, before helping Rose down. As soon as he held her hand to help her off the horse Edward stormed up, his face like thunder.
"Get your hands off her you dirty Highlander! That's enough!" he cried, and shoved Keith back. Rose was shocked by this behavior and put her hands on her hips.
"What do you think you're doing Edward?" she said as he dragged her away from Keith. He put his arms around her and patted her down, trying to make sure she was unharmed.
"I'm taking care of you and making sure that this brute doesn't lay his hands on you," Edward glared at Keith, who had to suppress every urge in his body to tear this Englishman apart.
It was bad enough that he had betrayed Rose, bad enough that he had not gone after her when the horse had bolted, but now he was claiming that Keith had done something wrong. Keith had the feeling that he wasn't so much protecting Rose as he was attacking Keith.
Rose pushed his hands away and stepped back.
"This ‘brute’ came after me when you didn't. Where were you Edward? Was I not worth chasing after?" she challenged. Keith couldn't hide his smirk.
Edward seemed stunned that Rose would dare to talk to him like that and he was completely lost for words. He stammered out a reply, trying to find some kind of excuse, but there was no excusing the behavior, and Rose wasn't about to let him get away with it.
However, Lydia was ready to interfere. She came up to them, holding a water skin in her hands, and offered it to Rose.
"My lady, you seem quite hysterical. I'm sure you are shaken from this ordeal. Please, have a drink to help relax. I'm sure there is no need for these strong words," Lydia said in a beseeching tone. To everyone else, she would have appeared as a devoted maid, but Keith suspected something. Rose snatched the water skin from Lydia and was about to drink from it as she was indeed thirsty from her ordeal.
But Keith saw the malevolent look in Lydia's eyes. They gleamed with some plot and it seemed as though she was waiting for something to happen. Her gaze was locked on the water skin, and Keith knew that something was wrong.
He pushed in front of Edward and tore the water skin out of Rose's hands. The liquid had a subtle smell but the color of water. Keith knew that smell.
"This is poison," he said, and held the water skin upside down. The liquid splashed onto the ground. The color drained from Lydia’s face and she looked to Edward, who was her only hope of salvation.
Edward took his sword out, and Keith dodged the first blow but he heard the sword tear the air next to him, and if he was not that fast and agile it would have been a deadly blow.
Rose screamed, but it was too late. Now it was between the two of them.
Keith took his sword out just in time to deflect the second blow and then a third one. It was not as weak as he had expected, but now it was his turn. He lifted his sword up with both hands and attacked Edward with all his strength. Edward was able to deflect the blow, but he had to kneel οn one foot.
They crossed swords and Keith was about to overpower Edward when a stone hit him in the head. It was from Lydia!
It did not injure him severely, but a little blood started running down his face. It was enough to help Edward get back on his feet.
Rose screamed again and attacked Lydia. "My lady, I am just trying to help Edward," said Lydia while fighting back.
“Stop that right now!” Rose screamed. “Edward, are you insane? What are you doing?”
Keith dodged another blow from Edward and gave three in return with the third one being so powerful that it took Edward’s sword away from his hand.
Keith put his sword at Edward’s neck, and no one knew if he would have killed him if his father had not arrived at that moment along with the rest of the hunting party.
William came forward, ready to threaten the Highlander.
"They are having an affair!" Lydia said, and all eyes turned to her.
"Is that true, Edward?" William asked.
Things had not gone according to plan. Both Keith and Rose should have been dead
by now. And Edward should be in the process of explaining how he saw Keith killing Rose, and then he attacked him to take revenge. But now they had to play their last card.
"It is Father," he replied. "I saw Keith and Rose doing unspeakable things, and I attacked him. "
"That is entirely untrue! You attacked Keith for no reason" Rose said, shocked. Rose was terrified as she saw suspicion on everyone's face. Only her father seemed willing to listen to her. She started shaking and sobbing. She could not believe the situation. "And...and Lydia tried to poison me! There...do you see that skin?"
They could not tell if the skin had poison inside, and her story was not very believable. "Edward tried to kill Keith and Lydia tried to poison me because they are having an affair!" Rose continued, panicked.
"Rose, please stop that," Edward said.
"Keith tell them... please." Rose said, crying her heart out. Keith could not stand seeing her like that. And he did not believe the nerve of that man. And Lydia too.
"You do not expect us to hear this Highlander lying too about it?" Edward said.
"Let him speak Edward." Steven said in anger. "Rose cannot talk, as she is in shock. What happened here, Keith?"
"And how did you end up threatening my son with a sword?" William said. "Speak up. We need answers."
His word was no good, he knew that, but he could only tell the truth.
"A few days ago, I saw Lydia and Edward sleeping together."
"You can not possibly believe these lies, Father!" Edward interrupted him.
"Let him finish. If he is lying, we will be able to tell," William said.
"I told Rose about it," Keith continued, "but she dinnae believe me. She decided tae ask them about it. Figure out if what I told her was true. Then Lydia and Edward tried tae murder us both when Rose’s horse went mad. That is the truth."
"These are all lies,” Edward said, both confidently and loudly. He was about to use his charm and give a performance. “I would never do such a thing, and you all know it. Rose and Keith fell in love, and naturally, when I saw them, I attacked Keith, but I was defeated. If you had not arrived, he would have taken me out of the way, and he would have probably killed Lydia too. He made this story up. He needs to be locked away."
Keith was raging in anger and tried to attack Edward, but the other members of the hunt stopped him. They took his sword away and Keith knew there was no point in resisting.
"Tie him up. I do not see why not to believe my son, who I know to be honest,” William said.
"What about Rose? Why should not I believe my own daughter?" Steven asked furiously.
"She is a woman, and she got carried away. We will deal with that later," William replied.
"Father, please...Keith is telling the truth," Rose begged.
As they took his hands to tie them up behind his back, Keith calmly looked at Lydia. Then he spoke loudly so that all could hear him, just like Edward had just done.
"You will deeply regret all that when Edward and Lydia's child will come tae life." Everyone, including Rose, gasped.
Edward was terrified. How did Keith know?
"Is that nae true, Lydia? In a few months, it will begin tae show, and you will nae be able to hide."
"I am not pregnant," Lydia said.
“She is pregnant. She told me, tae keep me from telling everyone about it. There is one way tae know for sure," Keith said.
Lydia narrowed her eyes, but her speech stumbled, and she couldn't form coherent words. "What do you mean?"
"There is a root that has quite an effect on women with children. My ma uses it tae check if a woman is with child or nae, and it has nae failed. If I can find one we can use it tae check."
"By all means, proceed," Lord Douglas said with a wave of his hand.
When Keith had confronted Edward, he had seen how people that lie lose control. And since he identified the subtle smell of the poison, he had shown to Edward and Lydia that he knew a lot about herbs and plants.
He had a plan.
They searched for a little while until eventually, Keith found the root.
"If you're going to put this much stock in superstition then I shouldn't think there's much hope of you ever rooting out the truth," Lydia said when Keith brought the plant. But underneath her words lay the desperate fear of a guilty woman.
"So all we have to do is wave this under her nose?" Lord Douglas asked.
"For best results we should get her tae eat it," Keith said. Lydia scowled and shook her head, trying to say that she would never under any circumstances be forced to degrade herself in such a manner, but Lord Douglas had a commanding nature, and when he ordered her to eat the root she obliged. At first, she tried to hide her reaction, but then her face twisted in horror and she spat it out in disgust, wiping her mouth.
"Is that the reaction we were hoping for?" Lord Douglas asked. He wasn't the only one who was miffed.
"Yes. She is pregnant," Keith said. "Those who are not dinnae react like that. They think it's delicious. Here Rose, try some," and he gave Rose a different part of the plant. Rose ate it and it did not appear to bother her at all.
“What are you going tae do with your bastard son Edward?” Keith asked.
Edward punched him. “She trapped me!” he screamed.
“Edward, no!” But it was too late.
Keith had broken Edward.
"She was the real schemer in all of this. She was a bitter, jealous woman. I did not want to kill Rose. She threatened that she will tell everything. Yes I did sleep with her but I did not want to murder anyone! It was just a mistake!" he cried, trying to rouse the crowd in support of himself, but everyone stared at him blankly.
“You stupid, stupid man!” Lydia screamed and tried to flee, but she was caught before she made any progress whatsoever.
“The child is not mine. I want nothing to do with you!”
“I cannot believe the Highlander is telling the truth. You have shamed us Edward.” William looked at his son with disgust.
“I’ve shamed us?” Edward’s voice shrieked as he rounded on his father. “If you hadn’t been so intent on treating this like a business negotiation it would all have been settled by now! But no, you had to squeeze every last penny from the deal didn’t you? I’m sure they would like to know how your stock has fallen,” Edward said, turning to the rest of the crowd. “That’s right. My father has made some investments which have not proved fruitful, and he’s managed to hide news of this. He only wanted this to happen because the dowry was larger than average, but you just couldn’t settle could you? You had to push and push and push...my goodness, you do drive me insane!”
Edward tore at his hair. His outburst certainly piqued Steven’s interest and left William floundering.
“Is this true?” Steven asked, and William’s silence spoke volumes.
“It seems that your eagerness to have your daughter married to a man with a noble title has made you miss a few important matters. I hope that you will be more discerning next time,” Lord Douglas said to Steven. He then turned to Edward and Lydia. “As for you two, I don’t know what to do.” He looked at Edward and Lydia.
“I never wanted Rose dead,” Edward muttered, “just to fall ill maybe so that people could understand why I would want to leave this place and go adventuring. This land has never held any interest for me and marriage is just another shackle upon the spirit. I don’t want anything more than to be free, to sail away to unknown countries and explore the frontiers of the world. That’s where the real adventure lies.”
“I think you’ll find that there is plenty of adventure to be had around here,” Lord Harold said. Keith agreed, and he thought that embarking on a marriage with someone was an adventure in and of itself as well. “And as for you...” He turned to Lydia. Before, Keith had always seen Lord Douglas as a congenial man, but now Keith witnessed how angry and intimidating he could be. Before he could say anything, however, the conniving maid had yet one more thing to say.
“You can’t punish me, please! Would you dare to punish a woman who is with child? I’m ten weeks pregnant,” Lydia said.
“Ten weeks?” Keith thought for a moment. “Ye told me it was six, and that was mere days ago,” Keith said. “Is that a lie too?”
“You just saw that I am pregnant. What are you saying?” Lydia said with a trembling voice. No one believed her anymore. She could not even convince her own self in order to lie effectively.
“You are so cunning but so naive at the same time. There is nae plant that can show if a woman is pregnant!”
Of course there is not.
People that lie will tell the truth if they are under pressure, Keith thought to himself. His plan had worked perfectly.
“Everyone would know about it if there was. But it was enough to make Edward confess. I just gaeve Rose a different part of the plant that does not taste bad. I have nae idea if you are pregnant or nae! It was a trick.”
Everyone was amazed by Keith’s intelligence.
Almost everyone.
“Did you lie about the child too?” Lydia would have certainly found another lie next, but Edward grabbed her by the hair. “I will kill you with my own hands now. You have ruined my life. I will kill you!”
Keith was sure Edward would have indeed hurt her if they had not stopped him. But all he could think about was Rose. They let him loose and he hugged her in a way he had not hugged anyone before. They would have shared a kiss if they were not surrounded by people. Still, Rose felt like no one else existed when she was in Keith’s arms. His protective hug made her feel safe. She knew this man would do anything to protect her and she loved him. She looked at his blue eyes and it was evident to all that the two were in love.
“I always thought Highlanders were known for their brute strength, but I can see that there’s more than meets the eye,” Lord Douglas said. Edward brooded in the background, and Rose was grateful, thinking about what might have happened had Lydia carried out her plan.
