Highlander's Cursed Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 12

  Joan is not safe!

  He looked back to his beloved. “Joan quick! Get the horse and run!” He shouted as two other men came out into the clearing. Before Joan could reach the horses, a third man grabbed her by her hair and restrained her. “Shite!” Aidan looked around as more men came out and soon he was out numbered.

  “We daenae want ye. We want the lass. We have orders to take her with us and take down anyone that stands in our way,” one of the men said as they drew their weapons.

  Frustration was visible in Aidan's face as he saw Joan being tied up and dragged away; he rushed toward her. He was stopped when one of the men swiped at him. Aidan jumped back, narrowly missing the attack. He heard Joan's cries as she was tied to a horse and the man holding her mounted the horse. His shoulders slumped as he put down his sword in defeat, not able to meet Joan's stare.

  “Pick up the injured man and let us leave! We have what we came for,” the man who had spoken earlier said as he stepped into the circle that held Aidan. “Pardon us, Sir Aidan, but this lass belongs to us now. I am sure ye will be able to find another seeing as ye are very popular amongst women,” he teased.

  “If ye really ken me, ye would have run when ye heard me name,” Aidan said as he took out a concealed dagger and stabbed one of the bandits, swiping the knife downwards. The man let out a cry of pain and his men rushed to his aid, allowing Aidan to go after Joan.

  Just as he reached the horse that she had been tied to, he felt a sharp sting on his shoulder and he turned to the person who had shot him angrily. The man that he had injured was glaring at him from behind the shooter and Aidan saw that he had stabbed the man in the eye and sliced down to his jaw.

  “Ye!” he shouted angrily at Aidan. “Ye will pay for this!” he said as he took a sword from one if his men and dashed for Aidan who swiftly blocked the attack. Aidan reached to his back and ripped out the arrow causing him to wince in pain. The man lunged again, and Aidan clashed his sword against the attacker's sword. Aidan saw more men rushing toward him but the man shouted at them. “No! Leave him. He is mine!”

  “Ye underestimate me so?” Aidan taunted as he swiped at the man who clutched his stomach where Aidan had struck. While he was distracted, Aidan drove his sword through his thigh, causing the man to scream and fall to his knees. Aidan raised his sword again but dropped it when a wave of dizziness suddenly hit him. He saw the man smile and Aidan fell to his knees.

  “I believe that it is ye who has underestimated me,” he laughed as Aidan fell on his face.

  The arrow!

  He slowly turned his head until he could see Joan. He could see her mouth moving violently like she was screaming but he couldn't hear anything she said. He could see the tears running down her face as he started to slip into the darkness. He gave her a small smile as that was all he could muster before surrendering to the darkness.

  Joan was woken up by the sound of dripping water next to her. She lay still and tried to recall where she was. She shot up when it all started to come to her.

  “Aidan!” she called out in the dark room that she was in. When she heard nothing she slowly got to her knees and started to crawl, looking for Aidan. “Aidan, are you here?” she called out again and this time she heard a low groan from the other end of the place. “Aidan?” she called again and heard another low groan. She slowly began to crawl toward the sound and soon enough she touched his warm body. “Aidan? Aidan is that you? Wake up, Aidan!” She shook him violently until she heard him mumble inaudibly.

  “I am awake.” She did not take her hands off him in fear of losing him in the darkness. “Where am I?” he asked groggily. “Light a candle,” he mumbled, and Joan shook him again to pull him out of his sleep.

  “Please, Aidan wake up. It is urgent,” she said as she lifted his arm and tapped his face lightly, but he only mumbled more incoherent words.

  “Daenae bother.” She jumped as a light came to view and she could see where they were clearly. It looked like an underground cave. The man Aidan stabbed was standing there with a lamp. His injuries had been well bandaged. He put the lamp on the floor for them and Joan held Aidan tighter to her. “The poison is going to make him delirious for a day.”

  “Who are you?” Joan yelled at him. “What do you want with us?”

  “I only wanted to take ye as I was asked to, but yer lover meddled in me plans and stabbed me eye!” he yelled back at her and she glared at him.

  “You attacked us,” she said and Aidan started to stir in her arms.

  “Say one more word and I will teach you some manners,” he taunted with a grin on his face. Joan was annoyed at his behavior and frustrated that Aidan was not responding.

  “Let us out of here now!” she screamed at him and his eyes widened. His shock disappeared and a malicious grin appeared on his face as he took out a key and started to unlock the cell. “You stay away from me! Do not come any closer!” She tried to scramble away but he entered and went for her. She screamed when he grabbed her legs and dragged her toward him. When he let go of her legs, she kicked him in his injured eye; he rushed away from her, screeching as he staggered.

  She took off one of her heavy riding shoes and flung it at him. He winced as the shoe hit him where Aidan had swiped at him with his sword. Joan saw that his eye was starting to bleed, and the bandages were quickly soaked with blood but the man looked too livid to care. His hand shot out to grab her hair but was stopped by another hand. “Daenae touch her,” Aidan said weakly as he deflected his grasp.

  The man glared at Aidan, who had collapsed on Joan and a smirk spread out on his face. Joan held the tired Aidan to her body and slapped the man's hand away as he reached for them. “How long dae ye think this can save ye?” he chuckled as he ran his hand though his hair. “Nae for long, I can assure ye that much.” He laughed and left the cell, hand on his eye.

  As the kidnapper had said, Aidan was delirious for hours. There was no way for her to tell the time or figure out where they were. Joan predicted that they must have been there for a day by the time Aidan woke up fully. The only thing that was changed for them was the lamp and some water in a dirty bowl that now lay upside down near the entrance of their cell.

  Joan glanced at Aidan who looked anxious as he sat up. “Do you know where we are?” she asked as she scooted closer to him and he shook his head.

  “This is all me fault,” Aidan spoke weakly.

  “You do not need to blame yourself for this Aidan. You were poisoned.”

  “I should have listened and kept ye at the estate. At least then, I would be sure that ye were out of harm's way,” he said and Joan latched on to his bicep.

  “I am safe when you are around, no matter where we are.” Aidan scoffed, and she looked up at him.

  “That is debatable. I let ye get kidnapped!”

  “You were poisoned! If anyone is to be blame, it is me. If I was not so eager to see Scotland, then we would not be in this mess. If I had not forced you to take me along with you, you would be living your life without injuries,” she said and Aidan looked at her, amused.

  “I wanted to show ye Scotland. Ye did not ask me to. I had a choice in England as well, but I chose ye Joan,” he said as she rested his head against the wall of the cave. “We have to get out of here but I daenae even ken where we are.” He sighed as he drew patterns on the soil. He suddenly stopped and picked up a little of the soil and rolled it between his thumb and pointer finger. “We are in the Lowlands.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “The rain has not come for months; the soil is dry and hard in Lowlands. It is different in the Highlands because the clouds are closer to us, the weather is more humid. The soil is usually moist in the Highlands,” he said as he dusted his hands.

  “Ye are a smart one.” Aidan perked up as the man who had taken them captive finally spoke from where he stood in the darkness. He came to view and rested on their cell gate. “I will give ye that.”

  “Where are we?” Aidan as
ked as he got up to challenge the man with a nearby rock in hand. “How dare ye take me away from me town! Who sent ye?”

  “Ye threaten me, but I am nae the man in a cage with a lass from the enemy nae, am I?” the man snapped back at Aidan, who drew his hand back and threw the rock at the man. He let out a cry of pain as he clutched his forehead, a few inches from his injured eye. Angrily he picked up a rock and threw it at Aidan, missing terribly. He removed his hand from his eye and Joan could see the bandage was soaked with blood again.

  “Where are we?” Aidan yelled again as he bent to pick another rock and the man chuckled.

  “All I can tell ye is that we are two-days' journey away from the Highlands, somewhere in the Lowlands, and that there is nothing ye can dae,” he said and Aidan clenched his fist before throwing the rock at the man again. Aidan was angry and it showed in his uncalculated aim. “Get used to this place, ye will nae be leaving anytime soon,” he said as he turned his back on them and left.

  Aidan fell to his knees and Joan immediately rushed to his side. “I feel so helpless, Joan! I feel so helpless and it frustrates me! Why cannae I dae anythin'?” he said as Joan pulled him into a tight embrace which he quickly returned. Joan felt she understood what he was going through.

  How is it that one of us always needs saving since we met?

  Joan admired him for many things including his bravery and intellect.

  He is always so calculated, even while fighting. The way he blocks and dodges attack, the way he strikes his attackers, it must have taken him many years of practice.

  Seeing her hero look close to tears only made her realize how much she depended on him.

  I will do anything for you, Aidan.

  Chapter 14

  Ian pushed the man in front of him out of his way as he stormed into the Laird's study. “I couldnae find him,” he said, and the Laird let out a deep breath.

  “I ken that this is the doing of that English girl!” The Laird of Leitan said as he got to his feet. “She had me son in her trap and now maybe in a cell in England.”

  “Joan could nae have done that. She is—” Ian tried to say but the Laird stopped him.

  “Comb the Highlands and the Lowlands again. If ye daenae find him, then go to Haerton. The Earl of Aberdeenshire must nae come to ken that his war commander has gone missing as a result of his desire for an English lass,” the Laird said as he handed Ian a pouch of money. “Take four men with ye.” Ian nodded and made his way out of the office.

  He pointed out four men randomly and asked them to follow him. Soon they were riding off in search of Aidan.

  She couldnae have done it, could she? She seemed so smitten with him. Or was that her plan from the beginning? Is she truly a spy? How would she have taken him in the midst of his people?

  Anger ran through his veins at the thought of Joan being a spy.

  Aidan must be heartbroken if he had found out that she had been using him to ken more about Rattray. If that was the case then I will be the one to kill her meself.

  Joan woke up to debris falling on her face. She opened her eyes and quickly shielded them as more dirt fell. She sat up and saw Aidan trying to move a boulder.

  “What are you doing? Stop! You will hurt yourself.” She hurried to her feet and ran to pull him off the boulder. “Aidan, please stop,” she cried as he rammed his fists to the boulder in anger. He ignored her as he continued to rain punch after punch onto the boulder. “Aidan, stop! I beg of you to stop," she said as she tried to pull him off the rock, but he shoved her back and she fell on the cave floor. She scrambled to the feet again and rushed to him.

  His hands were bloody, and Joan assumed that his fingers were broken. With one last punch, he sunk to his knees with a cry of defeat. His body racked with heavy sobs that shocked Joan but she wrapped her arms around him in a bid to comfort him.

  You can't be the hero always, Aidan, Joan thought

  Joan knew being kidnapped was not an easy thing to deal with, she was only hanging on to the remaining threads of hope that they might be found.

  Aidan on the other hand, she saw, he had almost lost hope. He had been aggressive to anyone who came to check on them in the cell and every time the man with the injured eye came to see them, he would throw stones but the last time, Aidan had flung the clay bowl of water at the man in anger, breaking it on impact.

  She heard footsteps and a mocking laugh that she came to recognize as one of the men that came to watch over them, “Ye have given up?”

  “Shut up!” Aidan snarled, and the man flinched. Aidan pulled away from Joan's arms and picked up the glass lamp.

  “Aidan stop! That lamp is hot!” Joan rushed to him and tried to take the lamp from him. Before the man could move away from the cell gate, Aidan had him by the collar and shook him vigorously through the cell’s iron gate.

  “Open this gate.” Joan did not recognize Aidan for a minute. His voice was hoarse and cold. He dropped the lamp, plunging them into darkness. “Open it!” Aidan barked, and she heard the jingle of keys and soon the gate was opened. She heard the man's gasps and coughs as his body dropped to the ground with a thud; she could also hear someone running.

  She stayed where she was, fear stricken. She saw a light come from the side of the cell and shut her eyes, not wanting to see what had happened.

  “Joan.” Aidan cupped her face and she leaned in instinctively. “I took his dagger and the keys, we should leave now,” he said and she opened her eyes.

  Her smile fell when she saw the blood splattered on his face and she scooted back. “What?” She shook her head and looked away from him, trying to calm herself. She looked behind him and saw the reason why they were free. Their captor lay lifelessly on the floor with a dagger in his neck.

  “Joan?” Aidan tilted her face to meet his and her fear was washed away when she saw his bright eyes filled with concern. “We have to go.” She nodded, and he helped her to her feet.

  Aidan crouched and took out the dead man's sword and motioned for Joan to follow him. Torch in hand, they dashed out of the cave. They came to a door which had been bolted shut from the outside and Aidan asked Joan to move back. She did as he said. Aidan rammed his body to the door before giving it one more kick and it gave way.

  “Please be careful,” Joan whispered.

  Joan was overjoyed to feel the cold night air on her skin again and she saw Aidan let out a deep breath as he looked around. She spotted their horse, who had been tied to a tree. Joan rushed to it and cut off the rope with the dagger Aidan had given her. The horse was startled but Joan managed to calm the animal down as Aidan mounted it and he helped her up. Without being urged, the scared horse started to run and Aidan saw two men run out of the cave to stop them but the horse sped past them. Joan noticed that the cave was just in front of the forest as they ran off. She heard a deep chuckle come from Aidan as they sped off toward the forest.

  The fire Aidan had made was good enough to roast the hare he managed to capture. He could hear the splashing of water behind him as Joan washed.

  They had been going on for hours until their horse stopped from exhaustion. Aidan could not recognize the part of the forest that they found themselves in. They ended up at a river where they decided to settle for the night. Joan had taken a bath and washed his clothes while Aidan skinned the hare he caught. Now he sat by the fire, cooking the hare and drying his clothes.

  He felt someone sit next to him and he saw Joan squeezing water out of her hair. He looked back at the fire. Joan leaned on him and he pulled her close by her waist as they both watched the fire.

  He looked down at her and sighed. “Ye were very brave when we were in the cave. Ye kept a clear head while I punched rocks. Thank you,” he said, smiling proudly at her.

  “You have been strong for me even when it looked like the wrong choice, you can be sure that I'll be strong for you when you need me,” Joan answered.

  “Not many people have seen me at me weakest, but ye did and ye dinnae co
mplain. I am glad to have ye with me Joan. Ye are definitely nae longer the English girl I met,” he teased and they both chuckled.

  We must have been in the cave for at least a week. I expected her to blame me, to scream, or be spiteful but she dinnae dae anythin’ foolish, instead, she stayed strong.

  I love that she stood her ground with Ian but kept her calm when me faither confronted her. Not all English women are weak after all. I want this one by me side always.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked as she looked up at him.

  “We are lost, Joan,” he replied as he ran a hand through her wet hair.

  “I am sure we will find a way back to your town,” she said and he gazed at the fire.

  Me faither would rather die than let me be with Joan and her faither wants me head. The only way we can be together seems to be away from everyone else.