Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Excuse me!” Helena shouted at him, her brown eyes blazing with anger, completely taken aback by his statement. “I may be yer wife, but I am most definitely nae yer property!”
“Aye, ye arenae me property, lass, but ye are me wife, and that fact alone puts ye in a great deal of danger,” he explained, his voice slightly calmer.
“How dare ye!” Helena looked genuinely offended that he was telling her what to do.
Alexander found himself more amused by that than he should be. His anger ebbed slightly as his amusement grew. While he was infuriated by the woman’s thoughtless actions, he was delighted that she had at least a wee backbone.
The idea of having a fully complacent wife utterly bored him. But he needed her to understand that she had to obey his orders.
“Ye will either be with me, Michael, or a guard when we arenae within the castle walls. Even at the castle, ye would be wise nae to wander off alone, as ye seem wont to do.” His tone was unwavering.
She will heed me words, or I am goin’ to put her spritely, little arse right over me lap and spank it until she obeys.
The thought was supposed to be threatening, but it ended up being slightly distracting, which irritated him even more. He was suddenly picturing her bent over his lap, fully naked.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“I have had enemies all me life! Me faither has been at war with this clan and then that clan for as long as I can remember! What makes yer faither’s any different?”
Almost as if they had summoned ghosts from a graveyard, three men emerged from the trees around them, each one road-worn and armed. Helena turned to face them, slowly stepping back toward Alexander, who reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her behind him.
It was only then that he noticed he was unarmed. He cursed as he realized that he left his claymore on his saddle when he rushed after her.
“Ye should listen to him, lass. He may ken what he is talkin’ about, after all,” the red-bearded man she assumed was the leader of this merry, little group said as the other two flanked him.
“Laird MacAllister has plenty of enemies, ‘tis true. Though, I thought yer kin to be among them until a little birdy told me that he had married ye. Of course, I had to come and see for meself. I am surprised to see that the rumors are true. A pretty thing ye are—nay wonder yer faither and braither kept ye hidden away in that castle all this time.”
Alexander grumbled something inaudible. In fact, the noise sounded almost like a growl.
“Ye better watch yer tongue,” he warned, glancing between the three men as they circled them, utilizing the Sycamore tree to block any escape. “Before I cut it out of yer head.”
“Ye’re outnumbered here, Alexander. Nae very good odds,” the blond-haired man to their left taunted. “And ye’re nae even armed. Big words for an unarmed man, I think.”
Helena fidgeted nervously behind Alexander, looking this way and that for an escape route. He looked over his shoulder at her briefly, then looked up at the tree.
“Here’s the plan, lass. I want ye to climb that tree trunk. I’ll push ye so that ye can grab the bottom branch and climb up there. I need ye safe so I can deal with this lot. Ye understand?” he whispered.
Helena didn’t argue, just nodded silently.
She was no more eager to be at the mercy of those three bandits than she was to poke her eye out. She had to trust that Alexander could get them out of this—preferably in one piece and alive.
“Go,” he hissed.
She did exactly as he instructed, running as fast as she could toward the tree trunk and climbing it.
He clasped his hands beneath her boots as if he were helping her mount some great-sized horse and pushed her further up the tree. With the extra boost, she was able to reach the bottom branch. Still, she struggled to climb atop it.
Once she was safe and stable on the branch, she looked down at the scene unfolding below in horror. All three men rushed toward Alexander simultaneously. She gasped, fearful he’d be killed outright.
Please dinnae get hurt. I dinnae want to have to tell Alice that ye died because of me stupidity. I’d never forgive meself.
The colors of the garments the men wore suddenly registered. Questions filled her mind in an instant.
These are Faither’s men. Why would they be this far in MacAllister lands? Why are they attackin’ Alexander when Faither kens that we got married?
The blond-haired man lunged for Alexander, the axe in his hand raised high over his head. Alexander ducked and slammed his elbow into the man’s ribs, knocking the wind out of him.
Helena couldn’t help but worry, her anxiety rising as she continued to watch the men below. Covering her mouth with her hands, she nearly cried out when Alexander took a blow to the head. The vengeful look that flickered in his eyes immediately terrified her.
The third man, who had remained silent this whole time, pounced on him, dagger in hand. Alexander raised his arm to shield his face, receiving a deep cut on his forearm as he parried the blow.
The red-bearded man charged at him, driving his shoulder into his waist. The two men fell to the ground, rolling over several times. Alexander landed a sickening blow to the man’s head, finally knocking him out.
He stood to face the other two, ready and waiting for their next attack. Helena watched as the two men took one look at their fallen leader, exchanged unsure glances, and took off running into the tree line.
“It’s alright, lass. Ye can come down now,” Alexander said, before he reached up to help her down from the tree with a light chuckle. “Those dogs willnae return, with their master down.”
“How do ye ken he’s the one in charge?” she asked.
“Simple—they attacked first, he held back, only advancin’ when the other two failed in their assault.
This worthless piece of filth is the kind of leader who sacrifices those he leads before himself.
If he wasnae, they wouldnae have left him behind.
” He shrugged as if the answer was simple and self-explanatory.
“Yer arm!” Helena exclaimed suddenly. “Ye’re bleedin’.”
Her feet had barely touched the ground before she had his arm in her hands, twisting it to get a better look at the wound there and using the hem of her skirt to stanch it.
“’Tis nothin’ but a wee scratch. It’ll be fine,” he insisted despite the bleeding, pulling his arm back.
She ignored him, tearing strips off the bottom of her skirt and wrapping them around his forearm.
“Stubborn brute,” she muttered as she bandaged the wound. “Ye’ll catch an infection by leavin’ it exposed like that. Do ye have a death wish?”
“Wouldnae ye be relieved if I caught an infection and died? Ye’d be husband-free and able to go back home to yer aunt and faither, with the war over as well,” Alexander said half-jokingly.
Helena paused for a long moment, trying to formulate the least offensive response. Eventually, she opted to remain silent.
She gestured toward the man still lying unconscious in the grass a few feet away. “Shouldnae we do something about him?”
“He willnae be wakin’ up anytime soon, and once we leave, his men will probably come back for him.” Alexander reached for her again, clasping her hand and gently pulling her back to him. “Why do ye hate me, lass?”
She felt the color drain from her face as irrational fear washed over her, like a deer staring down a wolf, not sure if it could run fast enough or far enough to avoid certain death.
Until this moment, she had thought she was hiding her distaste for him well enough.
She shook her head slightly. “I dinnae hate ye. I wouldnae have married ye if I did.”
“To end the war between our clans? Aye, I think ye would have. And ye do hate me—ye just dinnae want to admit it. All because of some preconceived idea that yer faither has put in yer head over the years.”
Her hand clasped tightly in his, he dragged her back to the village.
“I’d like to think that ye’re smart enough to form yer own opinions, though. Yer braither did, after all. We wouldnae have been friends if he had let yer faither poison his thoughts,” he admonished.
“If ye were such good friends, why did ye kill him?” Helena seethed, yanking her hand out of his grip and backing away several steps, cradling it as if it burned from his touch.
Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall without her permission. A maelstrom of emotions assaulted her all at once.
What is this? Why is he so cruel, so unfair, so uncarin’?
He took the lives of those she loved most!
“What? Ye think I’m responsible for Broderic’s death? Truly?”
The flurry of emotions on his face was only amplified by the irate tone of his voice as he digested the accusation.
“I’m nay more responsible for his death—or Ian’s death, for that matter—than ye are!
Aye, I’ve killed plenty, too many to tell ye truly, throughout this war.
But nae them. I have wished time and time again that I had insisted that they stay in Glencoe that night.
Perhaps they would still be alive if I had.
” His voice grew louder with each word, with grief, anger, and more.
“Ye were the last person to see them a-alive, Laird MacAllister…” Helena stammered, on the verge of tears. “I cannae ignore that fact. Everything I ken about that night points to ye. I cannae… I dinnae believe ye…”
Alexander moved so fast that she barely had time to flinch, thinking the worst. But instead of striking her, he did the unthinkable. Tangling his hands in her unbound hair, he took her lips in a hard, searing kiss.
The passion in his kiss threatened to consume her. Grasping at his shirt, she sought to pull him closer.
She didn’t know why she did it, but she knew that she wanted him closer—needed him closer. The heat of his strong body seeped into her hand. She hated herself for it. She hated that she was even attracted to him.
Who am I foolin’? I am more than attracted to him. I want him to kiss me, to touch me, to introduce me to carnal pleasure.
Despite sleeping in the same bed for the past few days and even sharing a horse with him, this was the most intimate they had been, and she wanted more.
All rational thought left her for several moments, the warmth of his touch and his pulsing, hard body arousing the most irrational, impure thoughts.
“Nay.” Like a sudden awakening, reason returned, and she shoved hard against him, propelling herself out of his arms more than forcing him to move.
“Ye may be me husband, but ye willnae convince me that ye arenae responsible for me kin’s deaths by bein’ a flirt!
I want to go back to the keep, right now. ”
Alexander’s eyes darkened with something indecipherable. “As ye wish.”
She suddenly wanted to cry and scream in frustration all at once. Confused by the myriad of emotions rising inside her, she turned back toward the healer’s hut, gathering her skirt so she wouldn’t trip.
She ran back to where the bay horse awaited them and hugged its neck, taking comfort in its warmth. She rubbed circles on his broad back, the feel of its mane beneath her palm comforting.
It didn’t take long for Alexander to catch up to her. Though he had walked up the hill slowly, giving her a brief moment to collect herself before they had to endure the short ride back to the keep.
“Thank ye for waitin’ for me and nae makin’ me walk back to the keep on foot, wife,” he muttered as he lifted her onto the stallion, before swinging himself up into the saddle behind her.
They were halfway to the castle when she finally broke the awkward silence. The question was digging a hole in her mind so hard that she had to ask it.
“How did ye ken that boy?” she inquired hesitantly. “Ye kenned his name.”
“Torin? Of course, I ken him. I’m the Laird of the keep. It’s me responsibility to ken me charges. Each one of them is important to me. Without them, there would be nay need for me.”
The conviction in his voice surprised her.
He truly cares for his clansmen. Perhaps he isnae such a brute, after all.
The realization touched her heart. She liked the fact that he had a sense of loyalty to his kin and clansmen alike.
Sadly, she could not say the same about her father. That was why Alexander surprised her. It was strange to her that such a beast of a man would know each of his clansmen.
Ever since she had the idea to wed Alexander Gordon, to sacrifice her freedom for the sake of her people, she had thought that it would be a great undertaking. That her life would be miserable from that day on.
As it turned out, it wasn’t even half the sacrifice she had anticipated.
She didn’t ask anything else, sitting as straight as she could in front of him, determined to keep as much distance between them as possible and her heart closed off.