Chapter 21
The fire was dying out, and the night chill was creeping beneath her blanket, but that wasn’t what was keeping Jean awake.
It was their second night of the journey, and tomorrow, she’d face her parents and the Laird of the Armstrong clan.
She knew her parents well. The entire time she’d been gone, they’d no doubt have fretted and plotted exactly what they were going to say when they saw her.
How her actions were dangerous and reckless.
How she’d put others in danger. Once, her father had roared that no one would ever take her seriously if she didn’t stop her silly escapades.
Immediately, her mother had chastised him and reminded him that Jean didn’t need to worry about what others thought.
Only the consequences of her actions. Afterward, her father had apologized and told her that he’d never say those words again.
Almost every fantasy she ever held came with the guilt of what her parents would say and feel. She rarely acted them out anymore, but this decision wasn’t about her. It was about Liam and about the Armstrong clan. Fear of what her parents would say to her dug deep into her chest.
“Ye are thinking so loudly, ‘tis keeping the whole forest up,” Alistair finally growled. “Would ye like to talk about what is on yer mind, or do ye plan to just sigh and toss and turn all night?”
Sheepishly, she sat up. “I apologize. I suppose I should keep watch since I cannae sleep.”
“I wouldnae be able to sleep right now either. Tell me yer woes so ye can sleep, lass.” He smiled. “Or perhaps I can guess. Tomorrow ye will face yer parents who are none too happy with ye.”
“No, they will not be. Ye know, when my brother was little, he would wreak havoc just to wreak havoc, and my father would say that he was just testing what he could do. When I did it, my mother had to remind him that I was just doing the same. Eventually, he learned to treat us as equals, and I am grateful for it. There are many whose parents would not do the same, but my father was painfully aware of how the rest of the clan saw me and it weighed down on him. Now I have acted against his will in front of another laird and his clan. He will be verra upset.”
“Why did ye do it?” Alistair asked. “Liam is a good hunter and a good leader. He had good men with him. What made ye think that ye were even needed?”
She tried not to feel slighted. It was a valid question, and one that could be asked even if she were male.
“Mostly, I knew that the clan would need someone who knew of healing. The woman who died was the only one who had any experience. My aunt is such a good healer that they call her a witch. I spent a summer with her and learned quite a bit. I knew my skills would be helpful, not to mention that I am a better tracker than Liam. He is good, but he was losing faith in himself. Everyone told him that it couldnae be a wolf, and I feared he would get himself killed if he didn’t remember that he was tracking a fearsome beast.”
“Valid reasons,” Alistair acknowledged. “I feel ‘tis only right for me to say again that ye are an incredible woman.”
“And again, I will point out that all women are incredible. Clan life is a hard life, even harder for a woman who is expected to be feminine and hard-working, pretty and robust, a mother and a protector. If women were able to train as warriors, clans wouldn’t have to worry when men left for war or during a siege. ”
“Ye are talking as though ye dinnae live during a time of peace.”
She snorted. “Ye are a spy. Surely ye realize what is happening in the territory. Ballach Gibson is using underhanded tactics to get the Armstrongs to leave so when he lays siege, he can claim that it was abandoned and now his by right. It has failed, but he has spent too much time and effort to give up. He has turned someone thought to be loyal to the Armstrongs, and he will use them to advance his next plan. There will be war. We live in a time of peace, and the Armstrongs have strong alliances. They believe they are invincible. We all do. That is a dangerous way of thinking. Sometimes it only takes a single unexpected event to trip and topple a giant.”
“Gibson is nothing, Jean, He is a small clan who wants glory, but he doesnae have the manpower to back up any fight. He knows that.”
Jean leveled him a look. “Just because he knows something doesnae mean that he willnae still try. And how many people will lose their lives in the process?”
“I suppose ye are right. Perhaps when we return…” He stopped suddenly, and Jean tensed. He’d seen something.
“Between me and those trees. Now,” he barked as he stood, sword at the ready.
Jean barely had enough time to grab her own sword before shadows descended with a war cry.
A hand grabbed her arm, and she twisted easily and kicked.
Her foot landed against the man’s stomach and she pushed him off and swung down with a sword.
Blood spewed, but she didn’t revel in the success because someone else was grabbing her.
Two someones.
Alistair was surrounded by three men. Six to two. The odds weren’t in their favor.
The one on her left released her arm and tried to wrap his arm around her waist. His mistake. She clocked him square in the face with her elbow. The sword was yanked out of her hand, but that was fine. With her free hand, she grabbed her dagger and stabbed at the arm still holding her.
Free, she turned and faced her captors.
Dirty faces contorted in anger. “A feisty one, ain’t she? She’s gonnae be fun,” someone laughed behind her. Whirling around, she barely saw the fist before it hit her square in her jaw. Reeling, she stumbled back and looked just in time to see four men launch themselves at Alistair.
“No,” she screamed. Someone hit her again, and all she saw was darkness.
“She is the daughter of Laird Sinclair. They will pay handsomely for her safe return, but if ye harm her in any way, Sinclair and his alliances will come after ye. There will be nowhere to hide, and ye will die horribly.”
Alistair. He was pleading for her. She willed herself to stay as still as possible while she took in her surroundings. Her arms were bound, but her ankles were free. No one seemed to be touching her, so that was good, but there was movement all around her.
But not under her, so at least she wasn’t moving.
“Aye, we know who she is,” someone laughed. “We’ve been waiting!”
“Good. Then ye know not to touch her.”
“We arenae here to ransom her! No, we have bigger plans for her!” More laughing.
“I’m gonnae take a piece of her,” someone growled darkly. “No lass makes me bleed. Get the horses ready!”
The voices faded. “Jean,” Alistair whispered. “Are ye all right, lass?”
“Aye.” Her jaw ached, but that was the least of her worries. She opened her eyes and saw that she was tied to a tree. Alistair was tied to one across from her. Two men were not far from them, while another was seated by the fire. He had his sword in the flames.
He was going to cauterize his wound.
“Do ye know them?”
“No, but they know ye. I think they were waiting for ye. We dinnae have much time. Once they have their horses, they’ll be taking ye somewhere.
Ye cannae let them. Fight every step of the way.
Ye have a better chance of getting away before ye reach their destination.
They didnae search ye? Do ye still have any weapons on ye? ”
“No. They took my dagger and bow.”
“‘Tis all right. If they try to retie ye, ye expand yer body as much as possible to loosen the ropes. If they make ye ride a horse, ye fall, roll, and run. Run fast.”
“What about ye?”
“Ah, lass. I am a threat. They dinnae mean to take me with them. They may say they will, to get ye to cooperate, but they mean to kill me.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “This is all my fault.”
“Nay, lass. I live a dangerous life. This was always how it was going to end for me. I was a lucky man to have met ye. I regret not finding someone like ye sooner, marrying and having a few bairns running around. Dinnae cry for me, but think of me once in a while, will ya? There arenae many who will.”
“Alistair. I would have been honored to be yer wife,” she whispered. Her chest knotted. How could it have come to this? He was going to die just trying to protect her.
She couldn’t give up. She couldn’t let him give up. There had to be another way. When they got back, she would study them. She would learn their weaknesses. She would demand that they take Alistair with them.
Someone gasped in pain and fell. An arrow stuck out of his back.
Then another. The man with the sword in the flames shouted and whirled around. He immediately took cover in the trees.
The ropes around Jean’s hands loosened.
“There are at least four more in the woods,” Alistair said in a low voice. “Their leader is wounded. He is behind the tree on the right. No archers. All swordsmen.”
“Excellent. Jean, are ye all right?”
His voice wrapped around, softly, and she almost wept. Liam. He’d come for them. “Nothing that I cannae handle.”
“Arm yerselves with the weapons from the fallen men. Hurry.”
As much as she wanted to see him, she did as he asked without turning around.
Picking up the sword, she grimaced. It was far too large for her, but it would have to do for now.
When she turned around, Liam had walked to the fire.
“I am Liam Armstrong,” he thundered. “Heir of Laird Creighton Armstrong. Show yourself.”
Jean almost expected the leader to run, but he stepped around the tree, blood still dripping from his arm. He was having a hard time holding on to his sword. “I have twenty men in these woods. Ye dinnae stand a chance.”
“I dinnae see twenty men. I only see one badly wounded. Did my spy master do that? No. The lass did. I can tell by the fury in yer eyes. Dinnae feel bad. Her father and his men trained her. She’s felled mightier than ye.”
“A woman should know her place,” he hissed. “I mean to show her that.”
“Jean, do ye want to show him his place?” Liam called out.
She very much did want to take him on, but this was not the time. “No. There are more, Liam. Kill him so we can go.”
“As my lady commands.”
The man charged, and Liam merely stepped out of the way and struck him from behind. From his moan, Jean could tell that he was not dead.
“Severed yer spinal cord,” Liam said conversationally. “She’s the forgiving type. She’d give ye a quick and clean death. She may ask for it now, but I will deny her this once. Ye deserve to suffer. I hope the boars start with yer feet and work their way up.”
“Take Jean and go. He has more men, and they were waiting for her. I have no idea how many more there are. I will stay and get answers. Whoever is behind this will pay,” Alistair growled.
Liam hesitated. “I found yer mare and stallion wandering. ‘Tis how I knew that ye were in trouble. Let me retrieve them. Alistair, keep an eye on her.”
Letting out the breath she was holding, she dropped her sword and ran to the fallen man. “Jean, what are ye doing?”
“He has my dagger. My father gave it to me. I willnae leave it behind.”
As she approached the fallen man, he gurgled something unintelligible. With a cringe, she searched him and found her dagger in the strap by his ankle. “Liam thinks I am a good person,” she whispered. “But I willnae forgive ye for what ye have done. Perhaps God will.”
Not wanting to bloody her own knife, she tucked it where it should have been and picked up his sword. Closing her eyes, she plunged it into his back, giving him a quick death.
“Damn it, Jean, I would have done that for ye,” Alistair hissed.
“‘Tis done now,” she said quickly and tried not to think about it. She’d never killed anyone before, and while this man did not deserve to live, she couldn’t help the strange darkness growing inside her.
“A woman with blood on her hands.” Alistair smiled, and it made her sick to her stomach. “I cannae wait to marry ye.”
“What?” Her eyes flew up to meet his.
“When I get back, I’ll ask yer parents for permission. I’ll do it right,” he promised.
No. He couldn’t possibly think that she meant she’d marry him. He hadn’t asked. She’d only meant…
“Jean, what did ye do?” Liam returned, three horses with him. “I never meant for his death to be on ye.”
Helplessly, she stared at him. “I told ye to kill him. His death was already on me.”
“No time to worry about that now,” Alistair growled. “Get her to safety. Now. I will join ye when I can.”
He plunged into the woods before Jean could correct her mistake. Looking down at the dead body, her hands shook. What had she done?