Chapter Ten Fighting for Her
Chapter Ten
Fighting for Her
Evander watched as Alice’s eyes filled with tears.
He opened his mouth to speak, to say something anything, but he couldn’t.
What would he even say if he did? Sorry for kissing another woman?
Sorry that she saw? Sorry that everyone in the tavern was now staring at them, and some were laughing?
No. If he said any of those, he knew it would just make her more upset.
Alice watched him. The way he opened and closed his mouth.
The way that woman was still grinding against him even while Alice was there.
It was too much. She could already feel her stomach turning and her head spinning.
“Alice, wait, I can explain—” Evander stuttered out.
He did not know how he would explain, he knew he had to.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you,” Alice choked out. Evander’s heart dropped like a stone.
She is apologizin’? I should be the one tae do that.
He felt Sorcha smirk against his neck. He winced. He looked back at Alice, who was turning away from him.
“Wait!”
Alice didn’t listen. She couldn’t. Her mind was screaming at her to run. Her heart had shattered in her chest. She could feel the stares and leers of the people in the tavern.
Run. Run. RUN!
She raced out the front of the tavern. Evander’s breathing hitched. He went to stand, but the woman in his lap kept him down.
“Stay,” she said, her voice smooth and cloying. “Ye ken I ken how tae look after ye.”
One of her long fingers gently traced under his chin.
He didn’t want this woman.
He wanted Alice.
He was a fool to try and distract himself from Alice with anyone else.
“I’ll be goin’ now,” he said as he pushed her off his lap. She pouted but didn’t stop him. He practically scrambled out of his seat, the whisky dulling his mind and coordination.
He could hear the people laughing as Alice fled. The sound grated on his nerves, making his fury spike. Turning around to face the room, he slammed his hand down on the table so hard it was a miracle it did not crack. The laughter stopped. All eyes were on him.
“I dare ye all tae laugh once more,” he hissed
Some people shrank back, others nodded. He nodded and moved toward the door, trying to ignore the warmth of the room where he’d escaped to many nights in the past. This was not where he belonged anymore. No. He belonged with Alice.
Alice. I want Alice. I need to explain…
He stumbled after her, falling into people as he tried to get out.
“Sorry,” he mumbled as he raced past them. He pulled the door open, nearly pulling it off its hinges.
“Ali—”
His heart dropped. In the dim lantern light outside the tavern, two tall, muscular, and deeply drunk men were circling Alice.
Lachlan and Angus. Alice’s eyes were wide, her face pale.
He knew these men. Herders from the village.
He did not see them often, but he knew enough about them to know that they were strong enough to do serious damage when they needed to.
Damn.
“Come on, bonny lass,” Lachlan practically purred. He swayed, the topography of his muscles shown in the changing light. “Ye dinnae need tae be afraid of us. We can show ye how real men treat bonny women like ye.”
“I-I said I do not want to go with you!” Alice cried out. She was breathing hard, her chest aching with fear. She looked around frantically, looking for an escape. Her eyes landed on Evander in the doorway. For a split second, she worried that he would look away.
“Get away from her,” Evander growled.
“Leave us be,” Angus laughed, grabbing at Alice’s wrist. She tried to pull away, crying out in pain, but his grip was like an iron band. He twisted her wrist slightly, and she gasped as she felt bone slide against bone. She had to let her arm go limp so it would not snap between his fingers.
“There’s a good lass,” Angus smirked.
“Let go of her!” Evander shouted, barging toward the men.
“Ye dinnae need tae be upset with us,” Angus said, laughing. “Ye can join in with us. We ain’t afraid o’ sharin’.”
Alice felt her blood turn to ice. She might have been brought up to be a good and pure wife, but her mother had given her enough warnings to know what that meant.
Or at least to understand the danger she was in if her mind would not let her pinpoint the specifics.
Evander wanted to be sick at the implication.
She tried to pull away from the men, but her wrist was stuck in that iron grip. Tears formed in her eyes.
“L-let me go! H-he is my husband!” she cried out, her voice shaking. “He’s the laird!”
“And I’m the king o’ England!” Lachlan laughed, grabbing her chin. Her heart sank and her jaw ached. “Dinnae worry. We’ll make sure ye have a good time—”
Evander’s fist connected with the man’s jaw. Alice gasped as blood sprayed up from the man’s nose.
“I said,” Evander growled. “Get off her.”
“Oi!” Angus shouted, holding Alice close. He took out a blade and held it to her neck. “Ye dinnae want tae hurt her now, do ye?”
Evander turned to them, his eyes blazing with a protective light that Alice had never seen before.
Angus cried out in pain as his back slammed into the cobbled flooring outside the tavern. Evander wrapped his arm around Alice and pulled her away from the man.
“Stay here,” he whispered, whisky still on his breath. His eyes softened as he looked at her, despite her terrified expression. “I will keep ye safe.”
Evander pulled himself to his feet. He stumbled over to Angus as Alice scrambled backward, trying to almost push herself under the hay trough for the horses.
Around them, Calum and Peggy reared back, braying out into the dark.
Evander kicked Angus in the stomach, causing him to double over on his side.
Angus coughed and retched up whisky from his stomach.
“I told ye tae leave her alone!” Evander shouted. “Ye should ‘ave listened.”
“Stay away!” the man screamed, his voice hoarse.
“Ye dinnae listen to me,” Evander growled. “Now ye will learn to obey yer laird!”
Evander grabbed Angus by the collar, forcing him to his feet, and shoved him into the side of the tavern.
The laughter and music drifted out from the window, masking the violence happening outside.
Evander punched Angus in the face again and again, feeling the man’s jaw creak and complain under his fist.
Alice watched, her eyes wide. The worst she had ever seen was when her brother had duelled another nobleman.
Her brother had won, but Alice had not slept for weeks.
This was not a gentlemanly fight, and she knew it would haunt her.
As she tried to cover her eyes, she saw the other man.
He had pulled back into the shadows at the start of the fight and was now approaching with a knife.
“Evander!” Alice shouted. Evander spun to face her, just in time to see Lachlan appearing from the dark. Lachlan swung down, slicing at Evander’s shirt, barely missing his arm.
“Ye’re nae bad a’ fightin’, boy,” Lachlan growled. “But ye jus’ one man, we are two.”
“Ye’re right, nae a fair fight,” Evander hissed. “There should be a few more o’ ye.”
Evander threw himself at Lachlan, pushing him into the post where the horses were tied up.
Lachlan took his chance, plunging his knife into Evander’s shoulder.
Evander cried out in pain and forced the man next to Calum.
The horse bucked hard into Lachlan’s back, sending him flying, the sound of bone breaking against stone made Alice feel sick.
She covered her ears and buried her head into her knees.
Angus stumbled forward.
“This ain’t the last of us,” Angus coughed.
“Leave,” Evander hissed. Angus growled but went to drag Lachlan away.
Evander was left panting hard. He looked down at his knuckles. Bruised and bloodied. The last time he had been in a fight like that…
He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away. Now was not the time to think of family disputes. He needed to take care of his wife.
Evander’s heart thudded in his chest, the rush of anger and fear having replaced the whisky’s sedation. He turned to face Alice. Her eyes were still full of tears, her hair loose in its braids. He crouched down to help her up.
“Do not touch me,” she whispered, pulling back from him. His face dropped, but he nodded and pulled back.
He watched her, trying his best to keep his hands up, like he was placating a terrified animal. She managed to stand up, her legs shaking. She leaned against the feeding trough. Her dress was covered in mud now. Her face was stained with tears. Evander’s mouth opened and closed.
Alice watched him for a moment. The man she thought she had married was no longer in her mind. She had thought she had married a loyal man, a kind man, even if he was stoic.
She did not know who she had married anymore.
Peggy snorted and leaned into Alice’s shoulder. She patted the horse on the nose and began to move to get back onto the horse.
“Alice, wait,” he said, running up to her, managing to put himself between her and the mare. “Why did ye follow me? Ye should have stayed at the keep. Ye cannae just be unattended. This is one of many ways ye could have been hurt!”
For a moment, he watched the usual anxiety streak across her face before she suddenly looked furious. Alice felt her blood boiling under her skin, and she stepped into his space. His eyes widened, and he stumbled back into Peggy’s side.
“Do not act like you care!” she shouted. “I would not be here if you actually cared about me or our marriage!”
“Alice—”
“I wouldn’t have to be unattended if my husband didn’t leave without me!
I wouldn’t have to put myself into a dangerous situation if my husband hadn’t been kissing another woman!
” she cried out. Tears sprung out of her eyes and raced down her cheeks in rivers.
“What have I done that has made you so averse to touching me? Why do you hate me so much that you left the keep when I would have freely given myself to you! Is it her? Is she the reason you left? Is she better than me?!”
Evander felt his heart stutter in his chest. He had not realized how much his actions, even before tonight, were hurting her. She was gasping through her tears, trying hard to wipe her eyes. He tried to step toward her but she stepped back.
“Alice,” he whispered. He tried to speak, but his voice had left him.
What would he even say? That he was running away because he wanted her too much?
That he wasn’t thinking about the woman in his lap, but her?
He glanced down at her wrist. A large, dark bruise was forming on her pale skin. He stiffened.
That is there because of me.
For a moment, he couldn’t do anything but look at the bruise. Gently, he took her wrist in his hand.
“What are you—?” Alice started. She was cut off by Evander placing a soft kiss on her injured wrist. Her breath hitched, anger and sadness and affection forming a complicated mass in her chest. He finally stepped into her space, his large thumb brushing away the tears on her cheeks.
All at once, she felt the familiar urge to melt into him.
As much as she tried to resist it, it felt as natural as breathing.
“Let us go home,” he whispered. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her onto his horse.
She nodded. He walked to her horse, undoing the reins and holding them as he got onto his horse behind Alice.
He wrapped an arm around her, her warmth soothing his racing mind.
The smells that clung to him made her feel sick.
I never thought I would hate the smell of bluebells.