The Accidental Highland Hero (The Highlanders #2)

Chapter Ten

A twinge of panic attacked Eilis as she halted her horse in the middle of nowhere, wondering where she was as the rain continued to soak her through and through. Now she realized how vulnerable she could be alone without an escort, unprotected. She squashed the impulse to turn around and seek the shelter of Craigly Castle.

Had Nighinn hoped something untoward would happen to her unescorted as she was? She didn’t doubt it.

With another ripple of shivers cascading down her spine, she pulled the cloak tighter and hoped when she finally dismounted, Nighinn’s gown wouldn’t fall off her it was so big. But she was glad to leave James’s sister’s gowns behind. They were not given to her to keep and mayhap Catriona could wear them some day.

Eilis bit back the fit of jealousy that swamped her. She had no right to feel any way concerning James and Catriona’s relationship. He wanted her for his wife, and Eilis was unimportant in the scheme of things except as a means to an end.

With that dismal thought and the cold rainwater running down her face and gown, she reflected how terrible it was to have nobody to care for and no one to care for her in return.

The cold wind whipped the hood off her head, and the rain doused her hair. With numbed fingers, she struggled to pull the hood back in place.

A horse whinnied some distance off. Cyn and his men? Mayhap they were looking for her? Heart racing, she jerked her head around, but saw no one, just sheets of gray water so heavy, she couldn’t make out the lay of the land. But what if it was James or one of his men searching for his brother? Och, she hadn’t considered that. She turned her mount away from the sound of the horse. What if she ran into the search party? Mayhap they wouldn’t recognize her.

Nay, they wouldn’t. She imagined she looked as drowned as when Eanruig and Niall pulled her from the sea. Eanruig. Aye, he would recognize her.

More horses whinnied, and men shouted over the wailing wind. She couldn’t make out their words though, and because she couldn’t see them, she presumed they couldn’t see her, which gave her a shred of relief.

Heading farther away from the men, she hoped she wasn’t riding in a circle and looping back in the direction of Craigly Castle. She nudged her horse into a grove of trees and prayed the branches and needle-like leaves of the larch would deflect some of the drenching rain. When she dipped her head to keep the rain off her face, she saw a cave half hidden by underbrush. Did wild animals live there?

To get out of the wind and rain, she’d take her chances as cold and wet as she was. After slipping off the horse, she tied him to a branch then ducked inside the cave. ‘Twas so dark, she could see naught but groped along the rugged walls until she was well away from the entrance and out of the wind. But still, she was chilled to the bone, and inside the cave it was even colder.

What she wouldn’t have given for a fire and dry…

She tilted her head up and sniffed. The smell of smoke drifted in the chilly, damp air. She froze. Then faint light deeper in the cave caught her eye. Before she could flee, a giant of a man rounded the crag, rushed her, and covered her mouth, stifling her scream. He lifted her into his arms as if she were naught but a cloth doll and stalked deeper into the cavern.

Although she craved telling the man to let her go, she feared he’d harm her so she bit her tongue and said naught. Mayhap she could talk her way out of this, after she dried her clothes by his fire.

But the way his blue eyes speared her with intrigue, she thought mayhap not. His blond hair hung loosely about his broad shoulders, and his sturdy build and blue eyes reminded her of a Norseman. She briefly wondered what he’d be doing in these parts. Although the worry about what he intended to do with her soon made her think of naught else.

His footfalls echoed off the rock, and the fire crackled and popped in the distance. She shivered from the cold and fear.

When the roof of the cave reached downward, the man stooped low, holding her closer to his body. His heat slightly warmed her, his actions reminding her of James when he carried her into the keep after she attempted her first escape. She shivered again in a man’s warm embrace but wished she was in James’s protective arms instead. Even though the Norseman didn’t scowl at her like James had.

In a darkened corner of the cave, a man’s abrupt laughter erupted. She jerked her head around to see who it was.

Long dark hair and eyes the color of a mink watched her. His bemused expression and build reminded her of James. His brother? Dougald?

“I am usually the one to catch the lasses so quickly, but do you not think in our current predicament this is neither the time nor the place for such frivolities, Gunnolf?”

His smile broadened, and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

Gunnolf? Wasn’t he the man traveling with James’s brother? Praise be to God they were safe.

“Ja, but I thought she was one of them,”

the Norseman said, his mouth curving upward as he set her on her feet next to the fire.

She rubbed her arms and moved even closer to the flames.

“Aye, she looks very much like a hardened warrior, minus a sword. Unless you already disarmed the lass and dropped the sword yonder.”

The man’s dark eyes caught and held her attention as he strode across the cavern and joined them. Just as beautiful as James, the same way he walked, with purpose and nobility…and charm.

The Highlander pulled off her cloak, and she squeaked, the sound bouncing off the limestone walls. “You will catch your death, lass.”

He shook her cloak out, sending water droplets flying, some sparking the fire. He set the garment next to the flames.

“You are Dougald?”

Eilis asked, her breath in her throat.

He raised his brows. “Do not tell me my brother has sent you to rescue me?”

He cocked his head to the side and considered her gown, the fabric voluminous enough to attire two women, clinging now to her shivering form.

“You need to remove your gown, lass, or you will become ill.”

“Nay.”

She vigorously shook her head.

Dougald shrugged out of his worn tunic, revealing his naked torso, as bronzed as James was, and now wearing only a pair of trewes. “You will learn I am not easily dissuaded when a lass’s health is at risk.”

He handed his tunic to her. “We will turn our backs.”

Her skin flushed with heat, she hurriedly yanked the wet gown down to her feet then pulled off the skin-clinging shift. After slipping Dougald’s tunic over her head, his own body heat still warming the wool, she laid her garments beside the fire.

“I…I am dressed.”

Although in a man’s short tunic she felt nearly as naked as when she had no clothes on at all and still felt chilled to the very depths of her person.

Dressed only in the pair of ragged, checkered trewes, Dougald retook his seat by the fire. The light of the flames glistened off his skin and the moist walls. The wind howled eerily at the entrance to the cave, muffled by the thick rugged stone. Droplets of water dripped off daggers of rock clinging to the ceiling into shallow pools. The fire spit and crackled as she stretched her fingers over the scant warmth.

“Now, explain why you are out in this weather all alone,”

Dougald commanded, as authoritative as James would be. Did all his brothers sound the same?

Gunnolf considered her nearly sheer shift lying beside the fire, a small smile tugging at his lips. She had heard men oft had the most wicked thoughts about women even when they were fully clothed, but God’s knees she wasn’t even half dressed.

“Sit.”

Dougald motioned to a natural stone bench situated next to the fire.

She took a seat. “James and his men are searching for you. They might be quite close.”

His eyes dark, Dougald frowned. “You have not explained what you are doing out here all by your wee self, lass.”

“I have business that is none of your concern,”

she snapped.

Gunnolf grinned. “’Tis not that James has upset another wee lassie who belongs to some clan chief who wishes James to marry, eh?”

“Of course not!”

She glowered at Gunnolf. “He is marrying Lady Catriona who should be here…soon. And his cousin, Nighinn is trying to win his hand, if the marriage fails to occur with Catriona.”

“Nighinn?”

Dougald groaned. “Not her.”

“Aye and Lady Beatrice is there.”

“James would not allow a bonny lass such as yourself to travel alone across his lands.”

Dougald leaned closer to the fire, and the flames danced off his eyes, entrancing her.

Yet there was something about James that had Dougald beat. But she couldn’t decide what it was. Mayhap that James was angry with her more oft than not which inspired her own temper to flare, making her feel full of life. And he did not use his rakish charms on her overmuch. Dougald did not even know her, yet he was trying to exploit his handsome features to seduce her.

“I had an escort, but I lost the three men.”

“Three men? Not enough to protect a lovely lass,”

Dougald said, his gaze so intense, she felt he wished to force the truth from her with just a look.

She again took note of the rags they wore, well, and now that she wore also. She couldn’t imagine James’s brother would be so attired. “Where are your weapons?”

“Taken. Dunbarton’s men captured us, and one of his lasses freed us. They are now in search of us. Mayhap that is who you heard calling out yonder way.”

Her heart sank. She’d thought it was James and his kin, although she had worried the men might have been thieves. She considered the rocky cave floor and wondered what she’d do now. If she ventured forth alone when the rain let up, she’d surely run into someone—either James and his men or the Dunbartons. After some of the tales she’d heard about the evil the Dunbartons had done recently, she didn’t wish to meet up with any of those men.

“Who are you, lass? I am Dougald MacNeill, James’s second eldest brother. And this is Gunnolf, friend and bodyguard.”

“I would change my loyalties in the blink of an eye to guard the lady’s body.”

Gunnolf cast a rakish grin, but she thought him only teasing, to a degree.

“The lass is a genteel woman. Mayhap a lady even. Although a wee big, her garments are of the finest wool, her shift the kind of chemise only ladies of higher standing wear. So who are you?”

“Allison,” she lied.

Dougald’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Gunnolf.

Every time she made up a name, it seemed to be the wrong one.

“She is not the same Allison who freed us from the dungeon,”

Gunnolf said.

Allison? No. It could not be the same lady-in-waiting in Lady Akira’s employ who seemed to recognize Eilis. But if it was, then did it mean Eilis was a Dunbarton and so was Allison? But then why would she free Dougald and Gunnolf if she worked for the Dunbartons? Did she work as a spy for James or against him?

She could not mention her suspicions for fear of giving herself away. Or getting the lady in trouble who might not be the same one who had freed Dougald and his friend.

“You look a bit pale.”

Dougald leaned back. “Why?”

She shook her head.

“She is running away.”

Gunnolf poked a stick in the fire. “’Tis the only reason she is out here all alone.”

“I had an escort,”

she reminded them.

“Three men who all vanished.”

Dougald quirked a brow in the same way James did. She could just imagine what James would say if he saw her here with his brother in a cave and she half dressed and Dougald in a state of undress as well.

“You were not running away with a scoundrel and became separated, were you?”

Dougald asked, his countenance darkening even further.

Aye, he looked very much like James now that he was angry with her. Would he let her go when the weather improved? She doubted it. They would take her back to Castle Craigly and let James deal with her.

Gunnolf laughed. “She is trying to think up a good tale.”

“Save it, lass. You can share it at Craigly when we return you there on the morrow.”

She would leave before then. As soon as her kirtle, Nighinn’s gown rather, was dry and the men asleep, she would slip away.

****

Eilis opened her eyes, vaguely aware she lay against a warm body, a heartbeat lulling her into a sense of security. Until she realized she was wrapped in Dougald’s arms. The rogue!

“Shh,”

Gunnolf said to her and quickly extinguished the fire.

She heard what had awakened her then, the sound of men clomping through the cave, torchlight growing closer.

Dougald moved Eilis into a tiny dark alcove and whispered into her ear, “Stay here, lass. If ‘tis Dunbarton’s men, we will attempt to hide you. If ‘tis James, you will be fine.”

She clutched Nighinn’s cloak tighter, remembering she’d changed sometime in the night when her clothes had dried and Dougald again wore the tunic. Uncontrollable shivers had wracked her body, and Dougald had finally pulled her into his arms and shared his body heat, although she had soundly protested. But he was as obstinate as James. She’d fallen asleep before the men had, and she’d never chanced her escape as she’d planned.

Dougald kissed the top of her head then left her alone.

If it was James and his men, he’d want her head, she was sure. Not to mention Nighinn’s. If they were Dunbarton’s men, she didn’t even want to consider that scenario.

As soon as Dougald and Gunnolf vanished in the darkness, their footsteps echoing farther away, she felt an overwhelming sense of abandonment. Worse, sheer terror that it might be Dunbarton’s men and they would find her also swamped her.

From her hiding place in the dark and the distance the men had gone, she couldn’t see what happened next, but her heart was torn asunder when she heard the men’s words.

“’Tis the dogs, my lord! Dougald and the Viking! We have them again.”

“James will not be pleased,”

Dougald said, his voice stern and proud, as he and Gunnolf moved farther away from her toward the cave’s entrance.

Thank heavens it appeared they believed Dougald or Gunnolf were alone.

God’s wounds where were James and his men?

Desperation coursed through Eilis. She couldn’t return to Craigly. Not when she finally had a chance to escape. She couldn’t!

As soon as the men’s voices faded and the horses galloped off, Eilis stumbled in the dark toward the cave’s entrance. Outside, the rain had stopped; Nighinn’s horse was gone. Eilis closed her eyes, fighting the tears gathering in the corners. Had Nighinn’s horse given Dougald and Gunnolf’s location away?

She had to warn James that the Dunbartons had taken his brother hostage. As much as she wanted to avoid her family, she couldn’t let Dougald and Gunnolf suffer further if she could help in any way.

****

Now that the rain had stopped, a cold fog filled the area, cloaking the early morning in a gray blanket as James and his men searched for his brother and Gunnolf.

“They could have been waylaid way before they reached our lands,”

Eanruig reminded James as they looked across the glen.

“I lay odds Dunbarton’s men have them. What about the blood we found when the sheep were stolen?”

James ran his hand through his damp hair. None of his people had been missing. But what if Dougald and Gunnolf had fought Dunbarton’s men? What if it was their blood they had found?

James ground his teeth.

“You think they saw Dunbarton’s men raiding the sheep and attempted to stop them?”

“Aye. If Dougald and Gunnolf had witnessed the thievery, they would have ridden into battle and not bothered to gather men.”

“My laird!”

Ian shouted, his eyes wide, his red hair wild, his horse glistening with sweat and breathing hard. Ian looked as though his father’s ghost was in pursuit as he galloped toward James. “My laird, word from Niall.” Ian pulled up short and dismounted.

God’s wounds, it couldn’t be bad news about his brother and Gunnolf.

Ian continued, “I have searched for ye through half the night. Niall…he said Eilis escaped.”

James clenched his teeth. How in God’s name could she have managed?

“But he is certain Nighinn aided her.”

If Nighinn hadn’t been his cousin, a woman to boot, James would feel justified in hanging her. If any harm came to Eilis…

“A lady wearing one of Nighinn’s gowns and riding one of her horses left yestereve. Three men escorted her, but neither Nighinn nor any of her men will admit it. She has soundly accused Eilis of stealing her clothes and horse.”

“And an escort?”

James’s head pounded with renewed anger. ‘Twas enough he had to deal with trying to locate his brother and Gunnolf. The wee lass was more than trouble. But Nighinn…

He gripped his reins tighter.

“Aye. And Nesta said Nighinn sent her from the chamber.”

“Why was there no guard?”

James fairly roared. Had he not warned Niall of the lass’s deceptions? That given any breathing space, she would make her escape?

“Niall told me to guard her, but I thought the women were still in the chamber. Not until Nesta returned and said Eilis was no longer there, nor was Nighinn, did I become concerned. Even so, we searched until we located Nighinn to ensure Eilis was not spending time with her.”

“We have rested the horses long enough. We search not only for Dougald and Gunnolf but also for Eilis.”

Damn the woman for not minding him.

He didn’t want to imagine what might have become of the lass, who still didn’t have all her memories back. ‘Twas dangerous enough for armed men to travel through the region. A lady as comely and refined as she wouldn’t last a night on her own.

“Did she pilfer a weapon when she stole Nighinn’s gown and horse?”

James asked Ian.

He shook his head. “She is unarmed.”

“With three men as escort.”

James doubted they would have stayed with her for verra long. He wanted to wring Nighinn’s neck, but it would not bode well with his clan. However, she would not stay any longer at Craigly. And if he lost Eilis for good, his cousin would regret having put the lass in harm’s way.

****

Praying she’d find her way back to Craigly Castle, Eilis ran from the cave and hoped she might come across James or his men. She cursed Nighinn’s gown as the hem tripped her up, and she took a tumble on the hard earth. The sky remained dark and ominous, threatening to rain more. Her clothes were cold and damp. Chilled in the breezy weather, Eilis rose to her feet, gathered the gown and continued to race over the uneven terrain, until her side ached and she was short of breath.

Before long, after treading over the rocky ground in thin-soled shoes, her feet were sore and burning. But she had to reach Craigly. Had to warn Niall and get the word to James that Dunbarton had taken his brother and Gunnolf hostage.

Her stomach grumbled for food, and her mouth was parched for want of mead. The day wore on, and for as long as she’d been walking, she assumed mid-day was upon her. Despite her weariness, she kept on, forcing herself to stretch out her stride, although she felt it shortening despite her best efforts. Her feet pained her with every step. If she didn’t reach the castle soon, she’d have to resort to crawling.

But after a long while, she saw the castle spires in the distance. Movement to her right caught her eye next.

“How now?”

a man said, his face wrinkled with age, his gray eyes kindly as he herded goats. “What ye doing out here by your wee self, lassie? The wild beasties, either four legged or two wouldst do ye harm.”

“Do you serve Laird James?”

“Aye.”

“I…”

Her breath faltered, and Eilis felt ready to collapse as she held her waist. “Word must be sent to his cousin, Niall, at once. Dunbarton’s men have taken Dougald and Gunnolf hostage.”

“God’s knees. Beg pardon, lass.”

He seemed at a loss as to what to do as he scratched his bearded chin and looked from his goats to the castle to Eilis. “Are ye all right?”

“My feet hurt. If I could, I would run all the way to Craigly.”

“Can you watch my goats? I will fetch help and give word to Niall about James’s brother and Gunnolf.”

“Aye, hurry.”

Despite his aged appearance, the herder tore off toward the castle as if he’d suddenly turned into a young man again. His slight form grew smaller and smaller the closer he got to the castle until he disappeared.

But then the goats bleated in distress, and Eilis glanced at them. The goats lowered their tails and moved restlessly about, their gazes focused on the woods. Eilis turned her attention to the shadowed darkness of the forest hiding any sign of danger.

Wolves? Wild boar? Lynx? Two-legged beasties?

If only Eilis had a big stick or a rock or…

She searched the ground and found a cairn of various sizes. Digging at the stones, she pulled one free and again observed the woods. She prayed whatever it was hidden in the needled forest stayed there.

When she looked back at the woods, the stone tight in her clenched hands, she saw the glint of a pair of amber eyes staring back at her from the dark forest.

Then another appeared next to the first.

Two gray wolves sized her up, the only perceived danger to them, she assumed. The goats continued to bleat, readying to run. “Stay together,”

she said to them, trying to calm them with her voice, motioning to them to remain in a group.

One of the wolves continued to watch her while the other looked over the goats for the weakest link, the oldest, the youngest. She readied the rock. If she threw it at the wolves and hit one of them, mayhap if she could get one of them in the nose, he would run off. And the other would follow.

But if they charged the goats or her, would she have time to arm herself again?

The one wolf crouched, warning he was getting ready to leap. She aimed the rock, heard horses leaving the castle in the much too far distance, and threw the rock as far as she could.

It fell with a thud just beyond the goats, not anywhere near the wolves, and the goats panicked. The crouching wolf leapt several feet in the air, nearly making her heart stop. Eilis gasped and dove for another rock, grabbed it up, and turned.

Both wolves targeted an older goat as the rest scattered in every direction.

“Nay!”

she screamed and lobbed the rock at the wolf nearer her, this time hitting him in the flank.

He yelped and darted away from the goat. She grabbed another rock.

But it was enough of a distraction that the wolves missed the goat.

Then the horse’s hooves pounded the earth, and the vibration sent the wolves fleeing back into the forest. Eilis clung to the rock, waiting for the wolves to return, but they melted into the darkness. The goats! She dropped the rock and waved her arms, calling to them like they were her wee bairns, trying to regather them.

“Eilis!”

Niall shouted.