in a breath, he nodded at her but remained where he stood. He wanted her to move down this pathway and away from the village well on his right. Tugging the reins of his horse, he slowly walked in front of her and she turned back to her companion and in the direction he wished her to go. After only a moment’s contemplation of her choices, the beauty faced him once more, staring at his face as though deciding if they had a past introduction.
He would have remembered meeting this one but could not. He’d never travelled to the lands of the Mackintosh and Cameron clans before this. If he’d seen her at court, his appearance would have been very different than it was now with dirt and grime covering most of his face and features and the worn and torn clothing of a band of men living on the road.
This close, he could see that her eyes were even more spectacular than at a distance, glimmering in this sun’s light as though touched by fae magic. Her gaze narrowed and he felt the heat of arousal race through him. Wiping the back of his hand across his now sweaty forehead, Niall struggled with his control.
‘Good day, sir,’ she said quietly, still searching his face. ‘Do you have need of something?’
Did she have to phrase her words so? His randy bits took a different meaning from them than the simple courteous one she meant. The sound of her voice, soft but with deep tones tracing through it, was as sensual as he’d thought it would be. Before he could reply, hapless Dougal walked to her side, and even took a step closer, positioning himself as her protector. The poor lad would never stand against what was coming.
‘Good day to ye both,’ he said, making his accent rougher to blend with the more common one of the gang. ‘Nay, just travellin’ on and stopped for a drink from the well there.’ Niall nodded at the stone structure—a common reason and place for visitors to stop.
‘The dipper sits in a bucket at its side,’ the beauty replied. Hapless Dougal glared and crossed his arms over his meagre chest, mayhap able to read more in Niall’s gaze at the young woman than she did.
Niall pulled his horse along, blocking the rest of the path, and feinted towards the well. The sound of stirring trouble began echoing into the clearing. The other two glanced to the source of the sounds and the woman took a step towards it. Without thinking, Niall grabbed her by the shoulders, ignoring her gasp, and pushed her in the other path.
‘Go. Now. Away from here,’ he whispered fiercely so that only she could hear his words.
She stumbled back a few steps and into hapless Dougal, who caught her. Niall could waste no more time here without exposing himself to the outlaws, so he did not spare another glance at her. Instead, he mounted and rode off towards the growing disturbance, knowing he must play his part.
The lass would have to see to herself, no matter how much his randy bits wanted him to do otherwise. That he had to force himself not to look back at her told Niall that she was more dangerous to him than any other challenge he’d encountered thus far. And these last months had presented him with many more than he’d ever thought to face.
The spreading chaos and noise drew his full attention now and he could give little more thought to the enticing, green-eyed temptress.
At first, the stranger distracted her.
Fia was accustomed to meeting strangers in her duties to Lady Arabella, for many people came from all over Scotland and the world to visit the powerful chief of the Chattan Confederation. But this man was not of the same quality of those who called on Brodie Mackintosh. Oh, he met with villagers and farmers, but not those who had every appearance of living on the other side of the law.
This man stood as tall and was as muscular as Brodie himself. And though his garments were as soiled as he was, there was something about him that belied his condition. His blue eyes gleamed against his dark hair and the dirt that covered the masculine angles of his face. How long he’d remained in the shadows, listening to her conversation with Dougal over his proposal of marriage, she knew not.
And his strange words ordering her away. As though she would obey a stranger in her own village without reason.
But none of that mattered when she heard the screams split the air. Glancing around, she realised that the gates of the keep would be closed by now for the night. With the setting sun, the village was isolated and unguarded, more so than the keep for its lack of warriors and weapons. And the sounds coming from the western edge of the village forced her to act.
‘Dougal! You must run to the keep. Get help!’ she said, as she turned once more to the growing disturbance. ‘Now, Dougal!’
Fia did not wait for an answer. She ran down the path, past the well and through the rush of villagers escaping from whatever was happening. Reaching the split in the paths—one led to the fields, the other to other crofts and the mill—she watched in horror as the mayhem spread. Wagons were overturned. Fights broke out between some of the villagers and the men who seemed the cause of it all. When two galloped by her towards their cronies, Fia lost her breath.
In a moment, she was thrown back in her mind to the attack on the camp those years ago. Only ten years of age, she had been caught in the open as Caelan’s men rode in, trampling anyone in their path. Glancing around this open area, with those two knocking down anyone they could and yelling all sorts of crude words and threats, Fia was that ten-year-old lass once more. The sights and sounds blended together in her thoughts, memories now feeling real and twisted with the events of the moment.
Until a child screamed out in fear.
Those years ago, it had been the lady Arabella who’d saved her, pulling Fia from the path of the attackers and pushing her to safety. Fia knew she must act or the child would be injured or worse by these uncaring fiends. Ducking low and running across the clearing, she sought the child and saw her crying in the midst of confusion. They were burning something and acrid clouds of smoke began to spread through the closely built cottages on the lane.
‘Come, Meggy!’ she called out to the girl as she ran to her side. Grabbing the lass’s hand, she tugged her away from the fighting and into the woods around the crofts. ‘Where is your mam?’ she asked. All the girl could do was cry, so Fia hugged her for a moment and then placed her in a thick copse to hide her from sight. ‘I will find her and bring her to you. Do not leave here until I return!’
Pulling branches around the girl, Fia ran back to find Meggy’s mother. How they’d gotten separated, Fia could not imagine until she stumbled right over Anice where she lay unmoving in the path. Crouching down, she touched the woman’s face and whispered her name. Anice stirred but did not wake. Thank the Almighty, she was alive! Rolling her on to her back, Fia checked quickly for injuries before trying to drag the woman into the trees. She’d barely gotten a good hold on her when two riders began circling them.
‘What have we here?’ one called out, coming so close that his horse nudged her back. Nearly losing her balance, Fia adjusted her hold on Anice and tried to move her.
‘Here now, lass,’ taunted the other, a man with a rat-like face. He pushed his horse against her until she lost her grip on Anice. She stood then, brushing her loosened hair from her face. She took a quick look towards the keep before facing them.
‘Oh, they won’t be here for some time, ye ken?’ the first one said as he swung his leg over the back of his mount and dropped down next to her. Now, standing on the ground, she realised he was a huge man. Fia could not prevent the shudder that made her stumble then. ‘We made sure of that.’
Dougal? Had they caught Dougal on his way to the keep? Was he...? She backed away, slowly, step by step until she could go no further. Ratface was now behind her, trapping her between them. Fia tried not to panic but the terrifying lust in their gazes told her she would not escape.
‘Ah, now, Anndra, ye hiv scared the lass,’ Ratface said.
Aye, they had. Fia stood still, hoping not to cause them to take hold of her. If they did, her strength would do nothing