Page 37 of A Highlander's Bride

Lady Beth was snuggled into the blankets, but with her shoulders showing, it was obvious she was without clothes. Lady Chisholm nodded to Joshua and he walked quietly to her bed. She was sound asleep. Joshua quickly wrapped his arm around her body, trapping her arms, then waved a knife in her face. Taken by surprise, the lass didn’t fight him. He whispered in her ear. “Doona make a sound or yer blood will drench this bed.”

Lady Beth didn’t move and he dragged her off and across the room. Since the lass was naked, Lady Chisholm pulled the bedding and rolled it up the best she could. Then she placed the two notes on the bed and with a quick nod, she turned and opened the door. After quietly surveying the corridor, she waved Joshua on, him still holding the knife in front of Lady Beth’s face, his other arm wrapped around her waist, her body pressed against his.

Lady Beth looked terrified, which was good because she would not make trouble if she was too scared to do anything.

The three of them made their way down the back stairs where it grew damper and wetter. Joshua had made a visit there after she had told him what she’d learned about the keep’s dungeon.

Now Lady Chisholm shook with both excitement and fear. It was a dangerous thing they’d done, but Alice needed this man as her husband. Once they were married, all would be forgiven.

They continued down the stone stairs, each staircase wetter than the one before it. Mold grew on the walls and the air was so cold her shivers changed from fear and excitement to physically freezing.

Joshua finally stopped and walked about fifty feet before he stopped in front of a cell. Lady Chisholm looked around, satisfied that no one would hear the lass call for help.

She hurried past Joshua and placed some of the bedding on the floor. Once he laid Lady Beth down, Lady Chisholm covered her with the remaining bedding.

Joshua put his knife away. Lady Beth glared at her. “Ye will no’ get away with this, ye ken.”

Lady Chisholm laughed. “Aye. All I need is some time. Once Laird Mackenzie and my daughter are married, I will have ye released. As the wife of the laird, I expect no consequence for my Alice.”

“And what about ye? Do ye think ye will have the same status as yer daughter? Do ye think the laird will no’ petition the king to have the marriage annulled?”

’Twas something Lady Chisholm hadn’t given thought to. “Nay. My daughter is irresistible. Laird Mackenzie will consummate the marriage straightaway.”

Lady Chisholm bent over Lady Beth. “Ye will convince the laird to stay married to my daughter, or ye will suffer for it.”

The lass glared at her and Lady Chisholm backed up and turned to Joshua. “Come, we must leave and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be an exciting day!”

With those words the two of them left the dungeon cell. Lady Beth began screaming after them. ’Twas no use. Joshua had tested it.

No one would hear her.

Chapter Thirteen

It had beentwo hours since Daniel had broken his fast and he still hadn’t seen Beth. He’d asked after Lord Munro to set up a meeting with him, but he was out with Lord Chisholm, most likely shooting, which seemed to be their favorite pastime since they’d arrived.

Frustrated at the lack of tying things up to get the advisors—who had already sent two messages to him—off his back, he decided to go for a ride to clear his mind.

He knew the deadline of Beltane had been yesterday. But he had no intention of speaking with them until he’d first seen Lord Munro.

Beth was most likely sleeping late. He smiled, thinking the lass was probably worn out after her introduction to lovemaking.

First he stopped at the lists to make sure the training was going well. Satisfied that everything was well there, he tacked his horse and left.

Everything was going well. His feelings for Beth grew stronger every day and after last night, he couldn’t wait for the wedding to be over so he could have her in his bed every night.

For an untried lass, she was very responsive which, given what he’d learned of his wife-to-be so far, was no surprise.

The air was cool, typical for early May. He rode past the bonfire from the night before, and several of the clan members cleaning up the area. No matter how much he tried to concentrate on other things,problems he needed to resolve, his mind always wandered back to his future wife.

Not too far into the future, if he had his way.

He had to smile at how everything today seemed brighter. The clan’s people he met seemed more cheerful, the vendors setting up their wares smiled more, and even the smells coming from the bakery had his stomach growling.

He stopped and spent time speaking with Freda and Enoch, the owners of the bakery. They were excited to talk about the Beltane celebration the night before.

After leaving them, he began to feel guilty. He had many issues to deal with and he was wasting time riding around like some lovesick lad. It was time to return to the castle and find Beth, see if her da had returned, and get on with his life.

He was about ten minutes from Castle Leod when a man rode toward him, waving his arm to get his attention. Frowning, Daniel pulled up on Atlas’s reins. “Is there is a problem, Ezra?”