Highlander’s Untamed Lass
Adamina Young
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Highlander’s Deception
Chapter 1
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1
Ava was in the middle of a living nightmare. Tiptoeing through the dark room, she tried to quiet her breathing so she didn’t alert the intruders. She’d thought that not lighting a torch would be to her advantage, but she could see that wasn’t the case. If they were hiding in the room, they probably already knew that she was there, and there were just too many of them.
One foot in front of the other. The cold from the stone floor seeped through her slippers, and she shuddered. It was an unused room. One of many in the grand Donahue keep, and she’d discovered it quite by accident the other day when she was exploring. It had the most wonderful hiding spaces, and she’d made a terrible mistake by sharing her secret find with the enemy. Now, she may never be safe in the room again.
She just had to reach the window, and then she could slip out of the keep, make her escape, and call for reinforcements.
Suddenly, a shriek pierced the darkness. Whirling around, Ava tried to race back to the door, but it was too late. Three attacked her all at once and dragged her to the ground with shrieks of laughter and shouts of triumph.
“I surrender!” Ava shouted as she gasped for breath in the midst of the laughter. “I surrender!”
The oldest boy, a fair-haired child eight years of age, stood over her with his wooden sword pointed in her direction. “Swear fealty to the Donahue laird, and I will spare yer life!” he declared.
“I will show ye fealty!” Quickly, she stood and grabbed him around the middle. Lifting him up with a grunt, she whirled him around until he started to hiccup with laughter.
“Ewan Donahue, what have I told ye about bringing yer practice sword into the keep?” Grace bellowed as the heavy door creaked open and she marched into the room. “Ye were supposed to be in bed an hour ago! All of ye!”
“Aw, Mother,” Ewan started, and the other children hung their heads and tried to back into the shadows, but there was no escaping the sharp eyes of Grace Donahue, mistress of the Donahue clan.
“Doona start with me, young man. And ye!” Grace narrowed her eyes at Ava. “Ye were supposed to help me plan dinner this evening, and yet I have not laid eyes on ye since midday. Where have ye been?”
Immediately, Ava flushed. She’d completely forgotten that she’d promised to help Grace after the last time she’d been caught shirking her duties. In her defense, the cooks had all but banned her from the kitchens, and she tried to avoid their evil eyes whenever possible. “I am so sorry. I must have lost track of time. I was…”
“Swimming in the river again? Looking for yer special bird?” Grace said with a sigh. “Yer dress is filthy from the water. Ava, what am I going to do with you? The King had two requests. That we protect ye and prepare ye for marriage. Every time I turn around, ye are escaping yer guard detail and slipping away.”
“I am sorry, Grace.” She really was. The woman had been the only friend she’d ever known. After the death of her parents, her cousin had taken a keen interest in her and done everything in his power to make sure she was protected. Unfortunately, her cousin was King James, and despite the growing unrest of the Scottish clans beneath him, he had the loyalty of the most powerful highland leaders. Few dared to disobey him. For the first eighteen years of her life, she’d known very little beyond the castle walls of her own little wing, but once she’d reached marriageable age, she made a bargain with the man she barely saw and hardly knew. She would marry the laird of his choice if she was given two years of freedom. Freedom to explore the world outside and discover her own delights and passions. Freedom to think beyond the books that were provided to her and dance freely in the fields without a dozen men watching her every move.
The King had chosen Grace and Brodie to house her, but the last two years had hardly been freedom. Guards still followed her whenever she left the castle walls, and she was not allowed outside the village. Instead, she was expected to sit still and learn everything that a mother was supposed to teach her daughter. Cooking. Mending. Household organization.
She was a disaster of a cook. Everything was either tough as a tanned hide or limp and undercooked. Her chicken was chewy. The eggs were grainy. The venison was hard. Eventually, the cooks declared her unteachable and banned her from the kitchens, and she was hardly fit to plan a meal when it was the cooks who understood best the amount and quality of the ingredients at their disposal. Every time she tried to voice this, Grace just sighed and shook her head.
Her sewing education was an equal disaster. When she picked up a needle, she poked herself or, strangely enough, managed to poke her teacher. Her blood dotted nearly every dress that she'd tried to mend or blanket that she'd tried to embroider. Eventually, the cranky old Scot had declared her also unteachable and banned her from her sewing room.
The fact that Ava could not sew or cook was not a big loss. As the cousin of a king, she'd be married to a wealthy laird who would employ people to do these things for her, but Ava could not fail at running a large keep. She had to keep track of the servants' duties and feasts and keep track of the keep gardens and understand the goods coming in and out of the castle.
The tasks could not be more boring. The only thing she truly enjoyed was gardening because she could be out in the open air with the sun on her face and listen to the calls of the wild birds and smell the smoke rising from the many houses of the village.
All under the watchful eye of at least five armed guards.
Still, she never would have been able to play in the river or run through the fields if she’d still been in her lonely wing at the castle. Here she had Grave and Brodie and their children, and although she knew she frustrated her guardians, they loved her and treated her like a sister rather than a ward.
“Ewan, run along and give your father the sword. He is going to personally see that you, yer sister, and yer cousin go to bed.” Grace eyed the three children until they walked toward her with heads so low their chins nestled in their chests. Kneeling down, she gave them each a loving kiss before sending them on their way. “Ava, come walk with me. We need to speak.”
Knowing that she was due for a lecture, a well-deserved one after all that Grace had done for her, she bowed her head as well and dutifully followed her out of the hall. Grace was always such a lovely woman that even when she was angry, she was still sweet. And strong. Even though it had happened years ago, most of the Donahue clan still talked a
bout the love story between Grace and Brodie and the lengths that Grace had taken to save her husband.
“Ava, I know that ye havna always been happy here,” Grace started as they walked together. “But for what ’tis worth, I am glad the King chose us to house ye. The children love ye, and 'tis been a joy having ye here.”
“Nay, I love it here! The guards arena yer choice, so I doona blame ye for that. I just wanted to experience the world a little before I was forced to wed, and I knew I would never have had that with my cousin. Here, I have more freedom. I just thought I’d get a little more, that’s all. I promise that I willna let ye down again. Tomorrow, I’d be happy to help ye with the menu.”
“'Tis not what I wanted to discuss with ye,” Grace said hesitantly. “Ava, the King sent us a message last week and another this evening. Yer two years with us is almost over, and I asked Brodie to plead our case with the King and allow us to keep ye for a little longer.”
Gasping, Ava whirled around and hugged Grace. If she could stave off her impending marriage for even just six more months, that was six more months of life that she could experience. She was not so naive to think that love stories happened to everyone. Her own mother, before her death, would recount bitterly of how she lost herself to the marriage of a nobleman.
“Twill be yer own fate, too, Ava. There is no point in denying it. Yer father will choose a man that will strengthen the King’s cause, and that will be that. Ye are no more than a game piece being moved on a board, so ye might as well put away those silly books and come keep me company. There will be no happy endings for ye.”
“Oh, thank you! I would love that!” Ava cried out. She was so happy that she was close to tears, and the cynical sentiments of her mother faded in her head. Perhaps there might be more time for her to discover a way to her own happy ending.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Grace spoke sorrowfully as she held her tight, and Ava's throat tightened. “I’m so sorry, but he denied us. That is what the message said. Ava, the King has already chosen a husband for ye. Ye are to wed the laird Ness Fenton before the month is out.”
A heavy weight settled in Ava's chest, and her hope shattered. Marriage. She could no longer pretend the inevitable wasn't going to happen. The time was finally here, but Ava wasn’t ready. Once she was married, she would lose all of her rights. She would never have a chance at freedom. Then, she registered the name of her betrothed, and her eyes widened in horror.
“Fenton? You cannae be serious. He went on a murderous rampage for years to settle a decades-old score. He nearly killed his own daughter!” The rumors had been rampant about what had been going on with one of the largest alliances in the Highlands.
“Aye, Errol Fenton wasna a good man, although I do believe some of the rumors were exaggerated, but Errol is no more. Ness Fenton has stepped into his shoes, and by all accounts, he is a good man. He’s young and apparently verra handsome.” Reaching down, Grace squeezed her hand. “You could do worse, Ava. I know what 'tis like to be promised to a man that ye have never met, but it is possible that ye could be friends with him. Ye never know. I fell in love with my husband.”
Ava wanted desperately to believe that it could happen to her as well, but she was no fool. Most arranged marriages resulted in misery. Her own parents had hated each other. Ava was old enough to remember their fights, and it still made her feel ill. Grace and Brodie were lucky, but most people didn’t have that kind of luck. Now the women who could choose their husbands were much more likely to find their bliss.
Like Amelia, Grace’s cousin, and Mack, the laird of the McClure clan, are happily married because they found love before they wed.
All Ava wanted was that kind of choice. Just once, she wanted to believe she had control over her destiny.
Still, she knew there was no point in pleading her case to Grace and Brodie. They still had to answer to King James, and she knew her cousin well enough to know that he believed in alliances over family. If he promised her to Ness, then it was a political strategy, and he would not be swayed, and she could not put her friend in the position to stand up for her against a powerful monarch.
“Thank ye for telling me,” she said finally. Wrapping her arms around herself, she gave in to the exhaustion. “I think I’m going to retire now, if ye doona mind.”
“Ava.” Grace’s smile faltered just a little. “I am here to listen if ye need to talk, and no matter where ye go, Brodie and I will always be here for ye.”
“I appreciate that." A sudden thought occurred to her. "Will he be traveling here to wed?"
"Aye. We expect him in seven days time."
Seven days. Her stomach rolled. That did not give her much time to prepare. "I will see you at the morning meal.” Nodding her head, Ava picked up her skirts and started slowly down the hall. When she turned the corner, she broke out into a full run and was nearly in tears by the time she entered her room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and took a few deep breaths. Had her cousin truly betrothed her to a monster?
These past two years had been about her finding her own independence, and now she was about to lose everything. Was there anyone who could help her?
Amelia Mack McClure might have had the formal title of laird, but he shared equal responsibilities with his wife. They didn’t have the power to stand up to the King, but she knew Amelia would hide her and grant her sanctuary. The few times Amelia and Mack visited over the last two years, Amelia and Ava had become close. The King would scour the Donovan lands for her, but he’d never think to search McClure, nestled in the lower lands, and since she’d been in seclusion for most of her life, most people had no idea what she looked like.
Yes. She could settle into the McClure clan with no one the wiser. Perhaps she'll get her own little cottage with her own little garden. She could shed the identity of Ava and the political responsibilities that had been heaped upon her since birth and start being someone new. Someone she might actually recognize when she looked in the mirror.
First, she needed some new clothes. The lovely silk dresses the King bought her was a dead giveaway. It would take her a couple of days to procure some dresses from the servants, but under the guise of a woman trying her hand again at mending, it wouldn't be hard. She also had plenty of coin saved up from her allowance over the years because she'd never needed to spend much of it.
Then, she’d need a map because she had absolutely no idea what lay beyond the border walls. Slowly, she started to grind as her heart beat faster. It was time to go on an adventure.
2
It normally took three days to travel from the Fenton lands to the MacFarlane lands, but Ness made the trip in two. For one, the roads between the two lands were well-traveled now that the alliance was stronger than ever and his small group of men were conditioned to push themselves; and two, he was on borrowed time. He wasn't supposed to be traveling to MacFarlane at all. He was supposed to be heading south, toward the foothills.
But Ness wasn't quite ready to make that journey.
“Ness, welcome. I’m glad that ye decided to detour to come visit us,” Lachlan greeted the group heartily as he met Ness and his men at the border. “Sloane has been giddy for days after yer message. She also cries frequently. I doona particularly love that part of her pregnancy. When I wake up in the morning, I am never quite certain who I am going to find myself married to. I trust that ye will not tell her I said that.”
Snorting with laughter, Ness clasped the MacFarlane laird’s hand. In the past two years, they had become more than allies. They had become family, and Ness was grateful for it. The Fenton lands had suffered under Errol, and Ness hadn’t realized how much of a struggle it was to turn them into a strong clan again. His relationship with Lachlan and Gair Brisbane had been instrumental in aiding him.
“It wasna a hard decision to make,” Ness said in return. He needed to see some familiar faces before following through on the King's orders. “Although if Sloane is in the crying stage of her pregn
ancy, I may regret that decision. Ye willna tell her if I turn back now, will ye?”
“Ye would be breaking Cora’s heart. She has been talking about yer visit all week. She has missed her Uncle Ness.”
Even though Cora wasn’t really his niece, the young daughter of Sloane’s friend captured hearts wherever she went, and Ness adored her. She had the sweetest and most cherubic face but a penchant for being mischievous. It was dangerous to let one's guard down around her. “I certainly doona want to disappoint her. Lead the way, MacFarlane.”
The sweet little toddler and her newly married parents greeted him at the entrance of the keep as well as a very pregnant Sloane. “Ness!” she shrieked as she waddled towards him. Immediately, everyone around her looked alarmed and stepped away to make a clear path for her. Ness could see why. She was huge, and from the look of things, she was not keen on watching where she was walking. Murmurs rippled through the group as candlesticks were moved from her path and someone quickly grabbed the dress she was carrying in her hand before she swung it around and caught it on fire. “I am so happy to see ye!”
“Oh. My. Sloane.” Ness’s eyes widened. “Ye are so…” Lachlan cleared his throat violently. “Lovely. Ye are so lovely,” he amended quickly.
“I know, I know,” she sighed as she rubbed her belly. “I am as big as a cow, but it will all be worth it when my sweet little girl is born.”
Highlander's Untamed Lass (Highlander's Seductive Lasses Book 3) Page 1