“I have fought countless wars before you were born, Joan. This is nothing new to me.”
“But father!” Her father ignored her as he walked past her. “Please be safe, father,” she mumbled and he nodded.
Joan reluctantly headed back to her room where Sophie and Alma had laid down her dress. She was hastily dressed and led to the coach. Her father knew she preferred Sophie so he instructed Alma to keep an eye on her in his absence. She could feel Alma’s eyes on her as she bid goodbye to Sophie.
“I will miss you, Sophie,” Joan said, hugging the maid.
“I will miss you as well. Take care, Miss Hale,” Sophie replied.
As they began their journey, she felt like she had failed her mission.
If this war happens, then there is no chance of me ever being reunited with Aidan. One or both countries will be destroyed in this power struggle and Aidan will be a distant memory.
I don't want to tell my children a sad story about how I lost the love of my life. I have to find him.
But how?
Joan took a look from the window of the coach and saw a guard riding next to the coach. She noticed he looked smaller than most guards in the castle. He almost looked feminine to Joan.
That's it! I know exactly what to do to get to Aidan again.
“Excuse me, but can you stop the coach. I think I forgot something,” she called out to the driver and he made a quick turn back to her estate.
I expected an argument. Is it because I am the Duke's bride to be? I would rather fall and die than marry him and continue my life in a different prison.
“What is it Miss Hale? Let me get it for you,” Alma question Joan.
“I will be back soon. Stay here,” she instructed as she got down from the coach when they arrived at the estate and Alma gave a curt nod. She looked over the coach and saw the feminine guard waiting impatiently at the gates of the estate. She picked her dress up and made her way into the estate.
“Miss Hale, I thought you had left,” Sophie said from behind her.
“Come with me,” Joan whispered.
They quietly snuck into Lord Tyrill's room and she immediately saw all of his armor. Joan beamed joyfully when she saw the metal clothing. Her father had barred every window so she could never escape the castle again, this was her only way out. She went round the armors looking for the lightest one and she settled for the smallest one that looked like it belonged to her father when he was much younger.
This should do just fine.
“What are we doing?” a confused Sophie asked.
“I am not marrying the Duke, Sophie,” Joan replied.
“I know you do not want him, but the decision has been made,” Sophie spoke gently as she neared Joan. “Nothing can be done.”
“Not if you help me get into this,” Joan smiled hopefully.
“You plan to escape again? But a war is about to start,” Sophie questioned.
Joan moved closer to Sophie and held her face. “This is not home for me, I want to live, not rot in a castle. Would you help me, Sophie? I couldn't don this by myself, especially with my blistered hands,” Joan tried to convince her maid.
“All right, Miss Hale,” Sophie lit up with hope as well and they successfully put the armor on Joan with some difficulty. It was heavy but she managed to carry it.
I am taking too long. I must hurry before the guard begins to suspect what I am doing.
“Thank you, Sophie.”
“I will pray for your safe journey.”
Joan smiled at her and hurried out of the chamber to make her way to the stables.
None of this would have been possible if father still had the guards in the house. Most of the guards are out for war and the maids were preparing to leave the castle for their homes.
Joan stopped by a mirror and she quickly examined herself to see if she missed anything that could give her away.
I am missing a sword!
She knew she had no more time to look for a sword. There was a fencing sword attached to the armor.
This will have to do.
She hurried off to the stables and chose a random horse. She mounted the horse with a little bit of difficulty due to the armor. Once she was on top of the horse, she pulled her hair into a quick wrap and placed the helmet over her head.
This is not comfortable in any way.
Joan rode out of the estate through the main gate, the coach and her guards still stood waiting for her and she almost snickered at them. Her injured hands hurt as she tightened her grip on the reins. Joan took a guess that they might be at the gates and headed there.
Her assumption was right as he saw the soldiers on their horses, the Duke and her father were in front. The Duke giving a speech and Joan fell into line with one of the soldiers.
I am on a horse. I should be upfront. I hope no one notices.
The speech was just to encourage the soldiers, Joan noticed; it contained a lot of promises that Joan knew were empty because a better half of the men leaving would never set foot on Haerton again. She saw the Duke mount his horse and ride off with her father. Immediately, the soldiers started to follow them, and Joan got her horse to join.
She could not help but crack a smile behind the helmet at the thought of her plan being successful and her hopes of being with Aidan getting closer to fruition.
Even if we cannot stop the war, we will find something else to do with our lives.
Aidan sat on his horse with a piece of straw in his mouth. He decided to be alone to distance himself from the preparations for the war. It had been three weeks since he sent the message to Joan and he knew the war was closer than ever. From his time in England, he knew that Haerton stood no chance against Rattray. Their men were feeble and they didn’t have a formidable war commander.
Aberdeenshire is ready for whatever Haerton is ready to throw at us and return it in ten folds. I pity Haerton. Their hateful leaders will lead them to their demise.
He sighed as he got off his horse and stared at the horizon. Suddenly he saw something moving up ahead. He strained his eyes and focused on the moving object but what he saw was not a moving object.
The English army!
“Shite!” He quickly mounted his horse and rode back to the town. He raced against the wind and his horse showed its worth. His town was not far from the border, but they needed to be warned.
I may not want to fight this war but they are still my people.
He stopped at the gates and met Ian. “Ian! They are here. I saw them from a hill. They are close to the borders already,” he said to Ian who nodded and ran back into the town.
Aidan turned his horse in the direction where he saw them and rode toward them. He stopped at the pool where he and Joan were kidnapped. From a high vantage point, he saw that they had made camp in a valley that he could see easily. They looked busy and motivated to fight. In the distance, he spotted Lord Tyrill.
How could I forget such a face?
The Lord was talking to a dark-haired man and out of the corner of Aidan’s eye, he saw a small figure sneak away from the camp.
Where does this soldier think he is going?
The smaller person raced quietly in his direction and he hid in the bushes. Soon the person got to the clearing and took a deep breath and took off his helmet, he noticed how feminine the person looked from behind.
I have to stop this person.
Aidan slowly took out his dagger and neared the person who was washing his face with water from the lake.
How did he even know there was a lake there?
Careful not to make a sound, Aidan stepped out of the bushes and inched closer to the person. In a split second he had the intruder by the neck, dagger ready to slit the man’s throat.
“P-please do not kill me! I am harmless, I swear!” the person said and Aidan moved back in surprise, not just because of the female voice.
“J-Joan?” he called, and she stopped shaking. Her eyes widened as she turned around to
look at him. Both stared at each other in disbelief before Joan threw herself at him, arms wide open as he pulled him into an embrace.
Aidan could feel her tears on his chest as she cried. He wrapped an arm around her and the other through her hair. He let her cry till she stopped on her own. She pulled back after a while but he did not let her go.
“Joan?”
“Why did you lie to me?” she asked? “You should not have lied to me, Aidan!”
“I know that now and I apologize. Me dishonesty made me lose ye. I swore I would never make such a mistake in me life if I had another chance. I dinnae expect to see ye again and then I heard that ye were to be wed to the Duke of Haerton. Joan, I was lucky to be on a horse when I heard that.”
He took a pause and kissed her on the forehead before he continued. “I was losing me mind, Joan. I was talkin' to animals and leavin' everyone to stay alone. I even wrote a letter and gave it to my frien’ Brigham the trader, I could only hope that he delivered it.”
“I got the letter. It lifted my spirits, though my father destroyed it,” she said as she looked up at him. “Please Aidan never lie to me again. I thought I knew you back then but suddenly finding out that almost everything you told me from the beginning was a lie broke me, it broke me. I did not even know your real name.”
“I honestly dinnae wish to make ye feel that way, Joan,” he said as he tilted her head up and he saw her face flush. “I love ye,” he whispered as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. They pulled back and Aidan grinned at her. “That armor is ill fitting,” he said and she slapped his chest playfully.
“You dare not say any terrible thing about this. It took me awhile to hatch this plan,” she said as she took in his playful grin. “Aidan, be serious for once.”
“I am serious. I am just so happy,” he said and she let out a frustrated sigh. “All right. I'm serious. Why are you dressed like this?” he asked.
“There was no other way that was safer for me to come to Scotland. I had to keep the armor and helmet on throughout the journey and I could barely eat my rations out of fear of being detected. My father has poisoned the mind of the Duke who is also ready to do anything to please him so he can marry me after the war. My father has told many false stories to the Duke and he believed everything,” Joan explained as she took off the armor, leaving her with the gambeson.
“My Laird is angry because Haerton keeps imprisoned Scots in England for no reason and he is tired of not being able to fight back. Haerton's sense of superiority is what started this war.”
“The Duke of Haerton thinks the Scots are his enemies. How I wish the two sides could reason with each other and let peace reign,” Joan said and Aidan nodded in agreement.
“Well, I can help ye get to the Earl of Aberdeenshire. I do not know if he will be so kind as to allow ye to speak, but it is worth a try.”
“Really?” Joan beamed, and he nodded.
“But Joan, dae ye think we should do this? I mean, we have reunited. Why don’t we go far away from here. Both our families hate each other. We cannae live like this if they daenae agree to our union.”
“Aidan, I have told you that we cannot do that. As much as I have also thought about leaving, as there is nothing I want more than being by your side, we have to make sacrifices, Aidan.”
“Why should we make sacrifices for those who would not dae the same for us?” Aidan snapped and Joan flinched. He noticed this and mumbled an apology. “I just daenae want to deal with any of this. I want a simple life with ye, Joan. We can go to France and start out life all over. I have enough money to last us for long. Please do not reject this idea.”
“Aidan, why can’t we have that simple life here? We can help stop this war before it starts, and we can live here the way you want after we save lives.”
“Joan please. These people hate our union. I want to travel with you like I promised, Joan.”
“We should not take the easy route as convenient as it is for us, Aidan; we must consider others,” she said and wrapped her arms around him again. “Please let us try to end this first. If it does not work out the way we planned, we can leave. We will have that life that you want us to live,” she said, and he reluctantly agreed to her option
“Fine then. Come. I will take ye to Earl Duncan,” Aidan said as he pointed at his horse. “Come on,” he said as they went over to his horse. Aidan tried to help Joan mount the horse but was stunned when he saw how easily she mounted the animal. He got on the horse behind her and they galloped off to the town.
“You still owe me explanations, Aidan,” Joan said, looking at him as she secured the reins.
“I know, me love,” Aidan said happily.
“Brace yourself.”
Chapter 25
As they reached the Earl’s estate they felt the magnitude of his power through the stone walls that were quite large in size. They were led by a guard into the great hall and waited. Joan knew it was going to be hard to argue her case but she also knew that she was not giving up. When the Earl arrived into the great hall, his anger was immediately apparent.
“What insolence! How dare ye bring the enemy to me presence!” Joan flinched at the rage with which the Earl spoke to Aidan. She looked in his direction and didn't seem to move a muscle.
“Yer Grace, Miss Hale just wants to speak to ye to clear up a grave misunderstanding…” Aidan started but he was silenced by the Earl.
“So ye bring yer whore here? Aidan have ye lost yer senses completely? First ye turn yer back on yer town by refusing to fight for us and now ye bring yer English mistress to clarify what? What exactly could she contribute?”
“Your Grace, Miss Hale is of English nobility. I am afraid ye have been misinformed,” Aidan defended Joan, looking the lord straight in the eye, ready for a fight. The tension in the room worsened. Everyone present could hear the Earl suck in a fiery breath as he rose to his feet.
Oh Aidan! Now is not the time to defend my honor, thought Joan.
“Leave! Take her with ye and if I ever see her here again, I will have her executed! Leave!” the Earl snapped and Aidan unclenched his fists and took Joan's hand in his, but she stopped him from leaving.
“Your Grace, I apologize for the way Aidan spoke to you but all I want is to clear up the matter before it is too late. This war is not what we need,” Joan spoke softly, and she saw the Earl relax at her tone. “This war will only cost us lives and give neither of us any true victory, Your Grace.”
“This war is inevitable. It is already too late,” the Earl said and Joan clasped her hands in front of her. “We have avoided this for years but no more.”
Joan perked up at the Earl's words. She dared to move closer to him and away from Aidan's protection. “You are saying that this war should have been fought before now?”
“Aye.”
“Why, Your Grace? England and Scotland are close to peace. Many towns in England have merchants and traders from Scotland who have made their living amongst Englishman. Pray tell, why must our town fight yours?” she asked, and he glared at her.
“Ye have no right to question me. Leave!” The Earl pointed at the doors behind them as Aidan grabbed Joan's hand and led her out of the room.
As Aidan and Joan were passing through the corridors they started talking.
“Aidan! I was making progress,” Joan said to him as she withdrew her hand from his grip. “Why did you do that?”
“The Earl has a short temper. I cannae afford to let him cause ye any harm. We have done our best to stop this, nae one will listen to what we have to say. Let us leave,” Aidan said as he walked to where they had tied the horse with Joan fast behind him.
“Aidan, we have barely tried.”
“Who else will listen? Yer faither is the one planting evil seeds in the mind of that Duke of yers. Me faither is willing to kill ye on sight because he thinks ye have turned his son against him. Me Earl has threatened to kill ye if he sees ye again. Joan all the signs are th
ere that this is a pointless mission! We are not safe. Ye are not safe,” Aidan snapped, and silence fell between them for a moment.
“I understand your frustration, but I can't help but feel there's more to this. The Earl mentioned that this war was something that should have happened years ago,” Joan tried to argue but Aidan brushed it away.
“There has been hatred between our towns as long as I can remember and I daenae recall any battles between the towns. Me faither would have told me.”
“We can do this. We just need to be a little more patient and try another way,” Joan tried to persuade him, but Aidan shook his head and moved out of her reach.
Highlander's Cursed Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 21