Highlander's Cursed Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel

by Lydia Kendall

  “Let me guess, your Duke swung into action and declared war.”

  “Exactly, My Lady. I tried to convince him I was not kidnapped but he seems intent on going to war. I found my way back to Aberdeenshire and found Aidan. We went to talk to the Earl but he left us more puzzled. He said this war had been delayed until now and there was no going back. In an attempt to solve this puzzle, we came here to see if you could help us understand it,” Joan said as the Countess stopped and looked at Joan.

  “What makes ye think I could help?” the Countess asked as she looked at Aidan. “Ye could have gone to yer parents, Aidan.”

  “Me parents do not approve of Miss Hale's presence here,” Aidan said as he averted his gaze. “Dae ye know of anything that could be of help, My Lady?”

  The Countess was silent for a while. She let go of Joan's hands and walked forward. Aidan and Joan stayed behind and Joan felt Aidan move closer to her. They both stared at the still Countess as she gazed into the distance. She slowly turned to them and signaled to a nearby guard to give them some space. She motioned to a nearby stone table and motioned for them to sit.

  “Haerton and Aberdeenshire have a long history,” the Countess said and Joan perked up at her words. “It was so long ago. I was young and newly betrothed to me late husband, the former Earl of Aberdeenshire.

  “He was a man who loved parties and feasts but I didnae worry because most men his age spent their time that way. I hoped that our marriage would rid him of his childishness.” She stopped to look over Aidan and Joan. They both stared at her, listening to every word she said.

  “During one of his celebrations, he met a whore. He quickly became attached to her and their relationship almost broke up our engagement. He promoted her from a whore to his mistress in just a matter of weeks and flaunted her even in my presence. This went on for months, even after we were wed. He favored her over all of his women.” The Countess sighed and rested backwards in her chair.

  “One day, I heard she wanted to journey to England. He urged her to take a guard along but she refused and insisted that she wanted only her handmaiden to accompany her. He allowed her but he was afraid for her life and sent his most trusted knight, Douglas McCabe, to watch after her.”

  “Me faither knew about this?” Aidan asked, and the Countess nodded. “He never told me anything.”

  “He wasnae allowed to,” the Countess said and went back to her story. “Yer faither followed her to Haerton and found her warming the bed of the late Duke, the father of The Duke of Haerton. He reported back to me husband who was furious at what he had heard. He waited for her to get back and when she did, he confronted her and she confessed. Me husband dismissed her out of anger. I saw an opportunity to end the arrangement for good and I took it.” She beckoned to the guard and told him to bring her water.

  “She sent countless letters to my husband, but I intercepted her letters and destroyed them. She then came crying to me saying she could not return to England because the Duke asked her to stay or never return but she had chosen me husband. She said she had known the Duke before meeting the Earl but the Duke had misunderstood the situation, thinking that the Earl was trying to take his woman from him.”

  “So, both the Duke and the Earl were misled by one woman?” Joan asked earning a nod in reply from the Countess.

  “Aye. I told her to leave Aberdeenshire forever or I would destroy her with my influence. My father was a lord, so she knew I had the means to end her since she wasn't under my husband's protection. Out of fear she left as I had instructed.

  “Many years later, I wanted to know how she was doing, not that I wanted her to be doing well. I just dinnae want her close to me husband. I sent a guard to look for her. It took him weeks to find her and he said she had actually opened an inn. According to him, she runs it and it is in the forest where travelers can rest, but it is also a hideout for the evil men of the forest like bandits and murderers.”

  An innkeeper in the forest? That sounds familiar, Aidan thought.

  “This information is helpful, My Lady. We have to tell this to the Earl,” Aidan said, and the Countess shook her head quickly.

  “What will he say if he comes to know that I have kept a secret from him. More so, he believes what his faither has hammered into his head. That the English are our enemies.”

  “But ye can tell him. If ye tell him about this, he will believe what ye have to say more than he would believe us. Ye have nothing to gain but we cannae be together if there is a war,” Aidan said, and Joan jumped in.

  “Yes, My Lady. You are the only one who can help us. We plead with you to consider the situation and how much you can do to alleviate this meaningless, yet longstanding hatred. There are many ways this war could have been avoided but neither the Earl nor the Duke will give peace a chance because of these wrong beliefs about each other. If the Earl agrees to talk to his enemy, we will stand a better chance,” Joan begged as she clasped her hands together.

  “Miss Hale, me son is adamant about this war. I am afraid that there is nothing I can dae to help ye. Emily will escort ye out.” The Countess stood up and walked toward the house, leaving them in their seats.

  Is this it? Is this where it will all end?

  No! I refuse to give up at this point. I have come this far, I will not turn back now!

  “My Lady, think about all the lives that will be lost in this war. All those innocent people. The English are already here at your doorstep, no doubt this fight will be fought in this town. All the women, children and merchants that will suffer from this battle.

  “Aberdeenshire may win because of their strength, but they will lose men who ought to raise their children. All of this can be prevented if you tell the Earl the truth. He has decided not to listen to anyone, but he will listen to you if—”

  “Silence!” Joan flinched as the Countess yelled at her. “I will dae nothing of such! Are ye attempting to give me orders?”

  “I…” Joan started but Aidan cut in.

  “Our apologies, Me Lady. We will take our leave now,” Aidan said as he gave a quick bow and pulled Joan along with him.

  As they left the grand manor on their horse Aidan could see how upset Joan was.

  “Joan,” Aidan started.

  “Why wouldn’t she help, Aidan?” Joan asked out confusion. “She knows what is at risk.”

  “I think it has do with her relationship with her son or she doesn’t want to admit her role in what happened to her son,”

  “Two people are not as important as hundreds of men that will lose their lives!”

  “Joan, daenae be upset. I am certain that we will find a way to go about this.”

  “What other way, Aidan? Nothing we have done worked, the armies will probably be at each other's necks by tomorrow and who knows when one side will attack.” Joan sighed dejectedly as she buried her face in Aidan's chest. “Why did this have to happen this way? Everything has been ruined.”

  “Nothing is ruined, me love. Let us take a moment to think about what to dae next,” Aidan said as he ran a hand through her hair.

  “What if we relay the story to the Earl? Will he believe us?” Joan asked as he looked up and Aidan shrugged.

  “I have nae idea but it's worth trying,” he said as she redirected his horse to the direction of the Earl's estate. “All I can say is to have faith in yerself.”

  “What if he throws me in a cell? He said he would execute me if he saw me again.”

  “Dae ye think I would let that happen?” Aidan asked with a low chuckle. Joan buried her face in his chest again. “Daenae doubt yerself. I have a faith that ye can stop this war.” She mumbled something in his chest.

  “I am scared, Aidan. What if nothing goes right?”

  “Stop doubting yerself and hold on tighter to me. We will rest in an inn south of town for tonight, tomorrow, we try our best to bring an end to this,” he said and felt her wrap an arm around his waist. Aidan cracked the reins and the horse broke into a gallop.


  I do hope this works for yer sake, Joan.

  Chapter 27

  Aidan woke up and turned to see an empty bed. He stirred himself up and quickly scoped the room. He rubbed his hands over his eyes to see clearer. It was morning and there was no sign of Joan.

  He stood and was about to grab his sword when he heard footsteps.

  Behind him, Joan stepped onto the wooden floor of the room. While still holding the door, she paused upon seeing the dangerously-alert Aidan.

  “I couldnae find ye, I was scared,” Aidan said, now standing upright and moving out of the corner.

  “Oh, Aidan, you scare easily, don't you?” Joan teased as she closed the door behind her. “I took a bath and took a walk to clear my head, you should take a bath too.”

  Aidan smiled at her joke. “How come ye are up earlier than me? That hardly ever happens.” He moved toward her to hold her. He kissed her forehead and ran his hand through her hair. “Ye were brave to go out without me, ye trust Scots now?”

  She raised her lips to meet his. “They will be my people if everything goes well, why fear them? About that, you should get ready, I did not want to wake you earlier,.”

  Aidan left the room to request for some fresh water for the bath. When he finished dressing, they ate breakfast at the inn and headed toward the Earl's castle on Aidan's horse.

  “Yer Grace, I only urge ye to listen to what we have to say,” Aidan pleaded as he pushed Joan behind him. “What ye know about this war is not the full truth. Allow us to explain it to ye.”

  “Nay! I warned ye Aidan that if I ever see this woman in my estate again, I would execute her! Seize her and lock her in the dungeon!” the Earl yelled and Joan flinched as she felt the coldness of steel wrap around her arm. The guards in the estate were heavily clad in armor except for their heads and one of them had grabbed her arm. Her cry caught Aidan's attention.

  “Unhand her!” Aidan snarled at the guard who had Joan in his grip. The guard ignored Aidan and tried to drag Joan away but stopped when Aiden kicked his chest plate and made him fall to the ground.

  “Aidan, dae ye think ye can fight all of me soldiers? Ye will only get yourselves killed,” the Earl mocked as Aidan's hand went to his sword and the guards started to close in on him.

  “I daenae want to wound me brothers, Yer Grace, but I will defend me woman, as is our custom,” Aidan answered as one guard who was not dressed in armor rushed over to them, fist raised, hoping to hit his target. Aidan caught his punch and pulled the man close enough to land a punch on his face; he heard a loud crack and the man jumped pack in pain. “I will break more than yer face if ye try to touch her again.” The man looked up at them, still cradling his broken nose as blood seeped out if it.

  “Aidan! That is enough!” the Earl snapped as he got up from his seat. “I will give ye two options to choose from. Either ye leave this girl alone and serve yer town like ye have been trained to do or ye can forfeit yer family's title and leave this town with yer family,” he said and Aidan looked at him in disbelief while still keeping his guard up.

  He cannae be serious. Me faither will strangle me if I let the family name be dragged into the mud. But Joan? I cannae leave her. I will nae leave her.

  Aidan looked back at Joan who was silently begging him not to choose her.

  She is so selfless. She worries about me even when her life is in danger here.

  “I will forfeit the title if ye cannae see a reason to end this war after ye have heard what we have to say,” he said and the Earl looked like he couldn't believe his ears. He looked around at the few people in the room in surprise. “But before ye throw me into exile, ye have to listen to us,” Aidan said, and he winced when he felt Joan dig her nails into his bicep.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered harshly behind him and he reached for her hand to give it a squeeze.

  “If it matters to you so deeply, you may speak,” the Earl said as he took a seat and Joan stepped up to him. “What dae ye have to say?”

  It is all in yer hands now Joan.

  Aidan watched as the Earl listened patiently to Joan, noting how his unimpressed expression changed quickly when Joan got to the middle of her narration. The room fell silent and Joan's voice echoed softly in the room. She looked bolder as she narrated the story.

  “This is preposterous! I daenae believe ye!” the Earl yelled when Joan ended her story.

  “I promise you that all I have said is the truth! Countess Charlotte told us everything. Both towns are being misled and Haerton has more hate because my father told false stories to the Duke of Haerton about Aberdeenshire. I came here of my own free will and I meant no harm but my scruffy appearance that day due to my restless journey back home was the reason my father jumped to conclusions!”

  “Ye lie!” the Earl yelled. “Everything ye have said is a lie! Prove that ye speak the truth lass and I will spare yer life!” the Earl said as he drew out his sword. Aidan reacted quickly by drawing his sword and dagger and stood in front of Joan. “Me father was a great man and he would not have chosen a whore over my mother. Do you realize ye tarnish his name with these accusations,”

  “Nothing we have said here is a lie! Ye can call on yer mother to confirm.”

  “How dare ye!” the Earl yelled as he charged for Aidan but a voice stopped him.

  “Stop this! Everything the girl has said is true. Yer faither had more concubines than I could count. If ye think daenae believe them, you must believe me. These are some of the letters that she wrote to me.”

  Aidan looked toward the entrance and calmed down when he saw the Countess with a firm look on her face escorted by her maid.

  Aidan rushed to collect the letters. He handed the old papers to the Earl. He handed his drawn sword to a guard and glanced over them as fast as he could.

  Those papers look too old to be fake. They are a yellow color and the ink is starting to fade out. It has to be real.

  Aidan snuck a glance at Joan and he felt a satisfied grin creep on his face when he saw her excited smile.

  I hope this is enough, me love.

  “Then why did ye keep this from me all these years?” the Earl angrily shouted. “Lives have been lost over this matter! Why was I nae informed?”

  “Yer faither made me promise nae to tell ye. I took an oath to keep all his alliances from you and I could nae break it,” the Countess said as she walked over to Joan and Aidan. “They made me realize that many more lives will be lost if I dinnae speak up. All the hate that was poured into ye by her faither was just to avenge an issue that was clearly personal between two men.”

  “And I suppose I daenae have to take away yer title,” the Earl sighed as a smug smirk grew on Aidan's face. “Yer faither is at the war front with Ian and yer mother. What dae we dae?”

  “Your Grace, if I may?” Joan stepped up and he waved his hand for her to speak. “A peace treaty needs to be sent immediately. I can personally deliver it for you to the Duke.”

  “How can I send a peace treaty at the eleventh hour?”

  “It is never too late, Your Grace,” Joan said, and the Earl nodded.

  “I suppose ye are correct. Aidan, draft a treaty to Haerton,” the Earl ordered and Aidan's smirk fell and was replaced with calm resolve.

  “It will be me pleasure, yer Grace. Thank ye for listening to us,” Aidan said with a deep bow.

  Well, now we are halfway there.

  Aidan and Joan galloped joyfully as they headed toward the English camp. Two royal guards trailed them on their own horses. With the treaty in hand, the couple could not contain their excitement. Their horses sped through the forest and past the river close to the English camp. They knew the Earl might need some convincing and amidst her excitement at their success, Joan silently prayed that the Duke would listen to them.

  “We managed to do this, Aidan. I feel so happy I think my heart will burst from joy,” Joan squealed as they rode.

  Aidan had written the treaty with the help of the
Earl and it was signed by the Earl. They had both offered to go alone but the Earl insisted that Aidan take some guards with them.

  “I know me love. It does seem like this is where this silly battle can end,” Aidan said as they came to a halt on top of the hill where the border was located.

  Just a little further and we can deliver the treaty!