“Joan, I want ye to have this,” he said as he handed her the dagger he kept on his horse. “Careful with it. All of me blades are sharp enough to make deep slices.”
“But I cannot use this.”
“It is a delicate dagger. It is light enough for you to use and cause damage to yer attacker. It is easy for beginners to use. Even if ye daenae use it, I want ye to keep it with ye,” he said as Joan took the sheathed dagger from him and he gave his horse a nudge and it moved forward. “Are ye ready, me love?”
“Yes,” she beamed at him as they descended the hill in a fast trot and soon the Haerton soldiers were in front of them, swords drawn as the three horses approached them.
They arrived at the gate quite in the late hours of the afternoon.
“We come in peace.” Aidan waved his hands and screamed loud enough for the men in front of them to hear. The two guards the Earl had sent with them stopped as well, standing beside the horse.
“We do not believe that one bit,” a man said as Joan got down from the horse and Aidan slowly dismounted. “Turn back while you still can, savages!”
“We only wish to meet the Duke of Haerton,” Joan said, and all eyes fell on her. The men suddenly started to move out of the way until Aidan was face to face with a dark-haired man. Aidan saw his hateful green eyes move to Joan and they softened.
“Miss Hale? Where have you been? I received news of your disappearance and your father was very worried.” he called out as he reached for her but Aidan tucked her behind him making the dark-haired man snarl at him. “Unhand her at once!”
“Joan is nae in danger here. I am an envoy from the Earl and he wants to make peace with ye,” Aidan said in a clipped tone.
“Peace?” The man laughed and turned to his men. “These barbarians want to make peace after they have killed our men, kidnapped and tortured our women. Now they say they want peace!”
“Your Grace! This is not what you think it is. Everything you have been told is not true,” Joan said.
Ah, so he is the Duke. He does nae look like one who has fought a war before.
“Me apologies, Yer Grace, but we really do mean to end this war before it can start. In this treaty, the Earl of Aberdeenshire has stated that he is willing to come to terms with ye,” Aidan said as he handed the treaty to the Duke.
The Duke opened the treaty and read through, mumbling to himself. “I do not believe this,” the Duke said when he was done with the document. “I want to meet your Earl.”
“Your Grace, you only have to sign this and we can…”
“I will take you to the Earl,” Aidan said, and Joan looked back at him. “Anything to bring peace between our people. It is a half a day’s trip.”
The Duke scoffed as he handed the document to Aidan. “Bring me my horse and call Lord Tyrill here. Tell him to bring ten soldiers along.”
Lord Tyrill? That is Joan's faither.
Aidan looked at Joan who had a defiant look on her face.
Look at me love, she is nae afraid and here I am panicking for her safety.
They waited a while and soon a commotion was heard as Lord Tyrill stormed through the gathered soldiers, ten men behind him.
“You!” Aidan snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the Lord yell. “You! You spawn of the devil! How dare you come close to my daughter!” The Lord tried to grab Aidan, but Joan hurriedly jumped in front of her father. “Get out of my way, child!” He shoved Joan out of the way.
“Before ye strike me, I am only here to deliver a message sent by the Earl of Aberdeenshire. He wants peace,” Aidan said and the Lord stopped himself midway.
Lord Tyrill turned to the Duke, “Why would we make peace with savages?”
“Lord Tyrill,” the Duke called from on top of his horse. “We shall meet them and hear them out to see if we can come to terms.”
“But all of our effort…”
“Do you honestly think savages can offer us a deal good enough to end this war?” the Duke mocked, and Aidan clenched his fist in anger.
Yer tongue is still in yer mouth only because of Joan but there is a limit to what I can take.
Chapter 28
The journey started with Aidan, Joan, her father, the Duke, and his ten soldiers. None of them said a word to each other until they arrived at the Earl’s estate. Getting down from his horse, Aidan stretched a hand to help Joan down.
“Sir Aidan, the Earl has been waiting for yer arrival,” a guard said with a quick bow.
“Where is he?” Aidan asked as he looked back to check if the English men were still with him.
“In the main house. Same place ye left him,” the guard answered, and Aidan took Joan's hand in his as he led them toward the main house.
The doors were pushed open for Aidan and he saw the Earl pacing around the room impatiently. “Well, how did it go?” he asked Aidan, who pointed at the English men.
“This is the Duke of Haerton and his companions are the Lord of Tyrill, Lord Tyrill and ten of his knights. Miss Hale is the daughter of the Lord,” Aidan introduced, and the Earl nodded. “The Duke insisted that he meet with ye to talk about the peace offering so I brought him here, Yer Grace.”
“Well done, Aidan. I have also called back yer father from the battle front. He should be here any—” The Earl was interrupted by the door opening and he saw Aidan's parents by the door. “Aye, join us. Ye also have some testimonies to give,” the Earl said as the older couple came up to them.
Joan could feel their glares boring into her back and Aidan stepped up to tuck her behind her, allowing him to meet his father's glare. The Earl motioned to a door and incited them to follow him.
The room had high walls and several circular windows adorned with colored panes. Servants stood at each corner but the Earl asked them to leave the room. In the middle was a large oblong table surrounded by wooden chairs curved with Celtic designs that could seat two people.
The Earl took his seat at one end of the table and both towns sat on opposite sides while the Duke sat at the other end. About five knights had followed them into the room, but they stood guard since the war was not officially over. Joan sat beside Aidan across from her father who would not take his eyes off her.
“Welcome, Duke. I understand that our towns have been at each other's necks for many years and it seems that we have been misled,” the Earl said with a small smile.
“Misled?” the Duke asked with an unimpressed tone.
“It appears so. Sir Aidan and Miss Hale came to me earlier trying to persuade me of the truth but I sent them away. I have everything written here if ye would like to go through it,” the Earl said and handed some papers to Aidan who in turn handed it to the Duke who snatched it from him and read through.
The room was silent for a few minutes until the Duke finished reading. “What is this? These are all lies!” the Duke snapped and threw the documents to the ground. Joan rushed to pick them up and Sebastian took them from her.
“I understand that you will find it difficult to believe but it is the truth. It seems that a woman had acted as the apple of discord in this case. Our faithers had simply told us what they wanted us to believe to save face. We cannae keep hating each other and go to war because of a whore that pitted our faithers against each other.”
“How dare you speak about my father in such manner!” The Duke was about to stand when Sir James spoke up.
“Your Grace, if I may,” the Duke gave him a nod without looking in his direction. “This story seems true.”
“What do you know, James?” the Duke asked the soldier.
I am so happy Sir James is here. He is just like Aidan in Haerton. One of the best fighters we have, if not the best. At least the Duke will listen to his best soldier.
“This woman, I know her. It was when I was searching for Joan. There is an inn in the forest,” Sir James said.
“The innkeeper looks younger than she is. The inn looks more like a tavern than an inn,” Aidan added, and Sir Ja
mes nodded. “She looks like Joan, brown hair, black eyes.”
Could it be that innkeeper that I was suspicious of when we were on our way to Aberdeenshire?
“Yes. That was where we found Miss Hale's bloodied dress, My Lord,” he said as he turned to Lord Tyrill.
“Joan left that dress there since it was torn and bloody because of the way she tended to my injuries,” Aidan said and Joan nodded in agreement.
“If ye still doubt what yer own man has to say, then ye may look at the letters. Me mother kept every one of them. The paper is quite old now, so please be careful.”
The Duke took the letters from the Earl and read through a few. “But what about kidnapping Joan and torturing her?” the Duke asked as he dropped the letter.
“Joan was never tortured. Yes, she got some snarky remarks, but no one ever tried to harm her except for the time when Aidan's mistress tried to have her kidnapped, which was a romantic matter. Aidan saved her and brought her back without a scratch. Who told ye that Joan was tortured?” Aidan's father said.
“Who are you?” the Duke asked.
“I am The Laird of Rattray and Miss Hale was brought to Aberdeenshire by me son of her own free will. She stayed in the main wing in me estate. Me son even had her chamber next to his so he could attend to her every request.”
Aidan softly whispered into Joan's ear as the two sides started finding some common understanding clarified their hate, “Come with me.”
Joan felt Aidan take her hand and he slowly led her outside while they debated. “Aidan, where are we going?”
“Where exactly are we going?” she asked as they left the town and the horse galloped through the forest. They passed some townspeople and Aidan diverted his horse to go through another route. Soon they came to a clearing with a flowing river. “I remember this place. You let me ride your horse for the first time here and I could not stop it. We ended up in the river drenched from head to toe,” Joan said, and Aidan laughed as he pulled his horse to a stop.
He got down and carried Joan off the horse. He set her down and went to tie his horse to a tree. Joan saw him take off his weapons and place them on the ground next to the horse. “How come ye remember such an embarrassing moment?” Aidan said as he sat on the grass and Joan joined him. Joan sat in between Aidan's parted legs and he wrapped his arms around her. “Ye know, I thought I would never see ye again.”
“I was not sure I could come back either. Just a day into my journey back to Haerton and I regretted leaving you.” She giggled as he nibbled softly on her ear. She leaned forward and turned to see his face. “I want you to tell me everything about you.”
“I am Aidan McCabe, next in line for the position of the Laird of Rattray, as ye know by now. I am not a traveler and the only reasons I ever travelled was when I was on a mission or going to battle. I have been a soldier since I was thirteen summers, I am a war hero in Aberdeenshire, maybe even in Scotland,” Aidan said as he scratched his beard.
“Why did you lie to me in the first place?”
“I was afraid that if I told ye the truth, ye may tell yer father about me and all me hard spy work would be wasted or worse. Also, believe it or not Joan, I was smitten with ye from the very beginning. I have seen many women in my life but ye captured me attention from the moment ye fell in my arms.
“Yer desire to know more, yer hunger to explore the world, ye are so intriguing, and I wanted to know more about ye. However, I thought that telling ye I was the enemy and that I was sent to get information for an attack would ruin all the time we had spent together and any chance of being together in the future.”
“I never even knew much about the war until I found out about your lies and in a way all this led to peace in the end. You lying to me made me go back home and I tried to stop the war and I got close to the Duke in a way. We have brought our towns to the same table and they are working on their problems.”
“Without making excuses for myself, I am glad it all went how it did, as long as you end up in my arms forever. Tell me more about this engagement to The Duke of Haerton.”
“Ah. That was when my father found out that I was no longer a virgin but he still wanted me to marry someone who could protect me like he did. Despite all the suitors I had, my father happily handed me to the Duke because of his status and because he knew I thought I would be kept indoors always in his castle.”
Aidan cursed under his breath. “I do not think that he would want to marry me after he learns about the lies my father had told him.”
“Joan, I want to ask you something,” Aidan said, and she turned so she was on her knees facing him.
“What is it?”
“After this is over, I want you to promise me that ye will marry nae one but me, no matter who thinks he owns ye now,” he said as he took her hand in his. “Promise me this, Joan.”
She took her hands back and rested her forehead on his. “I promise,” she said and embraced him.
In the cool evening, the only sounds that could be heard were the bubbling river and faraway birds. No one was within sight in any direction and they lay in each other's arms on the green riverside grass.
This is peace! This is all I ever wanted.
He ran his hands through her hair and cradled her head down to her neck. He heard her breathing quicken and so did his. He loved the feel of her bosom on his chests. Her hands slowly unfolded behind him and caressed his head in response. He nuzzled her neck with kisses and she inhaled sharply. She turned her head and returned his kisses and he felt a mild tingle course through him, obliterating all of his thoughts.
She raised her head to admire him and he met her with a kiss. His lips met her cheek then travelled to settle and nibbled her lower lip gently, before taking it into his mouth in a sharp pull. His fingers were still stuck in her hair, he tilted his face and pulled her head closer. He wanted more of the sweetness that now filled his hungry senses.
She lay him back and withdrew his legs from under him. Their tongues danced uncontrollably and they both moaned and murmured empty words. He lifted the skirt of the riding habit in one fell swoop and she sent her hand down his kilt. He groaned when the warm touch of her delicate skin met his firm member. She kissed his chin and pulled on his beard with her lips leaving his mouth temporarily open.
He slid from under her and repositioned himself behind her. When she looked at him, he felt her daring eyes consume him and he all but tore off his trousers. He flipped the rest of her skirt and kissed her on the buttocks. She was tickled and she jerked forward on all fours, giggling. He pulled her back and parted her legs.
“Are ye comfortable?” he asked her, concerned about her knees and hands.
“Yes!” she replied promptly.
His pulsating manhood began to find its bearing between her thighs as they locked eyes.
“Tell me if it’s too much,” he said.
She nodded and he thrust into the wetness. She moaned as he partially entered into her and her head flew upward in reflex. Aidan struggled patiently till he was able to penetrate her and they took pleasure in each other's pleasure.
He gripped her by the hips, caressing her insides continuously. Out of thought for her position on the ground, he pulled out of her and laid her by her side. He reentered her and spooned her as he watched her bite her lower lip out. He ran his hands under her jacket and fondled her breasts. She freed the hooks of the jacket, exposing her breast and giving him unrestricted access to them. He turned her and planted kisses across the right side of her face as she cupped her breasts and moaned, unable to return his kisses.
Her moans offset his sexual balance and he thrust deeper and faster into her. His fingers found its way into her open mouth and hooked on her lower jaw. He pressed harder against her and her body seemed to invite him in. He began to groan loudly as he ejaculated inside her, shivering. She turned and held his head on her shoulder as she grinned at him.
The sun was setting on their naked skin as they laid there in the
grass.
“We should leave before it gets too dark,” Joan said, her legs shaking as she stood up.
“Today, ye will be a proper guest in my home,” Aidan replied.
As they were adjusting their clothes, a cough broke the silence and Joan jumped back only to find that the source of the cough came from Ian. “Well this is an interesting sight. Coming back from a war front only to bump into two runaway lovers a few paces from me house.”
Coming back from a war front?
“You mean to say...” Aidan started but Ian stopped him.
“Yes. The war has finally come to an end. A messenger came to deliver the news to us a while ago,” Ian said, and Joan couldn't help the joy she felt inside of her. “You two got what you wanted, the only issue you have to deal with now are yer parents.”
Highlander's Cursed Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 24