Defended by a Highland Renegade (Highland Adventure Book 10)

by Vonda Sinclair

  Chapter 4

  Upon seeing her former fiancé and his Lindsay clansmen, terror flashed through Mairiana. "Oh, good lord!" she gasped and fled to the opposite side of the ferry, stumbling into other passengers. She looked about for an escape route, but found none, other than the plank where she'd boarded and that was close to Alec.

  He now stood conversing with the captain, who shook his head. She scanned the area for Darack. He waited in line at the food cart, further along. He had not noticed Alec and his men. He couldn't help her now anyway, and she didn't want to draw Alec's attention to Darack. That would put his life in danger, too.

  What could she do?

  Frantic, she darted her gaze back to Alec. He dropped coins into the captain's hand and pushed past the other passengers boarding. "Out of my way!"

  Good heavens, there was nowhere to hide. His malevolent, ice blue gaze locked onto her as he rudely jostled people aside.

  "Why the hell did you leave?" he yelled as he strode toward her, his face a red mask of fury.

  "Stay away from me!" She backed toward the rail.

  "I ought to throttle you," he growled.

  Two large, kilted male passengers moved in front of her. "Watch yourself, sir!" one of them warned. "What is your quarrel with this woman?"

  "She's my betrothed. Move aside!"

  "I'm not marrying you, Alec!" she yelled. "Leave me be."

  "Why? What happened between supper last night and this morn?"

  Murder, she wanted to say, but she dared not infuriate him even more. "I've simply decided we do not suit."

  He narrowed his eyes, observing her with that astute, intelligent gaze. Her stomach knotted, for she had never received such a cutting and murderous glare from him. She now knew that, deep down, he was ruthless. What might he do to her if he got his hands on her?

  "Where are you running off to? Rornoch?" he asked.

  She was certain that must be obvious to him but she didn't confirm it.

  "I won't allow it!" He pointed a finger at her. "You're getting off this ferry and returning to Lenor Castle with me now."

  "Nay, I won't!"

  "Stay back, sir!" one of the men shielding her ordered.

  "Do you know who I am?" Alec demanded of them. "The future chief of the Lindsays of Lenor. My cousin is an earl. I'll have you both arrested and thrown in the tollbooth for kidnapping my betrothed."

  When they didn't move, Alec flung a quick fist at one of them, striking his jaw and knocking him to the floor of the ferry.

  "Nay! Leave them be!" Mairiana shouted. "I don't even know who they are."

  "They will learn to stand aside!" Alec swung at the other man and he fell under the powerful blow.

  What a bastard! With no one and nothing standing between her and Alec, Marianna searched desperately for an escape.

  She knew how to swim, she suddenly realized, though she hadn't done so in almost a decade. Surely she would remember how. 'Twas her only chance of escaping him. She climbed across the rail and leapt overboard.

  Holding her breath, she splashed into the icy water of the harbor and it enveloped her, head to toe. She kicked her feet and paddled with her arms, but could hardly move. 'Twas her heavy clothing! A split second of a memory flashed through her mind—when she'd been a young lass, she'd secretly swam in the nearby loch in naught but her thin smock. Quickly, she untied the belt holding the arisaid in place, but she did not have time to remove her silk dress or her petticoats.

  Swimming hard, she pushed herself to the top of the water, at least, and took a deep breath. The air burned her lungs. Loud shouts echoed over her head. She did not want to look up and see Alec. Instead, she tried to swim beneath the docks, but her clothing dragged her under the surface. The water bubbled, loud and disorienting in her ears. She couldn't tell how deep she was. She only knew she had to hold her breath.

  Without warning, an arm snaked around her waist and lifted her. She opened her eyes to find her head above water again. She sucked in another breath. Though hesitant, she glanced back, expecting to see Alec, but nay, 'twas Darack. "Thanks be to God!" Relief flowed through her.

  "What the hell, Mairiana? Why did you jump in?" Darack demanded.

  "Alec was going to grab me," she gasped, glancing across the water toward the ferry, searching for him.

  "I saw him. Several men were restraining him when I arrived on the scene. But you could've drowned by jumping overboard."

  "I ken how to swim."

  "It didn't appear you were doing a grand job of it," he muttered and swam with her further beneath the wooden docks into the dimness.

  "My clothing weighed me down and it has been years since I swam."

  "Aye, exactly. And that could've gotten you killed."

  "So be it! I wasn't going to let him grab me."

  "Aye. All is well now. I'll get you out of here." He propelled her past several boats and between the dock piles. Finally, they neared a rocky bank and he helped her onto dry land. Her knees trembled from the waning fright and the weight of her heavy clothing.

  She glanced back and was glad boats blocked her view of the ferry. If she couldn't see Alec, then hopefully he had no idea where she was.

  "Come." Darack took her hand and tugged her up the embankment.

  Her chilly, wet clothing was plastered heavily to her body. A deep shiver shook her and her teeth chattered. "Go slower," she said.

  He stepped back beside her and lifted her into his arms.

  "Nay, I can walk. I simply cannot run up this bank."

  "We need to hurry and get you out of these wet clothes… and out of sight before Alec or his men see you."

  "Where will we go?" She could hardly think for all the panic and emotions bombarding her.

  "I'll show you." Once on level ground again, he hastened behind the buildings which housed a multitude of businesses. Finally, they arrived at a nondescript back door. He opened it and walked right in with her.

  "Felix?" he called. "Are you here, man?" Darack carried her into a warm kitchen where a huge black pot filled with bubbling porridge hung over a blazing fire. She smelled bread baking in a nearby oven. The heat felt wonderful.

  "What is this place?" she asked.

  "A tavern." He placed her onto her feet.

  "Aye?" a man responded, striding into the room. Felix, she assumed. "Darack?" He smiled. "What are you doing here?" His gaze darted to Mairiana and back. "And why are you drenched?"

  "This is Lady Mairiana," Darack said, then motioned to the man. "My friend Felix."

  "A pleasure, m'lady." Felix bowed.

  "Sir."

  "We need your help," Darack said. "Lady Mairiana leapt into the harbor and I must get her warm."

  "Leapt? A brave lady, then." Felix grinned. "Feel free to use the kitchen or the small family dining room." He pointed toward a doorway. "My serving maids will be in and out as they serve breakfast to the customers. But I'll give you privacy, m'lady."

  "Would your wife or one of your maids have any old dry clothing she could borrow until hers is dry?" Darack asked him.

  "Most likely. I'll head upstairs and ask my wife." He retreated through the main doorway.

  "Who is he?" Mairiana whispered.

  "Promise you'll tell no one?" Darack set a wooden chair near the fire, then led her to it.

  She sat. "Of course."

  "He used to be a MacGregor. Now he goes by Burnside."

  "He's trustworthy, then?"

  "Indeed." Darack knelt by the fire and added more wood. "I should've asked him for some food for you first."

  "Nay, I'm well." She felt safer here than she had outside, but still her stomach knotted. "Do you think Alec will figure out where we've gone?"

  "'Tis doubtful. Stop your fashing for a wee bit."

  "I told him I wasn't going to marry him, but he wasn't taking nay for an answer. I hope he didn't injure the two men who defended me. Both Highlanders, bless them. I had never seen them before in my life."

  "They w
ere honorable, as most of us Highlanders are." He winked, friendliness lighting his gaze.

  "Aye, you are," she murmured. Feeling her face heat at his wink, she glanced down and tried to pretend it hadn't affected her. Blast it, she was not supposed to be attracted to Darack, especially at a time like this. "And I thank you." She looked him in the eye again.

  "You're most welcome."

  Some tender emotion emanated between them, something she had never felt before, and she was unsure what to say.

  A short, plump woman arrived, carrying clothing over her arm. "Aye, there you are, Darack! Good to see you, lad."

  "Finola!" He leapt up, hugged her, and spun her around.

  "Stop it now, you rogue!" She laughed. "Felix said you needed my help."

  He set her to her feet. "Indeed. This is Lady Mairiana."

  "An honor to meet you, m'lady." She curtsied. "I'm Finola."

  "'Tis my pleasure, Finola." Mairiana stood and gave a brief curtsy.

  "As you can see," Darack continued, motioning to her clothing, "she jumped into the harbor."

  "Intentionally?" Finola gaped at Mairiana.

  "Aye," she admitted. "I was escaping the man I was betrothed to."

  "Och." Finola's eyes widened further. "The wedding is off, then?"

  "Most definitely."

  "Well, you've picked a wicked scoundrel to go on the run with." Finola elbowed Darack in the ribs and grinned. "But a handsome one, at least. You'd best watch him." She winked.

  Mairiana blushed, for indeed she did find Darack handsome and was certain he could be wicked when he wanted to be.

  Darack snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm helping her return home. Her brothers are friends of mine."

  "'Haps you'll be on your best behavior, then. Out with you now, and I'll help the lady get out of her wet clothes and into these dry ones."

  "I thank you, Finola. Come fetch me when you're done." Darack exited into the common room.

  "We'll go into the dining room, m'lady." Finola motioned toward the small room off to the side. Once they were inside, she closed the door.

  Mairiana removed her wet cloak and left it in a heap on the floor.

  "Och. What a fine silk gown!" Finola said. "I hope it isn't ruined."

  Mairiana glanced down at the pale blue embroidered material. "As do I, but if it is, no matter. I had no choice but to jump."

  "You are a braver woman than I."

  Minutes later, Mairiana was in the fresh dry clothing. "I thank you, Finola. These clothes feel much better and they fit perfectly."

  "Nay worries, m'lady. They were my daughter's, but when she married, she left them here. Though they're old and almost worn out, you're free to keep them if you can tolerate them."

  "I appreciate it." These would give her the peasant look Darack had said she needed for their travels. "You may keep the silk gown if you wish. Mayhap you can clean it."

  Her eyes rounded. "Indeed, nay, m'lady! 'Tis far too fancy for me to wear. The town folk would surely think me mad should I wear such finery."

  "For your daughter, then," Mairiana said. "To thank her for the use of her clothing. Or you could sell it."

  Finola waved a dismissive hand.

  Darack barged into the room, startling Mairiana, Felix following. "Alec just walked into the common room," Darack growled low. "He and his men are searching this place."

  "Good heavens! What shall we do?" Alarm rampaging through her, Mairiana grabbed her wet cloak and the pouch which contained her only worldly possessions at the moment. "Go out the back way?"

  "I'll check to see if anyone is out there." Felix hastened toward the kitchen door.

  "How did he know we were here?" Mairiana asked.

  "He doesn't know yet. He's likely checking every establishment close to the docks."

  Felix returned. "I saw a stranger in the narrow close behind the building."

  "Damnation!" Darack muttered. "Do you have someplace here we could hide until they vacate the area?"

  "There's a concealed priest hole in the root cellar." Felix motioned with his head.

  "Cellar?" Mairiana asked. "'Twill be pitch dark down there."

  Felix nodded. "But they would not find you."

  "I'll be with you." Darack took her hand. "There is naught more to be scared of in the dark than there is in the light."

  "Very well. I'll take the gown with me and hide it," she told Finola. "He might recognize it."

  Felix carried a lantern as they descended a steep set of steps that led downward into the darkness.

  Mairiana's stomach knotted more with each step she took. "How long will we have to stay down here?" she whispered.

  "When they leave, I'll come to let you know," Felix said. "They've asked for breakfast."

  "It could be an hour or two." She didn't know if she could stand the dark for that long.

  "I'll serve them as quickly as possible."

  "Can we keep the lantern for light?" she asked.

  Felix shrugged. "You could, but 'tis possible they might smell the smoke from it if they search the cellar."

  "I will protect you in the darkness, lass," Darack murmured.

  Of course he would. She trusted him with her life. But that didn't make her like the blackness of cellars any more.

  Felix moved some empty wooden boxes, then Darack helped him drag a heavy chest aside. Felix shoved his hands against the wall and a small hidden door opened. "Here 'tis. The perfect hiding place."

  Bending, she peered into the priest hole, unable to believe how small it was. These had been invented during the Protestant Reformation for priests to hide in when their lives were in danger. She had never been in one.

  Felix motioned them toward the small compartment. Darack crawled in first. It contained only one tiny stool. "Quickly, m'lady," Felix said.

  "'Tis only large enough for one person," she protested.

  "You're a wee thing," Darack said. "Come, now. We'll both fit."

  She crawled inside and Darack helped her stand.

  Felix quietly closed the door and all light disappeared. The sound of him sliding the heavy trunk back into place followed.

  "Oh, saints," she breathed. "There is not one pinprick of light in here."

  "Why does the darkness frighten you so much?" Gently, Darack stroked firm and sure hands along her upper arms as if trying to warm her. The chills covering her had naught to do with cold and everything to do with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

  Facing her, he stood so close the heat of him warmed her and sent tingles throughout her body. His friendly, intimate tone compelled her to answer his question. Mayhap it would take her mind off the darkness.

  She closed her eyes and tried to relax. "When I was a lass of only eight summers, I had been playing with my cousin in the castle's hidden passages. I got lost alone and… locked in for a whole night. There was no light to be seen anywhere. I heard all sorts of noises in the darkness. Rats and mice, no doubt… or maybe a ghost or two. No matter how much I screamed, no one came to my rescue. They couldn't hear me. I felt my way along the damp, slimy walls for hours, endlessly, and I could find no doors."

  "That must have been horrifying for one so young." His hands lightly squeezed her shoulders, sending comfort and excitement through her. His concerned tone made her feel he truly did want to learn more about her.

  "Aye. I never entered those blasted passages again."

  "I'm sure they were searching. Why did your cousin not tell the adults where you were?"

  "He'd left the castle with his da before I went back in. You see, before we had gone into the passages to begin with, he had told me a story about the tunnels leading to the magical land of the fairies, so beautiful and filled with light and color. The very idea captured my imagination. He said that his younger brother who had passed was living there now. My mother had passed a few months before and I thought I might find her spirit there. When we came out of the tunnel, he went home but I wanted to find the magical land and m
y mother. That was when I reentered the passages and got lost."

  "I see. Were you not afraid of the dark?"

  "I had a lantern, but it soon burned out… long before I could find the magical land. I kept calling for my ma, but no one answered."

  "Saints," he hissed, sitting on the stool and pulling her onto his lap. "Let's sit for a while."

  Though she knew she should protest, she didn't. She absorbed the heat and comfort of him. If only he'd been with her when she was a child, she wouldn't have been afraid. Of course, he would've been a child then, as well, not many years older than she was. Regardless of how young he might have been, she imagined he had probably been brave and unafraid of anything, as he was now.

  Darack's touch, his hard body pressing into hers, felt so right… so good, she forgot about the fear of darkness. The wee room almost seemed… cozy now. Deliciously snug and intimate. Shivers of excitement covered her. With her rational mind, she knew she shouldn't be drawn to Darack so quickly after leaving Alec, but she had no control over her body or her emotions. Maybe it was because Darack was the only rock she could cling to in the midst of this gale storm her life had become. 'Twas as if some deep part of her took over her body and dragged her mind and emotions along a path she could not have imagined. One she hadn't chosen. Somehow fate had chosen this situation with Darack for her.

  "You're shaking," he said, pulling her closer. "Are you cold… or reliving being lost in the dark passages?"

  "I'm not certain." She suspected her body shook because of him, but she couldn't tell him that. It didn't even make sense.

  "You're safe here with me." He stroked a hand over her back. "I'll not let any ghosties or goblins get you. Nor any wee beasties." Now he was teasing her, blast him.

  "My hero," she said drily.

  He chuckled, a brief, warm breath in her ear, which only disturbed her more. What was this strange, compelling feeling? Arousal? It was the most thrilling, exciting sensation she'd ever felt. Why had Alec never affected her in such a way? Was it simply a physical response? Some animal side of herself that responded to Darack alone? She could not judge whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but 'twas certainly intense. It made her heart pound harder and her breath come quicker.