Highland Trails of Love

by Barbara Bard

  It was obviously just that she was confused. It had been a long day, and she was disoriented and exhausted. Her mind was playing tricks on her. There was no way she could ever be attracted to a brutish Highlander. Sarah silently scolded herself for feeling this way.

  “I say again, lass, ye are a prisoner of war. If ye dinnae intend tae use that weapon ye should put it down,” he said in a rolling Scottish burr. Sarah clamped her eyes shut, trying not to find it pleasing to her ears.

  “You are not in much of a position to make demands of me. I am the one with the sword, I get to make the demands. I don’t want any trouble, I am just passing through the woods.” she said, mustering all the courage she could. She wasn't sure how much of it managed to make it through though.

  “Let go of the sword and we can talk about this like adults,” he said.

  Sarah kept hold of the sword, the tip pointing towards Drew. She had no idea if she could actually use it or not, and even though she didn't have much to fear from him because of his leg she wasn't about to let go of her only defense.

  “There is nothing to talk about,” she said.

  “Why did ye save my life if ye hate me so much? What are ye doing out here? Did ye know about the battle, or hae ye been outcast?”

  Sarah didn't know which question to answer first.

  “Our people hate each other. If it was the other way around, you would have left me for dead. There has been so much death today, and I could not bear to see you die alone in this woods.” Sarah shot an angry look at him and tightened her grip on the sword.

  “Do you think an outcast would wear a dress like this?” she said, looking down at the dress that had been intended for her wedding. After all this, it was in tatters, torn apart and covered in blood and dirt. It was a sorry sight indeed, and yet she found herself glad that she was with this Highlander rather than standing with Lord Flynn at their wedding in a field filled with blood.

  “That dinnae mean anything tae me, lass. Do ye think I care what ye English wear? Perhaps I should hae seen it, but it was hard with my vision blurred and the pain dulling my instincts,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “Answer my questions. What are ye doing out here?”

  “Perhaps I should have left you for dead,” Sarah replied as she sent him a scathing look. Sarah was caught in a bind. The last thing she wanted was to be beholden to another cruel man. She had taken a risk to get away from one, and she wasn't going to be held by another. The thought of being a prisoner was abhorrent to her and she wasn't going to let that fate come to pass.

  Yet she wasn't going to kill the man either. Even by holding the sword she knew that she did not have it in her to drive it through his heart. He looked well enough now. He'd had some water and berries, and he was able to push himself around. It was time for her to move on, to disappear into the woods again and put this sorry affair behind her. The war, the English nobility, and the Highlanders would all be a distant memory, and she would find happiness with someone she loved.

  Breathing deeply, Sarah threw down the sword and turned away without saying another word. She didn't owe anything to this man. She had done him a kindness, and now it was time for her to leave.

  However, she only got a few steps before she heard Drew rise up to his feet, and immediately crumple under the weight. A cry of agony burst from his lips and the ground shook as he fell onto it. Despite herself, Sarah could not let it happen without taking action. She ran to his side and helped him back to his resting place, propping him up against a rock.

  Drew was breathing heavily and looked panicked. Sarah went to get him water, but his arms and legs were jerking wildly. He bashed them against the ground in frustration and roared so loudly that it scattered birds overhead.

  “You are angry. You must calm down,” Sarah said, handing him some water. Drew angrily gulped it down and threw the waterskin to the ground. Some of the water spilled out. It was fortunate they were by a river and had an endless supply, otherwise, it would have been a wasteful gesture. Sarah hitched up her dress, picked up the waterskin, and re-filled it.

  “Calm down? I cannae do that, lass. Nae when I hae been speared through the leg, then tended tae by a beautiful lass only tae find out that English blood runs through her veins! How would ye feel? More than that, I cannae even stand on my own two feet. How am I supposed to help my brother in war when I cannae even get back tae it!”

  “War, that is all you Highlanders think of, isn't it? There is more to life than violence. It offends me to think that there are people out there like you who are so consumed with war that you would attack innocent people. There was no need for you to march south. Why not just stay in your own territories and tend to your fields. Be productive people. Did you hear all the screams on the battlefield? Did you see all the young men being slain? It is such a waste of life, but that is all you know. It fills my heart with dread to know that there are such barbaric neighbors so close to us.”

  Sarah folded her arms across her chest. Her cheeks reddened with the force of the outburst. She surprised herself with her vehemence, but she felt no desire to coat her words with politeness to this Highlander. Drew listened to her words, and she expected him to fight back with roars and bellows, but to her utmost surprise he threw his head back and let out a deep, throaty laugh.

  This only served to anger Sarah even more. She stamped her foot on the ground and glared at him.

  “Ye seem tae think ye know a lot about me and my people. Before we go any further, tell me your name,” he said.

  Sarah rolled her tongue over her lips. She had become so used to living under Rosemary's name that she almost said it again here, before realizing that she no longer had to live that lie. She was free. She could use her own name again, and when she said it, it was with a great relief.

  “Well then, Sarah,” Drew continued, “it seems I hae to give ye a lesson. I am willing tae admit that we hae earned a warrior's reputation, but tae claim that the English are innocent is a jest. The only reason we are here is to seek justice for one of ours, one who was cruelly executed.”

  The expression on Sarah's face changed to one of puzzlement. Drew saw this and seemed to enjoy her changing moods.

  “Aye, I see ye didnae know that. I wonder how many of the soldiers know that either. His name was Gall. He was out ranging and hunting. He got a little tae close tae the border when he was captured by your leader, Lord Flynn. Flynn executed him when he had nae reason tae. Gall was just a wee lad with his whole life ahead of him, then he was hanged. What have ye tae say about that? Do ye think we can just let the English hang our people without reply, as though they are hunting for animals?”

  Sarah staggered back. Her hand came to her breast and her mouth fell open with shock. She'd always thought of the Highlanders as the monsters, and although she had seen Lord Flynn's cruelty first-hand, she hadn't thought of it in terms of the war before.

  Yet now, it all made sense, and she even wondered if all the times Lord Flynn had been going hunting he hadn't actually been hunting for Highlanders rather than for animals.

  “What do you know of Lord Flynn?” she asked.

  “I know that he is an evil man. Gall had done nothing tae him. This lord is typical of the English, thinking that he can go around doing whatever he wants without consequence.” Drew shook his head. “Ye are all mad.”

  “You can say what you like about Lord Flynn, but do not think to imply we are all like him!” Sarah retorted. The thought of anyone thinking that she had anything in common with Lord Flynn was horrid.

  “Besides,” she continued, “it is not as though you Highlanders are completely blameless. In the last war, you all did terrible things. Perhaps that is the reason for this war. It is time to pay for your crimes,” she said bitterly. The hatred she had been holding onto for years now came pouring out. All the fear and festering rage suddenly spewed forth, exploding out of her like lava from a dormant volcano.

  All through the years, she had been terrified of coming face
to face with a Highlander, and yet in her mind she had always wondered what would happen if she did. Now she had the chance. He was sitting there, wounded, but still dangerous. And yet it was not at all like she had imagined. Drew wasn't some raging maniac, fueled only by violence. In fact, he seemed like a somewhat reasonable man, as reasonable as a barbarian could be anyway.

  “Ye dinnae want me tae think all ye English are the same as Flynn, but ye would believe that all Highlanders are mindless brutes? And tae compare this with the last war? Hae ye lost your mind, lass? I was barely knee-high in the last war, and ye must hae been similar. I was barely even born. The war was coming tae a close. There were only some skirmishes, some raiding parties left. As far as I was concerned the war was over before I was born. It was the same for all of us.”

  “Not for me,” Sarah said. “It might have ended for you, but it didn’t for me. Your raiding parties were still pillaging villages. They came to my home and ransacked the place. I was one of the few survivors. They...they killed my parents. Right in front of my eyes. I was just a babe. So don't you tell me that Highlanders are innocent.”

  Drew exhaled deeply. Revealing the truth had cost Sarah a lot of energy. She felt vulnerable, alone. Her throat ached from the force with which she had expelled her words, and the emotion behind them had left her mind dazed and tired. The day had taken its toll on her and she was about ready to drop.

  “I think ye should sit down, lass. I am sorry for what happened tae you when ye were younger, but it does nae mean that we are all the same,” Drew said. There was empathy in his voice, and Sarah found herself sitting down beside him.

  “War is a terrible time. It takes its toll on people who are not on the battlefield. I know it weighed heavily on my father's soul. He wanted peace tae reign for a long time, and he often spoke of how haunted he was by war. He wanted us tae be good sons, and did nae want us tae die. I think he always knew the horrors of war even when he was a soldier. He waited until the last days of the war before he started to have a family. He did nae want to see his sons die in battle.”

  “Does it not make you feel guilty that you have found yourself in a war?” Sarah asked.

  Drew pressed his lips together and hung his head. Sarah found herself intrigued by this man. He seemed to be a man filled with conflicts, and was not at all what she had expected from a Highlander.

  “I am. But war is a part of life. It cannae be avoided. We may not like it, but we had tae avenge Gall's death. It is nae an easy thing, but it must be done. I...I do wish things could be different. My brother was more eager for war than I, but the English deserve what they are getting.”

  “No, Lord Flynn deserves that. Not those men on the battlefield.”

  Drew ruminated on her words. Sarah toyed with her fingers, wondering what she should do next. Now that they had begun speaking she didn't find Drew as scary as before, although she was still keeping her distance.

  The thought of being around him was not unappealing, but she could not help but think about what would happen after. They were at war, and soon they would have to return to their roles as a Highland warrior and an English prisoner.

  Sarah would have to leave.

  Chapter 9

  Drew had been in pain but it was not enough to blind him from seeing what beauty this English girl possessed. She had stood there with the sword in her hands, her eyes sending daggers at him. He found her appealing and intimidating.

  It was stupid of him to think that he could use his legs after sustaining such an injury. But it was worth the effort.

  As she stood over him, tending to his wounds, he could see her up-close. Her hair was gold and straight, it fell over her shoulders. Her skin was fair and clear like glass. She had eyes as blue as the sea and deep too. Her dress was cut low and he could see her plump breast heave up and down as she took each breath.

  Drew wanted to free them from their holdings and devour them.

  It was wrong for him to have these thoughts and he knew it, but he found it difficult to resist them. His countrymen were at war and dying in a war the English had started. He could not betray his countrymen like his brother.

  If he was strong enough, he would hold her as a war prisoner and make her pay for the sins of her people, yet a part of him wanted to hold her.

  He knew that she also felt this way about him. He had caught her staring at him while she was tending to his wounds. The way she blushed with embarrassment every time he touched her. She bit her lower lips whenever their eyes met.

  Drew imagined those lips on his and all over his body and felt his manhood get hard. He immediately tried to brush off these thoughts from his mind.

  The pain had subsided a bit and Sarah was quiet, just staring into the distance. He could tell that she was still feeling the pain of talking about the death of her parents. Drew’s heart broke as he watched her fight back tears that were threatening to come flooding.

  “I am so sorry about yae parents. It must hae been difficult for ye growing up without parents and I see why ye hate my countrymen.” She slowly turned away from what she was staring at and turned to him.

  “Thank you,” she replied and turned her attention back to the object in the distance.

  Something in Drew wanted to tell this stranger everything that had been happening in his life before the war, his deep dark secrets. He didn’t know what it was but he could not help it.

  “Before the war began, there was a lot of bad blood in the Highlands. My brother is the heir tae the leadership position and as soon as my father died, he was supposed tae take his place as the clan leader. But my brother Blair had always been running away from leadership all his life and tae make matters worse, he did something that the clan didnae approve of.”

  Drew decided not to tell her about Rosemary as that might make her angry. As he went quiet, she turned to look at him with kind and attentive eyes and that compelled him to continue.

  “Some people thought that Blair was unable tae lead the plans and started making up conspiracy theories. Some of them came tae me about overthrowing Blair and replacing him as the clan laird. I was so conflicted, my brother is hot headed and doesnae listen to anyone and that doesnae make for a good leader. But to betray my brother is treason. Now that the war is going on, everyone is united tae defeat our common enemy but I don’t know what will happen when the war is over.”

  As Drew said those words, it hit him again why it was important for him to curb these feelings he had towards the English girl. He couldn’t make the same mistake that Blair had made. That would turn the whole clan against him, and so much more after everything he had put Blair through about marrying an English girl. It would be shameful for him to come riding hands in hands with another English lady.

  “What are you going to do about it?” she asked with concern in her voice.

  “I hae nae come to a decision. It is so hard for me; it feels like I am caught in the middle. I cannae betray my brother and at the same time, I cannae bear tae see my people suffer.

  “If father was alive, he would know what tae do. I guess I didn’t take his wisdom. I don’t know what my mother will do if her two sons turned against each other. I don’t think she can take anymore, after what our father’s death did tae her. I am so conflicted,” answered Drew.

  “I know how it feels to be conflicted but you cannot betray your blood. That will only confirm what has been said about Highlanders all these years. You have to respect your brother as the leader of the clan regardless of what the others are telling you.”

  She reached out and took a hold of his hands which running her fingers lightly along his naked flesh. This made him hard in an instant and he fought very hard to control his desires but it was too late.

  He grabbed her waist to pull her closer with a strength he didn’t know he possessed. He planted his lips on her and released all the desires he had been bottling up since he laid eyes on her.

  He wanted to be gentle with her but he could not hold bac
k. His kiss became ardent and he realized she welcomed it as she kissed him back with equally the same passion. The heat between them grew, the kiss became urgent as he slid his tongue into her mouth.

  Chapter 10

  Sarah had never been kissed before but that did not stop the fire from coursing through her body. His lips covered hers and were in full control. His tongue found every corner of her mouth and worked its magic. Her whole body came alive and she found herself lost to this stranger in ways she had never imagined.