Wildly Romantic: A Multi-Genre Collection

by Lana Williams

  “So if I find and return the stolen item ye’ll spare her life?”

  “If you want to see her alive instead of hanging from the gallows, find and return the stolen good. But I warn you, I won’t wait long, so do be fast about it.” Lady Lovelle picked up her headpiece from the table and went about replacing it, and tucking her hair back into the attached net.

  “I dinna ken what was stolen,” he said. “Let me talk to me mathair, now.”

  She raised a brow, then looked toward her guard and nodded slightly as she removed the ring and put on her gloves, then once again put the ring back on her finger.

  “Let him talk to her,” she said in a cool tone. “But first he and his friends need to put away their weapons. And don’t leave her side. I don’t trust that he won’t try to take her from us.”

  “Isna thet what ye’re doin’ te me?” he asked, shoving his dagger back into his belt. He glared at her as he made his way to his mother, with Aidan and Ian right behind him. “Mathair,” he said, reaching out and running a hand through her hair. “How could this be true? How could ye, such a gentle lass, e’er have killed a man?”

  “I’m sorry, Onyx,” she said. “I shoulda been honest wit’ ye from the start. There are so many things ye need te ken, and now ’tis too late fer me te tell ye any o’ them.”

  “I dinna understand,” he said. “Jest tell me what is this stolen item they are lookin’ fer? Do ye even still have it after all these years, or did ye sell it fer coin?”

  “I planned on sellin’ it, but jest couldna,” she told him. “Aye, I still have it. ’Tis a book, Onyx. A very special, expensive and rare book.”

  “Then tell me where it is and I will get it so they’ll release ye.”

  “They’ll never release me, son, so dinna believe it. I am goin’ to die becooz o’ what I did. I killed one o’ the king’s baron’s, but only becooz he killed me husband.”

  “I willna let thet happen,” he promised. “If they so much as touch a hair on yer head, I will avenge those who harmed ye, I swear I will. And I will avenge the people who killed me faither as well.”

  “Nay.” She shook her head sadly. “I avenged his deith and look where it got me. I willna let ye do the same, especially fer me deid husband.”

  “He is me deid faither as well,” he reminded her.

  “Nay. He is me deid husband, Onyx, and leave it at thet.”

  “What does thet mean, mathair?” He shook his head, not understanding what he was hearing and sure he wasn’t going to like her explanation.

  “That’s enough,” said the guard, grabbing his mother by the arm and leading her out the door into the cold, night air.

  “Wait!” he called, following after them. “I will find the book and bring it te ye,” he said. “Just dinna hurt her.”

  “You don’t know where it is,” said the guard. “Now just accept the fact your mother is going to get what she deserves.”

  Onyx knew if he just let them walk away with his mother, he’d never see her alive again. And she was being so stubborn, that there was no way she was ever going to tell him where to find the damned thing. He didn’t understand why.

  “Ian,” he said softly so no one could hear. “Go get our horses from the stables and be quick aboot it. Aidan, stay near me and have yer sword ready.”

  “What are ye doin’?” asked Ian.

  “Jest do it,” he said, “or me mathair is as guid as deid.”

  Ian rushed off, and Aidan leaned over and whispered into his ear. “I dinna have me sword, only me dagger.”

  “Why the hell no’?” he whispered back.

  “This was a birthday celebration, no’ a battle. Besides, I . . . fergot it in the stables when I was . . . celebratin’ earlier.”

  “Then figure out a way te get one, becooz we’re goin’ te need it.” He followed after the guards who were now lifting his mother up onto a horse.

  “Tell me where te find the book, mathair, please.”

  “Ne’er,” she said, and spat at the guard. The guard lifted a hand to hit her, but when he heard the sword of Storm MacKeefe as well as several other Scots being pulled from their scabbards, he stopped.

  “I wouldna do thet if I were ye,” said Storm in warning, and the man lowered his arm.

  “What difference does it make?” asked the guard. “She’ll be dead in a few days time anyway.”

  “No’ if I can help it,” said Onyx under his breath. He saw Ian bringing the horses around, and knew he had to do something fast. Lady Lovelle walked past him just then, and he reached out and grabbed her, holding his dagger under her chin and backing away from the English guards. She screamed, and got the attention of every man there.

  “God’s eyes, what are ye doin’?” asked Aidan from behind him.

  “Did ye find a bluidy sword yet?” he growled back at him. “If no’, it would be a really guid time te do so.”

  “Onyx, what are ye doin’?” asked Storm. “Dinna be a fool!”

  “I’m gettin’ the answer I need,” he said. “Now Mathair, tell me where te find the book or I’ll kill her, and I’ll be joinin’ ye at the gallows as well.”

  “If ye dinna get the rest o’ us killed first,” complained Aidan. With one quick kick, he’d claimed the guard’s sword from his hand before the man knew what happened. He then held it forward to protect Onyx. “I’ve got me a sword,” he said, “now what the hell do we do?”

  “I’m thinkin’,” said Onyx.

  “Well, ye better think faster, as I’m no’ sure how long they’ll put up wit’ this.” Aidan held the tip of the sword toward the guard who was attempting to get it back.

  Ian rode up behind them with their horses just then, and threw Aidan his sword he’d retrieved from the stables. Aidan held one sword in each hand, and Ian sat atop the horse with his sword drawn as well.

  “Nothin’ like a little birthday excitement, I see,” said Ian under his breath.

  “Dinna kill her, Onyx,” said his mother. “Dinna be a damned fool. Ye’ll never get away wit’ it.”

  “Then tell me where te find the book.”

  “It willna matter, they’ll kill me anyway.”

  “Nay, I guarantee they willna.”

  “Dinna lose any sleep o’er it, son,” she told him. “But then again, ye ne’er did sleep well unless ye were on the hard ground.” Onyx just nodded his head and smiled, letting his mother know he understood the message.

  “I’ll get the book and bring it back, but in the meantime, I’ll take some assurance with me thet me mathair willna be harmed before me return.”

  He pulled Lady Lovelle with him, holding her by one arm as he mounted his horse. Aidan backed toward his own horse, holding a sword in each hand, waiting to take down anyone who dare try to come after them. Ian held his sword out as well, as his horse nervously jostled beneath him.

  Onyx then pulled the woman up on the horse after him, putting her in front of him, still holding his dagger to her throat.

  “Get them,” shouted the guard, and Storm’s sword was up, and the English faced off with the Scots.

  “Nay!” shouted Lady Lovelle. “Everyone put down your swords now. No one needs to die because of a crime committed so long ago. I’ll go with him if it means I’ll get my mother’s book back. Do you hear me? I’m going of my free will, so nobody needs to fight.”

  “Baroness,” said her guard. “We are sworn to protect you. We can’t let them take you.”

  “You’re also sworn to pay fealty to me, and I order you to take the woman back to England and wait for my return.”

  “He’ll kill you,” snarled the guard. “Please, don’t give us such an order.”

  Onyx felt her body tense in his arms, but she kept her calm composure. “If we don’t return in a sennight, then kill the woman, as I’ll most likely be dead,” she instructed.

  “We can’t allow this,” said the guard. “It’s much too dangerous. You can’t take the risk. You might be harmed.”


  “I give the orders,” she snapped, “and I’ll not be told what to do. It’s a risk I’m willing to take, now go . . . before I tell the king you all have defied me and it will be a risk for you instead.”

  They hesitated, and spoke softly amongst themselves, and Onyx didn’t think they were going to agree. This was a risky move on the baroness’s part. He’d never met such a brave woman to do something in such a manner. The English on one side, the Scots on the other, each had weapons in their hands and were ready to fight at any instant. Then, the baroness’s guard looked up and answered for them all.

  “Aye, my lady, we beg your forgiveness. Your word is our command.” The guard bowed, then gave the order for the others to follow, and they headed off quickly with his mother in tow. The Scots stood and watched, and slowly lowered their weapons only after the men were out of sight.

  “Aidan, let’s go,” shouted Onyx, turning his horse and following Ian. Aidan jumped atop his horse and they headed away towards the Highlands just as the bells of the nearby church started ringing, signaling that the new year was here.

  “Happy bluidy birthday te me,” Onyx mumbled under his breath, thinking this was the worst birthday he’d ever had in his life.

  Chapter 4

  Lovelle looked over her shoulder, and in the moonlight she could see her men as they headed in the opposite direction toward the border. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, and she was so frightened she thought she would swoon. If there had been any knights present, they wouldn’t have abided by her wishes. But these men were all footsoldiers and easy to control. That’s why she’d chosen them to come with on this journey to begin with. She knew it was risky, and any knight would never abide by an order like she’d just given. She was lucky to have obtained some of the king’s soldiers’ tunics to give her men to wear, to scare the Scots into holding back from attacking.

  She raised her chin and kept her cool composure, not wanting her captors to see her fear. She did what she had to do to keep a bloody battle from breaking out.

  The man named Onyx had his arms around her as they rode much too fast through the darkened night, heading North toward treacherous terrain. Her body jolted up and down, and though the man had lowered his dagger, his hand still gripped it around her waist, while his other hand held onto the reins.

  The moonlight shone off the hilt of his dagger, and she noticed the dark, cracked stone with the jagged light line running through it. She had no idea what real color it was since her world was mostly in black and white.

  The dagger was ornate, and looked very expensive. She knew these Highlanders were simple men, living off the land, and wondered where he’d obtained such a luxurious weapon. The night was cold, and though she had her fur-lined cloak wrapped around her, the Highlanders only wore their plaids and billow-sleeved leines, but no cloaks at all. They went over bumpy terrain, and she almost fell off the horse since they were moving so quickly. She reached down to steady herself and grabbed onto his leg in the process. She felt his legs gripping around her body tightly to keep her from falling.

  “Och,” he said, “ye dinna need to feel up me plaid at a time like this. And ye ken yer hat almost took out me eye. Careful how ye swing yer head me bonnie cailin.”

  She quickly pulled her hand away at his words, and placed them on the saddle horn. She didn’t like being scolded or accused of trying to grab him, but she did like the way he called her a bonnie cailin. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she knew bonnie meant pretty, and that was good enough for her. Especially coming from a man who was her enemy. Her own husband had never taken the time to call her any endearment, let alone pretty. It felt good.

  “I’m not feeling you up,” she told him in her defense, noticing his bare legs sticking out from under the plaid. He wore tall, leather boots tied around his legs with some kind of cord, which covered most of his bare skin.

  “Where are we goin’ Dagger?” asked his friend named Ian with the dark hair, as they made their way up the mountains.

  “Aye, and why didna ye bring along a lassie fer me?” asked the blond one who they’d told her was named Aidan.

  The men both had wide chests and thick necks and she was certain muscles – big ones – under their clothes. She felt suddenly very foolish for telling her guards to leave her with them, but she hadn’t had a choice. She couldn’t allow a skirmish to break out, especially since she’d seen children and women in the pub. Even if they were Scots, they were still innocent people. She wasn’t the heartless bitch she knew Onyx probably thought she was right now.

  “We’re goin’ te the Highlands. The MacKeefe camp te be exact,” he told them.

  “Why there?” asked Aidan. “I didna hear yer mathair say anythin’ about our clan’s home.”

  “She didna,” he explained. “But by her words I think I ken exactly where te find this book.”

  They rode in silence throughout the night, and as they climbed the mountains and the air became thinner, Lovelle found herself getting light-headed and tired. The snow fell softly around them, and before too long she felt herself dozing off. She jerked once as she almost lost her balance, and Onyx pulled her closer, his arm protectively around her. Then she must have slept, because the next thing she knew, they’d stopped, the motion jarring her awake.

  When she realized her head was leaning back against his chest, she sat upright and her spine went rigid. “Why are we stopping?” she asked, looking around, but not seeing any kind of a camp. They were in the mountains now, and she could hear the trickling of a brook nearby.

  “The horses need te rest, and Aidan needs te piss,” said Onyx, slipping off the horse to the ground.

  “Dagger, did ye have te tell her thet?” complained Aidan, getting off his horse and heading quickly to a tree. He didn’t bother to conceal himself, but rather just lifted his plaid and did his business. Lovelle turned her head and looked the other way.

  “We’ll camp here fer the night,” said Onyx, reaching up and putting his hands around her waist. He didn’t wait for her permission, but instead lifted her up and out of the saddle. Instinctively, she put her arms on his shoulders as he placed her on the ground. He’d moved so quickly that she lost her balance and ended up falling against his chest.

  She could feel his warmth right through his clothing though it was a frigid night and he was only half dressed. When she grabbed for him, his leine opened slightly, and she felt his chest hair tickle her cheek. She pushed back quickly, and her loose hair fell across one of her eyes. That’s when she realized he must have removed her headpiece while she’d slept, as he’d complained about it earlier. She was appalled by his bold move and was about to reprimand him, but his next action left her speechless.

  He reached out gently and pushed the stray strands behind her ear, and when the ends stuck to her mouth, he took his thumb and brushed it quickly over her lips to push that strand away as well. To her surprise, she felt a tingle rush through her body. Something she’d never felt the entire eight years she’d been married to the baron. She gasped slightly, and looked up. Their eyes interlocked, and in the moonlight she could see the intensity of his gaze.

  “How is it ye can look me in the eyes and no’ be repelled like everyone else?” he asked softly.

  “Repelled by what?” she asked, curiously.

  “Me demon eyes, lassie. Dinna ye see the devil in them like e’eryone else does?”

  She looked into his eyes again and realized that one was quite a bit lighter than the other, and wondered how she had missed this fact earlier. She knew now that they must be two different colors. Since she only saw in black, white, and tones of grey at night, she had no idea how odd they probably really were.

  “Your eyes don’t scare me,” she said, pushing away from him and playing with her gloves.

  “Then what does?” he asked. “Dinna think I couldna feel yer body shakin’ like a leaf against me as we rode.”

  “I . . . I was just cold, since you took it upon yourself to remov
e my headpiece.” She rubbed her hands together to prove her point, though she had really been warm while pressed up close against his body and in his embrace.

  “Ye are wearin’ gloves,” he said, and shook his head. “And ye are no’ a verra guid liar.”

  “Not as good at lying as your mother, I suppose,” she spat.

  She knew she’d made a mistake in saying that as soon as she saw the scowl on his face. His eyes bore into her, and even without color, they were threatening. Now that she thought about it, he did look a little demonic. Or like a madman anyway. She would do good to remember not to anger him while they were on this little adventure. She was alone in the dark with three madmen, and she’d seen how lustful they were by the girls they were bedding in the stables earlier. She had no idea what she’d do if they decided they were still feeling randy.

  “What did you do with my headpiece?” she asked, pulling back her long hair and twisting it into a knot.

  When he didn’t answer, she walked over to the travel bags attached to his horse. “Is it in here?”

  “Dinna bother, lassie, as it’s no’ there. I tossed it te the earth rather than te keep dodgin’ it as we rode. If ye want te find it, ye’ll have te search at the bottom o’ the mountains.”

  “Damn you,” she spat, opening the bag anyway to see what was inside. “I’m hungry,” she complained, wishing for a meat pie or game hen in almond milk right now. Or at least a bit of sweet seed cake to fill the emptiness of her stomach. “Is there anything in here to eat?” It was too dark to see, and she slipped her hand inside to feel around, then screamed as she heard a hiss, and something scratched against her gloved hand.

  “Tawpie?” Onyx hurried over to the travel bag and stuck his hand inside, and lifted out a kitten by the scruff of the neck. He held up the cat like a bitch holds her pups, and he looked at her and actually smiled. “Ye were scared by me little, helpless kitten?” he asked.

  He looked devilishly handsome in the moonlight and she could see the white of his teeth. A deep chuckle resonated in his throat. She was sure her cheeks were full of color, and it wasn’t from the cold.