The men were not harassing the people of Clan MacTaggart, but they were making it amply clear that they could have. They did nothing that Aidan could come down on them for, keeping it to harassment and pettiness, but it was bad enough to have Englishmen in their commons, let alone Englishmen who were so set on getting what they wanted.
Reade kept his distance from Elizabeth, and he thought it was for the best until he caught her wrapped in a dark cloak, making her way to the rear gate of Doone Castle late one night.
He had been closeted with Aidan for hours, considering their position, wondering how terrible it might be to simply send the English running in open battle, and at the end, there seemed to be no resolution for it. Robert wanted his peace, and the MacTaggarts were loyal. However, loyalty had a limit, the English were finding Aidan's. There were darker matters at hand as well, and the more he and Aidan talked about the possibilities, the more worrying it all looked.
Reade was thinking of nothing more than climbing in bed with Elizabeth when he saw a thin shape hurrying along one end of the corridor. Something about the shape startled him, and before he could think twice, he gave chase. The cloaked figure moved fast, but Reade was faster, and on the steps leading down to the herb garden, Reade caught up, grabbing the figure by the arms.
"What in the blazes... Elizabeth?"
Her pale face looked up at him in the moonlight, and for a single second, all he could think of was how beautiful she was in the silvery light.
"Reade, I..."
"What in the blazes are you doing out here? Are you seriously going to try to escape? You can't think to make it through the mountains..."
She looked utterly miserable, and instead of shaking her, as had been his first instinct, Reade drew her down to sit next to him on a wooden bench. The air was warmer than it had been all month, softer and sweeter, and the night air was scented with early flowers and buds.
For a long moment, Elizabeth held herself separate from him, so stiff that he feared she might break, but then bright tears started rolling down her face.
"Elizabeth!"
Without a word, she folded into him, and Reade was helpless against her. All he could do was open his arms and let her rest against his chest, stroking her loose golden hair as she cried.
"Ah, it's all right. It's all right, lass. Don't take on so, you'll make yourself ill, won't you? Don't cry; we're not going to hand you over to your uncle."
"I was."
Reade wasn't sure he had heard clearly at first.
"What are you talking about?"
"I was going to make my way to my uncle's camp. I know where it is. It's just up and over the rise. I can make that distance in the dark without any trouble. Just... just let me go, Reade."
"For the love of all of heaven, Elizabeth, why would you do that?"
"Because... because of Mairi."
"Mairi? What has she said to you?"
"Nothing! But she came back today with a cut on her head, and at first, she wouldn't tell me why."
Reade frowned, and he realized that the chatelaine of the castle had been scarce that day. Mairi was such an integral part of the functioning of Doone Castle that that shouldn't be possible. She was as much a part of the place as the stone or the tapestries or the timber.
"What had happened to her?"
"She went out after some early mushrooms, she said. There's a girl she buys from, and she didn't think twice of going out. On the way back, she ran into some of my uncle's men."
Reade's temper rose up hard in his chest, and he had to fight it down. He couldn't afford to be an easily provoked boy anymore, not after what he and Aidan had discussed. Elizabeth's story only seemed to bear out what he suspected, so all he could do was swallow hard.
"Did they harm her?"
"She… ah, she kept saying it could be worse, but it was bad enough! They shouted at her, called her the worst names when she cursed them back, and one of them shoved her down in the dirt road. Mairi, they shoved Mairi!"
Mairi had been a pillar at Doone since he was a child, but there was no denying that she was growing frailer as time went on. She was still possessed of a strength and a humor that Reade was convinced would someday bury them all, and in that moment, Reade could have killed the men who had harassed her without a single qualm.
“Why didn't she tell us?”
“Because she doesn't want to make thing worse.” Elizabeth's voice hitched a little, but when she spoke again, she was calmer. “Because of me.”
Reade snorted.
“Elizabeth, you never touched Mairi—”
“But my uncle and his men are here because of me! They are harassing your clan because of me, and you cannot deny that!”
“They are doing what they are doing because of your uncle, Elizabeth. He is the one—”
“And if I go to him, if I... if go back to Ayr with him... it will all stop.”
Reade took a deep breath.
“I don't know if it will.”
“What?”
He hadn't wanted to tell her about all of this; he hadn't wanted to mention it to her at all, but the time had come. Not revealing the facts to her at this point would have been putting her in danger.
“Aidan and I... we think he might hurt you if you return.”
“Reade, what are you saying? He's—”
“He's a monster. And he was going to marry you to bring your mother's family, the Montgomerys into line. He and a few others, they want the war with Scotland very badly, my love, and you are the tool they will use to get it.”
“What are you saying?”
“That an advantageous marriage is one way to get his way. And another way to get his way is to make Longshanks believe that the North is vicious, brutal, and willing to kill English girls out of hand.”
Elizabeth went even paler. Reade was ready to argue with her and to make her see sense, but there was something heartbreaking about the fact that he did not have to do so at all. She understood it quite well.
“He'll kill me and blame it on you.”
“Yes. We are afraid so.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath.
“Then what am I to do?”
The answer was on Reade's lips.
“Trust me. Trust me. We will figure out something. And then I will deliver you to Devon Montgomery.”
Elizabeth stared at him.
“Is this something you have spoken of with your brother?”
“No. He doesn't know. But I will.”
“Reade... why?”
The words would not come. Instead, Reade leaned in to kiss her, drawing her close so that he could feel her warmth, her sweetness, everything that made her his. It was all the answer he could give her, and with that, she had to be content.
Even as he kissed her, though, Reade knew that this couldn't be all. Seeing her suffer like this wasn't right, and after all... he had taken a job.
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chapter 40
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When Reade took her into his arms in the room that she had all unwilling come to think of as theirs, she went willingly. Her mind was a tangle of thoughts, too much fear and anger mixed, and now she found that the love she bore for Reade and the desire she had for him as well could make that all go away, at least for a short time.
“Reade... make love to me,” she whispered, too exhausted to wonder whether it was the right thing to do, or who she might be betraying.
Reade hesitated for a single moment, but then he drew her closer and kissed her with the sweetness and the kindness that she knew existed at the very core of him. She had seen him kill men, she had seen him behave brutally in a brutal world, but she knew that with her, he would always take care.
He stripped her out of her clothes carefully, as if afraid that she might bruise, and then he lay her down on the bed with an incredible amount of tenderness. He was acting like a bridegroom on his wedding night, and she had to tur
n the thought away because it might make her cry.
“Every time I lay eyes on you, it is like the first,” he said, running his large scarred hands down her flanks, caressing her hips, her thighs, and back up to her breasts. “Every part of you is perfect.
“The truth was that she felt perfect in his arms. She felt as if the whole world could be perfect, and that was what she wanted.
He was unfailingly gentle with her that night, but unfailingly thorough as well. He explored her, he brought her to the edge of climax again and again until she was shaking with need, and it was only when she keened desperately for more that he rose above her, pinning her to the mattress with his weight.
“You are the most precious thing in the world to me, Elizabeth. I will never, ever harm you.”
When he pressed into her, she had to close her eyes against how good it felt. It was just on the perfect edge of too much, and when he started to move, this time she moved with him, her body arching even as his pressed into her. She could feel how her motions affected him, and then they were moving in perfect unison, drawing that pleasure from each other as easily as if they had been born to do it.
They climaxed together, wrapped in each other's arms, and this time, Elizabeth couldn't help the tears that slid down her face. Reade pulled away from her gently and flinched when he saw her crying.
“Elizabeth, lass, did I hurt you?”
“Never, you never could,” she said, but she could say no more.
Eventually, somehow, she fell asleep, her hand pressed flat to his chest as if she could keep him there, keep this moment exactly as it was.
* * *
Elizabeth was dreaming of home. She was in London, it was a bright summer morning, and everything was all right. She could hear her mother calling her father, and there were Benji's footsteps in the corridor. Everything that came after was a dream, and she could have laughed at how relieved she was.
Then she was being shaken, and she had to swallow back tears when she sat up because the image had been so vivid that she didn't want to leave it. Then she blinked at Reade, who was fully dressed, even though by the chill in the air, it was hours before dawn.
“Reade? What's happening? Why are you—?”
“Get dressed,” he said, and there was something so foreboding in his tone that she immediately got up to do as he said.
She was lacing up her dress when it occurred to her that he must be turning her over to her uncle. The grief and fear that struck her all at once was profound, but she swallowed it back, lifting her head as proudly as she could. She would not be returned to the man a terrified wreck.
“Are we doing this at night to prevent your clan from being upset?”
Reade glanced at her.
“What are you saying?”
“If it is for Mairi and Maisie's sake, I promise I will not make a fuss. I just want a chance to say goodbye.”
“That won't be... wait, do you think I'm returning you to your uncle?”
The look of incredulous shock on his face was enough that she blinked.
“You're... not?”
“Heaven above, what you must think of me. Darling. No. I'm taking you to Leister Castle.”
“Reade...? Does Aidan know?”
Reade wordlessly shook his head, and without thinking about what any amount of hesitation might mean for her, she seized his hand.
“What does this mean for you? Will... will he be angry? Will you be able to return home after?”
“He's going to be furious, and we will have words about it when I return, no doubt, but Elizabeth, we need to hurry.”
Elizabeth bit her lip. There was another part of her that wanted to be brave, that did not want this horrible rift between Reade and his nearest and dearest, but she knew that whatever window Reade had opened for her, it would not stay open long. Instead, she squeezed his hand hard, and then released it to dress herself as warmly as she knew how, tucking her mother's jewels under her skirts again.
They made their silent way through Doone Castle, and Elizabeth felt a brief pang at the idea that she would never return to this place. Somehow, it had become home to her, and the idea of leaving it felt entirely wrong, like she was betraying a place that she loved.
Do not be foolish. You can never return here. This is not your place, and these are not your people.
Elizabeth was oddly comforted when Reade saddled Finnian for her. The stocky gelding nuzzled at her hands as if to say hello, and she pressed her face against his, wanting to feel something warm in the pre-dawn chill.
“Why you are you doing this?” she asked Reade, as he saddled his own mare. He was still so long that she didn't think that he would answer her.
“Because I made you a promise,” he said. “Because it is not right that Aidan keep you, no matter what the situation, not if you don't want to be here.”
Something about the way he said it made her swallow hard.
“Reade... Tell me what will happen if you send me from this place? Will Aidan...?”
“We are not the English, lass, to treat our own family as if they were tools. Aidan will not be pleased with me.”
“He won't... hurt you, will he?”
“We are not English. He is no brute, and he knows that I am no traitor.”
Reade paused.
“If you will not leave, that is one thing. But the window closes, Elizabeth. If you would leave, we must leave now.”
Elizabeth felt as she had the first time she had left Blaken Keep. It felt too much, as if the world was surely too large for her. Such a decision could certainly not lie with her, but the truth at the end of the day was that it could lie with no one else in the world.
“Elizabeth?”
“I want to leave.”
Why did the words strike her heart like a blow from a hammer?
Something flitted across Reade's face, there and gone again, and he nodded. If she had only met him now, there would have been no doubt in her head that he was a blank-shield soldier, a man paid for his ability to do what needed to be done.
Together, they slipped out the small side gate to the forests behind Doone Castle. Reade locked it behind them with a care that struck her hard. He was a man who loved his family, his land, and his clan. What he was doing for her was not a betrayal, but she knew there were those who would see it as such. It went counter to what Reade believed and what he had worked for all this time.
And he is doing it for me. The thought made her feel dizzy and a little ill, but in the end, she knew she had no choice. She followed him into the forests, and she knew then, as always, she was trusting her fate to the man she had met such a short time ago.
They traveled through the dark for what felt like hours. Elizabeth kept her mind as blank as she could make it, because if she thought too much about one thing or another, she thought for certain that she would start to weep, or to become confused over it all. What might her passion for Reade convince her to do? It was too late to return to Doone, too late to do anything but move ahead. She was beyond fear, beyond pain and sorrow. She would never sleep again. All of her was focused on staring at Reade's back where he rode slightly before her. He would lead the way.
At dawn, Reade pulled his mare up to hand her a portion of hard cheese and bread. Elizabeth turned it down at first because she was certain that she could not be hungry, but then her stomach growled at her, and Reade offered her a smile that was so sweet she could feel something inside her shake loose.
“You care about me,” she said, nibbling on the cheese, and the look on his face could have broken her heart.
“Don't speak of such a thing now. Not when it's brought me here.”
She felt as if her heart would rip in two.
“Reade... I am so sorry...”
He offered her a ghost of a smile.
“Would you change it if you could?”
She closed her eyes briefly. What could he mean? Her escape from Doone Castle? His feelings for her? Asking him to
take her north? Any of it?”
“No,” she said at last. “I wouldn't take any of it back.”
“Then don't be sorry.” He swallowed hard. “I'm not.”
The words hovered between them like a storm cloud, ready to strike them both with lightning if they spoke them out loud. It was too much. They were people from different sides of a conflict that there was no way they could control, and at the end of all of it, Elizabeth knew that their days together, if not their hours, were limited.
They finished their brief breakfast in silence, but just as they were moving forward, striking out for Leister Castle, her uncle and his men arrived.
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chapter 41
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Reade knew all the sounds of the mountains and the forests, and an instant before the men were upon them, he knew something was wrong. The birds had stopped singing, and it was as if the very wind held its breath.
"Elizabeth..."
He could tell that she heard it, too, her brilliant blue eyes going wide, and she took a tighter grip on Finnian's reins, making the horse paw the ground nervously.
"Stay close to me," Reade murmured, and then men came around the bend, straight from the direction they were headed.
"No," Elizabeth gasped, but Reade was wheeling his horse around, reaching as he passed to pull Finnian's reins as well.
"Come on!" he shouted and drew back just long enough to land a hard slap on Finnian's flank. It sent the gelding racing ahead of him and his own mare, and that was what he wanted.
Behind them, Sussex's men sent up a shout, and he could hear thundering hooves and commands shouted from one man to the rest.
Reade wanted nothing more than to stand and to fight, no matter what the odds were. There was a part of him that seethed at the idea of being driven forward like some kind of prey animal while he was practically still on MacTaggart lands, but first and foremost, he had to get Elizabeth to safety. If these men managed to lay hands on her, all would be lost, so he raced ahead, making sure that Elizabeth and her mount were in front of him at all times.
Claimed By The Highlander (The Highlands Warring Clan Mactaggarts Book 1) Page 19