Page 2 of A Forbidden Night with a Scot
“But I dinnae,” Alicia said. “I’d rather stay with ye.”
It wasn’t often that Samuel visited them, after all. Much to Alicia’s chagrin, he didn’t live in the castle like everyone else she knew, but only came whenever he had business with her father or simply wanted to see him. It always felt like years to Alicia, the time between his visits, even though her father assured her it was only ever months, sometimes mere weeks, and so she wanted to make the most out of them. Perhaps if they spent enough time together, Samuel would come to realize that she would be a great wife for him. It was true that she wasn’t the best at embroidery or painting or any of the feminine skills her governess was trying to teach her, but she climbed up trees faster than anyone she knew and she was very good and fast at reading.
Her skills seemed to impress everyone else. They were bound to impress Samuel, as well.
“I’ll come an’ get ye an’ yer sisters later,” Samuel promised as he stood. “An’ I’ll teach ye how tae ride a horse.”
“We already ken how tae ride,” Alicia said.
“Who taught ye?”
“Nerian.”
“Nerian doesnae ken his left foot from the right,” Samuel said, and Alicia frowned, thinking that surely a man Nerian’s agewould know. Even Katherine knew her left foot from the right and she was younger than Alicia. “I’ll teach ye how tae ride well, alright?”
Alicia didn’t dare refuse. For all she knew, that was all the interaction she would get for the day, and in a few days, Samuel would be gone. If she could spend some time with him, even if during said time she had to share him with her sisters, then she wouldn’t let the opportunity slip through her fingers.
“Alright,” she said with a nod. “But I dinnae wish tae play with Finlay anymore today. I’ll go an’ see if Mrs. Callahan made any tarts.”
“Save one fer me,” Samuel said as he walked away, smiling at Alicia over his shoulder.
Alicia watched him leave before she dragged her gaze to the grass surrounding her, frowning when she saw something shiny there. With careful fingers, she picked it up only to see it was a pin—a small pin Samuel wore, with a simple, carved design.
For a moment, Alicia thought she should chase him and give it back, but then she shoved it discreetly in her pocket. Now, every time she would miss him until they were married, she could look at the pin and remember him.
CHAPTER ONE
May, 1508
The Dolphyn Tavern
Alicia’s headstone was bound to readHere lies Alicia MacCallum, who died of foolishness at the age of three and twenty.In fact, it was a marvel she had survived this long. Even she knew as much, despite the fact that she was always careful and would not let any harm come to herself.
This time, she was definitely going to die.
She could make her peace with it. The only problem was that her little sister, Katherine, had insisted on coming with her, refusing to take no for an answer. For someone who claimed to hate trouble as much as Katherine did, Alicia thought she surely went out of her way to follow her right into its clutches.
“We’re nae goin’ in there,” said Katherine as the two of them stood right outside of the tavern, looking at its dilapidated walls. It was a wonder the building was still standing. The roof had suffered many storms, new planks patching up the holes they had left behind haphazardly, and the entirety of its exterior smelled of alcohol and excretions, resembling a barn more than it did a tavern. The building itself even seemed to lean drunkenly to the side, half of its walls sinking into the soft earth where it stood.
“We must go,” Alicia said, nodding once decisively. They had already come all this way, stealing a horse from the stables and sneaking out of the castle in the middle of the night. It had been no easy task. It involved not only secret passages and walking through several patches of wet mud, but also bribery in the form of gold and flirting with the guards, and Alicia refused to let all that hard work go to waste. She would not go back empty-handed.
“We cannae go,” Katherine insisted, her green eyes wide and fearful in the dark as she grabbed Alicia’s arm. “We will die in there!”
“Ach, naething will happen,” Alicia assured her, though she too was certain they would die in there. “Come. It will only take a few minutes an’ then we’ll go back home.”
Alicia didn’t know if she was trying to convince her sister or herself more. Both, perhaps, as her legs refused to move even as she tried to take a step. The night around them was cool, but not cold, the sky above clear and filled with stars. The small townwas quiet at that time of the night, save for the ruckus that came from the tavern, which seemed to be filled with people drinking towards the dawn.
I said I would dae it an’ I will. I didnae come all the way here tae go back without the book.
Drawing a deep breath, Alicia took the few steps that separated her from the door and opened it, revealing a large, square room that was dimly lit by torches on the wall and a roaring fire in the fireplace at the far wall. People seemed to occupy every single table in the room—men mostly, with only a few women among them, who went from table to table, entertaining them or pouring them more wine and ale. The moment Alicia stepped through the door, everyone there seemed to stop whatever they were doing to stare at her, their eyes scrutinizing and their gazes making the small hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight.
“We will die here,” Katherine hissed in Alicia’s ear, and Alicia elbowed her in the ribs before she grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a table at the very back of the room, from where they could see the entire place. There wasn’t much Alicia could do if one of those men decided to harm them, after all, but she hoped they would think twice before doing that.
Why should they harm us? We are merely sittin’ here.
“Why did ye have tae arrange this meetin’ here out o’ all the places?” asked Katherine as she took the seat across from her, frowning in disgust when she lowered herself onto the sticky chair. Alice didn’t even want to question what it was that made itso sticky in the first place. “Ye could have arranged it somewhere else!”
“Where?” Alicia asked. There was nowhere else. She wasn’t meant to have this book at all, and so she couldn’t simply receive it at the castle. She didn’t want to arrange a meeting somewhere where there were no people, either, as she didn’t know what kind of man would bring it to her. At least in the tavern, there were people around. He would not harm them. “This was the only place. Dinnae fash. Everythin’ will be fine.”
