Page 51 of Captured By the Highland Devil
The little girl sobbed. “I cannae find me maither.”
Crouching, she reached for the lass. “Tell me, what is yer maither’s name?”
“Mama’s name is Elspet,” the girl said, sniffling. “Me name is Hanna.”
Looking around, Paige tried to find a woman, any woman, who looked like the girl. “When did ye last see yer maither?”
That late in the day, most of the people from the fair were gone to their homes, and some of the shopkeepers were closing theirstalls. She looked over to Ruben while he was bartering with the horse breeder.
Turning to the little girl, she took a chance. “Where was the last place ye saw yer maither?”
“Over there,” the girl pointed to a far end of the field that had some outhouses and tall grass; beyond that was a forest. It looked like there was a path leading into the woodland too.
Could it be that the woman had wandered off, or had someone taken her away?
“Let’s go and see if we can find her.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ruben’s head turned to Paige—when she was half the field away, a child at her side.
“Lass!” he shouted at her back. “Stop!”
When she did not hear him, or if she did and did not care to answer, he turned to the salesman. “I’ll be back. That geldin’ is mine.”
“God’s blood,” he swore under his breath. “What is that foolish lass doing? And where are the damn guards who are supposed to be with her?”
With a mental note to castigate her missing guard, he broke off into a trot, following his wife. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him—Williams and his guardsmen, following their laird—but he did not heed the sound. He could already hear the harsh reprimands he would give her the moment he got her back to safety.
“Paige, where are ye—” he rounded the line of outhouses to see three men grabbing at Paige, trying to haul her atop a horse.
Two men were trying to shove her into the hold of another man atop horseback. To her credit, Paige was fighting with all her might, jabbing her boots into the men’s face. She threw her head back as hard as she could and smashed it into the horseman’s face.
An unholy rage swept through him. Ruben leaped forward on nothing but instinct and fury. Not so much as a second thought crossed his mind as he plunged asgiandubhinto the neck of one of the men who held her.
He bellowed and slew the other man before the horseman tried to haul her into his lap. Paige seized the opportunity and managed to twist as much as possible to push his from the horse.
He lurched and fell to the side, dropping Paige as he went. The third man slumped sideways in the saddle, with his foot stuck in a stirrup, but did not fall clear of the horse. His head was dragged along the ground as the horse continued to gallop away.
As he leaped to get to Paige, Williams and two more of his men ran after the horse.
“What in God’s name were ye thinkin’, lass?” he snarled. “Did ye understand nothin’ that was said to the children? They also pertain to ye!”
“I—I-” she gasped in some air, her eyes with fright as she grabbed at him. “What just happened? W-who were those men?”
“I daenae have the faintiest inklin’,” he said, looking over her shoulder. “But the men chasin’ after the last man might tell me. If he is alive that is. God, I have a mind to tan yer hide.”
Her face was still bloodless white. “I- it’s nae me fault. Who forces children to lure people into an ambush?”
“More than ye think,” he stood and pulled her with him. “It’s one of the oldest ruses for brigands, lass.”
She brushed her skirts down, “Ye think they were robbers?”
“They could be,” Ruben said as his men were returning, a wild horse and thief in tow. Only, the man was slumped over the back of the saddle, his limbs too loose for a captured man.
“Is he dead?” Ruben demanded. He was so full of rage he wanted to run the man through, but he needed to know who had sent the would-be kidnappers.
“Nay, me laird,” one of the men shook his head. “The horse threw him, and he landed on his temple. He is unconscious.”
