Page 6 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
Amara raised an eyebrow and stared at him. “Ye think tying a lady to a tree is honorable?” Her voice was low and even sounded pleasant, but the fire in her eyes told another story.
“If ye wouldnae have attacked us and had actually acted like alady, ye wouldnae be tied up,” Myles snarled, still not bothering to look at her.
“And how is a lady supposed to act when she’s being attacked and kidnapped?” Amara snapped back. “Ye expect me to act like one of the English lassies and just meekly do as I’m told? I’m a highland lady, ye ken!”
“We are nae kidnappin’ ye,” William broke in, frustration thickening his voice. “Ye are just bein’… delayed while the laird has a talk with yer faither.”
Amara stiffened at that.
The last time the O’Donnell and Murdoch lairds had words, one of them ended up dead. Her face paled at the reminder and William must have noticed. His expression softened and he shook his head.
“’Tis just an exchange,” he explained. “Ye for the laird’s cousin who yer faither is holdin’.”
No wonder Rhys was in such a foul mood. Nae only was one of his kinsmen bein’ held, but the man was his blood kin as well.
“Yer laird rode to meet me faither without escort or guards?” Amara asked after a few minutes. “Daenae ye think that was a bit mad?”
“What do ye call us then? Oi, Billy — she thinks ye and I arenae guards for the laird,” Myles said.
William scoffed and shook his head, “Aside fromus.By comin’ here, essentially unarmed, he’s tellin’ yer faither that he isnae there to start a war. If yer faither were to attack, he knows ‘twould start a war and several other lairds would be on our side.”
“Would also show him for the coward he really is,” Myles added.
Amara stiffened and shot a glare at Myles. “Me faither is nae a coward!”
Even as determined as she was in her tone, she doubted her words but couldn’t put her finger on why.
Myles just shrugged and continued whittling at the stick with slow, unconcerned strokes of his dagger.
“Me faither dinnae kill Laird O’Donnell,” she continued, working furiously at the knots binding her wrists now. “He is honorable and would never do such a thing.”
Neither man argued with her. Amara hissed as another fingernail split from her efforts to free herself, but she didn’t continue the conversation either.
The cold had crept into her boots and settled into her bones. Had she been able to walk around, she wouldn’t be so cold, but even though the sun filtered, albeit weakly, through the canopy above, it wasn’t enough to warm her.
She wasn’t sure how long it had been since Rhys had left, but it seemed like ages had passed by when she finally heard a horse approaching. Briefly, she hoped it was one of her clan, but when Rhys and his large black stallion broke through the trees, she gave up that small hope.
The look on his face as he dismounted sent chills of foreboding down her spine. His jaw was tight, as if he was clenching his teeth. Dark eyelashes snapped with anger as his eyes met her gaze briefly before jerking away. Color rode high on his cheeks and Amara knew it wasn’t just from the cold weather and brisk ride.
So… Faither hasnae agreed to the exchange after all.
It hurt more than she expected. A rock seemed to drop down into her belly and sat there, painfully heavy. Her throat closed up and her eyes burned. True, her father had been different toward her since the massacre, cold even, but to allow her to remain in the hands of their enemy seemed cruel. She would have never guessed that. But she needed to know for sure.
“Well?” she hissed, glaring up at him.
Rhys simply looked at his men, and they wordlessly stood to join him.
He must have a plan. He wouldnae let the O’Donnells take me.
Amara felt hope bloom in her chest. He hadn’t forsaken her. He just had another plan that would see her free but also made sure they kept the O’Donnell prisoner. Rhys had to be sour about not getting his way, and pride for her father coursed through her veins.
If this is what I need to do for me clan, then so be it.
Her eyes flashed up skyward and focused on the small sliver of blue that pierced through the canopy.For ye, Faither. I will trust this plan.One deep breath, and she exhaled somehow standing taller than she had been before. Still, she couldn’t help the kernel of doubt that planted itself in her soul and stayed there.
Rhys couldn’t meet Amara’s questioning gaze.
“Kill her for all I care.”
