Page 23 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
Ian’s heart pounded in his chest, and the pain from the arrow in his shoulder was like a dull throb becoming constant. He reached for the arrow, and pulled it out, then tossed it to the ground. He could see the walls of the Castle not so far ahead from where he was, his wing of the Castle was very close to the exit to the moors, and once he rode through the open gates, there would be men everywhere.
The assailant wouldn’t follow him into the Castle, he was sure of that. As he neared the gates, another arrow hit him in the back. He groaned and lurched forward on his horse, and came crashing down to the ground.
Ian rolled past the gates, and by the time he struggled back to his feet, the rider had completely disappeared. The guards surrounding the place gathered him, and he pointed. “There is someone out there, find him and bring him to me,” he ordered and the men filed out.
He managed to enter the Castle, and as he struggled to make it to the hall where he knew his sister Rhea would be, he saw Lyall strolling the opposite corridors of the Castle on the second landing.
Ian stopped and his gaze met with his uncle’s from where he stood. He saw the smile on his lips as they stared at each other, and he knew then that his uncle had sent that man after him. Ian clenched his fists, and rage filled him as he watched Lyall turn and walk away with the woman perched to his side.
My uncle did this, I know it, but I cannot prove it.
He tried to touch his back again, as the dizziness hit him, and he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
* * *
“I am all right,” Ian said for the third time as Rhea gently cleaned the wound on his shoulder and by the side of his chest. He was lucky, the arrow hadn’t pierced deep enough to cause a major injury and that was because he had been in motion. The healer walked in on them, bowed to Ian and Rhea stepped away to allow him take a look at the wound.
“Ye say ye are all right, but every time he applies the salve, ye jerk in pain like a wee lad,” she complained and pushed his shoulder down gently so she could continue her treatments.
Ian chuckled, and angled his head so he could look at Rhea. From when he was a little boy, she had always cared for him. Rhea was three years older, but he had grown up pretty fast. When they were little, they had played together within the Castle, racing, hunting bugs and flies, and playing with sticks in place of a sword.
“Lyall did this,” he said, dragging his thoughts away from the past, and Rhea paused. “He wants me dead so he would have no one contending the Lairdship with him.”
“Well, he is wrong if he thinks he can kill ye.”
Ian nodded, and Rhea finished applying the herbs then gently covered the wound with a white cloth. Ian slipped back into his leine and buttoned it. “I dinnae want Hope to ken about what happened today,” he said. “I dinnae want her to worry about me at all.”
“We should tell Callum about this, so he is careful. I believe Lyall kens that he is on our side and he will try to hurt him or his family too. We also have to keep Orlaith away from him at all costs, so we moved her out, even if he hears of her, he cannae get his hands on her.”
Ian agreed with her. He hugged her, then left the hall and headed to his bedchamber. He found Hope standing by the window side, staring out into the open and he walked to her when she turned around, then pulled her into his arms for a warm hug.
“I woke up and ye were gone,” she whispered as she leaned her back into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her mid-section. He nuzzled her neck, and tried to bring her closer, enjoying the warmth of her body close to his.
She wore a beautiful, brightly colored dress that flowed down to her ankles. It had full, long sleeves and a low cut at the neck that exposed the creamy skin of her cleavage.
Ian turned her around and kissed her. He saw her eyes close and he admired the beauty of her delicate facial features. Her nose perched on her face in a small shape, and when she opened her eyes again, he saw the sparkle in them as her cheeks flushed.
Last night, she had been wild in his arms, and he loved it. He gently brushed back the hair falling to her face and asked, “Have ye had anythin’ to eat?”
She nodded, and he sighed. “Then we will dine together tonight, I will have the servants prepare a meal in the garden for us.”
“I would love that,” she replied, and leaned in to rest against him. Ian pulled back, and touched her cheek tenderly.
“I will be back; I have to meet with some men.”
She nodded. “Be careful,” she whispered, and he placed a kiss on her forehead before he headed out of the chamber.
Ian met with Rhea and together they paid Callum a visit so they could interrogate Orlaith and get any information that could be useful to them, and Orlaith had a lot to say about Lyall.
18
Hope joined Ian in the garden when he returned later that evening, and they had dinner together as planned. Hope laughed as Ian told her stories of his childhood, and she wished she could relate to any of them.
Growing up, she didn’t have the opportunity to experience any of the things he did with his sister. As an only child, she was alone with her nurses and servants making sure she never left the Castle because her father wanted her always within his reach.
Hope wanted a different life from what she had, and listening to Ian made her happy she had agreed to wed him. She was free, and she could do whatever she wanted here in Galloway because she didn’t need to fear her father.
“Do ye ken how to ride horses?” Ian asked her, when he spoke about riding outside the moors for the first time and the beauty of the cliffs and plains out in the wild, beyond the walls of the Castle.
