Page 39 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
“Ye will remain here until ye agree to be mine.”
“I will never,” she spat back, and his nostrils flared. For a moment, she feared he would hit her, but instead he released her and stepped away. Hope scurried away from him, and hugged herself tight.
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Please, please I want to go home.”
“I have no intentions of hurtin’ ye, all I want is for ye to agree to be mine.”
She looked away from him, and he continued to pace again. “I have never had a woman refuse me before,” he said. “Who are ye to think ye can be different? Any woman I want, I get.”
Hope said nothing as he continued to rant. “My nephew thinks he can oust me, but I will have ye no matter how long it takes.”
“Ian will find me,” she said, summoning courage. “I love him, and I chose to be his wife.”
Anger flashed in Lyall’s eyes, and he reached for her with force and flung her to the bed. He climbed the bed above her, and Hope fought him with all her strength. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the bed above her head, ending her futile struggle.
She swallowed and trembled, crying profusely now. “Dinnae worry, I willnae take ye without yer permission, it is nae how I like to have my women.
“I will allow ye come to me,” he said. “And ye will come to me when I kill Ian before ye. Ye will have no other choice or else I will strip ye of yer dignity and leave ye outcast in the village for every man to prey on.”
His threat left her paralyzed with fear as he pulled away, and walked out of the chamber. Hope was still frozen on the bed, unable to move when the door opened again and the servant came in and curtsied.
“The Laird has ordered no food or water for ye,” she said in a low voice and Hope watched as she gathered the plates of untouched food unto a tray.
“Please, help me. Help me get out of here and I will reward ye,” she pleaded with the servant, rushed to her feet and grabbed the girl’s hand. “Please, I beg of ye, please.”
The girl looked at her. “My husband will reward ye, he is a good man, Ian Cowan is a good man,” she continued and the girl nodded.
“I ken the Laird’s nephew, he is a good man and everyone speaks highly of him,” the girl replied, but her cold eyes or blank expression did not fade. Hope cried out again, pleading with her for a chance to escape.
The girl gathered the plates without saying anything else and rushed out of the chamber. Alone, and devastated, Hope dropped to the bed and cried. Her entire body reverberated with the tears as she hoped emptying her heart would help with the painful lurch and breathlessness she felt.
She couldn’t do anything else besides cry. Another day slowly went by, and she had no means of leaving this place. She didn’t even know where they were hiding her.
Later that night, the servant returned, and Hope rushed to her feet when she heard the door open. At first, she feared it was Lyall again, but the girl walked into the chamber and handed over a cloak to Hope. “The guards are fast asleep because I gave them something to make them sleep,” she said in a hushed tone, her eyes wide, but steady on Hope’s.
Hope’s heart leaped with joy, and relief, she couldn’t believe she had convinced the girl to help her out.
Hope’s eyes widened when she said, “Run in the left direction when ye get out of this cottage, and ye have to go fast so ye make it to the village by mornin’.”
Hope nodded frantically. From the village, she knew the way to Callum’s cottage and she could get there. “What about ye?” Hope asked the girl, stammering.
“Dinnae worry about me and go.”
“Nay, I willnae leave ye. Lyall will kill ye if he ever finds out ye helped me escape, I cannae leave ye here, ye have to come with me.”
“My Lady–”
“I insist. I have to repay this act of kindness. I promised to repay this and ye have to come with me.”
Together, both girls tiptoed to the front of the cottage. Hope saw the guards sleeping soundly, sprawled on the floor of the porch, their empty plates of food by their side. Her heart was pounding as she snuggled deeper into the cloak and took the first steps down the stairs carefully so she did not wake them.
The moment she touched the bare ground, Hope and the servant picked up their pace and ran into the darkness of the surrounding mountains, unaware of what lay ahead.
29
Hope couldn’t tell how long they wandered the valley, but she was tired, sleepy and thirsty. She tried to hang on… this girl’s life depended on her, and she could not repay her kindness with weakness. If she became weak now, then they might never find their way back to the village.
Her feet felt numb, and she couldn’t see clearly because her eyes hurt from staying awake, but she forced herself to move and take each step as it came. The girl staggering behind her missed a step and fell forward. She hit Hope, and Hope tumbled to the ground too.
