Page 1 of The Highlander's Inconvenient Wife
PROLOGUE
Dearest Avery,
I do not have the time for pleasantries, even though I hope your family is well, and so is Melissa’s.
By the time this letter reaches you, I shall be in Scotland. I cannot stay in London much longer. Something terrible has happened…
I will explain everything when I reach your home.
Your loving friend,
Joan Moore
1
Lightning lit up the sky as Joan sat bolt upright in her carriage seat. Something was very, very wrong. The carriage was bumping over the road at an alarming pace; even if they were trying to make up the time, there was no reason for the coachman to be pushing as hard as they were. She had fallen asleep at the last crossing and wasn’t sure how much time had passed.
She used her hands on the ceiling to steady her body and stop her head from bumping against the hard wood. It was evident from the gap in the curtains that a massive storm was raging outside the confines of her carriage. Fat drops of rain beat against the glass with thunderous force. The sound was so deafening that she feared the glass would shatter.
Joan struggled to steady her body as she shifted over to the side and fought with the curtains for a few minutes before managing to see out the window. With her cloak covering her hair, she stuck her head out the window and yelled to the coachman, rain and wind stinging her face as she squinted. “Why are we traveling so fast?”
The ferocity of the storm drowned her voice as she looked at the trees that were passing in a blur; even the road beneath the wheels was barely visible from her vantage point. Her heart leaped in her throat when she suddenly realized that the wheel was dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. There was nothing besides a gaping void at the bottom, waiting for her to slip and fall.
Swallowing hard, she turned her face up and tried again; taking a deep breath, she yelled up to the man who was urging the horses on as if his life depended on it.
“Excuse me!” Her voice managed to reach the man as he suddenly became even more startled than he already was. The horses veered dangerously close to the edge before he gripped the reins and straightened their path.
“Get back in the carriage, Miss!” he yelled down to her with fear in his muffled voice. “It’s not safe for you to be leaning out like that!”
Joan felt her annoyance growing with the man as she gripped the door even tighter to keep her balance. Her dress was soaked from the neck down, and her muscles were beginning to ache from her efforts. “But why are we going so fast? You will throw us over the edge soon if you aren’t careful!”
“There are bandits, Miss!” The man’s panicked voice sent chills down her spine as he once again lifted the reins and urged the horses forward, yelling at them to run faster.
As if the world were moving in slow motion, Joan turned her head to see a group of men following close behind on horses. The largest of the men rode in front on the back of a white stallion. His dark hair was tied in a braid behind his head. It was clear from their kilts that the men were Scottish. Several of them sported long swords at their sides and daggers tucked into their boots.
Their fierce cries curdled her blood, making the pit of her stomach jolt along with the coach.
Her blood turned to ice when the leader caught sight of her and grinned, displaying his yellow teeth in a gut-wrenching grimace. Moving as quickly as she could, Joan climbed back inside the carriage and closed the window before ensuring that the bolt was securely in place on both doors. There was no telling what would happen to her if the men caught up to them.
The look on the leader’s face alone told her that they weren’t the kind of gentlemen who would take the belongings and go while leaving her and the coachman unscathed.
Thoughts of panic tumbled through her mind as Joan held on for dear life, praying that they’d make it through in one piece. It sounded to her as if the bandit’s horses were gaining on them when the carriage suddenly took a sharp turn, throwing her body against the door with unrelenting force.
It was a good thing she had taken the time to ensure that the door was latched; a hit like that would have very likely thrown her across whatever God-forsaken part of Scotland they were traveling through.
Regaining her footing, she quickly returned to her seat and braced herself for the worst. It was only a matter of time until the men caught up and dragged her from the carriage. Her ribs ached with a fierce throbbing from the impact. She would definitely have quite a few bruises in the morning.
If I live to tell the tale.
Minutes passed as she sat in her seat and awaited her inevitable fate. It wasn’t until the storm began to subside that she realized the carriage was slowing down. The sound of horses and yelling had also faded into oblivion. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes since she locked the door.
Perhaps we lost them.
She took a deep breath before opening the window once again and sticking her head into the misty rain that now came down in a gentle sheet. “Did we manage to shake them?” she called to the coachman after looking behind them and seeing nothing but an empty road and forest. It was difficult to see beyond the darkness that engulfed the lane they had entered.
“Yes, Miss,” he called back. “I saw an opening to a road next to a forest and decided that it was our best way of escaping. The men seemed hesitant to follow and eventually fell back.” His voice became more audible as the rain petered out to a few drops.
The clouds were clearing but did little to improve the poor visibility they were currently experiencing.
