Page 47 of The Highlander's Inconvenient Wife
“I think they have moved on already,” MacAdair said as he drew up next to Jasper on his horse. “We shouldn’t be far behind though if we follow their tracks.” He pointed to the opposite end of the clearing where some thistles had been flattened. “That’s the last place where I saw her.”
Clenching his jaw, Jasper felt his anger growing once again. He’d set his hopes on the fact that Joan would be wating for him there, either with Grandison or on her own after managing to escape. The fact that MacAdair had just let him take her away made him even angrier. “Ye sure they were here?” he asked as his suspicions suddenly took over.
“Aye, this is where I left the lass. Edwin took her into the woods in that direction,” he continued to point to the other end of the clearing.
Jasper examined the ground once again before losing his temper. Reaching up, he gripped MacAdair’s shirt and pulled him down until the man was hanging off the side of the horse. “I swear, MacAdair, if I find that ye have been leading me away from Joan instead of toward her, I’ll finish what I started in the stables.”
“I deserve that.” The man met his gaze without a trace of fear in his eyes. “I deserve to lose me life after placin’ the lass in danger. I should have made sure a’fore I acted harshly, but I am tryin’ save her now. I am tryin’ to do the right thing. I ken that ye daenae have any reason to trust me, but believe me when I say that I want nothin’ more than to return her to ye.”
Jasper examined the man’s eyes and noticed the honesty and regret that swam in the blue depths; letting go of his shirt, he allowed the man to straighten himself in the saddle. “Very well,” he nodded. “We will follow the tracks,” he said before walking over to his horse and mounting the stallion again. “But I swear, I’ll end ye if anythin’ happens to her.” He glared at the man who stood his ground.
“I can assure ye, MacShaw, that I will be endin’ me own life if anythin’ happens to the lass,” he said with conviction that had Jasper wondering if MacAdair knew the pain Jasper was feeling before turning his head toward the opposite line of trees. “Let’s track them down and save yer lass a’fore either of us decide that the time has come for me to leave this world,” he suggested unironically before urging his horse in the direction of the flattened thistles.
Jasper watched the man trot toward the trees before following suite. He admired the determination and lack of fear the man showed despite the high stakes of the situation at hand. Perhaps Darragh was right — MacAdair was an honorable man.
“Over there!” the laird suddenly shouted after they had gone a few feet into the trees. “The carriage went in that direction!” he yelled before forcing his horse in the direction of the tracks.
Finally.
Jasper felt a wave of relief as they set off at a gallop. Soon Joan would be back in his arms where she belonged.
24
Gaining ground on the carriage, Jasper pulled his horse up beside the driver while MacAdair brought up the flanks. “Stop the horses!” Jasper called to the driver as he stood in the stirrups, pulling himself up to his full height while trying to maintain his balance on his horse.
“Are you mad?” the man called back with an English accent. “We are on the edge of a cliff, man! You are going to kill us all; go and find another carriage to rob!”
Jasper struggled to hear what the man was saying above the deafening sound of the horses’ hooves beating against the hard road that led across the mountain pass. Realizing that he was wasn’t going to convince the driver to stop, he fell back and attempted to peer inside the carriage. His view was partially marred by thick curtains that were bouncing back and forth.
“I’ll circle around an’ try stop the driver!” MacAdair called to him as he reined his horse in and took a detour. “Ye focus on the lass!” His horse reared and neighed in protest before he disappeared behind a large tree that signalled a fork in the road.
Jasper’s heart stopped beating as he spotted Joan’s face in the carriage through the curtains. She had pressed her nose against the glass and was crying out to him before Edwin’s snarling face appeared and pulled her back. Picking up the speed once again, Jasper brought his stallion closer to the carriage and reached for the door. The ground beneath his horse’s hooves was moving so fast that everything seemed to pass in a blur.
Noticing what he was trying to do, the driver yanked on the reins, causing the carriage to swerve to the side as Jasper almost lost his grip, seeing the rumbling earth come into focus beneath the horse. Pulling himself up right at the very last second, he avoided a massive rock on the road. Shaking off the near-death experience, he brought his horse closer again and reached for the handle of the door. Making contact this time, he quickly steadied his grip and jumped from his saddle, steadily placing his feet on the bottom step with a single hop.
“Jasper!” he heard Joan gasping in shock as a scuffle ensued inside the carriage. Feeling a burst of motivation brought on by her scream, he gripped the roof of the carriage as he secured his grip on the handle of the door. The carriage rattled over a bump, causing his foot to slip for a second before he regained his footing.
“You people are barking mad!” the driver’s voice floated down to him as he suddenly noticed MacAdair in the driver’s seat, fighting for control of the horses. It wasn’t long before the laird gained the upper hand, shoving the man off the side of carriage.
Jasper looked back to see the driver diving headfirst into a thicket of overgrown heather before popping up again. The speed of the carriage made him appear as nothing more than a dot in the distance as they charged forward.
“It will be a while a’fore I can slow them down!” MacAdair brought his attention back to the carriage. “I suggest ye go ahead with whatever plan it is that ye have!” His voice was barely audible over the thunderous rumbling of the wheels.
Shaking off the distraction, he made sure of his grip on the roof before yanking on the handle of the door with all his might. A sharp crack let him know that he had been successful in breaking the lock on the door before the wood swung on its hinges, exposing the interior to the cool evening air.
“What the devil!?” Edwin called out in anger as Jasper swung his body into the carriage with the broken door shutting behind him with a deafening thud.
“Jasper!” Joan called out in a tone that was far more relieved than before. “I knew you’d come for me!” She seemed to want to launch herself into his arms before Grandison’s arm shot out, barring her path.
“Don’t think you’ve won!” Edwin snarled as he lunged at Jasper with his dagger in hand, knocking him into the seat with force.
The confines of the carriage made for a tight fit as the men scuffled for control, wrestling each other in a mass of tangled arms and legs.
Jasper could see out of the corner of his eyes that Joan was making herself as small as possible, pressing her body against the carriage wall beside the opposite door. Wincing from the pain of the man bearing down on him with all his weight, Jasper gripped the man’s wrist just as the blade came close to his face. The needle-like point slowed just a few inches from the tip of his nose, barely scraping his skin as the carriage sped on.
“I won’t let you take her from me…” Edwin growled through his clenched teeth. “She’s mine! You will have to find yourself some other prize to keep locked in your dungeon!” The spittle at the corner of his mouth spoke of the unhinged nature of his mind.
“Joan doesnae belong to anyone!” Jasper yelled back with his eye on the tip of the blade that was getting closer with every bump of the carriage wheels. Gaining leverage with his feet on the opposite seat, Jasper kicked with all his might, sending Edwin barrelling into the opposite door that opened with a sharp crack in the same manner as the previous one. Tiny splinters of wood sprayed the air as the remnants of the lock fell into the void below.
