Page 4 of A Highland Bride Disciplined

And damn him, he knew it. She saw the flicker of satisfaction before he turned forward again.

Her voice, when it came, was softer. “Then why the rush, if ye care so much? Could ye nae let me stay wi’ me kin a little longer?”

He didn’t answer for a while.

Then, with a tone that felt more business than comfort: “Because I leave for Edinburgh tomorrow, and I want ye settled first.”

Scarlett blinked. “Ye what?”

“Whiskey contracts. Trade routes. I’ll be gone a month, maybe two.”

The cold returned, this time deeper. “So that’s it? We marry, ye whisk me off to yer keep, then leave like it means nothin’?”

“It’s duty,” he said.

“Ikenabout duty,” she snapped. “But I thought —” She bit off the rest. She wasn’t about to beg for crumbs of attention.

He didn’t notice, or at least he pretended not to. “The clan depends on this. I’ll nay waste time lingerin’.”

Scarlett turned her face away, eyes on the winding path ahead.

So this was marriage.

Cold, quiet, and full of silence where warmth might’ve lived.

Until Tam stiffens. Kian also stiffened, searching the dark woods for movement.

“There,” Tam said suddenly, pointing.

Scarlett looked up, and saw a figure stumbling toward them. A woman, running hard, her skirts torn and hair in disarray.

Scarlett’s breath hitched.

Something is wrong.

The woman was breathless, pale as milk, and darting glances behind her like the devil himself nipped at her heels. Her gown was torn, hem soaked in mud.

Scarlett stood in the carriage, heart racing. “Stop! Stop the carriage!”

Tam pulled the reins hard, and the horses whinnied in protest. Kian’s head snapped toward her. “What in the hell?”

“There’s a woman! We cannae just pass her!”

By the time the coach fully halted, Scarlett had already leapt down, boots thudding on the road. The woman skidded to a stop a few paces away, eyes wide with panic, her chest heaving.

“Lass,” Scarlett said gently, lifting her hands in peace. “Ye’re safe now. What’s happened to ye?”

The woman opened her mouth, but no sound came. Her gaze flicked again over her shoulder, and that’s when Scarlett saw them.

Five men.

Coming fast over the ridge, dark shapes framed by moor and sky. Not soldiers. Ruffians. Two had blades drawn. One carried a length of rope.

“Behind me,” Scarlett ordered without thinking, grabbing the woman’s arm and pulling her close.

She felt Kian step down beside her, voice low and edged in steel. “Tam.”

“Aye.” Tam was already moving, unsheathing his sword with a hiss.