Page 34 of A Wife for the Highland Villain (Breaking the Highland Rules #3)

Sorcha tried to follow them into the carriage, her cloak wrapped tight around her shoulders.

“I’ll come with ye,” she said firmly.

Lily caught her arm. “Nay. Ye must stay. The men still need tending.”

“But the maids can handle that. Even Daisy is capable of keeping a few of them in line,” Sorcha argued.

“Be that as it may, ye are the most experienced among them. I’d rather someone steady keep watch. ‘Tis better this way.”

Sorcha opened her mouth to protest once more, but Lily tightened her grip on her arm, the look on her face pleading.

“Sorcha, this is possibly the most important thing I would ever need ye to do for me. Please.”

Silence lingered until Sorcha’s shoulders sagged. She nodded reluctantly.

Lily released her and stepped into the carriage.

Conall gave the order, and the driver flicked the reins. The wheels groaned, and soon the castle and its high tower shrank from view, swallowed by the distance. Lily exhaled, pressing her hands to her lap as she leaned back in her seat.

“Sorcha said that Clara’s labor began early this morning,” she said to Brigid. “If it has kept on this long, then the bairn will be coming soon. I only hope we reach them in time.”

“We will,” Conall assured her. His voice was steady, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Lily saw it and wondered if he expected some kind of trouble on the road or if it was just a force of habit.

She turned to the window a while later, watching the path blur past the carriage. She tried to force her mind to think of anything else. She would even take the scenery, at this point. But she couldn’t. Her mind kept returning to Alasdair.

And worse, she kept wondering if maybe, just maybe, he had a point.

Brigid seemed to sense her turmoil and reached across with a small smile. “Perhaps ye’ll be around to deliver Valerie’s bairn when the time comes.”

Lily’s lips quirked into the hint of a smile. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“Ye and Valerie always were the closest.”

“Daenae say that,” Lily said quickly. “If anything, she and I fought the most.”

Brigid laughed. “Fought? What do ye mean?”

Lily gave her a sidelong look. “Ye daenae remember? She once slipped fish bones under me blanket on the ship. The girl meant to kill me.”

Brigid gasped with laughter, her hand covering her mouth. “Oh, I remember now! But did ye nae dump fish innards into her bath the very next day?”

Heat rushed into Lily’s cheeks, though she tried to smother the smile tugging her lips. “So ye do remember. I thought nay one saw me.”

“I saw ye,” Brigid quipped. “I watched ye carry that bucket into her room. And I’ll never forget the sound of her scream. It was loud enough to wake Ma and Da.”

The memory pricked Lily’s heart, both guilty and warm. She could still see her parents’ shocked faces when they burst into the room.

“They’d be glad to see us now,” Brigid said softly. “Glad to see how far we’ve come.”

“Aye,” Lily whispered. “They would.”

Conall shifted closer and draped his arm around Brigid’s shoulders. “And I hope they’d be glad of yer choice of husband too.”

Brigid leaned into him, a small smile playing on her lips. “Da may take to ye, but Ma would have made ye work harder for her heart.”

Conall pressed his lips to her neck. “If it means a lifetime with ye, I’d charm Lucifer himself if I have to.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “For heaven’s sake, ye two. We are bound for a woman in labor, nae a marriage bed. Keep it in yer breeches.”

Brigid muffled her laugh against Conall’s shoulder, while Conall raised his eyebrows as if he wanted to argue. But before he could, the carriage veered near the beach, and the sea stretched wide before them.

Lily leaned forward, her breath catching.

The sea was wide, almost never-ending, and she watched it crash into the sandy shore. She could still hear Alasdair’s voice in her head, especially the way he told her he planned to take her to the beach someday.

Words could not do the image before her enough justice.

“‘Tis magnificent,” she murmured.

Brigid followed her gaze and nodded. “I never kent that a place like this existed in MacRay territory.”

Lily swallowed hard. “Alasdair told me about it once. He kent how much I loved the sea. He even promised to take me here on the day of our handfasting.”

Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked rapidly in a bid to hold them back.

“But that is all ancient history now, is it nae?” Brigid reached over to touch her arm, but Lily shook her head quickly. “Never mind me. What’s in the past stays in the past.”

The air thickened with silence. Conall cleared his throat, ready to speak, but the words froze in his mouth as a disorienting crash rocked the carriage.

A brick shattered through the side of the wagon and landed between their feet with a dull thud. Brigid looked down and screamed. Lily, on the other hand, gasped, her heart leaping to her throat.

Conall shot forward, his hand on his sword. “What in God’s?—”

Before he could finish, another brick slammed against the opposite side of the wagon, violently jerking it. The horses neighed in panic, pulling against the reins so hard that the carriage itself began to shake.

Brigid clutched Lily’s arm, her face deathly white. “Who—who is it?!”

Lily’s breath came fast, her eyes snapping to the window. She could see shadows darting along the path, men she couldn’t recognize running right behind the carriage. The wheels rolled down the road noisily.

“‘Tis an ambush,” Conall growled. “Get down!”

Another brick flew into the carriage and crashed against the wall. Lily ducked just in time, pulling her sister down with her.

“What in God’s name is going on?” Brigid cried.

Lily could not answer. She had no idea either.

“Stay down!” Conall barked as a fourth brick hit the carriage.

Lily’s heart rate quickened, and she could see the fear on her sister’s face. She tried to reach out and hold Brigid.

“Relax, Brigid,” she murmured amidst the uproar. “It will all end soon.”

Brigid clutched Lily’s sleeve. “What is going on? Why are they throwing bricks at us?”

“I daenae ken yet,” Conall muttered, his eyes sharp as he peered out the window. “Stay calm. I’ll handle it.”

Lily’s heart pounded. “Conall, wait—ye cannae go out there alone. We daenae ken what else is waiting.”

“Aye, at least wait until we get some help!” Brigid added quickly.

Conall shook his head. “If I wait, they’ll swarm us.”

Another brick hit the carriage, narrowly slipping through and landing at Lily’s feet. She looked down at it in horror.

Conall seemed to notice as well. “I’ll be back.”

He kicked the door open before either of them could stop him, ducking as another brick flew past his head. Lily crawled up to the window, her stomach twisting as she watched him stride into the open. Several men ran toward him, growling like wild hounds.

Her heart sank. She recognized their faces—twisted, furious.

“‘Tis them,” she whispered.

“Who?”

Lily swallowed. “The men who tried to kill me during the cèilidh. This must be the rest of them from last night.”

Brigid swallowed hard. “And what do they want this time around?”

“What else would they want?” Lily scoffed, her voice flat even as her chest burned with fear. “To kill me, of course.”

Brigid’s eyes went wide. “Ye’re saying that far too calmly.”

Outside, Conall swung his blade with quick precision. Lily watched him closely as he sliced through the men like he had no time to waste. He hit one man across the shoulder, felled another with a swift kick, then pivoted to slam into a third.

She didn’t know if he was able to go through them that quickly because all they had were bricks or because he was that masterful in the art of fighting.

A man ran up behind him, and she tried to warn him, but Conall saw him coming. He turned just in time to strike him down.

Lily pulled her head back into the carriage and pressed her palm to her seat, trying to steady herself. “Clara’s bairn is due any moment now. We cannae afford delays like this.”

Brigid’s face flushed. “Delays? Is that what ye call this? Yer life is in danger, and ye call it a delay?”

Before Lily could respond, a shadow fell over them.

Brigid’s eyes widened at whatever stood behind her sister, but before she could scream, a rough hand snatched Lily’s hair and pulled her backward. Pain shot across her scalp, and she groaned.

Brigid screamed as loud as she could.

Lily thrashed, clawing at the man’s wrist. When she realized that wouldn’t work, she raised her right foot and, with all the force in her, slammed it into his chest. He stumbled backward, bending over.

Lily swallowed and bit her lip to suppress a shudder. The man didn’t go down. Instead, he looked up at her and lunged forward again. The rage in his eyes could have set her on fire.

“Yer time in this clan is over, Lady MacRay,” he snarled.

What?

His voice was hoarse and thick with hatred. “So is yer time on this earth.”

Lily tried to force steel into her voice. “Take one step closer, and ye’ll regret it for the rest of yer miserable life.”

The man sneered and yanked a dagger from his belt. “And what will ye do, witch? Use yer dark powers to smite me? Poison us like ye poisoned the men at the feast?”

“I didnae poison anyone.”

“Tell that to God when ye meet him.”

Lily’s gaze darted to Conall. He was still locked in combat, his back turned to them, too far to reach them in time.

The man reached forward and seized her arm, twisting hard. “Let’s see what ye’re truly capable of, Lady Witch.”

She kicked again, but this time he barely flinched. His grip was iron-tight, and his breath was foul.

Lily was still struggling, trying to yank herself free, when a sickening crack sounded out of nowhere. She looked up at the man. A rock had hit his forehead.

A gasp escaped her lips at the sight. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he toppled sideways, collapsing onto the carriage floor with a dull thud.

Lily turned to Brigid, who stood with both hands raised in the air.

“Ye’re welcome,” Brigid said, her voice still shaky but the pride in it unmistakable.

“Where in God’s name did ye learn to throw like that?” Lily asked, panting.

Brigid’s chest heaved, but her lips curled into a grin. “Ye learn a few things when ye marry Laird MacKane.”

The unconscious man groaned faintly, blood trickling down his brow, and Lily pushed him away. He fell right onto the path, landing on a bed of grass.

The carriage door flew open, and Conall clambered back inside, his sword streaked with blood. “We daenae have time. I struck down a few, but more are coming.”

Brigid clutched his arm. “Are ye hurt?”

“Nay. But we must move now.” He signaled to the driver, who flicked the reins.

The horses lurched, and the carriage rattled forward again.

Lily sagged against her seat, her hands trembling, though she tried to hide it. The rumble of the wheels on the dirt was the only sound for a long stretch.

At last, Brigid broke the silence, her voice low. “I ken the people daenae want ye to be their lady, but I didnae ken they were so desperate that they’d want ye dead.”

Lily closed her eyes, dragging air into her lungs. Her mind screamed that Brigid had a point, but her heart thought something else.

Alasdair was right.