Page 55 of Bride takes a Scot

Claude spoke with excitement, “I cannot wait to show Friar Faelan what we found. Who do ye think the objects belonged to?”

“Did your grandda ever mention what might be buried?” Isabella let Noah run free. He veered around them, passed Lorcan, and spread his arms as if he were a bird soaring through the sky.

“He told me stories of when King MacBeth ruled the land and brought back relics from Rome. He gifted some to my grandda’s relatives and because they were at war, but many of the objects were secreted away or taken when they were invaded.” Claude appeared boastful in his ability to recite his family history.

“They are beautiful objects.”

Before they walked past the gate, Claude stopped and said, “I am going to show these to Friar Faelan. Maybe he’s returned from his duty. We should keep the relics in the chapel. I will ask Declan when he returns if we might keep them in a place of honor there.”

“I think that is a splendid idea, Claude.” She glanced at the dust covering her garments and noted how dirty Noah appeared. “Noah and I are going to wash at the loch.”

Claude began to walk away but turned back to her. “It is starting to rain. Ye should return to the cottage with me.” As he spoke, she noticed several people heading toward their homes.

“It’s only a little drizzle. I feel so vile after being in that cave. I pray I don’t have a spider or two on me. I shan’t be long.” Isabella kept hold of Noah’s hand and reverted her direction. She headed for the loch and on the approach, the water was still tranquil.

Lorcan followed her, but he kept his distance. When they reached the loch, the soldier remained by the tree line. She hoped to get Noah in the water, but he balked and scurried back on the bank. He sat with his legs folded and skipped rocks that he found near him. She smiled when he celebrated a good throw with a grunt.

Noah was beginning to make more sounds from his throat. She surmised that Noah might even hear a little sound because he’d turned at noises. Of course, he might just be sensing noises from vibrations. Isabella meant to talk to Declan about it, but with him gone so much, she had forgotten. If Noah could heareven the slightest noise, that gave her hope that he would speak when he was ready.

Isabella removed her overdress until she only wore her shift. The water was refreshing and chilly, and she washed herself as best she could without soap. “Milady, ye should not be in these waters by yourself. ’Tis dangerous.”

She jumped; she hadn’t been paying attention and hadn’t noticed Silas coming to stand next to Noah on the loch’s bank. She searched for Lorcan by the tree line, but he wasn’t there. Chills swept over her but they had nothing to do with the water.

Isabella fixed Silas with a stern look as she crossed her arms over her breasts. She hadn’t realized how see-through the thin white material of her shift was when wet. Lorcan had been far enough away, and Noah was just a boy, so it hadn’t seemed important. Now, however, she felt exposed to Silas’s gaze as if she were completely unclothed. “I am a capable swimmer and besides, I don’t intend to go out far. Please, leave me be.”

Silas smirked at her modesty, but he didn’t listen to her request to leave her alone. Instead, he stepped into the water, fully clothed, and began to progress toward her. A sense of trepidation moved over Isabella as he drew closer. There was a strange look in his gaze.

“Ye are so lovely. Does my stepbrother know how fortunate he is?” He reached out to grab her arm, but she hastened away before he could grasp her.

Isabella sloshed to the bank, her steps slowed by the water and mud sucking at her toes. It felt like forever before she reached Noah, who stood, frozen as a stone statue, with fear in his eyes and terror on his face. “Come…we…should…go.” She reached for his hand and her clothing. Even that felt slowed, as if she couldn’t move fast enough and couldn’t get away.

Before she could collect her overdress from the ground, Silas grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She gaspedand tried to jerk away from him, but he was stronger than he looked.

Noah growled and seemed to suddenly come to life as he ran at Silas and pulled at the man’s tunic. Silas shoved the lad and Noah fell back. Isabella heard the thump of his head as he hit the ground, and then he lay on the bank, unmoving. “Noah!” Rage filled her. “Let go of me. Let me get to Noah!” Isabella huffed as she struggled against Silas’s grasp, but he gripped her arms and pulled her against him. She could feel his arousal pressed against her bottom.

“Ye are mine now, sweet,” he purred in her ear.

“I am not yours. Release me, Silas. Noah is hurt and I need to see to him.” Isabella gained her freedom but only briefly, as Silas yanked her off her feet and carried her into the water.

“Let the cretin be. All I want is what ye freely give to your husband. I deserve no less.”

No! How could this be happening? She tried to swing out and strike him, or kick him, to no avail. She had nothing with which to protect herself but her words and her voice. “If you hurt me, Declan will never forgive you.”

Silas bellowed a laugh. “I care naught. He will be dead soon and then ye will need my protection.” He kissed her face and she winced.

She screamed and didn’t stop in hopes that someone nearby would hear her. Isabella jerked her body back and Silas lost hold of her. She sank into the water until fully immersed. Kicking, she tried to swim away from the man but when she rose to breathe, he was there, and he pressed her head back under. She couldn’t breathe. Panic ensued, and it seemed like a miracle when she was able to get her head above the water. She drew in a deep breath but once again Silas forced her back under. She could hear his laughter reverberating even through the cold, dark water surrounding her.

She was terrified that he wouldn’t let her live. When Silas pulled her up from the water and against his chest, Isabella screamed into his face as loud as she could. He grinned sinisterly and gripped her chin in a tight hold. “Never try to keep yourself from me, sweet. I promise I will not be too rough.” He kept her lodged against him with his arm around her back and his free hand roaming her body.

Isabella continued to fight him, taking gulps of air, and shouting for help. Silas became angry with her attempts to flee him. He pushed her back under the water and she couldn’t take in enough breath when he allowed her to come above the water line.

After a time, as she floated beneath the surface of the water, she began to feel oddly comforted, as if all the peril suddenly vanished. She was dying. It was just her, and God, now. “Please, Lord, don’t take me now. Declan needs me. Noah needs me. I cannot leave them…” She prayed, as darkness began to fall over her vision.

Chapter Twenty

At the firstsighting of his fief’s gates in the distance, Declan gave a nod of thanks to God for his safe return. Though he hadn’t experienced any threats on his trek home, he was tense from being so vigilant. Confounded to learn that he shared an enemy with Campbell, especially after he’d learned that someone—one of his own men, perhaps—was trying to kill him, Declan sensed danger. He felt peril awaited him behind every tree, beyond every hill, and in every glen. The hair on his neck had prickled so many times, his skin tingled and although he’d kept a keen ear for sounds of followers, he grew watchful. The view of his gate allayed him and the tenseness in his shoulders ebbed. His men rode ahead of him and he waited until they passed the threshold before he too passed.

By the gate, he saw his grandmother who ambled along the lane. She held a wad of cloth in her arms and smiled at him. He dismounted and stood next to her when she reached him.