Page 6 of Stolen Highland Dreams (The Highlanders #9)

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A fter checking on a new foal one of the mares had birthed, Dashiell had just left the stable when Fallon, Quinn, and five more of his men galloped into the inner bailey, looking flushed and excited.

Instantly, Dashiell feared that an enemy clan was within striking distance, but he suspected if that were the case, they would have been shouting the warning all the way to the castle.

“Ruadh and some of our men saw her,” Fallon said. “Ella!”

“What?”

“And a wee lassie,” Quinn said. “She had to be about five. And Ella is of marriageable age. Ella brandished a sword at them. It wasna a weapon carried by the local citizenry.”

“And the little one? Was she armed as well?” Dashiell couldn’t help but jest about it.

His cousin was known to make up wild stories for light-hearted fun, though Quinn was more circumspect than Dashiell once they reached manhood.

“Mayhap,” Quinn said. “She could have had a wee sgian dubh in her boot.”

“Was the little one her child?” Dashiell had never thought the lass would be a mother and may even have a husband since no one had seen a man or a child with her before.

“Or a younger sibling,” Quinn said. “I’m sure they’re related as much as the man said they looked similar, though the little one’s hair was more blond than red. Ella was as protective of her as a wolf would be of its cub.”

“So where are they?” Dashiell knew they must have lost them in the forest since they had not brought them here. He was sorely annoyed with himself for not having seen her himself this morning, but he’d had to check on the new foal.

Fallon said, “Ruadh had hold of the little one’s wrist while questioning her when Ella charged out of the bracken, sword raised, and he lost his grip on the young one.”

Dashiell raised his brows at Ruadh.

“Sorry, my laird.”

“They were so startled, she caught them unaware,” Quinn said. “We were disappointed not to have been in the vicinity.”

“’Twas a good thing you hadna encountered one of our enemies.” Dashiell was even more intrigued. How would a young woman in the forest know how to use a sword, let alone own one? He hadn’t considered that before, though he recalled how she was wearing one both times he had seen her. “What did Ella say?”

“No’ a word,” Quinn said.

Dashiell was annoyed that the lassies had gotten away, but he wanted to laugh at his men for losing the lass and her charge to a sword-wielding young woman who hadn’t even spoken a word to them!

Before the sun rose, Ella collected firewood to heat the porridge while Mina, her brother, and Amelda slept. She tried not to disturb them since she figured they needed extra sleep if they hadn’t awoken.

They always cooked their food before sunrise and after sunset to lessen the chance of anyone in the woods seeing the smoke from their stone hearth. The woods were so forested that the smoke was gone before it reached the peak of the tall trees.

When she returned with the firewood, she was surprised to see Mina sleeping soundly on her bedding. She went to check on her, but she was breathing just fine.

Finnegan hurried out of bed, mouthing, “Sorry for not getting the firewood.” He left the hut to gather more timber. Once he broke his fast, he planned to head to the castle, sternly telling Amelda that she wasn’t to chase after cats or dogs in the forest.

Ella began to cook the porridge, and Amelda woke and quickly dressed. She started to help bring out their wooden bowls. Mina finally stirred. She sat up but didn’t move to get up yet, which wasn’t like her.

“Are you all right?” Finnegan asked as he brought in a load of firewood and put it in the box where they stored it.

So he had noticed the change in Mina also.

“Aye. I’m just getting old, tired, and achy. You are going to Cairn Castle this morn, aye?” Mina joined them at the table as Ella served up the porridge.

“Aye. As soon as I eat and do whatever Ella needs me to do.”

“Naught else. You need to get yerself over there early to get work. Take your clothes with you, in case you dinna return,” Mina said.

“Aye. I have my bag packed.”

Then they ate silently, Amelda still half asleep like she always was early in the morning. Once they had eaten, Amelda cleaned their bowls, and Ella hugged Finnegan.

Ella wrote: Good luck to you, brother.

Amelda hugged him too. Mina just smiled. “You will do it, lad. You have it in you to be a great warrior.”

Finnegan’s eyes widened, and his gaze shifted from Mina to Ella. Oh, heavens. She hoped he would never be a warrior after all the fighting and killing she’d seen.

“I will return if they willna take me on,” Finnegan said. “If I get work, I may no’ be able to meet you here.”

“Nay, no’ here. If anyone should follow you, it could be dangerous for us all,” Mina said.

“I will try to befriend everyone I can and see if I can find work for you and Amelda,” Finnegan said to Ella.

Ella nodded but didn’t believe they would consider employing them sight unseen. Amelda might seem too young for anyone to hire.

He smiled, waved at them, and hurried off. He seemed eager to do something other than live in the woods in the small hut. Ella understood his need to grow up and become a man.

Early that morning, Dashiell dressed and headed for the stables. As he strode through the inner bailey, his cousin Fallon, seeing him alone, approached him. “I see that you are getting ready to go somewhere.”

“Aye, aye, I am in a hurry.”

“You must no’ go out alone.”

Dashiell stared at the open gate. “I hadna planned to. Have Quinn and the rest of those who usually join us on the hunt ready themselves at once.”

“Aye.” Fallon ran his hand through his dark blond hair, a fine stubble covering his chin, and then his cousin rushed off.

Dashiell strode to the stable and waved to a groom. “Saddle my horse.”

“Aye, my laird.”

Dashiell left the stable and stared at the stone castle, then smiled as Quinn hurried outside, slipping his sgian dubh into his boot. He had expected him to join him if he was as intrigued with the woman as Dashiell was. “Are you ready for another hunt, Quinn?”

“For the forest nymph?”

“Of course. What else? This willna get you into too much trouble with the missus, will it?”

His blue eyes sparkling, Quinn smiled. “I see Lady Yvaine has spoken to you about the matter. I am just curious who this lady is, that is all.”

“That is what I told my aunt.” Dashiell’s horse was led out of the stable, and ten more of his men joined him. “We are hunting for Ella today.”

“No’ deer?” one of the men said.

“Of course, if we find a deer, we will have venison on the table this morn. Otherwise, I will be happy to retrieve the forest nymph.”

Christopher rushed out of the keep, his eyes wide. “You were no’ going to leave me behind, were you?”

“I wouldna wish Ella to take over your dreams.”

Christopher shook his head.

Dashiell would not dream about the woman again. “Now, where has the lady been sighted before?”

“Always by the stream. And always with a deer,” one of the men said. “Sometimes with the wolf pup.”

“She has the hair the color of sunset red-gold, silkily caressing her shoulders and back.” Dashiell mounted his horse, still thinking about the way her gown flowed over her hips and her breasts—she was definitely a full-grown woman, not a wisp of a lass as he first had thought.

As they headed out of the castle grounds, Quinn asked, “How do you ken that? I couldna tell with the distance we were from the lady and the way the veil covered her hair. Forest shadows danced across her features, making her appear not quite real.”

Dashiell stared at his advisor for a moment. “I could have sworn her hair was…oh, I saw her even more vividly in a dream. She had lost her veil.”

“A dream?”

“Aye, have you had a dream about the lady? Christopher says that anyone who gazes upon Ella dreams about her afterward.”

His advisor looked away. “Aye.”

“Really? Prithee, tell me what you dreamed of.” The hunting party entered the forest fringe, and an owl hooting made Dashiell smile, thinking back to his men’s words. “Mayhap, she is still an owl.”

“Aye. As I have said, the lady always accompanies a deer near the stream that runs through the Caledonian Forest, even in my dreams. I didna see the color of her hair as I was mesmerized by her gown.”

“Her léine?” Dashiell smiled. “I will have to pay more attention to her dress the next time. What about her gown interested you so, pray tell?” Although he could imagine what had captured his advisor’s eye.

“As I said before, it was green, like the color of the leaves of the trees. When I approached her, I could see delicate designs embroidered on the bodice…”

“Now I see what caught your eye.” Although Dashiell hadn’t seen the designs on the bodice, he was more entranced by the swell of her breasts.

Quinn laughed. “Just because I am married, I am no’ dead.”

Unable to conceal his amusement, Dashiell nodded. “Continue with your story.”

Everyone was listening, appearing eager to hear what the others had to say about the woman.

“Well, just once, I reached the stream without her leaving. She watched me as if she was as curious about me as I was about her. The deer stood with her as if it was unafraid of me. When I stepped into the water, the lady dropped her flowers into the stream and disappeared. And the deer also. Right before my eyes.”

“You have dreamed of her on more than one occasion then?”

“I have dreamed of her every night since I first encountered the woman. ‘Tis the oddest thing as I dinna normally dream about anything…at least before sighting the lass.”

“I see.” Dashiell rubbed his chin, stubble covering it. “Well, the lady will not rule my sleep. Is this why you wish to capture Ella?”

Quinn shook his head. “She has the most appealing lips I have ever seen. Besides her gown, I see her mouth, slightly parted, pink as the buttercup, willing, waiting for my embrace. Then, she disappears before I ever taste the sweet nectar from her lips.”

Dashiell laughed. “I will have to check out her mouth as well.” He had seen her eyes filled with tears, which had drawn his attention more, and he couldn't help being disturbed by it, even if it had been just a dream.

Glancing at the other men in their party, Dashiell asked, “Has anybody else dreamed of the lady?”

Several of the others nodded.

One of the men spied a deer, but Dashiell shook his head. “We will wait until we are at the stream. What about you, Fallon? What did you dream of?”

“Like you, I saw the lady’s locks. I didna notice anything about her dress.”

Dashiell laughed. He didn’t believe a word of it, nor did he think any of the men did either, as they chuckled in response.

“So, what else did you notice about the lady?”

“She had the most beautiful almond-shaped eyes. She stared back at me, beckoning me to come to her, but when I neared the water, she disappeared,” Fallon said.

Green eyes, shimmering with tears.

Dashiell frowned, bothered again by recalling her distress.

Quinn motioned to Dashiell as they came to the clearing in the woods along the bank of the stream and spied a deer drinking from the gurgling water.

“She is not here,” his advisor whispered. Quinn glanced at Fallon, who nodded. “We heard a battle in the forest two nights ago.”

Dashiell looked at him. “A battle?”

“Between the fey and someone else,” Fallon said. “You see how she wears a sword. We heard fighting and found no one.”

Dashiell shook his head. He had never thought his men would be spooked over nothing in the dark woods at night.

The men all remained mounted on their horses, hidden in the thick foliage and shadows of the trees as they continued to watch the deer.

After observing the stream for an eternity, Dashiell finally said, “I dinna believe she will come here.” He reached for his bow and an arrow, nocked it, and prepared to shoot when the woman suddenly appeared.

“Look, there,” Quinn whispered as he pointed at the lady.

Dashiell lowered his bow and waited. “What is she doing?” he asked as he watched her scrutinize them. “Can she see us?”

“She seems to be able to, but I thought the thickness of the trees massed before us hid us from her sight.”

“I wish to get a closer look. Will she run, do you think?”

“Aye. I am sure she will take flight if we move toward her.”

The lady finally took her eyes off the forest, knelt at the stream's edge on the stony bank, and placed flowers into the water. She watched the flowers float in swirling crescents down the stream, and Dashiell whispered, “That’s what I saw her do in my dream.”

Considering her entire appearance, he smiled. She was beautiful—her hair, face, eyes, and body. The fabric hung snugly to her curves in the cool breeze, making him long to get a closer look. He saw the sheathed sword belted at her waist.

Dashiell wanted to see her up close with every fiber of his being. “I must get nearer.”

“What do you wish for us to do?” Quinn asked.

“Stay here. Perhaps if only one of us approaches her, the movement will not alarm her.”

He handed his bow and arrow to Christopher, but before he could nudge his horse into the clearing, the lady began to hum a haunting tune that drifted down the stream and carried away by the breeze.

He sat taller in his saddle and frowned. “I recognize that tune, but without the words, I canna recall what it is.” He looked at his companions, but no one seemed to know. “All right, I will attempt to get closer to the woman.”

Prompting his horse to move out of the forest, Dashiell took a few steps toward the stream’s bank while focusing on the lady's movements. She seemed to take no notice of him, and he turned back to smile at his companions. Quinn waved him on, his expression anxious.

Dashiell continued to the edge of the water downstream from the lady and stared at her when she touched the deer and rubbed its cheek. The deer licked her hand, and she smiled. Then she turned to observe Dashiell walking his horse alongside the stream, attempting to get closer to her. She shook her head at him, and his heart sank.

He knew then that she would bolt. He saw it in her eyes as if she were a deer, fearful he would hunt her down.

She darted into the forest while the deer dashed off in the opposite direction. When the lady ran, Dashiell kicked his horse and took off after her, sending water skyward as he splashed across the stream while his friends soon joined him in the pursuit.

After searching for over an hour, he stopped his horse, and a frown creased his brow. “I dinna see how the lady can disappear like she does.”

“What did she look like up close?” Quinn asked.

“I have never seen a more beautiful woman in all my life. She is just like you have described to me in your dreams, only she is real. Oh, to touch her face, her hair, her lips…I believe I am in love.”

Quinn shook his head. “The other clan chiefs willna be happy about this.”

“They need no’ know about this.”

“Five chiefs wish you to wed their daughters. What will you do now? You have shown no interest in the ladies.”

“I will have to find the right lady, then, will I no’? If I do, I willna be chasing after a dream in the woods all day.”

Quinn sighed deeply. “I am happily married, yet here I am, searching for the lady myself.”

“Aye, but today, you are searching for the lady for me. ”

A chorus of laughter from his clansmen broke out as they headed back to the castle.

“Will we no’ try to take a deer back with us before we return?” Fallon asked.

“Nay, with the boar we brought home, we will have plenty of meat for the next few days. We will let the lady’s deer be for the time being.”

As for the lady herself, Dashiell intended to capture her quickly to satisfy his growing curiosity.