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

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B efore anyone could follow her, Ella hurried into the hut and saw Mina napping. Amelda was working on her sewing. Ella quietly closed the door behind her and locked it with the latch, glad she’d at least been able to hastily write MacAfee’s name on the shore.

But she’d had no time to write anything more than that when Dashiell tried to approach her, and she ran off. At least she had done all her chores. But she was annoyed with him for trying to sneak over to her side while she had been writing and couldn’t say all that she needed to. Would he even figure out what she was trying to say? Most likely not.

She feared Mina would scold her for not allowing him to approach her. If she knew Dashiell had offered to have Ella eat with them and she said no, Mina was sure to be upset with her. But what if he hadn’t allowed Ella to return for Amelda and Mina?

What if Mina had no longer been able to care for Amelda, and her cousin would have had to fend for herself? At five years of age, Amelda couldn’t manage. What if Dashiell had released her, followed Ella to the hut, and destroyed it because no one was supposed to live in his forest?

But what if he took them all in?

Mina woke and stared at her for a moment. “I thought you had returned with the water, but then you were gone again.”

Ella wrote on the ground— I left a message for Dashiell at the stream.

Mina raised a brow, left the bed, and began to make their meal—pottage made of mutton and cabbage. “You told him about MacAfee.”

Ella helped her make the meal and nodded.

“About him coming for you?” Mina asked.

Ella wrote on the floor— Just MacAfee’s name.

Her expression turned into a scowl, her shoulders more slumped than usual, Mina appeared to be exasperated with her.

Dashiell tried to cross the stream.

“You should have gone with him!”

What about you? What about Amelda? Would you go with us?

Mina continued to make the meal. “I am old. I dinna belong there.”

You belong with me. With us.

Mina studied her.

Together?

“They willna want an old woman like me.”

Ella smiled. She wrote: We will go together.

She would not leave Mina behind. She had been like a grandmother to them, teaching them, scolding them, loving them.

“If they willna take me in? You will be with them. As I have said, I am no’ long for this world.”

Ella never wanted to leave her behind. If Dashiell took them all in, maybe this would work. But she wouldn’t go without Mina.

We go together. Since that was decided, Ella poured the pottage into bowls for them, and they sat down to eat.

Mina looked at Ella so seriously and said, “You will bring him here.”

For too long, they had tried to keep their hut hidden. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Mina had always said she didn’t have foresight, but Ella suspected she did.

“Aye. ‘Tis destined to happen that way. I have seen this in a dream today. I have no’ seen what happens after that, but he will come here because you will bring him here.”

“When?” Ella mouthed the word.

“That I dinna know.”

The MacNeills again sat with Dashiell at the head table that evening at supper. They were eating pigeons cooked with oyster shells. When he saw his aunt observing him on the other side of Niall, he said, “Aye, Lady Yvaine, what words of wisdom have you for me this evening?”

“I was wondering, now that you have heard wolves raised the lady…what do you intend to do with her, should you catch her?”

“We havena even come close to apprehending her.”

“Do you really believe she would eat supper with us?”

“Would you have objected?”

“She would have had to put her hair up. I am no’ so sure she would have been willing to abide by our etiquette.”

“I dinna believe the young lady was terribly interested in eating with us.”

“The clan chiefs vying for you to wed one of the daughters will no' be pleased. I only jested when I said perhaps you should wed the lady.”

He looked up from his meal and turned to Lady Yvaine. “Whomsoever would think such a thing, my lady?” He looked back down at his plate and shook his head. "I have the clan to think of and alliances to make. I would no’ think of marrying a woman who lives in the forest when it is illegal to do so."

“I know you are quite taken with her, but do you no’ think it best to leave the lady be?”

“I am glad you are no’ my advisor. This is the most interested that I have been in anything in my life. I thought you said yourself I wasna very enthusiastic about anything.”

“Quinn should be advising you to stay away from the lass, instead of encouraging you the way he does. The men all desire to go with you on the hunts now.” His aunt drank some of her mead.

“Well, at least I have taken your advice on that matter. No one will join me on the hunts except those who have always hunted with me.”

“Who are you considering as a bride choice?” James asked, “if you dinna mind sharing?”

“No one. I know I must, but I have had no interest in the women who could provide an alliance with another clan.” Dashiell was honest with his friends. The brothers and their cousin had taken extraordinary measures to win over the lasses they had fallen in love with. He didn’t expect anything like that to happen in his case, but he hoped he could find love like they had.

“He willna have none other than the nymph herself,” Niall predicted.

“Wait until you dream of her,” Dashiell warned.

“When the shepherdess Anna threatened me with a pitchfork, I knew I had met my match and have never looked anywhere else. She is the only lass for me,” Niall said.

“The same with Eilis and me,” James said. “No other lass would do.”

“Aye.” Dashiell believed they would dream as he and the others on the hunt always did.

After finishing his fowl, he listened to the minstrel sing a new ballad as the trenchers were removed to give to the poor in the village. As new thick slabs of coarse bread were set before his clansmen, he saw Quinn kiss his wife’s cheek.

“You do know the word will soon reach the other clan chiefs of this matter? Like I said, they willna be happy that you have taken such an interest in this unknown woman,” his aunt said.

“Ah, my lady. You reproach me for being too somber, and now that I truly take an interest in life…”

“It isna life that you take such an interest in, but the temptress.” She scoffed.

“Aye, well, I canna stop thinking about her; you are right. What harm is there in that?”

“If you dinna find a lady to marry, there will never be an heir. What if Fallon were to marry? And have a bairn? He could be the next chief. You must consider your people and your holdings.”

“I am. One part at a time. Right now, I am concentrating on the Caledonian Forest.”

And one Nymph of the Forest that Dashiell could not get his mind off no matter how much he tried.

The next morning, when Dashiell dressed for the hunt, the lass filling his thoughts as usual, a young towheaded lad, Paden, came to him with a message. “A lady is here to see you.”

“Who? If she is not the lady of the forest, I dinna wish to entertain her.”

“She is Lady Lynette of the Cameron Clan, and she says that her da has sent her here to visit with you per your request.”

Dashiell had forgotten all about it and glanced at Quinn as he arrived at his bedchamber. “I understand the hunt is to be called off because of the arrival of a lady to meet you. The MacNeills will be sorely disappointed as they are eager to see the woman again in the woods.”

“No.” Dashiell pulled his shirt over his head. “I willna be dissuaded from the task at hand.”

“And the lady?”

Dashiell belted his great kilt. “She may visit with your wife and the other ladies in the gardens or wherever else my aunt and the other women gather when sewing and the like.”

“Aye. I will inform the lady you will see her later then.”

“At dinner.”

“Aye.” Quinn and the boy quickly left.

After finishing dressing for the hunt, Dashiell headed down the stairs and met up with the MacNeills, who were just as ready to join him.

“Did you dream of her?” Dashiell asked.

“Nay,” James said. “I dreamed of Eilis, as it should be—swimming with her in the loch, riding with her, and more that I dinna wish to discuss.”

Dashiell smiled. If he could be married to a lass he loved as much as the two of them loved each other, he would be thrilled.

“I was dreaming of Anna trying to skewer me with her pitchfork. I shouldna have mentioned that last eve,” Niall said.

Everyone laughed.

“And you, Angus?” James asked.

Angus shrugged. “I dreamed of trying to rescue Edana’s brothers from the dungeon and then of bidding in Stirling for the bulls. Dinna tell her I had dreamed of both.”

They laughed.

Still, Dashiell was surprised they hadn’t dreamed of the lass.

When they approached the massive doors to the inner bailey, the lady seeking a marriage proposal approached him and curtsied. “I am Lady Lynette, from Gloucester. My father has sent me to see you.”

She was pale, fine-boned, her black hair peeking through a veil of white. Her gown was pale yellow, which made her appear all the more wan. She was not appealing in the least, her smile insincere, her blue eyes as pallid as the rest of her.

“Aye, I am well aware of the circumstances of your arrival, but I am on my way to hunt.”

“I would like to accompany you if I may.”

“Women dinna go on hunts with me, my lady.” Not because Dashiell objected to the women of his clan hunting but because none had ever been interested in going with them. In Lynette’s case, he didn’t believe she was up to the task as pale as she looked.

“Is it because you have business other than hunting in the forest these days?”

Dashiell glanced at Quinn, who shrugged.

“I dinna know what you mean,” Dashiell said to Lynette, then hurried toward the north doors. One of his men pulled one of the doors open to let them pass. Lynette chased after him, Quinn following on her heels, and the MacNeills in hot pursuit.

“I can ride as well as any man if you fear I will fall behind. Or is it that you fear I will discover your secret?”

Dashiell stopped in his footsteps, making the lady nearly collide with him. “What secret is that, Lady Lynette?” Already, he didn’t care for her sharp tongue.

“This so-called woodland nymph, Ella, is some commoner you have taken as your mistress.”

He stared at the woman, her pale mouth pinched, and her pale blue eyes held no warmth. At first, he couldn’t believe, if the woman was looking to marry him, how she could be so antagonistic, but then he had an idea. He told Quinn, “Perhaps we should take the lady with us.”

“You canna be serious.” Quinn’s brows rose with the pitch of his voice. He appeared thoroughly surprised.

“You have no say in it,” she said to Quinn as if she was already the lady of the keep.

“Mayhap the lass will react differently to seeing a woman,” he explained to Quinn, ignoring her comment. “All right,” he said to the lady, “you may come, but you will do as you are told.”

“Of course.” While she was helped onto her horse, Dashiell, his men, and the MacNeills took off for the forest and she had to kick her horse to a gallop to catch up to them.

They finally reached the stream, and everyone remained quiet when they saw a deer step into the clearing.

Lynette said, “There is a deer. Are you not going to shoot it?”

“Shh,” Dashiell harshly said, instantly regretting he had allowed the woman to join them.

After sitting in the woods for an eternity, Quinn said, “I believe she isna coming.”

“Aye, but we expressed that notion yesterday, and then there she was.”

“The fey have no schedule to keep,” Niall said.

“Fey.” Lynette scoffed. They waited and then she said, “I dinna believe you men would sit watching a deer like this and no’ kill it. Have done with it, then let us return to the castle and have our dinner.”

“Perhaps Lady Lynette has scared the woman away,” Quinn said.

Dashiell frowned, his gut clenching with irritation. “She has to come.”

“Are you no’ going to kill the deer?” Lynette asked. “If I could shoot an arrow, I would kill it myself.”

The woman was fiercely grating on him. He would never agree to marry such a woman.

“If she willna appear, we might as well return to the castle,” Dashiell reluctantly told the MacNeills and his men. It was a mistake to bring the woman with them.

To everyone's surprise, Lynette nudged her horse out into the open and walked toward the stream as the deer stood watching her. “I have never seen a deer so tame,” she said, looking back at Dashiell.

“Look.” Dashiell pointed to a spot in the woods behind the deer. He could not quash the elation he felt at seeing Ella again. Bewitching is what she was. “She was there all the time.” He walked his horse up to the stream to join Lynette. Ella stared at the sight of the lady. “I believe you intrigue her for some reason.”

“I dinna see what the attraction is for the woman. She is naught more than a wild animal letting her hair down like that for all to see. And be careful! She is armed!”

Dashiell saw she was holding a stick like she had yesterday. Did she mean to write in the mud again? To give him another message? “She has the most beautiful tresses, do you no’ think?” he asked the MacNeills.

“Nay,” Lynette said, “and furthermore…”

Ella stepped into the sunlight.

Dashiell smiled. “I believe she isna afraid of you. See if you can cross the stream to her.”

“Cross the stream? Whatever for?” Lynette stared at him, her black brows furrowed.

“I wish to see if she will come to you. Ask her name.”

“What do I get for it?”

“I will be truly grateful.”

“Very well, perhaps you can show me your gratitude in a dance held in my honor.” Lynette kicked her horse and guided it across the stream. “And a marriage proposal soon after.”

Dashiell could manage a dance. A marriage proposal? Never. He smiled when Ella stood still for the lady on her horse. When Lynette reached her, Ella touched Lynette’s dress and smiled at her.

“Tell me who you really are!” Lynette said harshly, frowning down at the woman.

Ella looked at Dashiell, then took hold of Lynette’s horse’s reins and pulled her into the woods. As soon as they disappeared from Dashiell’s and the others’ sight, he and his men crossed the stream, but not finding them, he stopped the search.

“How will I explain this to her da?” Dashiell asked, mystified and angered all at the same time.

James shook his head. “I didna believe she was of the fey, despite what my cousin has said. Mayhap, he was right.”

Dashiell said, “We have to find Lynette.” So why did he want to find the nymph instead?

A woman’s scream in the forest caused Dashiell to spur his horse into the forest, where he found Lynette sitting on the ground, hidden in the bracken, holding her head as if it pained her.

Her horse was nearby, nibbling on grass, only pausing to look at them.

He leaped from his horse and rushed to her side. “What has happened, my lady?”

James was beside him instantly, Niall also, as Angus was still searching for Ella.

“That creature hit me! That is what happened. She must have been jealous of me and tried to kill me.”

“Kill you?” Dashiell looked at his men, then motioned for them to search for Ella. The first thought he had was if Ella had wanted to kill the lady, she could have, armed with a sword as she was. “What did she say to you?”

“She said that this was her forest and that she didna mind seeing you here, but she didna wish to see your lady friend too.”

Dashiell frowned, not understanding why Ella appeared intrigued with the lady and then would hurt her. He helped Lynette to stand.

“Oh,” Lynette said and grasped his arm.

“Are you all right?”

“Nay. I feel a little dizzy.” Leaning against him, Lynette gave him a weak smile.

“I am sorry that this has happened to you. The lady seemed so gentle…”

“Gentle?” Lynette said, raising her voice. “She has the devil in her.”

“Aye, well, I will escort you back to the castle now.” Dashiell caught a glimpse of James shaking his head. But whether it was because he thought ill of Ella or because he believed Lynette was making a fuss about nothing, Dashiell wasn’t sure.

“I dinna believe I can sit on my horse alone.”

“You wish to ride with me then?”

Dashiell suspected she was faking the incident. She didn’t appear injured anywhere and he’d known enough lasses over the years who were talented in the art of fainting.

She held her head as if it pained her. “If you dinna mind.”

“Nay, if it helps to make up for this business with the woman.” Dashiell motioned for one of his men to take the lass on his horse.

Lynette's expression fell, then she scrunched her forehead as if she was irritated by the idea of riding with someone other than him, possibly even considering it beneath her.

He couldn’t believe Ella would attempt to injure Lynette. “Where have you been all this time? We searched for you in the woods and couldna find you.” That completely puzzled and distressed him.

“She led me to a loch nearby surrounded by a field of flowers.”

He realized his men had remained in the forest looking for the women. He lifted her to his clansman’s horse, and Dashiell’s men rejoined them after they had no success finding Ella.

Disappointed, the party headed back to Cairn Castle.

“There was no sign of her?” Dashiell asked Quinn once they were alone at the keep.

“Nay. Though it seems odd that Ella would have attacked Lady Lynette.”

“Do you believe the lady lied about being attacked?” Dashiell had never met Lynette before. He didn’t know what she was capable of.

“Aye. I try to keep an open mind when it comes to women.”

Dashiell nodded. “I have my doubts as well. Plan for a dance for tonight, though it seems that if Ella had injured her so badly, she wouldna be feeling well enough to dance. Ensure my healer sees to her and learns just where she was injured and the extent of it.”

“Aye, my laird.”

“There will be no more hunting in my forest for the week.”

“But, my laird…”

“None, Quinn.”

“What of your other guests? The MacNeills?”

Dashiell shook his head. “We’ll find other ways to entertain ourselves.”

Ella was so confused. She realized she didn’t know how to interact well with people. Not when she couldn’t talk to them. At the village, Bhictoria was the exception. For the first time ever, Dashiell had taken a woman on the hunt in the forest, though she didn’t hunt.

She was dark-haired, blue-eyed, and beautiful. Ella had wanted to show her the beauty of the loch and the wildflowers. She thought that’s why Dashiell had brought her there—so she and the lady could be friends. When the woman pretended injury and blamed Ella for it, she couldn’t understand why she had done so.

Ella was beside herself with upset when she fled to the hut and explained what had happened to Mina. Now Dashiell would never offer to take her, Amelda, and Mina into the castle for safekeeping.

Mina read Ella’s writing on the dirt floor and sighed. “It seems Dashiell is courting the woman, but she is envious of the way he has been searching for you and wants to make sure he sees you as someone evil, not good.”

Ella couldn’t believe it.

“You have the words. You need to coax them out and explain to them that you didna hurt the woman. Though she is undoubtedly a lady, I very much doubt he will believe your word against hers.”

Yet so was Ella. Not that anyone would believe it.

“You should have gone to live with them before this. This only makes things worse. Instead, I should say that it will make things more difficult for you. But you’ve lived through so much already. You will get through this.” Then Mina frowned. “Did you truly speak to the woman?”

Ella shook her head vigorously, though she wished she’d been able to, and told her right off.

“Then if Dashiell should learn you canna speak, he will ken the lady lied.”