Page 7 of The Cruel Highlander (From Enemies to Marriage #3)

CHAPTER 6

After a brief lunch with Valorie’s parents, she and Aiden headed back outside to continue his testing. Without prompting, Aiden led them directly to the archery targets that Valorie’s father had set up years ago for her training and enjoyment. Valorie looked longingly at the set-up; it had been far too long since she had gotten to practice here. Too many laird’s hearts to break and all.

“Do ye ken how to shoot?” Aiden asked her shortly while she still gazed at the bows.

What does he have to be upset about? He is not the one being forced into a betrothal he does not want , Valorie thought bitterly. But Aiden’s mood had soured during lunch, and he was back to the surly man she first met.

Valorie wanted to snap back at him, but she had plans to enact. She could make this test a little more interesting if she was strategic.

“Aye, I ken how, but I’m not a very good shot,” Valorie simpered. She hated playing this role, but she needed to think long-term. It would be worth it in the end.

“Good, let’s see it then,” was Aiden’s curt reply.

Be careful what ye wish for, me laird.

Valorie walked over to where the bow and arrows were lined up and picked up her favorite of the weapons. Its weight was a familiar comfort in her hands, but she pretended to pick up the first bow she saw.

“What should I try and aim for, me laird?” Valorie asked, sweetly. As if she wouldn’t hit wherever she aimed.

“Let’s make it simple and say the bullseye,” Aiden suggested.

Easy. Valorie thought. Despite his confidence in her from before, Aiden did not seem to expect much of her with a weapon. He stood off to the side, looking bored already. Archery was his idea! Regardless, Aiden would regret underestimating her.

Valorie lined up her shot, her right arm pulling the string taut while her left commanded the bow. Valorie looked down the line that the arrow was making and aimed direct to the center of the target. When she was certain she was set up perfectly, she adjusted the bow ever so slightly to aim to the right. The shot would still be close enough to be considered good but not perfect.

Valorie let the arrow fly towards the target. She watched in what she hoped looked like nervous anticipation. In reality, Valorie knew exactly where that arrow was headed. Her lonely childhood left Valorie a lot of time to practice.

The arrow unsurprisingly landed exactly where she aimed, slightly to the right of center but still a decent shot. Now came her acting performance.

Valorie turned quickly to Aiden when the arrow landed. She had a bright, surprised smile on her face and jumped excitedly a little to really be convincing.

“Did ye see that?” Valorie asked Aiden with faux enthusiasm.

“Aye, lass, that was a pretty good shot. Better than some of me men even,” Aiden answered earnestly.

Hmm maybe I need to aim even further off the center.

The goal here was not to impress Aiden too much at first. Valorie would need to adjust the shot to be a little worse; Aiden was clearly too easily impressed.

“Thank ye, lucky shot probably. I never get that close,” Valorie replied demurely.

“Shoot another one then, and we should get a true representation. This a test after all,” Aiden ordered from his spot off to the side. He stood with his arms crossed tightly over his chest and a dull look on his face.

It’s about to get very interesting, me laird, Valorie thought before she responded out loud to Aiden’s direction.

“Of course, me laird,” Valorie said, turning back towards the arrows with a victorious smile. She’d shoot another, maybe two that were even further off the mark, before she made her next move.

Valorie aimed her shot again, dead center, but this time she shifted her aim off of the bullseye to the left. She even wobbled her arm a little as if she could barely pull back the weight of the string. Ridiculous. Again, the arrow flew direct to where she’d aimed.

“It’s okay lass, ye can’t be good at everythin’,” Aiden reassured, looking at the arrow embedded off to the left. Valorie simmered with the urge to prove him wrong, but she would have to be patient — it was almost time.

“Aye, archery was never me best skill,” Valorie conceded. This was true, she was far better with a sword anyway. Maybe she’d suggest a sword fight next, and then she’d really get to have some fun.

“Let’s see one more,” Aiden commanded in his deep voice.

Valorie simpered, “As ye wish, me laird.”

On her third shot, Valorie aimed towards the center of the target but above the bullseye. She didn’t want to hit the exact same spot again and give up her game so close to the end.

Putting on a defeated mask, Valorie turned to Aiden and said, “I guess ye were right.”

“Archery takes a long time to master, lass. I’ve been shootin’ for years.”

Valore brightened, sincerely this time, with a new idea. She walked over to where Aiden stood off to the side and laid her hand on his arm. In her most begging voice, Valorie asked, “Perhaps ye could show me then?”

“Aye, of course lass,” Aiden easily agreed. Perfect. This was all too easy.

Valorie watched as Aiden walked over to the remaining bows that were gathered and tested the weight of each. When he found one that suited him, Aiden stood at the makeshift line that they had set and began to aim his shot.

“It’s all about yer focus lass; ye need to let all the distractions around ye fade away and focus only on yer target,” Aiden instructed, not letting his eyes stray from the mark in front of him.

Valorie eagerly nodded along like this was brand new information and not something she learned as a child. She was nodding like a fool before she realized he wasn’t even looking. With no need to pretend, Valorie dropped the eager smile and sized up Aiden’s movements closely.

Begrudgingly she admitted to herself that Aiden seemed to know what he was doing. He had good form, and his strong arms held perfectly still with the weight of the string. While Aiden’s focus was fully on the target in front of him, Valorie’s was on him. He looked good with a weapon. She could just imagine him, sitting atop his horse, leading his clan into battle. Maybe Aiden was right, maybe her focus today was compromised.

“Once yer fully focused and aimed, ye just need to keep control on the bow and let it fly,” Aiden instructed as he did just that. Unfortunately for Valorie, he shot a nearly perfect bullseye. Placing the bow on the ground, he turned to her and continued “and that’s how it’s done, lassie.”

“Aye, me laird that was very impressive,” Valorie cooed, doing her best impression of other ladies she had seen fawn over stuffy lairds. Although, if she was being completely honest with herself, Aiden was impressive. Visually at least. Any laird worth his clan should be able to shoot straight, but Aiden was certainly impressive to look at.

Out on the sunny lawn today, Aiden’s blonde hair was highlighted with streaks of copper and gold, and the dusting of grey around his temples was shining silver. His hair just begged Valorie to run her hands through it. And his arms! The way his arms tensed with his shot and his general mastery over the bow were sights that she’d remember for days. But Valorie needed to focus on the task at hand. The future of her life was too important to risk for good hair and nice arms.

“Could ye show me again, me laird?” Valorie cooed, continuing her practiced voice.

“Aye, I’d be happy to; the Lady O’Donnely should ken how to shoot straight.” With that Aiden stepped up to their starting point and continued his instruction, “See the shape me arm makes, lass? Ye want to make sure you hold yer elbow up just so and keep it there. It takes a little bit of strength, but ye could probably manage it.”

This laird is testing me patience. Valorie thought. She had been holding the tension of the string since she was a child.

Aiden let another perfect shot fly, the arrow embedding itself directly at its target. Valorie had seen enough. She did not want to watch Aiden show-off any further; it was her turn.

“I think I’ve got it now, me laird; what do ye think about a little competition?”

* * *

“Aye, lass what did ye have in mind?”

Aiden could barely contain his glee at this point. The lass was playing him wonderfully. He had noticed her trickery from her first shot. Aiden was watching her closely, as he often did, and he saw her line up the bow with perfect precision and then adjust, just slightly off the center.

Valorie’s acting skills were even better than her archery, though. Aiden could only barely hear the falseness in her voice when she complimented his skills. And he knew the excitement and humility after the first shot was rehearsed but only because this lass was not humble. She knew her worth, and she told you. But she was certainly convincing when she played the part. Well, two could play that game. Aiden was all too happy to go along with her little con.

“Hmm,” Valorie paused seeming to consider her bargain before continuing, “If me shots are closer, ye tell me faither ye couldnae stand to have a wife who was a better shot than ye. If yer shots are closer, we continue yer tests.”

“That hardly seems fair lass, I’m quite the experienced shot as ye’ve seen.” Aiden was loving this. Each time he made a disparaging comment, he watched Valorie try admirably to tamp down her irritation at him. Valorie was not a lass that liked to lose, and she appeared eager to show what she could really do. And Aiden couldn’t wait to see it.

“It’s just a little fun, me laird. What do ye have to lose?” The fierceness in her voice was barely veiled at this point. The real Valorie was breaking through the mask. As amusing as her performance had been, Aiden liked the witty and honest Valorie, not the simpering act that she was putting on. His past had made Aiden a little desperate for truth, and he wanted Valorie to show him her truest self.

“Aye, all right then. Ye shoot first.” Valorie paused at this, her eyes briefly widening. Aiden knew he was messing with her plans, but he maintained a straight, unaffected face as he looked at her.

Valorie quickly recovered and responded weakly, “Nae I insist me laird, I want to watch ye a few more times, plus my hands are a wee bit torn up still from me fall, and I think I need to rest a bit longer. Like ye said it takes a lot of strength to shoot.”

The wee liar!

Valorie’s commitment to subterfuge was impressive and a little frightening.

“Mmm of course.” Aiden was fully focused on keeping the laughter out of his voice now.

Once again, stepping up to the line, Aiden lined his shots up. Valorie didn’t need the earlier instruction from him, but the chance to test out the weight of the bow was definitely a coup. His first shot has been slightly off the mark, and that just wouldn’t do when competing with this lass. He’d need to be perfect.

Aiden looked directly down the line of his shot and fired off a sharp bullseye. Quickly loading another arrow, Aiden shot again. The arrow landed directly beside the first one. With his last arrow set up, Aiden turned to Valorie and winked at the exact moment he let the arrow fly.

When the third arrow split the one before it, Aiden looked to Valorie with a teasing grin and one eyebrow raised.

“Yer turn, lass,” Aiden baited.

Valorie, apparently ready to meet his challenge, picked up her bow and with expert precision and speed, fired two shots in quick succession, direct to the center bullseye. Just like Aiden had, Valorie turned to him as she fired her final shot, but instead of winking, Valorie just smiled triumphantly. She was equally as confident that her arrow would fly right where she aimed it.

Aiden stared back at Valorie as her final shot thudded heavily into the target. All three arrows seemed to be taking up the same spot on the canvas; it was a wonder they all stuck. But Aiden didn’t react. He just smirked at Valorie. No shock or awe at her supposed sudden improvement.

“Ye knew then?” Valorie said — her voice was no longer demure, and that familiar rage bubbled under the surface.

Aiden laughed and told her, “Aye lassie, I knew.”

“For how long?” Valorie demanded.

“Since yer first shot,’ Aiden admitted. Valorie’s acting skills were impressive, but they were no match for Aiden’s attention on her. The way he watched her, Aiden didn’t think anything would get by him.

“Hmph,” Valorie huffed, annoyed that Aiden had foiled her scheme, “Very well, a tie,” she said.

“Aye a tie. With no clear winner, it only seems fair to have a final test,” Aiden proposed. His main motivation at this point was just extending the day. For once, Aiden didn’t want to return home to his empty castle. His day out with Valorie was far more entertaining than anything he had at home.

“As ye wish,” Valorie drawled with a mocking bow.

“How about a race with horses? Yer father tells me yer quite the accomplished rider,” Aiden said.

“I certainly am; ye sure ye want to race?” Valorie questioned.

“Aye, I’m sure lass. In fact, how about another wager?”

Scoffing Valorie asked, “If yer that confident — fine, what did ye have in mind?

“Aye, I am that confident lassie. If ye win, ye prove yerself worthy of bein’ me wife. If I win, I have to keep lookin’.”

“Hmm, yer on, me laird,” Valorie nodded and accepted Aiden’s final game with a sly smile. Aiden was positive she had another scheme planned.