Page 5 of The Dark Highlander’s Heart (Thorns Of The Highlands #2)

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K atherine had no way of knowing precisely when they had crossed the border into Oliphant lands, due to the sack on her head impairing her vision. Nevertheless, she kept her mouth shut, trying not even to breathe too loudly until she felt the horse slow to a stop. Still, it seemed too soon for them to have reached the castle.

“Surely, we have not arrived yet?” she inquired, her voice muffled. She did her best to keep the abject fright from her tone. She worried that it might encourage him to terrorize her further if he knew he was able to get under her skin.

Her captor yanked the sack off her head, and she peered around her into the gloom of the evening.

“Nay,” he answered flatly, “but my horse has a thirst, and I thought ye might as well.” He gestured to a stream which reflected the moonlight, making it appear as a ribbon of shimmering silver.

The man dismounted, then offered a hand up to her so that she might do likewise despite her bound hands. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if this might be some ghastly trick in the offing. Perhaps he meant to jerk her down roughly so that she would fall face-down in the dirt, and he might enjoy a good laugh at her expense.

But for the first time since he’d scooped her from her own steed, she was able to get a proper look at him. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with chestnut-brown hair that rakishly hung to his shoulders. He was, easily, the tallest man she’d ever encountered, for starters. She supposed that ought to have made her all the more wary of him, due to his imposing frame; there was a lithe grace and power within it that barely seemed contained, like the body of a dancer rather than a fighter. His physique was supple, calling to mind the image of a spruce branch, meant to bend instead of break.

She caught herself blushing at these mental comparisons, and wondered whether she was going mad, admiring a man who she ought to be terrified by. It was his eyes most of all, though, that kept her from trembling before him in fright.

They were a piercing green, like a pair of keen-faceted emeralds, catching and reflecting all the rays of the sunlight into a hypnotic ring of verdant hues. She saw guile in them, but no malice or violence, nothing that made her feel threatened.

Isn’t that terribly peculiar? she wondered to herself. I do believe I would fear my own father’s wrath and contempt over that of this stranger who has whisked me away!

“Drink, if ye will,” the man said. His voice was a rich yet lilting baritone, as though it was never wholly far from amusement, no matter how serious the matter at hand. “I can assure ye, I didnae somehow poison the whole blasted stream the last time I passed it, anticipating tricking ye, or anything so nefarious as that.”

Katherine allowed herself a wry half-smile at the fellow’s droll jest, though her heart was still pounding at the strife and uncertainty of her situation.

“That would be quite a feat indeed. Might ye have accomplished it, I would surely die, knowing the Oliphants’ inventiveness might well allow them tae prevail against my father’s clan.”

“Och, so it’s yer father’s clan, now that ye’re my captive?” he chuckled. “Allow me tae guess; ye’ve always hated the man, ye’ve lived as a prisoner in yer own home yer entire bloody life. Why, ye’ve always truly been an Oliphant at heart, and if we’ll merely treat ye as an honored guest instead of tossing ye in the dungeons with yer vile sister, if we’ll only make ye privy tae our most secret plans against yer brutish father, ye’ll be a positive boon tae us. Ye’d swear it! Something like that, aye, as ye judge me tae have been born by the light of the last full moon?”

“I shall endure most of that smirking tirade without comment or complaint, for ye are more correct than ye know in yer estimation of my loyalty tae my father,” Katherine shot back. “But I’ll nae stand for my sister being called ‘vile,’ and certainly not by a man who wages wars by snatching up innocent women!”

“It is my goal tae prevent a war so it need not be waged,” he responded indignantly.

Again, she wondered if she was going mad after all, for did she not detect a trace of genuine offense in his tone at his honor being questioned?

“I’ll gently snatch a woman and not harm a hair on her, which, I remind ye, I have not, nor have I truly threatened ye. My only intention is tae prevent the butchery of hundreds, perhaps more, on the battlefield.”

“Ye speak as a leader, though ye are nae Laird Alex,” Katherine mused. “Were I tae surmise, I might come tae the conclusion that ye are the Captain of his Guard.”

He raised an eyebrow slightly, but the gleam in his green eyes betrayed him – she could tell he was far more impressed than he wished to let on. “Aye, I am Bryan Black, Laird Alex’s Captain and most loyal servant. yer intellect is quite remarkable, Lady Katherine. And yer manners are far more genteel than Romilly’s, I shall commend ye for that.”

“Again, I’ll remind ye that I shall not abide the slander of my sister!” Katherine countered hotly.

“Oh nay?” He crossed his arms, tilting his head mildly. “And how do ye intend tae express yer displeasure?”

“Aye, taunt a woman who’s bound and helpless,” she spat. “ Then tell me of yer clan’s honor, and yer own. I’m sure Romilly receives the same hideous treatment in her confinement.”

At this, Bryan threw his head back and laughed. However, Katherine was surprised to hear no trace of cruelty in it. He seemed to be actually delighted, as though someone had told him the best joke of his life.

“What the blazes is so funny about that?” she demanded.

“Only that it is she who does the taunting, every time I visit her,” he explained jovially, “and I’m the one who generally feels helpless by the time she’s done with me. Ye really ought to hear some of the things she’s said to me, they’re downright unseemly! Cut me to the quick, they did!”

The corners of Katherine’s mouth twitched in spite of herself at the sincerity of his amused yet wounded tone. “She can have a tongue with a tang, at that,” she admitted sheepishly. “She has earned it through too many years of my father’s envenomed words dripping into her ear.”

“But ye would have me believe it was different for ye?” he challenged.

“Believe what ye will,” Katherine answered icily. “I am yer captive either way, it seems, and ye and yer laird will do as ye will with me. Ye claim ye have nae threatened me? Already ye lie, for upon taking me, ye informed me that I would remain unharmed ‘as long as I dinnae cause any trouble.’ What harm, then, would ye visit upon me if I tried tae escape yer clutches? How far would ye go tae bring me tae yer laird as a prize?”

“I shall take yer feet, of course.”

The reply stunned her, and she blinked. “Eh?”

He shrugged casually. “Well, it seems like the easiest solution, does it not? How can ye run without any feet? Go on, picture it! Ye’d look ridiculous in the attempt.”

Katherine peered at him uncertainly for a long moment, then noticed the slow rising of the corners of his mouth, and once again, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“Ye are joking,” she said flatly.

“Aye, I am.” His grin faded slightly, his gaze growing earnest. “Laird Alex and I agree that this scheme will only succeed if ye are kept safe from harm in every way, and that if there were the slightest risk of anything otherwise, it would nae have been prudent for us tae come and take ye at all. I’d prefer ye not test me by plotting tae leave my company at the first opening which presents itself, but ye may be assured that if ye do, ye will be dragged back alive and in one piece—though by no means happier with how ye shall be restrained the remainder of our journey, if ye take my meaning.”

“I suppose I cannae ask for anything fairer than that,” she conceded.

“I’m delighted tae hear it. Now, will ye have a drink from the stream? I wish tae cover far more ground before we stop for the night, and I will as soon ye not faint from thirst along the way. It will make it all the harder for me tae keep ye on the horse with me.”

“How very practical of ye,” she replied with a smirk.

As she got to her knees, Katherine asked herself why she was inclined to believe Bryan’s insistence that no harm would come to her. For that is the ultimate lure of an animal into a trap, is it not? Presenting a situation that appears harmless, so the creature will be baited into coming along without a fight?

Katherine had not received the tutelage Romilly had from their father in the ways of sizing up potential threats and enemies. The captain’s countenance seemed pleasant and amiable enough to make him seem like a good-natured fellow, rather than some cold-blooded or sinister sort. And when he’d promised her safety, there was no lying in his eyes, only a genuine desire to make the rest of their travels together continue without incident.

She thought she’d seen a glimmer of fascination in them. Perhaps even a touch of something else as well?

So she asked herself, could someone be talented enough in deceiving and manipulation as to fool her so completely? Could a man’s soul be dark and cynical enough to drape itself in such a convincing mask?

Perhaps. Katherine had never been face to face with danger before. She had nothing to compare it to. She had, indeed, walled herself off from it as much as possible in refusing to carry out the wishes of her father or sister.

Now, it seemed, she might be about to pay the ultimate price for that decision.

If only ye were here , Romilly, perhaps ye might be able to tell me , she thought bitterly. But if ye were, then likely none of this would be happening .

Katherine brought her hands together, filled her palms with the water, and brought it up to her lips. It was fresh and cool, and feeling it upon her skin began to soothe her nerves somewhat.

However, there was another disquieting thought which rushed and babbled in her ears along with the gush of the stream over its stones, constant and maddeningly insistent, no matter how she wished she might ignore it.

Whether she chose to believe in Bryan’s promises regarding her safety or not, the fact remained that she was entirely at his mercy.

For as she could not match her sister in divining friend from foe, neither could she hope to free herself from Bryan through tactical cunning, martial skill, or even swiftness. Their father had trained Romilly and neglected Katherine.

Now both were in the hands of the Oliphants, with no hope of the second aiding the first or even alerting the McGregor Clan of their enemies’ intentions.

When she finished drinking from the stream, the captain did likewise, as did his horse.

“I’d nae wish tae drink after him,” he informed her with a wink, “lest the essence of horse linger in its flavor.”

“If such are yer concerns,” Katherine informed him primly, “then I daren’t tell ye what sorts of foul things the fish get up to in streams.”

He laughed loudly at that, and she was startled to find herself joining him. It gave her a peculiar tingle, having been able to make her captor laugh.

But was that because some part of her felt it might increase the likelihood that he would treat her well on the journey, and continue to see her treated well when they reached their unfortunate destination? That if she continued to appeal to his better humors, he might even take pity upon her and let her go?

Or was it because some other part of her—situated further back, in the shadows of her heart—thought it might cause him to lower his guard, so he might afford her a chance to escape after all?

Would she make the attempt despite her ignorance in matters of stealth or strategy, asking herself the whole time what Romilly would do in her place?

These thoughts weighed heavy in her skull like smooth and icy stones as Bryan helped her onto the horse again, then joined her there. The moon shone down, and the lonely silence of the horse’s hoofbeats drummed out across the moors and mists.