One
Skorthyne Castle, The Borders, England
One month later
“Come here…come here…we must be getting back!” Madeleine yelled, trying to get the hound back to the castle. The hound barked back a denial.
It was a frigid day. She had a gray woolen wrap covering her shoulders and head. Her gray woolen dress was smudged with dirt and was wet after the couple of attempts she made wrestling the beast. Her temper, she reminded herself, must be controlled. He was just a hound after all, and she, in a couple of years, would go to the abbey to serve her Lord.
It was a sin to let tempers flare.
“Ramsay, where are you?” She cupped her hands over her eyes. “There you are! Come here,” she ran after him and dove.
“Gotcha! Let’s go!”
The hound escaped her grasp again. She ran to him, lunged, and caught him.
“Honestly, you try even my patience, Ramsay!”
She swatted the hair that covered her eyes and turned around. Her breath faltered. There were five men standing there watching her. They were tall and wearing greenish-brown plaid. They melted into the scenery, which explained why she hadn’t seen them before now. Madeleine couldn’t discern any facial features in that one scant instant because mud was caked on their faces. It looked layers thick.
“Oh God,” she said, dropping the hound as she began running towards the castle. Before she could scream they were on her. A hand covered her mouth and she bit it, trying to gulp enough air to let out a reverberating scream.
“Bitch!”
Another man managed to cover her mouth and gripped her hard against him.
In a raspy whisper, he said, “Try that again, and ye shall be headless.”
She was panting but stopped struggling. The man lessened his hold on her and she pushed away from him with dignity. She straightened her dress and tried looked up at the savages. Her face still remained hidden in the hood and the wrap.
“Who are you, you loathsome savages?”
A hard slap against her face was her response. The force of it nearly felled her to the ground.
“Doona ask questions. Ye’re coming with us, Lady Wynton.”
How did they know my name?
Madeleine straightened up. She fought hard to keep some semblance of decorum. She would find a way to escape these barbarians.
“Come here!” One man said and hauled her over. The force of the pull nearly dislocated her shoulder. She was unsuccessful at muffling her moan. Their only response was laughter.
“My…” she began weakly then cleared her throat and started anew. “My father will pay you for my return. If you’ll…” more laughter halted her speech.
“Aye, we know that yer father will pay a large sum for yer, ah…return,” one said sarcastically.
“Now! Move!” Another one said, halting the dialogue.
They walked in unison. Two men were behind her, two more were at each side of her, and one was in front of her. The man to her right saw her looking around.
“Doona even think about it, wench,” he said and pushed her forward. She bumped into the man in front of her, who turned around and pushed her.
“All in good time, lass. I could never keep the wenches out of my bed, but now’s nay the time!” he said and the others chortled.
Her face was throbbing and her right hand flew to her face. She would have bruises for certain now, no thanks to their beastly behavior. Her cheeks stung fiercely. She hugged her wrap closer, thanking the Lord that she had the hood. She lowered the hood a bit more, hiding her face.
Madeleine was scared. It wasn’t only the frigid air that had her trembling. These men looked deadly. What man would hit a woman?
She saw hooves and knew they’d reached their horses.
“Ye’re riding with me!” The man who seemed to be the leader barked the order at her. He mounted the horse and the men started to tie her hands and feet together.
“What are you doing?”
“Doona ask questions,” he said, and she felt the rope tightly around her ankles and wrists.
“That hurts! Loosen them. I’m starting to lose sensation!”
“This will hurt more,” she heard someone say, and the blow to her head knocked her out cold.
“There was no need for that!” The leader stared daggers at the man.
“Come now? Grew a conscience, did ye?”
The leader exhaled and growled, “There is no need to treat her so. Besides, her father willna pay the ransom if she is manhandled and mauled.”
Maddie was placed on her stomach in front of the leader.
“That’ll shut the bitch up,” the one who slapped her said.
“Ease up on her, damn it. Let’s go, our laird is waiting,” the leader said, kicking his horse into a gallop.
*****
A day had already passed, she realized, as she slowly began to stir. Her senses were awakening.
How long have I been like this?
Maddie’s stomach hurt, so she assumed it had been a long while. She looked down and saw the man’s booted foot. Her eyes turned to her hands. They were tinged a little blue. She struggled to get the ropes free and they bit into her more. Red stained the ropes. She felt bile rising in her throat.
“I need to stop! I’m going to hurl!”
“Get her down! Let her do her womanly tasks.”
They set her down and untied her ankles and wrists. The blood pumped with ferocity back into her limbs. She ran over to a tree and retched out the little that was in her stomach. She tasted the acid since she hadn’t eaten in a day. Once done, she got up and headed back towards her captors.
They tied her wrists even tighter. Her ankles remained untied. She yelped out loud and received another slap.
“Quiet, bitch!”
The leader pushed the man away. “I said-”
“What do we have here?”
Maddie’s head snapped to the left as she heard a foreign voice.
Another group of men?
Maddie couldn’t see. Damn the hood!
From the little she was able to view, they were wearing red and black plaid. She didn’t know much about Scots, but she assumed that they were from another clan. Great! All she needed was to be in the middle of a fight between two clans! It would just be her luck, too.
“Kerrs, what are ye doing to her?”
“Step back, Ram. Mind yer own.”
“What are ye doing tying a woman? Canna ye get one to go willingly into yer bed? I mean, she doesna look like she has room for choice, but nonetheless,” the newcomer said, joining his men in laughter.
She let out an audible gasp.
The newcomer looked at the drab woman. She had on dingy and dirty clothes. She even cowered a little. She was mousy.
How very unattractive.
“Ye canna do any better, Athyn? Seems like ye always choose the lowliest of women.”
Her captor growled and she gasped. Maddie’s mind reeled.
Kerrs? Ram? Athyn? Who were they?
“Last warning, Ram. Move out. She isna dressed to her station, anyhow.”
“Oh? And what station is that? Her livelihood is earned on her back. How else would she dress? Ye’d think she’d have the means to dress a bit better.”
“How dare you!” Maddie said indignantly, moving her covered head in the direction of the speaker. Her head had snapped up but the hood and its shadows still covered half her face.
“Well, the woman has a voice.”
“Aye she does, you muddle-headed goat! And teeth to bite!”
“Oh, well…” and all laughed at her taunt.
“She obviously doesna know anything of self-preservation,” Athyn said dryly, and pushed her slightly. “Get out of the way, Ram. We captured the goods and we’re transporting. Back away!”
“What goods? Who would want her?”
“Many. Her family is wealthy. All of her family has means,” Athyn replied. A few of his men snickered.
“Dressed as she is, it doesna appear they have a rock with which to barter.”
“Untie me this instant!” she screamed.
The warrior who’d slapped her before, stepped near her and slapped her twice more. On the third attempt, Ram reached and stopped the abuser’s hand in the air.
“Doona hit a woman. I’ll nay allow it.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Ram, ye intrude where ye nay have a cause,” Athyn snapped.
Ram shook his head, undeterred. “Undo her wrist ties. Her wrists are bleeding.” He was serious now. His gaze remained locked on Athyn.
Maddie tilted her head trying to sway the damn hood from her eyes. For being Scottish, the newcomer was being civil. She tried to look at him but to no avail. It hurt her to move her arms upwards, so she was unable to move her large hood back. Maddie was only able to get a glimpse of the man’s upper stomach and chest, which was covered by a white garment.
“Doona give me orders, Ram. Ye overstep here, and history or nay, it willna end well for ye.”
“I willna let ye go until ye untie her wrists. That, at least, is where I draw the line.”
“Just who do ye think ye are ordering me about? I doona take orders from ye. I do as I please, especially with her.”
“That’s enough! I’ll nay withstand this a moment longer! And not one of you dare try to slap me anew with your hands or you’ll never be able to release bodily fluids with their assistance again,” she snapped between clenched teeth.
Ram and his men laughed.
“Och, now, I think she told ye, didna she?”
“Shut up!” Athyn turned to Maddie. “Come here, ye conceited wench.”
“Lay a hand on me, sir, and you’ll rue the day.”
“Who in the hell do ye think ye are?” Athyn came over and grabbed her hands. Maddie lifted her slippered foot and nailed his crotch. Athyn howled and hit the ground groaning. One of his men went over to help.
“Back off, ye fool!” Athyn grated out.
Ram and his men erupted in laughter.
“Well, lassie, seems to me like ye can handle yerself. Who are ye, lass? Do ye go willingly with these men?” Ram asked.
Letting out a moan of pain, she managed to move her arms up and flip her hood back. Every man stopped breathing, especially Ram. She was bruised and had dirt smudged on her face, but she was the most beautiful creature he had rested his eyes upon. She had long midnight hair and the creamiest skin. And her eyes! They were the color of gold. They were of such a vibrant hue that they struck him even from where he stood. Her lips were sensuous and curvy, not to mention plump and full.
Her next statement nearly felled him to the floor.
“I am Lady Madeleine Wynton and I have been forcibly taken from my home.” She pointed distastefully with her tied hands. “These men wish to ransom me.”
It was quiet as Ram studied her. She reminded him of someone. After a few awkward moments, Ram finally found his voice.
“She willna go with ye, Athyn. Take yer men and leave.”
Athyn finally managed to get up off the ground. He looked at Maddie.
“Ye hid yer face in the hood!” Athyn sputtered, struck by her beauty.
“Aye, and I feel the bruises on my cheeks.” She didn’t know who hit her, so she stared at all of them. “Hit me again, and you’ll never get up off the ground when my foot is done with you,” she snapped, her eyes focused on their groins.
Ram’s men snorted. Ram hadn’t taken his eyes off of the beauty.
“Leave, Athyn!” Ram ordered. When no one moved, he unsheathed his sword and turned to Athyn and his men. “Leave! Now!”
“The relentless bachelor defending a woman? Doona tell me ye are taken with her?” Athyn studied Ram closely. “I’ll be damned. I’m right. The bachelor is awestruck like we all are.”
“Leave!”
Not wanting to battle at that moment, Athyn and his men left while looking angrily back at Ram and his men.
“Doona grow comfortable, Ram. Our numbers are small now, but when we return for her they willna be. We’ll get her back!” Athyn yelled disgruntledly, and disappeared through the woods.
Ram stood silent for minutes, not knowing how long had passed. She tried to get her wrists free and whimpered.
“Allow me, lassie,” Ram murmured and came over. He took a dirk from his side and slowly cut the binds. Maddie exhaled with relief, even with her wrists raw and red.
“My fingers were starting to turn blue again,” she whispered looking up.
It was her turn to stop breathing. She hadn’t fully seen her rescuer until now.
He was massive! She didn’t reach the top of his shoulders. He must have been a good foot taller than she was. Speaking of his shoulders, they were as broad as an ancient tree. He had dark shoulder-length hair. It looked black but it was highlighted brown from the sun. His eyes were beautiful. They were a lovely crystalline blue. They rivaled the sky. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t place a name on, and she knew it was all right to trust him.
“I, ah, am grateful for your help, sir. Can you point me in the right direction to England?”
He looked at her with a humorous expression.
“I doona think that’s wise, lass. The day is beginning to fall and ‘tis a long journey back. Though ye havena a reason to trust me, I assure ye that ye can take my word as truth,” Ram was saying. “We willna harm ye.”
She would believe anything he said, especially with those blue eyes staring into hers.
“I have never entered into England, milady, and with due pardon, I have no inclination to. Ye’re closer to my home, so I can escort ye back to my holding and send word to yer father. I assume he’d send his men to take ye back home.”
“Yes, but the border can’t be too far away, can it?”
“Aye, it is. Doona ye remember?”
“Nay. They tied at my wrists and ankles, and had me stomach down on the horse.”
“How can ye nay remember then?” One of his men stepped forward and asked. Ram eyed his men and the others got his message. The man who spoke stepped back.
His silent order told them to give her room.
“Well…I felt a blow to the side of my head and blackness took me in,” she said, touching the tender spot on the right side of her head.
Ram struggled to remain passive. Emotions stirred in him. He wished Athyn were in front of him now to beat him as one of his men had this woman.
The common sense that eluded him before now came back with a vengeance. What the hell was he thinking? This couldn’t have worked out better for him.
Do what needs to be done, he instructed himself.
“Well, it is far. Would ye like to join us, or would ye like to fare by yerself?”
With a worried look over her shoulder as she bit her bottom lip, Ram saw her profile. She was lovely. She turned back and looked at him.
“I’m confused,” she said, thinking about it another several minutes. She nodded her head, “Aye, I shall be thankful for your offer and company. God bless you.”
She looked down at her wrists. “They look bad,” she said.
“I’ll wrap them. They should be covered.”
Maddie thanked him once he was finished. They moved to walk, but she stopped. He did the same.
“Is something the matter, milady?”
She smiled at him. He felt disarmed.
“Aye. I don’t know your name, other than Ram.”
Ram introduced the men around him. Once he finished, he turned back to her and introduced himself.
“And I, milady, am Laird Connor Ramsay.”
“Ramsay?” she asked, trying to contain her smile.
He looked at her with curiosity. “Aye, milady, is there a problem?”
“I beg your pardon, sir,” she said as she began to laugh. She held a cupped hand over her mouth as she dipped down. Her shoulders shook.
Connor looked back at his men. They were all looking at Maddie as if she was daft.
“Are ye ill, milady? Did they hit ye too hard?” Connor asked again, his patience running short.
She reached over and grabbed his forearm as she righted herself again.
Sparks.
He felt them. It was intense and gratifying, like a stick catching fire when you rubbed it against another. Apparently, she felt it, too. She pulled her hand back as if burned.
“Please, sir, call me Maddie. And yes, I am well. I do apologize, ‘tis just your name,” she said, hiding a smile as she looked up.
He saw the merriment sparkle in her eyes and it was contagious.
“What about it?” he asked, a rare smile tugging on his lips.
“My hound’s name is Ramsay.”