Tall, strapping, and built as strongly as the Vikings of yore that had conquered Normandy centuries before…oui, she was even descended from them!
A fearsome sword in his right hand glinting in the first bright rays of sunlight.
His men were fully armed, too, from what Isabeau could see with the ship aimed straight at them as if the raider intended to ram their vessel into splinters.Only within the last moments was the sail expertly furled while others took to the oars to bring the ship in closer to them, Euan shouting for her to hide herself in the tent.
She ignored him…nothing on earth to tear her away from whatever was to come.She stared open-mouthed as the man appeared even more breathtakingly handsome now that he stood only fifteen feet away aboard his ship.
She had never fancied red hair on a man, but this fearsome raider deserved an exception for truly, he was beautiful.
“Scots or English?”he bellowed with a deep, menacing voice that gave Isabeau shivers.
“Scots!”she cried out at the same time as Euan, who threw her a black look as if expecting her to hold her tongue.
Yet how could she with so formidable a man appraising her from head to toe?Glad that she had dressed that morning in a sapphire blue gown that complemented her dark hair and eyes, Isabeau blushed deeply—her, blushing!—as visions of him taking her in his muscled arms to ravage her flew through her mind.
The next thing she knew, the raider’s men had pulled in their oars and stowed them beneath the oar holes so the ship now flanked their vessel.With one lunge, he jumped from his deck onto their deck with his sword brandished and a dozen of his men swarming behind to join him.
“Drop your weapons if you wish tae live!”
Thuds all around greeted the raider’s command, Isabeau realizing then from his thick brogue that he was a Scotsman, too.God help her, she couldn’t wait to be free of Euan, the lust she felt for this man overwhelming her.
If all went as she hoped and he agreed to their bargain, she would find him again one day, she swore it!What a glorious time they would share as lovers with a wealth in precious jewels between them…
“Name your purpose for anchoring here!”demanded the raider.“Are you staying or moving onward?”
She almost answered again for Euan, but he waved her angrily to silence.
“We’re on a mission and soon tae be on our way,” her husband sought to explain, gesturing to the castle atop the promontory no more than a quarter league away.“We’ve no quarrel with you and ask that you leave us in peace—”
“Youask?”scoffed the raider, his men fanning out to every corner of the ship and guffawing with laughter.“You’re in no position tae ask me anything, Laird…?”
“MacCulloch…from Dumfries.”
“Och, then, an enemy of King Robert, if you hail from that town.What could be so crucial tae make you sail at night with torches lighting your way?Didna you think that raiders such as myself would spy you?”
“Oui, monsieur, but it was worth it to us—and mayhap worth much to you as well if you’ll only hear us!”Isabeau interjected, Euan glowering at her now with his fists clenched.“We seek something stolen from me and we’ll gladly share it with you if you agree to accompany us safely home.I’m sure my husband will offer you an added reward once we reach Dumfries, won’t you, Euan?”
If a look could strike one dead, Isabeau would have taken her last breath at that moment, though her husband nodded slowly and turned back to the raider.
“Do you have a name?It would help tae know it as we make our bargain…”
The man’s sardonic laughter silenced Euan, who had blanched again though Isabeau found herself enjoying every moment just to see his discomfort.
“Aye, I have a name.Helmsman!What do they call me?”
The wiry fellow that skittered to the side of the raider’s ship laughed, too, a high-pitched cackle bordering on madness that unnerved Isabeau—and only then did she feel a niggling of raw fear.
“Devil of the seas, Laird!Devil of the seas!”
Lisette hurried up the steps of the keep with a tray she had prepared for Colin’s breakfast, his room down the hall from the one she shared with Conall.
Their bedchambers situated on the second story of the massive structure, with two more floors above them and an attic, she had been told by the servants already hard at work in the kitchen.She still knew so little of the household, but she was grateful for the task ahead of her.Anything to keep her busy whenever Conall was away, her heart aching that he had left her so soon.
She knew the duties of a baron were many and he was bound by honor to attend to King Robert’s wishes—but why couldn’t they have lingered together in bed for just a little while longer this morning?
Their first morning in their new home—ah, God, but she was a warrior’s wife and must become accustomed to these separations.Some only for a day, as Conall had said he would return by dusk, and some that would stretch out for weeks and months if he was ever called upon by the king to leave Argyll to join him in battle.
It could happen—and most likelywouldhappen—but for now Lisette took comfort in that she only had mere hours to fill before they were together again.
