Page 25 of Kidnapped By a Highland Shadow

The Promise

Arran cursed himself for a prize fool as he ran. Hadn’t he seen intelligence sparkling in the lass’s eyes? Hadn’t he thought that she would try something like this?

Pace for pace, in daylight, she could never have escaped him. But in the dark, in unfamiliar terrain? There was every chance she could lose him, and Arran would have botched his opportunity. He was sure that he would never get so close to the McTavie girl again.

Pippia, Arran’s irritating brain kept reminding him, as if to keep him aware that she was not simply “quarry,” or a task to be done, or even a faceless lass to abduct and never think of again. This was Pippia, the woman he’d watched playing with children, loved by all in her village.

Pretty Pippia, clever Pippia, Pippia who…

Who had caught her foot in a root and gone tumbling to the ground. Arran was on her in a second. She was ready for him and brought her knee sharply into his stomach. Arran gasped, and Pippia wriggled out of his grasp. He grabbed her ankle, hauling her back, and she shrieked.

Arran ground his teeth. A scream in a silent forest at night carried a long way. Who knew who would be listening? Arran was forcibly reminded that they had not escaped from McTavie territory.

He hauled Pippia backward, with her struggling all the way. Dodging flailing knees and kicking feet, Arran climbed up over her, using his knees to trap her legs and pinning her wrists above her head.

He had her trapped.

For a long moment, the two of them stared at each other in the moonlight. Arran was suddenly uncomfortably aware that he was on top of a beautiful woman, their faces inches from each other. Pippia’s skirt had gotten rucked up during their wrestling, and he resolutely did not look down at her legs. She’d gone through enough without having him ogling her, too.

“Are you going to be calm?” he asked, trying to stay focused on the problem at hand.

“No!”

“That’s fair enough. I’m not sure I’d want to be calm if I were getting pinned to the forest floor by a kidnapper,” Arran acknowledged, and he was sure that a brief smile crossed Pippia’s face, hastily wiped away.

“Well, are you going to let me go?”

“Look. I can’t. We’ve been through this…”

“Aye, and you’ve given me no answers.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll try and make you as comfortable as I can, but you have to come with me. I promise I won’t harm you. I swear it on my life and my honor.”

She regarded him suspiciously. A well-earned suspicion, Arran acknowledged.

“Can you promise I won’t be harmed when I get to where I’m going?”

Arran hesitated. He couldn’t know what Stewart planned—no one ever did—but surely keeping the lass alive would be a key part of collecting the ransom. Besides, he’d be there, and he’d be able to stop any of Stewart’s less disciplined warriors from getting their hands on the poor girl.

“I promise. I’ll be there, and I’ll watch out for you. Look, you’ve no idea where you are. If you did escape from me now, you’d only get lost and die of cold and thirst, or else a group of bandits would find you, and then it’s ‘farewell, princess.’”

“I’m not a princess.”

“You’re missing the point. I’ll not hurt you, but you can’t get away from me. You’d do better to save your energy and do us both a favor and just go along with all this. I’ll keep you safe and warm, and I’ll see that you’re fed and as comfortable as I can make it. I promise. Trust me.”

For a moment, Arran thought that Pippia was about to calm down, that she would actually take him at his word.

Then, of course, she started to wriggle again, taking advantage of Arran’s slackened grip on her wrists.

It didn’t work, of course. With a sigh, Arran hauled them both to their feet, unceremoniously slinging Pippia over his shoulder.

She squealed and protested, vainly beating against his back. He wrapped an arm around her kicking legs, and after a moment or two, Pippia realized that she was well and truly trapped.

She muttered an unladylike curse under her breath.

“I suppose you know it isn’t womanly to swear,” Arran remarked.

“And I suppose you know it isn’t chivalrous to kidnap innocent, helpless women.”