Page 49 of How to Woo a Highlander

Jane

He called out, not sure if the word left his lips, and that was his last thought before he succumbed to darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Her head was aching. Jane opened her eyes and found she was inside a tent. She was dizzy, and when she tried to move, she realized that her hands and legs were bound.

At first, she was confused, not remembering anything and wondering how she ended up in such a situation.

Where am I?

“Are ye awake, me precious lady?” A face swam into her vision.

“Lain?” She asked groggily, “What’s happening?”

“Ah, apologies for the binds, but ye are a lot more spritely than I expected,” he said. At that moment, she suddenly remembered everything, and her eyes widened. She strained against her bindings, rolling around on the cloth she lay on. Her hands were tied behind her, so it was difficult to move.

“Where is Alastair?” she shouted, looking around the tent. “Lain, what did you do with Alastair? Where is he?!”

Lain stared at her thoughtfully as she writhed around, trying to free herself from the tight ropes.

“Ye shouldnae move around so much, Jane. Ye are scarcely dressed in the first place,” he added, causing Jane to remember that she was still wearing her ripped dress, and it had already ridden up to the middle of her thighs. Lain shrugged.

“It is nae that I dinnae enjoy the view, me darlin’, but I dinnae want me future wife baring herself on the floor in a dirty tent surrounded by soldiers. Although ye dinnae seem to mind what condition ye are in, considerin’ the state I found ye in. Ye truly surprise me at each turn,” he rambled, speaking directly from his thoughts.

Jane glared at him venomously.

“What are you talking about? Who is your future wife? Stop spewing nonsense and tell me where Alastair is!” she demanded, rolling around and forcing herself into a sitting position. Lain clicked his tongue.

“Ye are me future wife. The Grant clan is going to win this war with me help, and they have already promised me the Lairdship of the Mackenzie clan as long as I dae everythin’ they say. Ye, me wee bonny flower, are going to be me English bride.”

Jane glared at him with disbelief. He was mad. How did she not notice it all that time? The last thing she had done with him was to visit orphan children in their house! How was he so good with children when he had such a dark side? It was like she was looking at a completely different man.

“My father wants me to marry William, and I want to marry Alastair, what makes you think that you will be able to marry me?” she asked. Lain only chuckled, pointing at her.

“That is where ye are wrong. Yer faither only wants ye to marry a Laird. It doesnae matter who it is that holds the Lairdship. He will agree to this marriage, and ye will have no choice,” Lain said, correcting her while she stared at him as her jaw dropped. As an afterthought he added, “Ye should also stop mentionin’ Alastair so much because it is gratin’ on me nerves, and there is nay way for a dead man to be of any use to ye.”

The words hit her like a ton weight. Pain tore through her heart, and she was wailing before she knew it as the loss rendered her soul in half. Alastair was dead; he was indeed dead. All those arrows aimed at him; there was no way he could have survived. Her love was gone.

A sudden slap across her face brought her cries to an abrupt halt. Lain had hit her.

“Will ye shut up?! Ye are in a war camp, and this is nae place for ye to be screamin’ like ye are in childbirth. It is only because of me that ye are alive in the first place!” he thundered. Jane fell to the side, sobbing quietly, her tears dropping nonstop and blood dripping from a cut on her lip.

“Why are you doing this, Lain? I thought they were your friends! Why are you betraying them?” she cried. Lain glared at her for the first time.

“Me friends? Ye truly believe that they are me friends? They never took me seriously, Jane. Ever since me faither died, I have only been in the castle because they respected me faither too much to get rid of me. They relegate me to the background all the time, and they never expect anythin’ good to come out of me. They’re always underestimatin’ me and reducing me to a lazy loafer who willnae dae anythin’ else but play around with women.” He was angry now, yelling in her face.

“I am so much more than that, and I thought that ye saw it. Ye spent time with me, but then I realized that ye only did it because Alastair was payin’ ye nay attention. The Grant clan saw me potential; I hear everythin’ that goes on in that castle, and it turns out, I am marvelous at war strategies. It was I who came up with the idea to send men as raiders to randomly attack the villages because I ken how Alastair would react. The Grant clan gave me a chance. Now I am going to take everything that me precious friends held so dear. Their clan, and ye,” he added.

It was true that no one took Lain seriously, but that was no one’s fault but his own. He did nothin’ but laze around every day and flirt with numerous women. Yes, he was more intelligent than she had expected when she spent time with him, but he also gave her the impression that he was too lazy to do much with his brilliance. No matter what, he had betrayed his friends. She glared at him.

“You are a bastard, Lain,” she spat. He only laughed at her.

“Well, that’s the worst thing I’ve heard come out of yer mouth. I suppose I believe Alastair when he said ye have a feisty tongue,” he mocked. She continued to glare at him, hate bubbling up inside her.

“You know, I have killed a man. I killed him because I feared that if he lived and I let him go, he would bring danger for Alastair. You… killed Alastair. Do you think that I would let you live? Do you think that even if you succeed, you will be able to sleep at night with me as your wife?” she threatened.

Lain only looked at her, his brows raised.