Page 50 of How to Woo a Highlander

“Ah, so the blood on yer dress was yer doing. I had thought that it was Alastair who had rubbed that on ye. Ye truly are somethin’ special,” he added. “I suppose yer words hold some water, but ye see, I realize that I quite like ye tied up in this way. If ye dinnae behave, I have nay qualms havin’ a hostage as a wife.”

Jane gasped in disgust as he placed a cold hand on her thigh. It felt as though snakes were crawling on her skin. She could only whimper as he chuckled wickedly, letting her go and getting to his feet.

“Good lass,” he said before heading out of the tent. “I wouldnae make much noise if I were ye. There are soldiers everywhere, and nae all of them would be able to control themselves if they happened upon a scarcely dressed beauty such as ye.”

With that final warning, he left her alone, and not knowing what else to do, Jane could only bite into the cloth she lay on and sob.

* * *

“Alastair!”

The voice was familiar, but it was so far away. It felt like he was underwater, and vague shapes were swimming across his vision.

“All of the men are dead, and he’s covered in arrows, why are you shaking him? Where is my daughter?!”

The second voice was only vaguely familiar, but he could not place it.

“His heart is still beatin’, Mr. Baxendale. Alastair, please me friend, open yer eyes. Ye are nae dead.”

The first voice spoke again. William. The voice belonged to William. He needed to get back to his friend and needed to find Jane.

Jane!

“Jane!” he yelled as he came back to consciousness. He was in the forest, and the familiar face of his best friend was hovering above him. William’s expression burst into a relieved smile as he woke.

“Oh gods, Alastair, ye are awake. I was so worried!” John Baxendale’s face replaced William’s, and he looked stern.

“Jane, you say? Yes, Jane, where is my daughter?!” the man thundered. William tried pulling him away.

“Be gentle with him. He barely survived, and if ye are nae careful, ye will send him to death yerself!” he complained.

Alastair tried to sit up but groaned as pain assaulted his senses from every part of his body. That was right; he’d been showered with arrows. William was quick to come to his aid.

“Be careful, there are several arrows in your body, and some are broken. What happened, and did Jane come here?” His friend asked as he helped him sit up. Alastair pressed his hand to his forehead as he tried to recall what had happened.

“Jane. Jane was here; she killed a man,” he said.

“She did what?” John Baxendale asked, stopping his pacing and giving Alastair a disbelieving look.

“I was goin’ to send her back, but she wanted to stay… she wanted to spend the night…” As he spoke, William pressed his lips together and glanced back at John Baxendale, who was once again fuming. Luckily before he could react, Alastair remembered what was truly important.

“Lain!” he yelled out, his eyes clearing as he grabbed William by the arms, not caring about the arrows that were sticking out of his flesh as he raised it.

“Lain betrayed us! He is workin’ with the Grant clan. He alerted the Grants to attack first because ye were expectin’ help, and he alerted them again to ambush me. He took Jane with him! He hit her and he carried her away. She is in the enemy’s camp!” he announced.

William looked shocked at finding out about Lain’s betrayal.

“Lain? Why would he…?” William asked, trailing off. John Baxendale was much less sensitive, however, and signaled to his men to gather round.

“I want you to bring me some ale and come here. We are going to take out these arrows. Tear strips of cloth from all the extra you are wearing and give them to me to tie his wounds,” he ordered, and the men scurried to do as he asked. He turned to William,

“Now is not the time to be surprised. It is war, betrayals happen. We are going to keep your friend alive and then we are going to find my daughter. I am expecting a word from my army soon. They will tell me when they arrive at your borders; they are stationed not too far.”

“Son, this is going to hurt,” John warned before pulling out the first arrow.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jane was not sure how long she had spent crying, but her eyes had begun to hurt. She could hear people moving around and talking to each other outside the tent. It had been a while, but Lain had not come back to check on her. Raising herself into a sitting position, she took a better look around her surroundings. The tent was mostly bare, with only the cloth she was laid on and a wooden chest that probably served as a seat.