Page 12 of Confessions of a Highland Assassin

“How about a bet then? In a few days’ time, the castle will be flooded with beautiful young lasses for the laird tae have his pick. We will see between the two o’ us, who can bed the most.”

“Why will the castle be filled with lasses, Ewan?”

“Yer brain is filled with cheese, Angus. Dae ye never listen tae what any o’ the maids are saying? The laird will be holding a ball for all the surrounding lairds’ daughters. After which, our laird will choose his future wife in order tae carry on his succession,” the man called Ewan gestured with his hand in a chopping motion to dictate the line.

Ava’s ears perked up as she made as many mental notes as she possibly could from the soldiers’ conversation. The ball could potentially be the way she could infiltrate the castle. And if the laird was indeed looking for a bride, it may just make her mission a whole lot easier.

The second soldier, whom Ava came to recognize as Angus, was quiet for a while before he spoke again. “But wouldnae that mean that the castle will be full o’ ladies? I highly doubt any o’ them would be looking tae bed two bastards like us, Ewan.”

“Nae the ladies ye fool. Their maids…” Ewan smacked Angus lightly on the back of his head. “Use the cheese between yer ears lad, even if it is soft.”

“Oh,” Angus piped up again as the fog of his confusion cleared. “I ken what ye are saying now,” he smiled broadly. “A castle full o’ maids, ripe for the plucking.”

“Daft…” the first soldier shook his head and mumbled under his breath.

Their conversation was interrupted by the soldier who had been hovering over the laird while Ava was seeing to the rest of the men. “I thank ye kindly for yer help, miss, but we will be needing tae get back ‘afore it’s dark. Dae ye think that the laird and the rest o’ the men will be able tae travel?”

Ava pushed herself up and wiped her bloodied hands on her ruined dress. “Aye, if he lays on the back of a cart and naebody tries tae undae the knot, he will be just fine. The paste is doing its job and he’s nae bleeding anymore. The rest of the men sustained minor injuries that I’m sure yer healer at the castle will be able tae deal with, but everyone is stable for now.”

“I had already sent a messenger tae the castle asking for a cart tae take us back ‘afore we found ye, they should be arriving shortly. We owe ye a great debt, miss. The laird will be sure tae repay ye in kind.”

“There’s nae need. Anyone would have helped,” Ava felt a slight pang of guilt at the thought of having to kill this man in the future. His friend obviously held him in high regard.

“Aye, but none as deftly as ye did. Ye saved his life,” the soldier flashed her a charming smile.

Ava couldn’t help but wonder how the laird must look when he smiled. His handsome features were chiseled and roguish. She could just imagine how charming he could be. “It’s naething,” she shook her head and focused on the soldier. “I can hear yer cart now. I’ll help ye get the wounded loaded up,” she said as she brushed past the man.

The sound of hooves and wooden wheels could be heard coming through the trees.

Half an hour later, Ava stood watching the cart of men pull away from her tiny cabin and disappear into the woods.

It seems like my luck is turning…

She wiped her sweaty brow with the sleeve of her dark green dress. It was so stained with blood that it appeared she herself had been injured. It was beyond saving and needed to be burned, no matter that it was one of the only three that she owned.

Making her way back into the cabin, Ava surveyed the mess and began to clean, thinking over the plan that had already begun to form in her mind. She would need a way to infiltrate the ball and act as one of the laird’s daughters if Boyd was to fall in love with her before she must complete her terrible task.

She would need a whole new wardrobe and things to make her act believable. But how was she going to achieve any of that with the little money she had? Her head suddenly snapped up when she remembered the wee bag of gold she’d received as a down payment from the man in the tavern.

She had hoped to keep it and add it to the final sum she needed to pay. But desperate times called for desperate measures. She’d pay Skye’s dressmaker a visit and equip herself for the job. There was no other way.

Och, heavens, Skye! I hope that she willnae be too mad that I left her hanging. She has tae return since I never arrived.

Walking over to the window, Ava folded her arms over her stomach and watched the lighting strike the horizon in the distance. Oh, how deathly afraid she was of storms! Hoping that Skye would be returning soon, Ava removed the ruined dress and left it in the corner of the room. They needed to begin making plans on how she could possibly infiltrate the castle and impersonate a laird’s daughter when there was no laird in the picture.

Ava went over the loose ends of the plan in her mind, trying to piece things together in a more solid way. What if they found out that she was an imposter? What if she failed to kill the laird? She couldn’t just poison him and be done with it as she had always done in the past.

The man who had hired her wanted him to be humiliated. The laird needed to suffer for whatever it was that he had done to the man.

Ava clutched her throat and drew her arm around her middle as thunder rumbled in the distance, wondering what Boyd Cameron could have done to invoke such a request on his life. He seemed like a good man. Granted, he had been unconscious when she saw him. But everyone in the village always spoke highly of him. She had heard rumors in the past of a great tragedy that had befallen him. But she had been far too busy to give it much thought.

Purple flashed across the sky, bringing a sheet of heavy rain over the forest. Ava feared it was an omen of things to come. Storms had never brought anything good into her life in the past…

CHAPTER SIX

The angel reached down and gently stroked his cheek as Boyd stared into her beautiful grey eyes. The depths of color reminded him of the night sky just before a storm was about to break on a hot summer evening.

Her soft touch eased his pain and soothed his worries as she nursed his arm. “There now,” she whispered in his ear as her fingers gently massaged the wound. Her voice was soft and warm like a summer breeze.