Page 24 of Confessions of a Highland Assassin

“Thank ye so much, Sophie. I shall never forget that.”

Sophie reached for the ink and quill beside the stack of papers she’d been working on. “Now, what are we writing? I can dae it right now.”

Reaching for the letter, Ava showed her name on the envelope. “I need ye tae write a response to Boyd Cameron as the surname on this letter.”

“Our Laird?” Sophie asked, visibly surprised by the name.

“Aye. The original letter says that Laird Sinclair willnae be attending the upcoming ball with his daughter. We need the new one tae say that he is away traveling for clan business. But that his daughter will be attending the ball with her maid.”

“Sinclair,” Sophie mouthed the words to herself. “And what is the daughter’s name?”

“I think we should say that it’s Ava Sinclair.”

Sophie looked at her and raised her brows. “I dinnae ken what yer planning Ava. But are ye sure that ye want tae use yer real name?”

“I think it best if we dinnae complicate too many matters,” Ava whispered to her. “There will be so many things I have tae wrap me head around and keep straight. One less thing tae worry about will be better, as long as the surname is different. Ava isnae an uncommon name.”

“I guess ye are right,” Sophie conceded and began to scratch the quill across a spare piece of parchment she had on the table, glancing at the name on the envelope from time to time before continuing. Sophie often talked about all the books she read in her spare time. There was this one romance novel where the lovers died in the end. And one where witches gave a prophecy to some Scottish man. Ava would occasionally listen to her telling Neil stories as a form of entertainment. She'd give anything to be the heroine in one of those stories, one with a happy ending. Because Ava was now unsure of how her risky plan would go. At the very least, if she was to be the one beheaded in the end, she hoped she could save Neil first.

Ava sat nervously looking around the tavern as Sophie wrote the letter, trying her best to glimpse anyone who may have been showing the slightest bit of interest in them. The men in the pub all seemed preoccupied with their ale and the many women that hung on their arms. Two women, in particular, gave her pause for thought. They lounged around the tavern in their red dresses, flirting with any man who paid them the slightest bit of attention. Ava considered her current circumstances in life but knew that she would never consider that line of work for herself. She was far better off being a paid assassin. Nae that I can be proud of what I do…

“There,” Sophie said after a few short minutes. “I kept it short and sweet with the words you requested. After all, we dinnae ken the laird in question or how he may dictate himself in a letter. So, I thought it best tae keep things short and tae the point as his letter was.”

“Thank ye so much, Sophie, ye dinnae ken what this means tae me, truly.”

“I’m sure I have a wee idea,” Sophie smiled at her. “I tried tae mimic some of the writing on the envelope so that naebody will be any the wiser should our laird ken this other laird in person.” Ava felt a moment of panic at not thinking to copy the writing on the envelope. She was incredibly grateful that Sophie had thought of that. What would have happened if Boyd Cameron was in fact acquainted with the other laird and noticed the difference in writing? It was doubtful that they were good friends, given how Bram had been talking about the response. But it was always better to be safe than sorry.

“I will never be able tae repay ye for this, Sophie,” Ava whispered tearfully.

“Just bring Neil back safely,” she smiled at her with equal amounts of emotion. “Now, ye better get going ‘afore me parents get back,” she blew on the letter a few times to ensure that the ink had dried before folding it and stuffing it neatly into the original envelope. “Here,” she handed the envelope and original letter to Ava. “May luck be on yer side with all of yer endeavors, me friend.”

Ava accepted the letters and placed them back in her cloak. “And may ye be blessed beyond yer wildest dreams, Sophie,” she smiled at her friend before rising and making her way out of the tavern.

Breathing deeply, Ava stepped out the door and into the late afternoon sun. The patrons inside the saloon were getting even rowdier as she quickly walked toward the woods. The plan was coming together nicely so far. All she needed to do now was return to the cabin and slip the letter back into the carrier’s bag before he noticed. Hopefully, Skye would have the good sense to wait on a sign from her before letting the man out of her room. After that, Ava simply needed to impersonate a laird’s daughter and convince her own laird to fall in love with her before she shattered his hopes and dreams. And taking his life to save her brother, thereafter. All in the space of two to three weeks.

Ava laughed to herself as she entered the thick line of trees. The situation was far more ironic than she ever could have imagined. She leaned against a nearby oak to clear her thoughts as she laughed bitterly at her set of circumstances.

Her mirth was cut short when a twig behind her snapped. “Who’s there?” she called as the bushes began to rustle and part.

“Dinnae fash, lassie,” an overly large highlander came crashing through the underbrush. It was clear by the way he staggered and slurred his words that he was drunker than a sailor on leave. His ginormous belly protruded over his tight breeches. “I just want a word with ye,” he ambled out of the underbrush, almost falling in the process.

Ava could smell the ale from afar, even before he neared the tree where she was standing. “I’m sorry, but I have tae be going now,” she turned and tried to walk away as fast as she could, her sense telling her that he meant no good.

The man had somehow bridged the gap between them and caught hold of her wrist, crushing it in his ham-like fist. “I said I would like a word with ye, lassie,” he growled at her with his foul-smelling breath close to her ear.

Ava winced at the pain and the pungent odor seeping from his every pore. “Let me go!” she said as fiercely as she could and tried to yank her arm away to no avail. The highlander was much larger than her and gripped her arm even tighter, backing her up against a tree.

She kicked and clawed him as best she could when he ran his free hand up the side of her bodice. Managing to land a blow to his heavy-set jaw, she got her arm back as he staggered, almost toppling over in the process.

The reprise lasted merely a moment when he gripped her again and ripped her dress all the way up her thigh.

“Dinnae touch me!” Ava yelled as the fabric ripped. Her heart raced with panic. If I dinnae do something tae get away, this man will have his way with me! Ava thought frantically as she managed to slap him clean across the face. The blow, however, was not enough to knock him off his feet and he gripped at her bodice, ripping the fabric clean in two, making tiny bits of lace fall to the ground.

Ava was stunned and stood frozen as the man suddenly went reeling backward into the underbrush he’d come from. To her great relief, someone appeared and was fighting off her attacker. Not just someone, Boyd Cameron—standing before her, fighting off her attacker.

The man quickly regained his footing after a few drunken stumbles and came running at the laird with his head tilted like a charging bull. The laird, however, was quicker than him and stepped to the side, allowing the man to crash into a tree. It seemed as though the man was about to get up again when the laird unsheathed his sword, spinning it once in his hand with expert precision.

Ava thought for sure that he was about to run his blade through the man but he used the hilt of his sword to knock him unconscious instead.