Page 48 of A Kilted Marriage of Convenience

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

Ciara’s worst nightmare had finally come true.

She looked over the railing with horror as the two birlinns, which had looked like tiny dots on the water not so long ago, sailed steadily closer. It was almost as if her boat was stuck in place, motionless on that wide blue sea, waiting patiently for the enemy to board.

The crew and passengers around her fell to utter chaos. Their boat had some defensive abilities—two canons, a complement of guards from Aidan—but it was not going to be much of a fight against two armed and fully-manned birlinns.

Men handed out weapons and bolted the cannons securely to the deck. Her personal guards shifted from foot to foot in silent anticipation, in a way that was familiar only to those who lived and died by the sword. Aidan’s men had their weapons drawn and stood in a tight formation around her.

She could hear the sounds of drums coming from the enemy decks. Their own oar master must have had the oarsmen working at a frightening rate. The oars slapped the water furiously as they scrambled to escape their pursuers. Their ship had only twelve rowers, and though it was a fast vessel, it was no match for the newer boats of their pursuers.

The captain barked orders down at his crew, who in turn passed the instructions down amongst themselves. He was a burly man with thick shoulders and a full black beard specked with gray. He seemed like a capable leader, and he was admiringly composed under such circumstances. “Give me more sail!” he shouted, and the crew scrambled to obey.

Ciara felt the difference as the ship moved faster, almost as if they were bouncing above the waves and not plowing through them. The sail master directed them eastward, filling the sail with wind and finding a current in the sea. He gave a loud laugh at his maneuver and cheers erupted around the ship from the crew. Ciara looked over the side of the boat. They had started to pull away from their pursuers, even if it was only slightly.

Her heart pounded in her chest at a furious pace. Dared she hope? Would they be able to escape pursuit? It seemed unlikely on the open water, and she found herself praying quietly for a miracle. The bustle on the deck continued as people traveled up and down the rigging, adjusting the sails to ride the wind better. There was so much activity all around her, when one of the crewmen ran up to her, but the guards stopped the boy short.

“Apologies, my lady,” the boy said in a sharp voice, glancing warily at the menacing guards. “The captain says that he would be much more comfortable if ye were below deck with the cargo, out of the way of danger..”

Ciara glanced toward the captain when the boy finished delivering his message, and she saw that he was looking in her direction with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Ye run now and tell him...” Ciara paused, looking back at the boy who had been waiting for a response. “Tell him that I am grateful for his kindness and concern for my wellbeing. Also, tell him that if need be I will head into the hold. For now, I shall wait here with my guards and stay out of yer way.”

The boy nodded then scurried off. Ciara looked at the man again just as the boy whispered her answer. His expression darkened, and he looked sharply toward Ciara with menace, muttering something she could not hear from where she was standing. He seemed to send the boy off on another errand.

Well that settles that, Ciara thought as she turned back to look at how far they had gotten away from their pursuers. She froze in shock as she realized that the ships had somehow gotten closer.

How had they managed to close the distance between them? The ships were sailing much faster now. They had gotten so close that Ciara could make out the shapes of sailors running on their decks. They must have found the current as well, and their newer boats allowed them to sail better through the waves.

Ciara gripped the railing tightly, her knuckles turning bone white. Those black sails... They sent cold fear through her bones, and she shivered, thinking of her father climbing off one of those ships. How could she fear one man so much? Earlier she had wondered then what the worst thing that could happen to her was. Standing on the deck, watching those ships get closer and closer, she knew the answer to her question: capture by her father was the end.

She missed Aidan, missed how safe he had made her feel. With him, she was untouchable. That was long gone now. All that remained was a gaping hole where all their happy memories together had turned into instruments of torture. Her biggest regret was that it had been so short-lived. If only we could have had a little more time.

The captain screamed an order and it cut through the air. Men ran to the side of the boats and began barricading the sides to prevent boarders. The two pursuing ships had gotten so close that Ciara could hear their captains’ cries. She could see rank upon rank of armed men on both decks. They were ready to board.

The pursuit had lasted for over two hours. It was infuriating to her that they had been fleeing for so long and there was still an endless blue sea before them, with no land in sight. The attackers closed the gap, and she could see the excitement on the faces of the men aboard those enemy vessels.

In contrast, the highlanders on her ship looked terrified. They were all hardened men, men-at-arms and seasoned sailors. However, they faced unwinnable odds. They were probably outnumbered three to one. It was going to be a slaughter.

Ciara suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. All these men on her ship were about to fight and probably die because of her. Because she had chosen to defy Keir MacNeil’s will. She looked from face to face and wanted to weep for them, to apologize, to take their fate on her shoulders. It would have been useless, but she felt a searing inside her as she understood what was going to follow.

The same boy from earlier ran across the deck to where she was standing and pointed toward the captain, who gave her a look as if to say, “Well? Dae ye still want to stand there, woman? A fight is about to happen!”

In response, she steeled herself and nodded, and he shrugged and waved his boy back to him. He pulled a fine curved sword from its sheath and prepared to fight.

The pursuing ships were upon them. They started drifting, giving the ship a wide berth. The ship on the right sought to cut off the captain, who had started a maneuver in that direction. The second one, on the left, proceeded more carefully as they approached the stern of Ciara’s ship, obviously worried about the canons facing from that side.

The captain gave the command and the canons exploded. Ciara felt the shock vibrate from the grain of the wooden deck up her legs and shaking her teeth in her jaw. She crumpled like a piece of paper at the impact, squeezing her eyes shut. The sound was like the crash of thunder in a winter storm.

The sound of the return volley from one of the other ships left her disoriented. She felt a firm hand pull her by the arm to her feet, holding her steady.

“My lady, are ye sure ye dinnae want to go below deck? It’s a canon fight now, and this deck isnae safe!” She looked up at one of Aidan’s men as he shouted the words at her over the din of the explosions going on around them.

Ciara, still disoriented, was slow in gathering her wits. She belatedly understood what the soldier had said and was about to reply when a cannonball tore right in front of her, taking three sailors with it as it splashed into the water.

She stared at the spot where the men had been with disbelief. They were just… gone.

The soldier was still holding her steady. He yanked her roughly and started towing her below deck. He was the leader of their group and he had clearly seen enough. Ciara did not have the will to protest anymore. She was too in shock, and everything started happening fast, all at once.