Medieval Ever After (76 page)

Alex strode over to Niles and placed his sword at his belly. Madeline stared at the ground, her breath hitching in sheer fright.
Her legs wobbled as she fought to regain control.

Alex!
Don’t you recognize how much I need you right now?

She took another tentative step toward him. The men appeared to be closing in around her. She coughed to try to draw in more air, tugging at her bodice to loosen it.

I can’t breathe!

Angry eyes stared at her from the crowd. Tightness clawed at her chest. Would anyone dare reach for her in front of Alex? She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

Just one more step closer. Alex, please don’t leave me.

Alex’s voice echoed deep but powerful. “How dare you tell such lies about the lady! You are fortunate that I am a laird of the king, else I would gut you right here. Or make certain you will never rape again. Perhaps some time in the dungeon will help to clear your thoughts for now, Comming.”

***

Alex caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and gaped when he realized how close Madeline was to him. She took another step toward him, her eyes locked directly onto his, fear radiating from every ounce of her being. Toward him? She was finally moving toward him? He immediately felt a little tug in his chest, but he fought the urge to let a smile steal over his face. By the saints, he would banish that fear from her eyes forever. He knew what he had to do. He pointed to Madeline, and in an instant, his brothers and three of his soldiers had circled around her.

He then turned to Niles Comming, raised his sword, and shouted, “The lass marries me!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Madeline jump in surprise.

Kenneth hopped up and down as if possessed and shouted, “She’ll never agree, Grant. She is a dead woman if she marries you.” He lurched toward Madeline, but was restrained by several soldiers. “I will kill her with my bare hands if she agrees. Madeline, do you hear me? I will kill you, but not until I beat you near to death first! If you think the last time was bad, wait until you see what happens this time. You will never be able to walk again.”

The angry roar of the crowd practically masked the conversation.

“I have not heard it from her, Grant!” Niles bellowed. “She would not dare to marry you when she knows she is mine.”

“She
will
agree to marry me. Will you not, my lady?” He turned to Madeline, who was still surrounded by his men.

Madeline blanched and said, “May I have a word with you, Laird?”

Lowering his voice, he said, “Just say ‘aye’ Maddie and your troubles are over.”

“But could I please have a word first?” she asked beseechingly.

“Are you jesting with me, Maddie?”

The Comming chuckled. “She’s daft, Grant. Have you not learned that yet?”

Alex waited patiently for a moment. What was the lass thinking? He knew she was upset by the presence of her two tormentors. But were not lasses supposed to be thrilled by proposals of marriage?

“She does not sound so agreeable to me, Grant!” Niles taunted.

“Please!” she cried.

Alex gazed into her big blue eyes and recognized the fear in them. He sighed, sheathed his sword, and stepped inside the protective circle his warriors had formed around Madeline. They had to step apart to make room for his broad shoulders.

“What is it, Maddie?”

“I think it should be in private, Alex.”

Close to losing his patience, Alex ground out, “Niles and Kenneth cannot hear you. We do no’ have time, Maddie, you must ask me in front of my men.”

Madeline leaned toward him and whispered, “All right. If you give me your word that you will not tie me to the marriage bed, I will agree to marry you.”

The guardsmen shuffled their feet and stared off into the distance.

Alex’s brow furrowed, “What did you say?”

“If you promise not to tie me to the marriage bed, I will agree to marry you,” she said as she gazed into his eyes. “Please, Alex, I need your word on this.” He noticed her wringing her hands as she spoke. He raised his eyes to hers, but could not bring himself to say a word.

That bastard had tied her to the bed? Raping her had not been enough for him? No wonder the lass was afraid of him. He studied her in amazement. In telling him this, she had confirmed two things. One, this woman would give him the strongest lads in the land. Two, Niles would never make it to the dungeon.

Alex squeezed her hand, then stepped out of the group of warriors surrounding Madeline. He heard Brodie whisper to Robbie. “This will not be good.”

Then Madeline’s sweet voice said, “I do not understand.”

“Oh, you will understand in a minute, my lady!”

Alex did the only thing he was capable of doing at that moment. Roaring, he unsheathed his sword, swung it over his head in a circle, and rushed toward Niles Comming. In his mind, all he could see was his Maddie tied to a bed as Niles Comming grinned and grunted over her.

“Untie him and get him a weapon! This is between you and me, Comming. I fight you for my betrothed’s honor. We fight to the death!”

“Gladly, Grant. I have waited for the moment to use a sword on you. But know that I will be the last man standing!” Niles snickered. “First, you die, Grant, then I will have my fun with the lass again.”

Madeline grabbed Brodie’s shoulder to keep from swooning.

RESCUED BY A HIGHLANDER

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A guardsman untied
Niles and led him to the center of the courtyard while another tossed him a sword. He spent several minutes stretching his muscles, showing off his strength. He paced and paced, bellowing and shouting occasionally. Alex just stood there quietly, ignoring the bluster, and focused on his enemy’s face.

He would have to summon all of his strength and focus to do this right. The vision of his Madeline at the Comming’s mercy was something he had to remove from his mind. It would cause him to act emotionally instead of instinctively, which he could not afford right now. His goal was to let the Comming tire himself out. All of his yelling and pacing was costing him energy, energy he would need to stay in the ring with Alexander Grant. Finally, he stepped toward him.

The two men circled each other, measuring the other’s strengths and weaknesses, and the crowd moved back to make room for the upcoming battle. Even though he had fought in numerous battles and his reputation as a swordsman was legendary, Alex knew better than to underestimate his enemy. Niles Comming was also an excellent swordsman. But every man had a weakness. He was quite sure he knew the Comming’s. But the Comming also knew that Madeline was
his
weakness.

***

Madeline’s gut clenched as she watched the scene unfold. Robbie and Brodie and the other warriors still surrounded her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Brenna making her way down the steps of the keep.

“I do not understand, Robbie. What is happening?” Brenna asked when she reached them. Her hands flew up to her throat as she surveyed the courtyard.

“The Chief is avenging Madeline’s honor. Alex announced that he would take Madeline as his wife, but she insisted on asking him a question before she would accept his proposal,” Robbie said, speaking quietly so as not to disturb Alex’s concentration.

“But why now? Why here? Why not send both men to the king?” Maddie asked.

“I think that may have been Alex’s original plan, but when he heard your question, he did not take kindly to the implications of what you said,” Brodie replied.

Brenna gaped at all three of them. “What did you say, Madeline? I was inside with Jennie. I did not hear your question.”

Robbie and Brodie both cleared their throats and turned their heads away from the women.

“Madeline?” Brenna prompted.

“I…I…” Maddie swallowed bile. “I needed Alex’s word on something before I agreed to the betrothal.”

“Word on what, Maddie?” Brenna’s tone was becoming more and more insistent.

Too embarrassed to repeat what she had said, Maddie blushed and shook her head.

“Madeline?” Brenna stared at her.

Madeline closed her eyes and whispered, “I asked him to promise me he would not tie me to the marriage bed.”

Brenna staggered back in shock. “Oh, saints have mercy! He will kill him,” she added, staring at Robbie.

Madeline hung her head and covered her face with her hands. Now she would be hated by everyone, even her few new friends. And what if something happened to Alex? Her gut churned as a vision of Alex bleeding forced its way into her mind. She fought to hold back her tears.

“I am sorry, Brenna. But I cannot tolerate it anymore. With them both here in front of me, their torture is fresh in my mind. Kenneth tied me to chairs, and whatever was closest at the time. Niles tied me to…to a bed. I cannot live my life like that anymore, not even for your brother.” She wiped the flowing tears off her cheeks. “I had to know for sure.”

Brenna sighed and stepped past her brothers, reaching for Maddie. Her voice softened, “Maddie, you know my brother. How could you think he would do such a thing to you? He would never treat a woman that way.”

“Before I came here, I had started to think all men beat women.” Maddie’s voice broke as she clung to Brenna. “Kenneth has beaten me for the past two years, and he does the same to most of the servants. They say my da spoiled me, so I thought that was why he never hit me.”

Niles’s taunts rose above the crowd.

“Alex!” Madeline broke away from Brenna and pushed against her guards in an attempt to get closer to the fight. “Robbie, I need to stop him.” Tears flowed unchecked down her face.

“My lady, the laird will have our heads if we let you near him. You will only distract him. He needs to concentrate,” Brodie explained.

“Robbie, do something!” Brenna pleaded.

“Brenna, I do not try to stop my laird when he is this focused. This is not a small matter to Alex. It is a matter of honor. From the stories I hear, ‘tis about time someone held the Comming accountable for his actions. The king will not retaliate. Alex is acting to keep peace. Now, cease talking!” Robbie glared at her as he turned to watch the action again.

***

Alex patiently waited for Niles to make the first move. He preferred to get a careful measure of his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. The crowd grew impatient and broke into a chant waiting for their laird to make his move. Niles raised his sword and came at Alex from above. He drove his sword over and over at him. The clash of steel on steel rang out as Alex easily blocked all of Niles’s parries.

Niles took a step back. “You will not get her, Grant. She is mine, and she was good, too!”

Alex turned and swung his claymore in a sideways arc at Niles. Niles blocked the blow, just missing having his belly sliced open. Alex parried at him again and again, swinging his powerful arms repeatedly at his adversary. The crowd’s chants grew louder. Sparks flew as the sounds of crashing metal continued. The ruthless drive continued, spurred by a power even Alex didn’t fully comprehend. Then a shout wrenched from the crowd as Alex slipped on the gravel and took the edge of Niles’s sword in his right thigh. The crowd booed at the injury to their laird. First blood had been drawn.