Redemption (Book Two of the Shipwrecked Series) (18 page)

I was pulled into
the clearing of the road, and confronted with five large men, all clad in
traditional Highland tartan.  I inhaled sharply as I surveyed the scene.  The
men had stopped their work amongst the bodies and were all starting at me with
looks of disbelief.

“Get her outta
here!” barked a man with black hair and a beard that matched Nathan’s.  “Have
ye no care for the lass, Nate?  These were her people.  She canna see this!”           

Reacting quickly,
Nathan jerked my wrist in the opposite direction, and back into the trees we
went.  He picked me up and unceremoniously sat me on a fallen log, then
crouched before me his eyes scanning my face.

“I’m sorry lass. 
I dinna mean tae pain ye anymore than what ye’ve already been through. 
Sometimes I forget that, well, that women folk are different.  More sensitive,
I guess.” He smiled sheepishly, offering both peace between us and some form of
an apology.

“Where in the hell
am I?” I asked.

He chuckled
heartily. “I’d heard that ye were quite a lady, the Laird would have approved
of ye I’m sure.  Yer just on the border of the McClain lands, lass.  Almost
made it before, before…” his voice trailed off.

I knew that he was
referring to the attack on the coach.  Clearly he thought that I had been
traveling with the group and had somehow escaped murder.

“How did ye
escape, lass?” he asked, eyes inquisitive as they watched me.

“I don’t
remember,” I lied easily, having decided that this was the best course of
action to take. 

“I’m so sorry,” he
said, his eyes searched mine.  “We should have set out tae meet ye sooner.  We
never thought that this could happen.”   His huge hand grabbed mine, offering
his best effort at consolation.    “McClain is going to be seethin’ with anger
when he finds out that ye were attacked so close tae the border.  This willna
be forgotten, lass. Mark my words.” His eyes were kind as he looked down at me
but the vengeance in his voice was threatening.

Barbarians. 
My
father’s words haunted me.

“Thank-you,” I
replied uneasily.  What was a proper response when it was believed that your
companions were murdered and you were an unwitting imposter?  I decided that it
was best to limit the information I provided to these men until I had a firmer
grasp on this precarious situation.

Confident that I
would not run off into the forest, Nathan left me sitting on the log and went
back to the road in search of some food.  He returned with a hunk of bread and
a small piece of cheese, which I devoured in a very unlady-like fashion and
washed down with warm ale. 

Nathan was a very
amiable companion.  I liked him at once even though I was doing my best to
avoid entering into further conversation with him.  I could tell that he was
nervous in my presence and he was in possession of the characteristic of
rambling on in meaningless conversation when faced with a situation in which he
was uncomfortable. 

As I quelled the
growling of my stomach with bread and cheese, he rambled on about an array of
topics ranging from the weather to the fine new horse that he had just
acquired.  He was quite animated as he spoke and I enjoyed watching his ever
changing expressions and gestures that accompanied his thick Scottish brogue. 
The burr in his voice was intriguing.

I brushed the last
crumbs of the bread from my skirt and wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my
dress.  Nathan certainly didn’t seem to be one of the barbarians that my father
had described.

“Yer no at all
what I had expected,” Nathan chuckled, studying my most unlady-like manners. 
“Being high born as ye are, I guess I expected ye tae be more snobbish and
refined,” he nodded in approval as he started down at me with his big brown
eyes. 

I remained quiet,
unsure of how to respond.

“Yer a damn sight
more pretty than I expected ye tae be as well,” he divulged, giving what I
thought to be a form of compliment.  “Having met yer Da, I wouldna have
expected ye tae be sae fair.  Yer small boned as a bird.  And yer hair, it’s
the most beautiful, unusual color,” he added, leaning against a nearby tree as
he looked down at me from beneath his bushy eyebrows.

I was embarrassed
by his frank appraisal of my features, but worried about the fact that he knew
the father of the other Kate whose identity I had inadvertently stolen.  How
long would it be before these men realized that I was not in fact the Kate that
they thought me to be?

“Thank you,” I
responded smiling sheepishly. I was accustomed to getting compliments about the
unusual shade of my auburn hair.  It was a shade somewhere in between red and
brown, and had flecks of gold running through it that were more apparent in the
direct sunlight.  I had always thought that the color of my hair was a rare
blessing.  It not only set me apart from other girls, but it was stunning
against the contrast of my pale skin, and really highlighted the blue of my
eyes.  Yes, my hair was my favorite feature, and I was for some reason glad
that Nathan liked it too.

“You’re not what I
expected either,” I said half-smiling as I looked up at Nathan.

“And just what did
ye expect?”

“Barbarians,” I
said, now suddenly embarrassed by my admission.  I felt my face flush with
color.

“Hmmph,” he
grumbled.  “I hope that ye’ll be pleasantly surprised, lass.  The damn English
never give us much in the way of compliment.”

“I hope so too,” I
muttered in response, hoping that the Scotsmen would not be as terrible as my
father had described them to be.

Nathan stepped
forward and offered me his hand, helping me up from the fallen log.  “I think
that it’s time for us tae be going, lass.  Follow me,” he said, huge hand
supporting me at the elbow and leading me through the trees back towards the
road.  The sinking feeling in my stomach reappeared at the prospect of looking
at the dead people again.

When we reached
the edge of the road we encountered a much different scene.  The coach had been
hitched up to two horses, and one of Nathan’s comrades was sitting in the
driver’s seat, reigns in hand.  I couldn’t help but notice the three mounds of
freshly turned earth on the side of the road.  Evidence of what had become of
the victims of this heinous crime.

 I quickly looked
away from the graves.  I in haled sharply and drew my line of sight back to the
coach.  Nathan stepped forward and opened the door of the coach, then looked at
me with an outstretched hand and invited me inside.

“No!”  I balked,
surprised by the emotion in my voice.  The thought of riding in that coach,
where three people had just been murdered was insane.

Nathan quickly
shut the door.  His eyebrows raised in shock as he interpreted my response.

 “Come on, lass. 
Ye can ride with me.  It’s na far,” he strode over to a large black horse and
untied its reins from a low branch on a tree at the edge of the road.  The
horse whickered in response to his master and seemed eager to be going.  Nathan
mounted the horse in one swift movement, and then held a hand down to me.  I
grabbed Nathan’s huge hand, and he hoisted me upwards, settling me onto his
lap.  There was a chill in the late evening air and he unfastened the cloak
from around his shoulders and settled it about mine.

The coach had
already lurched forward down the road, followed by the three other large men on
horseback.

“I’m glad yer
safe, lass, and I’m sorry for what ye saw today.  Rest now; it’s just a short
bit of a ride.”

 His warm hand
gently pushed my head against his massive chest as he kicked the horse into
motion.  I gave into his invitation, and found that the rhythmic motion of the
horse’s stride soon lulled me into a calmer state.  My body had been thrumming
with adrenaline from the moment that I awoke this morning, nearly naked and
alone in the forest. 

I am mine.
I
chanted over and over in my head as I let exhaustion overtake me. 
I will
decide my own fate.

Chapter Two

“We’re
here, lass,” Nathan said, gently shaking my shoulder.  I had fallen asleep, and
I mentally scolded myself for letting my guard down to such a degree given my
present circumstances.  I had trouble waking from my sleepy haze.  Trouble
reconciling where I was. 

As
my mind came crashing back to reality, my eyes flew open to see large stone
walls rise before me, glowing silvery in the moonlight.  There were two
sentries posted beside a large wooden door, each man holding a lethal looking
sword.  These massive men were also dressed in traditional Scottish clothing,
red plaids striped with green and black gathered with large broaches at their
shoulders.  Most of the men that I had encountered had beards and long hair, giving
them a frankly barbaric look. The guards moved in unison each opening one of
the massive doors to allow us entry to the castle.

“Where
are we?” I asked, suddenly fearful.

“The
keep, lass.  Castle McClain.  This is tae be yer home.”  Nathan said, guiding
his horse through the gate.

Nathan’s
words struck fear into my core.  I dug my fingernails into the leather of the
saddle, fighting off the sense of panic rising in my stomach.  I needed to find
a way out of here and made mental notes of my surroundings, marking exits and
starting an inventory of ways to escape.  I vowed to escape when the first
opportunity presented itself.  I had just escaped one trap and been thrown
directly into another. 

A
teenage boy ran to greet us, gangly as a string bean, awkwardly grabbing the
reins of Nathan’s horse.  Nathan dismounted swiftly still carrying me in his
arms.

“Can
ye walk?  Ye’ve been sleeping a long time,” Nathan said in a soft caring voice.

After
our initial encounter in the forest I had decided that I liked Nathan very
much, with his bushy beard and eyebrows and kind brown eyes.  I could tell from
the manner in which Nathan spoke to me that not only did he like me in return,
but he had taken on the role of my protector, having bonded with me in the
forest.  I was glad that it had been Nathan who had found me rather than one of
the other brutes that traveled with us.  They seemed indifferent to me, and
were not only unfriendly, but their actions indicated that I was a burden to
them.

“Sure,”
I said, testing the strength of my legs, keeping one hand on Nathan’s arm for
support.  I stretched, taking in the scene around me.  The stone walls loomed
high above my head and my heart sank as I scanned the walls for possible
exits.  There were none that I could see.  It appeared as if there was only one
way into this castle, and one way out. 

I
stuck to Nathan’s side as he led me inside the castle to an enormous room,
lined with many large wooden tables.  There was a small group of women sizing
me up from across the room.  I could feel their gossip lingering in the air
even though they were now silent.  I was afraid to leave Nathan’s side being
that he had been kind to me so far. I peered around him and noticed that there
was a roaring fire at the far side of the room, casting a somewhat inviting
glow on the stone walls. 

“I’ll
leave ye here now, mistress,” Nathan said as he pried my fingers off his arm.

 I
hadn’t realized that I had been clinging to him, and was instantly embarrassed.

“Where
are you going?” I asked him, voice betraying me and trembling with
desperation.  I was alarmed at the prospect of my new friend leaving me alone
to deal with the gossiping women.  They way that they looked at me was
unsettling.

“I
need tae go let the Laird ken that yer here, I’ll be back in no time,” he said
encouragingly, picking up on the fact that I was nervous about him leaving me. 
“They’ll take good care of ye, get ye something more tae eat.  Ye won’t even
miss me.”  He chuckled and backed slowly away from me as if he expected me to
lunge at him at any moment.

            I shifted my gaze to
the flock of women who were moving in on me from across the room.  Nathan’s
departure had been all the invitation that they needed to take over my care. 
My caretakers consisted of a group of middle aged women, clucking and stewing
as they pulled me forth into the large room.  They settled me at a wooden bench
at the table nearest the fire.

“Are
ye hungry?” an older woman with gray hair secured in a bun at the nape of her
neck asked with a distinct Scottish lilt.

“Can
we bring ye anything?” a second, younger looking woman clucked, nervously
awaiting my reply. 

“Sit,
sit,” a third woman pressed me down gently towards the bench.

Their
eyes scanned my face, all seeming anxious for my reply, clearly eager to cater
to whatever I wished.  I felt smothered by their overwhelming attention.   They
were trying to be welcoming, trying to set me at ease, but still I sensed their
hesitance.  As women often do, they were holding me at a safe distance, gauging
my character.  I felt as though they were testing to see if I could be trusted.

            “Um, sure.  I’d love
some food, I’ve had a long day,” I smiled uncomfortably, eyes darting between
the three women. 

“Food!”
the plump older woman with the bun bellowed, and then faked a smile.

As
if she had been waiting for the signal, a young woman carrying a tray laden
with bread, cheese and meat entered the great room.  She smiled at me warmly
but nervously as she approached.  She was quite beautiful, strawberry blonde
hair framed her lightly freckled face.  She had bright hazel eyes and a
friendly look about her that made me feel more at ease.

“I’m
Leti,” she said, setting down the tray on the wooden table and sitting down
beside me on the bench. “Actually, that’s short for Leticia, but everyone calls
me Leti.”