Page 33 of The Mad Highlander
“Ye look like a cat that has gotten the cream.” Margot’s voice drew him back to the present as he turned to see her standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Was there something ye needed, Maither?” he responded gruffly and turned his attention back to his desk. His motherwould tease him mercilessly if he uttered so much as a hint of what he was feeling.
“Nae, I didn’t need anything, I just wanted to thank ye for the effort yer making with Iris. I ken that it hasn’t been easy for ye, but I can see a difference in her.” Margot pushed herself off the doorframe and came into the room, wearily eyeing the untidy stacks of parchment.
He felt his heart warming at his mother’s sentiments despite his refusal to let her see. If he had been honest with her, he would have told her that it wasn’t an effort at all. Spending time in Iris’ company felt more freeing to him than anything else he had done in his life. The more time he spent with her, the less he seemed to lash out at everyone around him.
“I ken that I pester ye at times, but it’s only because Iris is such a…” Her face suddenly paled as a scream of terror ripped through the air.
“Where is Iris?” Cayden jumped to his feet, demanding a response as his eyes frantically searched his mother’s face. The panic he saw in her eyes suddenly turned his blood to ice in his veins.
Margot opened and shut her mouth like a fish gasping for air before she finally managed to utter a word. “She’s with Robyn; they asked if they could gather berries at the edge of the forest. I told them nae to venture too far, but I think they are both still out there!” Her voice became more urgent as she searched his face. “Cayden ye must hurry!”
He was out the door and headed down the hall before his mother could even utter her last sentence.
Several maids screamed in terror and threw their bundles of neatly folded linen in the air as he passed them in a whirlwind of speed. His mind was almost blank with fear as he sprinted across the grounds, heading straight toward the edge of the forest.
Where are they?
He stopped for a breath as his eyes frantically searched the line of trees. Everything was still, save for the wind that rustled the heather bush.
A second scream curdled his blood as a flock of birds took flight, guiding him in the right direction.
Cayden could hear his blood pounding in his ears as he cleared the line of shrubbery in one giant leap. Thistles scratched his thighs as he raced through the forest like an angry bull.
“Leave her alone!” His cry broke through the air as he spotted two men at the other end of the clearing; one was holding his sister with her hands firmly secured behind his back, but the other…
His vision suddenly turned red as he spotted Iris on her back, fighting for dear life as she clawed at the Highlander’s face.
The man laughed mockingly at her as he held her down and tried to hold her face, so he could kiss her. Iris moved from side to side, not giving him the chance.
Sprinting toward the man, Cayden gripped the braid that hung down his back, yanking him back as he cried out in pain.
“What the devil do ye think yer doing?” The Highlander growled with a fierce grimace as he hit the forest floor with a loud thud that should have knocked the air from his lungs.
Turning to Iris, Cayden quickly helped her to her feet and searched her face. “Are ye hurt?”
“Nae.” She shook her head and pointed behind him with a loud gasp.
The Highlander gripped his arms, pulling him back, but Cayden was quicker as he spun around and landed a blow on the man’s jaw that sent him flying clean across the forest floor.
The second man, who was a lot smaller in stature than the first, seemed to have second thoughts as he took a step back, pulling Robyn along with him.
A wave of pride washed over his body when Iris came up from behind and bludgeoned the man clean over the head with a log. The man crumbled like a stack of hay in the wind as Robyn escaped his grip, running into Iris’ arms with a sob.
The moment was short-lived when the bulkier man came to his feet, shaking off the hit as he glared at Cayden.
“Who are ye, an’ what do ye want?” Cayden growled, cracking his knuckles as he flexed his fingers when the man began to move in a wide circle. His precise steps and calculated actions spoke of someone who had battle experience. He wasn’t just a mere robber who had been prowling the woods. He was someone who knew how to fight. Cayden could see in the man’s eyes that he had come there for a purpose.
“That depends, who is asking?” The man’s cracked lips split into a devious smile, revealing an ugly row of yellowing, broken teeth.
“The laird of these lands! Ye are trespassing on O’Brien territory. That makes ye either a brave man or a very stupid one,” Cayden lowered his voice to a growl when it seemed as if the man was about to charge. “If ye have hurt me sister or wife in any way, I shall repay ye tenfold. So much as a scratch, and ye will wish ye had never stepped foot near me castle.”
“Ye really are the mad laird, aren’t ye? Well, I’ll be damned; I’ve heard stories of ye, how yer hands thirst for blood. Ye arenae as big as they say. I’ll be the talk of me clan when I cut ye and gut ye like a fish. Ye may think of me as a foolish man, but I count meself lucky. I was hired to do away with the black-haired lass from Clan McCabe, but here I find meself with three prizes instead of one. I’ll be a hero when the rest of the lads hear about how I killed the… mad… laird…” His voice trailed off as a manic laugh cracked through the air.
Iris’ screams reached his ears just as the man charged at Cayden with his head lowered like a raging bull.
Jumping to the side, Cayden allowed the man to fly past him, losing his footing as his head cracked against the trunk of a large oak.
