Page 4 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
“Ye have found me,” Skylar said. “Now, let Mother Mary go.”
Almost as though he had forgotten he had the dagger to her throat, Colum turned to look at the old woman before slowly lowering his blade.
With another jerk of his head, the men hurried out of the room as quickly as they had arrived, the soldier who had examined her eyes pushing Skylar before him. With a final look toward Mother Mary, Skylar silently thanked her for all her aid. She was not sorry that she had been discovered, yet her regret lay in the fact that Mother Mary and all the nuns had been put in such danger.
“Take care, my child,” the older woman cried out as Skylar was shoved through the doorway.
“If I see any one o’ ye following us, I’ll be sure tae set this whole place alight, with all of ye stuck in here. Then ye’ll ken what Hell really is,” Colum threatened.
Skylar heard gasps escape from the nuns for such blasphemy, but soon enough, she was too far away to hear anything more.
CHAPTERTWO
Maxwell Macleod frowned at the sight before him and, careful not to move a muscle, watched as the group of Laird Johnson’s men hurried into Iona Nunnery.
“What the devil is going on?” Bram whispered.
Bram Macleod crouched low beside his brother, hidden in the undergrowth not far away, watching the scene unfold.
“I dinnae ken, brother. But whatever it is, makes nae sense tae me.”
Laird Maxwell Macleod and his men were on a mission. As the tension before the battle at Killiecrankie rose, Maxwell was following orders by John Graham of Claverhouse, better known as Viscount Dundee, to discover the goings on of the Lowlanders, given their alliance with the English.
The assignment had sent Maxwell, Bram, and a small group of the former’s men on a long and gruesome journey as they followed the enemy from a safe distance behind.
Viscount Dundee had made it clear that under no circumstances was Maxwell or his band of men to reveal themselves to Johnson’s army, as he was one of the most powerful English supporters. It was the reason Maxwell had taken only five of his best soldiers to accompany him. After many miles of travel, Johnson’s men had finally made camp on Iona Isle, and Maxwell and those with him now found themselves watching as they entered the small nunnery.
Maxwell’s motivation for being there was more than just following orders, and Dundee took advantage of it when giving him the task to go after the wicked man’s soldiers. Laird Johnson was Maxwell’s greatest enemy and had inflicted the deepest wound upon him once he had taken his lairdship. A physical wound would have been easier to bear, but what Maxwell had suffered was far more painful. If he could inflict the same agony or worse on that evil fiend, he would relish in it.
His moment would come. Maxwell was only biding his time before he could take his revenge. Viscount Dundee had offered him such an opportunity. Though Maxwell could not act just yet, even following the laird’s men and reporting back to Dundee would damage Johnson’s plans. He was certain of it.
“I’ll be glad when we’re back home,” Bram muttered, his voice now not as low in the absence of those whom they followed. “Though I do think ye ought tae be worried.”
Maxwell looked at his brother and saw him grinning. “Why?”
“Och, dinnae play the fool with me, brother. Ye ken well why. You were at the last council meeting, as was I. The council’s eager for ye tae wed Lady MacTavish, and they want it sooner rather than later. With all the time we’ve spent away chasing this lot,” he jerked his head toward the small building below, “they’ll be running out o’ patience.”
“Well, there’s nae much I can do about it, is there?” Maxwell huffed. “This mission is just as important, if nae more so, than my wedding and making an alliance with the MacTavish clan.”
“Maybe so, but I cannae say that’s how the council will see it.”
“Och, I dinnae want to think about it,” Maxwell growled.
Bram suddenly chuckled. “I wouldnae be surprised if we return and they have the priest standing there waiting on ye.”
A loud commotion stopped Maxwell from answering, and both his and Bram’s attention now moved toward the nunnery. Maxwell frowned at what he saw and, for a moment, thought his eyes were deceiving him. Johnson’s men were pouring out the same way they had entered, only now, they shoved a nun along with them.
Bram turned to Maxwell and looked utterly confused, to which he shrugged, for his brother’s feelings matched his own. He had not really considered why Johnson’s men had arrived at the nunnery. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had thought they might be there to collect something of significance, perhaps a box or a document. Nowhere in his imagination had he thought they would be looking for an actual nun.
The men were obviously in good cheer, jeering at the poor woman and celebrating their own success. Whatever they had come for, evidently, they had found.
“What are we doing here, and why has this debacle led tae a nun?” Bram growled.
“Shush, brother. We dinnae want tae give our position away,” Maxwell hissed, waving a dismissive hand to quieten him.
Maxwell may well have silenced his brother, but Bram had a point. He had wondered why such a long and treacherous journey had taken them to the Isle of Iona, and his curiosity and confusion had only deepened when he had watched Johnson’s men enter the convent.
He and Bram continued to watch as Johnson’s thugs shoved at the nun, pushing her viciously in front of them. She had a fire in her belly, for she was not going without a fight. But still, Maxwell could simply not comprehend what was unfolding before him.
