Page 7 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
“Ye little bitch,” he roared. Enraged at her actions, he took hold of her dress in both hands and yanked the material, tearing the top of it apart.
“Nae!” Skylar shrieked, throwing her hands about her to cover herself.
Colum lifted his hand to grab her at the exact second a spine-chilling battle cry filled the air.
CHAPTERFOUR
Maxwell had seen enough. Watching Colum caressing her and then hearing the spine-shivering words that followed, he made a decision, caring little about Dundee’s commands. Throwing a hand signal to Bram, he readied himself to attack. In turn, Bram gestured the same to the remaining men who were all hiding a little further back in the woods.
With an almighty cry, the men followed Maxwell’s lead and launched forward. Johnson’s army jumped with fright, completely unaware of their enemy’s presence, and in their inebriated state, they were hardly ready for battle. With the others floundering to reach their weapons in time, Maxwell and his men had the immediate advantage. They did not squander it. Swords and daggers clashed, blood splattered against scarred and gnarly skin, and men being slaughtered cried out in agony.
Maxwell had headed straight for Colum, but three men had sprung forward, clearly protecting their war chief. Their drunken state worked in his favor, and he downed two of them, causing the other one to flee in fear.
By the time Maxwell turned to battle Colum, he was nowhere to be found. In fact, looking across the disarray of the camp with knocked-over pots, discarded flagons, doused fires, and torn tents, he saw many a felled man. Thankfully, none of them were his own. Those of Johnson’s army who had not been slaughtered had turned and run, for there were no others remaining. Likely, Colum was amongst them. While Maxwell was satisfied they had managed to take their enemy down with no casualties of his own, he was frustrated he had lost the chance to teach that man a serious lesson in manners.
Maxwell finally turned back to the scene around him and brought his attention to the woman who now looked utterly terrified. She shook violently from head to toe, her eyes wide in fear yet seemingly frozen to the spot in which she stood. He had given himself away for this stranger. He now hoped it was worth it.
Taking long strides toward her, he pulled the large plaid off his shoulders and, upon reaching her, draped it around her body. Perhaps she was shaking from fear, or perhaps she was freezing cold. The night wind was bitter, and she stood there with only a thin dress to cover herself. Colum’s actions had hardly helped, for after practically tearing it off her body, the material was now covering her even less.
Standing next to her now, he could see her beauty even more clearly, and even under such intense circumstances, he could not help feeling attracted to her. Her eyes, as they stared back at him in her terrified stupor, caught his attention even more, for the unusualness of them he had noticed earlier was far clearer now. While one was a glistening sky blue, the other looked almost white in comparison. Both of them looked at him in trepidation.
“Ye are safe now,” Maxwell said firmly. “Ye’ll come with us. We’ll take care o’ ye.”
She shook her head determinedly and took a terrified step back from him. While she didn’t speak, Maxwell understood her reticence. She could not know that they were there to assist her. As far as she knew, they were as bad as the others and only wanted her for their own degrading pleasure.
“Nae harm will come tae ye. I promise,” he said, holding out his hand and trying to reassure her.
But in that second, she turned to run. If he hadn’t put the plaid upon her, he might have had a more difficult task of catching her for she was quick. But the plaid fell around her legs, catching beneath her feet and ultimately causing her to tumble and fall as he pursued her.
That still did not stop her, for she scrambled to get to her feet, her legs still tangled in the plaid. Maxwell had no choice. Jumping to grab her arms, she screamed at him.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
“I’m nae going tae hurt ye, woman,” he barked back, fighting with her as her arms flailed back and forth, narrowly missing his face.
Eventually, he caught a tight hold of her wrists and, moving his heavy, solid weight on top of her body, and pinned her to the ground.
Her eyes flew open with panic, and he could only imagine, after what Colum had said to her only a short time earlier, what she might now expect him to do. Instead, he stayed perfectly still as she lay frozen beneath him. Looking at her intently, he spoke again.
“I’m nae going tae hurt ye.” His voice was calmer now, speaking in a softer, comforting tone.
Fear and confusion ran across her face. Her eyes darted back and forth as they searched his own, clearly still afraid but now trying to ascertain if he was speaking the truth. She had experienced a dreadful ordeal that night and he could not imagine the terror running through her. Yet, he was not Colum, and his men were nothing like Johnson’s army.
When Maxwell satisfied himself that she had calmed enough, he pushed himself off her and pulled the woman to her feet. It took no effort at all. She was a slender wee lass, and he imagined his sword held more weight.
“Right, lads,” Bram called. “We’ll ride a little way behind. We dinnae want tae scare her any more than she already is.”
Maxwell turned upon hearing Bram’s voice and watched as the men nodded in agreement. They were gathered around and had clearly witnessed the scene that had just occurred. Bram then looked at his brother and gave him a firm and knowing nod.
“What’s yer name?” Maxwell asked, looking back at the woman.
She still looked at him with suspicion, but Bram’s words seemed to have abated a little of her fear. It was not enough for her to divulge her name so readily, however, for Maxwell had to press her again. “I dinnae want tae be calling ye ‘woman’ wherever we go. I’m nae asking tae ken everything about ye, for I dinnae care at this moment,” he lied. “Just yer name.”
“Skylar,” she said plainly. His words had obviously made some sense to her. “And ye are?”
“Laird Maxwell Macleod,” Maxwell replied. “We need tae get moving. I dinnae ken if there are more of Johnson’s army about these parts, and I dinnae want tae stay here tae find out.”
The group returned to their own camp situated a small distance away, and under Bram’s orders, the men swiftly began packing up the small number of belongings. Skylar stood near the horses, guarded by another man who, though out of earshot of the lass, had been instructed by Maxwell to keep an eye on her.
