Page 18 of Highlander's Secret Heiress
She tripped over a loose flagstone, lost her balance, and fell heavily onto the ground, landing on her left shoulder. Instinctively, she cried out in pain, then cursed herself; she wanted to show no weakness in front of this man. She was lying on her back, completely at his mercy.
Alyth had to restrain herself from spitting at him. She stayed quiet as he crouched down and leaned over her, his hands oneither side of her body, caging her in yet again. She wanted to close her eyes so that she would not have to look at the anger in his eyes, but she would not give Lachlan Carrick the satisfaction. He might suspect that she was afraid of him.
A moment later, he put one of his large hands around Alyth’s neck. His grip was not tight, but its position was enough to terrify her. He only had to squeeze to choke the life out of her. This time Alyth could not hold back the fear on her face.
“Are you afraid of me, Jeannie?” he asked, his eyes full of dark glee. “Because you should be. You should be very scared indeed because I am a very powerful man in these parts. Right now, you are completely at my mercy. I could squeeze the life out of you and no one would know. Even if they did, I could still walk away scot-free because I am a Laird, and my men would never betray me. Think about that for a moment.” He sat back on his haunches and looked down at her with a smug smile on his face.
“If you long to kill me so much, then why do you hesitate,M’Laird?” Alyth asked defiantly, sneering at his title. “Is it you who are afraid, or is it because of Davina? If you think so badly of me, why do you let me get so close to her? She is a very vulnerable child.”
Lachlan saw red. “Leave my daughter out of this,” he growled. “She has nothing to do with it.”
Then he was silent, breathing heavily but looking down at Jeannie Dunbar with murder in his eyes. In truth, he had to let his expression speak for him because he could think of nothing else to say; this woman was not only skilled in self-defence, she was extremely intelligent too, and presently, she was running rings around him.
For every one of his questions she had a smart answer which was often another question that he found it difficult to reply to. Every remark he made was treated with contempt and cynicism.
“Why are you here?” he asked angrily. “You are not a maid of any kind. Your speech is cultured and you can read. These are not skills an ordinary housemaid would learn in the course of her duties. Who are you?”
Alyth swallowed nervously. “I used to be a ladies’ maid,” she told him. “I needed to learn to read for my mistress.”
“I see.” Lachlan’s tone was suspicious. “What was the name of the lady you worked for?”
This came totally out of the blue, and for a few seconds Alyth had no answer. She had thought she was prepared for everything, but lying here on the hard flagstones with a huge threatening man leaning over her seemed to have wiped her mind clear of an answer. She was tongue-tied.
“If you cannot even tell me your mistress’ name,” Lachlan said grimly, “then I am forced to believe you are lying to me. You were not a ladies’ maid.” Lachlan shook his head firmly. “Now, the truth, please.”
However, before she could answer, Lachlan saw that the sun was a little higher now and knew that any moment now, the guards of the first watch of the day would be taking their positions. Quickly, he hauled her to her feet, grabbed her by the elbow and strode back inside the castle, practically dragging her with him.
When they reached his study, he pushed Jeannie inside and locked the door firmly behind them. He poured himself a glass of ale, then, after hesitating for a moment, poured one for her too.
Alyth sipped it gratefully, closing her eyes and savouring the yeasty taste of the cool liquid. When she opened them again, she found herself staring into his bright blue-green eyes.
“The truth,” he repeated grimly.
Alyth looked at the size of his big hands laced together on the table-top; they looked like a heavy club. She nodded slowly, deciding that she could give him half the truth, but only enoughto temporarily satisfy him. She doubted that she could allay his suspicions entirely, but perhaps she could make him leave her alone for a while.
“I told the other maids that my mistress often abused me,” Alyth said sadly. “But you are right—I was never a ladies’ maid. I am running away from violence, but not from my employer.” She took another sip of her ale to give herself a moment to think. “I am a merchant’s daughter, and my father has great plans for me. He thinks that by marrying me to another wealthy man, he will garner more business among the upper classes.
He imports silk and trades in wool, and there are many wealthy ladies in the district. They always need ball gowns and other special clothing for grand occasions. However, he saw an opportunity to marry me off to another wealthy businessman who has a dreadful reputation for being an absolute brute, and I was not prepared to stay and be abused, so I ran away. I am not prepared to be sold for my father’s gain.” She shuddered. “I was not used to looking after myself, especially outside in the cold, and I had no idea where I was going. I was in a terrible state when I came here, as you know.” She dropped her gaze from his to conceal the anger she felt.
“But you are obviously well-trained in self-defence,” he countered. “Why?”
“My mother was murdered,” she replied. “So I forced my father to have me trained.” She was about to make a joke about being employed as one of his guards but decided that it would only anger him further. Then another possibility occurred to her. What if she could use her skills against anyone who tried to harm Davina?
Alyth opened her mouth to make the suggestion, but suddenly realised that Lachlan Carrick was bending over her again, his blue eyes dark with rage. “If you harm one hair of anyone under my roof,” he growled, “or steal so much as a stone,I will have you hanged here in front of everyone in the castle.” His deep voice was throbbing with fury. “Do you understand?”
Alyth had no idea where her next words came from. They escaped from her mouth before she had a chance to take them back.
“I do… but what if I stole your heart?” she asked, with a mischievous smirk.
8
Lachlan was completely dumbfounded. Whatever it was he had expected Jeannie Dunbar to say, it had not been this. He was astonished, and furious at the same time, but then he seemed to spend most of his time being angry with her; it was as if she had been put on earth especially to infuriate him. If so, she was doing a damn good job of it!
Then something astounding happened. Jeannie got to her feet, her eyes never leaving his, and pushed him back against the desk, then pressed her lips to his.
For a split second, Lachlan froze in utter shock, then, before he knew what he was doing, he was responding to her as if he had no will of his own; he felt his manhood stiffen as he became aroused and lifted his hips to press against hers. His arms went around her as though he had no ability or will to stop them. In fact, he had neither; it was as though she were a witch, and he was completely under her spell.
It had been such a long time since he had had a woman in his arms, and even though he wanted to hate this wild creature who had so recently come into his life and completely turned it upside down, he could not.
