Page 3 of Highlander's Secret Heiress
“What happened tae ye, hen?” the guard asked. He looked concerned.
“I cannot remember exactly,” Alyth replied. “It all happened so fast. I was riding in a cart that was going to the market in Roscree. I was going to visit a friend who lives there. Then all of a sudden, these men came out of nowhere and ambushed us. There must have been about a dozen of them.”
“Were they on foot?” Suddenly, another guard was by their side. He was an older man with a bushy dark beard, and he too looked troubled as he gazed at her.
The first man said, “This is the Captain of the Guard, hen.”
Alyth nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes,” she replied. “Even though we had a horse there were just too many of them, and we could not get away. The farmer had a lot of meat in his cart, and that is quite valuable stuff, so they fell on it straight away. I don’t know what happened to the farmer, but I hope he survived. I just ran for my life.”
“How did ye get away?” the Captain of the Guard asked, frowning. The whole story sounded rather implausible to him.
“I am a lady’s maid,” Alyth answered. “But the man whose daughter I serve had me trained to use a knife in order to protect her. I always carry my knife with me.” She took a small daggerin a leather scabbard out of her pocket. “One ran after me, but I managed to kick him and get away.”
“My god!” the Captain breathed as he looked at the lethal weapon. He stared at Alyth in admiration. “That’s courage, lass. Roscree, ye say?”
Alyth nodded. “Yes, but I lost my way. Where am I now?”
He looked at the other guard in shock. “Ye’re at Leithmuir Castle, home o’ Laird Carrick, an’ ye have come about seventeen miles, lass,” he explained. “How long have ye been walkin’?”
She thought for a moment. “Nearly three days,” she replied. “I had no idea where I was going, so I just walked and hoped I would find somewhere to rest.”
“Ye can rest here, hen.” The Captain stood up. “We can get a message tae your mistress an’ tell her ye are fine.”
Alyth pretended to panic. “No! Please, no!” she cried. “I never want to go back there. I only worked in their house because I had nowhere else to go, and I would have left sooner or later anyway. In a way, this is a blessing in disguise.” She stood up. “Thank you for your kindness. I will leave you now.”
“Where will ye go?” the Captain asked. He looked worried.
Alyth hung her head. “I have a little bit of money,” she replied. “I will find a job and somewhere to live somehow.”
A second later, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see the Captain of the Guard smiling down at her. “Stay here for a wee while, hen,” he suggested. “I will see if I can find ye somewhere tae stay tonight. My name is Gavin Ballantyne. An’ yours?”
“Jeannie Dunbar,” Alyth replied.
She had rehearsed her story over and over again during the course of her journey until she had memorised every last detail, including the false name she had just given herself.
“Wait here,” he told her, patting her shoulder before walking into the castle.
Alyth hugged the blanket closer to herself and finished off the last of the ale, hoping that she could remember her story; one slip, and she would be finished. She shuddered; the thought of being dragged back home and marrying Laird Roberson made her feel nauseous.
The sun was fully risen now, and her maid would be opening the curtains in her bedroom. She would find Alyth’s note and carry it to her father, who would read it and be utterly devastated. No doubt, he would begin to search the countryside around the castle for her, but he would meet with no success.
Alyth almost wept at the thought of the distress she was causing him, but it was too late to turn back now. She doubted if her horse would still be anywhere near where she left it, since an animal of such quality would be a great asset on a farm or fetch a good price at the market.
Alyth looked around her. The sounds of the guards bantering with each other was so familiar that she felt like laughing and joining in, as she had done many times before. She loved the rough company of the men, the way they teased and laughed at each other, occasionally playfully punching and slapping each other. Now and again, an impromptu wrestling match would break out and the air would be filled with cheers of encouragement from the supporters of each side.
Alyth smiled as she listened and watched. She supposed that guards were the same in every castle. The smell of leather, horses, ale, and sweat was familiar too, as was the aroma of the food the men were eating. It all engendered a great feeling of homesickness inside Alyth, and she wanted to leap up out of her chair and run back home.
For a moment, she panicked, then she heard a gentle woman’s voice behind her.
“Good mornin’, lovie.”
Alyth turned to see a small woman with deep blue eyes and greying fair hair. Alyth guessed that she was in her fifties, but she was still pretty, and her gentle smile enhanced her beauty.
“I am Maisie Ballantyne,” she said, smiling. “Gavin tells me ye are lost an’ very tired.”
Alyth nodded slowly. “I-I am,” she replied. It was not a lie; she was exhausted.
“We can soon put that right, hen.” Maisie’s voice was firm and brisk. “Come wi’ me. Ye need a wash an’ sleep, I think, an’ some clean clothes.”
