Page 38 of A Scot for Bethan
My life is a mess. I have no idea what to do or where to go. Men are ready to commit unspeakable crimes because I suddenly became a rich woman. Two people have died because of it. And I’m falling in love with a man I will likely never see again once this madness is all over.
In the end she focused on the least personal of the problems. What harm would it do to confide in the girl? She sensed she would find a sympathetic ear.
“I have to flee Scotland before I’m abducted by Malcolm McDonald. Though he doesn’t know me, hasn’t even seen me, he’s intent on marrying me by force to replenish his family’s coffers. His brother tried to do the same thing only the other day and ended up dead because of it.”
“A man is so eager to marry you that he is ready to abduct you to have you?”
The girl’s eyes were wide with awe. It seemed she thought this terribly romantic, which it most decidedly was not. He had no interest in her, but in her newly found fortune, and he was not even considering wooing her, which would have been the honorable thing to do, but raping her.
“You know…” Morag carried on when she stayed silent. “You could do a lot worse than Malcolm McDonald, if I may say so. With his brother dead, he will likely be the next laird, a most enviable position. I saw him once, two years ago, at a gathering. He’s young, strong, and easy on the eye.”
So what if he was? Bethan blinked. “Did you hear me, Morag? He’s a scoundrel who is not above forcing his attentions onunwilling women in order to trap them into marriage. I think I could do a lot better than that.”
“Yes, of course, you’re so beautiful! And now that you are a lady of means, you could have anyone.” Still, the light in the girl’s eyes remained bright. Apparently, young Malcolm had made quite an impression on her. “You are certain you won’t regret your decision? The woman who becomes Laird McDonald’s wife will have a good life.”
“Very certain.” She would not marry another man who had been imposed on her, one who used rape and abduction as means of coercion. “In any case, I shall leave soon. Laird Campbell and his men are this moment deciding on the best way forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if Malcolm McDonald was lying in ambush somewhere. The more we wait, the more time he will have to get organized.”
What would the Campbells decide? Would they try to slip unnoticed under his nose, or brazen it out, and travel with such a retinue that her enemy would have no chance of getting near her? Probably the first option. She doubted Cameron would want to take so many men away from his land at the same time, especially when he was leaving himself.
“I will accompany you to Wales,” Morag suddenly announced. “’Tis not right that you should travel in the company of rough men without even a maid to help you. And look, your clothes have just arrived from Crois Dhubh. We can take the most precious ones along with us.” She nodded toward the dresses she had deposited on the bed earlier.
Bethan barely repressed a scowl. What was the woman thinking? They would be riding hard to escape capture, not going on a pleasure outing. The precious dresses would have to be sent later on. In any case, what happened to her clothes was the least of her worries. “This will be dangerous. We’ll be fleeingfor our lives. I cannot in all conscience ask you to place yourself at risk.”
“Begging your pardon, my lady, but this will be an adventure like no other for me. I have never been anywhere other than Nead an Diabhail or done anything other than toil in the kitchen. I would like a chance to better myself, see the world, and this might be it.”
There was such hope in the girl’s eyes that Bethan felt her irritation melt away. How could she refuse her this chance to live a little? But it was not her decision to make. She would not be the one responsible for the safety of not one, but two women while on the road. Wouldn’t having Morag with them complicate matters further for Cameron?
She sighed. “Very well. I will speak to Laird Campbell, but I can’t vouch for his answer.”
“Thank you, my lady! I promise you won’t regret it.”
Bethan went to bed more anxious than ever. In the morning, Cameron announced that they would leave the following day at dawn. Murdo had ridden back to Crois Dhubh to get Angus, who would ride with them to Castell y Ddraig. The two of them would be back this evening, in time to rest before departing.
“Morag wants to come with us to Wales,” she told him, remembering her promise to the girl. “She says she wants to help.”
“Does she?”
Cameron was surprised. His men, Angus in particular, had many a time complained that the girl was lazy and selfish, and from what little he had seen, he tended to agree. That she would want to place herself in danger to help someone she didn’t know made no sense. His first impulse was to refuse but then he thought better of it. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He’d been racking his brain for a way to get past McDonald’s men, who, he was certain, were waiting to intercept them on theroad south. The girl’s unexpected request had just provided him with a solution.
“That could actually work to our advantage,” he said slowly. “Malcolm McDonald has never met you.”
“No, only his brother has,” Bethan confirmed in a low voice. For a moment he wondered what had caused her to flush, but then he remembered how the man had tried to grab her while she lay naked in bed and how she had been forced to defend herself. Cameron pushed the disturbing image from his mind to focus on the problem at hand.
“Morag is young, she has brown hair, and so could pass for you from a distance,” he carried on. The more he thought about it, the more this seemed like a good plan. “We will have her ride with the two men as if she were you. The two of us will follow discreetly while they lead the way. McDonald no doubt expects me to have sent men with you, rather than go myself, so he will not be suspicious when he sees only Murdo and Angus ride past. He will stop the three of them instead of you, his true target.”
“No, ’tis too dangerous,” Bethan said immediately. Apparently, even if she understood that this might be the answer to their problem, she was loath to expose the girl. He understood her scruples, but he was certain this could work.
“There will be no real danger,” he argued, sure of himself. “Morag will easily convince him she’s not the Welsh bride he seeks by talking to him in Gaelic. The men will be along to defend her if anything happens. In any case, the deception need not last long, just enough time for us to ride past unnoticed. By the time McDonald has realized his mistake, we’ll be long gone.”
The risk was minimal. He would not have exposed Morag or anyone else willingly, but the girl had volunteered, so he would make the most of the opportunity and be sure to reward her once they were back home safely. She had everything to gain from helping them, and very little to lose. At worst, McDonald wouldfrighten her by his intensity but as Angus and Murdo would be with her, and the deception only needed to last long enough for them to slip past, she would quickly recover.
“If you say so.” Bethan still sounded dubious.
His body moved before he’d decided to draw her into his arms. “Aye, I’m sure. And worry not, I will not let anything happen to her—or you.”
This time it was his mouth which acted of its own accord. It landed on Bethan’s lips in a soft kiss, a kiss that made his heart flutter but did not reach his groin. Odd. Since when did he not get hard while kissing beautiful women? Since now, apparently. And the strangest thing of all, he didn’t feel as if anything was missing. He straightened up, keeping her tight against him.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, sounding breathless despite the innocence of the kiss.
