Page 42 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
There was no reply, and Ian felt his frustration mount. The guards were getting closer, he could hear their agitated snarls and eagerness to find her, and he had to get to her first.
Just hold a little longer, Hope, I will find ye, I promise.
“Hope,” he yelled again, and looked around again. His horse suddenly neighed loud, and he heard noises. Someone was ruffling through the bushes, trying to get out, and he moved in the direction of the noise.
“Hope,” he called again as he neared it, then he heard whimpers as he approached an oak tree. “Hope?”
The girl sobbed out loud when he got to her, her eyes wide and teary she said in a tiny voice. “Please, help, help us.”
By her right, Hope was crouched, her eyes closed. She opened them when he called her name again, and he saw recognition slowly creep into her gaze as he rushed to her on the floor and took her in his arms.
“I found ye,” he murmured as he took her in his arms, and helped her to her feet. “Ye’re safe now.”
* * *
Hope had given up when she first heard his voice screaming for her, but she had thought it was her imagination. She was imagining he was out here, but there was no way he could know she was alone out here in the bordering lands of Galloway, trying to get away from Lyall’s men.
“It is ye,” she whispered as he ran his hands over her body. Hope yelped in pain when he touched her arm, and his eyes widened.
“Did Lyall hurt ye? Did he touch ye or cause this–”
“Nay, I fell,” she replied him, and he pressed her into his arms again.
“Let me get ye both to safety. I will take ye to Callum,” he began and just then the guards got to where he stood. They surrounded him, and Hope clutched his arm tight. She allowed him guide her to stand behind him, and then he pulled Gretchen to him too.
“I believe ye have somethin’ of ours,” the leader said and Ian cleared his throat.
“She is my wife,” he said. Hope watched his jaw tighten, and her gaze fell to his clenched fists. “If ye lay a hand on her before me, then I will make sure all of ye pay with yer lives for darin’ to hurt my wife.”
“We want the servant,” the man said again, a sadistic smile on his lip. Hope felt sick again, but she struggled to control it. He was the one who shook hands with Callum. She had to warn Ian, had to tell him that they couldn’t go to Callum as he had betrayed them, but she felt herself slowly slipping away, and she could not stop it from happening.
Now that she had found him, the rush of energy that kept her going was fading, and all she could feel now was the tiredness, and pain jolting through every corner of her body. Her feet were so sore, she could barely stand on them, and she knew Gretchen was suffering the same pain even though she tried her best to be quiet.
“Gretchen saved my life, Ian,” she managed to say. “I willnae let them take her… they will kill her for what she did for me.”
“I willnae hand ye the servant. Ye go back and tell yer Laird I said that. Now one of ye will hand over yer horses and return to yer Laird with this message.”
The men hesitated at first, and Ian’s hand moved to the sword at his side. His stance changed, and she hoped they wouldn’t engage in a battle here, not when all she wanted right now was to be in his arms. He was outnumbered, and they could hurt him. She didn’t want him to get hurt because of her.
It took her days to find him, and now he was finally here. She had a lot to say, she wanted to tell him how much she loved him, and how she had missed him so much it had started to hurt.
She wanted to say everything she felt in one minute, but she knew words could not describe how she was really feeling. Her heart jumped just at the sound of his voice earlier, and she already felt safe.
Ian will protect me just as he had promised.
Hope watched as one of them handed over the reins of his horse, then joined the others as they turned around and rode away. Ian turned back to her just as she slumped. “I got ye,” he whispered and lifted her into his arms. “I will take ye to Callum so Orlaith can tend to yer wounds.”
Hope shook her head, and her eyes widened. She wanted to speak and tell him they couldn’t go to Callum, but words failed her.
As she slipped into the darkness calling, she heard Gretchen say. “The man ye want to find is the one who took the Lady. When we escaped we went to seek help from him first and then we saw him order these men to find us, and bring us to him.”
31
Ian gently placed Hope on one horse, then mounted behind her. The servant rode in front of him, and he rode past the village and headed for the Castle. When he rode in through the gates, his men were immediately by his side, and they helped him take Hope to their chambers.
Rhea came to find him the moment he walked into the Castle, worry written over her face as Ian approached his chambers while his guard went to find a healer. He didn’t want just anyone to take care of Hope, he wanted the best, so he decided to go get Orlaith himself while the healer started treating her.
“How is she?” Rhea asked him as they climbed the stairs leading to the first landing. “Did Lyall do this? How did ye find her?”
