Page 41 of The Highlander's Inconvenient Wife
Jasper shuffled uncomfortably on his feet as he suddenly became aware of their guests once again.
Darragh and Avery exchanged a strange look before looking at him. It was true that he had fallen in love with Joan from the very moment he had laid eyes on her; she’d shifted his world in more than one way.
Avery looked down at the letter in her hand and opened it quickly. Her eyes darted across the piece of parchment before she held it out to her husband. “Everything they said was true; it’s her handwriting.”
Darragh accepted the letter and read it quickly. “This disnae prove anything,” he said, unconvinced by the letter. “They could have forced her to write the letter or even gotten a good sample. A good forger is a dime a dozen in any tavern. I have three workin’ in me castle alone.” He narrowed his eyes at Jasper as he spoke.
“Never mind that now,” Avery said as she took a step forward. “Where is Joan? You said she was no longer here; did she leave for our castle?” she asked hopefully. “Surely, you can tell us where she has gone if your story is true.”
“Ye better come inside,” Jasper said after seeing the panic that filled her face when he hesitated to answer her question.
* * *
Joan’s ribs ached as the horse raced over the uneven forest floor; she was trying her best to remove the gag from her mouth but failed as the pain in her side intensified every time the horse leaped over a stone or log. Her ribs were pressing against the saddle making it nearly impossible to breath. The worst part was that the rope around her wrist had been tied so tight that her skin was turning red as if chafed from all the bouncing.
Jasper…
She shut her eyes as her heart called out to him; she had seen the way he’d tried to reach her side. He’d placed his own safety in question more than once as he raced through the sea of fighting men. There had been a few times where her heart had stood still when a soldier’s sword had missed him by inches. He clearly cared for her safety, even if he didn’t love her back the way that she wanted.
Why did I poke my head out of the bush to see if he was okay?Joan asked herself with a heavy sigh. The men who had taken her captive would never have seen she was there if she’d only remained hidden. Everything was her fault. Had she not said to the man on the cliff that she was Jasper’s captive? Her eyes suddenly shot open as the horse came to a stop in the middle of a clearing.
Her captor dismounted before gripping her waist and lowering her to the ground.
Kicking and fighting, Joan did her best to try and gain the upper hand over him, yet he was adamant to calm her down as he reached for her wrists.
“Ye can stop fightin’ lass,” the man said kindly as he undid the rope that had been tying her wrists together. “I willnae hurt ye,” he tried to reassure her. “Yer safe now.”
“Why are you doing this?!” she yelled at him when she finally managed to remove the cloth form her mouth. The rage she’d been harboring in her chest finally reached a boiling point.
He seemed quite taken aback as he looked at her. “Me lady, I can understand how ye would think that all Scottish men are bad, but I am trying to save ye. Ye must believe me that I only have yer best intentions at heart.”
Taking a deep breath, Joan stopped trying to escape and looked him over with pity. “I know I said to you on the cliff that I was his captive, but it isn’t what I meant.” She shook her head and massaged her temples with her fingers. “It’s hard to explain from the beginning, but he was only keeping me there until my friends came to fetch me. I could leave any time I wanted to."
“Ye are clearly exhausted from yer ordeal, me lady. I think ye should come back to me castle an’ rest for a while.” He came forward again and waved her words away with his hands as if everything she was saying was nonsense.
“I won’t be going on anywhere with you; you aren’t listening to me!” She lost her cool as she snapped at the man. “I was not a captive!”
“I daenae understand; I’m savin’ ye from MacShaw…” His voice became increasingly more uncertain as he spoke. “He took ye captive on yer journey.” His eyes darted over her face as she fought to reason with her.
“I want to be with him, you idiot! It is you that is taking me against my will.” She stomped her foot as she balled her fists at her side and glared at him. “Who exactly are you in any case? There must be some reason you feel the need to intervene. Do you fancy yourself some kind of God when it comes to rescuing damsels? ?”
“I am Laird MacAdair,” he said, shaking his head as if he wasn’t able to make sense from anything they were discussing. “I daenae understand what is happenin’ anymore.”
“So, you saw me on the cliff and decided to attack in full force because of a misunderstanding?” She lowered her voice when she realized that the poor man may have been acting under a false sense of chivalry without knowing any of the facts.
“It wasnae that,” he shook his head. “I knew very well from his reputation that MacShaw is a cold man. I acted on the assumption that yer life was in danger.”
“I also don’t understand.” Joan became uncertain along with him now. “He let your men go when they were on his land. Why would you still think of him as being a cruel man? Did he not prove to you that he could be compassionate?”
“He took ye away from yer betrothed for goodness’s sake,” he explained irritably as if she were working on his nerves by deliberately being delusional.
“Who?” Her mind clouded over with confusion. “I don’t have a betrothed.”
MacAdair frowned at her as they both turned to see a man emerging from the bushes.
“He’s talking about me, my love.”
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