Page 29 of Tempting the Highland Devil
They both chuckled before she let him sneak her out of the grand hall. Yvaine and Laird Loughty made it to the stables, hand-in-hand, then he helped her mount a horse before he got on a horse and rode with her.
“Do ye want to race me?” he asked.
She nodded and forced her horse into a gallop with speed. They made it to the far end of the castle, and Yvaine got off the horse on her own, nearly missing her step and falling to the ground.
Yvaine yelped, and Laird Loughty came to her side to steady her. She was still laughing when he helped her stand upright and brushed some strands of hair away from her face.
“Thank…”
The thud of a fist ramming into a face resounded in the air before Yvaine could finish her thanks.
“What in the heavens,” Laird Loughty growled as he staggered away from her.
“Arran!” Yvaine yelled as she watched him lurch for Laird Loughty and pound his fist into the man’s mid-section. Arran towered over Laird Loughty, dragged him to the floor, and was about to hit him again when Yvaine yelled his name for the second time.
“What are ye doin’?” she cried out, rushing to Laird Loughty’s side. “Are ye all right?” Yvaine asked, touching his bleeding lip and swollen face. “Oh goodness,” she sobbed again. “I am so sorry.”
“I am all right,” Laird Loughty said to her in a rough voice as he wiped his burst lip.
“Get away from her,” Arran continued, his eyes blazing with anger. “I will make sure ye pay for tryin’ to…”
“He dinnae try to do anythin’!” Yvaine said to caution him. “I needed to get away from the castle, and Laird Loughty was kind enough to bring me here. I dinnae ken ye were out here. I have nay seen ye all day, and now, ye attack him like a crazed man…What is wrong with ye, Arran?”
“What?” Arran croaked. He paled as he staggered back from them.
Yvaine held Laird Loughty close to her side and shook her head. “Ye hurt an innocent man, Arran. I never expected that ye would act like this,” she chided.
“I am sorry, I …”
She ignored him and faced Laird Loughty again. “Are ye all right? I will take ye back to the castle.”
“Let me do it.” Arran marched towards them, and Yvaine flinched even before he reached out to touch her. A pale look flashed across his features making his eyes darken. “I am sorry,” he whispered. “I dinnae ken…I thought.”
Yvaine led Laird Loughty back to their horses, and she mounted hers first. They rode off together, and two guards helped lead Laird Loughty into the castle before she hurried after them.
* * *
Yvaine sat worried by the laird’s side as Amelia treated his wounds with her servant’s help. Elspeth and Lily rushed into the healing chamber sometime later. They both wore panicked looks as they saw Laird Loughty.
“Oh my goodness, were ye two attacked by a wild bear? What happened?” They chorused.
Yvaine was about to speak, but Laird Loughty stopped her by placing a hand over hers. “I was careless,” he lied, shocking her. “The lady is safe. Nay harm shall ever befall her under my watch.”
His right eye was swollen, and so were his lips. The other bruises on his cheek were covered with herbs, and Yvaine nibbled on her lip as shame wracked through her.
Laird Loughty protected Arran even while he was hurt because of him.That proves he is a good man.
“I am so sorry,” she whispered to him after everyone else left the healing chamber. Yvaine fed him the tonic Amelia prepared then wiped his lips dry.
“What has the laird so enraged anyway?” Laird Loughty asked.
“What do ye mean?” she asked with a tremble in her voice. “Laird MacGregor?”
“I’m sure he wants ye,” Laird Loughty continued. “It is why he is always so enraged whenever another man is close to ye.”
Yvaine laughed nervously and nearly spilled the vial of tonic in her hands. “That is nay possible,” she said amidst the tremors of her amusement. “Laird MacGregor is interested in almost every woman in the Highlands. He doesnae want me…He doesnae want any woman. He has made a vow to never marry.”
“Do ye really believe that?” Laird Loughty asked after some minutes of silence.
