Page 43 of The Veiled Wish of a Highland Bride

Archibald heaved a sigh, resigning himself to his fate, although he was not so certain he wanted to give up on the idea just yet.

Just as he began, once again, to repeat in his mind the plan for the Bonnie Prince, he heard the riding of several horses towards him. Still deep in his thoughts, Archie brushed the sound off, assuming it was simply another party passing through.

Oh, how wrong he was…

They were armored soldiers, and they looked ready for battle. They had their faces covered just like the men who had kidnapped him, only these ones were different. He could tell. They were stronger, fiercer, and somehow seemed more determined in ensuring his complete obliteration. He also noticed that they seemed to have some sort of formation and a battle strategy. Each was positioned in a specific spot.

They had come ready for him.

Archibald’s horse was beginning to get restless feeling the danger creeping in, and he was having a hard time calming it down. He kept turning around in circles, his head whipping back and forth to try to find an escape, but he was out of luck. These ones knew what they were doing, and they meant to smother him.

The first man took a jab at him with his spear, but Archibald deflected it with his sword. Then, the second blow. And the third. They kept coming, barely giving him a moment to catch his breath. He didn't stop fighting them off, even when one of them pushed him off his horse, sending the animal dashing away and leaving Archie on his own.

Archie fought his hardest, ensuring he watched his back to make sure none of them struck him from behind. That wouldn’t be an honorable thing for a soldier to do—take a man unawares and strike him dead. But he did not suppose these men wanted him dead, that much he could tell. If they wanted to kill him, with their numbers, about fifteen to twenty of them, they would have already.

He was beginning to feel fatigued, finding it harder to effectively block their blows, even though he had incapacitated four of them already.

Just when he thought all hope was lost, he saw Lennox from afar, riding toward him. This is what Archie got for asking forspace. The white mane of Lennox's horse was one Archibald could spot even from miles away, its rider even more gallant with the rays of sun shining down on him.

Archie was uncertain if his exhaustion was causing him to see things that weren't there, but he was proven wrong when he saw Lennox's horse racing towards where he stood fighting off his attackers.

A small smile escaped his lips.

Lennox was going to come and save him yet again. He had to remind himself to return the favor someday, if he ever got the chance. Archie knew deep within him that Lennox would not make it to where he was in time to help him, but he tried fighting anyway, trying to buy him some time until…

He felt a sharp pain in his side just as he was about to strike a man.

That was all he felt as he fell to the grassy ground, staring up at the clear sky and then into the face of a man he knew all too well as he tried to stay awake.

Eventually he embraced the darkness, leaving all else to fate.

* * *

The only thing illuminating the hallways that Mia walked through were the candles which were slowly burning out, their wax dripping to the ground. She barely knew what she was doing, convinced she would get caught and die.

But she was in love with Archie and felt compelled to pursue him.

Still, she did not want to do anything to harm the Murray family, more particularly their reputation.Hisreputation. She knew this would bring no good to either her or Archibald. She would not start a revolt from inside the walls or splinter his family. She had to do this alone.

Mia walked slowly, trying to avoid the creaky floorboards in the corridor that she knew all too well. When she heard someone coming, she hid behind anything she could find, thankful for her small frame.

She decided it was best to take the secret entrance out of the castle, closer to the dungeons. Her mind and thoughts zeroed in on finding Archie as soon as she could.

She began treading carefully down the stone stairs that led to the dungeons. Mia could hear the screams of the various prisoners that were either scheduled for hanging or waiting for their trial, almost retching at the thought of either she or Archibald being down here with them soon.

That thought spurred her on. She picked up her skirts, running now that she was a bit farther away from the rooms of the castle. Suddenly she heard an urgent thud of boots moving towards a door at the far end of the dungeon hallways—Bram's private room.

Mia had always wondered why Bram chose the dungeon to be where his ‘private chambers’ would be set up. She had first thought he wanted the quiet of being underneath most of the activity of the castle, but now a part of her believed that he had a sadistic desire to revel in his prisoners’ pain. She winced at the thought.

She hadn't initially intended it, but she found herself changing her course and following the sound of the footsteps. Mia could see the person's back, and she squinted trying to make out who it was in the dark. She noted that he had long blonde hair and—

His plaid sash. She knew that sash.

It was the colors of the Macnab clan.

This wasLennox, Archibald's war chief, the one she had met only a handful of times. What was he doing here? Why was he back in Murray Castle? Where was Archibald? Was he not supposed to be with his Laird?

Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how he had even found Bram's private chambers. No one had access to the room except Clyde and Bram himself.

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