Page 104 of Beauty and the Beast
“I dinnae think so.” Ranald sneered as he glanced at Lucas’s left leg. “I watched ye run out of the inn and ye limp and stumble like an old mon. We left ye a cripple, didnae we?”
Lucas fought down the rage that threatened to consume him. He had to exact his revenge coldly, had to fight with a clear head and think out every move he made. It was this man’s fault that Lucas could no longer move with the speed and grace he had before, and it was hard not to just lunge at the man and cut him down. Before the beating he would have not been all that concerned about the other men, knowing he could turn on them with an equal speed and have a good chance of defeating them all. Now, because of these men, he had to weigh his every move carefully if he had any hope of coming out of this alive.
“E’en that wee wound willnae stop me from killing ye,” Lucas said, his voice almost cheerful even as he noted with a twinge of dismay how the men began to slowly encircle him.
“Still arrogant,” said Ranald, grinning as he shook his head. “Weel, soon ye will be joining your wee whore in the cold clay.”
“So, Annie spoke true when she said Lady Katerina was dead.”
“Aye, she joined ye or so we thought. Tossed her right o’er the cliff and into the water with ye.”
That made no sense to Lucas, but he pushed his sudden confusion and all the questions it raised aside. How and why Katerina had died was of no importance at the moment. Staying alive had to be his only priority. A quick glance toward the inn revealed a white-faced Annie and several other Haldanes watching and listening. Lucas had to hope that, if he failed to win this fight, they would find out what happened to Katerina, although why he should care about that was just another puzzle he had no time to solve.
“I dinnae suppose ye have the courage to face me mon to mon, without all your men to protect your worthless hide,” Lucas said as he braced himself for the battle to come.
“Are ye calling me a coward?” Ranald snarled.
“Ye needed near a dozen men to capture me, beat me nigh unto death and toss me off a cliff, and then ye murdered a wee unarmed lass. Aye, I believe I am calling ye a coward and weel do ye deserve the name.”
“Twill be a joy to kill ye, fool.”
Glancing around at the men encircling him, Lucas had the sinking feeling that it would also be a quick killing, but then he stiffened his backbone. He had been in such tight spots before and come out nearly unscathed. All he needed to do was regain that arrogance Ranald found so irritating. Lucas was a little concerned that he would fail at that. It seemed his heart was beating so hard and fast that he could actually hear it. Telling himself he was imagining things, he readied himself to win and, failing that, to take as many of these men with him as he could. This time, killing him was going to cost them dearly.
