Page 1 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
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Eileen Kilmartin crouched low behind the stack of barrels, her breath caught in her throat as the rough voice rang through the shadowed alley.
“Who’s there?”
A man’s silhouette shifted just beyond the crates, his voice taut with suspicion and laced with the kind of violence that begged for an excuse.
Eileen clutched Piper tightly against her side, one hand clamped over the maid’s mouth. Piper trembled beside her, her eyes wide with shared fear, but she didn’t make a sound.
The torchlight flickered from the doorway, casting ghostly shapes on the rough stone walls of the abandoned barn they’d ducked into only moments ago.
Saints preserve us.What have I done?
They hadn’t meant to end up there. On the road to the nearest village near MacLennan lands, Eileen had insisted on taking a lesser-used path to avoid passing guards or anyone who might recognize them. She’d led Piper down the wrong lane in the hope of a shortcut, only to stumble upon something far more dangerous than muddy boots.
Two men—cloaked and hunched, their arms laden with crates bearing unfamiliar markings—had met under the cover of night. From her place in the shadows, Eileen had seen the unmistakable glint of steel, the dull gleam of silver coins changing hands, and the tension in the air that smelled of danger.
Smugglers. And we just walked right into it…
The man outside the barn took another step forward, hay crunching beneath his boots. Piper’s breath hitched under her hand, and Eileen could feel the rapid beat of her maid’s heart matching her own. The sounds were too loud, too revealing.
Eileen’s heart thundered, her mind racing. They couldn’t be caught. If they were found spying, they’d be killed.
Or worse.
She swallowed hard, squeezed Piper’s arm, and then pointed silently toward a small opening in the back wall of the barn. It was barely big enough to crawl through, but it would do.
They moved like ghosts, silent and surefooted. Eileen helped Piper through the narrow hole first, then followed on hands and knees, her cloak catching on a nail with a sharp rip. She winced but didn’t stop.
Scratched and breathless, they stumbled into the cold night, the barn shrinking behind them as they ran.
They didn’t stop until the barn was far behind and only the night wind and their pounding hearts remained.
The two women walked in silence for nearly half an hour, the moon overhead casting pale light on the dirt road. Eileen’s legs ached, her lungs burned, but she pushed forward, her mind still whirring.
Only when the distant glow of the village lights broke the horizon did they dare to breathe.
Piper was the first to speak, her voice sharp and breathless. “Ye have lost yer mind, Me Lady,” she scolded. “Truly. Dressed like a lad, runnin’ off into the dark like a thief—yer braither will have me hide for lettin’ ye do this.”
Eileen rubbed her arms, the chill finally settling in now that the thrill wore off. “He willnaekillye, Piper. And if he tries, I’ll stand in his path. He wouldnae cut down his own sister.”
She chuckled to herself.
Her eldest brother, Thomas, was Laird McFair, and the nicest human she’d ever met. Sure, he ruled the clan with a firm fist, but he was always kind. Piper’s exaggeration was quite that, an exaggeration. If anything, the maid’s reaction aligned with the previous house she served. The O’Gunns.
Lachlan Baird, Laird of Clan O’Gunn—and Eileen’s most outspoken suitor. The man was hell-bent on marrying her, by force if necessary. Anything to become even more powerful than he currently was. All of Scotland knew him for being an absolute brute.
An alliance of the most traditional kind, he had called it in his letter to Thomas. The madman of the North. Ruthless, erratic, powerful?—
Piper huffed, her curls wild in the moonlight. “Och, he’s the Laird now, lass. Buried in maps and correspondence, with the O’Gunns breathin’ down his neck. He’ll boil with fury when he finds out ye are gone.”
Since receiving that letter from Lachlan Baird, Thomas had moved with a purposeful sort of urgency. Even after Reid declared he would ride to MacLennan lands to find out more about the O’Gunns’ position.
Eileen’s jaw tightened. “Then let him boil.”
“Ye say that now, but when he sends half the guard to drag ye home by yer ear, I’ll be the one gettin’ glared at for lettin’ it happen. Why did ye do it, lass? Why are we here?”
Eileen sighed and glanced over at Piper as they walked.
