Page 14 of A Laird and a Healer

Strong hands held her arms together. Pressure was placed on her knees. She was forced to the ground and tasted dirt. The bandit had his knee pressed into her back, and she was unable to move, no matter how much she struggled. He bent down. His breath was hot on the back of her neck. The evil intent of his words made her shudder.

“Ye should nae hae done that, lass. I was all ready tae treat ye well, but now I’m gaeing tae have tae teach ye a lesson.”

He drew a dagger and held it near her eyes, making a show of his weapon. It glinted in the faint light. The tip was sharp, offering nothing but pain. It came nearer her neck, pressing against her flesh in a chill touch.

Then, suddenly, there was a sharp blow and the bandit was knocked off her back and sent sprawling to the ground. Caroline gasped. Turning around, with her hands pressed against the hard ground, she looked up to see the towering figure of Laird Ryan Knox standing before her.

From this vantage point, he might well have been a giant. His fists were giant clubs, while a sword, as yet undrawn, hung from his side. He had a mean countenance and did not offer her a hand to rise. The strength of his blow had been enough to knock the bandit out cold.

“Did ye think ye could escape that easily? I admire the ingenuity, but I told ye that ye would be safer in the castle. Things would be a lot easier if ye just listened tae me,” he said, his expression inscrutable.

Caroline choked on her own breath as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She trembled all over, and she wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that Knox had saved her life, or if he was even worse than the bandits. But she didn’t have time to consider that matter for long.

Tara was out of sight and Nessa was now being held down by two men. They were both so fixated on Nessa that they didn’t notice Knox’s presence. Nessa was snarling and screaming, promising them both a violent end. One of the bandits had deep scratch marks on his cheek, but Caroline feared that Nessa’s vow was not going to be fulfilled.

“Help us. Ye hae tae help us,” she pleaded with desperate words, but Knox was like a statue.

His lips remained closed, his eyes remained cold. Caroline slowly pushed herself to her knees and then to her feet. Her vision traveled up his broad body, which was packed with coiled strength.

“My sisters…” she trailed away, realizing that he wasn’t going to show her mercy. Fraught emotion whirled inside her and carried her forward. She grabbed his collar in a frenzy and beat her small fist against his chest. She wasn’t sure if he even felt the impact of her hammered blows.

“Ye must help us! Ye must!” she repeated, for there was nothing else she could do.

The corner of his mouth rose in a smirk. “I will help ye,” he growled in a low voice, “if ye accept my proposition. I told ye what was required in order tae gae my protection. Sae what is it gaeing tae be, Caroline? Are ye gaeing tae be my wife and save yer sisters, or shall we watch?”

Caroline couldn’t believe a man could be so monstrous, so heartless. She let go of his collar. Her trembled hands rested against him. Tears filled her eyes as she looked over towards Nessa, who was gnashing her teeth like a captive dog, and goodness knows what was happening to Tara. She was in an impossible situation, and the tension in her body threatened to shatter her apart into a thousand tiny pieces.

Chapter 6

There was no choice. Caroline was not about to allow her sisters to be taken away by bandits. That truly was a fate worse than death, and she would never see them again. She gave Knox a baleful look. Hatred swam across her tongue and filled her words with venom.

“I accept. I’ll be yer wife,” she said through gritted teeth.

Her hands fell away from his hard, muscular body. He was so warm, it was as though a fire burned within him. He was so casually arrogant as well, his smirk widening as he got what he wanted all along. It made a mockery of life, she thought. All she wanted was a better life for her and her sisters, but instead she had to rely on the help of this man.

Why did her father have to die? Why did her uncle have to be a monster? There were so many unanswerable questions, but they had led her to this impossible choice where she was going to become Caroline Knox, wife to this merciless, cruel, arrogant man.

But, despite all of this, he did possess the virtue of being a man of his word. As soon as Caroline uttered her words, Ryan leaped into action. He drew his sword in a smooth motion and barked at the bandits holding Nessa.

“Ye want a fight? I’ll give ye a fight,” he growled.

The bandits snarled at him and momentarily forget about Nessa. She dropped to the ground, clutching her chest and gasping for breath. Her clothes were disheveled where the bandits had manhandled her. Caroline tried to move, but her feet were leaden and all the strength had been sapped from her knees. She sank down, not wanting to be at the mercy of the bandits.

Ryan made powerful strides towards the two bandits. As he did so, he whistled and his guards emerged from the shadows. He ordered them to go and find Tara.

The bandits had swords of their own, and seemed confident of taking him on. They were wary as the guards appeared, but seemed confused when they immediately went in search of Tara, leaving Ryan by himself. Ryan was bigger than either of them, and he moved with surprising swiftness for his size. The first bandit made a testing blow. Ryan easily deflected it with his blade.

“Ye are gaeing tae hae tae dae better than that,” he goaded.

This irritated the bandits, who then attacked at once. The clash of steel on steel rang in the air. It was a horrible sound, scraping in Caroline’s mind. Ryan caught their swords, buckled back, and then roared as he pushed them away. The bandits were clearly stunned at this display of strength and staggered back, which allowed Ryan to go on the offensive. He whirled his sword in the air, slashing it around in an arc. It crashed like thunder, and the two men were driven back.

Ryan continued the offensive, using his sword like a hammer and beating them back. They cowered before him, holding their swords up as the last defense between them and death. Ryan looked like a monster. Wrought in violence and fury, he seemed to glow with a red aura, as though a mist surrounded him.

Violence was a fundamental aspect of the Highlands. It was as much a part of the landscape as the rolling moors, the lush valleys, and the bitter winters. Caroline had been made aware of this from a young age, when she started to venture away from the relative safety of the Keep to the forests surrounding it. She had been warned about the hungry, savage predators that roamed the wilderness, as well as the dangerous men who were desperate enough to leave behind the laws of man and give into the easy temptation of barbarism.

Over the years, Caroline had seen guards leaving the Keep, with fewer men returning, and of those who did, many of them were wounded and maimed. She had heard weapons being forged by blacksmiths, and listened to tales of great battles shared over roaring fires. People extolled the virtues of warriors, lifting them up and exalting them for their efforts, with these efforts usually resulting in death. Caroline had never given herself to these matters, but she was not disgusted by them. It was a way of life and even her father, as noble as he was, had delved into these dark places on more than one occasion.

And now she witnessed a man who was violence personified, who wrapped it around him like a cloak and reveled in it. Ryan’s eyes came alive with vicious delight, just as some men might become enlivened by a dance or a feast, so he thrummed with excitement in the flurry of blows shared with these bandits. His broad chest heaved with heavy breaths, and his thick arms stretched out, displaying all the sinews of his muscles. He roared as his sword clattered upon them, and it seemed inevitable that they would be forced lower and lower until they were ground into dust, and there was nothing left.