Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,13
side. Smacking the first guy upside the head with the pitcher, she dropped it and reached down to grab a knife from the table. “Unhand her immediately or discover how well you can train tomorrow after I’ve shoved a blade in your arm,” she threatened.
Immediately, the hall fell silent. The first man rubbed his head and glared at her. “Who the hell are ye?” he growled. “Mind yer own business, woman!”
He grabbed Mary again, and she whimpered. Cora didn’t hesitate. Gripping the hilt of the blade, she drove it into the man’s shoulder. He yelled in anger and swung around with his fist, hitting her hard in the stomach. Grunting in pain, she doubled over and tried to protect herself against the next blow.
It never came.
“Touch her again, and it will be the last thing ye ever do,” Alec said coldly. He and three men stormed the table. “And ye’ll unhand the servant as well.”
“We were just having a spot of fun,” the other man complained. “We weren’t going to hurt her. We just wanted a kiss.”
Alec ignored him. “What’s yer name?” he asked Mary quietly.
“Mary,” she answered in a trembling voice.
“It would seem that Mary did not want to gift ye with a kiss. Let me make one thing verra clear. I doonae know how yer previous laird ran things, but I’ll not have the women mistreated. Ye may have yer fun, but only if the women are willing. That goes for everyone. Do ye understand me?”
There was nothing but silence in answer, and Alec scowled. “Do ye understand me?” he shouted louder. His voice echoed off the walls, and there was a soft grumbling of agreement. “Good. Mary, I doonae think we have need of ye until after dinner. Go enjoy yer own food.”
The servant scampered off, and Alec reached up to Cora. With trepidation, she took his hand and allowed him to help her off the table. She could feel rage emanating off the two men around her, but they didn’t touch her.
“Are ye okay?” Alec whispered in her ear. She was too afraid to answer without her voice shaking, so she just nodded.
“Jamie, will ye escort Claire to her room,” he instructed. Letting her go, he nodded to his friend. Jamie went to grab her, and she couldn’t help but flinch. He stopped suddenly but rather than questioning it, he just stepped aside and let her walk in front of her.
As she made her way to her room, she couldn’t help but worry about what tomorrow would bring. She’d just publicly humiliated two MacKay men. No doubt they and all of their friends would be seeking vengeance on her.
So much for keeping her head down.
“I know what yer thinking,” Jamie said. “And ye don’t have to worry about those two men. We’ll protect ye.”
“Why?” she asked suddenly as she whirled around. “I’m just a servant. I’ve been accused of stealing, and I’m English. Just why would you protect me?”
He flashed her a charming smile. “Alec is a good man. He protected ye back there, and we’ll protect ye now.”
“He thinks I’m lying to him.”
“Aye, he does. And if ye do him wrong, then ye have something to worry about. Are ye planning on doing him wrong, Miss Claire?”
She opened her mouth to deny it. Of course she didn’t want to hurt Alec. In the short time that she’d known him, he’d done nothing but be kind to her, but his very position as a laird meant that her lying to him was a great disservice. If he discovered the truth of her origins, he would no doubt be hurt by her.
The lies were already piling up. “Thank you, Jamie, for your escort. I bid you goodnight,” she said softly as she slipped into her chambers and quietly closed the door.
Alec showed up less than an hour later. Cora opened the door and felt her heart skip a beat when she gazed up at him. She tried to tell herself it was glee from seeing the plate of food in his hand, but she was too tired to believe her own lies.
“I wanted to check up on ye,” he said as he cleared his throat. “And feed ye. It was not my intention to banish ye without food.”
“I’m fine. Thank you for your assistance earlier and for the dinner.” She took the plate from his hand and went to close the door, but he put his arm out to stop her.