other side of the law.
This man stood as tall and was as muscular as Brodie himself. And though his garments were as soiled as he was, there was something about him that belied his condition. His blue eyes gleamed against his dark hair and the dirt that covered the masculine angles of his face. How long he’d remained in the shadows, listening to her conversation with Dougal over his proposal of marriage, she knew not.
And his strange words ordering her away. As though she would obey a stranger in her own village without reason.
But none of that mattered when she heard the screams split the air. Glancing around, she realised that the gates of the keep would be closed by now for the night. With the setting sun, the village was isolated and unguarded, more so than the keep for its lack of warriors and weapons. And the sounds coming from the western edge of the village forced her to act.
‘Dougal! You must run to the keep. Get help!’ she said, as she turned once more to the growing disturbance. ‘Now, Dougal!’
Fia did not wait for an answer. She ran down the path, past the well and through the rush of villagers escaping from whatever was happening. Reaching the split in the paths—one led to the fields, the other to other crofts and the mill—she watched in horror as the mayhem spread. Wagons were overturned. Fights broke out between some of the villagers and the men who seemed the cause of it all. When two galloped by her towards their cronies, Fia lost her breath.
In a moment, she was thrown back in her mind to the attack on the camp those years ago. Only ten years of age, she had been caught in the open as Caelan’s men rode in, trampling anyone in their path. Glancing around this open area, with those two knocking down anyone they could and yelling all sorts of crude words and threats, Fia was that ten-year-old lass once more. The sights and sounds blended together in her thoughts, memories now feeling real and twisted with the events of the moment.
Until a child screamed out in fear.
Those years ago, it had been the lady Arabella who’d saved her, pulling Fia from the path of the attackers and pushing her to safety. Fia knew she must act or the child would be injured or worse by these uncaring fiends. Ducking low and running across the clearing, she sought the child and saw her crying in the midst of confusion. They were burning something and acrid clouds of smoke began to spread through the closely built cottages on the lane.
‘Come, Meggy!’ she called out to the girl as she ran to her side. Grabbing the lass’s hand, she tugged her away from the fighting and into the woods around the crofts. ‘Where is your mam?’ she asked. All the girl could do was cry, so Fia hugged her for a moment and then placed her in a thick copse to hide her from sight. ‘I will find her and bring her to you. Do not leave here until I return!’
Pulling branches around the girl, Fia ran back to find Meggy’s mother. How they’d gotten separated, Fia could not imagine until she stumbled right over Anice where she lay unmoving in the path. Crouching down, she touched the woman’s face and whispered her name. Anice stirred but did not wake. Thank the Almighty, she was alive! Rolling her on to her back, Fia checked quickly for injuries before trying to drag the woman into the trees. She’d barely gotten a good hold on her when two riders began circling them.
‘What have we here?’ one called out, coming so close that his horse nudged her back. Nearly losing her balance, Fia adjusted her hold on Anice and tried to move her.
‘Here now, lass,’ taunted the other, a man with a rat-like face. He pushed his horse against her until she lost her grip on Anice. She stood then, brushing her loosened hair from her face. She took a quick look towards the keep before facing them.
‘Oh, they won’t be here for some time, ye ken?’ the first one said as he swung his leg over the back of his mount and dropped down next to her. Now, standing on the ground, she realised he was a huge man. Fia could not prevent the shudder that made her stumble then. ‘We made sure of that.’
Dougal? Had they caught Dougal on his way to the keep? Was he...? She backed away, slowly, step by step until she could go no further. Ratface was now behind her, trapping her between them. Fia tried not to panic but the terrifying lust in their gazes told her she would not escape.
‘Ah, now, Anndra, ye hiv scared the lass,’ Ratface said.
Aye, they had. Fia stood still, hoping not to cause them to take hold of her. If they did, her strength would do nothing against theirs.
The big man took another step closer and she could not breathe. He blocked her view of everything but his huge chest and meaty hands. Even though the noises around them grew, these two did not go back to their thievery and destruction. Nay, their gazes grew more intense and she feared now for her virtue and her life. When this Anndra nodded over her head at Ratface, she knew her time was at hand.
The large, strong hands grasping her shoulders now with a steel hold that hurt stopped her from getting away. She struggled against him, but it did no good. When she opened her mouth to scream, Ratface shoved a putrid scrap of cloth in her mouth and pulled her against him.
‘Come now, lass. We just need a wee bit of time to show ye how a real man pleasures a woman. Ye will no’ be sorry for it,’ he whispered against her ear, sliding his tongue down her neck and biting her shoulder. Her cry muffled by the cloth seemed to excite them more.
‘A real man now, Micheil?’ Anndra laughed and sliced the laces of her gown with one motion. As he reached for the edge of her shift, she began to fight them in earnest. Twisting and pulling against their grasp, Fia tried to escape. The rag in her mouth made it hard to breathe and impossible to cry out. ‘I will show her a real man and ye can watch and learn.’
The cloth of her shift was no match for his strength and she felt the cool air on her skin as he tore it open down to her waist. She pushed away from him, but that only forced her against the other man. The big one smiled, staring at her naked breasts as they grew taut, and he reached out to touch her. Fia held her breath, offering up a prayer for help. The sound of a sword being drawn behind them gave them pause.
‘Why, thank ye, gentlemen,’ someone called out from behind the huge man. ‘Ye found her.’
Micheil cursed in her ear, a foul string of words she did not truly understand. Anndra turned, but kept her between them.
‘Found who?’ he called out.
‘That lass ye hiv between ye there.’
Anndra shifted again and Fia took advantage of him not holding her to drop to her knees and scrabble away. She did not get far before Anndra grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to her feet. It took a moment of absolute silence before she realised that the men gaped at her now. As she tried to clutch the rent edges of her clothing, she finally saw the third man.
The stranger. He was one of them. Had he been searching for her during the chaos? Confused and in pain, Fia struggled to free herself. The tall man walked closer, sword drawn, and she could not tell if he was friend or foe. He had warned her away, given her a chance to flee ahead of the danger, even if she had not heeded his words. Before any more could be said, a loud and shrill whistle pierced the air and the three all canted their heads at it.
‘Weel, then,’ the stranger said. ‘’Tis time to move on.’
‘’Twill take only a minute or two,’ Anndra said, pulling her closer.
‘She is mine,’ Micheil said, tugging her to himself.
Fia managed to pull
