The Highlander's Curse (10 page)

“Well,”
he shrugged. “While I was out thinkin’, I realized the only way I may be able
tae help ye.”

I set
my plate down, sighing with relief as my gaze locked with his. Holy crap. He’d
actually come up with a way to help me? “What?”

“Ye
must get mairrit.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

I sputtered, choking on
the bread that I inhaled at Cailen’s words. He quickly stood, setting his
whiskey and plate on the table before pounding me on the back, dislodging the
food. “Did you just say ‘married’?” I said, blinking at the tears in my eyes.
The man really was on crack!

He gave
me another slap on the back and stepped away, still eyeing me. “I did.”

“I tell
you that I’m from more than two hundred years in the future, and your solution
is to marry me off? No thoughts on how to get me back home or even point me in
the direction of who could help me? Just
marriage
?” Pig-headed jerk!

He sat
in the chair, bending to pick up his food and drink. “Aye.”

I
couldn’t say anything as I gawked at him, my head shaking back and forth.

“Elizabeth,”
he said, his eyebrows lowering as he met my gaze head-on. “We’re no’ in yer
time. And I’ve nae idea how tae get ye back tae yer own time.”

“So you
do believe me?”

“Kind o’
hard no’ tae, aye? Ye’ve spoken o’ things I’ve ne’er heard o’, and e’en yer ‘
cell
phone
’ is proof that ye’re no’ from here.”

I set
my plate down on the bed, no longer feeling the need to eat when marriage was
being tossed around as a viable option. “What about a witch?” Cailen’s face
hardened so I hastily added, “You already told me they’re real. What if we
found one? Maybe she could help me get home.”

The
Highlander was already shaking his head. “Nae. Witches are no’ tae be messed wi’,
nor tae be trusted. I will’nae see ye put in danger for askin’ for help from a
witch.”

I
raised the whiskey bottle to my mouth and drank three big gulps before wiping a
little off my lips. I only hoped he’d assume the tears in my eyes were from the
burn of the alcohol. “I need to get back to my time, Cailen. How do you think
my dad feels right now? And Shannon? As far as they’re probably concerned I’ve
been kidnapped. They might even think I’m dead. They’re probably scouring
Scotland looking for me and petrified of what they might find. I can’t just sit
by and do nothing if there is even a remote chance that I could go back home.”

He
still shook his head, more vehemently this time.

“So you’re
just saying that I have to get married? How is that a solution?”

“It’s
obvious, I should think. Yer a young lass o’ proper age. Ye’ve a nice look
about ye. There are plenty o’ lads who would be o’erjoyed tae take ye as their
wife.”

“And I’m
just supposed to let that happen?” I was so not going to let that happen.

“Aye.
If ye mean tae survive, ye’ll take any decent man who would hae ye.”

****

He might have laughed if
the alarm in Elizabeth’s eyes wasn’t from a very unfortunate set of
circumstances. Aye, he truly felt sorry for the lass. To lose her family and
all she’d kent in one fell swoop, only to end up in a time and place she didn’t
ken, nor did she even fit into.

Everything
made sense now. The way she spoke and dressed, her casual yet impatient
demeanor. He’d never met another woman like her. Not with the way she spoke her
mind, nor how feisty she was, fighting him that first day. Certainly none in
memory had compared to her beauty. Elizabeth was like a precious jewel: vibrant
and lovely. Her blue eyes were the exact color of the sea on a sunny day, when
he could stare at the rolling waves from dawn to dusk. She had lovely golden
skin with wee freckles spotting her cheeks. She must have spent a good deal of
time in the sun, not that that came to any surprise. He thought again of the
painting of her wearing barely a stitch. Aye, she certainly was from a
different time. Surely nothing like that came from present. Not with the way
women dressed.

Elizabeth
truly was special. Even her hair smelled different, as though every flower in
the world scented her golden locks. Her glistening hair looked as though it had
been kissed by the sun, almost as though every strand was the given the gift of
its own shade of blonde. He’d oft wondered what it would feel like to run his
fingers through those tresses. Oh, and those lips of hers. So soft and pink.
For the last two days he’d dreamed day and night of seeing what they felt like.

Not
that he’d ever get the chance.

Elizabeth
was worth so much more than he could offer her. And his family meant far too
much for him to give up on them. There was only one he could have, and it
wasn’t Elizabeth.

Maybe
the lass’s fear of marriage stemmed from a bad relationship, or perhaps her mam
and da hadn’t had the best of marriages. It was the best he could do for her
though, to see her wed to an honest man. A clansman, maybe. Aye, that would
make the best match. He kent quite a few laddies who’d yet to wed—or at least,
he had before he’d left the clan. In any case, his da would ken everyone’s
current situations and be best to find a good man for Elizabeth.

God
kent he could do nothing for her himself.

He
looked at Elizabeth as she sat on the bed, her face and fists tense. She’d
clearly exhausted every option she’d thought of, and wasn’t pleased with
whatever she came up with. Every once in a while, she mumble something under
her breath, and he thought there were times he’d caught entire sentences that
she spoke quietly.

The
lass talked to herself.

He
smiled again, but as her angry gaze landed on him, he dropped whatever grin had
formed.

“What
are you smiling about?” she barked.

“Naethin’.
I just…I must go out for a bit. There are arrangements tae be made.”

Och, it
only riled her more.

“Like
my
marriage
?”

“No’
just yet. We’ve a little time before we must find ye a proper husband.” He stood
and walked to the door, pulling on the latch to open it. In truth, there wasn’t
much for him to do. He just couldn’t sit there under her scrutiny. The lass was
far from happy, and he feared it was only about to get worse over the coming
days.

“I just
can’t believe you,” Elizabeth muttered. “You make me confide in you and then
you marry me off to the highest bidder.”

He
whirled around, still standing in the open doorway. “
What?
Ye dinna
think I’m selling ye, dae ye?” Taking three steps into the room, he lowered
himself so he was eye-level with her. “Elizabeth, marriage is the best thing I
can think o’ for ye. Wi’out a man tae provide for ye and keep ye warm and fed,
there’s nae chance ye’ll survive. Marriage
is
the best I can dae for
ye.”

She
looked away from him, focusing on the blankets that covered her bed. He’d never
been one to deal with a crying woman. He needed to leave.

Standing,
he walked to the door again. “I’ll go now. Ye should get some rest. I’ll be
nearby if the need arises.”

She
didn’t respond.

“I’ll
uh…I’ll be sleepin’ out here as well.” That did earn him a reaction.

“You’re
not staying in here with me? You’re leaving me
alone
now too? Why even
stay, Cailen? Why not just go back to your life and let me deal with my own?”

Leave
her? Surely she didn’t think he would do such a thing? “Nae. I dinna ken what
it’s like in yer time, but here, it’s just no’ proper for a man and a woman tae
share a room unless they’re wed. I’m fine tae sleep in the adjoining room.”

She’d
shut down again, but kept her eyes on him until he’d finished talking. He
backed out into the hall and shut the door as Elizabeth dropped her head onto
her knees.

Emotions
warred inside him. He’d never been able to do anything right. Not for his da,
not for his family, and now, not for Elizabeth.

He
didn’t want to hurt the woman. But what else was he to do?

****

After a sleepless night,
Cailen and I left the inn the next morning and, after picking up his new shirt,
we followed the directions the innkeeper gave us to Mr. MacMillan’s house, who
may or may not have a horse or two he’d be willing to sell to us. No way was I
on board with the Scot’s plan to throw me at the first available bachelor we
met, but I was grateful for his suggestion that we ride horseback to wherever
it was we were going. For one, it got me off my foot that still throbbed like
crazy, and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I could escape Cailen
and his harebrained scheme to make me some random Highlander’s wife.

“I’ve
only the one tae sell ye, mind,” Mr. MacMillan said. The man had the blackest
hair I’d ever seen, which was made all the darker by his wiry beard that
covered half his face. He constantly stood with his arms folded, and he smelled
like he’d been working with cows and horses all morning. “But she should be
strong enough tae hold ye both.”

We
rested against the wooden fence that lined the horse’s pen, and Cailen looked
at me questioningly. “What dae ye think?”

“I don’t
know.” I shrugged. “I’ve never ridden one.”

Both
men gaped. “How is that possible?” MacMillan said with a shake of his head. “I’ve
ne’er met a lass who hasn’ae ridden a horse at least
once
.”

“I just
haven’t. I’ve seen them in fields and stables and have petted a few on the
nose, but that’s the extent of it.”

Mr.
MacMillan shook his head and peered at Cailen. “Where did ye find such a ledy?
Must be verra special indeed tae hae ne’er ridden a horse before.”

“Ye hae
nae idea,” he mumbled. “How much dae ye want for the mare?”

MacMillan
rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, considering. “Oh, I’d say eight
pounds ought tae cover her.”

“Are we
really only getting one?” I asked. How the crap was I supposed to get away from
Mr. Matchmaker if I was on the same damn horse as he was?

“‘Tis
all we need,” Cailen responded before returning his gaze to the horse master. “That’s
a fair price.”

I
reached into my purse to grab some coins, but the Highlander stopped me with
his hand. Pulling change out of his sporran, he produced the money for Mr.
MacMillan and entered the stable, carefully approaching a beautiful dark brown
mare. She had a pitch black mane and a white nose, and long white hair adorned
her legs just above her hooves. He tied her to the fence and bent on one knee. “Give
me yer foot, Elizabeth.”

“
What?
”

“Gi’me
yer foot. I’ll help ye up.”

That’s
what I’d been afraid of, and I shook my head. “I don’t know how to ride it.”

“That’s
why I’ll help ye,” he said slowly as Mr. MacMillan smiled warmly. “Step intae
ma hand and I’ll help ye up. All ye must dae is swing yer leg o’er and hold
onto her mane.”

I
stepped toward him and leaned down to his ear, whispering, “And what about all
these skirts?”

“They’ll
go wi’ye, o’ course. Step up wi’yer foot, Elizabeth. Now.”

I let
out one long, slow, shaky breath and gripped his shoulder as I plopped my left
foot into his cupped hands and stepped up. I barely balanced myself on the
horse’s wide back before Cailen launched himself up as well, wrapping his arms
around me as he untied the horse from the fence.

“Take
good care o’ her for me,” MacMillan said, patting her up on the rump. “She’s a
good lass.”

“We
will,” Cailen replied. “Good day tae ye.” With a quick wave and a thank you to
Mr. MacMillan, he steered the horse away from the stable and we trotted off
with the sounds of the horse’s hooves hitting dirt, leaving Kilchrenan far
behind.

The
Scot kept a tight hold on me for a long time, pulling me close to his body as
our horse strode just to the side of the winding dirt road. He’d informed me
that it was easier to remain hidden from others if we kept off the path itself,
making it more manageable to rush into nearby trees and brush. Of course, he
wouldn’t explain why we wanted to remain hidden other than the fact that we
were on another clan’s lands. For a while, we weren’t in forestland at all, but
riding through open fields of grass and heather, where we couldn’t have
remained hidden if we’d tried—at least, not on horseback. We’d passed two
horse-and-buggies on the way, and neither of them had caused us any problems,
so I wasn’t sure why he was so cautious the rest of the time.

“Can we
just stop?” I asked. “I’m exhausted.”

He made
a grunting sound and I turned to peer at him from over my shoulder.

“I
didnae ken ye’re the one who’s been walkin’ all this time.”

“I didn’t
say I was. I just said that I’m exhausted. And how do you think this poor
creature feels with the two of us on her back?”

He
cocked his mouth to the side and raised a brow. “Aye, yer right. There’s some
water up the path a bit. We’ll let our horse hae a bit o’ rest while we find
some food.”

“Thank
God,” I breathed, relief spreading through my entire body. Before I’d realized
it, I’d melted against him, and quickly straightened as his hard chest met my
back. He’d been holding me tightly against him this whole time, but not once
had I relaxed. “How much longer are we going to go today?”