Page 3 of The Best of Madeline Grant

***

They rode hard all day, stopping only to water the horses and to take care of their own needs. Madeline tried her best to sit up straight and not rub her back against Brodie. The frequent jarring up and down in the saddle gave her a sore bottom. While she prided herself as being a good horsewoman, she had never ridden this much or this far. She did not know which hurt more at the end of the day, her back or her bottom.

When darkness started to fall again, Alex found a small clearing where they could spend the night. Madeline was eager to stop—owing to the constant pain, she had been unable to sleep at all in the saddle.

Alex helped her down, holding on to her when her knees buckled. She tried to push him away, but he would not budge.

“Be patient, lass. You have been in the saddle too long. The strength in your legs will return.”

His grip loosened eventually. He could not understand how stressful being close to him was for her. It made her think ofthe other big man she knew, and what he had done to her…and it also frightened her in a different way. In a giddy, strange way that made her feel as if she were in danger of losing what little control she had.

The guardsmen rushed off into the forest while Alex found a place for her to sit. He removed a hunk of cheese and some dried beef from his bag. “This will have to do for tonight,” he said to her. “Take care of your needs first and then we will eat.”

Alex waited in the center of the clearing until Madeline returned.

He put an extra plaid on the ground for her before passing the beef and cheese around. They ate in silence. Exhaustion caused her head to drop occasionally, but she knew she needed to keep her strength up. She was not sure why he pushed them so much, but she had to believe it was done in an effort to guarantee her safety. Alex probably wouldn’t relax until they were on Grant land.

“You need to get some rest, my lady, as we will not be staying here long,” Alex said. “We need to keep moving.”

Alex settled down on the ground not far from Madeline. He turned his back to her and promptly fell asleep. Brodie was quite a distance away, and the guardsmen were on the other side of the clearing. Madeline settled herself on the soft wool and tried to sleep.

Niles Comming crept into her thoughts. She remembered being tied to the bed, watching as Niles stroked himself, listening as he told her about all the things he would do to her once they were married. Squeezing her eyes together did nothing to forestall the unwelcome images. She jumped up off the plaid in a cold sweat, her breath coming hard, and started pacing. Finally, she picked up the plaid to move it farther away from Alex. She glanced at him.

Alex did not seem to be the type of lad who would attack her in her sleep, but how could she be sure? Weren’t all lads the same as Niles? She glanced over to where Brodie slept, wondering which one of the brothers she could trust. Would either one help her if the other groped her in the dark? Probably not—they were family. She finally dropped the plaid about halfway between the Grants. She lay back down and tried to sleep, but found it nearly impossible.

***

Alex opened his eyes as he sensed movement in the clearing. He watched as Madeline moved her plaid away from him and closer to Brodie. Did she really dislike him that much? But then he saw the raw fear in her eyes. He ached to haul her up against him and soothe her, but he knew that would only make her more afraid. He reminded himself she had a reason to distrust men. Patience was key.

Did she prefer Brodie? He could not bear the thought. He had never wanted a lass more than he had wanted her when she appeared in front of him with her wet gown clinging to her, yellow curls in disarray all around her face. He’d turned away quickly in the hopes that she hadn’t noticed his plaid at full attention. Saints above, he needed to get himself under control. He doubted she had noticed. She was probably bewildered from all the stress and trauma of the past few weeks. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with the vision of a golden-haired, blue-eyed angel in his mind.

A few hours later, he was awakened by a scream. He jumped up, his dirk in his hand, only to see Madeline thrashing on the ground. “My lady, what is it?” he shouted. Brodie leapt up as well, scanning the clearing for intruders.

Madeline sat up abruptly and frantically looked around. The tension visibly eased from her body, and she let out a deep sigh. Alex decided she must have been dreaming. She stood and hungher head. “I apologize. I must have had a nightmare. Please forgive me.”

She was magnificent even in the middle of the night with her hair mussed about her face. His heart went out to the poor lass. She would probably have nightmares for a while. His head ached from the memory of her brother poised behind her with that whip. He glanced around the clearing and said, “Let’s take our leave now. We need to get home soon.”

She picked up his plaid and handed it to him. After thanking him, she stumbled over to Brodie’s horse. She clearly had not slept much in the past few hours.

Alex climbed onto his horse and held his hand out to her. “You will be riding with me the rest of the way, lass.” He noticed the dark circles under her eyes and cursed himself for pushing her so hard, for not stopping for the night, but there was no choice. They needed to get away from her brother. He lifted her onto his horse, then placed his soft plaid between them to help cushion her wounds. “This should help.” He settled her back against him and pulled on the reins of his horse, whispering in her ear, “Close your eyes, I will not let anything happen to you.”

Maddie leaned against Alex and heaved out a sigh that shot straight to his heart. They didn’t travel far before he could tell she’d finally relaxed enough to fall asleep. He could feel her even breathing against his chest, a rhythm that settled him for some reason, something that made him incredibly happy to just be sharing this time with her and feel her trust.

He knew she didn’t give her trust easily, which made it even more special.

Chapter Eighteen

Madeline finally learns to have faith in Alex and to stand up for herself.

Alex caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and gaped when he realized how close Madeline was to him. She took another step toward him, her eyes locked directly onto his, fear radiating from every ounce of her being. Toward him? She was finally moving toward him? He immediately felt a little tug in his chest, but he fought the urge to let a smile steal over his face. By the saints, he would banish that fear from her eyes forever. He knew what he had to do. He pointed to Madeline, and in an instant, his brothers and three of his soldiers had circled around her.

He then turned to Niles Comming, raised his sword, and shouted, “The lass marries me!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Madeline jump in surprise.

Kenneth hopped up and down as if possessed and shouted, “She’ll never agree, Grant. She is a dead woman if she marries you.” He lurched toward Madeline but was restrained by several soldiers. “I will kill her with my bare hands if she agrees. Madeline, do you hear me? I will kill you, but not until I beat you near to death first! If you think the last time was bad, wait until you see what happens this time. You will never be able to walk again.”

The angry roar of the crowd practically masked the conversation.