Page 49 of A Temptress in Tartan

“We’ll put our weapons down,” Lucy said, taking several steps forward before she bent to set her dagger next to a long, thick branch lying on the ground. The blade touched the earth for only a heartbeat before Lucy came up with the branch. In a fluid motion, she stepped toward a surprised Keddy and thrust the jagged end into his groin with all her might.

Keddy screamed, dropping his sword as he fell to his knees, clutching his most male part. With another swing of the branch, Lucy whacked Keddy on the side of the head, rendering him senseless.

“You’ll pay for that!” her father roared as he charged forward with his sword. His blade arced toward Lucy but she blocked the strike with the branch and spun away as Elizabeth’s father stumbled, trying to regain his balance. When he did, he let out a roar of displeasure and came at her again, but Lucy was prepared.

“Cease your attack and you might walk away unharmed,” Lucy said, holding the branch before her like a quarterstaff, balancing on the balls of her feet, ready to strike, ready to defend them both.

“I’ll not let you, a Douglas woman, get the best of me again!” Cursing, her father charged. His blade whistled down through the air. He spun, then came at Lucy from the side instead of down, but she was prepared and blocked the stroke.

She spun and twisted away. A heartbeat later, she attacked, striking Elizabeth’s father on the leg, the shoulder, the head, until his movements were jerky and the effort to stop her hits drained him of energy. Even so, her father lunged. He caught Lucy’s arm, drawing blood, but before he could step away, she jabbed her staff into his stomach.

He hissed in pain, doubled over, and his sword thumped upon the ground.

Elizabeth snatched it up. She held the heavy weapon in her own hands, pointing it at her father. She felt a surge of primitive satisfaction. “Stop this, now.”

“Give me the sword, Elizabeth!”

“Never attempt to harm me or my kin again.”

“I am your kin!”

“I thought so once, but I’m not so certain anymore.”

Elizabeth’s father’s eyes glittered with anger. “They have turned you against us. They have bewitched you!”

“Nay, Father. It is you who have opened my eyes to the truth with your lies and your manipulations.”

“I had hoped you would remain faithful to your clan, but it appears you serve the Douglases now?” His face twisted, contorted with anger.

Elizabeth’s breath caught. Were his words true? Had she switched her allegiances and fallen for her enemy? The realization washed over her not with fear, but with acceptance. “I serve no one but God, Father.” She narrowed her gaze on his face, trying to see the father she once knew in the man before her. “What is wrong with you? You’ve changed. You’ve become a—”

“Monster?” he supplied a description for her. “If I am a monster, the Douglases made me so.” His eyes were cold now. “I will see they pay for their sins, and as much as it pains me, now that you are one of them, you shall pay for those sins too.”

Elizabeth could only watch him hobble away with her heart in her throat. Her own father had tried to kill her, and now threatened the family who had treated her with kindness and welcomed her into their midst.

“Should I go after him?” Lucy asked with her makeshift quarterstaff still in her hands.

“Nay,” Elizabeth said with a mixture of dread and anticipation. “We should head back to the carriage and make sure the coachman is unharmed and that the other men have gone.”

Lucy lowered her weapon and moved to Keddy’s prone form. She placed her fingers alongside his throat. “He lives. What should we do about him? He’s far too heavy for us to carry.”

“Leave him here,” Elizabeth said. “When we return to Haddington we can send someone to collect him.”

Lucy nodded and stared back toward the rowan trees. When Elizabeth continued to stand where she was, with the sword clutched in her hands, Lucy took the weapon from her and nudged her gently forward. “I cannot even imagine the sense of betrayal you must feel right now, but we must return to Haddington with all due haste before your father can regroup with his men and come after us. We were lucky this time. Let’s not tempt fate any further, agreed?”

Elizabeth knew she was right, but she still couldn’t quite believe her own father would sacrifice her for the sake of the Ruthven-Douglas feud. The king was right. This had to end, and it would end with her and Lachlan taking charge.

Chapter Seventeen

Elizabeth greeted the guard outside Lachlan’s room with a nod before she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Lachlan stood with his battered back to her. His head was bent as he gazed into the cheery fire in the hearth. He propped one booted foot upon the grate, and stood there as still as a statue, no doubt lost in his thoughts.

There was something somber in the way he was standing. And even without looking at his face, she knew he carried the weight of what lay ahead of them on his shoulders. He stiffened suddenly and turned toward her. Sadness reflected in his features before his expression softened with a smile. “I was growing worried when you didn’t arrive as planned. How did the examination go?”

“The king seemed relieved at the confirmation of my virginity, and furious as well.”

“He gave you a good rousing, did he, about obeying his commands? I’ve been on the receiving side of many of his tirades a time or two myself,” he said as he helped her remove her cloak. “Is that what kept you?”

“The carriage ran into some trouble,” she said. It was the truth, but she did not elaborate. He had enough to worry about as it was. She wouldn’t trouble him with threats her father had made against them both.