Page 51 of How to Woo a Highlander

She wondered how long it would take William and her father to realize that she was missing. She could only hope it would be soon, and Lain would not get away with his plan. If only there were a way to warn them. The way things were, he could waltz back into the castle without anyone realizing that he was a traitor.

He had killed Alastair. The night before, she had asked for just a few more moments with him in case she never saw him again. While she had known it was a possibility, she did not want it to become a reality. A part of her had stubbornly held on to the hope that he would somehow survive. Lain was a monster.

She still had trouble coming to terms with it. If he hated Alastair and William that much, how had he been able to laugh and smile with them so naturally? She had never been exposed to anyone so poisonous, and it made sense that Lain had shocked her. It opened her eyes to a new aspect of people and made her even warier.

Jane needed to find a way to escape. Although it was very likely that her father would come looking for her, she could not help but feel shaken by Lain’s words. Her father wanted her to marry the Laird, and it did not matter who the Laird was. She could not imagine that he would honestly give her out in marriage without caring who her husband was, but she could not say that he would not do it either.

She had never been the type to sit around waiting in the first place. Several times she dragged herself to the chest with much difficulty. She cursed Lain several times in her head for tying her up so horribly. If her hands had been tied in front, it would have been easier to attempt escape. With her hands at the back, any movement was unnatural.

She finally made it to the chest and leaned against it to rest and took the time to study the chest. It was relatively large, so perhaps it might hold something sharp and useful to help unbind her.

The chest was not locked, she noticed, as she shoved against it with her shoulder, and it budged. A triumphant smile crossed her face as she pushed against the chest again, leaning further this time and using her whole body to open it.

With some difficulty, she moved so that she was on her knees as she peered inside. It was empty apart from some rope and a crude knife made of sharpened stone. However, it was enough, and her eyes lit up with satisfaction at the sight of it.

The knife should be sharp enough to cut the rope, and she bent over, fishing it out with her mouth, ignoring the foul taste of the leather hilt. She dropped it on the ground, gagging at the slightly salty taste that made her question where the knife had been.

Despite her disgust, she knew that there was no time to worry about such trivial things. She turned, moving her hands the best she could until she could grab unto the hilt of the knife. It was a taxing job, and it was extremely difficult trying to cut with the little movement that she could muster with her bound wrists.

Her whole arm was already aching with effort, and she couldn’t yet feel any lessening in the resistance, but she could not stop. She already knew that it was going to be hard, but it was patience that she needed to break free of her confines.

A commotion in front of the tent startled her. She could not help the slight panic that ran through her as she began to cut with more vigor. It sounded like people were approaching the tent. Lain had warned her not to make too much noise; had she done that in her bid to escape? A small knife would not be enough against the men if they attacked her. They stopped in front of the tent, causing her heart to pound as she continued to struggle to rid herself of the ropes while listening to them speak.

“I dinnae think that this is a good idea,” the first voice said, sounding uncertain.

“I agree that it isnae, but think about it, we may never get another chance like this again. The lads say she is bonnier than any they have seen, and she is scarcely dressed. It is the perfect opportunity to feast our eyes on a foreign lass,” the second voice argued.

They are talking about me as though I were a piece of meat!

“We were told nae to touch her. She belongs to the Mackenzie spy, ye ken, and she is English. Dae ye really want to test the wrath of the English? Only touchin’ one lass can lead to all of our deaths,” yet another said.

“I didnae say anythin’ about touchin’ her,” the first voice hissed exasperatedly. “I said, see! With our eyes only. I dinnae see how lookin’ at the lass is going to hurt her. We can feast our eyes and enjoy the images later.”

She could not see them, but she already knew that if she had to attack any of them, it would be the instigator. Their words made her feel dirty, and she was furious. It was this anger that led her to forget the pain in her arm and cut so furiously that her hands were suddenly free, flooding her with relief.

Her eyes were wide as she brought her hands to the front, staring at the redness on her wrists. She had done it. After her initial pause of surprise, she sprung into action again, starting to saw at the ropes binding her ankles.

“I still dinnae think that this is a good idea,” she heard, even as she furiously attacked the rope.

It was much easier now that she could see what she was doing, and her hands were no longer restricted. She cut through just as the voices sounded up again.

“Well, if ye are too scared to dae it, ye can stay here. I will go look at her meself and tell ye what ye missed.”

Instinctively she crouched as his hand came to the flap of the tent. She held the knife, readying herself to jump up and attack if it became necessary. If she got him in the neck, she could tear the tent in the back and escape in the opposite direction. The only problem with that plan was that she had no idea what was behind her. The tent could be in the middle of the camp for all she knew.

Why did they have to show up now? If they were not here, I might have a chance to come up with an actual plan.

Her heart pounded, and the adrenaline pumped through her veins. There was no time to do anything but attack, and she wished she had time to make better preparations. Things were looking bleak when all of a sudden, the soldier released the tent flap.

“Och! What are ye men doin’ over there? Were ye nae warned against going near that tent?!” A loud voice rang out from outside. Her heart continued to pound at a dizzying rate, but this time dizzy from relief. She thought she was going to faint as she fought to keep calm, worried that any movement would alert them to peek in.

There was a nervous shuffling outside the tent as the soldiers had been caught doing something they should not have been.

“We were… we were nae doin’ anythin’ commander we were just… passin’ by.” The instigator said, stammering. The commander was not having any of it.

“Before I blink, I want ye to vanish from there, ye fools,” the commander said. She could hear their desperate attempt to scurry away as soon as possible. Jane at last breathed a deep sigh of relief.

She let out a breathless laugh at the thought. Despite her circumstances, she couldn’t help but wonder how Mary would react to everything that had happened so far. Her governess would be appalled for sure, and if she got out of this, she would be in a lot of trouble once she returned.