Highland Escape (21 page)

“You will apologize, mongrel, or lose the use of these fingers,” she snarled.

He struggled against her hold, but she had the lock cinched tight and his struggling only caused him additional pain.

“I willnae apologize to a wench who plays at being a man!” he ground out between clenched teeth.

“As you please,” she answered. An audible snap sounded as Anna pulled his smallest finger out of socket at the second knuckle, causing it to protrude at an odd angle.

A loud yelp and an anatomically impossible curse flew from his mouth.

“Apologize!” she yelled at him.

“Nae, never!”

She responded by displacing his third finger, creating a louder snap. This time, his fellows groaned in sympathy with him, but none dared come to his aid.

Anna glanced at Duncan, who leaned against an empty table, arms folded across his chest, a smirk on his face. Only the taut muscles of his jaw belied his calm expression. He warned off the MacGregor men with a glance and slight hand gesture. Before she could demand another apology, Duncan spoke up. “What is yer name, Graham?”

The man on the floor continued to hurl curses, each more creative and colorful than the last, as he struggled uselessly against her hold.

“What is his name?” Duncan calmly asked the man seated nearest to him.

“Angus.”

“Angus, I would like ye to meet Anna of clan MacGregor. She has been adopted by our laird, my father, as a daughter, and is my future wife if she will have me.”

Anna shot Duncan a look of astonishment. The expression on his face showed no emotion except the silent fury he barely contained.

“I have seen her defeat six Highlanders in battle unassisted and another two warriors from my own clan. She saved yer commander’s life this afternoon. Ye might want to reconsider yer position on that apology.”

The men seated at the table stared at her with disbelief. Anna scowled. She was not letting this cur up without an apology. Otherwise, some other man from this clan would take issue with her appearance and try the same or worse. No, she would set an example here and now. Not caring to ask again, Anna jerked his second finger out of joint, the accompanying snap the loudest yet.

The doors to the inner hall slammed open and a large man, dressed in a laird’s finery, barreled in.

“What the hell is going on?”

Chapter 16

The man glanced from Anna to the man she had trapped. “Angus, what trouble are ye causing my guests?” he demanded, his face an indignant shade of red.

Angus’s manner changed. “No trouble, m’laird. This lady offered a lesson in weaponless combat.” Glancing up at her he gritted his teeth “I apologize for me earlier actions and doubts of yer ability.”

Anna was not deceived by the apparent sincerity of his apology. Releasing his neck, she used the wrist she held to haul him to his feet.

“No offense taken, I am sure, Angus. Allow me to
assist
you with your hand,” she said with a smile and sarcasm sharp enough to cut. Taking each finger individually, Anna repositioned them into place as sweat ran from Angus’ brow.

“Be sure and wrap those tightly. They should be fine within a fortnight.” She leaned in so only Angus could hear her. “If you ever touch me again, I will gut you like the pig you are.”

He flinched, eyes wide, as the point of her small dagger prodded him below the belt. Turning toward her host, Anna hid the dagger and bowed to the Graham laird.

The Graham responded with an assessing glance and wry smile. “Come, the servants have prepared food and drink.”

The laird led them into the inner hall, smaller but luxurious, designed for entertaining important guests. Motioning for them to sit, the laird directed two women to serve the group, and each MacGregor was quickly given a
quaich
of ale.

A twinkle in his eye, the Graham laird asked, “How is it one of my strongest men, though more than a wee bit daft, was bested by a woman?”

Anna glanced at Duncan, the gleam of anger in his eyes telling her he still seethed over the encounter. She chose a diplomatic answer. “It was an opportunity for a demonstration of unarmed tactics, is all, Laird,” she answered, trying to keep her irritation with Duncan out of her voice. She could handle herself and did not need him running to her rescue at every turn.

Graham gave her an odd look and a smile, but left her explanation alone. He moved his attention to Duncan. “I heard about the accident in the market today—how yer group assisted my men, especially ye,” he said as he spared a glance at Anna. “Ronald has been one of my most reliable men. I would be hard pressed without him. Neil believes yer timely efforts gave him a chance to survive. For that I thank ye, milady.”

“Iain and I were close when it happened and glad to offer assistance. All involved are recovering. Your commander has not awakened. I know not if he will, but your healer watches over him.”

The laird changed topics again as servants plied the tables with meats, vegetables and bread. “Though yer use of our language and plaide says ye are a MacGregor, yer accent, cuirass, and the way ye carry yerself tells me ye are English. There is a very entertaining story here. I wish to hear it.”

Anna nodded to Duncan, prompting him to respond. “’Tis an interesting story. I will tell most of it. There are details we withhold to protect Anna.”

Smiling, the laird motioned for him to continue. Leaving out the details of her family’s name and fate, he told the same story they’d related to the MacGregor clan. The laird seemed satisfied with the telling, and their conversation drifted to clan politics, alliances, and common enemies, which of course included the English.

Anna took no offense, having seen the horrors the English were capable of firsthand. After living in the Highlands only a matter of a few months, she had no desire to return to England. She
was
Scots. Since her father and brother had followed her mother in death, she’d considered her English heritage at an end. Another revelation to ruminate over.

After the meal, they retired to chairs by the large stone hearth, where conversations continued. The laird made a point to ask Anna questions about the unsteady peace along the border. He asked what she thought about the likelihood of war and where it might start. Offering her insight about the most power-hungry English nobles in the area, he seemed pleased with the information and agreed with her assessments. She sensed he tested where her loyalties lay. They certainly did not lie with Edward Longshanks or his corrupt group of nobles.

As the evening grew late, a messenger entered and spoke quietly to the laird. He stood. “It seems my commander has regained consciousness. Lady Anna, would ye be willing to see to him before ye retire or wait until morn?”

“I would gladly check on him now.”

At Duncan’s nod, Iain rose to accompany her. Following the guard who escorted them, Iain leaned into Anna and whispered, “Though I have seen ye fight before, I am astonished by yer abilities and am proud ye joined our clan.”

Self-conscious at his overt praise, she smiled at him. “Thank you, Iain.”

“Ye should know every man in our group would lay down his life for ye.”

Unsettled by the depth of his pledge, Anna made light of the moment. “So all I had to do is defeat the largest, most obnoxious man in the clan to earn your respect? Had I known, I would have called out Duff my first day at Ciardun.” She gave him a sideways glance and he laughed loudly in reply.

When they arrived at their destination, the guard told Iain to wait outside the door. Iain bristled at the command, but Anna nodded her acceptance.

“Commander, the woman who tended ye is here.”

He struggled to sit up in the bed. “Come in, milady, and let me thank ye.” His voice, while strong, sounded immeasurably tired.

She stepped into the room and his eyes narrowed as he took in her appearance. “The men tell me I have ye to thank for my life.”

Remembering Neil’s claims, she merely nodded. “’Tis true I tended your wound, Commander. However, the men insisted your survival is due to the hardness of your head rather than my efforts.” Anna gave him a grin, ignoring the surprised looks on the guards’ faces at her words.

The commander’s face broke into something likely intended to be a smile, though it arrived as a grimace. “Och, now I see ye and a wee bit of yer character, ’tis easier to believe ye able to best Angus. How I would have loved to have seen that great lug lowered a peg or two. I owe ye a debt of thanks for saving me life, and for humbling one of me more difficult men.”

Anna offered a brief bow. “Glad to be of service, Commander. You no doubt have a concussion, and will need to stay away from your duties a sennight or more. Watch for blurred vision, nausea, light sensitivity and headaches. You should not go back to your post until these subside. Resuming duty too soon will make these effects linger longer than they should. Your healer can give you poppy tea if the pain becomes too severe, otherwise bark tea will ease the pain enough to be tolerable.”

“Aye, I have seen my share of head injuries and understand. My thanks again for yer care.”

Anna nodded. “Your men and laird speak highly of you. ’Tis my pleasure to serve clan Graham.” She started to leave the room, then turned back with a smile. “I kept the stitches as fine as possible so your scar doesn’t scare the lasses over-much.”

The commander stifled a laugh, though the other two men in the room guffawed loudly.

“Duncan has told some of us about yer sparring together,” Iain said as they walked back to the hall. “I hope ye consider joining the rest of us in the future. Though some would refuse to train with a woman, many of us would welcome the opportunity to test our skill against ye. Mayhap learn a wee bit as well. I have never seen anyone do to a man what ye did to the Graham today, and he twice your size.”

“I would be happy to demonstrate, Iain, as I get bored besting Duncan all the time.”

Iain shook his head and chuckled. Anna grinned.

“Mayhap when we stop to camp tomorrow night we can work a bit. As far as training with the rest of the men, that is the laird’s decision. I would welcome it but do not want to create more conflict with my presence than I already have. If I cannot train with the main group, perhaps the laird will permit a smaller group. I will ask Duncan.”

They reported to the laird his commander’s condition, then were shown guest chambers for the night. Anna’s room had a fire already lit, and a maid escorted her to the bathing chamber near the kitchen. Having slept on the ground the past two nights, a bath and bed sounded welcoming.

After her bath, Anna dressed and returned to her room. She spotted Duncan leaning against the wall outside her door. She gave him a quizzing glance, trying to gauge his mood.

“May I speak with ye?” he asked.

“Of course. I would ask you in, but ’twould not be proper.”

He nodded, motioning to the stairs. They headed through the hall and outside. She wondered what he had in mind. The thought of kissing him rose to the surface as it always did of late, and her body tingled with anticipation. Stopping beside the well in the center of the bailey, he turned to face her. From his stern look, kisses were not what he had in mind. Anna assumed a defensive posture, waiting for the scold she knew to be forthcoming.

“Anna, I would speak with ye about this afternoon.”

She raised her eyebrows and leaned her head slightly toward him in invitation.

“Ye took on a man twice yer size, surrounded by his lads.” Frustration crept into his voice.

“And what would you have me do, Duncan? Take his abuse and insults?” She crossed both arms over her chest.

Duncan scrubbed his face twice before answering. “Nae, ye should have let me handle him. Ye are adopted by our clan. We are courting. Both those things mean ye are under my protection.”

Anna narrowed her gaze. “You watched closely today. You saw I did not require assistance. A man like Angus needed a lesson on how to treat women. Which do you think would present the more effective lesson,
my lord
, a thrashing from you, or one from the very woman he offended?” Anger surged through her.
He
was telling
her
not to defend herself?

“Arrrghh!” Duncan pushed away from the well. His body tensed, his hands opening and closing tightly. He scrubbed his face again and took a deep breath before facing her. “Aye, the more effective lesson was for him to be humbled by the verra lass he handled roughly. Dinnae expect me to like it.”

At his confession, Anna immediately softened. Anger bled away and she walked straight into his chest and placed her arms around him. He returned her embrace fiercely. Leaning her head back, she peered at his face. Seeing his scowl still present, she kissed him on the chin. She looked up again, but his remained expression unchanged. She pressed light kisses on his cheeks, his nose, his neck, until he relaxed. Sensing his acceptance, she pulled back slightly to gaze into his eyes.

“It is hard for you to accept I am not a weak woman always in need of your protection, even though we train together daily and you know what I am capable of,” she whispered.

“Aye,” he grumbled.

“You were there to protect me if I did not succeed in the lesson.” She punctuated her statement with a kiss on his cheek. “You were there to protect me if any of the others joined the fray.” Another kiss touched his jaw. “You did protect me. But like you, I do not back down from a challenge. I would not ask you to do so, and would guard your life as if it were my own. I only ask the same.”