Ashlyn (The Highland Clan Book 5) (4 page)

“Magnus is assigned as Ashlyn’s protector?” Robbie asked, glancing at her.

Jamie and Jake both answered simultaneously. “Aye.”

“Is there any other way?” Ashlyn asked.

Every man in the room spoke this time. “Nay.”

Every man except Magnus. He just smiled.

Chapter Four

Magnus stayed behind after Ashlyn hurried out. He had a good idea where she was headed, so he’d catch up with her in a few minutes. “I think we shall find some hard feelings from the other guards, and I do not know how Ashlyn will handle it. I’ll make sure they do not touch her.”

“I agree,” Jake said, nodding. “I think there’s something brewing among the guards, though I do not know what. I want someone I trust there to handle the situation.”

Robbie clasped Magnus’s shoulder. “You’ll have your hands full with her, but I believe ‘twill be an interesting journey.”

“If I did not believe she could be an asset to the search, I would not send her,” Alex said. “But she has an instinct that we, as men, do not possess. We must take advantage of it. And with women involved, we may need a woman along. I think it is a sound plan.” Alex stood from his chair. “I wish you luck. Send a messenger with aught you uncover.”

Magnus said, “Aye, my laird. We shall be successful. Jake, I know you have a new wife, so go enjoy your family. We shall see you soon.”

He said his goodbyes and left, hurrying as soon as he hit the outdoor air. He would wager Ashlyn had headed to the archery field to practice her skills one more time before they left, and he feared one of the guardsmen had followed her.

He found a horse and headed out to the practice field, only to hear a scream from a distance. His heart in his throat, he flicked the reins and galloped out. As soon as he arrived, he jumped off his horse. It only took him a few moments to find Ashlyn, who was hiding behind a large rock at the periphery of the field.

“What is it?” he asked, panting from the exertion. He knew something had happened because of her color. She was pale as a linen square, and being a woman who loved the outdoors, her cheeks were usually flushed and rosy.

“Someone fired at me again. I was practicing and an arrow flew by me.”

“How close?”

“It missed me, but it still upsets me. I searched the area for the archer, but they must have left when they saw you. I have not seen another arrow.”

“They? There was more than one?”

“Nay. I think only one. Why are you here?”

“Because I was sure you would come out here, and I felt the tension in the room from Osgar, Tormod, Coll, and Art.”

“You think one of them is responsible? But they have no reason to want to hurt me. They were all chosen for the voyage.”

“Lass, I do not think their aim is to hurt you or kill you. I think they seek to frighten you into staying home. The only reason your cousin agreed not to tell his sire is because we believe you will leave the guilty party behind. If you refuse the assignment, then several others could possibly take your place.”

“Whatever the situation, they are gone now. I’m going back to practice.” She jumped up from her spot, peered around at the trees, and strode back over to her usual spot.

“Foolish lass!” Magnus yelled, making it to his feet in time to follow her. As soon as they made their way to the middle of the field, he heard the very sound he had dreaded, the swish of an arrow flying through the air. His movements were trained from many years as a warrior. He dove for Ashlyn, his arms wrapping around her to knock her out of the way.

Ashlyn’s reaction was instinctual. As soon as they hit the ground together, she shoved at him, though she couldn’t move him because he was on top of her. “Get away! How dare you touch me! Leave me be.” She pummeled and shoved him as best she could until he finally rolled off her.

“Leave you be? If I had not pulled you down, the arrow could have pierced your skull.”

“That arrow was not even close, and you do not have permission to touch me. You can yell at me or shove me, but do not ever land on top of me again.” She jumped to her feet.

He joined her. “I’ll land on you whenever I deem it necessary. I cannot allow you to be foolish. Whether your attacker means to kill you or nay, you could still lose your life. This is my assignment as a Grant guard, and I do not take it lightly.”

Ashlyn was more furious at him than the situation warranted, and he found himself thinking about what Robbie had said to him. Something had scarred this lass and left her with a fear of being touched. She hadn’t stepped far away, but as soon as she heard his comment, she came at him again.

“You will not!” she bellowed. “Do you hear me? You cannot touch me whenever you deem it necessary.” She swung and caught him in the arm.

Magnus kept his hands at his sides, refusing to swing back. He did not hit women.

“I will have to touch you, and you better learn how to deal with it while we’re away.”

“Nay, you will not. Do not touch me. Never touch me. Never, ever. Who do you think you are? Do you think you’re a Norseman?” Her hands connected with his chest again, slapping at him.

Magnus could tell when the tears began to fuel her actions. Suddenly, she was no longer Ashlyn the strong archer; she was a wee lassie fighting someone bigger and stronger. A Norseman maybe, or some other demon from her past.

Her voice even rose to a higher pitch. “Leave me be. You cannot touch me. Do not touch me. Go back to your own country.” Tears trickled down her cheeks as she swung at him. She connected, but her light swings weren’t hurting him.

Magnus held his arms out and whispered, “Go ahead, lass. Get it out of you. Let that bad man have all your fury.”

“Just because you are a man, you think you can touch me as you wish. You cannot. I will not let you. My da would not allow it if he were still here, but he left us.” Her slaps turned to fists as she continued to lightly pummel Magnus’s chest, tears running down her cheeks.

Magnus said naught, allowing her to have her way. This was a wee lass swinging at him, not Ashlyn, the fighter. Someone had violated her, and he was determined to find out who—but first he would allow her the opportunity to rid herself of her anger.

Her demeanor suddenly changed. It was as if she were awakening to the present moment. “Why? Why are you letting me hit you? Stop me. I should not be hitting you.”

But she swung again, a weak attempt to hit him, and finally she gave in to the tears. Falling to the ground in a heap, she cradled her face in her hands and sobbed, her whole body shaking with emotion.

Magnus scanned the area again to make sure any threat to her safety was gone, but he was confident her attacker had left. Where did he go from here?

He let her cry, hoping it would help her to heal. Eventually, he sat down next to her and reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

She leaned away from him but drew her gaze up to his. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to help you. ‘Tis all. May I comfort you? Do you wish to cry on my shoulder?”

“Nay, and I do not need comforting.” Her scowl told him she meant what she said.

How different she was from his Rhona, who had loved being comforted by him.

He reached for the stray hair again and whispered, “Ashlyn, this will not hurt you. You have a leaf in your hair.”

She allowed him that small touch, and he could see the tension leave her body.

“Who was it, Ashlyn? Who hurt you?”

She closed her eyes, reigning in her sobs to a hiccup. “No one.”

“I do not believe you. Was it a Norseman?”

“Magnus, when I was eight summers, I watched a man almost beat my mother to death. I hid behind a rock and made my sister turn the other way, but I could not.” She stared off into the trees, mopping at her wet cheeks with a linen square she had pulled from her satchel.

Magnus whispered, “I would not have been able to look away either. Do not be upset with yourself for watching; you were too small to help her. Did he touch you?”

She shook her head. “He punched her in the belly, then in the face, then dragged her across the stone beach so fast it tore her skin off. I watched her try to fight back, but she couldn’t. It was as if she could not feel anything he did. Do you know what he wished to do with her?”

“Nay, but I think I can guess. You need not explain.”

She brought her gaze to his, and her brown eyes held a fury he’d not seen often. “You think he wished to force himself on her, but you probably did not guess that he planned to give her to all his friends on the boat after he finished with her.”

Magnus reached for her hand, but she pulled it back. “Lass…how can you know that?”

“Because I knew all about sex back then. I knew what it meant to see a man rub his crotch. That’s what several of them did on the galley ship. Though I could not understand their words they shouted at her, I knew what they intended to do to her.”

“But they did not, Ashlyn. Your mother fought them off.”

Her tears started again. “I saw him punch her and her head hit a rock and she did not move. I thought she was dead. I ran back to Gracie because she had started to cry, and when I returned to peek around the rock, there were more men. Men everywhere. They chased the Norseman back to his ship. One of them was Robbie, but I did not know at the time that he was there to save my mother. I thought he was another attacker. I saw his big sword and got scared and ran with Gracie. We hid closer to the beach. I was so frightened, and we had little to eat.”

“But your mother survived, and so did you and Gracie.”

“Aye, she did. She is a strong woman. Now you know what troubles me, so you need not ask again.”

“Aye, I can see why that would trouble anyone.”

She stood up from her spot and moved over to nuzzle her horse.

Magnus helped her mount, and when she turned her horse around, he stopped her.

“Ashlyn, when you’re ready to tell me about the man who touched you, I’ll be ready to listen.”

She frowned, narrowing her gaze at him before she flicked the reins of her horse, shooting off toward the loch.

She was not fooling him one bit.

***

Ashlyn decided to stop and visit with Effie, Aline’s friend and another former prisoner at Castle Dubh, to see if she had recalled any more information about MacNiven. Magnus had unnerved her in more ways than one. First of all, how had he guessed there was more to her story? Of course, she’d never tell him the rest. She’d never told anyone.

But what bothered her most was her reaction to him. Her instinct had been to allow him to hold her until her tears ended. In fact, she had thrown herself to the ground to fight the impulse. And he had touched her…more than once. He had touched her, and she had survived. In fact, she had almost wanted him to touch her cheek. Aye, when he’d removed the leaf from her hair, she had fought the urge to lean in to him.

What was happening to her?

Forget it
. There were more important matters to attend to. First, she decided to find out as much information as she could about the MacNiven and his despicable, though thankfully dead, ally Hew Gordon. Then she needed to pack her satchel.

She’d already packed her satchel five times, but another time wouldn’t hurt, at least to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Aye, Magnus was unimportant today.

There was already a second horse tied up outside Effie’s cottage. Moments after she knocked on the door, it was flung open by Maisie and Morna, both giggling. Aline’s wee sisters had recovered remarkably well from their ordeal at Castle Dubh. How she loved watching the lassies play, just as she’d loved watching her younger brothers play. Aye, she did want her own family, but how could she? Would she ever be able to let go of her fears? Would her nightmares ever stop? Was there a man she could trust?

“Ashlyn, come visit with us,” Maisie said as the two lassies grabbed her hands and tugged her inside.

After closing the door behind her, Ashlyn picked up the lassies one at a time and swung them in a circle before she set them down, but as soon as she set Maisie down, Effie’s daughter Una scuttled up, eager for her turn. When she finished greeting the girls, Aline said, “Lassies, play with your animals for a moment. We must talk with Ashlyn.”

When the bairns retrieved their toys and scampered over to the hearth, Ashlyn sat down at the table with Aline and Effie.

“Jake told me you are leaving on the morrow,” Aline whispered. “I cannot believe ‘tis happening so soon. Are you not nervous about being the only lass among so many warriors?”

“Nay, I can handle myself. I’m good with a bow, though not as good as Aunt Gwyneth or Molly and Sorcha. But I was hoping you two could tell me everything you remember about Ranulf MacNiven.” She looked from Aline to Effie. “Where did Hew Gordon get his wealth?”

Aline sighed, then said, “I’ll tell you all I know, and Effie can add aught she recalls. Hew inherited his wealth from his sire. He had two sacks of coins hidden under the floorboards in his chamber. MacNiven stole the largest of the bags, heavy with coin, and Hew was beside himself even though he had another small bag hidden.”

“Where did his sire get the coins?”

“I’m not really sure, and I do not think Effie knows either.” She glanced at Effie, who shook her head. “But in the past year, I overheard Hew talking with his guards about how much money he could make if he had concubines for all the men in the Highlands. One of the guards reminded him of how slow business would be in the winter, so Hew planned to move closer to the Lowlands to avoid the bite of the cold. Someone he knew once hired several women to service men and told him how easy it was to get coin for good-looking women if they were trained in the seductive arts. I do not think this was discussed with MacNiven. He wished to keep all his wealth to himself, just hire MacNiven for protection.”