Branded By a Warrior (19 page)

Sitting upon her horse, she leaned down and patted the large black stallion’s neck and whispered to him, “Let’s see if we can escape our prison my friend
.
”
L
ightly tapping her heels into the horse’s side, they moved as one towards the drawbridge.

“Lower the drawbridge
.” S
he called up
to the guard
with determination and power.
“I have not been given approval to allow you to leave alone Lady
Elisabeth, I am sorry
.” T
he nervous guard answered as his eyes searched
the bailey
for his laird.

Pulling her broadsword from her side, she pointed it right at the guard,
“You will lower the drawbridge Ian or I will cut off your balls
.” S
he commanded with such force
the warrior’s jaw dropped.

The other guards looked
at each other, not quite sure what to do. S
he noticed several men
run
towards the kee
p, most likely to inform
L
aird
MacMillan that his bride to be was demanding to be set free.

Sitting upon her horse, she watched as the tower guard froze.
Narrowing her eyes she
pointed her broadsword
at
the drawbridge.
“
Lower
it NOW Ian
!” S
he barked with such commanding force she saw him move instantly.

As soon as the large wooden drawbridge hit the ground she spurred her horse and
thundered
away from the castle with such speed. Anger poured off her as she rode along the trails, the cool wind blew her hair free.
Siobhan’s words still fresh in her mind; she rode as fast as her stallion would take her.
Her hair whipped in the wind as
she urged her mount on
. She felt free and alive, letting the ride and peacefulness of the frozen woods calm her
nerves;
she rode on, her destination unknown.
She knew it was only a matter of time before the guards info
rmed Broderick of her escape
from
his heavily fortified
castle.
He would come,
and he would be livid with her, and right now, she didn’t give a damn.

Deciding to enjoy
the time she had alone
, she maneuvered through Broderick’s forests with ease; the sunlight flickered through the dark clouds hitting her face every now
and
then. The freedom of being outside the castle walls was welcoming to her soul;
she had felt trapped for weeks. She was unaccustomed to being sealed inside for such a long time.
Yesterday’s trip had turned into a disaster; today she promised herself was a new day. She was the master of her fate.

Cutting through the woods with such precision, she and her horse became one.

***

From in the keep Broderick
heard the grating sound of the drawbridge being lowered as he argued with Siobhan. Leaving her standing in the castle he ran outside to see sev
eral guards running towards him, his wolfh
ounds following closely behind him.

“My L
aird, s
he made us lower the drawbridge, we trie
d to stop her!” A
winded guard explained as Broderick looked at the lowered drawbridge.

“Stop who? Please tell me yo
u didn’t let Elisabeth leave?” H
e barked, walking past them towards the stables.

“Aye, she’s alone and madder than I’ve ever seen her. She threatened to cut off Ian’s balls if he did not lower the bridge. She left only moments
ago;
your
horse is saddled
L
aird
Broderick
.
”

Running to the stable he swung up on his tall chestnut stallion and thundered out of the castle in search of her. What had made her so upset? Had she stumbled upon him and Siobhan arguing?
Did she not remember the fight for her life yesterday? His brother had almost died, and she rode back out into the woods alone?
Now that she had a weapon, did she leave him so quickly?
Was Siobhan right?

Following her tracks to the west he urged his horse into a gallop as
he traced her path in the snow. His dogs close behind him.
He rode for what seemed like an eternity before he found
her. His black sab
le fur stood out amongst the crisp white
snow, she
had dismounted and sat near the frozen waterfall
.
The sun illuminated her in a single beam from the cloudy sky. Her hair had fallen loose of its pins, fall
ing gloriously to her waist, his heart jumped just seeing her hale and whole.

**

Elisabeth had heard Broderick approaching from far
away
, his thundering warhorse echoed through the glen.
T
urning her head to look at him
she locked eyes
with the formidable laird
.
Sitting perfectly still, she watched Broderick slow his approaching horse as he drew near. She could see him physically calm down once he saw her, he was obviously worried, if not furious with her.

Her long ride had soothed her soul, being alone on her massive horse
always had that effect on her. A soul washing stampede
through the peaceful woods, shutting out the world around her
was how she dealt with her temper
. There were no children, no warriors, no men,
and no
women, only her and her horse as she galloped to this spot. She had time to clear her chaotic mind, time to regain control of her rampant emotions. During her precious few moments outside the walls of Castle MacMillan she was
able to
break free of her role and just be one with nature.

Keeping her eyes upon Broderick, she watched him ride up and gracefully dismount his tall horse.
Walking in front of her he knelt before her and grabbed her small hands and looked into her eyes, “Tell me what is go
ing on my love.” H
e asked as he squeezed her hands gently.

“Do you
trust me Broderick?” S
he asked, crinkling her eyebrows.

“Aye Lis, I tr
ust you with my life.” H
e answered immediately, reaching up and brushing a curl from her face.

Pushing him away she stood up and walked over to the corner of the frozen lake before turning around, “Do
you trust me with your heart?” S
he whispered, tears pooling in her eyes as she eyed the tall warrior.

Standing alone together in the frozen forest he closed the distance
between them,
“Aye, you know that I do lass.”

With a questioning looked she countered, “Do I Broderick? Each night you claim me as yours, you require me to admit my love for you yet
never
have you t
old me that you loved me. Never
.
”

Cross
ing his arms he looked down at her
, “I would die for you Lis, I would give up anything and everything I have for you,
only you
. I have chosen
you
to be my wife. I owe you my life for saving Kendrix and Isobel; I owe you my life for stopping your brother and
me
from fighting all those years ago. Are you really going to stand there in front of me and question my love for you? Can you not feel it when I touch you? Did you not feel it when I bestowed those weapons you have strapped to your side? Tell me woman, although I may have not said it, do you really doubt what I feel for you?”

Her heart melted as he spoke, he was right. He might not have said the words but he had showed her in his actions,
his
thoughtfulness and in his touch. Lowering her eyes, she stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, “Nay, I know that
you care Broderick. I am sorry
.
”

Wrapping his arms around her he squeezed her, “I may
never be able to say the words
you want to hear
,
but never doubt what I feel for
you Lis
.
”

“I heard you arguing with Siobhan in the hallway, I was so upset with her comparing me to Fiona I saw red. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and I needed to ride, my anger took over and I threatened your guards
so they would let me leave
,” she explained, she never wanted him to distrust her like he did so many others.

Tilting up her chin, “I’m sorry you had to hear that, she won’t let go of the issue. I know her tactics Elisabeth.
I can understand your need to ride, but woman, just yesterday you slayed four Douglas warriors on the other side of my lands, did ye not think of the danger of riding alone?”

“With my current mood I would almost feel sorry for any foe who found me today Broderick, with these weapons
,
and my rage, I would lay anyone low who stood in my way without a second thought
.
”

Chuckling,
“Ah, there is my beautiful warrior! Shall we finish the ride and allow you to cool down before heading home? If we are gone too long Kendrix will order the guards to search for us
.
”
Linking hands with her
,
he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it before lift
ing her onto her waiting horse.

“Thank you for understanding and not
shouting
at me, I thought you would be furious
.” S
he whispered
as they set out back towards the castle.

***

Watching her ride beside him, everything about the woman set his blood on fire. He knew he’d never be happy with a quiet obedient wife, he needed fire and ice and his little redhead was just that. She could wield a sword and ride a stallion like a seasoned warrior.
He truly did
love her. W
hat he felt for her
,
he ha
d never experienced in his life. I
t had to be love.
Why couldn’t he say it?
He didn’t understand it himself.
There was that small part of his brain that had doubt. Not that he loved her, but of trusting her with everything. Fiona had indeed created a deep seeded wound that showed its ugly face
from time to time in his life.

Riding back towards the castle the two crossed the lowered drawbridge together and headed to the stable. Sliding off his horse he lifted her out of her saddle before she could hop off, letting her slide down him he whispered
into her ear, “Go upstairs my love, I’ll join you in a few moments and show you just ho
w much I care
.
”

Winking at her, he swatted her sweet little ass as he watched her blush as she walked towards the keep. Watching her enter the keep he turned to find his brother, he had noticed a different set of tracks
that
had rode up to the castle from a different direction. Finding Kendrix in the armory he shook off the snow as he nodded to his brother, “Who arrived?”

“A messenger, from Kin
caid. Did you find Elisabeth?” Kendrix
asked as he rounded the worktable and joined his brother by the fire and handed him the parchment he had tucked in his tartan.

“Aye, woman has a temper on her. Shall we see wha
t that bloody ass has to say?” H
e asked as he broke the seal on the letter and quickly scanned through the thinly veiled threat. 

Beside him, Kendrix chuckled,
“Of course she has a temper, what did you do now to upset her?”

Looking up from the parchment Broderick replied,
“She
overheard
Siobhan casting suspicion on her, she d
ared compare Elisabeth to Fiona
.
”

Raising his eyebrows and pouring them a drink Kendrix moaned, “Oh I’m sure that went over splendid, Siobhan should consider herself lucky she’s not dead. She hasn’t been making Elisabeth’s life easy around the castle. What does the letter say Brother?”

Taking the ale
,
he threw back the drink and wiped his mouth before answering, “Our friend Kincaid dem
ands his betrothed
is handed over or he will personally come to escort her home to Douglas lands,” crumpling the letter up he tossed it in the fire and watched it burn.

Taking a bracing drink of his ale, Kendrix smiled as he a
sked, “
What
shall
your reply will be?”