Secrets to Seducing a Scot

SEVENTEEN

As they left Fort Augustus, a band of silver edged the dark thundercloud, until finally the storm cleared altogether. The carriage rumbled past the shore of Loch Uanagan, beside the rough hinterland of Newtown, and along the green pastures at Aberchalder. It was a rich tapestry of landscapes, and despite Serena’s initial dislike of the stark country, she had to admire its wonders.

Invergarry was a little more than a scattering of homesteads at the foot of thick forest. But in one large pasture, hundreds of people gathered. Colorful flags flapped in the high breeze, and tents and tables skirted a huge playing field. The music of flutes and drums added a decided twinkle to the chill air. Even from her carriage, Serena could smell meats roasting on spits.

Zoe was fairly bouncing in the carriage, and for once Serena shared her enthusiasm. It was a festive scene, full of unusual scents and sights, and Serena could hardly wait to explore them. Unmindful of ladylike decorum, she opened her own door.

A gloved hand pulled her in again.

“Remember what I said,” Malcolm remarked. “Never leave my sight. Understood?”

Irritated, she jerked her arm away. She was unaccustomed to being around brusque men—at least, men who didn’t worship her beauty and charm. “Very well. Just make sure to keep your distance, or people will think we’re friends.”

Arm in arm, Serena and Zoe hurried along the edge of the playing field. Everywhere she turned, there was something fascinating to look at. To one side, vendors were noisily selling fabrics, bread, ale, and livestock. To the other, people crowded around the competitions. Out of the corner of her eye, Serena saw something fly into the air. Grabbing Zoe’s hand, she yanked her in that direction.

They joined the gathering that circled a group of men who took turns pitchforking a heavy jute sack and tossing it backward over their heads in an attempt to make it fly high over a horizontal bar between two standards. Judging by the strain of the effort, it was not an easy task.

Adjacent to this game was another in which a man clutched a heavy rock to his neck, then spun around and around before he released it, tossing it as far as he could. Serena watched in amazement at the distance these thick, burly men could make the unwieldy rock fly.

A cheer erupted behind her, and Serena pulled Zoe toward it. By this time, Serena’s beautiful yellow slippers were smeared with wet mud, but she didn’t really care. On this playing field, a beefy man hoisted up a slender, twenty-foot-long tree trunk by its end between his clasped hands and cradled it against his shoulder. The man pulled all sorts of grimaces as the heavy trunk swayed in the air and he struggled to keep it from falling over. Once he gained its balance, he ran with it, heaved it up and over, and the tree trunk fell end-over-end. The crowd cheered, signaling a successful throw.

This seemed to be the most difficult game, and Serena was enthralled. The competitions all centered on common objects—rocks, logs, heavy hammers—but the difficulty of the tasks made them fascinating. Back home, the most strenuous competitive game gentlemen engaged in was horse racing, or perhaps even the odd game of court tennis. Never had she witnessed a sport that required such feats of pure brute strength. And all by thickly muscled men wearing what her own countrymen disparagingly called “skirts.”

She turned around, and there, behind her, was Malcolm. His eagle eyes were scanning the crowds, keeping a watchful eye on the people who surrounded her. He, too, wore a “skirt,” but she’d be hard-pressed to find someone less feminine. A man like him would never fit in in English Society.

Truth be told, he didn’t seem to fit in among all these other Scots, either. There was something otherworldly about him, as if he was caught between two civilizations, ill-fitting in both. For one thing, whereas everyone at the gathering was wearing their colorful tartans, his was but black. For another, there were those brown leather gloves he never removed, hiding that brand that he never showed. She was itching to know what he had done to deserve such a punishment.

“These certainly are peculiar games,” she said, loud enough for Malcolm to hear behind her. “I’m not certain I understand the rules of this one.”

She could sense Malcolm step in a little closer behind her.

“This is known as the caber toss. The man who tosses the caber so that it lands straight ahead, in the twelve o’clock position, wins.”

“That’s what I mean. There’s no thought involved, no … strategy. It’s all about whoever is strongest.” She couldn’t resist turning around and glancing at his body.

“There’s a time for chess, and a time for wrestling. Think of this as the latter.”

“Will you not play, Mr. Slayter?”

“Aye. Love a good game of chess.”

“No, I mean here, now. Tossing that … caber.”

Malcolm shook his head. “No’ the now.”

“Why not?” She’d give anything to see him use those incredible muscles she’d glimpsed under his rain-soaked shirt earlier.

“If I’m in there,” he said, pointing to the field, “then who will be out here protecting ye?”

She turned around and faced him full-on. “Must you be at my side at every moment? My goodness! If you were a Roman soldier, I swear your name would be Ubiquitus!”

He tried to suppress a grin. “This is a competition among clans. I canna participate.”

“Why not? What exactly is your clan, Mr. Slayter?”

He looked away. “I’m sure ye’ve not heard of it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “No clan wears a black tartan. From whom do you hail?”

“I am a Highlander. Nothing more.”

“Why will you not name your clan?”

There was a warning in his eyes. “Turn around, Miss Marsh. Ye’re missing the competition.”

He drifted back into the crowd. It was a growing frustration that she could not see into his life. But she thought it best to leave that line of questioning for another time. “I’m hungry, Zoe. Let’s go get something to eat.”

Malcolm followed them to a wooden cart where a stocky lady with thick arms had arranged three baskets of pastries that gave off a delicious aroma.

“Mutton pies, biggest size,” she sang, showing the spaces in her mouth where her teeth used to be.

“What’s this one here?” Serena asked, eyeing the flaky triangles that were fairly bursting with filling.

“Mincemeat bridie, hot and tidy.” She picked up two and handed one to each of them in a cloth.

“Would you care for one?” Serena asked Malcolm.

“No’ the now,” he said.

Serena dropped two coins into the woman’s hand and took a bite of the pastry. Instantly she sank into a realm of pleasure. The beef-and-currant filling was warm and flavorful, and the buttery pastry added just the right touch of crispness. It was common food, eaten by common people, but right now, to Serena, it was heaven in her mouth.

“Serena, can we go see the collies?” Zoe said between mouthfuls. “I love to see the dogs do tricks.”

“Sounds delightful,” Serena replied halfheartedly,

“but I see a fortune-teller’s tent over there. Let’s get our palms read!”

Malcolm snorted derisively. “Don’t tell me ye believe in that nonsense.”

Serena didn’t particularly, but it was enticing entertainment nonetheless. “And if I did?”

“I credit ye with more sense than that, Miss Marsh. No one can see into the future. Those so-called fortune-tellers are nothing more than tricksters who like to prey on over-anxious people desperate for answers.” Malcolm looked into her face, his expression hanging between bemusement and concern. “Are ye such a person?”

She hated to admit it, even to herself. But no one could answer the questions that plagued her. Would she ever return to London and the life she had left behind? Had her readers forgotten her or stopped caring about her column? Would she ever find a man who would love her for who she was?

“Very well, Zoe. Let’s go see the collies.”

There was a separate encampment where the livestock was kept. It was a place for horse and cattle trading, which some people were doing with overly loud voices. But there was also a large paddock in which herders were competing to see how fast their border collies could steer a small flock of sheep into a pen.

Serena and Zoe stood behind the fencepost to watch the competition. But watching a dog bark at some confused sheep as they got corralled into a small pen had a natural time span of enjoyment for Serena. She peeked behind her to get a glance at Malcolm.

He was gone.

She whirled around to look for him. He was usually about ten feet behind her, just far enough to give her some space but close enough to step into a fray. Now he was nowhere to be found.

Finally she spotted someone who looked like him inside a rudimentary aviary. She came closer to inspect. It was Malcolm, and perched on his forearm was a falcon whose eyes were covered by a soft leather hood. Malcolm stroked the bird’s chest gently, his lips puckered as he cooed softly at the animal. Watching a man like Malcolm act so tenderly incited a feeling of yearning in her—and it was something she was not accustomed to feeling.

Then, adding insult to injury, a young woman came up alongside him. She was a brown-haired girl with freckles all over her face who apparently owned the aviary. As Malcolm softly caressed the bird, the young woman seemed to be pointing out the animal’s unique characteristics.

But to Serena’s practiced eye, the freckled woman was clearly offering more than just birds of prey. The woman’s eyes raked Malcolm up and down, her gaze settling on the very features that Serena herself had been appreciating during the carriage ride. The woman’s hand touched Malcolm’s gloved hand, then his arm, and finally came to rest on his chest. Though crude and unrefined, her efforts at allurement were not lost on Malcolm. He took his eyes off the bird, looked down at her … and smiled!

Serena inhaled sharply, and it fanned an inexplicable flame of jealousy within her. She didn’t even recognize the expression that Malcolm gave that woman. It was Malcolm’s face at its handsomest … and it was for someone else.

In a fit of pique, she stormed off. Let him try and find me, she fumed. Served him right if he became well and truly worried when he went to look for her and she was not there. Here she was strategizing how best to grace him with her attentions, and instead he bestowed his own on some stupid bird of prey—two of them!

Almost as if by intention, her steps led her to the fortune-teller’s tent. Outside, there were two ladies talking. Both had auburn hair, but one was about double the girth of the other.

“I’m here to see the fortune-teller.”

The rounder one spoke up. “An’ ye’ve found her. Step inside, love.”

She held open the flap of the tent for Serena. It was dark inside, but it smelled like a garden. Hanging from each corner of the tent were bundles of lavender, rapeseed, and heather drying.

“Can you really see into the future?” Serena asked as she perched herself on a milking stool.

The heavy woman sat opposite her on another stool, her legs open immodestly. “Aye. All my life. An’ the babe that grows inside me has made the power even keener. The name’s Alice. What’s yer name?”

“Serena.”

“Serena,” she repeated, as she lifted a kettle off of a fire that burned on the ground. “Tuppence is the price of yer fortune. An’ e’en if ye don’t care for it, then ye’ll still have had a nice cup of tea.”

Serena handed over the coin and took the cup that Alice held out.

“Drink doon yer tea, but leave a sip in the cup.”

She blew a wisp of steam away, and slowly drank the hot liquid. Inside the rustic earthenware cup was very fine China tea. The tea leaves swam inside the cup, tickling her lips. When just a drop of the liquid remained, she went to hand the cup back to Alice.

Alice held her hand up. “I’m no’ to touch it yet. Swirl it aboot and chuck it over on the ground. Then let me see what gets left behind.”

Serena did so. Inside the cup, a dredging of wilted tea leaves spotted the cup.

“Noo then, let’s see where yer fortune lies.” Alice opened her eyes widely as she turned the cup around and around in her hands. She breathed deeply, letting the images in the residue float up to her eyes.

“Ye’ve come from afar.”

Serena rolled her eyes. She would have thought that was obvious.

“But there’s a lang way yet fer ye to go.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “North? Or south?”

Alice shook her head. “I canna tell. But ye’ll cover a great distance afore ye’re home.”

Serena pursed her lips. She hoped it was the distance from here back to London. “What else do you see?”

Alice looked full-faced at Serena. “There’s great danger ahead.”

Serena’s forehead creased. She grabbed Alice’s arm to look into the cup herself. “What sort of danger?”

“Evil men with evil intentions.”

Serena’s heart sank. “What would anyone want with me?”

Alice’s blue eyes peered into the cup. “I canna see that. But I can tell that the struggle will be difficult. Ye’ll need all the help ye can get to overcome it.”

Serena pulled away. Inside her, reason warred with fear. Silently, she argued that there was no such thing as seeing into the future. But she was far from home, and her father was embroiled in a battle to stop a nation from turning against itself. Doubt crept in.

“Is my father in peril?”

Uncertainly, Alice shook her head. “I see a sword or an arrow. But I canna tell if it be man or woman ’tis pointed at.” Alice put her hand on Serena’s. “But here’s a good portent. Love awaits ye. And where there’s love, evil flees.”

“Love? From whom?”

“A good man, I see. He has the mark on him.”

Her thoughts flew to Malcolm. “Mark? What mark?”

“Here,” Alice said, pointing to a glob. “See the horse’s head? That signifies yer man. An’ see above its head? ’Tis the mark of a cross. It means that sacrifice is not unknown to him. ’Tis a good man that has that mark. And there’s a crown nearby. That means he’s a man with a title.”

It was not Malcolm after all. Serena couldn’t ignore the feeling of disappointment. She tried to convince herself to be pleased by the prediction. In her future lay a nobleman who was also a noble man. And though she was attracted to Malcolm—he was a fine-looking man, after all—the idea that she’d find love with such a rough and common person was absurd.

And yet she couldn’t ignore that unwelcome feeling that tugged at her heart. Regret.

“Ye’re a fortunate woman,” said Alice. “When ye find him, cleave to him.”

“I will,” she said cheerlessly. “Thank you.” Serena stood, and then helped the pregnant Alice to her feet. She bid the woman outside the tent a good day, and wandered back toward the field.

Alice’s words weighed heavily upon Serena. She found herself dissecting and deliberating the predictions Alice had made, wondering at the shadowy man in her future who was not Malcolm.

Finally, in utter self-mockery, she shook her head free of the misplaced importance. Serena was no ignorant, unsophisticated peasant who would easily succumb to a fortune-teller’s musings. She was an educated, cosmopolitan woman who well understood the charlatanism of fortune-telling. Alice and her friend were probably snickering to themselves that they had just taken a small fortune off her. No doubt Alice “foretold” the same thing to all who were gullible enough to listen—a hint of danger and a promise of a prince’s love for young ladies; a prediction of virility, long life, and monetary success for the men. Serena was disgusted with herself for giving it any credence whatsoever.

Before she knew it, her distracted wandering had led her onto unfamiliar grounds. Here, there was another competition happening. Men stood in a circle watching two men with wooden swords swing at each other. At first glance, the clacking noise of the counterfeit weapons gave the scene the appearance of actors rehearsing for a play … until their blood and bruises convinced her it was all too real.

One of the men didn’t parry quickly enough, and his opponent’s wooden sword hit him across the forehead—hard. The blow spun the man’s head, sending him sprawling to the ground.

A shout erupted from the circle, and the winner raised his arms in triumph. The loser stood up on shaky legs, a gash across his forehead bleeding.

Serena was horrified. This was nothing like the other games, which tested strength, speed, and balance. This game was all about might, violence, and brutality.

She turned to leave, but the heel of her slipper got caught in the mud. Losing her balance, she fell to her knees.

She swore under her breath. Awkwardly, she clambered back to her feet. Her shoes were now fully covered in mud, which also streaked the front of her beautiful yellow dress. She tried to wipe the smudges away, but the muck on her palms only spread the stains even more.

“Damn and blast!” she cried out.

A voice came from behind her. “That’s no way for a lady to talk.”

Anger coiled within her. She spun around to give the disrespectful man a piece of her mind, but was met with a frightening sight. Twelve kilted men, bloodied and bruised, stood in front of her.

Her eyes drifted from man to man. Never before had she faced a gang of such dangerous-looking men. She felt like a gazelle cornered by a pride of lions.

“I beg your pardon?”

“And well ye should,” said Brandubh McCullough, “and that of every other Scottish child who goes hungry so ye could dress like a bloody queen.”

“Who are you?”

“My name will mean nothing on yer ears. But yer name, Miss Marsh, is like venom in ours.”

Fear gave her voice a distorted edge. “How do you know my name?”

“I know who ye are. And I know who yer father is. The Crown’s marionette. A nanny for hire sent to mollify the unruly Scots with a sweet from the king’s table.”

Serena had no idea who the man was, but his rage against her father seemed to transcend all reason. The skirl of bagpipes, loud and shrill, would surely drown out her screams. She turned to walk away.

“Where d’ye think ye’re going?” he growled as he grabbed her by the wrist. “I’m not through talking with ye.”

“Let me go!” she cried, twisting her wrist in his unyielding grasp. Dozens of horrible visions of rape flashed across her mind.

“Come here. I’ve a message ye can take home to yer father!”

She screamed, her heart willing for Malcolm. If only she hadn’t walked away from him. If only he were there right behind her.

A rock whizzed over Serena and clocked the man on the side of his head. He turned around, cradling his wound, but he never released his hold on Serena.

The next few seconds were a blur of motion. Malcolm ran out of the trees, barreling into one surprised man. As he fell backward, Malcolm rolled over him, and kicked another man’s feet from under him. He jumped up and swung a clenched fist at a third. The burly man ducked, and swung at Malcolm. The blow caught Malcolm on the cheek, but he returned a punch to the man’s face. Just then, one of them jumped on Malcolm from the back, immobilizing his arms. The burly man landed two punches on Malcolm’s face and one in his gut, making him gasp for breath. When he came in for a fourth, Malcolm kicked the man in the stomach, sending him reeling. Deftly, he stomped on the foot of the one who held him captive, but he refused to let go. So Malcolm tossed his head back into the man’s face, breaking his nose. He grabbed the man who’d fallen to the ground, lifting him by his hair, and then twisted his arm high behind his back. From the waistband of his kilt, he slid out a dagger and held it to the man’s testicles.

“Sweet Jesus,” gasped the man. “Don’t do it.”

“Ye’re wasting yer breath on me,” rasped Malcolm into his ear. “Plead with yer friend over there to let the girl go.”

“Brandubh, do as the man says,” he said, panic warbling his voice.

Malcolm’s eyes homed in on Brandubh’s. There was a fierceness to them that shocked Serena, and she desperately hoped it had the same effect on her captor.

Brandubh made no movement, save to squeeze his hold on Serena.

“What’s it to be, friend?” said Malcolm. “I’ll trade ye this man’s ballocks for the girl. And by the look of things, ye’d better hurry. They’re shrinking so fast there’ll be nothing left to cut off.”

“Hold on, man,” Brandubh said. “Ye don’t have the way of it. I mean her no harm. Do ye know who this girl is? It’s her da who’s bringing with him England’s decrees that Scotland will be yoked forever with the new taxes. We’ve got a message for him as well.”

“She’s got nothing to do with yer quarrel. Let her go.” The corners of Brandubh’s mouth turned down as he squeezed Serena’s arms. “Ye’re making a lot of demands for one in so compromised a position.”

“I’ll no’ ask again. Ye can walk away from the girl, or you can limp away from the girl.”

Brandubh’s eyes narrowed on Malcolm’s kilt. “What clan are ye? Ah, ye’re slaighteur, aren’t ye?”

A thundercloud passed across Malcolm’s face.

“Aye, ye are. I always wondered if I’d ever run into yer kind. No wonder ye won’t take a stand with yer own countrymen. A coward bastard from a coward clan.”

Serena’s breath came in rough gasps. Malcolm tightened his grip on the dagger. The man he held captive cringed.

“Come along, man,” said Brandubh. “There are hundreds of our countrymen about. Our patriotic countrymen. A single call, and ye’re done for.”

“That may be, friend. But this man will pay for my defeat with his balls.”

The man was sweating profusely. “For the love of God, Brandubh. Let her go.”

Slowly, Brandubh trained his gaze on Serena. “Tell yer father that Scotland is tired of hearing English commands. Tell him that her children are weary of being given promises instead of food. Tell him that the next time we have to state our grievances, ’twill be with claymores and muskets in our hands.” Brandubh let her go.

Malcolm waited until Serena was behind him. Then he released the man’s arm and shoved him forward.

“If ye lay hold of this woman just once more,” he said, pointing his dagger at Brandubh, “the last pleasant thing ye’ll feel is the gentle whisper on yer hair from my blade before it slices yer ear clean off.”

Malcolm didn’t sheath his weapon until they were out of the clearing and back into the competition field. “Are ye all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said.

“Are ye sure?” Worry was etched all over his face.

“Quite sure,” she replied, her fear finally ebbing now that she was with him.

He looked her all over, as if to reassure himself. “Yer dress. It’s stained. Did they make ye kneel before them? Oh, my God. They didn’t—”

She put his hand on his arm. “I fell over. They didn’t hurt me.”

“Ye’re certain?”

She smiled. “I’m fine.” Truth be told, she was more than fine. The look of genuine concern on his face, and the heroic way in which he’d come to her rescue, made her feel exuberant.

Relief washed over his face. She could almost kiss him for that. Seemed her little lesson brought out the side of him she wanted to see.

“Come along,” he said, tugging her by the arm. “We’re leaving.”

“Where’s Zoe?”

“Waiting in the carriage. As I told her to.”

It was hard to keep up with his long stride. She had to practically trot to keep pace. He didn’t seem to be escorting her as much as hauling her.

And he didn’t slow down until they had reached the carriage. As he said, Zoe was already inside the coach, and her young face peeked out from the open carriage window.

“Where did you go, Serena?” asked Zoe.

“To the fortune-teller’s.”

“Without me?” she cried petulantly.

“Without the both of us, apparently.” Malcolm pulled Serena away from the carriage door. “Ye … up onto the roof. I want a word in private.”

Serena seldom rode on the seats atop the town coach, even though they were designed for riding in fine weather. But Malcolm gave her no other option. He climbed up after her and barked a command at the driver. In a trice the carriage pitched forward, and they were off at full gallop.

He took the seat next to Serena. Even through his sun-kissed complexion, Malcolm’s bruised cheek began to color ferociously. He hugged his side, where the burly man had swung a meaty fist into his gut.

“Thank you, Mr. Slayter. I don’t know what would have happened—”

His anger cut her sentence off. “Why did ye walk away from me?”

She had no intention of confessing her jealousy over him. “That doesn’t matter.”

“It bloody well does matter! ‘One rule,’ I said. ‘Never leave my sight,’ I said. And what did ye do?”

She stiffened. “Then your sight wasn’t on me, was it?” The fierceness intensified in his eyes. “Ye put yer own life in danger. To say nothing of mine!”

Serena crossed her arms defensively. “No one asked you to intercede.”

“Ye’re willful, disobedient, foolhardy, inconsiderate—”

“Don’t vent your spleen on me.”

“—and it’s high time ye learned a lesson.” He seized her by the arm and yanked her across his lap.

She fell facedown, her hips folded over a muscled, kilted thigh. Stunned, she tried to lift herself up, but a hand on her back held her down fast.

Her modesty and pride were at once outraged, and she opened her mouth to speak the anger that surged within her. But before she could utter a sound, another noise reached her ears that chased away all words.

Whap! His open hand connected on her upturned posterior, ripping an outraged gasp from her mouth.

“Ow!” she cried out as another fierce smack landed on her behind. No one had ever physically chastised her before … not her father or her nanny or her governesses. It was mortifying, outrageous, scandalous. “How dare you lay a hand on me!”

But alarm replaced fury as she realized he was not going to stop. Again and again, his large hand swatted her backside, spreading hot pain across her rump.

Panic laced her voice. “Let me go!” But she may as well have been shouting at the green landscape that rushed past.

With one elbow on the leather carriage seat and one hand on his hair-dappled shin, Serena tried valiantly to push herself off his lap. But Malcolm had wrapped his muscled arm around her waist, rendering all her bucking and wriggling useless. She turned the air blue with swear words, threatening all sorts of retribution at him. But nothing succeeded in freeing her from his hold.

“Please, I’ll give you whatever you want,” she cried. Where commands and threats failed, bribery might work. “Just stop!”

He did not relent.

But soon she felt more than pain … she also felt remorse. She had treated him shabbily, and as a result he had been treated harshly by the men on that field. She had put both their lives in peril, and though they had both walked away from the skirmish, only she had come away unscathed. If he had left her to her own devices—if he had not cared enough to rescue her—she would not have been so lucky.

“I’m sorry,” she shouted out.

Finally, his hand stilled.

She scrambled off his lap and backed as far away from him as she could, panting. Now free, her first inclination was to rebuke him harshly. But the look on his face—as fearsome as any firearm—made her rethink that course of action.

Malcolm leaned an elbow on his knee, the one she’d been bent over just a moment before. “I am willing to endure a beating for ye. I am even prepared to accept the fact that protecting ye may cost me my life. But I will not allow ye to casually sell it away from me. Ye can play the high and mighty mistress to yer heart’s content … but not to me. While I’m yer protector, ye will do as I say do. Because if I say it, it’ll be because I’m after protecting both our lives. Now, should there be a next time to all of this, the drawers are coming down. Is that clear to ye?”

Serena’s chest caved. She nodded, pouting piteously.

“Good. Then lesson learned.”