Highlander The Cursed Lord (Highland Intrigue Trilogy 3)

“Please, sir, I need a drink,” she begged.

Rannick eyed her skeptically. He trusted few if none these days, his father insisting he wed and worried he would do something foolish and wed him against his will as he’d done twice before. However, this woman was of peasant stock with plain features and slim. She would not meet his father’s standard for a wife for him. He would worry that she was too slim to bear children and while she carried herself well, it was not with the regal bearing of nobility.

A sudden thought struck him, and he raised his axe, a snarl turning his face angry. “If you have men with you who plan to rush me, I will see them dead.”

“I give you my word, sir, I am alone,” Bliss said, though almost turned to look with the way Rannick’s eyes scanned the woods behind her.

“Why are you alone?” he demanded.

Bliss almost faltered, but a quick thought came to her. Dare she add more lies? Would it do her more harm than good, but what harm would come to her if she did not try? She prayed to the heavens to forgive her for the lies that would fall from her lips.

“I have no one.” At the moment that was true, she was on her own far-removed from her sisters. “I am all alone.” She spotted the mistrust in his eyes. “And I trust few people, so I keep to myself as much as possible.”

Rannick understood that, but nonetheless wanted her gone as quickly as possible. She might be plain, but there was something about the woman that stirred his long dead senses. Not that she aroused him, it was something else inside him she stirred… empathy? Impossible. He had compassion for no one. So why did he feel the need to see her quench her thirst?

The thought troubled him, and he was quick to say, “There is a stream beyond the cottage. You can quench your thirst there and be on your way.”

“Could I not shelter here for the night?” she asked, worrying what excuse she could make to linger tomorrow.

“NAY! Have your drink at the stream and be gone,” he ordered threateningly while shaking the axe at her.

Bliss hurried off, as fast as her trembling legs allowed, fearing his anger and the sight of the axe. She made a large berth around him and disappeared beyond the cottage, stumbling her way through the woods until she finally came upon the stream and dropped down on its bank. She hugged her sack against her chest, her heart beating wildly. How was she ever to accomplish her task when he frightened her so badly?

She shuddered. There was no way she could tell him that she was his wife. She feared at what that news might bring. She couldn’t give up, her sisters’ futures depended on her. But how did she make this work when he chased her away?

She scooped a handful of water up and realized she hadn’t eaten all day. She was wise enough to know she needed her strength and rummaged through her sack to find the meager food she had packed away in case she might need it. She also was well-versed in the plants in the area and, if necessary, she could forage for food that would sustain her.

A plan. She needed a plan, but how did she form one that dealt with a madman?

She moved to sit under a large pine tree. She leaned her head back against the trunk. All the fears and worries of the last few days had caught up with her. She was exhausted. She closed her eyes, not that she would sleep, but a brief rest would do her good.

A rumble of thunder had her eyes shooting open and she was shocked to see that dusk had claimed the land and night wasn’t far behind. She would need a fire, the night turning cold of late.

She hurried to her feet and was about to step out from under the tree when the sky let loose with a downpour. She scurried back under, hoping to keep herself dry, but the rain didn’t cooperate. It rained bucketsful and in no time she was soaking wet.

With no recourse left to her, she sat once again under the tree and prayed the storm would pass quickly. It was a prayer that went unanswered.

The night seemed endless, the rain and thunder relentless and the lightning frightening. Bliss gave thought to finding shelter elsewhere, but not knowing the area she concluded it was a foolish move. The rain kept the animals away, at least she hoped it would.

She huddled beneath the large pine branches and tried to think of anything but her dire situation. She cringed with every clap of thunder and shut her eyes tightly against every flash of lightning. If she were home, there would be no worry. She would be tucked safely away in the cottage with her sisters.