Devils Own (Clan MacAlpin 2)

Aidan dared not glance back to determine how many stood behind them, but he estimated there were three additional men, at least. He could easily take down two, if nobody carried a musket. He hoped Angus could handle himself, relying on his brawn alone if that’s what it took. He had no idea how the man fought, but Angus was a farmer, and Aidan had to assume he’d no experience in a brawl.

But as Aidan was strategizing, damned if Angus didn’t shock him by taking action, his face as stoic as ever.

The farmer snagged the yeoman’s thick neck in his shepherd’s crook and snapped it in, knocking the yeoman to his knees. Angus cracked him over the head, then blindly thrust back, jabbing a man behind him in the belly. He spun and jabbed again, getting the second man in the throat. A flurry of sure and rapid movements, and no more than five seconds later, Angus was standing over two downed men.

Aidan laughed, and the sound of it sent another, younger man running.

He and Angus joined back-to-back to face the other two men. “Where’d

you learn to fight like that, farmer?”

“Reaping oats is hard work. ”

Aidan chuckled. He was going to like having this Angus as a neighbor. “So I see. ”

Uncertainty was a needle in his heart. Would they be neighbors, or was he too late? Was Elspeth bound to another man already? The reminder of what was at stake focused him, and he and Angus easily dispatched the remaining two men.

Aidan’s senses were attuned, and movement on the harbor above caught his eye. He strained, making out a familiar figure. The person seemed to want to move both briskly and unnoticed, which only served to make him all the more conspicuous.

“I see him too,” Angus said. Both men broke into an easy lope up the harbor, headed for Elspeth’s father.

Aidan resheathed his sword. “Curious, no?” The old man looked back, and seeing that they followed, broke into a doddering run. “Almost like he feels guilty about something. ”

“I’ll hear the man out before I jump to any conclusions,” Angus said.

Aidan shot him a wry look. “That’s right. Just an innocent farmer, you are. ”

They easily caught up to Farquharson, and Aidan hopped in front of him, barring his path. “Leave something behind? Your daughter perhaps?”

The old man’s lip twitched. “Give it up, boy. She’s good as married. ”

“To a criminal,” Aidan said.

“To a man of means. ” Elspeth’s father spotted Angus and glanced nervously from him to Aidan. He took a step back, settling his sneer on Aidan. “My girl went on a grand ship, and without you. ”

“Your girl was taken, and on the same tub that stole me as a child. Tell me, where’s the honor in that?”

Farquharson spat. “What do you know of honor, slave boy?”

Aidan felt a half smile curl his lips. The man could fling every insult imaginable, but he was impervious. “I know Elspeth has more honor in her little finger than you ever will in your entire body. ”

“A lucky thing, that. Seeing as you did your all to sully her virtue. The girl’s lucky Fraser took her—”

Aidan punched him. He stopped the man’s words with his fist, marking the second time he’d struck Elspeth’s father. He’d strike him again, and again if need be, if that was what it took to school him about his daughter’s worth.

He shook out his fist. “Don’t you realize? You just sent Elspeth off with a pirate, a kidnapper. I know the Endeavor well. Pray your daughter isn’t shackled as I was on my introductory voyage. ”

Something flashed in her father’s eyes. Aidan hoped it was a flicker of humanity finally dawning.

Aidan offered his hand, pulling Farquharson to standing. Keeping his voice calm and slow, he asked, “Where did he take her?”

The old man didn’t answer, and Angus stepped forward, until the two of them loomed tall over him. It seemed Elspeth’s father was trying the farmer’s patience too.

“Tell me, old man,” Aidan demanded. “Where?”

Farquharson shook his head in defeat. “To his estate in Arbroath. They’ll be wed by nightfall. ” Then he pursed his lips, looking away into the distance.

Aidan hoped her father was praying for forgiveness. Because at that moment, forgiveness wasn’t something Aidan had in his heart to give. “The man you chose for your daughter could as easily hang from a gibbet as make his fortune. ” He turned to Angus. “You see this one home, before he does any more damage. ”