A Forbidden Night with a Scot (Preview)
Chapter One
May, 1508
The Dolphyn Tavern
Alicia’s headstone was bound to read Here lies Alicia MacCallum, who died of foolishness at the age of three and twenty. In fact, it was a marvel she had survived this long. Even she knew as much, despite the fact that she was always careful and would not let any harm come to herself.
This time, she was definitely going to die.
She could make her peace with it. The only problem was that her little sister, Katherine, had insisted on coming with her, refusing to take no for an answer. For someone who claimed to hate trouble as much as Katherine did, Alicia thought she surely went out of her way to follow her right into its clutches.
“We’re nae goin’ in there,” said Katherine as the two of them stood right outside of the tavern, looking at its dilapidated walls. It was a wonder the building was still standing. The roof had suffered many storms, new planks patching up the holes they had left behind haphazardly, and the entirety of its exterior smelled of alcohol and excretions, resembling a barn more than it did a tavern. The building itself even seemed to lean drunkenly to the side, half of its walls sinking into the soft earth where it stood.
“We must go,” Alicia said, nodding once decisively. They had already come all this way, stealing a horse from the stables and sneaking out of the castle in the middle of the night. It had been no easy task. It involved not only secret passages and walking through several patches of wet mud, but also bribery in the form of gold and flirting with the guards, and Alicia refused to let all that hard work go to waste. She would not go back empty-handed.
“We cannae go,” Katherine insisted, her green eyes wide and fearful in the dark as she grabbed Alicia’s arm. “We will die in there!”
“Ach, naething will happen,” Alicia assured her, though she too was certain they would die in there. “Come. It will only take a few minutes an’ then we’ll go back home.”
Alicia didn’t know if she was trying to convince her sister or herself more. Both, perhaps, as her legs refused to move even as she tried to take a step. The night around them was cool, but not cold, the sky above clear and filled with stars. The small town was quiet at that time of the night, save for the ruckus that came from the tavern, which seemed to be filled with people drinking towards the dawn.
I said I would dae it an’ I will. I didnae come all the way here tae go back without the book.
Drawing a deep breath, Alicia took the few steps that separated her from the door and opened it, revealing a large, square room that was dimly lit by torches on the wall and a roaring fire in the fireplace at the far wall. People seemed to occupy every single table in the room—men mostly, with only a few women among them, who went from table to table, entertaining them or pouring them more wine and ale. The moment Alicia stepped through the door, everyone there seemed to stop whatever they were doing to stare at her, their eyes scrutinizing and their gazes making the small hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight.
“We will die here,” Katherine hissed in Alicia’s ear, and Alicia elbowed her in the ribs before she grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a table at the very back of the room, from where they could see the entire place. There wasn’t much Alicia could do if one of those men decided to harm them, after all, but she hoped they would think twice before doing that.
Why should they harm us? We are merely sittin’ here.
“Why did ye have tae arrange this meetin’ here out o’ all the places?” asked Katherine as she took the seat across from her, frowning in disgust when she lowered herself onto the sticky chair. Alice didn’t even want to question what it was that made it so sticky in the first place. “Ye could have arranged it somewhere else!”
“Where?” Alicia asked. There was nowhere else. She wasn’t meant to have this book at all, and so she couldn’t simply receive it at the castle. She didn’t want to arrange a meeting somewhere where there were no people, either, as she didn’t know what kind of man would bring it to her. At least in the tavern, there were people around. He would not harm them. “This was the only place. Dinnae fash. Everythin’ will be fine.”
“Why did ye have tae buy the book?” Katherine asked as though she had hardly heard Alicia. Whenever she was nervous, she talked a lot, Alicia knew, and it was no different now. “This could have very easily been avoided.”
Alicia reached over the table, grabbing Katherine’s hand and holding it in hers, trying to calm her as much as she could. “Ye ken why,” she said. “Faither said it is time fer me tae wed an’ I willnae wed without kenning any o’ what happens between a husband an’ wife.”
All she knew about it was the little she had heard from the maids. At first, Alicia had thought about asking them, but every time she tried to steer the conversation towards such matters, she quickly lost her courage and ended up changing the subject. It was simply too embarrassing. There was no one in the castle whom she could ask for advice.
“Ye could have written tae Emmeline,” said Katherine. “She would have told ye everythin’ ye wished tae ken.”
“I dinnae wish tae ask Emmeline,” Alicia said. She had thought about that too. In fact, asking her older sister had been her first thought, and she had almost written her a letter to her to ask about her first night with her husband, but then the knowledge that he was a cruel man had stayed her hand. What if he had mistreated her, even in the bedroom? What if by asking Emmeline to teach her, she ended up upsetting her, reminding her of the ten years of anguish she had already spent by her husband’s side?
She hated that thought. She never wanted to upset her sister.
“Well… ye should ken about this, too, anyway,” Alicia added, looking at her sister in the dim light of the tavern—the dark hair she shared with her, the striking features which often made people think she was older than Alicia, who had taken after their father’s side with her more delicate characteristics. Sooner rather than later, Katherine would have several offers for her hand and there was only that much Alicia could do to protect her when she lacked knowledge herself. This book was for both of them, to keep them both safe. “One must be prepared when headin’ tae war.”
Her words pulled a laugh out of her sister. “War? It is only marriage, Alicia. Hardly a war.”
“What word would ye choose, then, if nae war?” Alicia asked, pinning her sister with her gaze. It didn’t take long for Katherine to understand what Alicia refused to say out loud. For their sister, marriage had always been war.
Katherine fell silent, sinking into her seat. The silence stretched between them, filled by the sounds of cups hitting the tables, men shouting and laughing, the distant howl of the wind. Alicia looked around the room, trying to see if perhaps the man they were supposed to meet was already there, but now that the novelty of their presence had passed, no one was looking their way.
Perhaps he hasnae arrived yet.
She hoped he would arrive soon, though. The longer they stayed there, the more uncomfortable Alicia felt, concerned not only about herself but about Katherine as well. If anything happened to her sister, she would never forgive herself.
The maid who had arranged this delivery for her had assured her that the man would show. Alicia held onto that hope and onto the small pouch of gold in her pocket that she would use to pay for the book.
It was only a little while later when the door opened and a man walked in, looking around the room as though he was searching for someone. When his gaze found Alicia and Katherine, he made his way straight to them, but Alicia was quick to stand, pulling Katherine along further into the deepest corner of the room, where they would have even more privacy. It was an illusion of privacy, of course—everyone around them could still see them, but Alicia hoped they were all too drunk to notice or that they wouldn’t care about such an exchange.
The man followed them, coming to stand in front of Alicia with a smile. He was a little older, she saw, perhaps in his thirties, but he looked like the kind of man who had already been through a lot in his life. Scars covered much of his face and his hair was tied carelessly at the nape, light blonde and tangled up in knots. His eyes, dark and beady, stared at Alicia and Katherine in a way that made Alicia’s skin crawl and her stomach churn.
“Are ye the lass who wants this?” the man asked, holding up a package that looked like a book wrapped in brown paper. “Ye must be… nay other lass looks like ye here.”
“Thank ye,” Alicia said, ignoring the man’s words as she held out her hand for the book. The man, though, didn’t give it to her.
“The Canterbury Tales… ye’re a naughty lass, are ye nae?” said the man and Alicia swallowed drily, trying to ease her racing heart. “Ye ken this isnae the kind o’ book ye should be readin’.”
“What I read is nae o’ ye concern,” Alicia said. “I doubt ye can even read.”
The man gave a shrug, seemingly unfazed by the insult. “Nae everyone is noble born like ye,” he said, hand reaching out to tap at the tip of Alicia’s nose before she could pull back from him. The gesture left her stunned, mouth hanging open as she stared at him in disbelief. “But I ken what this is about. Heard o’ it.”
“Well! Good fer ye,” said Alicia and once again held her hand out. “I will have the book now, thank ye.”
The man placed the book on the ledge of the window that protruded right next to him. He took a step towards Alicia, and instinctively, she pushed Katherine behind her, shielding her with her own body. She felt Katherine’s hands on her shoulders, her sister standing right behind her, like a solid wall on her back.
Alicia looked around them, at all the people who sat at the other tables. A few of them were looking their way, but no one seemed to be interested in intervening, even as they saw the terror on her face—even as she stared at each of them in turn, silently pleading with them to help her.
Nay one will help us here. We are alone.
The realization sank in her stomach like a stone in a river and Alicia’s bottom lip trembled as her gaze fell back on the man in front of her. He had not stopped looking at her and Katherine for a single moment, and now he was leaning even closer, until Alicia could feel his breath on her face.
“Ye have the gold?” the man asked.
“Aye,” Alicia said quickly, reaching into her pocket to grab the small pouch. Perhaps if she paid the man and grabbed the book, she and Katherine could flee this place before the man could do anything else. The man took the pouch, but he made no move to leave. Slowly, Alicia reached for Katherine’s hand and began to pull her towards the side, but the man moved with them, blocking their way.
His fingers were feverish as they brushed over her cheek, a smile spreading over his lips. “Ye’re both bonnie lasses an’ the night is still young. I have somethin’ ye’d like more than the book.”
Before she knew what she was doing, Alicia’s palm collided with the man’s cheek. The crack of the slap echoed around them, and the force of it whipped the man’s head to the side. There was a moment when no one spoke. Alicia looked at him, wide-eyed, her heart beating wildly in her chest. The man turned to look back at her, rubbing his jaw, a snarl forming slowly on his face.
This is it, he will kill us both an’ nay one will dae anythin’ tae stop him.
The man reached for Alicia’s forearm, grabbing it in a bruising grip. She yelped in fear and thrashed against him, trying to push him off, and Katherine threw herself in the middle of it, latching onto the man’s arm to get him to release Alicia.
“If ye dinnae remove yer hand, ye’ll be livin’ without it from now on,” a cold voice called from behind the man’s shoulder. It made them all freeze and Alicia looked up to see who her savior was—only to see a painfully familiar face.
Laird MacLachlan?
Alicia now wished she had been killed in that tavern, after all. She couldn’t imagine a worse fate than meeting Laird Samuel MacLachlan there, in the middle of the night, in a tavern where she wasn’t supposed to be. Out of all the people in the world, he was the worst possible option to save her—not because he was a bad man, but rather because he was a lovely man and a good friend to her father on top of that.
He was also the only man with whom Alicia had ever been infatuated, ever since she was grown enough to know what an infatuation was. There were fourteen years between them, but that had never stopped her from daydreaming about him, even when she knew she would never have a chance with him.
Slowly, the man let go of Alicia when Laird MacLachlan placed his own hand on his shoulder, his grip so tight that his knuckles went bone-white. He turned around, placing his own hand over Laird MacLachlan’s, and a humorless chuckle left his lips as they stared at each other.
“Dae ye think I am afraid o’ ye?”
Before the man could say anything else, before Alicia or Katherine could do anything, Laird MacLachlan was dragging him out of the tavern, his hand fisted in the fabric of his shirt. He dragged the man through the crowd that parted for them, and Alicia exchanged a quick glance with Katherine before they both followed them outside, but not before Alicia had the book in her hands.
God, I wish the earth tae open and swallow me whole.
Chapter Two
The stench of the tavern permeated everything in its path—the air around Samuel, the table where he sat, even the patrons themselves, it seemed. All of them were the kind of people Samuel had avoided all his life; drunkards, brigands, all sorts of criminals who would quickly team up to attack Samuel if they knew who he was. But Samuel had no other choice. This was the only place where he could meet his scout, who had come to the MacCallum lands after a successful mission nearby.
The MacCallum lands were safe, Samuel knew. Laird Gavin MacCallum was a good friend, a man on whom Samuel could rely. Still, it was always safer to meet in such places. One could never know when one was being watched by an enemy.
Samuel twisted the cup in one hand, looking at the oily ale that swirled inside, and fiddled with his necklace with the other. He had not taken a single sip from it the entire time he sat there, too disgusted by the filth that surrounded him in that place. He didn’t dare bring the cup to his lips. He only looked around, waiting for his scout to appear so he could get out of that place.
And then his gaze fell on a man who had cornered two women. From where he sat, Samuel could neither hear what they were saying nor see their faces, but he could tell the man’s presence was unwanted and he was not going to let the two women suffer in his hands.
Pushing off his chair, Samuel walked over to them, fingers already clenched into a fist. When he got close, though, he saw that the two women were, in fact, more than familiar to him—none other than Alicia and Katherine, Gavin’s daughters. At first, he could not believe his own eyes. What were the two of them doing in such a place in the middle of the night?
As he approached them, Alicia slapped the man in the face and before Samuel could reach them, he had grabbed her arm. Fury bubbled up inside him, and before he knew what he was doing, he was dragging the man out of the tavern and throwing him into the street, his lips curling back to reveal his teeth in a snarl.
“Ye should have run when ye had the chance,” Samuel said, throwing himself at the man before he had the chance to run or attack him first. One hand curled around his shirt once more, holding him in place as the other delivered blow after blow to his face, not a single grunt of exertion escaping him as he delivered his punishment.
The man’s nose broke with a sickening crunch under his knuckles. The blood that spouted from it coated Samuel’s hand in an instant, drops of it flying to his face as he continued his assault until the man hung limply in his grip, every breath he took through his parted lips labored and pained. A few more punches and Samuel risked truly killing him, he thought, so he tried his best to rein back his anger and let go of him, letting his body collapse to the ground.
When he turned around, Alicia and Katherine were right behind him, watching.
“I’m sorry ye had tae witness that,” he said sincerely. He should have made sure to drag the man away from them, to take his vengeance away from prying eyes. Now, Katherine shook from head to toe, her hand covering her mouth as if she could hardly contain her nausea.
Alicia, on the other hand, seemed entirely unaffected by the violence she had just witnessed. She stood there, motionless, gazing down at the man with disdain written plainly on her face, her dark eyes betraying no sign of fear.
“Why are ye here?” Samuel asked when neither of the sisters spoke. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped at the blood on his face, though he doubted he could effectively clean his hands of all of it. “It’s the middle o’ the night an’ this place is dangerous. Surely, ye ken that.”
Alicia and Katherine exchanged a glance, but once again, they remained silent. Naturally, they were hiding something, but Samuel couldn’t begin to guess at what that could be.
At least until he noticed that Alicia had her hands behind her back, as if she was holding something there. With a roll of his eyes, he snapped forward, grabbing the item from her before she could pull back from him.
“Och!” Alicia shouted and rushed at him, trying to take the item back, but all Samuel had to do was raise his hand, holding the package above his head. “Give it back! Now!”
“I dinnae think so,” said Samuel, chuckling softly at Alicia’s attempts to grab the item. She jumped once, twice, three times, desperately trying to reach it, but Samuel didn’t give her the chance. Once she realized she would never manage to take it back, she gave up with a frustrated groan, throwing her hands up in the air. Samuel took a few steps to the side and tore the wrapper open, his eyebrows jumping up when he saw the contents of the package.
The Canterbury Tales?
He had to suppress a laugh. He didn’t know what he had expected to find in the package, but this book was certainly not something he would have ever guessed he would find.
All this trouble fer a book… what a strange lass Alicia is.
He was certain this was all Alicia’s plot from the start. Katherine had always been the meek one, too concerned for Alicia’s well-being to let her get in trouble alone but too cautious to start the trouble herself.
When he looked back at the two girls, waving the book in his hand, both of them turned beet-red, their cheeks visibly flushed even in the moonlight. Katherine swayed where she stood and her hand shot out to grab Alicia as she tried to steady herself, much to Samuel’s amusement.
He wasn’t going to be too cruel with them, though. Just enough to teach them that they shouldn’t be alone in such a place.
“Will ye tell Faither?” Alicia asked, her voice barely more than a mumble.
Samuel had no intention of telling Gavin any of this, but it was entertaining to imagine the conversation between the two of them. His friend would surely lose his mind and his temper if he found out the truth, and Samuel could imagine him pacing up and down his study, mumbling to himself just as Alicia had done now, but in fury rather than embarrassment.
“I willnae tell him if ye promise that ye will never dae such a thing again,” Samuel said. “Ye cannae leave the castle in the middle o’ the night tae visit such taverns. What if I hadnae been here? Did ye ever stop tae think about what could have happened tae ye?”
Once again, neither girl spoke and Alicia didn’t even try to fight the terms of his deal, which was odd for her. Usually, she was quick to argue, hating anything that restricted her freedom, but now she remained quiet, her gaze lowering to the ground between her feet.
She must ken the danger she could have found this time. She doesnae seem scared, but she is.
An’ she certainly doesnae want her faither tae ken any o’ this.
“Fine,” Alicia said with a sigh, dragging her gaze back to Samuel. “Thank ye fer yer assistance, Laird MacLachlan. I will have the book now, please.”
As she spoke, she approached and tried to grab the book, but Samuel was quick to pull it above his head once more, holding it there. In an instant, Alicia’s face twisted into a mask of fury, a groan of frustration escaping her.
“I paid fer that book!” she said. “Ye cannae simply take it!”
“O’ course I can,” said Samuel. “An’ I ken old habits die hard, but I think ye can both call me Samuel now. Ye’re nae children anymore.”
“If we’re grown lasses, Samuel, then we can read any book we wish,” Alicia said without missing a beat. His given name dripped venom as it came from her lips. “Give it back. It belongs tae me.”
“I dinnae think ye’re in any position tae make demands when ye’ve just been caught out here in the middle o’ the night,” Samuel pointed out. “I could still tell yer faither the truth.”
He wouldn’t, of course, not only for Alicia’s and Katherine’s sake, but for Gavin’s, too. He didn’t want to send his friend to an early grave.
“Ye promised ye wouldnae say anything,” Alicia reminded him, scoffing in disbelief that Samuel would take back his word like that. “How can ye make a promise an’ then take it back?”
“I gave ye a stipulation.”
“Tae never dae such a thing again,” Alicia said. “Nae tae relinquish the book.”
By God’s bones, she’s right! I should have thought twice afore I gave her that stipulation.
In fact, Samuel knew he should always think twice before telling Alicia anything. She was too clever for him to speak without thinking, and whenever they bickered like this—which was every time he saw her—she always had the upper hand in the end. Up until the last time, he could have claimed his wisdom couldn’t be challenged, as Alicia had still been a girl. Now that she was grown, it was difficult to claim he still knew much better than she did.
“Ye are insufferable,” Alicia said.
“I could say the same about ye.”
“Is this fightin’ truly necessary?” Katherine called. She was still standing a few steps behind them, still shaking like a leaf. With a sigh, Samuel walked over to her and placed a gentle, comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to soothe her fears as best he could.
“We’re nae fightin’, Katherine,” he said, giving her a small smile. “We’re only havin’ a discussion.”
“Are we?” Alicia asked as she approached, deftly undoing Samuel’s brooch from his jacket and leaping away from him before he could grab it back. “A brooch fer a book,” she said, pinning it to her dress. “A fair deal.”
Samuel chuckled, easily letting it go. He had more use for the brooch than he did for the book. The only thing he would not allow her to take was the necklace around his neck—a family heirloom given to him by his father as a young man, who had instructed him to gift it to the woman he would eventually love.
“Ye’re a wily wee thing, Alicia,” he said.
“An’ ye’re findin’ joy in irritatin’ me, Samuel.”
“Where is the man?”
Samuel and Alicia turned to look at Katherine, the alarmed tone in her voice startling him. He looked around, noting that the man truly seemed to be gone, no sign of him anywhere.
“He must have fled,” Samuel said. Looking at the ground, he saw a trail that led towards the door of the tavern, as though someone had dragged themselves all the way there.
He had hardly managed to finish his sentence, though, when that very same door was thrown open. No fewer than four men stood there, and among them, Samuel saw the man he had attacked, swaying on his feet as two of them supported him.
Och, this cannae be good.
“Run,” Samuel told the two sisters, pulling himself apart from them so that the men would target only him. When neither Alicia nor Katherine moved, he turned to look at them, this time shouting. “I said go!”
It was only then that the two girls fled, their feet stomping against the ground as they ran. Samuel didn’t have the luxury of time to wait for them to disappear before he turned back towards the men, tossing the book to the ground and pulling out his sword.
Four against one… well, I’ve had worse odds.
If you liked the preview, you can get the whole book here
