Her back hit the trunk of a tree.
And he probably ken these woods better than I do. He must.
“Ye can call me either,” she answered weakly.
Each word stuck in her throat on the way out, tangling in her arid mouth before tumbling past her lips. She knew better than to be sharp with a man wielding a knife, but being polite as he smiled coldly at her and crept closer was nearly impossible.
“Ye’re very agreeable,” Allistair remarked, gesturing with his knife. “It must be what me cousin saw in ye.”
“Allistair, whatever it is ye’re plottin’—”
“Uh, uh, nay.” Allistair raised the blade as if it were a finger, admonishing her with it. “There’s nothin' ye can say to change me mind.”
“Nay?”
He shook his head, his expression cycling through pity, condescension, and false sympathy. “Nay. Ye see, Beatrice, if I had me way, ye’d have already been dead. If ye didnae have the fortitude ye do”—he pointed the blade at her—“which is the compliment I wanted to give ye, ye’d have been dead right after ye put on that shawl.”
Beatrice's breathing went shallow. The dizziness that had come and left without rhyme or reason the past few days returned strong, spinning her head in a whirlwind and turning everything solid to smoke and vapor.
Daenae faint, lass. Stay sharp. Keep yer mind about ye. Daenae give this devil what he wants so easily.
Her vision clouded and cleared, but she stayed upright, staring at him as the blade approached her face.
“Arsenic is usually a death sentence,” he explained. “Nae too many men can survive it. To think a lass like ye could—the daughter of a man deep in debt—was a shock.”
“What do ye think ye can do out here, Allistair?” Beatrice whispered. “Ye think ye can kill me and get rid of me body before anyone finds ye?”
Allistair guffawed. “Get rid of yer body? I wouldnae do a thing like that.”
“Nay? Ye want proof of yer crime?”
“Nay one will believe I did it, lass.” The point of the blade grazed the hollow at the base of her throat as she swallowed. “Even the people who daenae like me willnae accuse me of being a murderer. I’ll find ye in whatever state I leave ye in and swear on me father’s grave to hunt down the monster who did it to ye.”
“But there will be nay one to hunt down.”
Allistair’s smile turned nasty, a smirk that she had never seen from him before. “There will only be the specter of a man brutish enough to kill ye, and I can play the loyal avenger, the grievin' and faithful kinsman. I can spend the time huntin' the man who did this to ye gatherin' the others. Drawin' them to me side.” His eyes landed on the point of the blade, making a divot in her skin. “I can still win the lairdship, if nae by force than by patience.”
Ye cannae stand here any longer.
Beatrice mustered all her courage for her next move, though she had no notion of what it was.
Ye need to do somethin', even if it’s just screamin’ like a banshee. Ye cannae just let this man do what he pleases.
With her heart pounding and all the moisture missing from her lungs, Beatrice knew that running was not going to get her very far. The sting of the blade sharpened her focus and called out to those instincts that had kept humans alive since the dawn of time. Surviving became her only goal, a mission she refused to fail.
Tilting her head back and gulping in as much air as she could, she screamed. She screamed until her chest hurt and the trees around them shook. Startled, Allistair jumped away from her, the blade lowering to his side.
Do it again, lass. Do it until there’s nay ounce of energy left in yer body to do anythin' else.
Another breath, another moment. Beatrice screamed again, but this time, Allistair wasn’t that shocked by it, and they were still alone in the woods. His blade rose slowly towards her for the second time.
She did the only other thing she could think of; she took off running as fast as her legs could carry her.
She heard Allistair curse behind her, then she heard the unmistakable sound of him giving chase and his labored breathing getting closer and closer.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“Did ye hear that?” Leo asked one of the guards riding alongside him. “That was a scream. Nay doubt about it.”
