Page 27 of The Highlander’s Untamed Lady

The man stopped before Evander and swung down from the horse. He peeled the blanket from his face.

The Earl of Cornwall.

Anger fired through Evander’s body, and he was suddenly very glad he’d left Diana sleeping in their bed. He clenched his hand at his side to keep from rushing to the man who had caused Diana so much hurt.

Lord Cornwall narrowed his blue eyes against the biting wind. “I want my daughter back.”

Evander swallowed his incredulity at the earl’s words and gave the man a fierce glare. “She’s my wife.”

“Within the carriage is what I owe you.” Cornwall nodded his head back to the wagon. “And a bit more.”

Evander didn’t bother to reply.

“I was hasty, you see,” Cornwall said. “I want her back. As I said, I brought more coin than necessary.”

“She’s no’ an object to buy,” Evander gritted out. “She’s my wife.”

The earl smirked. “Anyone is for sale for the right price. After how compliant you were with bribery, I assumed you’d be well enough with the deal.” He sighed in a great puff of frozen air. “If you will not relinquish my daughter willingly, we will take her by force.”

Twelve English soldiers against Evander and his three men. He was never gladder to have brought his sword despite the originally peaceful intent of this meeting. He’d almost left it in his room for fear he would give in to the temptation to kill Lord Cornwall.

Twelve against four. But Evander and his men were Highlanders, ready for battle. And he was a man in love. He would rather die than see his wife be poorly treated by her father once more. Even if the four of them did not survive the day, the soldiers at Castle Leod would ensure Lord Cornwall and his men were unable to get into the castle. They would protect Diana.

Evander pulled his blade in response. Camden and the other two warriors drew their weapons as well.

The earl narrowed his eyes, and this time Evander knew it had nothing to do with the icy wind. “I will have my daughter back, even if I have to bring half the damn soldiers up from England to do it.”

“That’s what ye’ll need to take my wife from me,” Evander growled.

“We’ll see about that.” Cornwall drew a pistol upward and aimed it at him.

Evander pulled his dirk from his boot and threw it at the man’s hand, knocking the pistol from his grip. He did not give the earl a chance to recover before he charged.

Diana raced in the direction the stable hand had pointed her, where Evander and his three men had gone. She clutched the reins with her left hand, as if the action could stop the frigid burn at her palm. She lowered her body against the horse’s back and streaked across the landscape to where the dots of figures showed in the distance. Hera and Zeus raced along with her, ever her determined comrades.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was being foolish, if she would arrive and find the men peacefully accepting the coin. But she couldn’t ignore the nagging cry in her mind any more than she could second-guess her father’s lack of integrity.

Her pulse stopped for a long, horrible moment. There, at the base of the hill, was a group of men locked in battle. With Evander and Camden and another warrior whose name Diana did not know bunched together, swinging their massive swords. Nausea rose in her stomach as recognition of the soldiers’ livery slammed into her. Blue uniforms with yellow sashes.

Her father’s men.

There were too many of them against only three Highlanders. Already one man in a kilt lay on the ground not far from where Evander stood, along with a few of her father’s men.

“Stop!” She cried the word into the air, but it was promptly swept away by the wind. The clang of weapons against one another reached her ears.

She snapped the horse’s reins and flew down the hill, into the battle where the press of blue crushed in on the muted plaids of the Highland warriors.

She could make out the fierce expression on Evander’s face now as well as identify the Cornwall soldiers she knew. Including the one locked in combat with Evander.

Her own father.

Evander glanced in her direction and faltered. He opened his mouth to call out to her. It was all her father needed. He slashed his blade at Evander, who staggered back with his brows raised in shock.

The world slowed and Evander fell to his knees before crashing to the ground. Diana cried out and ran to him, her hand going to her blade before her mind knew what she was doing.

Her father spun away from her, but not out of fear. Not to protect himself, but to grab for something several feet away. A pistol.

Diana charged at her father and knocked him in the opposite direction. Slamming into his broad chest was like hammering herself against a tree trunk. Her father blinked up at her in surprise before pushing back against her.