Page 56 of How to Woo a Highlander

Lain stumbled back before righting himself again, holding his sword in front of him and remaining on guard. He was sweating now, Alastair noted with a hint of satisfaction. He glanced over at Alastair, where he sat on the ground beside Jane before looking back to William.

“Ye sure are a hard man to kill Alastair. Three arrows in the back and others to the rest of yer body, yet ye didnae die. Yer men didnae waste that many arrows before I killed them. I gave ye special treatment, and yet here ye are bleedin’ all over the place, but somehow still alive. Ye are like a cockroach,” Lain said.

Alastair could only glare at him. He wished he could draw his sword and drive it through the bastard’s chest. His fury had grown again. He could not believe that this was someone he had considered a friend who could speak so casually about the deaths of his men.

“Stop tryin’ to rile Alastair up and face me, Lain,” William growled, to which Lain chuckled.

“Temper, temper. I just keep seein’ new things from ye two. Before now, I didnae ken that Alastair was capable of beggin’. And now, I get to see ye so angry, William. Would ye have been this angry if it were Alastair who betrayed me and ye?” he asked, his voice ringing with bitterness.

All three frowned at the same time, but it was William who looked more disgusted as though the words left a bitter taste on his tongue.

“What nonsense are ye spewin’, Lain?” William spat, threatening with his sword. His patience seemed to be running thin, as though all he wanted was to run forward and slash open his throat.

“Nonsense, ye say,” Lain scoffed with pain in his voice. “Ye have ken me since we were wee lads sucklin’ on our mother's breasts, but we only met Alastair as teenagers, yet it is him ye entrust with everythin’. Ye two are inseparable, leavin’ me to fight desperately, hangin’ on to the friendship by a thread. Dae ye ken how many times ye excluded me before I gave up on trailin’ after ye two?” he accused.

Alastair’s frown deepened, and he looked away. He was furious with Lain and wanted to silence him. However, he had to acknowledge that there was some truth to Lain’s words. Although they were all friends, Alastair knew he was closer to William. He could not pinpoint the moment when that came to be. Over the years, it had become normal.

“Dae ye think that somethin’ as childish as that is an excuse for yer betrayal?” William asked, although there was less anger in his voice now. “If ye were so angry, why did ye nae challenge us? Why did ye choose to betray yer own clan by sidin’ with the enemy?”

“How else would I have become Laird? That position ye hold so tightly. The only punishment befittin’ ye is to take it from ye. I am only sorry that I couldnae steal yer future wife. Unfortunately, Alastair beat me to that, betrayin’ ye as well. I willnae lie, that was quite the surprise, but it all came together nicely as it meant that takin’ her would ruin Alastair,” Lain added.

“Well, all yer schemin’ comes to an end today, and ye have already lost. As we stand here, the English soldiers are preparing to lay waste to yer cohorts,” William said.

“Aye, ye are right. I miscalculated. I didnae think that John Baxendale would bring in the English army with ye nae being married to Jane,” Lain admitted. “However, that is fine as I plan to kill ye all here.”

They had been so distracted listening to his words that they didn’t notice Lain was now standing next to his bow where it had fallen. In a sudden and unexpected move, he threw his sword at William, who hurried to parry it away before the sharp blade cut him.

This was enough for Lain to expertly kick up his bow and bring it back into his hands with an arrow knocked.

“Ye two fancied yerselves me friends, but ye didnae even ken that me weapon of choice is nae the sword but the bow,” Lain said bitterly.

Alastair heard Jane gasp in horror as William watched, too far to attack with his sword. He watched Lain shoot with astounding speed and accuracy as William made to run towards him for an attack, sending an arrow straight through his thigh.

William ‘s legs buckled at the sudden injury, and in that split second, Lain had nocked another arrow. Alastair could only watch with anger as he had no weapon, and he could no longer stand.

“Forget tryin’ to move; ye are defenseless. This time I willnae miss yer hearts,” Lain said as he aimed for William again.

To their surprise, his shot was disrupted by Jane attacking with a crude knife, slicing his inner arm from wrist to elbow. Alastair felt his jaw drop.

She stood there, clutching Lain’s injured arm while he shrieked, looking at his injury, utterly horrified. The cut was surprisingly deep as blood poured out of his arm, straight from his cut veins.

“You forgot about me,” she said fiercely, meeting his eyes with a hateful glare. His expression was one of deep pain, and he slapped her hard across the face with his one good hand.

“Ye meddlesome whore! What have ye done?” he shouted as his hand came in contact with her face with a horrible smack, snapping her head back and sending her crumbling to the ground.

“Jane!” Alastair heard himself shout, his body moving before he could think, reaching for her.

Jane’s actions were not wasted. It was not only Alastair who moved. With the opening that she had made, William rushed forward, ignoring the pain in his knee to plunge his sword straight through Lain’s heart.

* * *

Jane woke with a start, her mind blank, and her senses only slowly returning. Right in front of her eyes was a flowery canopy, and the bed beneath her was soft. Her face frowned in confusion as she tried to think.

Where am I?

“You are awake.” The sudden voice startled her, and her head whipped to the side. There she found Mary sitting by her bed watching her. She squinted as her head was aching horribly, as was the left side of her face.

“Ow… Mary, what’s going on…?” She moaned, her hand going to her head as she forced herself to sit up, whimpering from the pain. Mary’s expression was blank as she produced a cup of strange smelling liquid, bringing it to her lips.