Page 5 of The Highlander’s Gypsy Temptation

Idalia nodded. She did not wish to argue with her sister, nor did she wish to be reckless, she simply wanted to know one way or the other. In her heart, she secretly hoped that the seer would be able to help her to commune with those she had lost. She would give anything to speak with her mother again. “Let us go and speak with Adamina. We can make a plan after that.”

The two sisters walked over to the raised dais and told Adamina about their plan to go and speak with the seer. Adamina gave them both a sympathetic look but shook her head. “I cannae allow ye to go without a guard, and we dinnae have any men tae spare, with my brothers both being gone and the guard that Dunn took tae protect his wife and bairn. Ye must wait until Dunn returns, Idalia. Ye may speak with him on the matter then.”

Leonor agreed to Adamina’s command, but Idalia chafed against it. She tried to make Adamina see her side, but as much as the other woman sympathized with her plight, she would not give her permission or her clansmen to make the trip possible. In the end, Idalia walked away upset and more determined than ever to see her plan through.

She did not like living under the rule of others. She was a free spirit, used to roaming the world at will. She had only ever had to answer to her parents and her God. Outside of that, she had been free to do as she willed. She was not adjusting very well to the stationary life under the rule of men who were not of her blood. She longed to be free to roam once more, but she could not do that if August Raymond was still out there seeking to take her. The only way she could achieve the freedom she sought was to have confirmation, whether by his dead body or the sworn word of a seer who could tell her more about her future.

Going against Adamina’s edict, Idalia prepared to leave Orkney to meet the seer on the mainland. She had a plan that would fool everyone on Orkney and any of August Raymond’s men that might be awaiting her on the other shore.

She had managed to sneak off without attracting her sister’s attention. Somehow, that had been the easy part. After they returned home, Leonor had comforted her with the fact that the men would be returning soon and then they could go with her. She had then left Idalia alone to brood in peace, and it was not long before Idalia had come up with the idea to sneak off.

She sighed as she got up. She wished she did not have to leave like this, but Leonor would not understand her unease and she would want to go with her, which Idalia did not want. She tiptoed away, closing the doors quietly to avoid alerting her sister. She released the breath she had been holding when she passed a bend and was no longer visible from the house. She hurried to the stables, peeking inside before entering the building, making sure no one was in there. She frowned when she saw the stable boy, realizing she needed to find a way to distract him.

“G’day miss,” he greeted her, standing to his feet.

“Ah, g’day. It is quite a fine day for a ride, and I think I would like to dae so. Please saddle my horse,” she replied, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Aye, miss. Right away.” He dusted himself off.

“Yes. I think I shall pay a visit to Esmeralda down at the shoreline,” she rambled on, then smiled at the stable boy to stop herself from speaking any more words. She supposed it would do good for him to know that information. It would buy her some time if they thought she had simply gone to visit Esmeralda instead of going against Adamina’s decision. Smiling, the boy nodded and went off to do as he was asked.

While he was occupied, Idalia slipped into his sleeping quarters. She looked around the small space and stifled a happy cry when she saw a set of his clothes hanging on a peg on the wall. They smelled less than ideal, of horse manure and male sweat, but it was all she could find. Quickly, she stuffed them under her skirt and cringed in disgust at the feel of them against her skin as she held them between her thighs. She hurried as much as she could back to the stall, grimacing when the scratchy fabric irritated her skin. When she reached the stall, she saw that the lad had retrieved her favorite horse and had clearly not noticed her absence. He turned away just as she mounted the beast in one swift motion, being careful not to drop the his clothing in the process.

Idalia was a skilled horsewoman and moved with easy grace in the saddle. The boy blushed when she flashed him her most brilliant smile; then she turned the horse’s head and rode out of the castle gates. Instead of riding to Esmerelda’s, Idalia rode until she was out of sight of the castle, then hid in some rocks to change her clothes. She bundled her hair up into a hat and left her dress hidden in a bag of food she had managed to bring from the kitchen. Dressed in the stolen shirt and breeches, hoping she made a passable boy, she turned her horse and rode along the beach to the farthest fishing hut she knew of. There, she convinced the man to take her across the water to the mainland, pretending to be the son of one of the islanders who wished to go and visit family. The older fisherman, having no reason to doubt her word, agreed, and took Idalia out on his boat.

By the time Idalia stepped foot on Scotland’s shores, she was so nervous that she thought she might be sick to her stomach. She was tempted to turn back, but she squared her shoulders, paid the man for his service, and continued on her journey. Dressed as a boy, Idalia garnered little to no attention from those she passed along the way, which were, thankfully, few. She followed the hand-drawn map that had been included in the letter, with instructions on how to get to the seer’s abode.

The journey was not without its difficulties. Idalia jumped at everything that sounded remotely human. Her eyes searched behind every tree, every hill, every stone wall. The men who had killed her family had come out of the darkness, but that did not mean that threats did not exist in the light of day as well. She kept a wary eye out the entire way across the Scottish Highlands as she traveled to where the seer had instructed. She wished she could have brought guards along with her, and her sister, but it had not been possible. Idalia felt a moment of guilt for leaving her behind to worry, but she shook it off. What she was doing was for them all, including Leonor.

She arrived at the seer’s cottage and dismounted, searching the area for any possible threats before she knocking on the door. Not finding anything, she raised her hand to knock. Before she had a chance to hit the wooden portal with her fist, a weathered old woman opened the door and stared up into her face suspiciously. “Ye the Romani lass?”

Idalia nodded her head in confirmation. “I am. Are you the seer whom I seek?”

“I am.” The old woman stepped back, allowing Idalia to enter her house. She motioned for her to sit down at the roughhewn table in the center of the one-room cottage. Idalia obeyed. “Tea?”

Idalia nodded her head politely. “I thank you for your hospitality.”

The old woman turned and shuffled over to a pot of water heating over the fireplace. Idalia studied the room around her as the seer worked. It was a sparse room, with herbs hanging from the ceilings. Other than the table and chairs, there was a small bed in the corner, but no other furniture. The old woman returned to the table and handed Idalia a steaming-hot cup of tea. It smelled of mint and flowers. Idalia smiled in gratitude and took a good long sip. The tea was soothing after her long journey. She took another long drink, then set her cup down to meet the seer’s eyes.

“What have ye come for, lass? What is it that troubles ye?”

“I seek to know the fate of August Raymond. Is he dead or alive? Does he seek me still? Or has he released me from his obsession? Am I, and what remains of me family, free to roam about the land as we once did?” Idalia stopped to take a breath and grew a bit dizzy. “Where is August Raymond?” she barely whispered the last as she clung to the table to steady herself.

“All will be revealed tae ye soon enough,” the seer murmured as blackness swallowed Idalia whole and a cloth sack descended over her head.

CHAPTER TWO

Somewhere along the Anglo-Scottish border…

Bran stood and stared at August Raymond in disbelief. “Ye want me to do what?”

Since the day of his capture, when he had traded his own life for that of Katarina’s sisters and his daughter Mahala, August had demanded many unscrupulous things of him. Bran had been used as a mercenary against his will. If he did not do exactly what August commanded, he would threaten to harm Mahala. However, if Bran did what he was commanded to do, he was allowed to spend time with her under guard.

No one back home knew of his daughter’s existence. He had not wished to bring shame to his family by burdening them with his sins, although now, all that remained of his family was Andrew. August’s sister Kezia had also died, leaving Bran’s daughter in the care of August and his Romani band. No one had bothered to notify Bran of Kezia’s death or, after that, whether his daughter had been safely cared for since or not. Bran wished every day that he could simply take his daughter and run back to Orkney. Since his capture, he had been waiting for the right moment, when she would be left alone and unguarded, but that moment had never come.

“I traded myself tae ye for a woman’s safety. Now, ye wish for me to take yet another lass against her will? I will nae do it.”

“You came for your daughter. Do not pretend otherwise. Mahala is the only reason you are here. Now, do as I say, or you will never see your daughter again.”