Highlander’s Winter Rose by Fiona Faris
Chapter Sixteen
Maximus could feel his heart racing as he jumped quickly over the wall, climbing down from Rosallyn’s window. He hoped the hook did not come off. He was still smiling, his body still feeling the phantom pressure of Rosallyn’s legs wrapped around his neck.
Now is nae the time; ye need to focus right now. This is life or death.
He was surprised at how smoothly everything had gone. He had timed himself, knowing that it would take at least fifteen minutes for the guard he had knocked out to be discovered, and an extra fifteen for the guards to assemble and find the maid he had cornered and tied to the stairs. He had caught her and asked her where Rosallyn was just so that she would know where he was headed and could tell the guards when they asked her.
Elaise on the other hand was indeed a frightening woman. When she came to give him the news from the spies, she had already made all the preparations for them to take the forest path. She hurried him to prepare and then dragged him onto the road immediately. She made it possible for him to see Rosallyn, while at the same time using him as a decoy so that she could do what she really planned to do that night: steal Donald’s secrets.
As he climbed down the castle wall on the rope she had thrown for him, he could not help but marvel at her. He jumped down onto the waiting horse, and she removed the grappling hook expertly, rolling it back to her side.
“Where did these horses come from?” he asked. They had come on foot after all. She shrugged at him as she finished rolling up the rope and attached it to her side.
“I stole them from the stables,” she said. Then they went flying into the night, her spy opening the gate and jumping down to ride behind her as they escaped the castle. Maximus could barely keep his mouth closed as the soldiers rushed after them on foot with torches.
The spy was a young woman who looked barely twenty, yet she had killed both soldiers who manned the gate and opened it for them before swinging down smoothly onto the horse behind Elaise as though it were normal for her. She gave him a wide smile that made him shudder. It felt more like he had just been smiled at by a snake than by a woman.
“Did ye dae as I asked?” Elaise shouted to be heard over the commotion. The young spy nodded, wrapping her arms around Elaise to keep from falling.
“Aye, I set the stables on fire, so they wouldnae be followin’ us any time soon,” she shouted back giddily. Maximus felt his eyes widen at that. Elaise really did think of everything. He rode beside her as they flew through the castle town, sending the townspeople jumping out of the way. The soldiers behind them were nowhere to be seen at this point. They had successfully outrun them.
“Did ye get everythin’ ye came here for?” he asked. She turned to him with a grin before stopping her horse very suddenly in front of an inn. Maximus hurried to do the same before he went too far ahead.
“What… Why did ye stop?” he asked, even as the spy behind Elaise dismounted her horse and came to stand by Elaise who gave her a piece of rolled up parchment. The young woman bowed and went into the inn with the parchment hidden in her bodice.
“Oh, we only stopped so that she could get her horse. She has a different destination from us, ye see,” Elaise said, beginning to ride again. Maximus found himself frowning.
“What are ye goin’ to dae now?” he asked. Elaise laughed at the worry in his tone.
“I am goin’ to hit him where it hurts,” she said. “His money.”
Glancing back, Maximus could see another horse riding out of the inn with the spy on top. She was riding west. His brows furrowed in thought for a moment, and then he realized what had happened.
“Ye found the map to his mine,” he said, and to that, Elaise nodded.
“Aye, and I am goin’ to blow it up. She is goin’ to meet my father’s spies on the way, and then they will go there together. I already told them what to dae. Ye see, Donald plans to hire mercenaries to fight for him in his next battle, but he cannae dae that if he cannae reach his gold.”
Maximus blinked. So that was what she meant by hitting him where it hurt. He had not been aware of the extent of her plans. All she had told him was that he should go to see Rosallyn and make himself a distraction big enough that she would not be noticed.
“How did ye ken about the mercenaries?” he asked.
“Well, that map wasnae the only important document that I stole. I have his war plans. I only glanced through and saw the plan for the mercenaries. I was already goin’ to set fire to his mine, but now I have twice the reason to dae so,” she said.
Maximus was very impressed, and he was glad that Elaise was on his side. General Grant would have loved her. She was strong and cunning, just like him.
“How was yer Rosallyn? I am guessin’ ye kicked up quite the storm,” Elaise said, suddenly changing the subject. Remembering what he had done with Rosallyn, his face immediately went red at her question.
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, not quite knowing how to respond since it was Rosallyn who had kicked up a storm in him. She sure had thrown him for a loop. She was so erotic. He was the one teasing her, and yet he was the one who had been overwhelmed. When he noticed her begin to touch herself, it was as though his brain had been dropped in a pan to fry. She certainly knew what she wanted, and it left him rock hard. How could she be so seductive? He had not been prepared at all.
There was one thing that he was sure of, and it was that there was no other woman for him but Rosallyn. This made the thought of someone else marrying her even worse. The soldiers knew that he had come to see her, however. Surely her wedding would be called off after that. Although it would mean that she would truly be arrested this time, it did not matter because he was going to rescue her.
“Ah, from how red ye have gone, I can see that she is one heck of a woman and has ye wrapped around her fingers already, eh?” Elaise said, teasing him with her brows wiggling. Maximus put his face into his hands, having Elaise tease him was worse than having his brother tease him. To him, she was just like what it would have been like if he had an older sister, and quite frankly, being teased by your sister was worse than being teased by your brother. Seeing his reaction, she noticed that her teasing actually held some water, and she threw her head back in laughter.
“I surely must meet the woman who has ye here blushin’ like a lad,” she said. Maximus chuckled despite the embarrassment she was pouring on him.
“Aye, ye will meet her soon. I think ye were right after all, and the both of ye will get along famously.”
If Rosallyn could be that aggressive with what she wanted, he wondered how Alexander managed with Elaise, if they had even got that far. He chuckled to himself at the thought.
Ye have nay right to even think of that!
The thought came to him in his brother’s voice, and he could just see his brother’s face, red with embarrassment, and his eyes darting all over the place to avoid his gaze. It made him grin even bigger. Yes, Alexander was very easily embarrassed when it came to such topics. He wished that he could tell him about Rosallyn.
They came to the spot on the road where they had begun to walk, and Elaise stopped riding and dismounted. Maximus followed suit, and in unison they smacked the horses on the rump causing them to neigh and run off, back in the direction of the castle. Satisfied, they went into the woods to get their own horses from where they had tied them and got back on the road, racing for the forest path so that by morning, at least, they would be back in Kellgan.
Even in the dark of the night, Elaise did not relent, pushing their horses to carry them quickly across the border and back into Kellgan. It seemed she was very excited with her findings and wanted to spend more time looking over them.
Maximus could somewhat understand that, but he also was rather tired. Rosallyn had drained a lot out of him. The journey was a welcome distraction, however, as he was sure that the moment he could relax, his arousal would come back with a violence. As it turned out, he was not wrong. They reached the castle when the sun was just rising that morning, and immediately, when he was alone, the memories of his time with Rosallyn resurfaced.
He was embarrassed with himself. Elaise was not resting, but had retired to her study to pore over the documents she had written. He had been planning to sleep since he had gone nearly a day without sleep. However, his body had other ideas. He lay staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore the very obvious tent in his covers.
The memories came to him in flashes, each image in his head fueling the blood to his member, which was already hot and straining against the cloth of his covers.
Rosallyn’s beautiful breasts… the wet peak of her nipple as he took his mouth from it… the innocent hunger in her eyes… the slippery wetness of her juices as she rubbed herself against his lips… Unable to take it anymore, he let out a growl and snatched his covers off, getting to his feet and panting as his erect member all but screamed at him for relief.
Nay! There is nay way that I am goin’ to dae this in Elaise’s castle!She would have my head if she found out!
No, he could not do it. He was a grown man; he could control his own body. Determined to shrug off his arousal, he got to his feet and paced the length of the room, trying to think of other things.
Uh… the hunt… a rabbit hoppin’ through the woods… a forest fire… Elaise with a sword…
He pressed his lips together at that. The last one was just terrifying enough to make him wilt a little. Thinking about one’s sister was definitely a good way to kill arousal, especially when that sister could make most men wish they were worms instead.
Alright then… Elaise in full battle armor… Elaise in a kilt… Elaise with a bow and arrow… Elaise on a hunt… Elaise…
…
It had taken longer than Rosallyn expected for the soldiers to come arrest her. For starters, she had enjoyed a full night’s sleep and had been fed, cleaned and dressed by the maid Boyd left her with. The maid noticed her ripped dress, but said nothing, simply changing her clothes and leaving her alone.
It was so obvious that she had been in the company of a man, even the bed said so. Rosallyn knew that the castle was probably bustling with the news, and she was proven right when Boyd slammed open the door, his face red and his soldiers behind him. It seemed he had just arrived in the castle. She gave him a sweet smile although he looked as if he wanted to break something.
“Leave us!” he ordered the soldiers behind him. They all exchanged glances for a second. They had come to arrest her, but they also knew the situation as men. Boyd had publicly expressed his wish to marry her, and she had just clearly had an affair. In solidarity as men, they all filed out of the room, leaving her with a fuming Boyd.
He opened his mouth as though to say something, but too angry for words to come out, he gave up and paced the room. She followed him with her eyes, completely unaffected by his rage, and, in fact, defiant. The night before had been the best she had ever experienced, and she was not apologetic at all. In fact, she was glad, now Boyd would get the stupid idea that he could marry her out of his head. She would never marry him.
“I… I dinnae ken how ye could dae this to me,” he began. “I left ye here with everythin’, makin’ sure that ye were well taken care of. I was workin’ as quickly as I possibly could, so that I could come back and hold the ceremony… and then… then the Laird summons me… tellin’ me that ye were caught entertainin’ an intruder in these chambers.”
Rosallyn stared at him blankly. Each word he said only served to make her more annoyed. He spoke as if he had any rights over her in the first place. He was trying to force her into a marriage that she had clearly objected to. She told him she would rather die than marry him, so why was he so surprised. He was talking as though he were making sacrifices for her when he was the reason why her father was dead. He had decided to betray his clan due to his own greed, and he dared to tell her he gave her everything. She was a glorified prisoner!
“Dae ye understand the gravity of yer actions at all? Dae ye ken what ye have done? Ye have embarrassed me in front of the whole clan and the Laird’s court. I made my decision to marry ye public! Even though ye were a prisoner, I begged the Laird to allow me to wed ye! And now ye make a cuckold of me so blatantly!” he thundered. Rosallyn had wanted to stay silent, but she could not hold herself back in the face of his audacious speech.
“Made a cuckold of ye? Oi, have ye been drinkin’ this mornin’ because ye sure are talkin’ like a man who is pished. What relationship dae we have that makes ye think that ye deserve any loyalty from me? Ye disgust me. I thought that I already made that clear?! I am in love with someone else!” she retorted, yelling right back.
“In love with someone else? I see now, so this is how ye tricked me! Nay wonder ye changed the subject when I asked ye how ye found out that yer father was dead. Of all the people ye could have been involved with, Rosallyn, Maximus Mackay?! Ye claim that ye were goin’ to marry me if there was nay war, and yet it turns out now that he is yer lover? Ye ken how I feel about them, and ye still let him in here!” he shouted. Rosallyn threw back her head and laughed.
“Ye dobber, ye dinnae ken, but this is all yer doin’? I met Maximus because of the war. I treated him and took care of him, and we ended up fallin’ in love. Yer betrayal of the clan ultimately led to me findin’ my true love. Why does it concern me, how yer fragile ego takes it? I simply fell for who the fates designed for me,” she said. Boyd was positively furious.
“Dae ye ken what ye have done now? Maximus came here and stole from the Laird before meetin’ with ye. Ye were caught in cahoots with a rebel! Even I cannae save ye now. Ye will be tried before the Laird and imprisoned! What dae ye have to say for yerself?” he demanded. Rosallyn chuckled and gave him a wry smile.
“I am a rebel too.”
