A Fearless Rebel Page 6

  A group of eight men on horseback patrolled. They wore clan colors and were obviously guardsmen. Ava immediately recognized the tartan and she blew out a breath. She’d gone in the wrong direction because the men were definitely Frasers.

  It was not the best situation to be on Fraser lands. If she were found alone, the men would not hesitate to assault her.

  Heart thundering, she remained flat on the ground, praying they did not notice any smoke coming from the cottage.

  Her worst fears materialized when one of the men stopped and looked around. He seemed to sense something was amiss. Head down, Ava remained frozen in place, unable to breathe.

  Just then, a horseman appeared and neared the guardsmen. She didn’t dare lift her head to see who it was. Instead, she listened intently.

  Moments later, all the men rode away. Ava couldn’t believe her luck. Ever so slowly, she crept backward then stood and hurried to the cottage.

  Once inside, she doused what was left of the fire and lowered to a chair. It was imperative to figure out where she was. With a twig, she began drawing a map from memory. There was no sound of water outside, therefore she’d missed the river’s edge. Instead of going directly south to MacBean lands as had been her plan, she’d diverted southwest and straight into Fraser territory.

  She would have to take a chance and go back outside to try to gauge where, exactly, she was. There was no other way to figure it out. Thankfully, the clouds had begun to dissipate and, soon, she’d be able to track the sun’s descent.

  Letting out a sigh, she stood and went to the window and peered out. There didn’t seem to be anyone about. As much as she wanted to go outside, terror kept her from reaching for the door. There wasn’t any choice, she could not remain there. Sooner rather than later, she’d be found out and the consequences could prove horrific.

  The horse made a sound and Ava wondered if someone was out there. She hurried to the back of the cottage and leaned on the wall, hoping to hear better. But the animal settled and was silent.

  Everything was going wrong. It was as if fate wanted her to be in a horrible situation, married to someone who detested her and her family, albeit with good reason.

  Knowing there was no choice but to go out and scout, Ava hurried to the door. After a sharp breath, she opened it to find that a man blocked her way out.

  Ava shrieked and stumbled backward. She would have fallen if not for the strong hands gripping hers and pulling her upright.

  “Yer family is looking for ye,” Keithen said matter-of-factly, looking around her in case someone else was there. “Why are ye here?”

  Not quite recovered from the scare, all she did was look at him, her eyes wide. If he decided to kill her, which she believed he was capable of, no one would ever be the wiser.

  Keithen took her elbow and guided her to a chair. “Sit.”

  Instead of sitting, Ava hurried around the table to put space between them. He was larger, stronger and even faster, but she would fight until the bitter end. Narrowing her eyes, she watched him closely for any movement.

  For a moment, they locked gazes. His expression was unclear, his thoughts a mystery. Even though she hoped hers were as well, Ava knew better. The terror she felt at the moment, the knowledge it was possibly her last day was impossible to keep hidden.

  “We must figure out a way to get ye back home before yer father uses the absence as an excuse to attack us again,” Keithen said, pulling back a chair, turning it and then straddling the spindly piece. “Yer cousin,” he tapped the side of his head attempting to remember the name, “Gavin, I believe, came to see me. It seems yer mother is keeping yer absence hidden.”

  “Why would ye help me? This is the perfect opportunity…” Ava stopped speaking, realizing she was an idiot.

  Keithen’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what ye hoped? To be killed? Is the reason ye came to my family’s lands an attempt to die?”

  “No. Of course not. There was no moon visible and I became disoriented. I planned to head to MacBean lands and then further south.”

  “I see.” His jaw flexed. “I am not sure if ye disappearing would help or hinder my clan.”

  Ava grasped on the opportunity. “Help me escape. My father will not be able to force yer clan to any agreement if I am gone.”

  He seemed to consider it for a moment. “I must think on it.”

  “There is no time,” Ava said, moving closer now that she felt better about her chances of living. “Did ye plan to kill me?”

  “I did not.” The man frowned. “I do not kill defenseless women. Although, I have a hard time thinking of ye as defenseless.”

  He eyed the visible short sword at her waist and the corners of his lips lifted. For an inexplicable reason, for the first time in her life, Ava felt as if she could make a friend. It was the most ridiculous notion, but something about Keithen Fraser gave her ease and, even stranger, comfort.

  “Very well, I will help ye,” he finally said. “But first, I must go to my home and create some sort of reason for my absence.”

  “It should only take a day, two at the most,” Ava said, “I am a good rider.”

  “Aye, I have seen,” he replied. “I will return in the morning. Meanwhile…” he looked around. “Have ye eaten anything?”

  “Oats.”

  “Come.” He held out his hand. “Tis a better way to hide ye.”

  Unsure why she did so, Ava took his hand and, together, they went outside. A short time later, with a hood over her head, they arrived at his home.

  Ava had never seen anything like it. Guards and people mingled about, chatting, laughing and sitting at long tables, sharing a meal. Everyone seemed at ease, even the warriors who eyed her with curiosity.

  Upon dismounting, she hurried after Keithen into the main house where the same kind of atmosphere took place in the great room. No one took much notice of them as they made their way up a set of stairs and down a corridor.

  “Early for a tryst,” a guard said with a chuckle.

  “It’s never too early,” Keithen replied and laughed.

  With a firm hold on her elbow, he pulled her into a bedchamber and closed the door behind them.

  Ava removed her hood and glared up at him. “Ye would allow them to think I am some sort of whore for hire?”

  “Tis best to hide in plain view at times,” Keithen replied with a one-shoulder shrug that made her huff out loud. “They do not suspect it is ye. That is for sure.” Then holding out a hand, he motioned around the room. “Make yerself comfortable. I will get ye some food. Do not open the door or speak to anyone. Am I understood?”

  When he left, she took her cloak off and wandered around in a circle, much too restless to sit. This had to be the worst escape ever. Somehow, she’d ended up hiding in the exact place she was fighting to avoid.

  Sounds from outside caught her attention and she hurried to the window. Was it possible her father was there to attack already?

  Instead, she was greeted by the most interesting sight. Men were erecting tents outside the walls. Hammering and sawing began in earnest, while others set up what would be a huge bonfire.

  Several carts traveled toward the keep from the direction of a village and the guardsmen atop the gates waved down to those beneath, seeming to call out greetings.

  A horrific thought came to mind. Was the bonfire for her? Was she to be burned at the stake as entertainment for the people who were gathering?

  What better way to repay her father for what her clan had done. It could be that the men who’d ridden by the cottage earlier had, indeed, seen her and set all of this in motion. Keithen had then been sent to lure her here.

  Her hands shook. She was inside the keep and probably locked in the chamber. After grabbing her cloak, she took measured steps to the doorway. Even if she could open the door, of course there would be a guard outside in the corridor.

  When her fingers grasped the door handle and it opened freely, she let out a long breath. Ever so slowly,
she opened the door and peered out.

  The corridor was devoid of anyone. Strange. Perhaps it was part of the game. She was prey after all.

  “And who might ye be?”

  Ava whirled around, finding herself face to face with Lady Fraser, whose eyes looked like they were about to pop from her head.

  “Oh, goodness,” both said at the same time.

  Just then, a chambermaid and a guard came around the corner. Both stopped in their tracks. The guard pulled a sword and pointed it at Ava.

  Ava drew hers and took a defensive stance.

  The chambermaid screamed, which caused more guards and other people, including the laird, to come running.

  *

  Ava had never seen so much pacing in her life. Obviously, it was a Fraser trait. Laird Fraser paced up and down the side of the room, while Keithen paced across the center. Lady Fraser sat next to Ava with her hands clutched in her lap.

  They’d moved to the sitting room, where they’d waited for Keithen, who’d returned from the kitchen with a tray of food to find that she was no longer in his bedchamber.

  “Of course, ye must marry immediately,” Lady Fraser said to no one in particular. “Ye were found in my son’s bedchamber. News will get to yer father eventually.”

  Too hungry to think, Ava reached for another slice of thinly cut meat and buttered bread. While eating, she studied the dynamics in the room. Just then, an older man entered and stopped short at seeing her and looked to the laird.

  “Is this her?” He looked to Ava. “I am the village vicar. Are ye Miss Ava Mackenzie?” His gaze moved from her to the laird. “Is this lady here of her own will?”

  “Sit down, Jonah. We must think,” Lady Fraser snapped. “Of course, she is not here by force. She was brought here to hide by my foolish son.”

  The vicar glared at Keithen who blew out a breath and glared at Ava.

  “They must marry immediately,” the vicar pronounced. “Immediately,” he reiterated.

  “I agree,” Lady Fraser said.

  The laird neared and met Ava’s gaze. “I am afraid it is the only way to keep yer father from accusing us of kidnapping ye.”

  “I can explain to him…” Ava started, but stopped speaking at realizing her father would never believe a word she said.

  “Are we to be star-crossed secret lovers who snuck away to marry?” Keithen’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “I am sure he will not be pleased whether we marry in secret or not.”

  “Nonetheless, my mind has been made up.” Laird Fraser motioned to the vicar. “Now, if ye will.”

  The vicar cleared his throat, his pleasant face softening as he looked to Ava. “Ye should not have run away with a man if ye did not wish to marry.”

  Her back teeth ached from biting down so hard. “Perhaps he should not have dragged me away if he did not wish to marry.”

  Everyone turned to Keithen who returned a bored look. “If it must be done, let us get on with it. Her disappearance cannot be kept secret for much longer.”

  Just then, shouts sounded and everyone hurried to the window.

  “With all this, I’d forgotten about the harvest festival,” Lady Fraser said. “We cannot very well send everyone away.”

  “It can be a wedding celebration,” the ever-clueless vicar suggested.

  Laird Fraser sighed. “I do not believe Laird Mackenzie will appreciate his lack of an invitation.”

  “There is that,” the vicar acceded.

  Moments later, Ava and Keithen stood in front of several gathered people as they were married by a jovial vicar. The entire time, Ava wanted to scream in frustration. How was it that she was about to end up doing the exact thing she’d tried to run away from?

  Keithen’s flat gaze met hers as he said his vows. Nothing about the way he pronounced each word seemed sincere. Not that she would ever claim to know him well, but from the tone in which he spoke and the slight furrow between his brows, he did not mean the words.

  The laird and several council members exchanged looks that gave her chills. Something was afoot. They planned to somehow use this marriage against her father.

  Once the vows were exchanged, Ava was immediately guided back to Keithen’s room.

  The vicar, his mother and two others whom she refused to look upon entered the room to witness the joining. Of course, it was necessary so that neither party could later attempt to end the marriage by citing there was no consummation.

  The entire process was mechanical. She’d barely been pushed back onto the bed before Keithen entered her, pushing in once, twice and then one last time before pulling out.

  Humiliated, she slid up to sit as the people filed from the room. This was the second time it had happened. The first time had been much more painful as she’d been a terrified virgin. This time, however, she would describe it as much more hurtful.

  Keithen went to stand by the window. “We will travel to yer keep in the morning.”

  “Are ye not sending a messenger instead?”

  “A messenger has already been dispatched.”

  Ava studied her husband with new insight.

  Standing at the window, with the physique of a well-trained warrior, Keithen had thick muscled arms, powerful legs and wide shoulders. His hair fell just past his ears in silky brown waves that contradicted every other part of him. He was handsome and hard, but she’d noticed how his face softened when speaking to his mother.

  And yet, she knew whatever would happen the next day would forever change the course of her life. “Why are we returning to my home tomorrow?”

  “To return ye to yer family.”

  *

  To reject and return a woman to her family was one of the most humiliating things that could be done to a laird’s daughter. Not only would the Mackenzie have to accept her back, but he would be powerless to do anything in retaliation.

  Even the Mackenzie could not get away from the insult.

  Ava would not be able to show herself in public for a long time. Although most would suspect the cause of rejection was the fact Clan Fraser and Clan Mackenzie were enemies, the gossips would enjoy inventing reasons for it.

  Keithen had ensured he did not spend his seed into his new wife so that there would be no possible way for her to become with child.

  The entire consummation had felt wrong. As he paced in the chamber while she slept, he could not shake the heavy weight of guilt.

  It was unfair to Ava. She’d done nothing to deserve such treatment, but it was inevitable. Everything had been set in motion. The next day, he, along with a contingent of warriors, would escort Ava back to Mackenzie Keep. Once there, she would ride alone to the entrance and he would never see her again.

  *

  Even more people had gathered for the harvest festival. In an effort to keep Ava’s departure quiet for a long as possible, the party was forced to leave through a back gate.

  Keithen rode beside Ava as they made their way through the forest that would eventually lead them into Mackenzie lands. He’d purposely chosen a route that would keep them from being too visible.

  They’d been traveling for a couple of hours when he slid a look to Ava. She rode with pride, her back straight and her eyes staring straight ahead.

  “Do ye need to stop?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  Keithen had the feeling that if he pushed her to speak, she would crumble and lose the hold she stubbornly kept on her emotions.

  The strength she showed was extraordinary. The woman would be his wife for life and yet, at the same time, he would not have any type of relationship with her. Now he wondered many things about her, making him wish they’d perhaps gotten an opportunity to speak more.

  “Stop staring at me,” she snapped.

  “I am sorry that this has to happen.” Keithen searched for words to try to explain, but it was ridiculous. What was happening could not be softened by words.

  It was late in the day when they finally caught sight of Mackenz
ie Keep. They’d ridden all day and had not stopped, Ava refusing to do so.

  When they neared, everyone stopped except for Ava.

  Just outside the walls of Mackenzie Keep, lines of horsemen flanked the gates, two people, also on horseback, remained in front of the rest.

  Back straight, his wife rode without hesitating until she disappeared as the gates closed behind her.

  *

  Keithen entered his father’s study the next morning. Unable to sleep, he’d been up half the night, wondering how bad Ava’s return had been for his wife. No doubt, the insult of her being returned was something the Mackenzie would take great offense to and he would be slow to forgive them for it. He probably never would forgive them.

  “A messenger arrived first thing this morning,” Laird Fraser said, waving him to come closer.

  Taking a deep breath, he met his father’s gaze. “What is the message?”

  “Assurance that the insult to his daughter is not taken lightly. He pledges to ensure ye pay for it. Additionally, he proclaims that although we are united because of the marriage, he holds us in low regard.”

  “Low regard? I expected worse,” Keithen replied.

  “His actual words are ‘lower than swine’.”

  “Ah.”

  “It had to be done. We could not risk having her here.”

  As much as he agreed with his father, a part of him still hated how, through no fault of her own, Ava was used as a pawn by both her father and her husband.

  Chapter Seven

  One year later

  “That ye continue on this quest is madness,” Catriona said, her brown eyes boring into his.

  Keithen took a bite of an apple and studied his friend as she walked about the garden collecting flowers. As the months had passed, she’d become much stronger. Although she was still overly cautious and rarely smiled, a bit of the old Catriona had begun to emerge.

  “It is not done yet,” he said, referring to the fact he continued to hunt the guards responsible for her attack. In truth, he’d not wished to speak of it. It was best not to remind her of the past, but it was Catriona who’d brought the subject up.