Jack took one menacing step toward the men, then he raised his sword. “Release her,” he ordered again.
He saw a tear slide down the woman’s cheek, and that surprisingly made his heart ache. He couldn’t understand the feeling, but he pushed it aside. What mattered first was that he free her from these men.
“Sheath yer sword, my man,” the man holding her captive said. “We will fight ye either way.”
Jack got his opportunity when the first two men approached him with their swords drawn for battle. He moved quickly and all his skill came into play. In minutes, he had put them down, and he was faced with only one opponent left.
The woman he was trying to save had squeezed her eyes shut and she was crying harder now. Jack motioned for the man to come at him, and he lunged forward when the man pushed her to the ground and attacked him.
Jack cut him down too, then sheathed his sword, hurried toward the woman, and lifted her to her feet with both hands. It was then he caught the scent of roses that clung to her. His insides quivered because of it instantly, and a craving stirred up inside him as his gaze dropped to her lips.
“Ye are safe now,” he said to her, then gathered her close before he could stop himself. “Ye are safe.”
She leaned closer to him and sobbed for a while. Jack lifted his hand and patted her back gently, hoping to ease her fear and panic so he could speak to her and find out if she was lost.
He had never met a woman in all the Highlands who would dress so provocatively, or one who would look so refined as she.
“Are ye all right now?” he asked her in a soft voice; she hiccupped as she pulled back from him. The woman wiped her hands over her cheeks and pressed her lips together.
Her left brow arched softly, before she shook her head. Jack did not think she heard him, so he tried again. “Are ye all right? Are ye hurt anywhere?”
“No, I am not,” she answered. “Thank you for saving my life.” Their gazes merged for a moment, and she blew out air from her lips before she continued. “I am Isla… Isla Lambert,” she introduced and extended a hand like Jack was supposed to somehow know who she was.
When Jack did not move to place his hand in hers, she spoke again.
“I need to find Birlet Shallows,” she said in response to his question. Jack’s forehead squeezed into numerous deep lines, and he stared at her confusion as she repeated the statement in a clearer accent.
“I need to find Birlet Shallows. I need to go back to the fair happening there… I don’t know how I got lost.”
“What fair?” he asked her.
“The Great Fair of Birlet Shallows,” she answered. “The one that happens right before Lammas, the Scottish tradition.”
“The fair doesnae happen for three months, and Birlet Shallows is miles from here,” he answered her while maintaining his frown. “Have ye hurt yer head, Lass? I can help ye if ye are lost.”
Jack saw her blink twice as her face paled further. “I don’t understand what you mean,” she said. “There’s a fair… in the Birlet Shallows village. I was right there with my friends and then there was this fortune teller, and a medallion and—” she was ranting.
He gave the woman one long hard look and contemplated leaving her there again, but her gaze met and pinned his again, and the same tingle dashed through his heart and softened it.
“Ye should come with me,” he suggested, “else ye might get attacked by the highwaymen again. They are ken to roam the streets of this village.”
“Come with ye where?” she asked as she eyed him warily.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck and answered. “To my Castle in Onich. Humphreys Castle. I am Laird Humphreys, and I will help ye.”
4
This is insane… this is…Isla’s mind was a torrent of thoughts and even during the chaos, the only thing she could constantly think of was the red-haired woman and her words.
Whatever she meant, and whatever that medallion was, she didn’t know. All she knew was she had to get back to her friends, and to the bed and breakfast.
She put her right hand on her forehead and closed her eyes for a bit. “How did this happen?” she muttered under her breath.
Isla had been searching for the cave she had entered when those men attacked her. She felt the coldness of the blade pressing into her neck again and her eyes snapped open.
She lifted a hand to rub her neck, then swallowed hard and looked at the man standing in front of her again. He was also staring at her. His eyes were a lovely shade of hazel brown, and his hair the same shade as the old woman she had met at the fair. It was a fiery red that almost looked like it burned under the sun.
Isla wrapped her arms around her abdomen, and she eyed him closely. He had saved her and she thankful to him, but why was she here?