Why is he dressed like that?Her thoughts clouded her but did not draw her out of her confusion.
Even the brigands that attacked her were dressed in kilts and boots that reached their calves. They had long hair and beards that they left untrimmed, and their looks reminded her of ancient men who lived far up the hills in Scotland.
The Highlanders.She licked her lips and arched a brow.Is he one of them? Dressing this way for the feast?
She knew what kilts were; she even recognized the plaids and léine. It was an old Scottish look for men, and they mainly let their hair loose and free like the man in front of her now.
What did he say he was? A laird? Clan Humphreys?
She remembered a Clan Humphreys from her studies. In the 1700’s they were the strongest clan to exist on the Highlands. Their known influence with the English and the French had brought civilization to the Highlands.
They also played a vital role in the merger of the two great lands of England and Scotland under Queen Anne.
“Ye should come with me,” the man said. His voice cut into her wandering thoughts, and took her arm before she could dodge his touch.
“No,” Isla said in a steady voice and tried to push away from him. “There’s a cave, and there was this woman at the fair… I must go back; I must find the cave near the dried-up Loch Leven. I must find it so I can return to my friends. It’s morning they will be searching for me.”
“The loch is miles from here and it isnae dried up,” he answered. “There’s nae fair… nae for the next three months. What do ye intend to do in the wild until then? Find some cave? The Loch Leven doesnae even have a cave close by, so what are ye talkin’ about?”
Isla shook her head frantically and tried to break free from the man’s grip. “You’re insane. This isn’t a joke,” she continued. “I must find my friends: Ada, Penny, and Katherine… we traveled from England, there was—”
She finally managed to break free from the man’s grip, but the force of her freedom made her lose her balance and fall to the ground. Isla groaned as her behind landed hard on the ground. She felt the ache radiate through her spine until it nearly shut out her reasoning.
Tears instantly stung her eyes, and her chest grew tighter. It wasn’t just because of the pain from her fall. She was terrified. Her muscles wouldn’t stop quivering, her mind wouldn’t stop racing.
What’s happening… what’s happening to me?
Isla felt the tears slide down her cheeks, but she stubbornly wiped them away and blew out air from her lips. Her stomach grumbled. She remembered having wine the night before and refusing any dinner because she had been bothered about the fortune teller.
The man standing in front of her extended a hand to help her off the ground, but she proudly rejected it, and got on her feet without his assistance.
“Did ye hurt ye head perhaps when those men attacked ye?” he asked as he assessed her closely with his hands on his lips. He then released a deep breath and added, “Listen to me. I dinnae have much time. My Castle is still two days from here, and I must make it back in time. I can take ye to Humphreys with me, and when it’s time for the fair we can come back and find the gypsy ye encountered.”
“She is not a gypsy,” Isla replied hotly, determined not to believe that the woman she had met was a fortune teller. “She is some crazy old woman who lied to me and made me refuse a very good dinner and good wine last night.”
She huffed and looked away from the man watching her with a slack expression. Isla did not believe in such things. Magic, witchcraft, and any element of the supernatural were purely fallacious.
Anyone who believed them was simply a moron.
“Who did you say you are?” she asked after she cleared her throat and dusted the skirts of her dress. Isla hiked her chin up and met his gaze. Isla needed to be sure this man wasn’t a swindler who wanted to hold her for ransom. All she had on her was her precious jewelry and she was yet to find her friends and luggage so she couldn’t afford to get in trouble.
“Laird Humphreys,” the man answered, then hiked his chin higher.
“Your first name,” she asked in a louder voice that sounded irritated even to her own ears.
“Jack Lyons.”
Her mind instantly did a calculation.Clan Humphreys,the title was familiar and so was the name Jack Lyons.
Isla’s eyes widened as she looked at the man again. He threaded his fingers through his red hair as he watched her. She had read of the Humphreys Clan a million times, and she knew the heritage of the Clan’s Lairdship.
Jack Lyons was Laird in the 1600’s. She couldn’t remember the year exactly, but he had died in battle, without an heir and the Lairdship had passed on to his first cousin who ruled and brought chaos on the land before he passed on and handed over to his son, Luke Lyons.
He really can’t be Jack Lyons,Isla thought as she stared at him.
She frowned as she regarded him closely, and he asked, “So, what’s yer decision? Will ye come with me?”
Isla tried to control the fear rising inside her as she kept staring at him. “What year is this?” she asked in a faint voice, hoping his reply would prove that her suspicions were wrong.