'What have you done with your pride?' Jamie demanded. 'It's unladylike to use a common word like'damn' when you speak. Only serfs use such crude words, Mary.'
The thunder went out of Mary's expression. 'How can you lecture me now, for God's sake?' she wailed. 'I want to go home. I miss my papa.'
'Enough!' Jamie's command was given in a much harsher tone of voice. She patted her sister's shoulder to soften her rebuke, then whispered, 'What's done is done. We're married to Scots, and that's that. Don't disgrace us by carrying on.
Besides, it's only a little farther to the Highlands,' she exaggerated. 'Alec has promised me that we'll stop for the night just as soon as we cross the border. Surely you can last a few more minutes, sister. Let your husband see what a courageous woman you are.'
Mary nodded. 'What if he's too dense to notice my courage?'
'Then I'll be happy to instruct him,' Jamie promised.
'Jamie, did you ever, in all your days, think we'd end up in this predicament?
We're married to Scots!'
'No, Mary, I never once considered that eventuality.'
'God must be very angry with us.'
'Not God,' Jamie qualified. 'Our king.'
Mary's pitiful sigh trailed behind her as she walked back to her mount. Jamie watched her sister until she'd reached Daniel's side. The Scottish lord was smiling. Jamie guessed he was amused by the sight of his bride walking like an old woman with rickety knees.
Jamie shook her head over her sister's pitiful condition until she realized she was in much the same condition. Her legs were as shaky as dried leaves. She placed the blame on the stupid saddle she was forced to put up with so Alec would think she was a lady.
It took her three attempts to climb up on Wildfire's back. She'd made her mount nervous with the distraction, too. The mare started prancing, and it took Jamie precious strength to get her calm again.
Wildfire obviously didn't like the saddle any more than Jamie did.
Daniel had assisted Mary into her saddle, but Alec hadn't shown any such gentlemanly consideration. He wasn't even watching her. She wondered what held his attention, for he was gazing intently toward the area they'd just come from, a frown of concentration on his face.
Jamie decided to ignore him as thoroughly as he was ignoring, her. She turned to call a word of encouragement to her sister.
She never heard Alec approach. He was suddenly by her side. Before she could react, he'd pulled her off her mount. Then he half carried, half dragged her to the ragged boulder adjacent to the bush Mary had split down the middle when she took her fall. Alec shoved Jamie up against the rock with one hand, slapped Wildfire's flank with other, then turned his back on her and motioned to Daniel.
'Whatever are you-'
The rest of Jamie's question was pushed from her mind when Mary was shoved up against her. Daniel positioned himself in front of his bride. His broad back kept both women pinned to the boulder behind him.
When Daniel drew his sword, Jamie understood what was happening. She took a deep breath while she watched Daniel motion to Alec and hold up three fingers.
Alec shook his head, then indicated the number was four.
Mary still didn't catch on to the threat. Jamie slapped her hand over her sister's mouth when she started to stammer a protest.
Alec walked back to the center of the small clearing. Jamie pushed Mary's hair out of her face so she could see him clearly.
He hadn't drawn his weapon yet. Then Jamie realized that Alec didn't have a sword. Good God, the man was virtually defenseless.
Jamie was sick with fear for Alec's safety. With that fear came fury. What kind of warrior journeyed through the wilderness without a weapon at his side?
A damn forgetful one, Jamie decided with a scowl. He'd probably lost his sword somewhere along the way to London and hadn't bothered to replace it.
She'd have to intervene, of course. Alec Kincaid was her husband, and no one was going to put a mark on him as long as she lived. Refusing to understand the true reason she didn't want to see him harmed, she simply told herself she didn't want to be widowed on her wedding day, and that was that.
Jamie removed the small dagger from the looped belt she wore around her waist, hoping there was still time to pass the weapon to Alec. The dagger could inflict real injury if accuracy was employed. There was also Daniel's sword, Jamie remembered. She prayed Alec's friend knew how to wield his weapon and was just about to ask him to help her husband when Alec suddenly turned around.
He was motioning to Daniel. She could see his face clearly now and immediately started to shiver. The look of fury in those cold dark eyes terrified her. She could see the raw strength in his muscular arms and thighs. Anger was there, too. It washed over her like a hot wave. Power radiated from him until it became a thick mist surrounding them all.
She'd never seen such a look before, but she recognized it all the same: he was ready to kill.
Mary started crying. 'It isn't a wild boar, is it, Jamie?'
'No, Mary,' Jamie whispered. She kept her gaze on her husband when she squeezed her sister's arm. 'It will be all right. Our husbands will keep us safe. You'll see.'
Jamie almost believed her assurance until she saw the bandits slowly advancing toward Alec. She guessed then it wasn't going to be all right at all.
Alec had moved quite a distance away from the others. Jamie thought he was deliberately trying to draw the bandits as far from the women as possible.
The thieves slowly followed him. They took their time, too, acting as if they had all the time in the world to see their kill completed. Alec was much larger than his enemies, but he was unarmed. The odds certainly didn't favor him. Two of the four bandits carried blackened clubs. The other two waved curved swords in the air. The slicing motion made the air whistle. There was dried blood crusted on the blades, indicating their earlier attacks had been successful.
Jamie thought she was going to be sick. They were such evil-looking men. They looked as if they enjoyed their sport; two were actually smiling. What teeth they had were as black as their clubs.
'Daniel, please go and help Alec,' Jamie ordered, her voice weak with fear.
'There are only four of them, lass. It will be over in just a minute.'
His answer infuriated her. She knew Daniel stood in front of them to offer protection, yet didn't think that was noble given the fact that his friend was about to be slaughtered.
Jamie reached over Mary's shoulder and shoved Daniel's back. 'Alec doesn't have a weapon to defend himself. Give him my dagger or your sword, Daniel.'
'Alec doesn't need a weapon.'
He answered her in such a cheerful voice that Jamie was certain he'd lost his mind.
She stopped trying to argue with him. 'Either you go and help him or I will.'
'All right, lass, if you insist.' Daniel shrugged Mary's hands away from his tunic and started toward the men circling Alec.
Yet when he reached the edge of the clearing, he stopped. Jamie couldn't believe what she was seeing. Daniel calmly replaced his sword in his scabbard, folded his arms across his chest, and damn if he didn't grin at Alec.
Alec grinned back.
'We're wed to half-wits,' Jamie told Mary. She decided she was still more frightened than angry, as her voice actually shivered in the stillness.
A deep bellow suddenly gained her full attention. The battle cry came from Alec.
The bone-chilling sound sent Mary into a fit of screaming.
The circle had tightened around Alec. He waited until the first was within striking distance, then moved so swiftly he became a blur of motion to Jamie.
She watched him grab hold of one man by his throat and jaw, heard the horrid sound of bone cracking when
