Highland Supplanter (Book 2)

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The thunder of hooves was pounding in his head. He was sick to the stomach of the food. The men moaning. The rain a constant downpour upon them. It was beyond time he found her. Beyond time he claimed what was his, and made her pay for what he had had to suffer to find her. The insufferable fool that had taken her had no idea what he was bringing down upon himself, and the clan. On one hand he could understand that the woman carried his bairn. But she was his. Bought and paid for. He did not want the male’s bairn. Would have gladly given it up. Was even willing to offer to house the male until he could take the bairn of his hands and back to his clan.

Instead, with the utter misery they had been through. The anger coursing through him meant he was very much in favour of tossing the bairn to the side of a road, and letting fate decided its path. He could not care about the squalling thing, only the fact it meant the female herself was fertile ground. She would provide him with more sons. Whether she was happy about that fate was beyond the point. She would have to be, or she would have a miserable time of it.

Letting the liquid pool in his mouth. He called a stop to the company, and emptied his mouth upon the ground beneath him. Turning to look around. He had seen a flash of something ahead. But trying to see whatever it may be was proving difficult in the poor light and the sheets of rain falling into his eyes. Squinting against the deluge, he was sure there was a figure ahead of them. Signalling two of his men, they cantered forward. He was intent that whoever this was would be giving him answers. They may not know anything, but at this point he did not care. They would give him what he wanted, or feel the pain he needed to inflict in order to bring his mind back to a level setting once more.

The water sluicing down the frozen skin that was open to the elements. They cantered towards the figure before them. Unable to fully comprehend the shadows they were seeing until they were practically upon then. Signalling for his two men to circle the figure. He knew they could go nowhere. What he did not expect was to see the slim figure of a woman, cursing the lame horse before her. He watched, in pleasure, as she had not noticed them, try to get the horse moving once more.

Watching her struggle was a pleasure. Her clothing had become a second skin, the cloth clinging in all the right places upon her. It was only as she roughly pushed her bedraggled hair out of her face, that she paused and turned slowly to face him. And for the first time he recognised her. Throwing his leg over the neck of his horse, he slid to the boggy ground. “Janetta? What are you doing out here? So far from home?”

The woman had been married to one of his males. He strongly suspected she had been a factor in the male’s death. It was not a major loss to his clan. The male had been weak. It was Janetta who had the scheming mind that could help out in times of need. Janetta’s countenance changed upon recognising him. Her displeasure blooming into the sly grin he had grown so used to seeing when she had been within his clan.

She sidled up towards him. Knowing how attractive she was. He had taken advantage of that more than once before. It paid to keep this woman happy, anyway possible. Her male had not been man enough. She had always preferred it rough, and was a willing partner any time he wished it. Yet, at that moment he could see the formation of a plan within her eyes. Her long lashes catching the rain drops and highlighting the scheme she was edging towards. Reaching out for him, she clung to his arm, and pressed her body into his. “Grant. What a pleasure to see you here. How fortuitous for me, to be in such a predicament, and for you to appear as my guardian once more.” She fluttered those long lashes. Shaking droplets free and sending them down tracks upon her smooth cheeks. “Should I not instead be asking you why you are on this God forsaken road, on the way to nowhere one of your stature should even be seen?”