Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

but she stood her ground anyway. “I will not agree.”
    The baron’s punishment was not what she expected. The two guards grabbed her arms and held her still while her father closed his fist and started to strike. Then he thought better of it. Slowly, he pulled his dagger and began to cut handfuls of her hair off. She was appalled and watched as her lovely locks fell to the wooden floor, but Anna didn’t cry. Years of experience taught her that crying would make him think he’d won. No, she would never let him see her cry.
    “Do not fret, Anna . H e will find you distasteful, but he has accepted you and he will not go back on his word. Highlanders are wild beasts and if he is as big as his father is , he is a brute of a man, who would rather kill you than look at you. All he asks is that you willingly agree to the marriage and I have assured him you will.” When Stoneham finished with her hair, he stood back and surveyed the da mage. Satisfied, his words took on a sarcastic tone. “Let me see, perhaps a scar across your face would further his despair. Yes… yes, an ugly scar would be sweet revenge indeed.”
    “What has this man done to deserve your ire?” she asked.
    “Kevin MacGreagor has done nothing at all. It was his father who tricked me and I have not forgotten. When I attack the MacGreagors, I will burn his home and kill all his followers. And if you are a good girl, I might let you live. Do as I say, Anna, and before you know it , you will be back in England where you belong.”
    She was hardly listening when he vowed to kill her little sister and her mother if she did not obey. Instead, she was trying to decide how best to avoid his dagger. Just then, he oddly put it away, and she was so greatly relieved, she was off her guard when he hit her with his fist. The blow knocked her out.

    When Anna awoke just after dawn, she was lying face down across the back of a grazing horse. One rope was wrapped around her upper chest and arms, a second one was a few inches above her waist and a third bound her legs. She wiggled to get free of the constraints, but it was no use. Next, she tried scooting back in hopes she would slide off, but that didn’t work either. Her ribs hurt, her head was pounding and she doubted she could surviv e much longer with her head hanging down that way. This cannot be right, she thought. Surely, her father didn’t mean for her to die before she agreed to marry the Highlander.
    Anna heard the thunder of their horses long before she saw them. They were enormous Highlanders, riding swiftly toward her, and the sight of them was terrifying. Except for seeing a few from a distance, she had very little knowledge of the people who lived in the north, and if what her father said was true, she’d been left at the gates of hell.
    She closed her eyes, relaxed and pretended to be dead.
    There were seven men in all, each dressed in the tradition of their clan with white shirts, light blue kilts and a length of matching cloth over one shoulder. As soon as they reached her, five formed a defensive circle, drew their swords and searched the woods with their eyes while the other two quickly dismounted and ra n to her.
    Clymer was shocked to find a woman in that condition and didn’t hesitate to slip his arm under her, carefully pull her down and stand her on the ground. Then he held on to her while Thomas cut and unwound the ropes. Her green gown was dirty, a missing sleeve exposed several bruises on her arm, and she wore no shoes.
    In command of the small group of guards, Thomas was sickened at the sight of her injuries. The ropes had cut through her clothing, burned her all the way across her back in two places, and she was bleeding. Yet , when she finally raised her head, nothing could have prepared them for the sight of her face. It was a mass of swollen bruises. Blood covered her chin and trickled down her neck into her gown.
    “‘Tis a wonder she is alive,” said Thomas. He quickly mounted his horse and walked it as close to her as he could. “Give her to me.”
    Clymer couldn’t think of a place to touch her without hurting her, but there wasn’t time, so he just scooped her up and seated her in front of Thomas. He grabbed the reins of her horse, mounted his own and headed them north.
    Thomas wrapped his arm around her waist and nudged his horse forward. “You are not safe here,” he whispered in less than perfect English. He felt her grab hold of his arm, and was relieved she