“I see that you’re finally looking up. I was starting to wonder that you were suffering from shock.” Came a thick Scottish accent. Her eyes widened as she shook her head.
“You’re probably wondering why my men brought you here…” He said, taking a few steps closer, and she was caught in those dark, deep eyes. It seemed as if their depth didn’t end. Lauren looked at his handsome face, with a chiseled jawline and curly hair that went past his ears. Something no Englishmen would have. It seemed as if her voice was lost to her.
“Yes.” She finally said, when it was clear that he wasn’t going to go on if she didn’t say anything at all.
“Well. I don’t think you’d be a happy lady if I told you it was a mistake, so I’m not going to say that. They quite did it on purpose, but that’s because we/re tired of the English going through our country.” He said.
“My name is Dugal Ansley.” He said, and she nodded.
“Lauren Abel.” She said, and he chuckled.
“I already knew that, but thank you. I’ll return you in a few weeks, so please, Miss Abel. Try to make yourself comfortable, and refusing our food certainly isn’t going to do it. An Englishwoman or not, you’re going to eat what’s put in front of you. We have a long ride ahead of us.” Dugal said, and she just nodded again.
“That is not a meal fitting of an English lady.” She huffed as she started to come out of shock. All of her etiquette training seemed to have completely lost her.
“I don’t think that you can truly pick and choose. Eat it or don’t, Miss Abel, but you’ll get hungry enough to eat it eventually.” He said dismissively, which only seemed to get under her skin more. She was once again caught staring at his chiseled chin, trying to bite down a blush of her own.
“What of my driver? Did any harm come to him?” She asked, nearly shouting it at him as soon as he turned to leave. She could see the frustration she was causing almost immediately as he stiffened, sighing for just a moment before turning to look back in her direction.
“No, Ms. Abel. We did not even destroy the carriage. He should be just fine and deliver the message of your kidnapping back where it needs to go.” Dugal said, and relief flooded through her. She sighed contently, as if a great worry had been lifted from her shoulders. She shook her head, thinking for a moment as she looked at Dugal.
“Thank you for the food.” She said, stiffly as her manners kicked in. Lauren picked it up and started to eat. He smiled at her before bowing, but Lauren couldn’t tell if the man was mocking or if he actually had manners.
“My pleasure, Ms. Abel.” He said, and she nodded a little as she ate and drank some more.
“I’ll see you at dusk. We ride in the morning.” He said, and with that he slipped out of the tent.
She wanted to scream, but she didn’t know who she’d be screaming at. All she knew is that she didn’t have a choice in what was happening, and she just had to hope that the man would keep his word. She had heard that the Scotts did terrible things to those caught in the countryside, and she only hoped that Dugal would prove all of those rumors to be false. It was hard for her to fall asleep. Her mind raced, but her body ached, and soon she passed out. Thankfully for Lauren, she had no dreams.
Chapter Three
It felt as if she hadn’t slept at all when things started to come into clarity and a woman woke her up. There wasn’t as much scorn in her eyes as the woman before her. It took her a moment to realize where she was, but when Lauren did, she got up without saying anything. The woman put a refilled water skin in her hands, and she went to thank her, but was silenced. It didn’t seem that the woman wanted to talk, and she was an outsider that had just been kidnapped. She didn’t have to think of why, but her thoughts in the silence did wonder back to Dugal Ansley, wondering what would become of her.
“It’s too early for words.” The woman said in a thick accent. Lauren was surprised she could understand her at all. Dugal Ansley was waiting for her outside as she gathered the water skin and the piece of dried meat that was handed to her.
“I do not believe you can ride on your own?” He said, and she shook her head. He seemed to be watching her, trying to understand what she was thinking, but he couldn’t get the read he wanted. She sighed after a moment, and she knew that she wanted to be on a horse all on her own. She didn’t want to ride with anyone.
“I can ride.” She said, and he raised an eyebrow at her. It was obvious that he was surprised, but Lauren didn’t care. When a horse was offered to her, she got up before trying to swing her leg over. He looked at her with a small smile before shaking his head. She couldn’t sit properly with the dress, and he knew that she wouldn’t be able to ride quick enough.