Her Highness and the Highlander: A Princess Brides Romance (41 page)

And with a shiver, she realized that was a very real possibility.
Studying her surroundings, she looked for a place to hide. She needed to rest and
catch her breath.

She’d just found a likely spot when she heard the snap of a twig echo nearby.

Then came the sound of voices, low and male.

Was it them? Had they found her?

Breaking into a silent run, she raced toward a large leafy bush and shimmied into
a space behind it. And then she began to pray, knowing it really was her nightmare
come back to life.

Daniel slowed his horse, having left the carriage behind when he’d reached the edge
of the forest. There were only a few paths suitable for a coach or carriage, and it
would be far easier to track her on horseback or even on foot. And assuming they were
holding her in a small house or cottage, it wouldn’t be wise to give himself away
by driving straight up to the property. Stealth and tracking skills were required
in this situation. Luckily he was excellent at both since he’d run reconnaissance
missions during the war.

Robbie snuffled quietly along beside him. Before they’d entered the woods, he’d held
out one of Mercedes’s gloves that he’d brought from the town house for the dog to
smell. Robbie wasn’t a scent dog, but Daniel knew the animal understood exactly what
they were doing.

Pulling up on the reins, he stopped the horse and listened. That’s when he heard it—two
men in an altercation of some sort.

“Ye stupid bastard, what were ye doin’ loosening up her bindings? Ye ought to have
known better.”

“She said her hands and feet were numb. Said she was going to be sick. How was I supposed
to know the little bitch would hit me?”

“Got ye good too from the looks of it,” the first one said, sniggering.

“Shut it and let’s find her. She can’t have gotten far.”

Mercedes.

They had to be talking about her. He’d found her! Even better, she’d apparently managed
to escape them.
Good lass,
he thought, his chest swelling with pride and admiration for her obvious resourcefulness.
But now she was in even worse danger given the fact that they were hunting her, no
doubt armed, while she had only her wits and cunning to protect her.

He had to make sure they did not find her, did not come anywhere close to her again.

Signaling Robbie to stay at his side, he set out after them. The dog fell into step.
Obviously he’d been trained by someone before he’d become a stray because he obeyed
commands so well. Daniel had recognized that in the animal early on even though he’d
never mentioned it to Mercedes. He wondered now if the dog had been trained for tracking
because he moved silently and did not bark. When this was over, he would reward him
handsomely, as Mercedes had done once before.

He and the dog followed, listening, as the men made their way deeper into the woods.
Since it was two against one, he knew he needed to find a way to separate them. He
trailed them for a while longer until they stopped to get their bearings. Making sure
to stay absolutely silent, he circled around so he was now in front of them. It was
only at that moment that he recognized the one as the rabbity man who’d been following
him and Mercedes in Scotland.

He smiled grimly, knowing he was going to enjoy this.

Reaching down, he picked up a stick. Choosing his spot carefully, he tossed it far
and fast off to one side so it sounded as if someone had made a sudden dash.

“Did you hear that?” the big one asked. “Is it her?”

“Go find out,” the rabbity man said, motioning with a hand. “I’ll keep going for a
ways.”

Daniel waited until the big man lumbered off. Then he went after him.

The other man was distracted as he searched for Mercedes, so much so that he didn’t
notice Daniel coming up
behind until Daniel had his gun set against the back of his head.

“No’ so much as a word or you’ll be eternally sorry. Do ye ken?”

The brute nodded.

Without wasting time, Daniel urged him forward, then used some rope he’d brought with
him to bind the man to a nearby tree. Finding a handkerchief, he stuffed it into the
man’s mouth.

The big man’s eyes bulged with impotent fury and he struggled against his bindings.

Robbie growled low in his throat, showing his teeth. The fellow stopped struggling.
But Daniel wasn’t worried about him getting free. He was an expert at tying knots.
The other man wouldn’t get free, not until Lyndhurst and the prince’s men arrived
to deal with him.

With one of Mercedes’s abductors seen to, he set off after the other, Robbie at his
heels.

This time,
he mused grimly,
I’ll be the one doing the tracking.

But where, he wondered at the same time, was Mercedes? Surely she must be close, assuming
she had come in this direction. Either way, once he had the other man subdued, he
would find her. Or Robbie would.

The beautiful thing about the situation was that the rabbity man wasn’t expecting
to find anyone coming after him, so when Daniel let his footsteps make noise in the
forest, the other man wasn’t alarmed. He assumed Daniel was his partner.

“Did ye find anything?” he asked, not even bothering to turn around. “Was it her?”

“Nae,” Daniel said smoothly, lifting his pistol. “But he did find something. Me.”

The rabbity man whirled on a gasp, raising his weapon. He pointed it at Daniel, his
eyes widening.

“That’s right. I’m the man you followed through half of Scotland. How does it feel
having the tables turned?”

“How did you find us?”

“A bit of logical reasoning. Now, we would seem to be at an impasse, since we’re both
armed. But your friend isn’t coming to your aid, I assure you. Be smart and put down
your weapon.”

The man gave a hollow laugh. “And have you shoot me?”

“I will no’ unless you give me reason.” He noticed the blood smeared across the man’s
temple and the livid bruise that stained his cheek and cut lip. “Did my wife give
you those injuries?”

“Your wife? Did ye really marry her? A princess?”

“Aye, and no one takes what’s mine.”

The man’s hand moved suddenly and he fired. The bullet went wide, flaking bark off
a nearby tree. Daniel didn’t hesitate. Rushing forward, he barreled shoulder-first
into the other man in a move that dropped his opponent swiftly to his knees. With
a solid punch to the jaw, the man slumped unconscious to the ground for the second
time that day.

Using a length of rope that he found in the man’s coat—no doubt brought along to subdue
Mercedes—he tied him up as well.

Now they just had to locate Mercedes.

“Robbie,” he commanded, reaching for the handkerchief for the dog to scent again.
“Go! Find your mistress. Find her, laddie.”

With a bark, the dog crashed through the foliage.

Mercedes crouched low behind the bush where she’d taken refuge, trying, as she had
done once before, to make herself as small and invisible as possible. In the distance,
she’d heard the sounds of rustling vegetation, an odd bang, and men’s voices, including
a shout, but she hadn’t been able to distinguish the words or the individuals. It
was possible she was hiding from some farmer who might provide rescue. But what if
it was Smeek and Joseph? She didn’t dare take the risk of exposing her hiding place
in order to find out. So she huddled, quiet and motionless as a hare being stalked
by a hound, her throat tight, her pulse speeding wildly.

The rustling came again, growing gradually closer. But rather than passing footsteps,
it sounded curiously low to the ground. A snuffling followed and a soft panting.

An animal.

But what kind?

She trembled, reminding herself that there were no longer wolves in England. But there
were other things, including boars and wild dogs. And even if they presented no imminent
danger, they could give away her location.

The snuffling grew louder—and faster—as if the creature had picked up a scent.

Her scent?

Suddenly a great furry beast crashed through the undergrowth and ran straight for
her. She bit back a scream, her heart threatening to burst in her chest. And then
she was being licked, a warm pink tongue racing all over her hands and cheeks.

“Robbie?” she whispered incredulously.

He wagged and barked and licked her again. Tears came to her eyes and she laughed,
hugging and petting him.

Could it be? Was it possible that the voices she’d heard were friendly ones? That
someone had come to rescue her?

Then she heard her name being called in a deep, rich, wonderfully lilting burr. “Mercedes.”

Daniel!

Her heart gave an almost painful leap and she knew she must be dreaming. Or hallucinating.
Daniel was in Scotland. How could he be here? But Robbie was real, his fur soft beneath
her fingers, his tongue moist, pink, and doggie smelling.

“Mercedes,” Daniel called again. “Are you there, lass? Come oot if ye can hear me.”

Needing no further urging, she crawled forward, unmindful of the twigs and leaves
that caught at her skin and hair and clothes. As quickly as she was able to, she clambered
to her feet, Robbie not far behind. She stepped out, into a small break in the trees,
and there he stood.

“Daniel!” she cried. “I’m here.”

He turned, a relieved smile on his face.

She started toward him, about to break into a run, when she saw his eyes widen with
alarm and his smile fall away. “Mercedes, stay back.”

But it was too late and before she even knew what was happening, a hard arm had coiled
around her waist and dragged her backward, while something cold and metallic was set
against her temple.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man who held her captive.

Lang.

She shuddered, realizing that the cold metal against her head was a gun.

Robbie attacked, but the man gave him a savage kick that flung the dog several feet
across the ground. The animal whimpered in clear pain but gathered himself to try
again, snarls ripping from his throat.

“Call it off or I’ll shoot her,” Lang warned. “And don’t think I won’t.”

“Robbie,” Daniel ordered in a firm command. “Heel.”

The dog growled low, crouched to defend.

“Robbie, come!”

The snarls ceased abruptly and Robbie looked at Daniel, some confusion in his eyes.
With a whine, he padded to Daniel’s side.

“Very good,” Lang said. “Now, to deal with you. Gun down.”

“Daniel, don’t!” she cried.

But Daniel kept his gun trained on the other man. “Let her go, Lang. There’s no point
in this. The prince’s men are coming and will be here anytime.”

Lang sneered. “But they aren’t here yet, are they? It’s just you and me and the lovely
Princess Mercedes.” He rubbed the end of the barrel against her skin in a kind of
macabre caress.

She shuddered, but refused to reveal her fear, not wanting to assist him in any way.

“If you’re thinking of your own men coming to your aid,”
Daniel said, “I would think again. They’re all tied up at the moment, quite literally.”

Lang sighed as if the news bored him. “It’s so difficult to find good help, isn’t
it? That’s why I came up here myself. I was worried they would muddle everything up
again, and unfortunately I’ve been proved right.”

“Aye, like they muddled things up in Scotland—twice, as I recall. You did no’ succeed
then, and you will no’ succeed again. Let her go.”

Suddenly all the seeming affability dropped away from Lang, his arm tightening fractionally
against her. “The way you let my brother go? I know it was you who killed him. I wish
I could shoot you right here and now. I would if I didn’t have need of this bullet.
But maybe later, I’ll have another chance.”

Mercedes saw Daniel’s eyes widen slightly with a surprise that mirrored her own. One
of the men who had set upon their curricle had been his brother?

“Now I know why you looked familiar. You and your brother shared a marked resemblance,
but I just couldn’t place it before,” Daniel mused aloud. “I’m sorry I had to shoot
him, but he came at me. I was defending myself and Her Highness.”

“Call it that if you like. I prefer murder. Which is another reason why I’m here.
I knew you’d come for her, to try to free her. And here you are. You took someone
I loved away from me, and now I’ll do the same.”

“Nae!” Daniel shouted.

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t kill her yet. I’ve need of her for a while longer in order
to get what I want from her father.”

“The ransom. Yes, we had the note. Prince Frederick will ne’er release that man. Peter
Hans, was it no’? Why is he so important? Seems like an awful load of trouble just
to free a traitor.”

Mercedes stifled a gasp.
Peter Hans?
Even she had heard about the man who had tried and failed to topple her father’s
government and take his throne.

“He is not a traitor,” Lang shot back. “He is a liberator, not some parasitic royal
sucking the lifeblood from the people.”

“My father is not a parasite,” Mercedes said, finding her voice. “He is a good king,
a fair ruler.”

“Is he? So fair that he stole everything from my family and left us to starve in the
streets? Peter Hans, you see, is also my brother. There were three of us growing up.
I was the youngest. I’ve been using my mother’s name, Lang, ever since he was jailed.”

“And yet the prince did not have him executed, as many would have done. Nor did your
plight keep you from obtaining an education, and finding employment in the prince’s
own household,” Daniel pointed out.

“I worked hard and was seen as a prodigy. A wealthy patron sponsored me, not realizing
my true identity. It took me years, but I finally gained entrée into the prince’s
household. That’s why I knew when the princess would be traveling, knew when the time
would be right to act.”

Lang slid the end of the gun across her temple again. “Enough of this fruitless conversation.
I know very well what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. Now, I’m telling you
again, put down your weapon.”