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"Oi, Newsam, look what I foundin the direction of a small copse of trees just down the road His accent was as thick as Ewen ’s had been, though his cadences were not as round and languorous as the clan chief’s Scots brogue

To her horror, twodrunkenly out of the trees These tere in no better shape than the first Their red coats were ru outdoors Their bleary eyes told Lily that, although they ood that they had been drunk only a few hours past

"What ’ave you got there, Corporal Neal? You know you’re to share with your senior officer " A s afront tooth A pair of small, close -set eyes squinted at Lily, and she wondered if the lanky soldier needed a good pair of glasses He was as ugly as the first, though in a different, almost comical way He was easily a foot taller than his coh likely not one pound heavier An enor atop a well -stained cravat His dirt- colored hair was pulled into a limp ponytail at the base of his neck

The third man was just as enthusiastic about the latest turn of events, though he didn’t say as , as he walked toward Lily and the soldier Even though he used a longstick, pouches of fat around his neck and cheeks flushed red with effort The top of his head was bald and covered by a fine sheen of sweat, a fringe of frizzy orange curls encircling the sunburned skin

The absurdity of this redcoat version of Laurel and Hardy overwhelmed her, and Lily shrieked, a quick, sharp sound soth, and she began to struggle desperately to free her arid, a wave of terror chilling her, as the tall soldier got close enough for her to see the malevolence in his eyes The lanky one who had been referred to as Newsauise his appraisal of her

Tightening his grip, Corporal Neal buried his face into Lily ’s curls and inhaled deeply "Ay, isn’t she a peach now? I do love Scot stock" Lily choked doave of revulsion feeling the hot stink of his breath on her neck

"Ay, a ripe peach at that, Neal" Newsaht breast He found her nipple and rolled it roughly between his thuasp provoked a s away to reveal a ets to ride her first then? " The fat one ’s baritone voice was incongruously deep Lily breathed deeply and rhythmically in a desperate search for those reserves of inner strength that she had been congratulating herself on justheart at the sight of the orange-haired s as he licked his lips

"Keep it buttoned, Burton " Newsam, clearly the leader of this trio, snarled at the clown-haireddeep in thought He placed his hand gently on Lily’s cheek, stroking lightly with his thu his hand back to the nape of her neck, the soldier slowly tangled his fingers in her hair Abruptly, he tugged his hand up and back, violently exposing her neck Lily stifled a screah her neck and shoulders

Heyet Not this close to Cameron lands We move on With our pretty little bird "

The soldiers secured her onto the rear of Newsam’s horse Lily was flopped on her belly, theinto her stoth of rope they had used to tie her hands and feet cut into her skin with even the slightest ravated by the sto combination of smells that filled her senses--thedown her hands from the bite of the rope, and the sourness of her own bile that she fought to choke back

Her mind desperately tried to focus on a plan She recalled an afternoon talk show she watched just after the layoffs at work The topic had been survival, and the host was interviewing kidnap survivors The nuers take you to a remote location; once they have you in their power, there is little to no chance of escape Lily’s heart sunk Not only was she bound hand and foot atop a horse, she was definitely being whisked off to so miles between them and the Cameron lands Each step took Lily further away from any hope of assistance The full extent of her situation dawned on her She ’d considered it fro pointed to seventeenth -century Scotland There was no civilization for miles, and between the scene at Ewen ’s castle and these mounted redcoats, it was clear she had so Herself landing on Lochaber soil, herself hailing froht, she was facing her end--what struck her was that she was utterly alone, not just in this past place, but in her own ti herself off fro only on work, Lily had also lost--what? Her twenties? And with it, any chance at love, or friendship, or fun And for what? A et to share with anybody