The Hijacked Bride

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

"WHAT BUSINESS DO you have in saying that?" Hayes demanded of the man whom he had allowed to sit up. He held steady his sword to the Steel's throat, for he was even more untrusting of him now.

"She's mine, I tell you," the man repeated. "My name is Erskine. Originally Erskine of Athas, capital of Ceol. Now I am Erskine of Aimsir, Dorchadas, but that does not change her relation to me."

Hayes was losing his patience. "And just what is her relation to you?"

Erskine looked up at Hayes, his brown eyes taking on a dreamy gleam. "She looks just like Alannah," he said. Then he straightened and his focus sharpened on Hayes' face as if he sensed his growing annoyance. "I am her father."

"What?" Hayes drew his brows together.

"Monika was a wee baby when I last saw her. She won't remember me. But as true as it is day, I am her father. And I knew it was her from her looks. I nearly thought I was looking at my love again." Erskine shifted upon the ground and Hayes quickly repositioned his blade against the skin on the knight's neck.

"Stay just where you are," Hayes commanded. "You're in a tight spot and you're no doubt looking for a way out. How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"Because," Erskine rasped, his voice taking on an emotional croak. "Because I may have left her, but the moment I laid eyes on her standing there by the stables, I knew it was her and I knew I loved her. I'll not have a daughter of mine serving in the palace of Dorchadas. I plan to get her out of there."

Hayes tilted his chin upwards. "You left her. What makes you think she'll want a thing to do with you?" The words he spoke hurt him just as badly as he'd intended for them to hurt Erskine. He might as well have been talking to himself- he'd also abandoned her.

"I don't expect her to. More than wanting her to care for me, I want her safe. I've done wrong by her and her mother."

Join the club. Hayes stared down at the man, weighing the possibilities and outcomes in his mind as he tried to come to a decision. Erskine, being a Steel Knight, would undoubtedly know more about the castle and the slaves' and servants' whereabouts and so on. But if he were lying for whatever peculiar reason, he could be Hayes' downfall.

Considering Erskine's expression again, he saw raw intensity in his eyes. He could be wrong, but Hayes' gut was telling him that this man truly believed and stood by what he had said. Reluctantly, he drew back his sword and sheathed it, holding out a hand to help the Steel up.

"Thank you," Erskine nodded to him once he was standing. His expression hardened slightly as he looked Hayes over. "I will not assist you in anyway, however, unless you make your intentions clear as well. Why is it that you are looking for Monika?"

Hayes cocked his head, feigning arrogance, as he bought some time to think of something. He couldn't let Erskine know how he'd really become acquainted with his daughter. He didn't doubt any help from the man would be refused if he did.

Then an idea came to him. "I'm to marry her," he stated, as confidently as he could.

Erskine staggered back a step. "You're her fiancé?" He regained his posture and appeared to be scanning Hayes over once more. "I'd have thought she was married by now. She must be nineteen at least, after all. And you allowed her to get into this mess somehow?"

"It's a long story," he said. "But I'm just as anxious to save her as you are."

The other man sniffed. "It may be the truth that I haven't been around for her. If I had, though, I can't say that I'd approve of you becoming her husband."