Loving Her Highland Enemy

by Samantha Holt

Maggie gripped Leana’s arm. “Dinnae be a fool, lass. Ye’ve just been hurt. Ye cannae put yerself in danger again.”

  “What danger am I going to be in if we’re ready for them?”

  Maggie puffed out her chest. “I’ll certainly no’ let them touch ye.”

  Tavish skipped his gaze between the two determined women and groaned inwardly. If it wasn’t enough they had someone in the castle trying to harm Leana and do lord only knew what, he had these two to appease.

  “Not tonight,” he said firmly. “As Maggie said, yer injured, and ye’ll be fatigued too. Ye’ll sleep like the dead no doubt.”

  Leana pursed her lips. “Are ye saying ye cannae protect me, a big, strong Highlander like ye?”

  “If ye think ye can flatter me into getting yer way, yer wrong, lass.” He waved a finger at her. “I’ll no’ change my mind.”

  She eyed him for a few moments and then let her shoulders drop. “Very well, for tonight, I’ll stay in hiding, but on the morrow, I’ll be ensuring everyone sees me.”

  “Aye, we’ll do that,” he agreed. “But I willnae be leaving ye alone for a moment.”

  “At some point ye’ll have to or else they willnae show their face!” she protested.

  “I’d rather root them out some other way than put ye at risk.”

  “Aye, listen to the man,” Maggie said. “We cannae have ye harmed. Whatever will yer father say? Good lord, I’d never forgive myself if something happened to ye and his health would certainly fail.”

  Leana turned to the maid and put both hands on her shoulders. “Maggie, I have no intention of being harmed or upsetting Da’.”

  Tavish watched Leana’s interaction with Maggie. It was no wonder she wanted revenge. She’d lost not only her family that night but her whole identity. Even Maggie had no idea about her lie.

  It sounded as though the clan chief depended on her too. Likely she had helped him get over the grief of losing his daughter. He might not be able to forget she had come here with plans of revenge but he could understand her determination. Lord knew, if someone had done the same thing to his clan, he’d have sworn to draw blood too.

  “We’ll discuss our plans later. For now, we remain here. Maggie can fetch anything we need.”

  “Oh, Lord, I should get ye some supper, and make sure the fire is lit. Ye must be chilled, my poor sweet lamb.” Maggie hurried to the door then twisted back. “I’ll do the fire first.” She twisted again. “Nay, ye need sustenance more.” She pivoted. “But ye might catch a chill—”

  “I’ll light the fire,” Tavish assured her. “Ye get the food.”

  “Aye.” She drew in an unsteady breath. “Aye. I’ll do that. Ye light the fire. I’ll bring the food.” She waved a hand at Leana. “Ye rest and I’ll get the food and he’ll light the fire.”

  Leana chuckled as Maggie left. “She means well.”

  “I’m glad ye’ve had someone to look after ye all these years.”

  “She’s as close to a mother as I’ll ever have. She tended to me after the fire and has been at my side ever since.”

  “I was thinking it must be a hardship not to be able to tell her the truth.”

  Leana sank onto the bed, curling arms around her legs while Tavish set to work lighting the fire. The daylight outside vanished swiftly, giving way to the long winter night in a gray blanket of light that would soon turn to black. The flickering light of the fire sent out a warm glow and illuminated one side of Leana’s face.

  “Yer the only person to know apart from Da’.”

  He rose from the fireplace and seated himself next to her, the bed dipping beneath his weight. “I’m glad ye admitted the truth to me.”

  She gave him a little nudge with her shoulder. “Ye forced it out of me more like.”

  “Aye, but I dinnae regret that.”

  “I dinnae regret it either,” she admitted.

  He twisted and she turned to face him too. “I dinnae regret a few other things too.”

  “Like what?”

  He pressed a finger under her chin. “Like kissing ye,” he murmured, leaning in.

  The door burst open, slamming against the wall so hard that the walls vibrated with the impact. He dropped his hand from Leana’s face. “What the devil...?”

  Maggie sucked in a breath, bent double for a moment then straightened. “Ye must come quickly, Tavish. Yer Da’...he’s been poisoned.”

  Chapter Eight

  Tavish shot to his feet. “No.” He issued the denial in a harsh breath.

  A chill ran through Leana. It couldn’t be.

  Maggie twined her hands together, her gaze lowered. “Aye, ‘tis true. I’m sorry, Tavish. He’s in his chambers. He’s awake but he’s no’ well, I’m afraid.”

  “No,” he muttered again, rubbing a hand over his jaw and finally meeting Leana’s gaze. His eyes were hard, accusing. He thrust a finger toward Leana. “Did ye do this? After all ye said?”

  She shook her head furiously. “Nay.”

  He grabbed her arm. “Was this some sort of a distraction? To ensure I couldnae protect my father?”

  She tore her arm from his grip, wincing as pain speared through her. “Nay!” she repeated, rising to her feet, her breaths hot and fast.

  “What do ye mean?” demanded Maggie. “What does Leana have to do with this?”

  “Ye’ll have to ask her,” he muttered, gesturing in her direction. “She’s the one who’s been lying her whole life.”

  Maggie’s brow furrowed and she glanced to Leana. “Whatever does he mean?”

  Leana ignored the question, closing the gap between her and Tavish. “I didnae do this. You know I did not.”

  He eyed her for a few moments, a painful furrow between his brows.

  “This must be what my captor meant about his plans. Likely he hoped with me gone, I would be blamed for the poisoning. After all, we’re still enemies until we’re betrothed.”

  She tried to put a hand to his arm but he dodged her touch. All she wanted to do was to be there for him, but he didn’t trust her and that stung far more than the pain in her arm. She shook her head at herself. To think she’d even been close to imagining...

  “I must go to my father.” He twisted on his heel and moved to the door. He turned in the doorway. “Ye’ll stay here,” he ordered, thrusting a finger toward Leana. “A man will be stationed at yer door. Ye’ll go nowhere, do ye understand?”

  Leana clamped her jaw tightly, fighting the temptation to spit fire at him. Hurt littered his features. Getting angry with him wouldn’t help anything at the moment.

  And she couldn’t blame him for his anger too much, despite the stabbing ache that reminded her how much it hurt that he didn’t trust her. The chief might not be her real father but she’d fretted about him plenty while he’d been ailing and she could not imagine how much it would kill her for something like this to happen to him.

  He slammed the door shut and she heard a few words issued between him and someone else, the words muffled through the door. When she inched open the door, sure enough, a burly man was stationed outside. She shut it gently.

  “He’s put someone at the door.” She retreated to the bed, sinking back onto it. “We willnae be going anywhere now.”

  Maggie remained silent for a moment, wringing her hands together over and over. She drew in a long, audible breath. “Tavish...what he said—” She paused, frowning. “Whatever did he mean accusing ye of hurting the laird?”

  A tightness looped around Leana’s throat. Of all the people she lied to, it hurt her the most to lie to Maggie. She didn’t have a deceptive bone in her body and forgave easily. Even if Maggie had lost everything she’d ever known, she’d likely still forgive the culprit. Leana almost wished she could be more like her. How much more pleasant life would be.

  “I wanted revenge,” she finally muttered.

  “Revenge?” Maggie echoed.

  Leana lifted her gaze. “Aye. For my mother. For the clan.”

  Maggie
dropped onto the bed next to her and stared ahead. “For the fire.”

  “Aye.”

  Leana saw her twist to face her from the periphery of her vision. “Ye were going to poison the laird? But how did Tavish know such things?”

  Dropping her face in her hands, she spoke against her palms. “I admitted I wanted revenge. It wasnae a leap of the imagination to decide I had done this.” She lifted her head. “But it wasnae me, Maggie. I couldnae go through with it no matter how much I swore I would be strong and brave.”

  Maggie made a clicking noise with her tongue. “Ye are strong and brave. Ye came through a fire that took everyone from ye.” She smiled softly. “I still remember what a fierce bairn ye were when I was tending to yer wounds. Ye refused to even shed a tear.”

  Leana swallowed hard, recalling Maggie’s soft touch and how difficult it had been to maintain her composure. She thought she had no choice, that if she cried, she would be letting all the lost members of their clan down. Now she wasn’t so certain. It had hardened her too much, left her feeling numb and disconnected. Only Tavish had made her feel differently...

  Turning on the bed, she took Maggie’s hand. She needed to tell Maggie the truth, to release herself from the lies, if only to her. “There’s more...”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “Dinnae tell me ye’ve been off playing warrior and that was how ye were truly hurt? Ye’ve been slaughtering all yer enemies and—”

  “Nay.” Leana chuckled. “But ‘tis almost as shocking as that.”

  “Oh Lordy.”

  “I’m no’ Leana,” she said in a rush, the words feeling as though they had burst from her chest in a great swell of release.

  “Pardon?” Maggie blinked a few times.

  “I’m no’ Leana. I’m Nessa.”

  Maggie cocked her head. “Are ye ailing? Oh dear, we should have got ye warm quicker. Yer imagining things.” She pressed a warm palm to Leana’s forehead.

  Leana moved her hand gently away. “Nay, I’m no’ ailing. I’m just telling ye the truth. I’m Nessa.”

  “I dinnae understand.”

  “After the fire, I was the only survivor. I was the daughter of a maid in the keep and I looked similar to Leana.”

  “So ye...?” Maggie made a switching gesture with her two fingers.

  “Leana died in the fire, but the chief needed a daughter so we could continue to appear strong. He took me in as his and I’ve been pretending to be Leana ever since.”

  Throat dry, she waited, her heart thumping rapidly against her ribcage.

  “So yer no’ Leana?”

  “Aye.”

  “Yer Nessa.”

  “Aye.”

  “Goodness me.”

  Leana smiled softly. “‘Tis quite a tale.”

  “‘Tis indeed.” She slowly inched a hand over, resting it upon Leana’s tightly fisted one. “Ye’ve been through quite the ordeal. I wish ye’d confided in me.”

  “I wish I had too,” she admitted. The sense of relief flowing through her, like the tide finally drifting out, made her feel lighter than ever. Now she wished she’d told the truth long ago.

  “And Tavish knows this?”

  “Aye,” Leana said with a tilted smile. “He discovered me straight away.”

  “But he didnae tell the clan?”

  Leana shook her head.

  “Goodness, he must care for ye, Leana...that is—Oh dear.”

  “Call me Leana,” she said. “I havenae heard my real name for so long, I dinnae even think of it as mine anymore.”

  “Very well.” Maggie leaned in, nudging her with a shoulder. “But no more falsehoods please. A woman of my age doesnae need any more shocks.”

  “I promise.”

  ✽✽✽

  “I WANT MEN at every door, and at least two men keeping watch by the sea gate,” Tavish ordered.

  He marched through the hallway, the scent of freshly baked Yuletide bread turning his stomach. Part of him wanted to tear down the decorations and turn over the tables laden with food. No one should be celebrating, not while his father laid in bed fighting for his life.

  Fists clenched, he ducked out of the hall and paused to scan the ramparts. He’d told the man stationed outside of Leana’s chambers that it was for her protection, that they must have a traitor in their midst.

  The last part was no lie.

  Snow drifted through the air, landing on his face in cold droplets. He turned his head upward and closed his eyes briefly. Could she really have done it? Lied to him so boldly? Pretended she had changed her mind?

  He frowned. It made little sense. Why pretend to be kidnapped and return to him when she could have escaped and not risked suspicion? None of it made sense really.

  But who else would wish his father harm? Whoever it was, he needed to find them. Fast. It was mere luck his father had consumed a small amount of poison and hadn’t died immediately.

  He drew in a long breath of frigid air and made his way to his father’s chambers, tapping lightly on the door. The physician eased open the door, his expression grim. Tavish tightened his jaw and stepped into the darkened room. The scent of bile made the air sickly and his father’s pale face stuck out starkly even under the warm candlelight. His mother remained at his father’s bedside, stroking his forehead, her complexion almost as pale.

  “What news?” he asked the physician.

  The white-haired man laced his fingers together. “Hemlock to be sure. He has all the signs. That he isn’t completely frozen from the poison is a testament to yer father’s strength. Even the smallest amount can take down a man.”

  “What can be done for him?”

  “Wait for it to pass, eat good food if he can keep it down.” The physician glanced back. “He’s awake and able to speak. That gives me hope but hemlock is nasty. Not many survive it and we cannae know the full extent of the impact until at least tomorrow.”

  “I thank ye, Gavan.”

  The physician left the chambers and Tavish headed to his father’s bedside, dropping to his knees.

  “He’ll no’ let this defeat him, Tavish,” his mother said, gripping his father’s hand in hers. “He’s no’ survived all these years of battle for nothing.”

  “Aye.” Tavish tried to swallow the knot in his throat and failed. “I’ve locked down the castle. Whoever did this will no’ escape and they’ll see justice.”

  She smiled. “Ye’ll make a fine laird one day. I’m only sorry yer bride-to-be has had to witness such horrors.”

  Tavish gave a tight smile in return. “Och, she’s a hardy lass.”

  “Aye, she seems it. A good dancer too. She’ll do ye well as a wife and she must be strong to be able to smile after that fire when she was a bairn.”

  He glanced at the blankets. His mother wasn’t wrong. Leana might not look it, but she was as tough as they came. Did that mean she was still capable of poisoning his father while lying to him the whole time? He eased out a breath. This damned desire he had for her didn’t help matters. It clouded his judgement. But was he really such a fool not to see what she was capable of?

  “Do ye know how he ingested the poison?” Tavish asked.

  “Aye, at the afternoon meal. In his drink. He only took a sip but seemed as though he’d drunk a whole jug of ale. I knew it wasnae right then so I called an end to the meal.”

  Tavish chuckled. “It takes a lot more than a sip for Da’ to turn into a drunken fool.”

  She smiled. “That it does.”

  His father groaned and opened his eyes. “Tavish,” he rasped.

  “Aye, I’m here.”

  “We have to find who did this.”

  “I will,” Tavish vowed.

  “Keep yer wits about ye. We have an enemy in our midst. And dinnae let the Sinclair lass be harmed. We’ll end up at war with them again, otherwise.”

  “I’ve got men watching her, dinnae fear,” he assured him.

  “Good, good.” His eyes fluttered closed again and Tavish held h
is breath until his father took a large inhale.

  He rose to his feet. “I need to check all is well. I’ll position someone outside the chambers too,” he told his mother. “I willnae take any chances.”

  “Aye, Son.”

  He ducked out of the room and moved swiftly down the steps. Footprints marred the white ground of the bailey, becoming slowly masked by the fresh snow that fell in thick clumps. He made his way up to the ramparts and looked out to the sea. No sign of boats and no one could have escaped with how quickly they’d acted. Which meant the poisoner had to be within the castle.

  And there was no chance it was Leana. Even if he truly believed her capable of it, he’d been with her when the meal started.

  He grimaced and rubbed a hand across his face. The poisoner had to be one of her men or one of his.

  Chapter Nine

  “Maggie?”

  Tavish stilled in the doorway to her chambers, his lips slightly tilted. “I’m no’ Maggie.”

  “Nay.”

  Definitely not. She raised her gaze from his strong legs to the way his plaid curled about his waist and then to his wide shoulders. Finally, she met his gaze. She kept her jaw firm. If he’d come to apologize...

  He stepped into the room, taking up much of the space. Smoke curled into the air from the lit candles and heat suffused from the crackling fire but she couldn’t blame them for the thickness in the air or in her lungs. She gulped.

  His gaze didn’t move from hers when he shut the door slowly behind him and slid across the bolt, the metal making a slight screeching sound before clunking into place. Her heart hammered harder than the hoof beats of a messenger horse. She rose from the bed as though pulled by an invisible string. Knowing Tavish, he was the one pulling it.

  She kept her distance. If she moved too close, she’d give in, and she was not about to give up all her dignity to him already. He’d accused her of heinous things.

  Of course, he had cause, but, damn him, had she not been honest? Had she not offered up all her truths only to be shoved away and treated like a criminal?

  “How’s yer da’?” she asked, her voice raspy.