Her Reluctant Highlander Husband (Clan MacKinlay)

by Hanson, Allison B.

  Dorien spared a look at Bryce and offered a nod of respect. “I wanted to make sure your heart was pure when you made your decision. You picked her even when faced with losing something valuable.”

  “I will always choose her,” Bryce said honestly. “Always.”

  Another nod from his father-in-law, this one of approval. “My men are yours on one condition.”

  “That is?”

  “I want Baehaven Castle when the McCurdys fall. And they will fall.”

  Lach spared a glance at Bryce, but nodded. “As long as you’ll grant us access to the port.”

  “My daughter is married to your war chief. I propose an alliance. This time offered by a man of honor.”

  Lach agreed and they rode on to the castle. Bryce went ahead, happy to tell Dorie the news of their visitor. She was waiting and worrying in the hall when he returned. “Your father is on his way,” he told her after she released him from a relieved and rather passionate kiss.

  “My father?” He saw a moment of worry in her blue eyes. “You’ve not changed your mind, have you? Are you going to send me back?”

  “Nay. Never. Your place is here with me. He’s here to help us take Baehaven. He apparently wants the castle and the lands for himself.”

  Her bright eyes went wide, this time in surprise rather than worry. “He plans to move to Scotland and live in Baehaven?”

  “I canna speak to what he plans for the place. I only know he wants it in exchange for the use of his men, and Lach agreed. Now, are you coming out to greet the man or no?”

  “I am. Do I look a mess?”

  “You are beautiful in whatever you’re wearing. Or nothing at all.” He bent to kiss that soft spot on her neck just below her ear and got a shiver of interest. A smile spread across his lips at her response. “And, I daresay, you’re even more breathtaking now with some color on your cheeks.”

  “Some color?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m probably as red as the evening sun, which is exactly what you planned.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh as he led her out to the bailey. When she saw her father, she picked up her pace and left Bryce behind. He didn’t mind. He knew how much she’d missed her new family, even in the short time they’d been back at Dunardry. He would give anything to make her happy. In fact, he’d even considered moving to England for a time so she could visit with them. Although having them come to Scotland was preferred.

  As expected, she peppered the man with questions on her siblings and stepmother, asking after their health and happiness. One would think it had been decades since she’d seen them, the way she went on, but Bryce left her to her reunion to go see after the grooms.

  There were a lot more horses to be stabled and fed, so some of his men were helping there, while others were at the smithy seeing to the weapons and any repairs needed for battle.

  When he paused in the kitchens he noted the organized chaos.

  “Do ye ladies need anything?” he offered. After drawing in a few buckets of water and putting a couple of lads on kitchen duty, he moved on to oversee the next thing, and then the next.

  He met up with Lach and Cam when he returned to the bailey.

  “I think everything is in order,” Lach said. “We’ll want to be underway in a matter of days so as not to use up too much of our reserve.”

  Cam nodded and reported on his tasks. “I sent men to hunt. It will give us a few more days at least.”

  “There’s no reason to wait,” Bryce said. “The McCurdys do nothing but waste good air by breathing it.”

  “I canna disagree, but I want to ensure victory. Having the extra men is a step in the right direction, but we’ll need a successful strategy, too.”

  “Riders!” the guard called from his post on the gate.

  A moment later the gate opened and a single boy came tearing into the bailey.

  “Is it McCurdys?” Lach asked as the lad slid down from his horse to come bow before the laird and offer a missive.

  “Nay. Campbells.”

  “When it rains, it pours,” Lach said, looking up at the sky.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Dorie was seated with her father as he shared the latest antics of the twins. Rascal had taken his usual spot at her feet and was the first warning when someone approached. She and her father looked up as Bryce came to stand beside her. While his face was unreadable, his body nearly hummed with excitement.

  “What is it?” she asked, nervous because the man got excited over the most dangerous of things.

  A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “My father has arrived with more men than planned.”

  She smiled in relief, knowing what this meant. The more men to aid in the battle, the quicker it would be over, and with the least amount of bloodshed.

  “This is good news, indeed.”

  “Aye. I’d like to introduce my father to my wife.” He turned to Dorien. “If you’ll excuse the interruption, my lord. It would please me to introduce you as well, since you are also my family.”

  “That I am,” her father said and patted him on the shoulder.

  It didn’t take Dorie an introduction to know which man was Bryce’s father. A bit shorter and wiry, he had Bryce’s good looks. His hair and eyes were different, but Bryce had once told her he had his mother’s coloring.

  Bryce turned to her with a grin. “Love, this is my sire, Thomas Campbell. Father, this is my wife, Dorie, and her father, Lord Dorien Sutherland, Viscount—”

  “Dorien is fine,” the viscount interrupted. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

  “And you.” Thomas turned back to Bryce with a wide smile. “So you went to get her after all? Good for you, lad. I can tell already you made the right choice. She’s lovely.”

  The way the man looked her over made her cheeks heat. Bryce had mentioned how fond his father was of women. Apparently Thomas had no preference as to the age of the woman when it came to flirting, or if she was married to his son.

  They all spoke for a few moments, but Bryce was pulled away to take care of the men and horses. Her own father went to help him. Dorie then led her father-in-law inside to see that his men were fed.

  “Will ye sit with me for a moment? I’d like to get to know you.”

  She looked over her shoulder, wanting to go help Kenna and Mari ready available rooms for guests. The hall would be filled with sleeping soldiers tonight. But she couldn’t be rude to Bryce’s father. She sat next to him and waved over a maid to bring him food and drink.

  “My boy seems happy. Far happier than he was when he visited me last.” He scratched her dog who had come to sit between them.

  “Bryce told me he came straight to England after he left you,” Dorie said.

  “Ah. Good.” The man nodded. His early humor and teasing were gone now. The seriousness on his face didn’t sit well, as if he were hardly ever sincere. “Bryce has been haunted by his late wife and child for far too long. It’s time he moved on.”

  “He loved them dearly,” she said, defending her husband. She knew Bryce would always love his first wife and their child. Dorie would never begrudge him his happy memories of his previous family. She was only grateful he’d found enough love for her, too.

  “True, true. But it’s not for a man among the living to send his heart ahead of him into death. I’m glad he figured it out. As soon as you give him a bairn you’ll win his heart forever.”

  The man chatted on and on about his current wife and all his children from his former wives—of which there were many. When he was drawn into conversation with one of the soldiers who had traveled with her father, she took the opportunity to escape.

  She spent the rest of the afternoon making beds and setting up pallets for their guests. And occasionally—thanks to the conversation with her father-in-law—she worried about what might happen if
she wasn’t able to give Bryce a babe.

  …

  Around a wagon in the bailey, Bryce stood with Lach, Cam, Dorien, and Thomas, planning the attack on the McCurdy fortress. It was determined they would launch their assault at dawn rather than try to keep this many men housed at Dunardry for any length of time.

  Most of the lower-ranking men would sleep in the fields beyond the curtain walls, but they would need food, and that would require fires. With the frequency of McCurdy scouts crossing the MacKinlay borders it would only take one of them to see so many men encamped and the MacKinlays would lose the element of surprise.

  “If we get all the men settled before nightfall, we can have them rested and ready to leave before dawn,” Dorien said. Having been a captain in His Majesty’s army, he was skilled in the art of strategy. “Half can circle to the south. From there they can break again and come in from two sides, while the other half comes in from the north and east. The McCurdys will have no choice but to face us or run into the sea.”

  They had just finished drawing out the plans when the guard on the gate yelled down for the third time that day, announcing riders inbound to the castle. It was a border guard who rode in this time to announce the Stewarts had arrived.

  “For the love of all that’s holy,” Lach muttered, making Cam and Bryce chuckle.

  “You said you would not launch an attack until you were certain you would win,” Bryce reminded his laird as they looked around the bailey that was still full of horses and men.

  The Stewart laird himself rode in with an unhappy Liam riding next to him. They dismounted and joined the other men. “We’ve come to join forces to take down the mangy McCurdy filth.” The laird looked around. “It appears we’re not needed.”

  Dorien came forward and shook the Stewart’s hand. “I can assure you, we welcome your swords. Can you be ready to ride at dawn?”

  The Stewart laird’s smile turned evil. “To draw the last drop of blood from the McCurdys, I would ride tonight.” The laird’s daughter, Evelyn, had been brutally attacked and held captive by McCurdys.

  Both the Stewart and the viscount wanted revenge for the way the McCurdys had treated their daughters. Their swords would be drawn with the might of vengeance.

  The McCurdy didn’t stand a chance.

  …

  When a maid came into the hall to announce the Stewarts had arrived, Dorie wanted to weep. There was no more room. Surely by the next day they would run out of food.

  Kenna and Mari had joined her in fretting over what to do when Lach came in and drew Kenna into a kiss. “We leave within the hour.”

  The three women gasped in unison and Mari and Dorie made haste toward the door. Cam met them there and smiled down at Mari. Dorie only heard the rumble of his voice as she passed, knowing the words were for his wife only.

  Continuing on, she plowed into Bryce in the bailey as he was rushing toward the hall.

  Her heart fluttered when he smiled down at her. Clearly he’d been coming for her. He leaned down and kissed her hard. She felt the excitement of battle shimmering around him when he pulled away.

  “The Stewarts have joined us. We have plenty of men. The time has come to put an end to the McCurdys.”

  Dorie knew it was the way it had to be. Truth be told, she spared only a moment of sadness over the loss that would come to her former family. While she wasn’t a McCurdy by blood, Baehaven had been her home for most of her life.

  Though it could certainly be argued that it had been a prison rather than a home, she could also remember the castle with fondness—the early years, when she’d played with the children and walked in the fields collecting flowers with her mother. She thought of Rory and swallowed with worry.

  Bryce must have seen her reluctance and pressed his forehead to hers. “Anyone who swears loyalty to us will be spared. We don’t wish to massacre the entire clan. Only those who draw their sword against us. The clan leaders will fall today, Dorie. Ye ken there’s no way around that.”

  She nodded in agreement. “I understand. Perhaps if you see Rory—he was at the wedding—a lean lad with a scar across his brow…” She shook her head, knowing how difficult it would be to look for such a small trace. “Forgive me, it’s too much to ask. I’ll not have you put at risk for a chance he’d change fealty. Thank you for letting me know.” She stood taller and forced a smile through her worry. “Ye have a lot of men at your back, but be mindful of your front,” she said.

  He laughed and kissed her again. “Aye. I’ll do so, love.”

  “Then I’ll see you soon.”

  He kissed her and stepped away, only to come back for another kiss before leaving again. He gave Rascal a pat. “Watch over our woman.”

  As she watched her husband hurry away, she felt a wave of dizziness. What if he didn’t return? She’d never been happier, and now that happiness was in jeopardy.

  Kenna and Mari joined her in the bailey, and the women stood watching their men mount up and move toward the gate. Other women gathered beside them until the courtyard was lined with women and children. One by one the men gave a wave as they ducked out of the gate.

  When they were all gone, the women remained in silence for a minute or two. Dorie felt them gathering strength.

  It was Kenna as mistress of the keep who cleared her throat. “Come now, ladies, we’ve work to do to put the castle to rights. We’ll need to plan a feast to celebrate our victory.”

  Dorie knew a victory was imminent. That was clear from the sheer size of the army heading toward Baehaven. But not every man who waved goodbye this morning would come home again.

  That was the way of war, no matter the odds.

  …

  The ground shook with the thunder of hooves as the four armies moved across the MacKinlay lands as one unit. Bryce felt the energy of the men vibrate the air around them. It was common enough with a smaller group, but the power grew in a gathering of this size. They were unstoppable.

  He spotted Liam riding apart from the others and drew his horse up next to him.

  “Are you well?” he asked.

  The young man—for he was no longer a lad anymore—glared in Bryce’s direction. “I see you have your wife back.”

  Bryce was confused by his reaction. He thought Liam and Dorie got on well enough. She’d given him a bit of trouble when he was guarding her, but Liam hadn’t seemed angry about it.

  “Do you take offense with my wife?”

  Liam’s anger slipped away and he shook his head. “Forgive me. I don’t mean to take my frustration out on you. It’s just that you didn’t want to marry and were forced into it, while I want to be wed and was refused.” Liam frowned in the direction of the Stewart laird who was laughing with Lach and Dorien.

  “You offered for the laird’s daughter?”

  “Aye. He made it clear I’m not important enough to deserve her hand.” He winced. “As if I didn’t know that already. I don’t even know whose blood runs in my veins, and my name is merely borrowed, since I don’t know which clan I truly belong to. Still, I thought he would see I would do everything I could to make her happy. Apparently a soldier’s pay is not good enough for Lady Evelyn Stewart.”

  Bryce reached out and squeezed his arm. “Ye are a MacKinlay. I don’t give a damn about your blood or your hair. It is better to be accepted into a clan than be born into it. I speak from experience. There’s honor in that. Don’t forget it.” It was true Liam didn’t look like the MacKinlays, who tended toward dark hair. Liam’s white-blond hair was even lighter than Bryce’s. He stood out as different. The old laird had once said Liam might have been an angel with his hair and icy blue eyes and the way he showed up one day all on his own, no older than four. Lachlan’s mother thought he was a fairy child.

  “I know. You’re right. I’m beyond grateful that the old laird gave me a home. I just wish I was good enoug
h for Evelyn.”

  “I’m sorry, Liam. When we’re done with this, we’ll speak to Lach about it. Mayhap he’ll be able to help. Don’t lose hope.”

  “It seems strange hearing you speak of hope.”

  “Things will work out. I believe it.” Bryce offered him a smile, and he smiled back. “Let’s see this done first.”

  Liam nodded and let out a fierce battle cry which motivated the soldiers as they marched. Bryce made his rounds through the men to make sure they knew the way and called war cries to bolster their excitement. By the time he returned to the leaders, the men were chanting and ready to charge. The roar of men sounded like hell had been unleashed.

  He swallowed down a frown, remembering Dorie’s request. It would be nearly impossible to save her friend, but he’d do his best.

  Riding up between Dorien and Lach, he explained the situation.

  “There’s a young warrior on the McCurdy side, a bit smaller than Liam, with a scar across his brow. You may remember him from the wedding. I don’t know where his loyalties lie, but he saved Dorie more than once. If it’s possible to spare him, I ask for his life so long as you’re not in danger for it.”

  Dorien swallowed and nodded. “I’ll not draw against a person who was able to bring any small comfort or protection to my daughter during her time with the McCurdy wretch.”

  Bryce looked out over the men now that the sun had risen and knew it would be a small miracle if any of the McCurdys survived the day when this army was unleashed upon them.

  “His fate is in his own hands,” Bryce decreed and nudged his horse.

  It was dusk the next night when the armies split off from one another. By dawn they were in position on all sides of Baehaven.

  Lach turned to Bryce with a devil of a smile. “Do the honors and lead us to victory.”

  They clasped arms and then did the same with Cam before turning their horses toward their enemies. Bryce let out a cry that was echoed by the other clans. Even Dorien’s Englishmen joined in as they descended on their joint enemy.