by Elise Ramsay
“I hope she is found. Otherwise it was all for naught. A woman’s life in vain.”
“What life, you fool? A drudge, battling though every day. We’ve done her a solid favor.” Kyle set off laughing. Thomas Mackinnon looked appalled.
“Ach, for God’s sake! You knew we would have to kill one. That was the plan, wasn’t it?” Kyle was losing patience.
“Aye, that was the plan. It wasnae that though, was it?”
“What?”
“You couldnae have just strangled the poor wench?”
“Ach, no. It needed to be bad. We need the Western Highlands to be appalled by what they see or hear of it. The Kincaid shall be reviled.”
“Oh, they’ll be appalled right enough, Kyle. There’s nay fear of ought else!”
Thomas Mackinnon was as shaken as he’d ever been in his whole life. He was feeling dizzy, cold and shaky. Shock was finally catching up with him. From the moment Kyle had hit the woman on the back of the head, Thomas knew he had fallen so deeply into trouble he might never get out. He still could not believe that he had ridden at this man’s side as he’d carried away the unconscious woman. As they’d arrived at the woodland edge where two well-trodden pathways met, Thomas knew he should be doing something. Kyle Sinclair was a man like no other. Of course, Thomas had heard tales, but this bore no comparison to the awful truth which was unfolding before him. Kyle had thrown the woman onto the ground before, to Thomas’ horror, pulling out a knife. Thomas stood rooted to the spot. His arms and legs felt as if they belonged to another man.
Unbelievably, Kyle slapped the woman’s face, bringing her back into full consciousness before he plunged the knife into her. Thomas heard a low wailing and realized it was coming from himself. Bile rose up in his throat and he fought to keep it down.
The woman had made no sound at all. The air seemed to have rushed out of her body and she was too shocked to even cry out.
Thomas held tightly to his own head, which was spinning out of control. Before turning to run and vomit behind a rock, Thomas caught sight of Kyle’s face. He was smiling. Kyle Sinclair was enjoying himself. Thomas knew then that he had fallen into the company of a complete madman.
His reverie brought back the sickness. He could feel it rising once more, Kyle reclined in a chair, staring quizzically at Thomas.
“Kyle, what you did...” Thomas could not finish. Dropping to his knees on the flagstone floor, he vomited once more.
“Ach, get a hold of yourself man!”
“You enjoyed it!” Thomas spat the words out though bubbles of saliva.
“Aye, I did!” Kyle started to laugh again. Rising, he walked over to Mackinnon. Putting a foot on his shoulder, he easily pushed the kneeling man over onto his back.
“We did this. Not me, we. Don’t you forget that! You were in from the beginning. The only thing that can happen now, is for the Kincaid to be wholly suspected. Just you remember, in case you feel like unburdening your soul to anybody, that if I am caught as the killer, then so are you.”
Kyle strode away out of the room, leaving Thomas Mackinnon lying on the floor.
Chapter Eleven
As Catriona told Darach of finding her Ma dead, just an hour before discovering Fiona, he wondered just how this lass had survived the day.
“And you’re sure it was... Murder?” he was as gentle as he could be.
“Aye. I know it. My Ma was smothered. It can only have been Kyle.”
“But for a man to kill his own Ma?” Darach thought of his own, beautiful mother, so loved and yet carried away by illness, and could hardly conceive of a man who would kill his very own.
“Darach, mine is a family unlike any other you will have come across. Aye, the Clan themselves are pretty standard Highlanders, but my own kin. They are entirely different. I was raised in cruelty, and it made me hard and unfeeling.”
“Catriona.” Darach would not believe that the woman sitting at his side could be that way.
“Darach, believe me, I did not take care of my own Ma until it was too late. My Da and my brothers ignored her and derided her for most of her life and I believed that what they were doing must be right.” Catriona hung her head.
Darach laid his thick arm across her small shoulders. “Please, Catriona.”
“Nay, I need you to listen. If you want to help me, you must know all of it. Then, when I am finished, tell me then if you still want to help me.”
Darach silently nodded for her to continue.
Catriona led him through all of the horrible details of what she had learned from her Ma in her final two years. How wrong she had been to adore her ugly beast of a father. The cruelty he had dealt out, not only to her own Ma, but to many other women.
“As you likely are aware, my Da stole away Isobel, the lass who married Gunn Kincaid. Even a Kincaid knew, as I did not, that my own Da would be capable of raping and torturing.”
“So how is it that you hold yourself so responsible when you say yourself that you didnae know what the man was capable of until his death?”
“Because I should have known! I should have seen it. He was vile towards my Ma, day to day. He would ignore her or shout at her. These are things I did see. Things I did hear!”
“And you were a child, for God’s sake!”
“I was Nairn Sinclair’s daughter, and I should have behaved as such. I have so much to atone for. She was alone for her whole life. It wasnae until I began to feel that way myself that I realized what Ma must have felt all those years. I cannot ever be free of this guilt, nor should I be.”
Catriona did not weep. She had wept enough these past weeks and it had done her little good. It had done her own Ma little good.
Staring down at her hands and clothes, she began to see the blood there. Fiona’s blood. Poor Fiona. Out here, all alone, suffering. Dying in fear and agony. Seeing how she was studying herself, Darach got to his feet. Reaching down for her hand, he pulled her up also. They made their way to the smallest of streams, so insignificant it was barely audible. Unwrapping his own plaid from his waist, he dipped it into the cool water. Gently pushing Catriona to the ground, he knelt before her and began to wash the blood and dirt from her hands and face as best he could. His touch was so gentle, she had never felt anything like it. Catriona closed her eyes and felt the wave of his caring.
How did she deserve the love and kindness she had lately received? Love from a mother of whom she had been so dismissive, friendship and warmth from a lad she had been haughty with her whole life, the kindness and caring of a clanswoman who had seen her for what she had been in youth, and had openly watched her change into the woman she had become. Now this, whatever it was, from a blood kinsman of a Clan who hated her very bones and those of her entire clan. In amongst all the horror, fear and sadness had been some of the only real connections she had ever made in her life.
“Kyle did this.” Catriona opened her eyes and looked directly into his.
“What?”
“He killed Fiona, I know he did.”
“Aye, from what you say of him, I would tend to agree.”
“He wants an excuse. He wants it so badly that he would take the life of his own clans-woman. The woman who had cared for his own Ma.”
“The Ma he probably murdered. Catriona, I dinnae think you’ll be able to work this man out. Blood kin or not, he is a very different person from you. You cannae possibly climb inside the mind of a monster like that and find rational answers.”
“Aye, I know.”
Darach soaked the plaid once more and began to dab at her bodice. There was less blood there than there had been on her hands, but still he wanted to remove it for her. As he rubbed at the thick fabric, Catriona made no move to resist him. Darach felt something stir within him as his hands brushed against her curves.
Catriona felt calmed by his touch. In her mind, the beginnings of a plan were beginning to form. Already knowing Darach to be a good man, Catriona knew he would object to it. It would be the most
dangerous thing she had ever done in her life, and she felt no dread at all. She was amazed by how calm it was making her. This time, Catriona would finally be in control. She would dissolve Kyle’s scheme whatever it was, or die trying.
Darach’s touch was distracting her, yet she could not find the will to move his hands away. Catriona looked up into his face. His fair hair, his tanned skin and his blue eyes. His masculine beauty was truly astounding.
“Darach?”
“Aye?”
“So, now I have told you everything, do you still want to help me?”
Catriona was so beautiful. Her strength of will shone through, making her irresistible to him. He had never known such a woman in all his life. Darach knew in that moment that he would follow her anywhere. He would help her do anything. Darach would burn down the Castle at Sinclair, and kill her brother with his bare hands if that’s what it took to keep her safe.
“I will help you, Catriona. I will do anything and everything in my power, lass.”
Catriona reached for him. Instinctively, he lowered his head towards her for the kiss that he knew was coming.
Catriona knew that she might not live to see her life unfold in the way she had always assumed that it would. She was going to bring Kyle Sinclair to his knees and it would probably be at the cost of her own life. Well, the end of her life was not going to be as empty, as hollow, as the rest of it. She would know love, if only just the once.
As she moved into his embrace, Darach felt for Catriona what he had never felt for another woman.
Chapter Twelve
Realizing that she had slept for too long, Catriona awoke with a start. Darach jumped up, realizing that she was on the move.
“What are you doing?” He reached for her, wanting to pull her down to him again.
“Ach, I need to be off. It’s getting dusk.”
“Off where?” Darach sat bolt upright, not liking where this was going.
“Back to Sinclair Castle.”
Her statement was so matter of fact, Darach’s jaw gaped. “What?”
“You heard me, Darach.”
“Nay, you cannae do that! You cannae return there now.”
“I can, and I must.”
Pointing in the rough direction of where the cold and lifeless body of Fiona Blair still lay, Darach began to shout at Catriona.
“Why? Why would you go back there when you’ve seen what he’s capable of?”
“Because we need proof.”
“Proof?”
“Aye. Don’t you see, it’s not enough to simply say we found her body. Suspicion will fall on you and your kin forever more. They will lose support from even their closest allies if this plot is not properly uncovered.”
“But how will you do that? There’s naught to find, surely.”
“Ach, there’ll be something. Anyway, you don’t understand, Darach, I have to try.”
“Why? To atone?”
“Aye, just that.”
“You’ve suffered enough, you dinnae need to atone, lass. For God’s sake, come back with me to Kincaid Castle!”
“Darach, these few short hours with you have given me the deepest love I have ever known in my life. Please understand that I do not leave you lightly. In my heart, I want nothing more strongly than to go with you now.”
“Then do so!”
“If I dinnae try this Darach, I will never know a moment’s true peace for the rest of my life. I cannae live that way anymore.”
“If you do try this, you might not have a life at all, Catriona.” He knew he was losing her.
“I know, Darach, but you have to let me go.”
“No, I’ll come with you.”
“Darach, how can you? You’ll never be admitted into Sinclair Castle!”
“I know, but I can wait outside. I’ll come to your aid when you need me, whatever it takes.”
Catriona’s eyes filled with tears. This wonderful, beautiful man would risk certain death just to be with her at the end. She reached for him once more. Nestling her face into his chest, she spoke.
“Darach, you cannae come. You have to get back to Kincaid Castle, safe, and seen by nobody on your way.”
“What?
“The plan fails without you. You said you would help me in any way you could.”
“But I meant...”
“You meant laying down your life.”
“Aye.” Darach let out a huge sigh.
“Can you not see, that wouldnae be helping. That would just be ripping my battered heart in two once and for all. Your death achieves nothing. You have to get back to your kin. I need you to gather every man and woman of your uncle’s Clan and tell them what we know. Most importantly, you must keep every one of them away from this place. None of the Kincaid Clan, from the highest to the lowest, must be seen anywhere near here, nor on any track which leads to here. There must be no sightings of any of the Kincaid anywhere. Dinnae let my plan fail by accident!”
Darach realized the importance of what Catriona was asking of him. As much as it went against every nerve in his body to let her go alone to the hellish Castle of Sinclair, he knew that he must do as she asked. What a woman she was. He’d known it all along, from their very first meeting.
“You’ll do it?”
“Aye, but you must promise me not to be in that Castle too long. If you cannae find anything, you sneak yourself out again.”
“Aye, I will. I promise Darach.”
“When will you come to me? And make it swift.”
“Tomorrow at noon, I will meet you by the wee stream at Glannoch. Do you know it?”
“Aye.”
“And, I’ll need you to bring me something.”
“What Catriona?”
“I will need you to bring me assurances from the Clan of Kincaid that I can speak with them and not be harmed.”
“Catriona! If you only knew them.”
“But I don’t. I only know of them. As much as I now despise my father, he was killed by one of your own kin. I will not risk my life only to have it taken by the Kincaid Clan. There is no other way.”
“I will bring you assurances, have no doubt about that.”
Yet, Catriona did doubt it. As wonderful as Darach was, he himself had only know his Kincaid kin for a few short weeks. She had a lifetime of mistrust to overcome and knew she could not do it overnight. In any case, her plan was not to risk her life to ensure that the Kincaid Clan were saved and free of suspicion. Nay, she was risking her life for one thing and one thing only. She would bring down Kyle Sinclair if she had to kill him to do it.
Chapter Thirteen
The ride back to Sinclair Castle felt like the hardest thing Catriona had ever had to do. As much as she hated Kyle, the thought of dying in the same way Fiona had made her shudder involuntarily. Catriona thought of Darach’s offer to take her away there and then. A treacherous part of her heart wished she had just gone with him. To hell with finding evidence, to hell with ruining Kyle Sinclair. Catriona drew her horse up to a stop and stared out into the dusky sky. Darach was unlike any man she had ever met in her life. Catriona had never really believed that men who would lay down their lives for love ever really existed. How gentle he had been with her, so tender and loving. A tear escaped as she thought of what she was losing. The only man she had ever fallen in love with. They’d had but a few brief hours together, and now, Catriona might never set eyes on him again. The deepest indecision swept over her. Catriona could turn her horse around there and then, just turn around and go back towards Kincaid Castle and Darach.
Still, what would await her there? Darach had been so sure he would get assurances that she would be safe if she went to the Kincaid’s. Ah, but it would be a very different thing to go to the Kincaid Clan with proof of her brother’s plot. If she turned tail and went to them now, she would have nothing to offer them. The situation would be as it was before. There would be no chance they would take her in and risk losing the support of their allies, especia
lly now that Fiona’s dead body had been found. In this state, with no proof, Catriona would be a liability to them. She knew how Clans thought.
Once again, she was fighting the feeling of having nowhere to run to. Things should have changed for her in the last couple of hours, but despite finding love, nothing practical had changed. She was still in the darkness that lay between escaping the life she had, and finding a safe, new life.
Even if all was well and she was assured of a safe reception and a happy ending, there was still her Ma and Fiona to think of. The two women she cared most for in all of the world had been slain just that day. Both had suffered a cruel and violent passing and both at the hands of her brother.
How had it come to this? All these years Catriona had known her brother was arrogant and a liar, even cruel, but this? Surely, this was a man’s descent into madness. What had Fiona said to her? That Kyle had seen too much, that he was beyond repair. How perceptive Fiona had been and, when he had come at her, how dreadful that knowledge must have felt.
Catriona heeled her horse once more. The dusk would soon be full night, and she needed to get back to the Castle as soon as she could. There was no more time for what ifs and thoughts of running away. There was much to atone for, and even more to take vengeance for. After all, it was the Highland way!
Aye, vengeance, big brother. For Ma and Fiona, for Gawain. For me.
As she drew her horse up in the stable, Catriona could feel the silence all around. Jumping down from her horse and tethering him, she looked down at her clothing. As much as Darach had tried to clean her up, still she looked dirty and the blood was easy to see on her bodice. Catriona would use this to her advantage. It would form part of her little play.
Glad to be alone in the stable, Catriona began to prepare for what she must do next. She needed to be in tears. Just thinking of her Ma and Fiona achieved that in no time. Taking great gulps of air, she set off running towards the Castle. This needed to be good, nobody must suspect her of telling aught but the truth.