Tears started to form and race down her cheeks. “I had given up hope that you would come. When my father said that Eògan had killed you . . .”
“Eògan did not kill me, nor Conan. He stabbed Conor, chief of the McTiernays.”
Adanel stared wide-eyed at him as the weight and full meaning of what he was telling her sank in. “Mo chreach-sa a thàinig!” she barely choked, grabbing her neck. Eògan had killed the McTiernay chief? Large clans like the McTiernays had several chieftains. She knew that Cole was the chieftain of the McTiernays of Torridon and heard there were two others. But Conor was the McTiernay chief and in charge of their entire clan. There would have been retribution for killing Conan, his younger brother, but if Eògan had killed the McTiernay chief, the Mackbaythe clan was about to be erased from existence.
“Go ahead and pray to God, but it will change nothing.”
“If you are not Conan, then who are you? And are you here to kill me?” she asked softly, looking up into his glittering eyes.
“I’m Dugan, and I am who I always was, nothing more than one of the McTiernay commanders of Torridon. And nay, you will not die until after my child is born,” he stated, using his chin to point to her stomach. “It is mine, isn’t it?”
Adanel’s hand flew to her middle. She swallowed and said defensively, “I’ve only lain with you.”
Dugan scoffed. “Then rise. We are leaving. Now.” He turned to reopen the door.
“Dugan,” she said softly, remaining seated. “Why did you not come for me earlier? Why now?”
He spun around and took a menacing step forward. “I may have acted the fool last summer, but I am not so dull as you might think. What happened last fall when you discovered you were pregnant with my bairn? Were you ever going to tell me or was that your plan all along? Entice a McTiernay into your bed and then capture a McTiernay brother by claiming my bairn was his? Did you think Conan so obtuse he would forget the women with whom he slept?”
Adanel jumped to her feet, the shock at seeing Dugan having been replaced by a seething anger of her own. “I did no such thing! And if anyone has been the fool, it has been me. For I have been here, locked in this tower, waiting for you to rescue me! My father is the one who told me your name was Conan and that he found you lurking around our loch. So of course, I assumed he was talking of you. And it was my father who tried to create an alliance through marriage. How could you for a moment think that I had anything to do with his plans?” Adanel demanded. “You know me. You know the animosity I feel toward my father. I despise everything about him.”
“Which I guess made me quite convenient. Or are you going to deny that you saw me not as a man, but as a means of escape?”
Adanel stood with her mouth agape, unable to deny the accusation. For a short while, she had thought of him as a tool to be used . . . but only for a brief period. She had fallen in love with Dugan and had thought those feelings had been reciprocated.
“And now I have recently learned that you have finally seduced yet another to the altar,” Dugan sneered. “Daeron MacCoinnich is more boy than man and you can have him, after you deliver my son.”
Mortified that Dugan thought so little of her, Adanel lifted her chin and moved to press a finger into his chest. “You are taking nothing away from me. And I was never going to marry Daeron. I had plans tonight to escape, and I will be doing just that without your help.”
“Uh, Adanel?” came a hesitant voice at the door.
“What, Nigel?!” she snapped.
“Um, this very large, very angry McTiernay is the means of your escape, and while getting all of us out of here without anyone noticing may sound easy to you, I can assure you it is not. And it won’t even be hard very soon. It will be impossible if you both don’t stop arguing so we can leave.” Nigel looked at Dugan. “The way is secure for now. All the guards that had not left the tower have been tied up. Brùid is gagging them now to keep them from calling for help when they awake.”
Adanel took a step back, shaking her head. “Nigel, I’m not going anywhere with him. Did you hear what this . . . this man accused me of?”
“My name is Dugan.”
“I no longer care what it is!” She looked back at Nigel. “He thinks that I—”
“Does it really matter what he thinks?” Nigel asked, his hands on his hips. He bobbed his head toward the hallway. “The man is offering you a way to escape.”
Adanel waved a finger. “But the midwife . . . the nightshade berries . . . “
“That plan is far more dangerous than a McTiernay protecting your hide and giving us a safe place to go when the hell your brother stirred up comes this way. Plus, you leaving encourages your father to do so as well.”
Adanel’s jaw dropped. “I’m being used as bait?”
Nigel nodded. “Would you rather be used by your father as leverage?”
“Nay, but this . . . this man”—she waved her hand at Dugan, refusing to say his name—“hates me!”
“And by the look on your face, you hate him too. This makes you two even. And yet he is still offering you a means to both escape and live. You can fight about the rest later. We need to go.”
Dugan crossed his arms and grunted. “You hate me?” he snorted rhetorically. “I’m not the one who lied and tried to make you believe I was something I’m not.”
“I did not lie to you. I did not give you a fake name, and I never said to which clan I belonged. In fact, everything I ever said about myself was true. It was you who constantly leapt to conclusions and assumed they were true.”
“Twist this however you want, but it does not change the truth. You are the one who used me. Whether for your father or for yourself, I was nothing but a means to an end. Your mistake was that I found out in time.”
“The only mistake I made was thinking that I loved you!”
“I highly doubt you know the concept of either love or honesty!”
Adanel threw her hands up in the air. “Well, then how about this for honesty? You did not want to know the truth, Dugan. You were afraid of what was happening between us and ran away instead of confronting me like a real man would do. You wanted an excuse, and now you feel morally superior because you think you actually found one. I know that because even now, with all the horrible things my father and brother just did to your clan, you refuse to acknowledge that I might have had a good reason for not just keeping my identity a secret but needing a means of escape!” She shoved his chest in frustration. When Dugan did not move, her frustration grew to the point she was shaking. “I should be the one angry and guess what? I am!”
The sound of furniture scraping caused both their heads to turn toward Nigel. He casually gave them a wave to continue as he sat down and stretched out his legs in front of him. “Don’t mind me. The plan was to leave before anyone noticed or heard us.” Nigel tapped the sword on his hip. “Lucky for both of you, I’m pretty good with this thing. So, keep arguing. It’s no problem.”
The door opened once more, and the second of Adanel’s two guards entered. Nearing seven feet in height, Brùid towered over most men, including Dugan. Massive and menacing, his shaven head and piercing green eyes made him look even more so. His extra-large, extra-long kilt stretched over his muscular thighs, barely covering what Adanel never wanted to see. If it matched the rest of him, she was not sure a woman had been made for such a man. But if there was one, she would be the luckiest in the world, for Adanel had seen Brùid move. Smooth and graceful, his every movement was under complete control. If Brùid brought those skills into the bedroom, the right woman would live in bliss.
Ignoring Adanel, Brùid looked at Dugan. “Tower’s clear.” Then to Nigel, he asked, “What’s going on? You were supposed to get them and bring them back down.”
Nigel shrugged his shoulders and linked his fingers behind his head. “Tried, but they’d rather argue. I’m willing to go, big boy. It’s these two who are not interested.”
Brùid rolled his eyes. “You are
useless.”
Nigel gave him a large, toothy grin. “And you really are a big boy,” he said with a wink, knowing how much the pet name irritated his large friend.
Brùid could probably break his bones with just his pinky, but Nigel had never been scared of the man. Brùid looked every bit like the fiercest of soldiers, and his enormous size had forced him to be in complete control of his every step and move. Everyone assumed he was what he appeared—a very deadly, competent soldier. Truth was the man had never learned how to wield any weapon, let alone a sword. He had trapped his prey when he lived on his own, but when it came to battle, size did not equal experience.
“I could squash you like a bug,” Brùid mumbled. “Probably should. Adanel wouldn’t even notice.”
“Ah, but my sister would,” Nigel countered, and stood up. “Kara loves me. So does Adanel. That makes me exempt from all threats of dismemberment and death.” Nigel cocked his head and said, “Well, maybe not threats. Besides, deep down, you know you would miss me. Admit it, big boy, you and I are family. Why, we are practically best friends.”
Brùid visibly shuddered. He actually did want to kill Nigel most of the time. The overly cheerful man drove him insane, teasing him with childish names, torturing him with his endless prattle, and persecuting him with his insistence that they were the best of friends. The man was delusional. If it was not for Adanel, Brùid would have forced Tybalt to reassign Nigel as far away from him as possible.
Unfortunately, Adanel did love him. And as Kara’s younger brother, Nigel was the means for the two friends to communicate. And then there was the niggling point that Nigel had kept secret that Brùid knew nothing about fighting. Instead, Nigel had been helping as best he could to train him when there was no one around. So maybe Nigel was not completely useless. But he was completely annoying.
Nigel took a step closer and used his shoulder to nudge Brùid. “Admit it, big boy, you love me and are thrilled that I am coming with you to keep these two in line.”
Adanel yelped in delight hearing that news. “You both are coming with me?” The plan had been for her to board the Destiny’s Fortune and stay hidden until the ship had reached its next port. Kara’s husband, Fearan, knew the captain well and planned to convince him to offer her safe passage to a place south, far away from the possibility of her father learning of her deceit. If Brùid or Nigel had left with her, her death would have been questioned, for all knew neither man would have willingly left her side. That knowledge was one of the keys to their plan’s success. The only problem was that Destiny’s Fortune was overdue for an appearance.
Brùid raised a single brow. “I am your guard, my lady. I promised to stay by your side the night we met, and I will remain true to that promise until I die.”
Adanel flew across the room and hugged Brùid with all her might. The night her father had told her she was to marry Daeron, her brother Eògan had decided there should be entertainment that befitted such an announcement. He had dragged in Brùid and asked the crowd to wager how many men it would take to kill the beast. Adanel had never seen Brùid before, but she had heard tales of a man who lived in the hills and was larger than any other who had ever lived. Eògan must have captured him and waited until such an opportunity to reveal his find.
Without thought, Adanel had run and stood in front of Brùid, declaring that to kill him, they would first need to kill her.
Brùid curled his large arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze at the memory. He would have perished that night and might have gone willingly. All his life he had been feared. Even his own family had cast him out at an early age, stating he always consumed more than his share and cost more than the help his strength provided. Some thought being a guard to a woman locked in a tower boring, lonely, and borderline torture. But Brùid knew differently. Torture was having your family turn their back on you. Adanel had been the first to stand up in his defense, and in that moment Brùid had vowed to keep her safe until his death.
After jumping in to stop the attack, Adanel had been forcibly removed from his side and tied to her chair to keep from interfering again. The attack had been halted a second time by Laird MacCoinnich, who mumbled something Brùid had not been able to hear. But moments later, to the surprise of all, Laird Mackbaythe announced that he was to be Adanel’s new guard. Later that night, Brùid had learned he was replacing her uncle Faden, who had been dragged to the dungeons for failing in his duty.
Nigel twisted his head to glance back at Dugan, who was now glaring at Brùid and his embrace of Adanel. “Don’t worry, chomanndair, her affections for him are the same brotherly ones that she has for me.”
Adanel let go and went to hug Nigel. “I can’t believe you both are coming.”
“Of course, we are. Kara would kill me if I was not around to make sure big boy here did his job right. I’m the trained soldier, remember? I’m the deadly one. He’s just . . . big.” Nigel grinned at Brùid, who snarled at him.
“None of us are going anywhere if you don’t stop fondling every man you see,” Dugan spat out.
Adanel’s spine stiffened, and she stepped back from Nigel. “Not every man. Nothing could make me come near you ever again,” she hissed.
“Thank God for that. Here.” Dugan threw her the hooded cape. “Put that on and make sure you hide your hair.”
Adanel looked at it and recognized it to be Kara’s. She looked at Nigel. “Does she know? I cannot just leave without saying good-bye.”
All playfulness gone, Nigel said firmly, “Not only can you do just that, you will. Fearan will protect Kara from your father, but he can’t do that if you two are found together.”
“But what about you? She will never see you again.”
“How did I ever think you were intelligent?” Dugan scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Right now, I have half a mind to tell you to stay and die, but that is my child you are carrying. So even if I have to throw you over my shoulder, you are coming. And there will be no stops along the way to say your good-byes and catch up with friends.”
Adanel narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose at his sarcasm. “I was not—”
“What in an ifrinn is taking you so long? At this rate, we will still be here at sunrise!” All turned to see an impatient and unhappy Tybalt standing at the door.
“Tybalt?” Adanel said, stunned to see him. “You are going as well?”
“Not unless, my lady, you put that cape on and follow me. If you have something to say, do it later. We should have been gone by now.”
Adanel nodded and tossed the cloak around her shoulders. Stuffing her hair back under the hood, she looked at Brùid. “Is Faden joining us downstairs?”
Brùid looked back at her, his green eyes telling her what he would not say.
She looked at Tybalt and then Nigel. “You know I am not leaving him locked in the Fortress.” She turned to Dugan. “He’s my uncle, the one who made it so that I could see you. He protected me from my father for years, and if I am gone, there is no telling what my father might do to him. He’s alive because he’s a MacLeod, but my father knows what he means to me. The first thing he will do upon discovering my disappearance is kill him. I cannot let that happen. I would rather marry Daeron MacCoinnich than be the reason why something ever happened to Faden.”
Fear filled Adanel’s eyes, and Dugan knew that she was not just being obstinate. She was in earnest. Adanel loved this uncle of hers and would not cooperate if it meant his death. He looked at Tybalt. “Can you get him without being caught?”
Tybalt took a deep breath and exhaled. For the first time in his life, he was being asked to do something like any other soldier. Garrett had come to him because he was smart and had no affection for the laird, but mostly because he was the one who gave out guard duty assignments. Dugan was not just asking, but trusting him to do something any other man would have asked Brùid, Nigel, or Garrett to handle. But Dugan recognized none of those men could do what he could.
Tybalt knew every
soldier, and every soldier knew him. He also made them feel uncomfortable. It was not just his height, but that he had beaten most of them at one time or another during training. Initially, the soldiers had allowed him to train with them, thinking he would be a bit of sport to play with, and were surprised when it was they who landed on the ground with a metal tip to their chest. Smart and capable, Tybalt had quickly created the position as scheduler. It had kept him from having to serve with or under any of them, which none would have tolerated, as well as relieved them of a much hated chore. It was this hate for him and what he represented that would enable him to get in the Fortress Tower.
Once word spread that Tybalt was inside the Fortress, the men would become scarce. Most would leave rather than be alone with him. This would allow Tybalt to visit Faden, free him, and then exit through the escape tunnel with no one knowing. But even if they did come across someone, the two of them had the skills needed to ensure no tongues could tell any stories about what they had seen.
Tybalt finally nodded. “Aye, I can get him, but don’t wait for us. We will catch up to you.”
Tybalt turned and headed down the stairway. Nigel and Brùid followed to ensure the way was still clear. Dugan then looked at Adanel and pointed at the door.
Adanel was about to leave when she threw up her hands. “My bag!” She spun around, dropped to her knees, and started searching under her bed with the same agility she had shown last summer. “Got it!” she chirped, sliding the unwieldy bag out into the open. Then with one hand holding her stomach as she got up, Adanel stated, “Now we can leave.”
Dugan furrowed his brows at the dusty, lumpy object. “We are not taking that.”
Adanel reached down and picked up the hefty satchel. “Aye, we are. I packed this the day after my father locked me in this room, thinking that at any moment you would come and rescue me. Well, you are eight months late so the least you can do is let me take some of my things.”
How to Marry a Highlander Page 13