“Aye,” the boy nodded frantically.
Laird Drummond stood up from the table.
“Da?” asked Brigid.
“Stay here with yer sister,” he told her. “MacDonell, come with me. We need to talk.”
Liam followed him out of the keep and into the manor house where Laird Drummond led him, past the large library where they had spoken the other night and into a smaller room.
In this room sat a large chair behind a wooden desk, though this one was much less ornate than the oversized desk which graced the library. Almost every inch of the surface was covered with scattered papers. Some appeared to be accounts and ledgers while others looked to be letters.
Laird Drummond scattered the papers with an impatient sweep of his arm, sending the majority of them cascading to the floor in his attempt to clear a spot on the desk.
“What is this all about, Drummond?” Liam asked impatiently.
Laird Drummond looked up at him with fear and anger in his eyes.
“I fear that Catriona has been taken,” he said. “I did not want to suggest such a thing in front of her sisters. But it is the only thing that would explain her not arriving back here.”
Liam nodded, thinking. “When she left I doubt very much that she would have taken the time to take one of my shirts with her, and where would she have gotten the pack? I think ye may be right. I hate to even think it, but someone may have taken her.”
“Do ye think they will try to ransom her back to us?” Liam asked him.
“Aye, if they’re smart. I fear there might not be more for us to do at this moment but wait to hear word of her.” Laird Drummond rubbed both of his hands over his ruddy cheeks. “This is all my fault,”
“Nay, Drummond, no matter what I accused ye of, I see now that this is just as much my fault, if not more. I was the one that pushed her to this. I was the one that could not see a way to show the lass even a wee bit of kindness for days. And even when we did try to make peace I did not trust her fully. Maybe if I had, she would be safe at Invergarry right now.”
Laird Drummond let out a heavy sigh and collapsed into his chair.
“Ye were right MacDonell,” he said. He looked up and locked eyes with Liam, never wavering in his gaze. “What ye accused me of before. Aye, ye were right all along. I sent the reavers to ye. But I never told them to harm anyone,” he was quick to defend. “They were under direct orders that no one was to get hurt. They were supposed to only be enough of a bother to ye that ye would eventually come seek me out for help. And then when ye did I would convince ye to wed one of my daughters.”
Hearing the truth now, Liam wanted to be angry, but he found that all of his anger toward the man had already been spent.
“Why would ye do such a thing just to get one of yer daughters wed? Ye must know that it sounds like madness.”
“I waited a long time before I fathered any children, MacDonell, and now my girls are grown, long past the time they should have been wed. I could not bear to part with them, ye ken? After a life spend fighting, they were a blessing to me. But I came to see that by keeping them with me so long, I was not doing them any favors. I have no sons to take over as Chief after I am gone. My daughters must be wed, so that I know they will be safe and looked after if anything were to happen to me.”
“But why in Heaven would ye go to such lengths and deception, man? There must be more than a few lairds ye could have gone to. Why me? And why plague me with troubles to do it?”
“Ah well, ye see,” Laird Drummond scratched his chin thoughtfully beneath his large grey beard. “That was not exactly my idea.”
“Well then, whose idea was it?” Liam asked, now more curious than upset.
“I was corresponding with a friend, lamenting to him about my troubles, and it was his idea that ye would be suitable for one of my daughters. Though I had not known ye since ye were a lad, I ken well enough that yer clan had prospered under yer leadership. I told him that I was going to write to ye with my proposal for the union, but he told me he knew the make of ye, and that ye would never wed one of my daughters without cause. He convinced me that he had a way to make ye come to me, and that by wedding my daughters I would be doing ye the favor instead of the other way round. I have to admit, the man made a fine argument. And he was right, ye reacted exactly the way he said ye would. I was sure it was a blessed day when ye and yer brother walked through my door.”
Unease slithered through Liam’s gut like a thick oil as he listed to Laird Drummond’s story.
“Tell me. Who is this friend of yours that kens the working of my mind so well?” he asked.
“That would be Laird Alexander Macnaghten. He said the two of ye were acquainted years ago.”
Liam barely heard the last of what Laird Drummond said. There was a deafening roar in his ears as rage overtook him. He grabbed the second chair in the room, lifted it over his head, and threw it against the wall. A loud crack echoed through the room and the broken chair fell to the floor in pieces.
“Hold, MacDonell!” Laird Drummond shouted as he jumped up from his seat. “Get a hold of yourself, man!”
“The man who attacked Catriona on the night we met, who was he?” Liam shouted.
Laird Drummond sputtered, “I dinna see what that has to do with—"
“Who was he!”
“One of the reavers. Laird Macnaghten sent me some of his men so that if they were seen they would not be easily tied back to me.”
“Why did he attack her?” Liam asked him.
“It was all planned. He would never have truly hurt my Cat, he was just meant to frighten her so that she would run toward yer room. That’s why I placed ye where I did. It was all planned. In case ye did not agree to wed one of ‘em.”
Liam grabbed hold of the edge of the desk, his ragged breathing the only sound in the room.
“And who’s idea was this plan? The plan to put Catriona in harm’s way?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Macnaghten,” Laird Drummond said, sinking into his chair. “It was Macnaghten.”
The room tilted beneath Liam’s feet, and he held his hand out to steady himself.
“Ye’ve been played for a fool, old man,” he whispered. “There is no doubt now that Catriona has been taken, and I know exactly who has yer daughter.”
“No,” Laird Drummond’s voice shook. “Macnaghten would never! That’s madness. Why would he do such a thing? I’ve never done anything to the man.”
“Aye, ye probably haven’t. But yer not the one he’s trying to hurt. I have to go now.”
“I’m coming with ye.”
“No, I must do this on my own. I’ll bring yer daughter back safe Drummond, and I promise ye that when I do, I’ll care for her the way I should have from the start. Catriona should not be the one paying for our mistakes.”
Laird Drummond grabbed him by the arm to stop him.
“Why does Macnaghten hate ye so? What did ye do to the man?”
Liam looked him in the eye without wavering. “I do not know for certain. But I have a suspicion it’s to do with my first wife, Alana.”
“Why the blazes would Macnaghten care about her?”
“Because he is her true father.”
Chapter 20
Catriona awoke to the sound of boots shuffling on the floor of her chamber. Her eyes opened just as a large hand clamped down over her mouth, effectively muffling her screams. She thrashed about on the bed wildly, trying to free herself from the intruder. Her arms flailed blindly in the darkness as she tried to shove him away. The smell of onions filled her nose, the scent wafting up off of her assailants fingers.
“Quiet!” A voice hissed out. “Ye must be quiet lass, I'm not here to hurt ye. We need to get ye out of the keep, but I need ye to be calm.”
The words slowly began to penetrate Catriona's haze of fear, and she stopped kicking and shoving against the man.
“There's a good lass,” he said. He waited a moment, making
sure that she really was calm and then slowly removed his hand from her mouth. “Ye must get dressed quickly.”
“Who are ye?” Catriona asked as she climbed out of bed.
The man turned around to offer her some privacy, so Catriona was unable to see his face in the dim light.
“I dinna want ye to be afraid,” he said to her.
“If ye are here to help me, then why should I be afraid? Tell me who ye are.”
The man stepped out of the shadows and into the light that spilled in from the window.
Catriona gasped and took a step back when she saw that he was man who attacked her in her father's keep.
“Stay away from me!” Catriona told him.
The man held up both of his hands slowly where she could see them. “I promise ye that I am not going to attack ye. In truth lass, I was never going to attack ye that night either. I was not even truly drunk!”
“I do not understand what you mean.” Catriona looked at him, confused.
“We dinna have time for this. I have to get ye out of here,” he said.
“If you think that I am going to go anywhere with ye in the middle of the night, then ye had best make time to explain it to me. What do ye mean ye were never going to truly hurt me? And ye reeked of booze that night. Do ye think me a fool that I cannot tell a drunk man when I see one?”
“We dinna have time for this!” he said, frustrated.
Catriona crossed her arms over her chest and did not move.
“Blast!” the man whispered sharply. “If it will get ye to hurry up and come with me, then I'll try to explain it to ye. Yer father and Macnaghten came up with a plan to force MacDonell to marry one of Drummond's daughters. If the plan dinna work as it was supposed to, then I was meant to force ye into a situation that would make it appear ye had been compromised by MacDonell, and that's what I did. I was never going to hurt ye. Yer father paid me to scare ye enough to send ye in MacDonell's direction.”
Catriona's mind raced. “But how would ye know where I would be? My being late for supper was a complete mistake.”
“When ye went out painting that morning yer father was sure that ye would not make it back in time for Laird MacDonell's arrival. Yer father has been watching the man for weeks. The moment MacDonell set out for Drummond Castle yer father knew about it. Yer father and Macnaghten have been in it together from the start.”
“But why would my father do such a terrible thing? None of this makes any sense!”
“I dinna know why yer father did it lass, in truth I barely know the man. It was Macnaghten that hired me originally. We were meant to do a wee bit of reaving to vex The MacDonell and that was all, no one was meant to get hurt. When yer father came to me about scaring ye, I had my doubts, but the money he offered was too good to turn down, ye understand. My wife's not been well, and it will go a long way to making her comfortable. But then it all went wrong. Last week, suddenly everything changed. Gavin set fire to those crofts and killed that family. He said he was acting under new orders from Laird Macnaghten. I'm telling ye lass, I never signed on for that. We were moving out of the area to make trouble somewhere else when Gavin and McNair stumbled across ye in the woods. I prayed that ye would not recognize me, but I knew it would do no good.”
“So why are ye helping me now?” she asked.
“I dinna know what is wrong with Macnaghten, but the man's gone mad. He sent your horse to Drummond Castle this morning. McNair was to release it near yer father's land to let him know that Macnaghten has ya. I think the man plans to ransom ye back to yer father. But I dinna trust that no harm will come to ye in the time yer trapped here. I heard him and Gavin arguing. Gavin is the man's son, ye see. A bastard, but Macnaghten keeps him close. It sounded like they were fighting over a woman, Macnaghten's daughter, I suspect. But we've no time to get into that now. So do ye trust me enough to come with me now, lass? Because the longer we tarry here, the more chance we have of getting caught.”
“Aye,” said Catriona, hurrying for the door. “I've heard more than enough.”
He whisked her out of the room and down the stairs, then turned down a narrow hallway which ended at a rough wooden door. When he reached the door, he knocked twice and it was quickly opened.
“What took ye so long?” a young maid whispered. Her brow furrowed with worry as she hurried them through the door and down the other set of stairs.
“It was my fault, I'm sorry,” explained Catriona, hoping that the young girl would not end up in trouble with Macnaghten because of her.
“Never mind that now, just follow me.”
She hurried them through the castle kitchens and out through to a back door. “This is where the food supplies come through. watch yer step, there is a bit of a dip just the other side of the door. Dinna trip.”
They pressed themselves up against the castle wall and felt their way along. They had no lantern with them, not wanting anyone to see the light and become curious.
“All right this is as far as I can go,' the young girl told them. The horse is just across the way their behind there, tied to a post just around that corner. If ye hurry ye should make it out without anyone seeing ye. And don't forget this.” The girl shoved a small bundle into Catriona's hands. “Some food for the journey. God go with ye, Lady Catriona.”
And before Catriona could thank her, the girl turned and ran back to the kitchens.
They hurried across the small stretch of yard until they found the horse exactly where the maid said it would be. Catriona wasted no time in climbing up and her rescuer climbed up behind her.
“I dinna even know yer name,” she said to him as he guided the horse around and they took off into the night.
“Malcolm, m'lady,” he said as the horse thundered away from Dunderaven Castle. “Ye may call me Malcolm.”
* * *
Liam continued to ride through the night long after the sun went down. The roads were still muddy from all the rain, but he trudged on, determined to make it to Dunderaven by morning. It was the middle of the night, and he was weary from his long ride, but he was certain that he had finally crossed over onto Macnaghten lands. He shouldn't have much farther to go, and soon he would have Catriona safe again.
A rumbling sound reached his ears, and he listened closely to the sound of what could only be galloping hooves coming toward him. A few minutes later Liam saw a horse and rider come charging straight at him and he pulled off to the side of the road to avoid being run down. As they came closer, Liam saw a flash of bright hair whipping out behind the rider. A man sat atop the saddle behind her as they tore past him, but Liam had not mistaken that angelic face.
“Catriona!” he hollered, guiding his horse off the side of the road and went racing after Catriona and the man with her.
He pushed his horse faster and called her name again, “Catriona!”
Her horse slowed and the rider turned ‘round to face him. After turning the horse, the man holding Catriona pulled out his sword and pointed it directly at Liam. “I dinna know who ye are,” he hollered, “But ye'll not take her.”
Liam brandished his sword and rode toward them. With one hand pointing the sword at Catriona's captor, he got close enough for them to see his face clearly.
He watched as Catriona's eyes widened at the sight of him, and her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped.
“I'll thank ye to unhand my wife,” he said gravely.
“Laird MacDonell?” the man said in confusion.
“Aye, and ye have three seconds to tell me who ye are and where ye think ye're taking my wife before I remove yer head from yer shoulders.”
“Liam?” Catriona said, her voice filled with confusion. “What are ye doing here?” she asked.
Liam was struck by the uncertainty in her eyes as she watched him warily.
“I feared Macnaghten had ye. I was coming to free ye. But it seems ye have gotten away without my help.”
“Ye came for me? But why?”
The questio
n came as blow to Liam. He had not known how it would feel to face Catriona again after how he had treated her. He had been so focused on getting her back unharmed that he had not thought about the fact that she may not want to see him again.
“I owe ye more apologies than I can count Catriona, and I swear ye'll be getting them but for now I think it's best that we make our way back to yer father's keep as soon as possible. I dinna want to be on the road when Macnaghten discovers that ye’re gone.”
“I dinna know if I want to go back there,” she told him. “There have been so many lies...” she turned to look at the man behind her on the horse and then turned back to face Liam, “so much deception.”
“Aye, I know. I've only just begun to learn the breadth of it myself. But Drummond Castle is closer than Invergarry, and I promised yer father that I would see ye home to him. He would never forgive me if I did not see ye back.”
Catriona eyed him suspiciously. “Ye've spoken with my father?”
“Aye.”
“And ye no longer want to go to war with him?” her suspicion was written clear across her face, and he could not blame her disbelief. But now was not the time to get into the details of the past few days.
“I was hasty in my actions, I'll not deny it, though my assumptions about him were not wrong. But yer father and I have come to a peace between us. All that matters to the both of us right now is that we get ye to safety.” Liam held out his hand to her. “Come back with me. I'll see ye home.”
Catriona looked at his outstretched hand and shook her head. “I'll come back to Drummond Castle with ye and see my father. But I'll not ride with ye. I'd rather ride with Malcolm. That is, if he does not mind.”
“It would be an honor, m'lady,” said Malcolm. “We should be going, it will be dawn in a few hours.”
Liam eyed Malcolm suspiciously. “And just who are ye, Malcolm?” he asked.
“I...” Malcolm hesitated.
“He's the reason we were forced to wed,” Catriona said. “Malcolm is the one who attacked me in the hall on the night we met.”
Highland Promise: The Daughters of Clan Drummond Page 13