Highlander's Beautiful Lia ( Historical Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance)

by Adamina Young

  “Just the very fact that you didn’t get there first means that I won.”

  Innes roared and lunged at her. When she tried to scramble out of the way, he just grabbed her chains and jerked her back. “When I am done with ye, my sweet little Cora, yer husband will never want ye again.”

  His fingers dug into her waist, and he jerked her skirts up, but before he could touch her, the door opened again, and another man stood in the doorway. “Innes Campbell, what the devil are ye doing?” Mac hissed. “Chaining up the new Sinclair bride?”

  “MacKay,” Cora breathed heavily. “I am MacKay, and by being their laird, so is Alec. Laird Campbell, I came to see you. I should have come to you long ago, but I didn’t know where your loyalties lie. I still don’t.”

  “Quiet,” Innes hissed, but this was Cora’s chance, and she wasn’t going to let it go.

  “He was there when Seth killed my father,” Cora yelled. “I remember what they said. What they promised each other. Innes would help Seth kill his father, and in return, he would help Innes kill you. Two madmen with their own clans. Innes may be your brother, but is not loyal.”

  “Lies!” Innes backhanded her, and she fell into the stone and struck her head. Pain exploded in her skull, and she crumpled to the ground, but she struggled to maintain her vision.

  “Innes,” Mac said warily. “I have wondered. Ye and Seth never did anything alone.”

  Slowly, Innes withdrew his sword. His eyes were as cold as the iron around her wrists. “Ye never treated me like a brother. Never treated me like family. Never listened to me. The Campbells suffer because ye are more concerned about maintaining our allies then growing our power and strength. Under me, they will.”

  Mac. He’d come in here unarmed. Cora saw the fear in his eyes, the truth.

  She’d gotten him killed. As the blackness narrowed her vision, she had one last thought.

  This is all I’m good for. Getting people killed…

  There were still heavy chains around her wrist. That was her first observation when she came to. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to figure out what had happened. If Mac had struck his younger brother down, then she would be free.

  Wouldn’t she?

  Her head still hurt, but she wasn’t alone. Footsteps sounded as someone paced from one wall to the other.

  “Cora, my dear, I know that ye are awake,” Innes said seductively. “Ye might as well open yer eyes.”

  Nausea rolled in her stomach, but she wasn’t going to hide from him. She wasn’t going to let him bully her anymore. Sitting up, she opened her eyes and realized that she was still chained, but she’d changed locations.

  Now she was chained to a bed and someone had dressed her in a nearly sheer nightdress.

  Imagining Innes’s hands on her naked skin, she nearly vomited right then and there.

  There were two other guards in the chamber, but Mac was nowhere to be seen. “Did you kill your brother? Surely that’s an act of treason, and his men will rise up against you and take their revenge.”

  Innes curled his lip. “I have been painstakingly turning his men against me,” he growled. “Ye interrupted before I could finish, my sweet, but I have enough. We can take them.”

  Take them. Hope rose inside of her. “Your brother isn’t dead.”

  “He ran, the coward. Apparently there are still secrets in this keep that I have yet to discover.” Cold fury vibrated in his voice, and she knew that wouldn’t end well for her.

  “Then I suggest you go chase him.” And leave her alone.

  Baring his teeth, he grabbed the goblet that rested on the table and hurled it against the wall. She jumped at the sound and scrambled off the bed, but the chains did not allow her to get very far. She’d be damned if she stayed there waiting for him like some docile little thing.

  “First my brother.” Grabbing her, Innes yanked her up against his body. “And then ye will have my full attention.” He kissed her hard, and she brought her foot down on his hard and shoved him away. Chuckling, he released her, and she fell back on the bed.

  “My husband will come for me. Tell me, Innes, do you have the resources to fight on two fronts? Let me go, and you may still survive this.”

  The horrid man just smirked. “Perhaps, but ye came here willing, lass. What man would go after his traitorous wife when she betrayed him? I have a feeling that he will happily leave ye here to rot. These men will be here to watch ye, so if ye start screaming, they have my permission to put that pretty little mouth to some other kind of use,” he said as he turned. Cora kept facing the wall until she heard the door close, and then, looking down at the small silver key tucked away in the palm of her hand, she smiled to herself.

  Now all she had to do was bide her time and not let his words steal away the last of her hope.

  23

  Alec did not have the men he wanted to take with him, but he could not leave the MacKays defenseless. With his friends—Kane and a few other most loyal of the MacKay warriors, and several of the Sinclair guards—he rode hard and fast to the Campbell land. With any luck, Laird Mac Campbell didn’t know of his brother’s obsession and would help.

  If he didn’t, then the gods help him as well because nothing short of death would let Alec give up on his wife, and he wasn’t so certain that even that would stop him.

  Early scouts were unable to find Cora, and he just knew that his sweet little wife knew that there was no point in traveling to England on her own. She’d gone straight to the source of the problem, and by now, Innes would have her in his clutches.

  Bile rose in his throat when he thought of all the things that he could be doing to her. Cora would survive. He would do whatever it took to make sure that she healed and knew that he wouldn’t let anyone else harm her ever again.

  It didn’t take long before they were joined by Campbell guards. “Halt,” their leads barked. “Name yer business.”

  The sly look in his eyes told Alec that they would find no sympathy in this man. No, he knew just what was happening in the keep, and he planned to make sure that it wasn’t interrupted.

  Alec drew his sword, and his men followed suit. “Innes Campbell has taken my wife. Ye will let me pass, or ye will be slaughtered where ye stand.”

  “My laird hasnae left this keep in days. If there is a bonnie lass with him, then she has come willingly.” He and the Campbell guards snickered.

  “Ye speak of treason, for Mac Campbell is yer laird,” Alec hissed.

  “Mac Campbell is dead. Innes is laird, and we swear fealty to him.”

  So Innes had disposed of his brother. It didn’t surprise Alec. He didn’t like Mac, but he trusted the man far more than he did his younger brother. “I will give ye one more chance. Let me pass to see my wife, or die.”

  “’Tis a shame that the new MacKay laird throws his life away so easily. Perhaps ‘twould be best if the MacKays were under Campbell rule,” the captain said as he drew his sword. Then, they charged.

  Alec and his men were outnumbered, and the MacKays were greatly skilled, but they didn’t fight with the same passion and desperation as he and his men did. Knowing that Cora’s life was at stake was all he needed to slash his way through. Echoes of battle cries and the slash of swords echoed off the trees, and when more Campbell men came to their aid, Alec fought his way through them too.

  When they were surrounded, he turned and looked back. So far, all of his men were standing, but there was blood. “Surrender,” the Campbell captain demanded.

  Suddenly, there was a war cry from the woods, and all heads turned as another dozen men rushed to them on horseback. They wore no colors; in fact, they looked like farmers, but they didn’t hesitate or slow as they descended. It took only a moment for Alec to realize that the new group of men were targeting Campbells.

  And only the Campbells.

  When the surviving guards retreated, Alec turned, his sword hitting another, and he looked into familiar green eyes.

  “Ye are Alec Sinc
lair, new laird of the MacKays?” he asked without lowering his sword.

  “Aye,” Alec said tensely.

  For a moment, Alec thought the young man would issue a challenge until Kane stepped forward. With a grin, the young man lowered his sword and dropped to his knee. One by one, the new men did the same. “I am Daniel MacKay. We are all MacKay blood, and fiercely proud of it until Seth took over for his father. When we refused to swear fealty to a man who would let his own people starve, we fled lest we be murdered in our sleep. Kane and my sister speak highly of ye. We arrived at yer keep just as ye left, and we rode to yer aid when we heard that Duncan’s daughter was in trouble.”

  These were the men that Seth had run off. Strong, strapping lads, and skillful with a sword. “Rise,” he told the boy. “Today, I am thankful for yer aid, and when I have earned yer trust and respect, then ye may kneel before me.”

  He turned to Kane. “Thank ye,” he said softly.

  The man just shrugged. “We need Mackay blood. Yer lot is looking a little haggard.”

  Bleeding from his arm, Jamie reached out and decked him half-heartedly, and the men laughed. “The cowards that ran will be telling Innes of our arrival. This isnae over yet.”

  After ensuring that all wounds were superficial, they regrouped and made their way to the keep. There were no other interruptions, but Alec was no fool. Seeing no guards standing at the gate or at the doors, he knew that Innes was waiting for him inside.

  They all filed in and found Innes waiting for him inside. His men lined the walls, each with a weapon in their hand. From the looks of things, they outnumbered Alec and his men three to one.

  And yet his men didn’t waiver.

  “I heard ye were spouting lies that I kidnapped yer sweet little wife,” Innes said casually. “For yer head alone, I could have that.”

  “Are ye claiming that she isnae here?”

  A vile smile spread over the man’s face. “Oh, she is here, chained to the bed of my chambers and guarded. I hear she likes it that way.”

  “For that alone, ye will die, but yer men here doona have to die with ye. When the King hears word that ye killed yer brother, ye will not have this clan for long, Innes.”

  “The King!” Innes spat and jumped to his feet, drawing his sword. “For years, we have heard of the Sinclair heroes. First yer father, and then the beloved sons. It must be nice to be the King’s favorite, but ye couldnae even keep yer wife by yer side. I cannae wait to kill ye.”

  Alec liked the murderous look in the man’s eye. He wanted Innes’s men to see him for his crazed and depraved obsession. “What are ye waiting for?”

  Glancing behind Alec, Innes hesitated. Even outnumbered, he was worried. A coward. “Ye and me,” he declared finally. “Strike me down, and the lovely Cora is yers.”

  “Yer word is no good, Innes. We all know that, but believe me when I tell ye that will not leave her alive. For all yer bluster of having a clan, ye havnae the strength for it.”

  With furious bellow, Innes attacked. Alec deflected the blow, but he hadn’t realized how much the previous fight had taken out of him, and Innes managed to push him back just a little. Behind him, his men watched, tensed, but they didn’t intervene.

  “Ye were there when Seth killed Duncan MacKay,” Alec goaded him. “Cora heard every word out of yer mouth, but then, ye didnae care what she heard, did ye? Ye never expected her to survive that night. Tell me, Innes, are all of the Campbell women so ugly that ye had to chain an English lass up for six months in hopes of getting a woman?”

  Around him, he heard some of the MacKay guards inhale sharply. So they didn’t know.

  Interesting.

  “Lies,” Innes growled as he struck again, but he moved too slow, and Alec deflected it easily and returned with a blow to the stomach, but Innes danced away.

  “Then ye had to threaten her sister to keep Cora in line. Threaten a wee lass of fourteen years. Tell me, Innes, do ye have any idea what it is to actually face a man in combat or must ye always threaten those weaker than ye to get what ye want?”

  Clank. Their swords met again, and then Innes’s fury drove him harder and powered his hits. He was more skilled than Alec anticipated, and neither man had managed to get a slice of the other.

  “Ye threatened the life of my wife under the roof of the King,” Alec grunted. “Ye have no loyalty, and the men and women here should look to what happened under Seth’s rule because that is what awaits them. Cut from the same cloth.”

  “Seth was nothing like me,” Innes hissed as he pushed Alec back and swung. The sword whistled through the air and just barely missed Alec’s chest. “He was cruel but he didnae want power. He just didnae want to do his father’s bidding anymore. He wanted to languish in the keep all day while women dropped to their knees in front of him. In time, I planned to have my clan and Seth’s too, and then I would wield the most power in the Highlands.”

  “Power to rival the King. Ye are a treasonous bastard.”

  He deflected and spun, digging his elbow into Innes’s stomach. As the man doubled over, he spun again and brought his sword down, slicing the man’s shoulder, but while his shirt swelled with blood, Innes didn’t even seem to feel the pain. He was too far gone to his own insanity, and Alec couldn’t block the sword fast enough. It sliced through his thigh, and he fell to his knees.

  Cackling like a madman, Innes raised his sword and charged.

  “No!” a female voice screamed, and Innes looked up, just for a second to see Cora on the balcony looking over.

  It was all that Alec needed. Swinging his sword up, he buried it in Innes’s belly.

  With a groan, the Campbell fell and chaos broke out as several of Campbell’s men bellowed and attacked. Alec’s men defended, and Alec trusted them as he rose and looked up and bellowed Cora’s name. She turned just in time to see someone attacking her, and she swung something in her hands and knocked the man upside the head. He tumbled over the railing and fell to his death on the stone below.

  Then, she was gone.

  “Cora!” Alec cried again desperately as he fought his way through the men toward the stairs that would lead him to her. How she got free from the chains and the guards, he had no idea, but he would thank the fates every day that she had.

  Suddenly, the door flew open, and Cora charged into the fray with a sword. It was obvious that she had no training and barely the strength to even lift it. “Protect her!” Alec cried desperately. He was still too far away.

  All of his men were too far away.

  Then, to his surprise, it was a Campbell who defended her when another attempted to seize her.

  “Cease fighting,” a male voice roared. “Or be cut down immediately.”

  Campbell swords dropped, and Alec turned his head to see Mac Campbell standing there, fire and fury in his eyes, and a dozen men behind him.

  Alec and his men remained tense. Although they were not at war, the Campbells had never been allies with the Sinclairs, and Alec doubted that had changed simply because he’d taken over the MacKays. For all he knew, Mac shared his younger brother’s thirst for power. Not once, since Alec had taken over, had Mac come to congratulate him or offer his people as allies.

  No, he’d always sent Innes, and Innes had taken every opportunity to traumatize Cora further.

  “Alec Sinclair,” Mac said as he walked through the crowd. His dark hair had grayed with age and, most likely, stress since he was hardly five years older than Alec. “I understand that my brother has acted against ye and taken something that was yers. For that, I hope that ye doona hold it against me and my people.”

  “Yer brother is dead,” Alec said coldly as he stepped aside so Mac could see his brother’s body.

  There was pain and anguish on the older man’s face, but he also looked tired. “For some time, I suspected that my brother had a hand in Duncan’s death and was plotting against me. A suspicion I shared with those most loyal to me, and ’tis why I was prepared if he acted against
me. Had ye not killed him, then I would have had to slay him myself. I suppose I owe ye my thanks. ’Tis an act I would not have relished.”

  “How do I know that ye didnae have a hand in this?” Alec demanded. “Innes told me and others that ye were dead, and yet here ye are, as alive as can be.”

  “Alec,” Cora said, her voice much weaker than he would have liked. “I saw what happened between Innes and Mac. If Innes and his men had not attacked, I believe that Mac would have escorted me to home and safety. If you hold someone accountable for the actions of their blood, then you would have to remember that Seth and I also share the same blood.”

  Mac shook his head sadly. “I didnae want to see what my brother had become. I wanted to believe that Seth was the influencer of the two, but there is no one to blame but Innes. I have my own reparations to make. When I am done here, weeding out the guards who were disloyal to me and supported Innes’s plots, then I hope that ye and I can meet and be allies. Despite what my father said, the Campbells doona stand against the King.”

  “When ye are ready, my doors will be open to ye,” Alec said as he reached out and clasped the older man’s hand. “Now if ye excuse me, I intend to get my wife and my wounded back to my keep as swiftly as possible.”

  “Ye have safe passages, and Lady Cora, I hope that my brother did not harm ye.”

  “I am fine,” she said before she swayed and crumpled to the ground.

  24

  Manacles were clamped around her arms again, and hands reached for her. In the darkness, Innes’s laughter froze her blood, and she pulled helplessly at the chains. Not again. God, please, not again. She would not be a helpless prisoner against the monster. She would not!

  “Cora,” a voice soothed. “Cora, ye are having a nightmare, ye must wake up now, lass. Ye must.”