by Willa Blair
The MacDuff cut a glance toward the Lathans, then growled low in his throat, spun on his heel and waved to his men as he stalked toward them. “Get yer gear. We’re leaving.”
His men scrambled to their feet, leaving their food untouched, and hurried out of the hall, MacDuff a few paces behind them.
Ellie’s shoulders slumped. Then she straightened and heaved a breath.
“We darena waste a moment,” she announced to the hall, then turned to two of the stablehands who’d been eating until the tension between the lairds got as thick as their porritch. “Lads, see their horses brought out right away. We’ll bid our guests farewell as they leave the keep. They’ll be outside in a moment or two.”
Two lads exited the hall at a run, carrying the laird’s orders to the stable master.
Then her gaze fell on the Lathans. Jamie tipped his head, but Donal merely held her gaze, debating whether what she’d done was brave or foolish. As laird, she had the right to order the MacDuff from her hall, though angering him may not have been the wisest move. But whatever she read in his lack of expression must have steadied her, for she lifted a shoulder in a rueful shrug.
“Please, finish yer breakfast. I’m sure this will only take a few minutes.” Then Ellie moved away from the table. Micheil took her arm and they exited the hall.
“Let’s keep an eye on the MacDuff until he’s out of the gates,” Donal said. “I dinna trust him to go quietly.”
“I think she just told us she doesna want us out there,” Jamie said.
“I didna hear that. Did ye, lads?”
Donal stood to follow them. For once, Jamie stood, too. “Let’s no’ start any trouble, aye? Let them leave. ’Tis what Ellie wants.”
Donal grimaced his answer and moved to the door.
The other Lathans joined them as they stepped out into the bailey, where Ellie and Micheil watched the MacDuffs begin strapping their gear onto their horses. The laird’s warhorse pranced and bucked as a groom led him out. The MacDuff took the reins from the stablehand, yanked the horse’s head down and swatted the soft nose with his fist.
“Settle down, damn it. Ye’ll be free to run soon enough.”
Ellie cringed at the MacDuff’s rough treatment of the animal. Had she pictured him doing the same to her? Donal shifted his weight to the balls of his feet as an overpowering urge to protect her nearly had him putting thought into action. It was all he could do not to go to Ellie to reassure her he’d never allow that man to touch her, much less to treat her badly. But it wasn’t his place to do that, certainly not in the crowded bailey. He’d embarrass her and likely provoke a battle with the MacDuff in the process. And if he survived the MacDuff, Jamie would have his head.
Nay, they were leaving. That had to be enough for now.
Ellie stood like a statue, chin lifted, hands clasped at her waist, unmoving. Micheil stood beside her, arms folded over his chest in a display that on a larger man would have seemed intended to intimidate. But on Micheil’s youthful frame, the stance looked more defensive than not. Donal made a mental note to discuss intimidating one’s opponents with the lad.
Finally, the MacDuffs mounted up. Their laird waved his men forward. They rode through the gate ahead of him. But the MacDuff reined up at the inner gate. He turned in the saddle to glare at the Lathans, then at Ellie.
“Dinna count on these Lathans to protect ye forever,” he taunted. “They come from too far to meddle in our affairs.” Then he spurred his horse. The hoofbeats died away as the MacDuffs galloped through the outer gate and the village below into the forest beyond.
Ellie stood, wide-eyed, for a moment, then her shoulders dropped. Donal’s back ached to think how stiffly she’d held herself while the MacDuff was still in the keep. Then Jamie stepped toward her and took her hand.
“Dinna fash, lass. We will keep ye safe.”
Donal gritted his teeth. As usual, Jamie had said what Donal meant to say. If he kept that up, Ellie would soon be begging Jamie to stay instead of him. Donal realized he didn’t like that idea. Not that it mattered. He’d felt the noose tighten around his neck at the MacDuff’s comment, but Jamie’s cinched it near to strangling. Jamie would insist Donal remain here to prove the MacDuff wrong. The Lathans would stay as long as it took to secure this clan.
Donal looked back at Ellie, relief written plainly on her face in the smile she gave Jamie and the loose set of her shoulders. She was so bonnie, it broke his heart. Then she laughed at something Jamie said and looked Donal in the eye. His heart stopped beating, then took up a frantic pace. He hadn’t heard her laugh since the first time they’d ridden through her glen. It sounded too sweet, too compelling, for him to resist. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her. Ach, she could steal his heart from his chest with that laugh. Every time he got near her he learned he wanted her more. Then he remembered the frozen, fearful expression on her face whenever she encountered the MacDuff. Perhaps staying was not such a bad idea, after all.
****
The morning training session had gone well despite the distraction of the MacDuff departure. Donal had forced himself to concentrate on the mock battles, trying to get Ellie’s laugh out of his head. The summons for the midday meal had come as a surprise. It seemed like no time at all had passed since he’d heard the relief and amusement in Ellie’s voice.
If only he could make her laugh like that. He’d have to ask Jamie what he’d said.
The Lathans sat at a corner table where Jamie had called them together to talk while they ate. Donal waited, tense with anticipation, to see what he had to say. He knew Jamie would have a plan, and he could guess what that plan would be.
“If we harbored any doubts, they should be gone,” Jamie began, “after the threat the MacDuff made this morning.”
Donal narrowed his eyes, though the other lads responded with ayes.
“Donal must stay, as will ye all.” Jamie’s gaze met Donal’s for a beat, then he added, “I willna.”
That statement was met with raised eyebrows all around. Jamie grimaced and began laying out his plans. “As quickly as I can return to the Aerie, I’ll send more men to help reinforce the defenses here. I’ll prevail upon the new treaty partners as I go along to send some men. It’ll be a good test. If they intend to adhere to the treaty, they’ll agree. If not, better we find out now rather than later. Their help is needed here, and soon.”
“Aye,” Bram agreed. “Even Toran would approve.”
“’Tis a pact the MacKyrie has yet to sign,” Donal interjected.
“She will before I leave tonight.”
“Tonight?” Innis spoke up, startled. “That soon?”
“Aye. ’Tis too soon after the MacDuff’s leave-taking for them to look for any other travelers. They’ll expect us to cower here, preparing our defenses and waiting for them to return with reinforcements.”
“Quaking in our boots, too, I’ll bet,” Innis jested and the others chuckled.
“How long will we stay?”
Donal breathed a sigh of relief that Bram had asked the question. After the verbal battles he and Jamie had over keeping Donal here, it was a question best put by someone, anyone, else.
“After Donal has the new defenders whipped into shape, ye all can return to the Aerie and yer duties there. Though I’d prefer, and I think Toran would as well, if Donal and a few others were to stay for several months more, to keep a Lathan presence here, and to continue to oversee training and guard the keep rather than leaving it with strangers from the treaty clans.”
“After they’ve been here awhile, they’ll no’ be strangers,” Innis remarked, giving Donal a moment of hope.
“Aye,” Jamie agreed, which surprised Donal. “But the MacKyrie trusts us and expects us to see to her clan’s safe-keeping until her lads grow into taking over.”
“That’s years.” Donal couldn’t stop the objection from slipping out.
“For the Lathans, aye. For each of us, nay. We’ll send new men with each season until t
hings settle down here. But Donal, ye’ll be in charge until the MacKyrie no longer needs ye, or until Toran calls ye home.”
Donal opened his mouth to object.
“A true test of the treaty, aye?” Alpin interjected proudly. “All those clans, united under the Lathans to protect another.”
Donal nearly groaned. He had no chance. No argument he could make would dissuade Jamie, especially after that.
“Aye,” he finally said, chafing under Jamie’s intense scrutiny. He’d lost this battle. He’d see about winning the war later. “We’ll stay.”
It was time to turn his attention to practical matters. “Ye’ll watch yer back, Jamie. I dinna like the MacDuff’s threat, and ye won’t have men with ye to fend off a determined attack if the MacDuff cares to try to prove his point.”
“I ken it.”
“He’s seen ye, he kens ye and the influence ye have over the MacKyrie. My guess is he’d gladly send ye back to her face down over yer mount’s withers.” Donal hated wasting his breath, but he had to make the point. Jamie had years of experience as a Lathan scout. In fact, he would be better off making the trip alone than to try it with a party too small to fight but large enough to attract attention. But overconfidence could get anyone, even Jamie, killed.
Jamie nodded. “I hear ye well, Donal. I’ll get through, and I’ll send help.”
“See that ye do.”
Jamie grinned and rose to his feet. “I guess I’d best go advise the MacKyrie of our plans and get her signature. I dinna think she’ll refuse it now.”
The lads agreed in a chorus of ayes.
“If we’re bound to save her clan for her,” Jamie continued when they wound down, “there’s much to do before nightfall.”
A shiver skittered down Donal’s ribs. What had Fergus said? “Ye’re the one to save us...she Saw.” Fergus could have been raving in his fever when he said that. But he and Jamie were the two who spent the most time with the MacKyrie. There was no one else Fergus could have been thinking of.
Jamie was leaving. If Fergus’s ravings had been right, that left Donal as the one to save the MacKyries.
****
Ellie’s heart seemed lodged in her throat as she watched Jamie saddle up. Aye, night had long since fallen, but his horse would make tracks in the snow until he made it through the pass and down the mountain. Any glimmer of starlight or glow from the moon when it rose later tonight and those tracks would lead trouble right to him—be they MacDuffs or anyone else bent on mischief, or worse than mischief. Anyone could be lurking along Jamie’s path. The bandits who’d attacked the wagons, if indeed they weren’t MacDuffs, could still be out there. There would be too many of them for one man to fight off alone. Jamie’s only chance was to pass by unseen and unheard.
The snow would help muffle sound, she reasoned, but she still fretted about the tracks he’d leave behind.
“I wish ye wouldna do this,” Ellie told him as he tucked the treaty into a saddlebag.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he began tapping and tugging on everything the horse carried. If something rattled, he adjusted it until it no longer made a sound.
“I must, Ellie, and ye ken it well. Ye havena had any dreams about me, have ye?”
Ellie gave a broken laugh. “Nay, Jamie. None. But that doesna guarantee anythin’.”
“I’m the best one to do this.” He stopped checking his gear and faced her. “Even with Micheil and yer other braw lads and oldsters, the six of us are no’ enough to stand against all the MacDuffs for long. Someone must fetch help. The treaty gives me the right to demand men from the clans that signed.”
“Making us beholden to them.”
“Aye, but ye kenned that when ye signed.” He smiled briefly. “The day will come when MacKyrie will be strong enough to be called upon to help another clan. For now, ye need their help. The MacDuffs are no’ yer only worry. If there are bandits in the area, the danger to ye grows many times worse.”
Ellie planted her fists on her hips in exasperation. “And ye plan to ride out into their midst. Alone. What sense does that make?”
Desperate, she looked to Donal. He stood silent on the opposite side of Jamie’s mount while they argued, nay, discussed, Jamie’s foolhardy plan. It sounded like he’d likely been doing the same thing Jamie had done to his saddlebag and tack on this side to eliminate anything that would make noise. Perhaps he’d help her talk some sense into his friend.
Ellie reached out and tapped the saddle to gain his attention. “Donal, tell him. This is madness.”
Donal stopped what he was doing and regarded her hand where it rested on the saddle, then lifted his gaze to hers.
Her heart skipped a beat. He looked so solemn. She clenched her fingers into a fist before drawing them back under her shawl. Was he, like her, running through his mind all the likely and possible disasters Jamie might face during this trip? Then he flicked a glance at Jamie and lifted one corner of his mouth. It was not quite a grin, and may even have been a grimace. Ellie was still trying to decide when Donal spoke, returning his gaze to her.
“Jamie leads the Lathan scouts. There’s no one better to travel unobserved. If anyone can get through to the treaty clans and the Aerie, it’s our Jamie.”
Ellie groaned and gave him her best glare. “Ye are no’ helping.”
Jamie touched her shoulder, wrenching her attention from Donal’s piercing stare back to the matter at hand. “Donal is, and will be, the best help ye could possibly have. He’s the canniest warrior I’ve ever seen in action. If trouble comes to ye, he’ll do everything he can to protect ye. And I’ll be back with reinforcements before ye ken I’ve gone.”
Ellie took a breath of the cold night air. “Ye’d better, if ye ken what’s good for ye. I didna sign that treaty only to have ye lose it in the woods.”
Jamie rewarded her attempt at humor with a grin.
She stepped back. Something clinked. “Ach, I nearly forgot.” She pulled three flasks from her pockets. “These contain the oldest, finest MacKyrie whisky. One is for ye, to warm ye on yer way. One for the treaty clan laird of yer choosin’, and one for the Lathan laird as thanks for lending all of ye. But I warn ye, use it sparingly. MacKyrie whisky is smooth, but it’s strong.”
“That I will,” Jamie told her. “Thank ye. I’ve no doubt it will be much appreciated by the others, too.” He tossed one flask to Donal to pack. Ellie watched him carefully stow the other two in the saddlebag on either side of the treaty, then shake the bag and nod when it made no noise.
“Mount up, Jamie,” Donal said. “Moonrise is in six hours. Ye need to be through the pass before then.”
Jamie nodded and swung up onto his horse.
Ellie couldn’t help herself. She covered her mouth to keep from objecting yet again, wishing she could forbid him to go. Wishing he would obey her. If only this trip were not necessary. In the abstract, her clan was worth any one man’s life. But Jamie’s?
He settled himself, then guided the horse around the bailey, checking the tack, head cocked as he listened for any noise that would carry in the stillness of the snow-covered night. Finally satisfied, he saluted briefly and turned his mount to the gate.
“Keep safe,” Ellie told him as Donal moved to her side. Laird, she must be laird. “The MacKyrie depends on ye.”
“That I can do, Laird.” Jamie answered her formality with his own. Then, with a quick nod to Donal and the other Lathans, spurred the horse into motion.
Ellie stood by the open gate and watched his starlit progress through the village until he disappeared into the woods beyond. Then she turned to Donal. For a moment, his gaze seemed to go through her. Then it sharpened and she knew he’d come back from whatever vision held him in thrall. “Ye harbor the same worries for him as I do. I see it in yer eyes.”
“It’s never good to see a clansman heading out into danger alone, lass. But our Jamie is like a ghost when he has the need. He’ll get through and be back soon enough.”
“As certain as I can be.”
“I canna help worrying about all of ye. I’ve grown to care for...well.” Ellie paused and dropped Donal’s hand. He clasped her shoulder and wrapped one strong arm around her, tucking her body against his.
“Dinna fash, lass. I’ve seen Jamie in action. All will be well.”
Ellie looked into his eyes. Did he believe that, or did he merely intend it to comfort her?
“We’d best get back inside,” he said, interrupting her scrutiny, and turning her toward the keep. “Out of this cold.” He signaled for the guard to close the gates.
Ellie glanced up at the sky. The clouds were coming back, blocking out large sweeps of stars. Good. The darker night would keep Jamie from harm, as long as it didn’t start to snow again. Once through the pass, he’d be able to travel faster.
In the meantime, Donal’s arm around her made her feel warm and safe. His nearness seemed right somehow. She leaned her head closer to his. Their breath mingled in frosty streams in the chilly air as they walked back toward the door into the keep. A sign? Before Jamie’s return, she intended to work things out with Donal. Make him want to stay. With her or her clan, one way or the other. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. She wanted him with her, joined with her, not just her clan. She reached up and clasped his hand where it rested on her shoulder.
At the door, he paused and stroked her hair before he pulled her into his embrace. “Ellie,” he murmured.
“Aye?” She inhaled his scent, notable even to her chilled senses for its heat and musky maleness, and reveled in the hard strength of his body pressed against hers. She couldn’t bear the yearning that overtook her. If only she could stay in his arms all her life, just a woman, loved and cherished by this man. If only he would hold her like this forever.
But all too soon, he released her with a sigh and opened the door. “Nothing, lass. Go on in.” He gestured for her to precede him into the light, heat and scents of the great hall.
The feel of Donal’s embrace slipped away with the cold of the bailey as the warmth of the hall surrounded her. Her clan awaited her. Aye, to them she was Ellie, a girl they’d watched grow up into womanhood. But now, that mattered little. She stifled a shudder.