Kidnapped by a Rogue, kindle

by Margaret Mallory

  “I did as the earl bid me,” Margaret said as she removed her rain-soaked cloak.

  “Of all the foolish things,” Isabel huffed. “If there is a murderer at Helmsdale, we need our men here to protect us. Go fetch them back!”

  “They’ve already gone,” Margaret said. “How do the earl and Helen fare?”

  “Not good,” Isabel said through pursed lips. “I’ve sent for the priest. He’ll be here in the morning.”

  Margaret ignored Finn’s instructions and hurried up the stairs to the earl and Helen’s chamber. As she entered the room, she cast sidelong glances at the two men guarding the door and the maids attending the ill couple. Was it one of them who poisoned their laird and his wife?

  She was shocked at the earl’s transformation. An hour ago, he looked like a man in robust health with his ruddy complexion and powerful presence. Now he was covered in sweat, and his face was ashen with pain.

  When the earl saw her, he attempted to sit up, but he was too weak. “Did ye—”

  “Rest easy.” She waved the maids away from the bed and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Finn and Alex are on their way to Dunrobin. They rode off a short time ago.”

  “He…didn’t…” the earl attempted to croak out the question.

  “No food or drink passed his lips, I’m certain of it,” she said in a hushed voice, and took the earl’s hand between hers. “Finn will keep him safe.”

  “Aye, ye can count on Finn when it matters,” the earl said, forcing the words out between harsh breaths.

  His eyes drifted closed, and she thought he had fallen asleep, the poor man.

  “But he needs a good woman. Told him to…hold onto Maggie,” he said in a voice so weak she had to lean down to hear him. “Didn’t know…how lucky he was…to lose Curstag.”

  Lose Curstag? Finn had told her there was nothing between them. She could not think about that now.

  She turned when one of the maids tapped her on the shoulder.

  “I’ve done everything I know to help them,” the maid said, wringing her hands. “Una is wise in matters of healing. Could ye ask her to come?"

  “Of course. I’ll fetch her now,” Margaret said.

  She was relieved to see Ella safely ensconced in their chamber, lying on her pallet and listening to Una’s stories behind the barred door. While Una went down to the earl and Helen’s chamber, Margaret rocked her sleepy daughter on her lap. After all that had happened, it was such a comfort to hold her that tears came to her eyes.

  “I love ye so much,” she murmured as she rubbed her check against the top of Ella’s head. “You’re a blessing.”

  “Where’s Finn?” Ella asked, looking up at her.

  Through the narrow window, she heard the wind and rain pounding against the thick walls of the castle. She prayed silently that Finn and Alex would reach Dunrobin safely.

  “He’ll be back tonight,” she said as she brushed a curl behind Ella’s ear.

  Ella smiled and laid her head down. She was sound asleep in Margaret’s arms when Una returned.

  “Ye weren’t gone long,” Margaret said.

  “They don’t need a healer,” Una said. “They’ll be dead in two days’ time, and nothing can be done about it.”

  Margaret gave a sigh as a wave of sadness washed over her. “I’ll go sit with them.”

  She laid Ella on her sleeping pallet, careful not to wake her, and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

  “Let this be a lesson to ye,” Una said, stopping her at the door. “Ye never know how long either of ye have in this world.”

  “What if I can’t bear the loss that comes after?” Margaret asked.

  “Pain and sorrow come to us all,” Una said, patting Margaret’s hand. “But fear will lead ye to miss the joy.”

  Una’s words went around and around Margaret’s head as she sat at the bedside of the dying couple. And they were dying. The most she could do for them was ease their suffering by wiping their brows. Every hour or so, she looked up to find Isabel standing in the doorway, her piercing black eyes fixed on her brother- and sister-in-law.

  ###

  Finn and Alex rode through the storm at a reckless pace on the muddy trail along the coast. Finn was determined to get his cousin to Dunrobin before whoever was behind the poisoning had time to send men after them to finish the job. Luckily, they both had ridden this trail between Helmsdale and Dunrobin countless times and knew every dip and curve. It was growing dark, however, and the storm was pounding in their faces and blowing debris on the trail.

  “Fallen tree!” he shouted. He leaned low over Ceò’s neck as his horse sailed over it, then turned to make sure Alex’s horse cleared it too.

  All through the treacherous ride, questions spun through Finn’s head. Who was behind this heinous act? How many were involved in the plot? Plenty of men had reason to seek vengeance against his uncle. But if the intent was to erase his family and leave no Gordon heir to Sutherland, that bespoke of both hatred and ambition.

  Finn was more than glad to hear the Dunrobin Castle gate bang closed behind them. After gathering everyone into the great hall, Finn watched their faces as he told them about the poisoning of their laird and his wife. Was someone here party to this crime? Someone whose look of shock was not caused by the news about Alex’s parents but by Alex’s escape?

  “Every one of ye must be vigilant to protect your laird’s heir,” Finn said. “I want four men guarding his door at night.”

  With four, they could keep watch on each other.

  “You and you,” he said, pointing at two warriors at random, “will taste Alex’s food and drink before it’s served to him.”

  Finn was anxious to return to Helmsdale. After speaking briefly with the man his uncle had left in charge of the castle, he drew Alex aside to bid him goodbye. His cousin looked young and scared.

  “You’ll be safe here,” Finn said, and squeezed his shoulder.

  “Whether my parents are alive or…no,” Alex said, choking on the words, “I want them brought home to Dunrobin.”

  Finn prayed his aunt and uncle would live, but he would not give Alex false hope by assuring him his parents would survive.

  “It may not be wise to move them right away,” Finn said. “But I’ll return with them as soon as I can.”

  The storm swirled around him, the darkness pierced by bursts of lightning as Finn rode back alone. It was long after midnight when he finally reached Helmsdale.

  “Give Ceò a good brushing and extra oats,” he said as he threw the reins to the stable lad, then he patted his horse’s shoulder. “Ye did well, mo caraid.” My friend.

  He rushed inside and ran up the stairs. As he started past his uncle and aunt’s chamber, he saw Margaret curled up in a chair beside the bed and drew his first easy breath since he’d left her.

  She must have sensed his presence, for she turned toward the doorway where he stood muddy and dripping wet. Her eyes went wide, and then she surprised him by leaping to her feet and throwing her arms around him. Praise God she was safe. He closed his eyes and held her for a long moment before either of them spoke.

  “I’ve been so worried about you,” she said against his chest.

  That was so like her to fret over him when she ought to be angry that he’d left her alone with his ailing relatives—and with a murderer on the loose.

  “I see ye didn’t follow my instructions to lock yourself in with Ella and Una,” he said, leaning back to look into her face.

  “I wanted to do what I could for your aunt and uncle,” she said. “I’m afraid they’re not doing well.”

  He turned his gaze to the couple on the bed. Oh, God, they did look bad.

  “Thankfully, the pain seems to have eased, and they’ve gone to sleep,” Margaret said. “Is Alex safe?”

  “Aye, he is, but let’s talk upstairs,” he said. “Ye need your rest. Let the maids take care of them for a few hours.”

  Margaret woke one of the maids who was sle
eping on a pallet on the floor and whispered instructions to her.

  “There’s no doubt it was poison?” Finn asked as they climbed the stairs.

  “Una is certain, and your aunt and uncle show all the signs,” Margaret said.

  “Any notion how it was done?” he asked.

  “The men fed what was left of the supper to the dogs, hoping to find out which food or drink contained the poison,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disapproval, “but none of the dogs became ill.”

  “Then either my aunt and uncle consumed all of whatever food was poisoned,” he said, “or someone got rid of what was left.”

  “One of the servants—a man who helped serve our supper—has gone missing,” Margaret said.

  “Damn it,” Finn said. “When Alex and I left, I told the men at the gate not to let anyone else leave.”

  “He was probably already gone by then,” she said. “The hall was in chaos after the earl began shouting that he’d been poisoned. The culprit could have easily disappeared in the confusion.”

  “I expect this missing servant was bribed to do the deed,” he said. “But I’d wager someone else is behind it, someone with a good deal more to gain than a piece of gold.”

  “Who do ye suspect?” she asked.

  That depended on whether the motive was vengeance or gain. Either way, there was no shortage of possibilities.

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” he said. “In the morning, I’ll question everyone in the castle.”

  When they reached their chamber, Finn took off his cloak and hung it on a peg on the back of the door. He wondered if Margaret would leave now to sleep with Una and Ella.

  “You’re soaked through,” Margaret said. “Let me help you out of those wet clothes and find ye a dry shirt to wear.”

  If Margaret were a different woman, he might think this was an excuse to get his clothes off. Alas, thoughtful Margaret just wanted him warm and dry before she left him for the night.

  After he donned the dry shirt, she sat him on the stool and stood behind him to dry the rain out of his hair. Humming softly, she rubbed his head with a cloth, then combed his hair.

  He did not fool himself that any of this meant she had changed her mind about leaving him. It was just Margaret’s kind nature that made her want to comfort him after the tragedy that struck his family. Kindness, however, was not what he needed to soothe his troubled soul tonight.

  He wanted to get lost in fiery passion, to bury himself inside her until he forgot himself, forgot that his aunt and uncle lay dying, forgot his terror that Margaret might be murdered while he rode through the storm—and forgot that she would leave him.

  But he knew better than to expect that.

  When Margaret slid her arms around him from behind, his heart nearly stopped in his chest. Did this mean what he hoped it did? He was afraid to move for fear she would stop.

  Her hair spilled over his shoulder and onto his chest as she leaned over him. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the delicious sensation. When he felt her breath on the side of his neck, his every muscle tensed with anticipation. Then her lips grazed his skin, sending a shock of desire coursing through his body.

  He turned on the stool, pulled her onto his lap, and looked into her eyes, willing her to answer the question burning in his blood.

  “I want us to make love,” she said.

  He did not ask her why, did not want to know it was because of the terrible events of this day. Did not want to know that she felt sorry for him or wanted to comfort him. He needed her so desperately that it did not matter why she would have him, just that she would.

  “You’re certain this time?” he asked.

  “Aye,” she said. “I want this. I want you.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He crushed his mouth against hers. Margaret was bound to leave him. It may not be tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, but she would go.

  But tonight, she was his.

  And he was going to make damned sure she did not forget him.

  ###

  The shadow of death had passed too close to them both for Margaret to ignore Una’s advice—and her own desire. Tonight, she would not let fear hold her back. Tonight, she would let down her defenses. Tonight, she would risk pain and sorrow to take all the pleasure and passion Finn could give her.

  She wanted to drown in his kisses, to hear his harsh breaths in her ear, to feel his heart beat wildly beneath her hand. For once, she would hold nothing back. She would embrace life and love and give herself fully.

  After that first scorching kiss, she expected the mindless rush and torrent of passion like the last time, but Finn surprised her by pulling back.

  “I’m going to be slow and thorough this time,” Finn said with a wicked gleam in his eye that sent her pulse racing. “But first, to make up for torturing me the night we arrived at Dunrobin when ye took your bath, I want to watch you undress.”

  Margaret thought he was teasing her to allay any fears she still harbored, until he stood back and leaned against the bed with his arms crossed.

  She took a deep breath. Time to embrace life fully. Sitting on the stool, she removed her shoes, but when she started to pull off her stockings, he interrupted her.

  “Slowly,” he said.

  Her breath hitched at the heat in his eyes as she rolled down one stocking and then the other. When she stood and he walked toward her, her whole body tingled in anticipation. Instead of wrapping his arms around her, however, he stepped behind her and undid her gown, sending shivers along her skin with his fingers. She felt his warm breath and then his soft lips on the side of her neck, and she leaned back against him.

  When he reached around and cupped her breasts, she became acutely aware of her nipples pressing against his palms, his strained breathing in her ear, and the length of his manhood pressed against her backside. Surely, he would carry her to the bed now. His body was more than ready. But Finn surprised her again and returned to the side of the bed.

  “Now the gown,” he said.

  Swallowing hard, Margaret slowly eased the gown off her shoulders and down over her breasts, and then past her hips until it fell to the floor around her feet in a soft swish. She was standing in just her shift now.

  “Take it off,” Finn said in a strained voice.

  When she slipped one strap down and heard his sharp intake of breath, she felt a sudden surge of feminine power. Finn’s reaction made her feel sensuous, desirable. She let the other strap fall and then inched the shift down to almost her nipples. They were peaked and sensitive to the brush of the thin fabric, and she gave the shift another tug to fully reveal her breasts.

  When she looked up, the air around Finn seemed to vibrate with the force of his desire, and that gave her the courage to let the shift drop to the floor.

  “Jesu, Mary, and Joseph.” The heat of Finn’s gaze burned her skin as it traveled over her from head to toe and back again.

  He shed his own clothes with remarkable speed. Oh my, he was a beautiful man—and fully erect—but he barely gave her time for a proper look before he enfolded her in his arms and the torrent of passion she expected. But then he changed the pace and gave her a long and languorous kiss. Beneath that kiss, she felt the power of his lust held in check and wondered what on earth he was waiting for.

  Then he lifted her onto the bed and began to show her. She’d never had anyone show her such tenderness. He kissed and caressed up and down her body, as if he wanted to know and claim every inch of her. Then he paused to flick and circle her nipple with his tongue, while he tortured her with his magic fingers between her legs, drawing moans from her throat and causing an aching need low in her belly.

  When he stopped, she wanted to weep, but she was distracted by his kisses down to her belly.

  “I’ve been wanting to taste ye forever,” Finn said, pausing to look up at her.

  Taste her? What did he mean? The breath went out of her when she felt his mouth on her most
private part. William had definitely never done this.

  She gripped the bedclothes in her fingers as Finn kissed and licked and circled his tongue over the sensitive nub between her legs. Good heavens, nothing had ever felt like the exquisite sensation of his mouth and tongue. The tension grew until it became unbearable. She wanted to beg him to stop and not to stop, but she could not form words.

  She cried out as liquid waves of pleasure rocked her body. Before she recovered, she felt an urgent need to have her arms around him, to feel him inside her, to have their bodies joined. To be one with him.

  When she pulled on his shoulders, he drew up until they were face to face.

  “I need ye inside me. Now,” she said in a ragged voice. “Please, now.”

  “O shluagh,” he said.

  Her hips lifted of their own accord, her body ready for his. She bit her lip as he thrust inside her, filling her. She clamped her arms and legs around him, urging him on.

  Heaven help her.

  “Mo leannain,” he said, pausing to rest his forehead against hers, “You’re going to kill me.”

  His shaft throbbed inside her as he gave her a long, deep kiss. When he began to move inside her, every nerve and muscle in her body strained against him.

  “I need… I need…” Could he not go faster?

  Instead, he rolled with her until she was on top of him.

  “Show me how ye want it.” He coaxed her to sit up, straddling him. Gripping her hips, he rocked her against him, helping her find her rhythm.

  His gaze raked over her as she moved, setting her skin on fire. For the first time in her life, she felt wanton and truly free. This was not like her. And yet she felt as though this was how she was meant to be.

  As she rode him, he covered her breasts with his hands and pinched and rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. Oh God! She leaned over him, hands on his chest, straining against him. It was happening again. When he reached between them and rubbed the sensitive nub between her legs, she felt as if she was about to fall over the edge of the world.

  “Look at me!” he said.