Marti Talbott's Highlander Series, Volume 4

by Marti Talbott

  “Alison, just kill him and get it over with,” yelled her little sister, Nessa. She ignored the shocked looks on Neil and the other men’s faces.

  Comine hardly glanced at the young women, but he tightened his grip on Alison’s arms again to keep her from moving.

  “Never mind,” shouted Charlotte. “I will kill him.”

  “No I will.” Aleen, the youngest, pulled her dagger and started to skip around Comine in a wide clockwise circle. She paused just long enough to push Ben out of her way and then turned to face Comine. “Did Alison tell you we have already killed five lads?” She waited just long enough to see him shake his head. “I do not like killing lads, but we get upset when someone tries to take a sister.” She resumed her skipping.

  Then Laura, Sheena and Colina pulled their daggers and began to walk behind Aleen going the same direction. They quickly spread out so that two of the four were on opposite sides, and Comine became afraid one would put a dagger in his back. The one good thing, he believed was the fact that they kept far enough away. With luck, he might be able to tell when one got close enough. Still, he was starting to become agitated.

  Ben was afraid he would cut Alison accidentally and was about to rush Comine, but Alison shot him a warning look and then turned her stare on Neil as if to say, ‘stay out of it.’ Neil seemed to understand and grabbed Ben’s arm just in time.

  Edana’s eyes were fierce. The eldest of the nine, she was especially enraged that someone would try to hurt a sister, and when she drew her dagger, it was obvious she intended to use it. “When we kill a lad, we sing for him first. It makes him feel better, we think.”

  She started her song. This time it was not a love song but a dark song of hate and dying. She waited until she could and then stepped inside the circle the four younger sisters were making. Going the opposite direction, she began to also walk around him and soon Charlotte, Slava and Nessa joined her on the inside circle...which was considerably closer to Comine.

  The women spread out and at any given moment, at least one was behind him on the inside and one on the outside circle.

  Comine was trapped and the fear of being stabbed in the back weighed heavy on his mind. Eight women with rage in their eyes and daggers in their hands were circling around him, and he wasn’t sure which to fear most. The oldest one, he thought, but then he saw the look in Charlotte’s eyes. After that, the sisters looked so much alike, he wasn’t sure which he feared most.

  At first, he held his knife taut against Alison’s neck, but when Charlotte darted toward him, he pulled it away to defend himself. As soon as Charlotte pulled back, he put the knife against Alison again, but then Nessa darted in as though she was going to stab him and he again pulled his knife away to defend himself. He still had a tight grip around Alison’s arms and waist, but instead of putting the knife back, he kept it ready to stab the next sister who came near.

  Even so, he could not protect his back or his other side and he was at a loss as to what to do. Confusion and terror were beginning to consume him. Frown wrinkles grew deep in his brow, his hands began to shake and the sisters kept darting in and pulling back on all sides of him.

  Once he even looked to Neil for help, but Neil had his arms folded and looked pleased with Comine’s predicament. Comine was about to die and he knew it. “Mother,” he softly moaned.

  Their song was coming to an end...suddenly Edana grabbed the arm Comine held his dagger in and yelled, “Now!”

  Alison twisted out of his hold just as all the sisters lunged at the same time and Comine was pushed to the ground.

  It happened so fast, even Neil could not tell which of the sisters drove her dagger into Comine’s juggler vein or who stabbed him in the heart. As soon as it was done, they withdrew their daggers, got back up and rushed to Alison. Each in tears, they held her, checked her neck carefully and made sure she was all right, while the MacGreagor and MacClurg warriors looked on in silence.

  “Is anyone hurt?” asked Edana at length. She didn’t think they were, but she examined each to make sure and then turned to Neil. Just like the others, she had blood on her clothing and when she came near, Neil checked her arms and looked her over, just as she had examined her sisters.

  It made Edana smile. “Aleen will have nightmares.” He nodded and it was all the only approval she needed. She gathered the sisters, finally looked at her worried husband and headed toward the lake to wash.

  Alison made them stop and then turned to Ben. “I came to say yes, I will marry you...if you still want me. I mean, now we have killed six lads.”

  She looked worried until he went to her and took her in his arms. “I want you more now than ever before. I might need your sisters to protect me someday.”

  Alison giggled and when he picked her up, she rested her head on his shoulder and started to cry again. “I was very frightened.”

  “I know, but you kept your wits about you. Today I saw a lass with more courage than most lads have.”

  She was so pleased with his words, she wiped her tears and hugged his heck. “Thank you.” Surrounded by the sisters and the men in their lives, Ben carried the woman he loved all the way to the loch.

  NEIL NODDED FOR TWO men to dispose of the body and then slapped Walrick on the back. “Do you think the sisters will teach us how to do that?”

  “I hope so...except the singing part. I have a feeling we could learn a lot from them. How did they keep from hurting each other?”

  Neil thought for a moment. “The younger sisters put their daggers away at the same time. I suspect it had to do with that part of the song. Then when they got him down, the younger ones fell on his legs. Edana had his arm, so that left Nessa, Slava and Charlotte to do the killing.”

  “They practiced it. No wonder their father and brothers did not try to fight for them,” said Walrick.

  “No wonder indeed. Do we know who the dead lad is?”

  Gelson answered, “He is Comine MacDuff. He lived with his mother in a cottage in the forest and I have not seen him in years. Come to think of it, I have not seen him since his mother died eight years ago.”

  -end-

  KADICK

  CHAPTER I

  KADICK WAS SMALLER than most women, yet far less timid and with good cause—fighting for her place in society was a way of life. Even her own mother denied her and had it not been for Millin and her husband, Kadick would not have made it through the day of her birth. However, Millin, to whom God gave no natural children, was not put off in the least and loved her as well as any natural mother could.

  As a child, Kadick strived to face the world head on, but now that she was grown and the MacClurg clan joined with the MacGreagors, she preferred to wear a specially made cape with a hood to prevent annoying stares and the remarks of unkind children who knew no better. She was not ashamed or embarrassed, just weary of it all.

  It turned out to be the perfect morning for what she had in mind. The rising sun revealed a clear blue sky, the birds were chirping and she felt very well indeed. She finished tying her bundle, loaded it on her horse, and then marched across the courtyard.

  Wearing her dark green hooded cape, she did not care that the crowded room was filled with men awaiting their daily orders, when she burst through the door of the great hall. Dressed alike in their white shirts and green plaid kilts, the men quieted. Those sitting at the long table or on the colorful pillows along the walls got to their feet. Kadick held her head high, ignored them and headed straight for Neil and Walrick.

  Laird Neil MacGreagor smiled. Rarely had he encountered this MacClurg and he had to search his mind quickly to remember her name, “Kadick, what is it?”

  “I have come to say farewell.”

  Neil raised both eyebrows. “What?”

  She took in an exasperated breath and slowly let it out. “I have heard that about men. From the time a new child is born, they lose all hearing. You will be pleased to know hearing does return once the child begins to sleep through the night..
.save for when they began to get teeth, throw up or cough. Fortunately for the child, mothers can hear every breath they take. But then I would not know that first hand.”

  Was she serious or being sarcastic? Neil was at a complete loss, but remembered to be pleasant and maintain his smile. At least this MacClurg was not curtsying incessantly. “I am happy to know I have no permanent damage. Tell me, to where do you intend to go?”

  “I thought I would begin with the Graham hold and then work my way south to England.”

  “And why would you do that?”

  Kadick pushed her hood back, untied her cape and took it off. Then she slowly turned so each man could get a good look at the purple mark that covered the lower half of her right cheek. The birthmark continued down the side of her neck and ended somewhere beneath her white shirt and the patch of MacGreagor cloth that covered her heart.

  Except for the mark, she had a pleasant face. Her long, thick hair was a dark shade of brown and her green eyes were clear and bright. She watched and none of the men were able to look beyond her birthmark long enough to notice the rest of her. At length, she turned back to face Neil. “The lads in this clan are faint-hearted and I say it to their faces!”

  When the men began to grumble, Neil quickly put up his hand to stop them. “For what reason do you insult us?”

  She put her hands on her hips and glared at her laird. “I am one and twenty without a husband. I am overlooked for the pretty women, the tall ones, the ones with too little meat on their bones, and the ones constantly unwell. The lads in this clan discounted me for lasses with foul tempers, loose morals and irritating laughter.”

  Kadick’s eyes narrowed and her voice began to rise. “I am even passed over for lasses who cry relentlessly and I am passed over by lads with hideous scars on their faces and missing teeth.”

  She paused to take a deep breath and let it out, yet she held her eyes on Neil’s eyes. “Your warriors are afraid of me, a mere lass, half the size of most others. They see my mark as a curse, but I have lived among you for years and nothing dreadful has happened to me or to any of you because of me.”

  Once more, Kadick turned around to face the men. “Only if I stay here am I cursed. Here, because of a mark not of my doing, I shall never know the feel of a husband’s embrace or hold my own child in my arms.” She paused to let her words sink in. She had wanted to say it for years and now she finally had. “The priest says God has not forsaken me...but all of you have.”

  The room was so quiet, the outside noises of children playing filtered in through the cloth-covered windows, and the torturous silence seemed endless to the men who held their eyes to the floor in shame.

  Finally, she lowered her voice. “I go to find a husband who is not faint of heart and I am willing to go all the way to England if I must.”

  “Kadick let me...” Neil started.

  She quickly turned back to him. “Let you what? You cannot make a lad accept and love me. You might implore one to spend time with me, but I would know and I would hate it. I have little, but I have my pride. Please, just grant my leave so that I may get an early start.”

  “We do not let a lass ride alone.”

  “You cannot stop me, my mind is made up.”

  Listening from just a few steps up the enclosed staircase, Glenna stuck her head out and smiled at Kadick. “I say let her go.”

  Neil’s eyes widened. “My wife is bonnie and normally very wise, but this time I disagree. I will not let her leave unattended.”

  Glenna walked over, lightly kissed Neil’s lips and handed the baby to him. Then she went to Kadick and urged her to sit down. Glenna sat down beside her and all the men retook their seats. “She cannot go alone and she will not stay, so you have but one choice—send some of the lads with her.”

  Neil cuddled his daughter and held his cheek to hers. “Send a lad to help a lass find a husband?”

  “Nay, send unmarried lads to protect her and while they are there, let them find wives.”

  “English wives?”

  “Why not? Our beloved Jessup came from England and so did Greer. According to them, England has no such shortage of lasses.”

  “I will go,” muttered Donnahail. Two other men nodded.

  Neil kissed his sleeping baby daughter on the cheek and handed her back to Glenna. Then he walked to a window and held the cloth back so he could look out and think about it. He was chagrinned that he and Glenna had not realized Kadick’s problem. She was one of the weavers, stayed inside most of the time, and perhaps out of sight was out of mind. Yet she was just as important to the clan as any of the others, and they should have noticed her lack of marriage opportunities. Some matchmakers they were.

  Letting men take her to England was not such an unthinkable idea, but the possible problems were endless. There were even unfriendly clans to consider. “How are they to find wives when none of the lads speak English?” he muttered aloud.

  Said Walrick, “I can only think of four of us who speak it: Jessup, Bethia, Greer and you.”

  Neil smiled. “I cannot go.”

  Walrick glanced at Glenna and shrugged. “Why not? I can take care of things here.”

  When he turned away from the window, Neil tried to hide the excitement building in him at the prospects of a journey. “That is a comfort, but my wife...”

  He wasn’t fooling her, Glenna could clearly see her husband’s anticipation. “Your wife would miss you greatly, but if it means the happiness of your lads and of Kadick, then I am willing to suffer through it.”

  He thought about it for a time longer. “Once the lads get there, they cannot just say they want wives. We must think of a way to entice lasses to live here.”

  “And quickly,” Hugh muttered. “I have not seen England but I doubt I will like it.”

  “You will like it well enough if a lass prefers your unsightly face,” a man in the back grumbled. All the others laughed.

  Neil returned to his seat and took hold of Kadick’s hand. “Would you mind the company?”

  “I would not like interference.”

  “I will see they do not restrict you, save for your safety. Will you wait until I can arrange it?”

  “How long do you need?”

  “A couple of days at the most. I want to talk to Jessup and Greer, about the best way to find wives for my lads and a husband for you in England. Will you wait?”

  At last, Kadick smiled. “Aye.”

  And at last, Neil managed to look beyond her birthmark to the light in her beautiful green eyes.

  AT HIS REQUEST, ALL the unmarried men who wished to find a wife in England gathered just after the noon meal, and when Neil stepped outside the Keep, he was not surprised by the sizeable number. He chuckled and leaned closer to Walrick. “Have we anyone left on guard?” He enjoyed Walrick’s grin and then turned to the men. “I will take only twenty, therefore you must draw lots. Gelson will...”

  “Wait!” In the back of the men, Slava shoved one man one-way and a second one another, so she could get closer. As soon as she found Feargon MacClurg, she got in front of him and began pushing him from the courtyard. “You are not leaving.”

  Feargon held his chin high and pretended to resist. “Ah but I am. You will not have me, so I go to find a wife in England.”

  “In that case I have changed my mind, I will marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips, ignoring the laughter and the cheers from all the other men.

  Neil watched the young couple hold hands and run away from the crowd before he continued, “We leave in two days.” He stayed to watch the men draw lots and made note of the particular skills of the men he was taking. They were about to cross hostile Scottish territory and then enter England. The men had to be strong, well trained and have their wits about them at all times. When the lots were drawn, Neil heaved a sigh of relief. He found no reason to turn any of them down. However, he did have one problem and he had no idea how to solve it.

&nbs
p; CHAPTER II

  HEAVY WITH CHILD, JESSUP looped her arm through Greer’s arm and walked her into the great hall where Neil and Glenna sat at the table waiting.

  Neil quickly stood up. “Welcome,” he said in English. He motioned for both to take a seat near his at the head of the long table. “I have not practiced my English for a while and if I am to journey there, I best sharpen my skill. Jessup, if you would be so kind as to interpret for my wife.” He waited for her nod, poured wine in each of the four goblets and handed them out. “I am sure you have heard I intend to take some of the men and Kadick into England to find matches. Therefore, I need sound advice. How do we entice lasses to come to the Highlands?”

  Greer grinned and her soft blue eyes glistened as she tossed her long, slightly tousled, blonde hair back over her shoulder. “Take the most handsome lads with you and tell them to take off their shirts.”

  Neil rolled his eyes and watched the expression on his wife’s face. As soon as Jessup finished interpreting for Glenna, both women laughed, which made him raise an eyebrow. “I had no idea lasses were that easily persuaded.”

  Greer giggled. “I suggest we do not tell the rest of the lads.”

  “I agree. I have a hard enough time getting them to keep their minds on their work.” He waited for the women to stop laughing at him and tried to look serious. “Other than that, what have we to offer? Some call our way of life fierce and many in England believe impossible things about us.”

  “I heard these things too, but I gladly left my home to come here, and so will other women. Life in England for most is not half as good as the way Highlanders live. The poor live in country cottages the same as you and most work on the farms. They have few clothes, only one window if they are fortunate, and sleep on straw on the floors.”

  “Then what differences are there?”

  “The differences are in the way they are treated. Lasses are considered the property of lads in England. If a lass has no husband or family, then she is considered the property of her lord.”