by B. J. Scott
Her lips parted, granting him entry, and he wasted no time taking possession, plundering her mouth, and savoring the taste of her surrender.
“This is a very touching reunion, but there is no time to tarry. The Campbell’s men willna be far behind us,” the executioner said as he removed his hood and strode toward them.
The priest joined them. “We’ll give the horses a few minutes to breathe, then we must be on our way.”
Arya faced the men. “I dinna know who you are or why you helped me, but I owe you my life.”
“This is Alasdair Fraser, and the so-called priest is his cousin Ian,” Garrett replied.
“Damnation Garrett! What are they doing here, and why are the Frasers suddenly our ally and not our foe? Our fathers would rise from their graves and take up arms if they knew we consorted with the enemy.” The fire and brimstone returned to her eyes as she glared at the men with her fists balled at her side.
Alasdair shook his head. “She does have a loose tongue, but we have no time for tantrums. Your mother will explain things once we get to her croft.” He wrapped his hands around Arya’s waist, then hoisted her atop her horse before she could stop him.
“What has my mother to do with this? You, sir, are a blackguard, a swine, and if you ever touch me again, I will lop off your ballocks and feed them to the hounds.”
“She means it too,” Garrett whispered to Alasdair while trying not to laugh. After everything she’d endured over the last two days, she was as feisty as ever.
Alasdair shook his head. “I’ll leave Connor to deal with her,” he said then mounted.
“It was very clever to have you pose as the executioner and Ian, the priest. And the fires were a brilliant distraction. However, now that you have betrayed your friend, and burned down part of his village, the Campbell he will be out for Fraser blood too.”
“Not likely. Connor had it all figured out. He planned to tell the Lord of Argyll that he came alone and left Bryce and I at Fraser Castle in Beauly to see to things in his absence. My brothers and I fought with the Campbell many times during Scotland’s fight for independence, but he has never met Ian or his brothers before today, so if caught, he wouldna connect them to our clan. He had us all wear disguises so we wouldna not be recognized or stand out in the crowd,” Alasdair explained.
“Hopefully, he fell for the ruse,” Garrett said. “But he willna be pleased that Arya escaped and you torched his village.”
“Appearances can be deceiving.” Alasdair chuckled. “The fires were set in hay wagons at the corner of the bailey. No one was injured, and aside from some feed, no buildings were harmed, no lives lost.”
“Where are Connor and your other two cousins now?” Garrett asked as he climbed into the saddle.
Connor remained at the keep. Had he run, Campbell would suspect him of the deed and had him arrested. He decided to cause a fuss after Arya disappeared, demanding she be found and turned over to him at once. When Campbell refused, he would storm out in anger and declare he would go looking for her himself,” Alasdair replied. “John and Colin would merely blend in with the crowd and find their way back to your camp when the coast was clear. If all went according to plan, Bryce is on his way back to Scotia’s keep as we speak. He may even be there before us.”
“We are in your debt.” Garrett offered his arm in gratitude and Alasdair accepted the gesture. “But you are right, we need to be off.” He turned to his men. “Seamus, gather the lads and divide them into groups or two or three riders. Then have each group ride off in a different direction. It will make us harder to track. We will head back to Scotia’s croft and meet you there.”
Seamus nodded. “Right away,” he said then sprinted off to rally the men.
“Do I not have a say in this?” Arya asked. “Why are you taking orders from our sworn enemy? While I am grateful for their help, my father wouldna approve of Frasers in our camp.”
“I’m afraid you are too late, m’lady. We’ve already been there,” Ian said, smiling.
Garrett handed Arya the reins. “We’ll discuss this when we are safely away.” He slapped the rump of her horse, and the beast leaped forward.
Chapter 10
Arya leapt from her horse, then raced into the croft. Her mother would be beside herself with worry and she wanted to put an end to the burden as soon as possible. When she reached Scotia’s bedside, she dropped to her knees and clasped her mam’s hand.
“Welcome home, Arya.” Isla rose from a chair on the opposite side of Scotia’s bed. “I prayed you’d return to us.”
“Thank you for staying with, Mam, Isla. I canna begin to express my gratitude.”
“I was glad to help.” Isla said.
“Arya?” Scotia mumbled, then opened her eyes.
“Aye, Mam. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“It matters not. I praise the Lord for bringing you home. I feared I’d lost you. Just like your da,” she whispered. “I couldna bear the thought.”
The sight of tears running down her mother’s pale, gaunt cheeks and knowing she was the cause of her pain, broke Arya’s heart. “Dinna cry, Mam. I wouldna leave you alone. I . . . I was merely delayed, and—”
“Dinna lie to me. You went against my wishes and accompanied Garrett on the raid. And I am also aware that you were captured and held prisoner by Laird Campbell. I’m just grateful he released you.” Scotia lifted her head, then glanced around the room. “Where is Connor Fraser? I wish to thank him.”
Alasdair moved to the foot of the bed. “Connor has yet to arrive. I’m afraid his plan dinna go as he’d hoped, but Arya is free and will remain so. My brothers and I will see to that.”
“Then my daughter is still in danger?”
“I said we’d keep her safe,” Alasdair replied. “We’ll know more once Connor arrives. But for now, you should rest.”
“Your concern is admirable, Lord Fraser, but I need to speak with my daughter.”
“He’s right, Mam. You look exhausted. We can talk later. But I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep.” Arya said, hoping to end the conversation.
“I’ll be resting for eternity soon enough. What I have to say canna wait.” She stroked Arya’s cheek.
Arya caught her mother’s hand and squeezed, her chest aching, tears starting to fall. Scotia grew weaker as each day passed and her capture had only added to the strain. It would not be long before . . .
Nay, she refused to accept that her mother’s death was near. Arya scrubbed her damp face with the heel of her hand, then leaned in and kissed Scotia’s brow. “Rest now, and I’ll heat some broth for when you awaken,” she said, then rose.
“Dinna go. There are things I must tell you.” Scotia clutched the sleeve of Arya’s tunic.
“After you’ve slept, we’ll have plenty of time to chat.” Arya forced a smile.
“That’s where you’re wrong, daughter. Time is precious, and we must consider your future.”
Arya stiffened. If her mother planned to discuss Connor Fraser and his brothers, she didn’t want to hear it. Regardless if they’d helped her escape from the Campbell or not, she refused to believe their ludicrous claim was true. She was not their sister. She was a MacEachan, and no one would convince her otherwise. “My past, present, and future are here with you, Mam. Once you are stronger, we will—”
“The Almighty has different plans for me.” Scotia covered her mouth to stifle a coughing spell, then drew in a ragged breath. “But before I die, I want to make certain you will be all right. There are secrets I must share with you about your father.”
“There is naught you can say about Da that I dinna already know.”
Scotia lowered her gaze and fisted the blankets. “I am not talking about Ronald. I wish to discuss the man who sired you.”
Arya ste
pped back, hugging her middle. “Why are you doing this? Bastard isna a pretty word, Mother.”
“I never said or implied any such thing. But I have carried this far too long. Perhaps I should have told you sooner, but I promised Ronald I wouldna reveal the truth about your parentage. And after you were born, I couldna bring myself to break my word to him. I never knew a man who adored a bairn as much as he did you.”
“Yet you betray him now?” Arya challenged.
“You were captured and needed help. I had nowhere else to turn.”
“Connor Fraser informed Laird Campbell that you sent for him before the raid, before my capture. Why would you summon our enemy?”
“I am dying, Arya,” Scotia replied bluntly. “And it is time for you accepted the inevitable. But before I do, I felt I owed it to you and to Andrew Fraser to tell the truth. I wanted you to have the chance to meet his sons, your brothers.”
“I have no brothers, and I loved my da. I thought you did too.”
“I miss Ronald very much. He was a brave, kind man, and we never wanted for anything when he was alive.”
“But did you love him, Mam?” Had the passion she believed her parents felt for each other been a lie?
“Aye. But there are many kinds of love.”
“You both seemed so happy together.”
“We were verra content, but it was different with Andrew,” Scotia replied. “There was an unexplainable attraction from the moment we met, an almost tangible bond neither of us could deny nor explain. Something you experience once in your lifetime, and only if you are lucky enough to find it.” She peered up at Arya and smiled. “I was blessed to have two men in my life. Both hold a special spot in my heart.”
Arya studied her mother’s expression. For the first time in months, she noticed a flush in her cheeks, saw a sparkle in her eyes, and heard a slight lilt in her voice. Clearly Andrew Fraser meant a great deal to her.
“I met Andrew almost twenty summers ago, but I can still picture him standing before me with his unbound, auburn hair lifted by the breeze. He was tall, muscular, and broad-shouldered, so braw, I could hardly catch my breath.” Scotia released a soft sigh, then continued. “He was traveling through Oban and stopped to water his horse. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we were talking about the bonny weather and the sorry state of things in Scotland.”
“And you gave yourself to a man you dinna know and might never see again?” Arya was trying to understand and not to pass judgment, but it was difficult to imagine her mother falling so easily for the charms of a stranger.
“Nay. Things remained respectable between us. He had to continue his journey, but asked if he could call on me the next time he was in the area. I said aye. Not that I believed he would ever return.”
“He obviously came back,” Arya said.
“Aye. And with each visit, we got to know each other a wee bit better. Until the attraction between us grew so strong, we could no longer deny our feelings for one another. He spoke about his home in Beauly and his four sons with such pride, I soon felt as if I knew each of them personally.” She glanced at Alasdair. “You and your brothers are exactly as I imagined. I wish I’d gotten to know you sooner.”
“How did you know he wasna already married and only toying with your affections, Mother?”
“Our father wasna that sort of man.” Alasdair came to sire’s defense. “Our mother and wee brother were killed in an attack on our village over a year before Scotia claims to have met him.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, and I meant no disrespect.” She crossed herself. “But you must admit, your father was a stranger and lived so far away, he could very well have had a wife waiting for his return.”
“The day we met, Andrew told me of his wife’s passing. I saw the sadness in his eyes when he spoke of her death and the loss of his wee son at the hands of the English. A man canna fake that sort of grief. It broke my heart.” Scotia scrubbed away a stray tear. “He said our meeting lightened his spirit and gave him hope for the future, one we might share together.”
“The tale is very sad, but were you not betrothed to Da at the time?”
“Ronald and I were friends, but nothing more.”
“It was obvious that Da adored you. Did you not feel the same way about him?”
“In time, but not at first. Ronald was a good man. And while he had expressed his desire to marry me, he never spoke of love. When Andrew and I met, I had not yet accepted Ronald’s proposal. I was a foolish lass with a romantic heart.”
“Did Andrew Fraser declared his love for you, Mother?”
“Aye, he did on his last visit, just before he asked for my hand. I couldna have been happier. We were so caught up in the moment, one thing led to another, and—” Scotia lowered her gaze. “We made love. He said his sons would be accompanying him to Berwick, and after the gathering he would take me to Beauly, where we would wed.”
“But he never came back, Mam. How could you care about someone who deserted you, who lied to get you beneath the pelts?”
“Andrew gave me you. Something I praise the Almighty for on a daily basis,” Scotia replied.
“Dinna be so quick to judge, lassie. My da was an honorable man,” Alasdair said. “Andrew Fraser never made empty promises.”
“My brother is right.” Connor entered the croft, then stormed across the room, stopping beside Scotia’s bed. His brow furrowed as he stared at Arya. “If our father gave his word, he’d have kept it, if humanly possible. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so. You have no idea what those days were like. Had you witnessed the massacre at Berwick, you’d understand why he dinna return.”
Arya glared back at him. “Now who is being quick to judge? True, I wasna at Berwick, but I lived through the rest of the war with England. I may have been a wee bairn, but I saw more than my share of death and destruction. The conflict cost my da his life, my clan their land,” Arya reiterated.
“The war was hard on all of Scotland, but the massacre at Berwick on Tweed dinna compare to anything else we witnessed. Longshanks summoned the lairds and their kin from the four corners of Scotland, demanding they sign the Ragman Roll, swearing fealty to the English Crown.”
“I’ve heard tell of it,” Arya replied.
“Then you also must know he launched a merciless attack on the village once everyone had assembled. He pummeled the walls with his trebuchet while his massive army put-to-sword nearly eight thousand men, women, and bairns.” Connor's voice wavered as he spoke.
“It was a miracle any of you survived,” Scotia said.
Connor nodded. “Aye. But sadly, our father and oldest brother werena as fortunate. Had Da not given us each a coin and sent us off to visit the vendors while he and our brother met with some of the other lairds, things might have ended differently. We’d not be standing here to tell the tale.”
Alasdair placed his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “The battle was fierce, and the Scots were unprepared. We dinna stand a chance against so many well-armed English warriors.”
“King Edward ordered his men to show no quarter.” Connor hung his head, his gaze now trailing the floor as he drew in a slow, deep breath. “My brothers and I somehow managed to get back to the cattle yard where we had last seen Da, only to witness him being cut down by an English soldier, and our oldest brother slain right after him. I am ashamed to say, we did nothing to intervene. Instead, we hid until the battle was over.”
“You were lads and not warriors. I am sure there was naught you could do. Besides, Andrew wouldna have wanted you to risk your lives to save his,” Scotia said.
“It is sad to lose both your father and your brother at the same time. How did the rest of you manage to escape?” Arya asked. Maybe she had been too quick to judge.
“A priest found us,” Connor replied. �
��We were hiding behind the stable. Father Mark took us to a secret chamber beneath the kirk. While the bastards burned the building above our heads, we were beneath the ground and safe. We waited there like scared rabbits for what seemed like forever. After a full day had passed and when we were certain the English had gone, we climbed out of the pit and did what we could for the survivors. We searched for the bodies of our father and brother, but never found either.”
“You must have been devastated and uncertain what to do next, where to go,” Scotia said.
“The priest had no plans to remain in the village and suggested we seek refuge at a nearby monastery. But when he asked if we had any kin, we told him about my father’s cousin, Simon Fraser. And he arranged for safe passage to his stronghold in the Lowlands.”
Scotia reached for Arya’s hand. “I knew something must have happened, or Andrew would have come for me. I was determined to wait for him, but when I realized I was breeding, I dinna know what to do.” With downcast eyes, she continued. “Ronald asked me again to marry him, but I couldna say aye while harboring a secret. To my surprise, he told me he dinna care and would raise you as his own. As long as I vowed never to tell anyone about your real father.” She peered up at Arya through tear-filled eyes. “Andrew never knew about you.”
“I love you, Mam, and I am sorry if your life was not what you’d hoped.” Arya squared her shoulders, her mind reeling. “This is a lot to fathom at one time. I am not trying to be cruel, and my heart aches to know you suffered such a loss, but the fact you bedded a man other than the one who raised me, will take some time for me to come to terms with.”
“I dinna blame you for being upset with me, Arya, but there may not be time. I want your word that you will go with Connor and your brothers to Fraser Castle where you will be safe.” Scotia glanced at Garrett, who until now remained in the shadows. “Speak to her. Make her see reason.”