Claimed by a Laird

by Glenn, Laura

  Sionn’s mouth dropped open, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “It is all my fault. I am sorry, Anna. I did not mean…”

  Alec waved his son away and rubbed Anna’s back as she bent over and rested her hands on her knees. “Enough. Go get Conn. Tie him up, gag him and bring him down into the tunnel with us. We will leave him just under the chapel. By the time he is found, we will have already made it to MacPhearson land.”

  After several moments, Anna eased herself to standing. “Tunnel?” she breathlessly asked as she rubbed her lower back.

  Alec’s eyes twinkled. “The Gowrie is a paranoid man. Years ago, he had a tunnel built that leads from the chapel to outside the castle walls. Having been a trusted subject of his finally offers me an advantage.”

  * * * * *

  Wagons sucked.

  Anna had come to this conclusion after bouncing along in the back when she was first kidnapped. She still agreed, riding in one again as the Campbells made their way through the dark woods to the MacPhearson holding.

  Her father was right, though. She was in no condition to ride a horse with her intermittent contractions becoming regular and more painful. She was not sure where they had found the wagon, but assumed they had stolen it from some poor farmer who had left it in a field they passed in the middle of the night.

  For hours, Anna drifted in and out of consciousness, catching brief dozes every now and then between contractions. From what she could tell, they were still about ten minutes or so apart. Since her water had not yet broken, she was determined not to worry about labor until it was necessary. All that mattered was she and her newfound family made it to safety.

  It was strange, really, to have so many strangers fawning over her like a favored child. Guilt-ridden Sionn, still under the impression he had brought on her contractions by arguing with her, worried over her comfort. He fluffed a pile of straw to create a makeshift pillow and gave her his monk’s robe to keep her warm on the journey, even going so far as to tuck it in around her like a mother fussing over her child. Niall regularly asked if she needed anything and Daniel whispered periodic updates on their progress as they passed landmarks…as if she had any clue where they were.

  And then there was Alec—her father. His very presence seemed even more surreal than her brothers’. He had a calm, commanding air about him, which reminded her of Galen and comforted her. He always seemed to sense when she had a contraction too. Sometimes he would just worriedly eye her and other times he would guide his horse closer to the wagon so he could lean over and pat her leg or hand reassuringly.

  For the first time since finding herself off the MacAirth land, Anna was safe. Renewed confidence buoyed her spirits and she knew no matter what happened, her father and brothers would protect her until Galen came for her.

  All she had to do was get through the contractions and pray she wouldn’t give birth in the back of some creaky, old wagon in the middle of nowhere.

  Dawn eventually broke and the men spoke in louder voices, suggesting they would soon be in a place of safety. Anna pushed to sitting and caught sight of her father’s exhausted face. They had ridden all night and her heart was near to bursting with gratitude for his and his clan’s efforts.

  As if sensing her stare, Alec glanced at her, his weathered face cracking into a grin as he winked. “Almost there, lass. Keep my grandchild inside you just a wee bit longer.”

  Grandchild. She hadn’t even thought about that. Anna had adored her grandparents and it had made her sad to think her own child would never have that kind of relationship. Galen’s parents were dead and her own were either dead as well or stuck in the twenty-first century…or so she had thought.

  She smiled and nodded. Her stomach tightened and a searing pain radiated across it. She bit her lower lip to keep from crying out in surprise. Closing her eyes, she forced her breathing to slow as she lay on her side.

  Just as it subsided, shouts rang in the distance and relief swept across her father’s face. He sat taller in his saddle and then goaded his horse forward out of her sight.

  Within a few minutes, the wagon creaked to a stop. Sionn and Daniel jumped in next to her to help her into Niall’s massive arms. He was almost as tall as Galen with a body built for fighting. But, unlike Galen, Niall had a lighthearted non-frightening charm about him.

  She held onto his upper arms and peered at him. She’d never had a sibling before let alone three, and a mischievous mood swept over her as she surveyed his face so similar to her own. “Hmm. Your muscles aren’t quite as large as the MacAirth’s. That’s a shame.”

  Niall’s expression blackened, which somehow didn’t seem at all as frightening as Galen’s scowls. “Woman, you are lucky you are my sister.”

  A gush of fluid fell from between Anna’s legs.

  She gasped, her face flushing hotly. Her water had broken.

  Niall looked at the ground and then back up at her in horror. “Shit! Father!”

  Alec rushed forward with a tall, slender woman on his heels. “What the hell did you do to her?” he roared as he stopped and surveyed the scene.

  Niall’s face blanched. “I think I broke her.”

  “Good work,” Sionn snorted, shoving Niall on the shoulder.

  “Stop it, you two.” The woman stepped forward and waved them away. When Niall did not release Anna, she propped her hands on her hips and glared the young man into submission.

  Anna let go of her brother as he stepped back from her and turned to the woman, gazing at her wide-eyed. She appeared to be about her father’s age and had long light-brown hair with streaks of gray running from her temples. Her smooth skin would have belied her age had it not been for the creases at the corners of her eyes and the laugh lines around her mouth.

  She warmly regarded Anna with green eyes specked with silver and offered her a gentle smile. “You did not tell me, Alec, I was about to become a grandmother.” She looked at Anna’s stomach.

  Anna glanced at her father, uncertain what was happening.

  “Anna,” Alec said, laying his hand upon her shoulder, “this is my wife, Lenora.”

  Great. What girl wouldn’t want to meet her stepmother for the first time after her water broke in front of half her father’s clan?

  “I’m sorry,” Anna whispered with an exhausted shake of her head. This was all becoming way too much for her to handle. All she wanted to do was to curl up on a bed and wait for Galen.

  Lenora clucked sympathetically. “No, do not be silly, my darling. Why the same thing happened to me in the middle of the courtyard when I was about to deliver Niall.”

  “It did?” Alec asked in wonder. “Why do I not remember that?”

  She shook her head and waved off his question. “You were off hunting. Now, Anna, how long have you been having pains?”

  Anna swallowed hard, renewing her determination to get through this ordeal. “Off and on for over a day now. It didn’t start to get really hard until we were traveling here.”

  Lenora nodded and picked some straw off Anna’s leine in a motherly gesture before smoothing the hair away from Anna’s face and resting her cool palms on her cheeks. “You are safe now, you hear me? I will gather the midwife and my sister-in-law and we will take care of everything. You just concentrate on my first grandchild, do you understand?”

  Anna couldn’t help the tears rolling down her cheeks. Why was this woman being so kind to her husband’s illegitimate daughter? Blunt as the thought was, it was exactly what Anna was to Alec. She wasn’t certain she would have reacted in such a graceful and loving manner if the shoe were on the other foot.

  Alec laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder and she dropped her hands from Anna’s face as she turned toward him.

  “We should be off now and you both need to get to the safety of the keep.” He kissed Lenora’s forehead and then gave Anna’s hand a tentative squeeze.

  “What is the plan, Father?” Niall stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side.

/>   Alec looked at each of his sons in turn and appeared to brace himself for a forthcoming protest. “Niall, you will stay with your uncle and lead our men against the Gowrie when he arrives. Sionn and Daniel, you will accompany me to the MacAirths.”

  The Campbell sons did not disappoint. Arguments flew all around as Anna’s brothers attempted to reason with their father.

  “You will be riding to your deaths!” Niall insisted, his face red.

  Sionn shook his head. “You killed his father, remember? What makes you think he will speak to us before running us through?”

  “He won’t do that,” Anna insisted somewhat breathlessly, interrupting the fray. “Just tell him you rescued me from the Gowrie. Tell him I told you to say he is not allowed to hurt you.”

  “Your uncle says he can be quite the reasonable man.” Lenora wrapped her arm around Anna’s shoulder. “This is your brother-in-law you are speaking of, remember.”

  The alternating thinned lips and furiously flaring nostrils on Sionn and Niall’s faces nearly brought a giggle from Anna’s throat.

  “The MacAirth is an ass,” Sionn muttered, crossing his arms.

  “The MacAirth is a powerful man who is married to your sister,” Alec cut in with an exasperated tone. “Like it or not, our clans are now linked. He has as much interest in seeing the Gowrie taken out as we do. You know that.”

  “This is our chance,” Daniel nodded in agreement and moved to stand beside his father, “to no longer be beholden to the whims of the Gowrie. Our clan deserves to be free of him.” He turned to Anna. “I am sorry Sionn called your husband an ass. I have never met him, but I am sure he is a fine man.”

  “Oh, he is definitely an ass sometimes. I’ve told him that on several occasions,” Anna blurted before thinking better of it.

  Niall’s hand twitched where it lay upon the hilt of his sword. “If he has ever laid a hand on you for that, I swear…”

  A hard, all-consuming contraction built in Anna’s lower abdomen and she whimpered, her knees buckling under the pressure.

  Alec grabbed her around the waist to prevent her from sinking to her knees and Lenora captured her hands.

  “Just breathe, my dear, and it will soon be over,” Lenora whispered.

  Anna nodded, allowing the strength of her father and stepmother to seep into her as they held her. The contraction did not pass quickly, however, and Anna groaned as panic set in. She had attended many births for the women in the MacAirth clan, so she knew what to expect. But going through the ordeal herself was more frightening than she had ever suspected, especially in an unfamiliar place with complete strangers.

  Lenora pressed her forehead to Anna’s and whispered, “As of now, you are my daughter and I will see you through this. Put your trust in me.”

  Weeping, Anna took a deep breath and matched the breathing pattern Lenora attempted to set for her. After a few moments, the pain lessened and her abdomen relaxed.

  “Take your sister and mother into the keep,” Alec instructed Niall, his voice gruff with emotion.

  He kissed the top of Anna’s head and then leaned forward to kiss his wife before turning away to walk toward his horse.

  Lenora’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she went up on tiptoe to kiss the cheeks of Sionn and Daniel. “God speed,” she whispered.

  Niall took one of Anna’s hands as Lenora took the other. “Come, Annie, let us get you comfortable.”

  Anna smiled her gratitude at her brother, enjoying the nickname Galen always used coming from Niall’s lips. Somehow, it made her feel safe.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The scent of dew permeated Galen’s senses as the sun broke over the thick mantle of trees on either side of the ancient road. He shifted in his saddle, the clamor of snorting horses and marching feet hanging thick in the air. When the time came, the men around him knew that only he would be allowed to slay the Gowrie laird. His hand itched against the reins at the thought.

  He glanced at Collum MacBain and Rathe Sinclair to his right. It had been easy to convince his old friends to stand with him when he had traveled to their holdings some months ago, but their quick appearance at his side with their warriors only a scant few hours after he arrived home humbled him. Sure, he had saved their hides in battle a time or two in their younger years, as they had his. But the Sinclairs and the MacBains had no dealings with the Gowrie—that had always been a MacAirth problem.

  Rathe turned to him, flashing a crooked grin as excitement over the impending battle sparkled in his glowing green eyes. With his black-as-sin hair and the utter ruthlessness of his personality, it was no wonder most people other than the MacAirths and the MacBains called him “Satan of the Highlands”.

  And, by all that was holy, that was exactly what Galen needed if he were to defeat the Gowrie and his allies once and for all and get his Anna safely back in his arms.

  “The Cameron and his men should be reaching the western edge of MacPhearson land just as we cross from the north.” Collum jerked his square chin forward. “Should not be long now.”

  Galen nodded, forcing his attention onto formulating battle plans. The moment his thinking went idle was the moment his worries over what might be happening to Anna assaulted him. His heart would nearly explode and rage would blind him. He had to focus or insanity would take over.

  Adam maneuvered his horse out of the thick forest. Galen held up his hand for everyone to stop.

  Adam’s expression was grim as he reined in next to Galen. “We could have trouble.”

  “What is it?” Geoffrey came forward through the ranks on his own horse.

  “Campbells.”

  “How many?” Collum asked.

  Adam’s brow furrowed. “Only three. But one of them is definitely the laird of Maree.”

  The men exchanged confused glances.

  “What the hell is old Alec Campbell doing riding through these parts without a proper army?” Rathe glanced ahead. “He has no friends up here.”

  Galen grunted in agreement and then his eyes darted to the road as the pounding of horse hooves echoed through the forest. “My guess is we are about to find out,” he murmured, his hand moving toward his sword.

  The men around him nodded and positioned themselves around Galen as they waited.

  In only moments, three lone riders crested the hill and then slowed. Galen’s horse snorted and pawed the ground, ready to break into a gallop. He soothed the animal with long strokes on its neck while he scrutinized the man in the center of the three riders.

  Galen’s heart seemed to stop pumping as the moments crept past. Finally, the men came into focus and he recognized the Campbell of Maree. It had been years since the two had come face to face, but Galen would have recognized the man who had killed his father anywhere.

  Galen’s men fell into a sudden silence as the riders stopped not far ahead. He held up his hand for everyone to be still and then nodded to Adam, Geoffrey, the Sinclair and the MacBain to follow him.

  As they moved their horses forward, Galen glanced at the two young warriors to either side of the Campbell. He had not seen them before, but the similarity of their facial features to the older man in the middle made him think they must be the Campbell’s younger sons since he knew the eldest to be a redhead.

  “I figured you would come this way, MacAirth,” Alec Campbell called, his steely voice slicing through the thick tension. He rested his hands on the saddle in front of him as Galen and the others stopped about twenty feet away.

  “I never thought you would,” Galen sneered, secretly admiring the old man’s impenetrable composure. “Especially not without an army and express orders from your lord and master.”

  Anger radiated from the old man’s vivid blue eyes and a picture of Anna flew through Galen’s mind. He froze, barely believing what was in front of his own eyes. All the times Anna had glared at him for any of a number of things he had said or done she had taken exception to, Galen had to shove away the nagging notion of how f
amiliar her eyes were to him—just how much she suddenly looked like a Campbell of Maree. He nearly choked on his breath as he looked into the old laird’s eyes and recognized none other than his wife.

  Before the old man even got the words out of his mouth, Galen knew what he was about to say. A knot formed in his chest and he resisted the urge to shake his head in denial.

  “One would think you would be a bit more hospitable toward your father-in-law,” Alec baited, his voice edged with contempt.

  The heat of the stares of the men around him centered on his back and Galen clenched his jaw in an effort to rein in the violent urge uncoiling within his body to draw his sword and end this farce. Why would Anna keep something like this from him? Did she still fear him?

  “Well now, you neglected to mention anything about that,” Rathe quipped from the side of his mouth.

  “That is because I did not know,” Galen growled under his breath.

  Collum chuckled. “I never thought you one to become so taken by a lass, you would neglect to find out who her father is.”

  “You do not know the half of it.” Adam grinned.

  “Rest assured, I will bash your skulls together when this is over.” Galen snapped his attention back to the Campbells.

  Alec’s stone-faced expression hadn’t changed, but his youngest son seemed a mite bit nervous as he glanced from his father to Galen.

  “Who my wife’s father is, is of no concern to me,” Galen challenged in a cool tone. “I made no agreements with you.”

  The older Campbell son rolled his eyes, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. “This is a waste of time, Father. We should be standing with the MacPhearsons, not prostrating ourselves before the demon who forced himself on our sister.”

  Galen’s eyes widened in surprise, unsure the young man realized how loudly he spoke. He crossed his arms as the Campbell’s composure broke. Exhaustion etched across the old man’s face, but he remained stalwart, flashing his son a glare demanding silence. The young man glanced at Galen and grabbed the reins, his forearms flexing in an obvious desire to turn and make a break for the woods.