by Glenn, Laura
The young man was right about one thing, though—too much time was being wasted. Who knew what Anna was being put through by the Gowrie?
“What do you want, old man?” Galen barked, making his impatience very clear. “I have a wife to get back, but I am sure you already know that.”
Alec’s spine stiffened and the exhaustion seemed to melt from his features as he sat taller in his saddle. He nudged his horse toward Galen and his sons followed behind.
The brazen act infuriated Galen and he drew his sword. “Where is my wife?” he demanded as the thought occurred that maybe the Campbell was behind Anna’s kidnapping. “Tell me now or I will spill your guts right here!”
The disquieting swish of swords drawn on either side of him reverberated through the tense silence.
“Wait!” the youngest Campbell called, holding up one hand as he shifted his horse to come between his father and Galen. “Anna told us to tell you that you are not allowed to hurt us!”
“Daniel!” Alec hissed.
The young man paled as he sheepishly glanced from his father to the throng of warriors just behind Galen.
Galen stared at Daniel, his heart leaping into his throat. His Annie would say something like that. Hope sprang within him and guided his horse closer to Alec, glaring at Daniel until the young man moved out of his way.
“I will only ask you once more.” Galen clenched his jaw as his friends moved into position behind him. “Where is my wife?”
Alec lifted his chin in a show of defiance. “She is safe with the MacPhearsons. For the time being. I expect the Gowrie to have figured out my deception by now and be on his way to find us.”
Tormented by a sudden surge of conflicting emotions, Galen stared at Alec for several long moments. When he finally spoke, his voice cracked in eager relief. “My Annie is all right?”
Alec blinked several times, looking back at him with astonished eyes. The old man coughed uncomfortably and cleared his throat. “She is with my wife. Her labor has begun.”
Galen’s heart sank into his stomach.
Rathe caught Galen’s sword before it could tumble to the ground. “It sounds like we have a fight to get to,” Rathe murmured as he handed Galen’s sword back to him.
“God knows why, but my daughter insists on returning to the man who stole her,” Alec remarked, his tone acrid. “Do you promise to treat her well, MacAirth? Though we could do with your help in this battle, I would rather you turn around and go home right now if you are unwilling to give me your word.”
“Father, Niall and the MacPhearsons need us,” the older Campbell son remarked in annoyance.
“Enough, Sionn!” the old man commanded. “I will not have the MacAirth anywhere near my daughter unless I have his promise!”
Enraged, Galen’s nostrils flared. “You insult me, old man.”
“I may not have been able to protect her from the Gowrie all those years ago, but I will be damn sure protect her now that I have her back,” the Campbell growled. “Including from her so-called husband.”
Galen shook his head in anger. “I have never hurt my wife and I never will. But that is all you will get from me. Ask for nothing else if you value your or your sons’ lives.”
“I need nothing else from you,” Alec shot back, grabbing his reins. “Now are you following us into battle or do I have to worry about you running me through from behind?”
“For Anna’s sake, I will follow.” Galen clenched his jaw. “But only for her.”
Alec nodded curtly and turned his horse.
Galen shoved his sword back into the scabbard and grabbed his horse’s reins. “Move out!”
* * * * *
Crossing into MacPhearson territory, the warriors of the various clans fell into an uneasy quiet, their voices bare whispers as they marched south. The lairds of the four clans present uttered not a word to one another.
Galen surveyed the road and woods, searching for any sign of Adam, Geoffrey or the Campbell boys who had ridden ahead to find out if the Gowries and their allies had arrived. The anticipation was getting the better of him. He’d had too much time alone in his head to plan. He needed to act. The sooner he could do so, the sooner he could hold Anna in his arms and reassure himself she was all right.
His chest tightened, the fears over what she might have gone through plaguing him. Was she injured? Had the Gowrie touched her? Was he now a father? Did she survive the birth?
And what if she had not?
Galen’s stomach twisted and images of his parents invaded his thoughts once again. Had Adam been right all those months ago? Had he fallen in love with his own wife?
Alec broke the silence. “We should be seeing the keep in the distance soon.”
“You think I do not know the MacPearson’s land as well as you?” Galen snapped.
“Annie is right. You are an ass,” Alec grumbled, staring straight ahead.
Galen grunted, but was caught by surprise at the impulse to smile—the first one he’d had since discovering Anna was missing. He glanced at Alec out of the corner of his eye. The determined set of his jaw was so similar to Anna’s when she made up her mind about something. The similarities were absolutely stunning and Galen berated himself for not seeing the fact that Anna had to be a close relative of the Campbell’s sooner. How could she have kept something like this from him, especially after he had confronted her about being a Campbell? Or was she truly unaware of who her father was?
“Did she know about you?”
Alec glanced at him. “You mean that I was her father?”
Galen nodded, his eyes drawn to the towering MacPhearson keep as it rose over the trees in the distance.
“No, she had no idea,” he answered with a shake of his head. “Do you know about her though? Where she comes from?”
“I do,” Galen remarked, distracted by the relief flooding his chest at the sight of the keep. Finally, he was almost within reach of his Annie.
“No one else can know,” Alec warned, his voice dropping into a low tone. “They would not understand. It would be best if you were to destroy that damned stone too.”
Galen cast a sharp, sideways glance at the old laird. “How do you know about that? Did Annie tell you?”
A strange nostalgia flickered in Alec’s eyes. “It is mine. Or was before the Gowrie stole it after Anna was born. I had no idea how it disappeared until I received his missive to meet her at his keep a couple of days ago.”
“You do not wish for it to be returned to you?”
Alec sighed and shook his head. “My wife has longed for a daughter, but I prayed for the good Lord to only give her sons because I knew the Gowrie or his father would have insisted on James marrying any daughter of mine in order to further control me. I was grateful I was not able to bring Anna home with me because she was safer in her mother’s time. I did not know the Gowrie had stolen the damn rock or knew what it could do.”
Galen’s attitude softened toward the Campbell and it irritated him something fierce. It was difficult to shake off the years of listening to his father drunkenly rail against his former friend for being linked to the Gowries, and then there was Galen’s own hatred of the man for cutting down his father in battle. He opened his mouth to make a snide, biting comment, but then shut it. If it hadn’t been for Alec, Anna might still be in the Gowrie’s grasp.
“And I do not want that black magic around my daughter and grandchild,” Alec persisted. “I do not care if Anna wants to go back to her own time. You make her stay here where we can protect her. You hear me, son?”
“Do not call me ‘son’,” Galen tersely replied.
“Ass,” Alec muttered. “You are about as bad as your father.”
Several moments passed before Alec spoke again. “I did not want to kill Malcolm, you know. We were friends once.”
Galen allowed his eyes to meet the Campbell’s. A lifetime of struggle and pain flickered through the old man’s eyes. “I know,” Galen answered as his own h
atred for the man before him and the man his father had become slipped away.
The two men regarded one another, a wordless understanding passing between them. The rhythmic clatter of galloping horses broke the uneasy silence and both turned as the men before them parted to allow Adam, Geoffrey and the Campbell boys to meet them.
Adam’s horse reared as he pulled on the reins several feet away. “The fighting has not yet begun,” he breathlessly reported.
“The Gowries are only now making their way toward the keep,” Sionn added. “They are close, though, and the MacPhearsons are ready.”
“Only now?” Galen asked in surprise. The Gowrie holding was not too far from the MacPhearsons. What had taken them so long?
Alec nodded. “Good. Our plan worked.”
“Why have the MacPhearsons not engaged the Gowrie closer to the border?” Galen’s eyes darted back to Adam in concern. “Why wait until they are this close to the keep?”
“To surround the Gowrie forces,” Alec answered in a clipped tone. “My warriors are coming around behind them while the MacPhearsons confront them. Their keep is about as impenetrable as they come. Besides, I needed more time.”
“Time to get the MacAirths,” Rathe answered for him.
Alec nodded. “That and to ensure every Campbell man, woman and child had time to leave our lands.”
Galen exchanged bewildered glances with the other men around him before returning his attention to Alec. Alec straightened his shoulders, lifting his head high.
After several long, tense moments, Collum was the first to speak. “You mean to say you evacuated your entire clan?”
“Yes,” Alec replied, strength filling his features and turning them hard as if to challenge anyone for thinking him daft. “My keep is most likely smoldering as we speak.”
Galen pressed his lips together grimly, awed by the sacrifice the Campbell had made for Anna and his clan in order to get out from under the power of the Gowrie. The man had risked everything, knowing the Gowrie would come after him first. And now, on MacPhearson land, he was going to make his stand.
“All right.” Galen, grasped his reins as he attempted to keep his mind from reeling over how he was about to fight side-by-side with his father’s killer. “Let us finish this once and for all. Remember, the Gowrie is mine.”
The men around him nodded and war cries went up, chasing shrieking birds out of the trees. Moving en masse toward the MacPhearson keep, the warriors of the various clans marched faster than before, almost as if driven by an unseen force propelling them toward the battlefield.
It was not long before the clamorous din of battle reached their ears. As the men approached the castle, the MacPhearson forces confronted the Gowrie and his allies in the valley down the hill. In the distance, the Campbells closed in, but the number of men under the command of the Gowrie outnumbered both clans by at least two to one. If Galen had not brought his men and his allies, the Campbells and MacPhearsons would not have held out for very long.
Galen dared a quick look at the keep, his heart tugging him in a direction he was not used to when confronted with battle. He had never been one to pray, let alone beg anyone for anything, including God. But now he sent up a silent plea for Anna’s safety and health, entreating for mercy on her behalf.
Rathe’s never-ending eagerness for a good fight broke through Galen’s thoughts. “We will take the east, boys!” he shouted, swinging his sword high in the air for his men to follow him as he let out a loud whoop and galloped down the hill.
Collum grinned at his friend charging into the fray as he drew his sword and led the MacBains in the opposite direction.
Galen’s horse pranced in anticipation as he threw orders at Adam, Geoffrey and the rest of the MacAirth warriors. He was about to allow his stallion to begin the run it so desperately wanted just as Daniel’s face paled in fright before him.
“Son, look at me,” Alec commanded, staring at Daniel. “You can do this. For the clan and your sister, remember?”
Daniel nodded and Sionn gave him a swift smack on the back, nearly throwing the teenager out of his saddle before nudging his horse into a gallop down the hill after Adam and the MacAirths.
Galen took pity on the Campbell lad, remembering all too well how frightening it was to charge into one’s first battle. He nodded to Geoffrey and then looked at Daniel, hoping his brother would take the boy under his wing. Geoffrey nodded his understanding.
“Come, Danny.” Geoffrey, who was not much older than Daniel, drew his sword and pointed at the horizon with the tip. “You see your clan back there? And there are the Camerons just coming over the hill to the west. This will be over in no time.”
Geoffrey smacked Daniel’s horse on the rear and then nudged his own after them.
Galen cracked a small smile, but it was quickly replaced by the grim determination of his set jaw as he surveyed the scene before him. “You ready, old man?” He raised his eyebrows at Alec.
“Watch it, lad.” Alec grabbed his reins and held his sword out in front of him. “It will not be long now before the gray will start taking over your head too.”
One corner of Galen’s mouth turned up in a smirk. “The MacPhearsons make a good whisky.”
The corners of Alec’s blue eyes crinkled as the old man smiled at Galen for the first time. “I could certainly use a wee draft after all this.”
They nodded to one another and goaded their horses down the hill and into the fray. As Galen fought alongside his men and allies, he kept as close a watch as he dared on the MacPhearson keep behind him. Something in his gut told him if he were going to find the Gowrie anywhere, it would be heading toward Anna.
The Gowrie allies ultimately breached the Camerons’ defense and were drawn farther south by the Gowrie’s forces. At that point, a group of Gowrie men broke away and headed north toward the castle, virtually unopposed.
Fury pumped hard through Galen’s veins and he withdrew a section of his men to give chase, shouting to Adam to take over command of the remaining MacAirths. The clash of steel rang in his ears and was followed by the dying gurgle of a man behind him. He glanced over his shoulder just as Alec withdrew his sword from the man’s body.
The old man glanced up and waved Galen toward the castle. “I am right behind you, son!” he shouted.
Galen muttered an explicative under his breath over Alec’s choice of words and dispatched the warrior running toward him, slashing like a madman.
In the distance, the Camerons closed in around a group of Gowries and the Sinclair shouted for his warriors to back up the MacAirth position. Satisfied that his friends had the main battle under control, Galen turned and followed his warriors who were running or galloping on their horses to beat the Gowries to the castle walls.
Pressing his stallion faster, Galen rode around his men to the front of the pack, sensing the Campbell close behind. Hurling orders to his warriors to take various defensive positions, he reined his horse in front of his men and waited for the Gowrie assault.
Alec pulled up next to him and extended a leathery finger. “There is the bastard. Right there hiding in the middle of his men.”
It had been awhile since Galen had the misfortune of being in the presence of James Gowrie, but he had no problem recognizing him once the Gowrie forces moved closer. The man barely seemed winded, let alone had a drop of blood on him. Whereas Galen felt the weight of sweat and other men’s blood encrusting his clothing.
Galen’s pulse pounded in his ears and he dismounted from his horse, giving it a swift pat to encourage it to fall behind his line of men. Feet braced shoulder-width apart, he tensed, ready to attack when the moment presented itself.
The Gowrie men slowed and parted, allowing James to take the lead. As his features came into focus, Galen couldn’t help but fantasize about the various ways he could cut the triumphant smirk off the man’s face.
“Good day to you!” James cheerfully commented as though a battle of his own doing was not raging
in the valley just behind him. “It is a fine day to settle our differences once and for all, is it not?”
An arrogant smile spread across James’ face. His hand twitched against the reins of his horse as a thread of fear revealed itself from behind the animosity glowing in his eyes.
“This is between you and me, Gowrie,” Galen called. “Get off your horse and let us finish this!”
James shook his head and chuckled. “The world does not revolve around you, MacAirth. I am here for the Campbell.”
“I couldn’t care less about what you are here for,” Galen growled. “You kidnapped my wife!”
“Your wife?” James rolled his eyes. “Did she neglect to tell you I had her first? That I contracted a marriage with her under the authority of God nearly ten years ago?”
“A marriage she had annulled. She has chosen me over you,” Galen taunted, determined to drive his opponent into such a fury he would dismount.
“Chosen you? I say, from the look of her, you gave her little choice. But, then again, she always was a little too easily persuaded by a man’s touch.” James snorted and turned his attention to Alec, just behind Galen. “Did you see what this man did to your daughter?”
Alec’s face glowed with defiance as he squarely met the Gowrie’s stare. “Better him than you.”
James shook his head, chuckling as he regarded Alec with obvious pity. “You surprised me, Campbell, I will give you that. I did not know you had such duplicity in you. Too bad your clan had to pay the price for this mere daughter no one knew you had.”
“No land or castle is worth the price of a clan’s honor,” Alec remarked. “We all see that now.”
“And you, MacAirth?” James turned toward Galen. “Your clan has a nasty habit of stealing Gowrie women. Are you willing to die and risk your own clan for one woman? A woman who is too easily governed by the pleasures of the flesh to be faithful? Tell me, do you enjoy that sweet little mole on her right hip as much as I do? I had almost forgotten all about it.”
Galen’s nostrils flared and he growled his breath. His Anna would never willingly give herself to anyone other than him. The mere thought of the Gowrie’s hands on her nearly drove him into a blind fury. Had he actually touched her? Did she fight back?