“None of that is yer fault.” He touched the back of her neck and squeezed reassuringly.
“Right.” She blew out her breath, pushed back her shoulders, and headed down the stairs.
She didn’t know what to expect from Godfrey Erksine, but he wasn’t nearly as menacing as she’d pictured. Handsome with dark features, he had a warm smile that almost seemed nervous when he saw her.
“Kylie? I have heard ye go by Kylie,” he murmured. “Ye really are the one, are ye not?”
He took a step toward her, and Creighton cleared his throat. Godfrey stopped and looked at him hesitantly. “Sorry. I should explain a few things. I am Godfrey Erksine. I suppose ye know who I am since ye have been asking questions about my father.”
“I have,” Kylie said slowly. “I guess you want to know why I’m asking about him.”
“Nay, I know. He has told me about ye all my life.”
Eyes wide, she backed up. “Then what are ye doing here?”
“My father is ill, Kylie. He wants to see ye before he dies. He wants to finally meet his daughter.”
“His what?” Creighton and Kylie exclaimed at the same time.
Godfrey looked at them in confusion. “Rowan Erksine is yer father. I thought ye knew that. I thought that was why ye were asking about him.”
“Nay, I thought he killed my mother.” On reflex, Kylie reached for Creighton, and he was there, intertwining his fingers with hers. “I dinnae understand. He cannae be my father. I watched my father die.”
“Ye were there? When yer mother died? Do ye know...no, I suppose ye dinnae since ye thought my father did it. Why would ye think that?”
“We were leaving. Running. I thought we were in exile. I thought Erksine hated us.”
After a moment, Godfrey turned and pulled out some chairs around the table. “Have a seat, Kylie, and I will tell ye a story of romance and heartbreak.”
They sat, and Godfrey folded his hands in front of him. “My mother passed when I was born. My earliest memories of someone holding me other than my father or a nurse was yer mother. She was warm and loving, and I think I thought she was my mother. My father says she could warm the coldest winter night.”
“I remember her that way too.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “They had an affair?”
“Aye. He claims he asked her to marry him, and she told him she’d think about it. Then, one night, they had a fight. Fletcher MacSeaver and his new wife were spending the night, and Fletcher thought my father had tried to seduce her. They both denied it, but yer mother believed it. She left that night, and it was the last I ever saw of her.”
“Fletcher was famous for being jealous of his wife,” Creighton volunteered quietly. “He was so in love with her, and eventually he settled down, and they had a good marriage.”
“The damage was done. My father knew she was pregnant and searched the Highlands for ye. He had no idea that yer mother stayed in the clan but lived in a remote village. She had ye, raised ye even, and my father had no idea until a few years later. He went out to search for ye that night, and he came across her body and that of the man she’d been living with.”
“Did they love each other?”
“I dinnae know,” Godfrey told her quietly. “What do ye remember of him?”
Kylie smiled. “That he was kind. That he held me when I cried and rescued me when I was trapped in a tree. That he helped me hide the beans at the table and tucked me in at night.”
“Then it was clear he loved ye. I am sorry that ye lost them. I am sorry that ye were there. Ye said ye were running that night?”
“Aye. I thought we were running from yer father.”
“Maybe she knew he’d found out and decided to run, but she had to know that he would never take ye from her. He just wanted to get to know ye.”
Kylie’s head swam. Her father wasn’t her father, and Erksine didn’t want her dead.
“My name is Kaitlyn MacSeaver?”
“Aye. My father spoke to the villagers after yer mother was gone.”
Her name was Kaitlyn. “I just need a minute,” she murmured as she pushed her chair back and walked to the window. Her whole body trembled, but then there were hands at her waist.
“Ye dinnae know who killed yer parents,” Creighton said in her ear.
“I know.”
“But ye have family. Ye have someone who knew yer mother.”
“Someone I thought wanted me dead.”
“No one can tell ye what to do, Kylie. Or who to be.”
Turning, she searched his face. “I think I should go. I want to meet my father.”
“All right, but only if ye will allow me to escort ye. I want to know that ye are safe.”
And if she wanted to stay? What would he do then?
“Thank ye. If ye dinnae want to go, ye can send an escort. I know ye think Godfrey is telling the truth, or ye wouldnae let me go.”
“I’m not letting ye go, Kylie. This is yer choice, and I will take ye. Someone hired that mercenary group, and someone hurt ye. Until ye are safe, I will be keeping an eye on ye.”
“Creighton...”
“We arenae arguing about this.”
“All right,” she whispered. “Then I wilnae argue about it.”
“Good.” He kissed the top of her head and turned to Godfrey, who just nodded.
“My father and I will welcome ye to Erksine.”
26
The trip to Erksine was a brutal one. The weather was so much colder, and the paths up the mountain so narrow that Creighton made her sit on the horse with him. He was worried the entire time, but she and Godfrey seemed to get along. She seemed hesitantly optimistic about opening up to him, but he seemed to genuinely care about her.
Creighton wanted her to be happy, but he was worried that she would get hurt.
And maybe he was a little worried that she would stay.
“And there it is,” Godfrey said with a little pride in his voice as they headed over the crest of a hill. “The beginning of Erksine lands. Because of the climate, we built our villages closer to the edge of the mountains and forest to help protect against the high winds. ‘Tis why we are so spread out. Our river rarely freezes, so there is fish aplenty, and we always have fresh water from the lakes of the mountains. We are a simple clan, but we look out for one another.”
It was clear in the man’s voice that he took pride in his land. That is what would make him a good laird one day.
“There is a group riding out to meet us,” Creighton said in a low voice as he reached for his sword.
Godfrey narrowed his eyes to see the small group moving slowly up the path and cursed. “‘Tis my father. He is eager to meet Kylie, but he shouldnae be so far away from the keep.”
“How ill is he?” Kylie asked, her fear evident in her voice. She’d already lost so many people, and now she may meet her father only to lose him just as quickly.
“His illness is recoverable, but he was badly wounded in the leg five years ago and it makes traveling difficult,” Godfrey explained. “Currently, he has a rough cough and rattling in his chest. I had hoped he would recover before I left. Perhaps he is feeling better.”
“I was friends with a talented healer. I know a few remedies for such a cough. If he still has it, perhaps I can help.” Her voice quivered just a little bit, and Creighton touched her hand reassuringly. His body heat kept her warm as they had climbed higher, but he doubted the trembling was from the cold.
“Would ye like to take a minute before ye meet him?”
Kylie nodded. “Aye. Could we stop by that grove of trees for a moment, Godfrey? I would like some privacy.”
“Of course. Take as much time as ye need.”
He swung off the horse and then helped her down. “Dinnae go too far, all right?”
“I won’t,” she promised him, and he watched her carefully while she made her way into the thicket.
“So,” Godfrey said quietly, “now that we are alone, I feel
‘tis my duty to ask yer intentions of my sister.”
His duty? He’d known her only several days. “I asked her to marry me,” he told him stiffly. “She refused me. I imagine that if she and yer father get along, she will stay to get to know him.”
“Ye love her?”
With everything that he had. “She had lived in fear and anger and confusion for too long. I will do whatever it is necessary to see her safe and happy. Mark my words, if yer father intends to hurt her, I will go to war over her, but if she wants to stay, and I believe her safe here, I will let her go.”
“Do ye think she will give my father a chance? For so long, she has thought of him a villain.”
“Kylie has a large heart. I imagine that if yer father deserves it, she will love him with everything that she has.”
Turning his head, he gazed at the woods. It was too quiet for his taste. “Is it easy to navigate the woods?”
“Aye, if ye know where to look. There are also underground tunnels that run throughout the village and keep.”
The uneasy feeling intensified. “Is there an entrance in the woods?”
When Godfrey didn’t answer, no doubt because he didn’t want to give away clan secrets to a stranger, Creighton dismounted and took a step to the woods. “Kylie?” he called out. “We are in no hurry, but answer me so I know ye are safe.”
He was met by silence. Immediately, Godfrey jumped down. “Kylie?” he roared.
“Tell me that I didnae just deliver Kylie to ye so ye could harm her,” Creighton said before he called her name again.
“No one here would harm her. They have been waiting to meet her just as my father has. If harm has come to her, then ye brought it with ye.”
Ignoring him, Creighton headed to the woods and stopped short. Stuck on a branch and waving in the wind was a scrap of fabric that matched Kylie’s dress.
And right next to it were several spots of blood.
Horses neighed as the group reached them, and an elder man dismounted with slow, stilted movements. “Godfrey,” he rasped. “Do ye have her? Have ye found my daughter?”
“Aye.”
“And?” Rowan demanded. “Where is she, and who is this?”
“I am Laird Creighton Armstrong, and if ye have done anything with Kylie, then I am going to be the last face that ye ever see.”
Pain rippled through her. Something had hit her again, and in the same spot too. If she wasn’t careful, she’d have a permanent dent there.
Groaning, she reached up and tried to touch her head, but she couldn’t move her arms. Panic set in, and her eyes flew open, but she was surrounded by darkness.
She was upright at least, but rope rubbed on her skin, and stone bit into her back. “Creighton?” she called out tentatively.
“Yet another good laird felled by yer kind.”
The voice was harsh, cruel, but familiar, and she froze.
“Father Benedict?”
Of course. It all fell into place. The priest hadn’t been attacked by the mercenaries. At least, not because they’d wanted to hurt him. He’d been with them.
He must have hired them.
“Ye attacked Lindsey,” she whispered. “Why?”
“Aye, but it never would have happened if she hadnae tried to stop me. I thought ye were alone. ‘Twas regrettable but unavoidable. I would have killed ye then, but I had no wish to harm the sweet lass.”
“So she is a sweet lass, and I am what?” Trying to keep from vomiting, she used her fingers to explore the rope. The father might have been handy with a bludgeon, but he didn’t know how to tie a knot, and that might just save her life.
“A demon. Just like yer mother.”
Jerking her head up, she looked as light came around the corner, and Father Benedict entered the small room carrying a torch. He looked nothing like the man who had held her and told her to look after herself and her heart. A wicked gleam danced maniacally in his eyes, and a cold smile spread over his face.
“No,” Kylie whispered. “No, ye couldnae have known my mother.”
“Oh, aye, I did. She was a lass with a good heart and a lovely smile, but she was a creature from the hottest depths of hell, and she was taking a good man with her. She’d seduced him with her wickedness and was twisting his mind. I had to take care of her before it was too late for him to be saved.”
“Ye killed her? And that man...” The man she’d thought was her father, whose name she didn’t even know.
“Aye, only the wicked protect the wicked. Ye were just a child, a blank slate, and I thought it only fair to give ye a chance. I should have known that ye would turn out just like her. I wilnae let ye take him!”
“I am not a demon, Father Benedict. I only just discovered that Rowan was my father. I thought he killed my mother, but now I just want to get to know him.”
“I know ye are spreading yer legs for Armstrong like a whore. Just like yer mother,” he hissed. “I wilnae let yer wickedness touch this land. I hate that ye even step foot on Erksine land. ‘Tis my duty, passed down from God himself, to protect this land, and I wilnae let ye sully it any longer!”
Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a dagger. It glinted in the fire, and he dropped the torch and lunged at her.
27
The entrance to the tunnel was hidden behind a pile of rocks, and the descent required a fairly high jump. All Creighton could think as he made it that if it were one man dragging Kylie, he would have needed to drop her right in.
She could be broken. Bleeding.
Dead.
Panic welled up inside him, but he shoved it down as he reached up with Godfrey to help the elderly man down. Rowan was panicked and furious about Kylie’s disappearance, and he insisted on helping with the search. Unlike Godfrey, he wasn’t shy about telling Creighton anything he needed to know.
All he cared about was Kylie, just like a father might.
“These tunnels run up to the main village,” Rowan grunted. “We should split up.”
“There has to be a way to narrow it down.” Frustrated, Creighton nearly slammed his fist into the stone. “The mercenaries found us right outside Sinclair lands. She was attacked on my land, and now she is kidnapped here! There is no chance that we were followed, and my men and I didnae detect it.”
“Ye didnae tell me that someone was trying to kill her before now, Godfrey!” Rowan’s roar echoed in the darkness. “Mercenaries?”
“Aye. Supposedly hired by yer son. There must be something that I am missing. She has only discovered information about ye recently. That cannae possibly be long enough for someone to hire mercenaries and send them out after her, and Father Benedict said they knew her real name. Only someone here would know that. Have any of yer men been traveling frequently over the last few years? Perhaps they could have been keeping an eye on her.”
“Father Benedict,” Rowan said sharply. “Who is that?”
“The priest who was hurt by the mercenaries after they attacked us.”
“Did ye take him with ye to yer lands?”
Creighton looked at him sharply. “Aye. Ye cannae mean...he is a priest.”
“Aye, and an insane one. He was our resident priest here for a few years. A young one and vera devoted, but it became clear he wasnae just devoted to God. He began to see me as some sort of deity. We had to ask him to move on. He would be in his late forties now.”
“Why would he want to harm Kylie?”
Creighton closed his eyes and staggered. “He warned me against her mother time and time again. He feared she was some sort of demon. He may suspect our daughter is the same.”
“A demon? He’d take her to consecrated ground. Where is the church now?”
Godrey lit his torch. “One of the tunnels leads right to the basement of the church. We have another priest, but his residence is far from the church, so it will be empty.”
“Would it be faster above ground?”
“Nay, even with the horses. There is too much rough la
nd between us and the church. Move swiftly now, and we will reach her.”
Tensions were high, and Rowan found a renewed energy as they moved through the tunnels. “So, Creighton,” he said, not even winded, “what are ye doing exactly with my daughter?”
“Ye want to have this conversation now?”
“No time like the present.”
“Vera well. Yer daughter forced me to decide between escorting her to Sinclair lands or leaving her to a group of bandits. I chose to escort her, and then I became her protector against an evil priest while she searched for who murdered her mother. And since she was certain it was ye, I thought I was going to have to go to war.”
“Me?” Rowan repeated in anguish. “I would never hurt her mother.”
“Aye, well, she seems to know that now.”
“So ye would have gone to war over my daughter?” He turned suddenly, and they scrambled to follow after him. The more he moved, the more energized he became.
A father racing to save his daughter.
“I really dinnae think now is the time to talk on this.”
“He bedded her,” Godfrey offered helpfully. “And she refuses to wed him.”
Creighton groaned. Now her father would be going to war over her, and for justifiable reasons.
He stopped suddenly and looked up. “This is it. It’ll open directly into the basement. We wilnae have the element of surprise. If she is alive, he will use her as a shield.”
Creighton hardened. “She is alive. Kylie is a fighter. She is not going to give up now. I’ll go first.”
“She is my daughter.”
“And she doesnae even know ye,” Creighton reminded him gently. To avoid further argument, he climbed the makeshift ladder and opened the trap door. In a single movement, he hauled himself up and landed in a crouch. Pulling out his sword, he roared Kylie’s name.
“Not so loud. I have a headache,” she snapped from the corner behind him. The torch burned on the floor, and she was working on the ropes around her ankle. To her side, the father lay passed out. “Are ye going to help me? There is something wrong with my arm, and I cannae get the ropes undone.”
Highlander’s Elusive Bride: A Scottish Medieval Historical Romance Page 15