Alastair slowly approached her, rubbing his hands together. He leaned down close to her face, his foul breath stinging her nostrils. She turned her head away from his but he grabbed her face with his hands and turned it toward him. He stared at her with his beady dark eyes and scruffy red beard, watching as fear flooded her eyes .
“Do you think your precious Dougal will come to rescue you ?”
She refused to answer his question, but met his eyes, squinting angrily at him .
“That means he will. Good,” he said, smiling a wicked grin. “It will make things so much easier when he comes to me. But don’t worry my dear, when I kill him, I’ll make sure to throw your body in the pit next to his .”
Emilia had worked at the rope around her hands on the wagon ride over, and now she pulled a hand free and reached up, slapping Alastair as hard as she could across the face. She tried to stand but before she could, three men grabbed her and held her forcibly down in the chair .
Alastair pulled a white handkerchief from his belt and wiped his bloody lip, an evil smirk pulling at his lips. As he looked at her, his smile faded and he moved forward, grabbing Emilia by the throat and squeezing. She scrambled, trying to break free by scratching at his hands around her neck, but she began to weaken as she struggled for breath and movement .
“Perhaps I willna kill you right away,” he said through gritted teeth. “Maybe I’ll let my men have you first. And if that don’ kill you then I’ll make sure to finish ye off myself .”
He let go of her throat and she wheezed and hissed through the cloth that had been stretched over her mouth. Everything in her wanted to fight harder but she knew it would only cause more pain for little use. Emilia calmed herself down and stared at Alastair, trying to keep fear from her face. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how frightened she was. He laughed as he looked at her glare from across the room .
“Throw her in the storeroom,” he said, waving his bloody handkerchief. “Leave her as bait for the MacGavin. Then we will circle him from behind .”
The men picked her up out of the chair and carried her by the arms down the hall and to a small room at the end. She squealed through the gag as they tossed her onto the cold hard floor and slammed the door shut. Emilia jumped up, grabbing the doorknob but the door was already locked. She could hear the men laughing on the other side as they walked back down the hall to meet back with their clan .
Emilia pulled the gag from her mouth and plopped down on the ground, trying to look around her for anything to help, but the room was so dark she could barely see her hand in front of her face .
She pulled her knees up against her body and leaned back against the wall, her chest flooded with fear. There was no humanity left in these men and she knew if things went bad she would never make it out of here alive. No one would ever know what happened to her. She would have simply disappeared, lost in another time, a time where she didn’t exist. On top of all of that, she was being used as a trap, a way to lure Dougal into the Buchanan house where they would try to take his life .
Arabel would be left to fend for herself, the MacGavin Clan would lose their best men, and the elders would probably take the MacGavin name to their graves. Everything in their future hinged on Dougal’s survival, and Dougal was now being lured by his worst enemy, Alastair Buchanan .
Emilia knew she should have walked away when she had the chance. Perhaps coming here, and coming back, had changed everything about the past. But something had tied her here, to this time. She knew now it was Dougal — Dougal and his family. She loved them, more than she had ever loved before. And wasn’t love stronger than anything else ?
Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about that family and how her feelings had grown from lust to love in such a short time for that strong, obstinate man. He was everything she had searched for. Little did she know that all of the research, all of the studying she had done throughout her life had led her to him. Now, however, she didn’t even know if she would make it out of this house alive, much less ever feel the comforting warmth of his embrace again. Was she to come all this way only to have felt it that one time ?
She shook her head, wondering how she had gone from the young new history professor at NYU to a lost girl in Scotland, in a time period that she had spent her life admiring. How anti-climactic could one life be? For several minutes, she let the emotions flood her system and spill out of her eyes .
She sobbed out fear of dying, fear that Dougal would be killed, for lost love, and for the feeling of utter helplessness. Why had she been shown a portal if it was going to end like this? How had she changed history at all? Emilia thought of Fiona sitting next to her on the plane, orchestrating all of this like a twisted fairy godmother. Emilia looked up into the darkness, wiping the tears from eyes and wondering if Fiona could hear her .
“Fiona,” she said, softly at first, then waited a moment and repeated her name, more loudly this time. “I need you. Please .”
She sat still, waiting for a response but still there was nothing. She felt stupid, realizing this was likely just ludicrous and she was really just sitting here talking to herself. Either way, she had nothing to lose, so she took a deep breath and pulled herself to her feet .
“Fiona, please,” she yelled out. “Tell me what to do. I don’t know what to do. I followed my heart just like you told me and it has led me here .”
Emilia began sobbing again in desperation as she called out to this mystical woman she had met only a few times in the past weeks. Still, she heard and saw nothing. Emilia slunk back against the wall, sliding down and pulling her knees to her chest. She wasn’t sure what else to do. She did not want to die alone in this dank storeroom, or even worse at the hands of the Buchanan men. Emilia was not naive and she had far too much knowledge of the history of this clan and their brutality .
She lay her head on her knees as she searched her mind for anything that could help her in her escape, then felt a strange energy moving through her chest. She picked up her head and sniffed, looking around for any sign of Fiona .
Figuring she had mistook the feeling, her eyes roamed the dark closet, searching again for anything that could aid her, but the closet was bare and the door firmly locked. The only thing surrounding her was silence .
“He’s coming,” a voice whispered suddenly through the air. Emilia swivelled her head around, searching. Was this just a wishful imagining ?
“What?”
“He’s coming,” Fiona said in her head, her voice firm this time. Emilia saw nothing change in the room, but she knew for a fact the voice had come clearly through her consciousness. The whisper came again. Emilia’s pulse raced as she impatiently waited for something, anything, to happen .
She jumped when she did hear the sound of crashing and yelling. She threw herself back against the wall, listening to men screaming their war cry, followed by the clashing of swords. It sounded like there was a fight ensuing on the other side. Part of her was relieved knowing that Dougal had come for her, but the other part was terrified that men would lose their lives today in order to save hers. She was not worth that much. And if Dougal were to lose his life, then she didn’t see much point in saving hers .
Emilia sat back down on the floor and stared at the back of the door, wishing she could see what was going on. She didn’t know whose screams were whose and the sound of the sword fight sent shivers down her spine. If Alastair lost even one man but won the battle, she would be left at his mercy, and would become his retribution. She couldn’t allow herself to think of it, nor of the thought that the man she loved would be dead, his life and the clan’s legacy over .
Dougal deserved much more than this. He was an amazing leader, a caring brother, and the future of the MacGavin Clan. No matter what the books said, she knew this clan should go down in history as one of the bravest and kindest in all of Scotland, something that was worth more to her than a million valor medals or a crest etched into some monument in th
e future. The MacGavins deserved much more than just a paragraph in the library describing their narrow victory over the Buchanans .
The MacGavins deserved great honor and a strong and robust future. Should she live through this, she vowed to ensure they would receive their rightful place in history. She would note it in detail, with a historian’s viewpoint, and help them keep their records intact .
Her thoughts crept in, questioning her purpose and time travel. Was she the reason they no longer graced the pages of those books? Had her return to this time been predetermined and already written into history ?
Sitting alone in the dark closet, her worst fears began to creep forward and she wondered whether she would be the savior or the downfall of the MacGavin legacy .
16
Dougal
A s Dougal raced his horse to the home of the Buchanan laird, the only thought running through his mind was that Emilia better be alive when he arrived or he would destroy the Buchanan’s castle with Alastair and all his men inside of it .
The thought of losing Emilia sent an unanticipated shock through his system, which he tried to block as he continued to push his horse as fast as he could run. Dougal knew that in reality the Buchanans did not want her, they wanted him. Somehow, likely through the man who had come among their midst, they had determined she was the way to get to him .
He had wondered why they had been so quiet since the battle. They had likely been watching, waiting, finding the perfect moment to exact revenge. He had ensured his own lands were so well protected, they had chosen to draw him out instead. He should have been watching for it. Between his days of recovery from his wound and his focus on Emilia, he had missed the signs, something unusual for him .
He had been concerned that Emilia would become his weakness, and he had been right. They had used her against him, and now he had to face the idea of losing her, in addition to some of his own men. It was dangerous, walking straight into enemy territory, but he was not going to wait for them to come to him, not knowing what horrible things they might be doing to Emilia .
The MacGavins rode through the keep to the bottom of the stairs leading to the massive front doors. The castle wasn’t as well protected as Daniel’s own, and the MacGavins easily overtook the small number of men who were keeping watch .
When they reached the front doors, anxieties were high and Dougal looked at his men and nodded in confidence. Ivor came forward and took the doors right off their hinges. He had seen Ivor do some impressive feats before, but this was something he had never seen. The Buchanans were ready for a fight and the MacGavins had brought it right to Alastair’s front door. As soon as the doors went crashing to the ground, the clansmen inside dispersed in panic .
Dougal watched as Alastair slunk into the background, grabbing a few of his men to protect him. The MacGavins pulled out their swords and began the attack, clashing against the unsuspecting men. They had known Dougal would come for her, but they didn’t realize it would be so quickly. As Dougal moved through the crowd, wrestling men to the ground before plunging his sword into their chests, he looked down the hall at the closed door at the end, protected by a small amount of Buchanans. He figured that was where they were keeping her but he didn’t want to bring her out until it was safe .
It was just like Alastair to be so full of himself that he would hide his leverage in the most obvious place in the house. Dougal turned his attention from the storeroom door, hoping that for now she was safely tucked away, out of harm’s reach. He looked over at Ivor as he thrust a man against the wall, shoving his dagger into his stomach and then retracting, letting him fall into a pile on the floor. Ivor smiled at Dougal as he grabbed another clansman by the hair, pulling his head back and slitting his throat. Dougal shook his head as he blocked a blow from the man standing to his left, turning and kicking him hard in the stomach .
The man fell back against the others, toppling them over into a pile. Dougal took that moment to push forward into the parlor where Alastair was hiding in the back. One by one he sent his men charging at Dougal, his expression of frustration turning to fear as Dougal quickly ran his sword against their necks. Blood seeped through the cracks in the wood floors and trickled up to the edge of Alastair’s boots. He growled loudly as he pushed his last two men toward Dougal, their hands shaking as they approached. They circled around him like buzzards finding their next meal but as one attacked, Dougal sliced his sword across the other, plunging deep behind him and ending both of their lives .
“Ahhh,” Alastair bellowed, pulling his sword from his side. “You fool. I will have your head for this and the head of your dear little sister. After that I will keep your whore and use her myself .”
Alastair lunged forward with his sword, but missed as Dougal dodged to the left. Alastair flew forward into the table, knocking his vases full of whiskey to the ground. He smiled coyly as he tossed his graying red hair behind him and straightened his kilt. He crouched, deciding to take a more palatable approach, which was ridiculous as Dougal could tell every move before he made it. When Alastair missed him once again, Dougal pulled out his dagger and sliced him across the face. Alastair grabbed his cheek and looked up at Dougal laughing .
“When your father died,” he said breathlessly. “He begged for mercy. He cried out in shame .”
Anger simmered deep in Dougal’s chest at the mention of his father. He had been a proud man and a strong warrior, and Dougal knew Alastair’s words were lies but none the less it angered him worse than anything Alastair had said before. Everything Alastair had threatened was preventable, but this was in the past. Dougal walked forward, raising his sword and lunging, stopping just centimeters from Alastair’s face. Alastair winced, slowly opening his eyes as Dougal began to smile .
“You are not worth my time,” Dougal said, lowering his sword. “You will leave this land and never return, do you understand me? You will take all of the Buchanans. You may still lead them Alastair, but lead them away from here. If I ever see any of you here again, I will take your head clear off your shoulders .”
Alastair nodded, dropping his dagger to the ground. The fear in his eyes showed Dougal everything he needed to know. If he could be rid of all the Buchanans, it was worth sacrificing his fulfillment of ending Alastair’s life .
As Daniel looked up, Ivor pointed and shouted. Dougal turned to see Alastair’s maniacal grin as he ran toward Dougal with his sword. Dougal grabbed his dagger from his belt and stepped to the side, plunging it deep into Alastair’s heart. He slowly released his sword from his hand and fell into Dougal, gasping for breath. Dougal dropped him on the floor and pulled his dagger back out, wiping it on his shirt. He pulled his sword from its sheath and held it high over his head .
“You will never learn,” he said, shaking his head and bringing his sword down hard and swift, ending Alastair Buchanan’s life .
Silence filled the room as his head rolled across the floor. Dougal turned to find the Buchanan Clan staring at them, their hands shaking. One by one they dropped their weapons and ran from the house, terrified of what to do without their leader. Alastair Buchanan had no heirs to his clan, so on that fateful day, Dougal ended a century long feud between the MacGavins and the Buchanans. He breathed heavily, staring at Ivor in victory as he tossed his sword to him and pushed past the others .
Dougal’s feet quickened as he approached the end of the hallway and flung the storeroom door open, looking into the darkness. Emilia stood across from him in the corner of the closet, her face tight in fear of who would be opening the door. When she saw Dougal, she pushed away from the wall and threw her body against his .
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, vowing to never let her leave his side. She was a weakness, yes. But, he realized, she was also a strength. He finally looked into her face, at the tears running down her cheeks, her hair a mess. The skin about her wrists was chafed and bleeding from rope burns, while her neck was covered in bruises. He wished now that Alastair was still alive so t
hat he could prolong his death for putting his hands on his woman .
Dougal pulled back and grabbed Emilia by the shoulders. She wiped the tears from her face and sniffed as she peered up at him. He couldn’t even begin to think of a world without her. She had become everything to him, and there was no other woman he would share his life with. Thank God nothing had happened to her. Now he needed to convince her to stay, to make her life with him .
“I love you, Emilia Guthrie,” he confessed, the words coming from deep inside of him. “More than anything in my life .”
“I love you, too,” she cried, another tear forming in her eye. “More than anything .”
“I know you are from another time, another place,” he said as he wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yet I feel that our hearts have been pulled together from eons apart to find one another. For so long something has been missing in my life, and I thought it was taking on the role of laird with my clan. However, that was not the case. It was you I was waiting for. Should you wish to return to the land you call home, we will find a way to make it so, and I will go with you. I will fight the metal beasts that carry people, and I will gather my food from the supply store rather than the fields and the forests. All that matters now is that you become my wife, and that we live out our days together .”
“What?” She looked up at him wide-eyed .
“Marry me,” He said quietly. “Be my lady .”
“Nothing would make me happier,” she replied, smiling through her tears. “Can we go home now ?”
He laughed and pulled her back in close, not wanting her to see the carnage at the front. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms, telling her to close her eyes as they walked through. When they emerged to the sunlight, he had the boys take the wagon from the Buchanan barn and hook two horses to it. He climbed inside still cradling his love as they set course back to his home .
Someday Her Duke Will Come Page 23