Highland Storms

by Christina Courtenay

  Another thought struck him. Perhaps she needed wooing? He smiled to himself. He hadn’t exactly been subtle or courted her properly.

  ‘I’ll give her a gift,’ he murmured. Something to show her how much he … appreciated her. He couldn’t bring himself to even think the word ‘love’, but he did care for her, he was certain. Enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her?

  Yes. Either way, he had committed himself to that path when he made love to her and there was no turning back now.

  The MacGregors were an unruly lot, but they were just what Seton needed. Outlawed by the king himself over a century earlier, forbidden to even use their name on pain of death, he reckoned these infamous clansmen would be desperate enough to do anything for money. Although officially they didn’t exist, he knew quite a number of them could be found in the Rannoch area. Accordingly, this was where he headed.

  Rannoch Moor was a bleak and desolate place, at least at this time of year, but it wasn’t more than a day’s ride from Rosyth if you knew the way. Seton had to ride carefully along tracks that wound their way through the wilderness between lochs, peat bogs and streams. The mist-shrouded landscape was eerie and forbidding, and he became jumpy and nervous, but he persevered. This was not the time to lose his courage. He had to be bold if he was to attain his goals and therefore he had no option but to go on.

  And attain them, I will, he was determined.

  Not that he knew exactly where to find the outlaws. He doubted they stayed in one place for very long since their lives depended on not being caught. However, he was sure they’d be watching for anyone approaching and sooner or later he’d be challenged. Then he would state his business and hopefully be taken to their leader.

  He wasn’t stupid, he knew he was taking a risk by coming here. But he’d brought a pair of loaded pistols and had hidden most of his gold in a secret pouch which he’d stowed where he hoped they wouldn’t look.

  All he could do now was pray they’d be willing to assist him and not just rob him of what little gold they could find and slit his throat.

  ‘But Captain Sherringham, sir, no one thought it was possible to escape from that pit! And I swear I only left my post for a moment. He must have been spirited away by the devil himself.’

  ‘Imbecile! I suppose you’ll tell me next it was the wolf who carried him off.’ Captain Sherringham was in a towering rage and clouted the hapless soldier who was supposed to have been guarding the laird of Rosyth. The man cowered before him, fear making him quake in his boots, but the captain wasn’t moved. ‘Do you really think such feeble protestations will save you from punishment?’ he sneered. ‘The devil indeed …’

  Sherringham took great pleasure in personally overseeing the administration of fifty lashes. He hoped it would serve as an example to the rest of his men never to leave a prisoner unattended. Not that it made any difference. This particular one was still on the loose and he hadn’t heard from Seton either, so he assumed the laird had headed straight for Edinburgh. This was bad news. Kinross had shouted something about having friends in high places, if only he could get word to them. Although he hadn’t heeded him at the time, Sherringham remembered it now and ground his teeth with frustration.

  But what was he to do? Ride after the man and arrest him again? He doubted it would be possible if he’d taken shelter with someone powerful.

  ‘Damn these Scotsmen to hell!’ he muttered over and over again as he paced his quarters, thinking furiously.

  But wait – if I can’t get to the man directly, there must be some other way of catching him out. The woman! What was her name? Oh, yes, Miss Buchanan.

  Sherringham remembered her. Lovely smile and a buxom figure. Fine if you liked country girls, but a bit too tall and strapping for his liking. He’d seen the looks which passed between her and the laird though. There was a man who was smitten, if he wasn’t mistaken. Even if he wasn’t, she was under the man’s protection, so if Sherringham captured her, Kinross ought to come to negotiate her release.

  Sherringham stopped his pacing and smiled. It was definitely worth a try and if no one came to the girl’s rescue, well then he’d just have some sport with her before giving her to his men. She was a Jacobite whore and deserved nothing better.

  His good mood somewhat restored, he called for his horse.

  ‘So what’s the matter with you then? You’re like a bear with a sore head today.’

  Kirsty was regarding Marsaili across the kitchen table where they were once again chopping vegetables. There was a speculative glance in her half-sister’s eyes that Marsaili tried to avoid. Kirsty saw far too much sometimes and now she was happily wed herself, she seemed to want everyone else to share the same kind of joy.

  Marsaili brought the knife down with more force than was really needed. ‘Nothing. I’m tired and sore, that’s all. We rode for nearly two days and a night altogether, and if you must know, my backside is rubbed raw.’ She thwacked an onion in half, before taking a steadying breath. It wouldn’t help for her to cut a finger off.

  ‘Riding, was it?’ Kirsty smirked. ‘Are you sure that’s all you did?’

  Marsaili glared at her. ‘Do you want me to show you? I’ll wager it’s not a pretty sight.’

  If Kirsty noticed that she hadn’t actually answered the question, she didn’t say anything. Instead she laughed and held up a hand. ‘No, thanks. I’ve had quite enough of seeing Brice’s many bruises. He insisted on having me apply the salve you sent up since you wouldn’t do it yourself.’

  ‘I haven’t the time to pander to the man. I have work to do,’ Marsaili muttered. Brice had spent the better part of the day in bed, recuperating, and had asked for her, she knew. But she had no intention of going anywhere near him unless she had to. For her own sanity, she had to stay away because she didn’t trust herself not to give in to his persuasive logic.

  In a way, he was right. The damage was already done, so what did it matter if she allowed him to make love to her again? But there was a small chance she’d escaped becoming with child, and as long as she wasn’t certain, she could cling to the hope.

  Besides, she was very much afraid she was in love with him and she couldn’t bear the fact that he didn’t feel the same way. Quite how it had happened, she had no idea, but she’d reached this conclusion during the long ride home. There could be no other reason for her idiotic behaviour at the shieling hut. Why else would she have lost all reason?

  ‘He’ll come and find you, you know.’

  Kirsty’s statement, uttered with amusement tingeing her voice, drew Marsaili back to the present. ‘I thought you said he was too sore to rise today.’

  ‘That’s what he wants us to believe, but he’s probably just wanting your sympathy. If you don’t go to him, he’ll soon tire of that game.’

  ‘Hmph. Well, he’s the laird, I can’t stop him from roaming his own house, but if he thinks I’ll drop everything for his sake, he’s much mistaken.’

  ‘Is he now? I wonder …’ Kirsty’s infectious laugh gurgled out.

  ‘Kirsty, I’ll thank you to mind your own business. I’m too tired to argue with you.’

  ‘Very well, have it your way. If you want to fool yourself, go ahead, it’s your prerogative.’

  ‘I’m not fooling myself about anything,’ Marsaili said through gritted teeth. ‘On the contrary, I’m the only person around here who can see anything clearly.’

  On that parting shot, she dumped the chopped onions into the waiting pot and left the kitchen abruptly. It was bad enough when her own thoughts wouldn’t give her any peace. If she had to endure Kirsty’s teasing as well, she’d likely go mad.

  What she needed was to be alone.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ‘Archie, have you seen Miss Buchanan?’

  Brice had given up hoping Marsaili would come to see how he was and was now dressed and standing in the courtyard. He’d searched the entire house without finding hide nor hair of her, and he was becoming worried. With S
eton missing and Redcoats about, there was no saying what might happen. He’d have to tell her to stay close to the house for the foreseeable future in order to keep safe.

  Archie had been playing outside with some of the other children, but as always he came running when he spied Brice. ‘Aye, laird, I saw her heading to the loch a while back. She didn’t see me, even though I waved at her.’

  ‘Really? Did she … seem upset?’ Brice knew the boy was perceptive and trusted his judgement. It was as well to

  know what he was up against before he faced Marsaili again. Since she hadn’t come even when he’d asked for her specifically, he gathered she was still agitated. And he didn’t want her to be.

  Archie wrinkled his freckled nose, as if considering carefully, then he shook his head. ‘No, don’t think so. Just lost in thought.’

  Brice smiled at the boy. ‘Thanks, Archie. I’ll go and see if she needs help with anything.’

  It wasn’t long before he found her, sitting in her favourite spot on the little jetty, staring out over the loch. She was wearing her arisaid, as there was a distinct nip in the air today, and she was huddled into it, slightly hunched over. Liath lay next to her, his head resting on the powerful front paws, but he raised it and banged his tail on the planks at the sight of Brice. Marsaili didn’t turn around, but he knew she was aware of his presence because he saw her back stiffen ever so slightly.

  He sank down behind her, close but not touching, and patted Liath when the dog moved closer. ‘Marsaili, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to vex you yesterday,’ Brice said. She made no reply, but he heard a small sigh.

  ‘I want you to know I didn’t make love to you on a whim,’ he continued, determined to have things out in the open. ‘It was something I’d wanted to do for quite a while now.’

  ‘You and everyone else,’ she muttered. ‘It’s the only thing anyone’s ever wanted from me, ever since I first started growing curves.’

  He heard the hurt in her voice and finally understood why she’d been so prickly. With a rueful smile in his voice, he replied, ‘You can’t really blame them, you know. You are extremely tempting to look at, but I promise you I see more than your face and figure. I see a spirited woman, and a kind and honest one. Well, I do now. It wasn’t always so.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ She half turned and glanced at him at last.

  ‘The first time I came here, and for some time after, I wasn’t sure if you were in cahoots with Seton.’ He shrugged. ‘It certainly seemed that way and I heard you both talking about English spies.’

  ‘He was talking about them, I just did as I was told.’

  ‘Yes, I see that now. Also, you weren’t to know I was harmless.’

  ‘I’d hardly call you that,’ she said, her voice so low he barely caught the words.

  ‘Marsaili, look at me, please.’ Reluctantly she turned towards him, her eyes still wary. ‘I’m not a threat to you in any way and if you’ll have me, I’d like you to be my wife.’ He moved so he was on his knees in front of her, rather than sitting, then he smiled. ‘I’m sorry, but you’re making it very difficult for me to kneel before you. Unless you stand up, this is the best I can do though.’

  She blinked. ‘Your wife? But … you can’t marry me. I’m nobody, I have nothing. Surely your parents have already selected a suitable match for you?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, they trust me to choose for myself.’ He looked away for a moment. ‘I will be honest with you and tell you I had already done so, before coming here, but … let’s just say my suit didn’t prosper. Therefore I’m a free man and I don’t need you to bring anything to our marriage other than yourself. That’s enough for me.’

  She searched his eyes. ‘You still love the woman you hoped to marry?’

  Brice didn’t hesitate. ‘No. She’s not worthy of my love. I’m not even sure now that I did love her, nor what love really is.’ He reached out and took her hands, encouraged when she didn’t snatch them back. ‘If it means caring for someone, wanting to protect them and keep them safe, wishing them by your side and in your bed, then that is what I feel for you.’

  He saw a shadow cross her features, but she didn’t look away. ‘Perhaps you’re right,’ she whispered.

  He let go of her hands and instead cupped her cheeks, pulling her face to his so he could kiss her beautiful mouth. It was a soft kiss, but one full of promise. ‘I don’t want to rush you into a decision,’ he said. ‘I want you to choose me, the way I’ve chosen you.’ He reached into his pocket. ‘In the meantime, I would like you to have this. It was given to me by my mother’s Chinese friend Mei and it is a charm for good luck.’

  He held out a gold chain with a small green pendant in the shape of a disc with a golden Chinese symbol on either side. Marsaili stared at it as if in a daze. In the morning sunlight, the green material shone, reflecting its rays, but at the same time it was somehow see-through.

  ‘Thank you, it’s lovely. What is it made of?’

  ‘It’s jade, a stone much valued by the Chinese. It can be quite fragile, but they manage to shape it into objects as big as bowls sometimes.’ He fastened the pendant around her neck and smiled again. ‘There, it suits you much better than it did me. I’ve no idea why she thought I’d want to wear a necklace.’

  Marsaili returned his smile, but her gaze was still troubled. ‘Brice, I …’

  He put his fingers up to cover her mouth. ‘No, don’t say anything more now. I want you to have time to think. But please believe me when I say I truly want you to be my wife.’

  He knew he was taking a risk by allowing her time to mull it over. He could probably have persuaded her here and now if he’d pressed his point, not to mention reminded her of the possible consequences of their actions the previous day. She was an intelligent woman, however, and he trusted her to make the right decision. Just in case she needed swaying in his favour though, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her properly. She responded without thinking, which made him believe he’d almost won the battle.

  Sometimes it paid not to charge in like a bull.

  Marsaili didn’t know what to do. She allowed herself to enjoy Brice’s kiss for the moment, because she couldn’t think with him so close. It was easier just to feel and save any deliberations for later. Her need for him seemed mindless and it frightened her, but she couldn’t fight it, not right now. She would think about what he’d said, consider her answer. He was right though, she needed time and she appreciated him allowing her the freedom of choice.

  Unlike some people.

  Brice’s mouth moving over hers melted her bones, even more so now she knew exactly what these sensations led to. She leaned into him, wanting more, craving his touch. His strong arms crushed her to him and her breasts reacted to the contact between them. She shivered at the delicious pleasure even this small friction gave her, then wondered if she had lost all reason. Because she wanted him to take her, right here in full view of the house. She didn’t care if anyone saw them, didn’t give a damn about anything other than this urgent need for him.

  She must be mad.

  Liath broke the spell with a series of short, sharp barks, heralding danger. Dazed, Marsaili looked up and blinked to clear her vision. The next thing she knew, Brice had pulled her onto her feet and along the jetty. She stared towards the nearby forest and fear coagulated in her gut at the sight of six fierce-looking ruffians approaching. Dirty and unkempt, she at first took them for robbers of some kind, perhaps come to steal cattle. If so, they were in the wrong place though and she soon noticed they had their eyes fixed squarely on Brice. That didn’t make sense, unless he had some enemies she knew nothing about, but there was no time to think about it. He thrust her behind him and hissed, ‘Run, Marsaili, back to the house! Fetch Ramsay and Alex. Now!’

  She obeyed without even hesitating for a second. She trusted him to hold these men at bay until he could get help and it was up to her to find it.

  I have to save him!

  The tho
ught pounded through her mind in time with the rhythm of her feet as she ran for all she was worth. She glanced behind her only once and saw the men advancing on Brice, but none of them had followed her. The sight gave her feet added impetus and she burst into the house, tearing along the corridors. The jade pendant bounced on her chest and she remembered Brice had said it was fragile. She reached up to unclasp it as she ran, clutching it in one hand to keep it safe. Out of breath, she erupted into the great hall. That was where Ramsay and Alex were usually to be found, but not today.

  As she came to a halt just inside the door, her heart stopped beating altogether and if she could have made her limbs work, she would have run back the way she’d come. Unfortunately, she was frozen into immobility, unable to move so much as a muscle. All she could do was stare.

  ‘Ah, Miss Buchanan, just the person I wanted to see. Take her, men.’

  Captain Sherringham. Damn him!

  Her legs began to move at last and she backed away, shaking her head. A side table halted her progress and she knew it was too late to make a run for it. She clenched her fists, which made the jade pendant dig into the palm of one hand, reminding her she was still holding it. No! I’ll not let them take that too! Slowly, so as not to alert the men to her actions, she reached behind her and fumbled for a bowl she knew should be there. When her fingers found it, she placed the pendant at the bottom, then pretended to bolt for the door.

  Sherringham’s men moved swiftly and she didn’t get far. In a few strides, they reached her. One of them lifted the butt of his pistol and she was vaguely aware of it coming down in an arc towards her head. The next thing she knew, everything went black.

  Brice drew a dirk out of its sheath at his belt and prepared himself for a fight. He had no idea who these desperate-looking men were, but he could see they weren’t here to talk. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liath come to take a stand next to him and his innards twisted with fear for the dog. He knew the assailants wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him.