His Bonnie Highland Temptation (The Clan Sinclair Book 2)

by Celeste Barclay

  Siùsan once again felt uneasy, but Callum and his brothers seemed to have everything sorted out. Magnus and three other guardsmen would stand the first watch. Callum spread a plaid out a little distance from the fire but still close enough to see and be seen by the others. He laid down and held his arms out for Siùsan. She settled in next to him, and he wrapped a second plaid around them. It was like sticking her body into a furnace. Siùsan did not think she would ever get totally accustomed to just how much heat Callum generated. She would never freeze in winter, but she might swelter in summer. She pushed the plaid down from her shoulders and reached up to kiss Callum’s chin.

  “How do ye fair, lass? Ye did well today.”

  “I’m a little sore, I confess, but alright.”

  “If ye need to stop more often just say the word. We dinna have to be there by a certain day, so we can slow if ye need to.”

  “Nay. I can keep up.” Callum watched as Siùsan set her jaw and fire sparked in her eyes. He would leave this topic alone and slow the pace the next day. He knew she was determined to keep up with the men, but he saw no reason to wear her down this early in the journey. He yawned and felt himself drifting off. I didna realize how tired I am. The lack of sleep since becoming a married man must be finally catching up to me. Callum smiled to himself and looked down at Siùsan who had rolled over to watch the fire. The last thing Callum remembered was pulling her tight against him and wishing they had more privacy, but he was simply too tired to take her away from the camp.

  ~~~

  Siùsan awoke to a rustling in the trees nearby. She had definitely heard something that sounded larger, much larger, than a rabbit or a squirrel. She looked around the camp and saw that even the men who had been posted guard near the fire had fallen asleep. The combined snores of the men would give away their location even to a deaf man. She nudged Callum to wake him, but he grunted and rolled away from her. Her brow wrinkled as she looked at her husband. She had discovered early on that he was an extremely light sleeper. Their first night in the keep, she had tried to sneak out of bed to find the chamber pot but Callum had pulled her back into bed and snatched his sword from where it was propped against the bed. He had demanded to know what was wrong as he scanned the room for an intruder. Siùsan’s cheeks had flamed red as she explained that she had simply wanted to use the chamber pot. She had not been able to go once she knew that he was awake.

  Now Callum’s snores alarmed her. His sleepiness, along with that of all of his men, was not normal. She was about to shake him when five men broke through the trees. They moved through the camp swiftly and all moved towards her. Siùsan could not believe her eyes as the shadows shifted into distinct people. Both Sir James and Robert were rapidly approaching her. James reached down and ripped her from the plaids that she shared with Callum. Robert attempted to bind her arms and legs. She thrashed as hard as she could and struck Robert in the shins and used her head to slam into his nose.

  “Ye dumb bitch. Ye’ve broken ma nose.” Robert slapped her hard across the face.

  “Callum! Callum! Help me, Callum!” Siùsan watched as her husband barely moved at her screams. “MAGNUS!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. Where is he? He was on watch too.

  “Ye can scream as much and as loud as ye like, but they willna come to yer rescue. The sleeping draught that was added to the stew will have them out for hours. Ye were to be sound asleep too. Did ye nae eat? That was unwise as it will be a long time before ye receive a proper meal.” James growled in her ear.

  Siùsan continued to fight and scream until James and Robert had her arms and legs tussed up like a sow. They did not bother gagging her as they knew the Sinclair men would be hard to rouse in their drugged state.

  “CALLUM! CALLUM! CALLUM!” Siùsan kept screaming as she was unceremoniously tossed over James’s horse. He slapped her backside and she yelped. She thought she was going to be sick as the horses thrundered out of the forest and into the nearby glen.

  Callum awoke with a start to the sound of Siùsan’s screams. He thought he had been dreaming, but as he came awake and realized that she was no longer next to him, he looked around in a panic. First, he took in the plaids that had been thrown off him. Then, he saw that all the Sinclair men were still asleep around the fire. Finally, he watched as a group of men with Sir James Gunn and Robert Mackenzie in the lead ride off with his wife tied across a horse.

  Callum roared with anger. He lept to his feet. He looked at the men who were still fast asleep and quickly knew that they had all been drugged. There was no other conceivable reason as to how the were all asleep and had slept through Siùsan’s cries for help. Just as he went to Tavish to wake him, Magnus stumbled into the camp will a large gash on his temple and an eye that was beginning to swell shut. He was rubbing his other temple and Callum could see a goose egg forming.

  “Callum, I’m sorry. Five men jumped me from behind. I couldnae shake how tired I felt and was slow to react.”

  “I ken. We were drugged. Help me rouse the men. They’ve taken Siùsan.”

  Neither Callum nor Magnus waited to tend to Magnus’s wounds. They began shaking the men awake. While groggy and disoriented, all the men woke to the bellows and nudges of their larid’s engraged sons.

  The men began breaking down camp and saddling horses. It had taken almost a half an hour from when Siùsan was taken to when they rode out. It was still the middle of the night and there was no moon to help guide them or to show tracks.

  “Do ye ken who took her?” Tavish asked with a yawn.

  Callum gave him a scathing look, and Tavish snapped his mouth shut. Callum did not need the reminder that he, that they all, had slept through Siùsan’s attack and abduction.

  “Aye. I saw Sir James Gunn and Robert Mackenzie riding at the head of the pack.” Callum gritted out between clenched teeth.

  “Gunn? What was he doing there? He’s supposed to be enjoying the hospitality of our dungeon.”

  “Well he isnae. I ken who I saw.”

  “Do ye think that they went to the Gunn keep?” Magnus asked.

  “I dinnae ken, but it is the closest place they could ride and hide her.”

  “Do we head there then?” Tavish asked.

  “Aye. We can be there by midmorning if we keep this pace.”

  With that, the men galloped towards the Gunns’ castle, a murderous rage growing inside Callum. He would wipe out the entire Gunn clan if that is what it would take to get his wife back. Self recrimination ate at him. I promised her that I would be with her the entire time. I’ve failed her, and it was only the first night out. I will kill any and all who have laid a hand on her. I will get ma wife back and it will nae be pretty if any harm has come to her. Callum ground his teeth and spurred his horse on faster.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  It was close to midday with they approached the Gunn keep. They had to stop twice to water the horses and give them a chance to rest. The horses were lathered and flagging when they drew near the proticullis. Callum had paced in circles during each break. He could not rid himself of the image of Siùsan flung across Sir James’s horse with her arms and legs bound. As the sleeping draught wore off, he realized that it was her screams for him that had awoken him. The sound of her frightened voice echoed in his head. He could not ease the pain he felt for failing to protect her.

  As they approached the gate, guardsmen stationed on the wall above called down to them.

  “I am Callum Sinclair, son of Laird Liam Sinclair. I wish to speak with yer laird. I would ken what ye have done with ma wife.” Callum called up to them. He watched as the men looked at each other with confusion.

  “Why would we ken where yer wife is? Who is yer wife?” A bellowing voice called from the wall near the gate.

  Callum watched as Laird Tomas Gunn stepped into view.

  “Yer brother stole ma wife last night from our camp. Let us in. Now.”

  “I dinnae ken what ye’re talking about. I havenae seen ma brother in
over a moon. I received a message two sennights ago from yer father stating that he was a guest in yer dungeon. I dinna see how he could be stealing anyone’s wife if he’s locked away. I would like to ken more about how he came to be in yer dungeon though.” The last part was said with a hard edge as Laird Gunn raised his arm to signal that the porticullis should be raised. He did not offer an explanation as to why he had let his brother languish there with no ransom payment or even a reply.

  “Ye and yer brothers only. Leave yer weapons at the gatehouse.” Laird Gunn turned away.

  “Aye, ma brothers and me. Nay, I willna leave ma weapons anywhere but on me.”

  When there was no further objection, Callum, Magnus, and Tavish rode through the gate.

  Callum looked around as they entered. There did not seem to be anything out of place. When the Sinclair brothers dismounted, Tomas Gunn approached and extended his arm. Callum simply looked down and then looked the Gunn in the eye. He refused to shake the man’s hand until he was sure that Siùsan was not tucked away somewhere within the keep.

  He thought he had understood rage when his sister, Mairghread, had been kidnapped the previous year but now he truly understood the blinding fury and devastating frustration that his brother by marriage, Tristan, had felt when he did not know where Mairghread was. Now, Callum would manage a civil word, if only for Siùsan’s sake.

  “What’s this aboot a lost wife? Ye couldnae have been married long and ye’ve already misplaced her.”

  Magnus’s arm shot out to keep Callum from lunging forward. Tavish stepped slightly in front of his brother.

  “Ye ken yer brother attacked us since ye already said ye’d received the missive from our father. Ma wife and I, along with these men, were travelling to the MacLeods to see her mother’s people.”

  “And just who is yer wife?”

  “Siùsan Mackenzie.”

  The Gunn flinched when he heard the name. Callum froze. He would have though the Gunn would know the betrothal considering the connection between the Gunns and Mackenzies. Then again, that would hae require acknowledging Siùsan. He was not sure what to make of the Gunn, but he knew he was not going to like what he heard or saw.

  “Ye are welcome to look aboot, but I can guarantee ye willna find her here.”

  Callum nodded. He looked to Magnus, and he moved away to stand near the keep and began scanning the bailey. Callum and Tavish dashed up the steps to the main door. They entered and began searching the ground floor. They made their way through the kitchens, buttery, and storage rooms before tearing through the chambers above stairs. They split up and each looked under beds and in armoires. When they returned to the Great Hall, Callum was nearly out of his head with worry.

  “Show us the dungeons,” he barked.

  Laird Gunn himself led them into the dungeons and opened every cell.

  “Ye see. As I already told ye, she isnae here.”

  The men returned to the Great Hall. Callum’s eyes swept the hall once more before emerging into the bailey. He and Tavish walked over to Magnus.

  “Have ye seen aught that would make ye believe she’s here?” Callum whispered.

  “Nay, but I did get a chance to speak with one of the kitchen servants,” Magnus smiled wolfishly. All the Sinclair brothers had a way with women, but Magnus seemed to draw them like flies to honey.

  “Aye? Well what’d she say?” Tavish asked as he continued to sweep the bailey with his eyes.

  “Apparently, Robert Mackenzie came looking for Sir James aboot a one and a half moons ago. That would mean it was after he visited us and just before Sir James attacked us. I dinnae ken if they kenned that Siùsan had run off, but Sir James was definitely looking for her. The maid said that they sat up drinking most of the night. She was the one serving them. Apparently, Sir James is still hot under the collar that Siùsan was married off to ye instead of to him. Robert was equally angry that the claim he’d staked by agreeing to marry Siùsan to keep her from marrying ye was refused outright without consideration. Both men believe that they are entitled to Siùsan’s dowry. That is what both really want. Apparently, Sir James was to meet Robert but attacked us instead. I would hazard a guess that he thought it was his lucky day when he found us traveling. Needless to say, he never made their last meeting.”

  “Didna they ken that she came with almost no dowry at all? That was part of the reason that I couldnae understand why Da agreed to the marriage. In fact, Da had been the one to make the inquiry about the possibility of a marriage.”

  “Nae. The maid said that was something they spoke of. They had both thought that even though Laird Mackenzie couldnae stand his daughter, he would have been willing to pay almost a fortune to offload her.”

  Callum growled at the way Magnus described what he had heard.

  “I didna say these things. I’m just repeating what I heard.” Magnus stood with his arms akimbo.

  “I ken. It doesnae mean it doesnae anger me even more to hear what they and her father think of her.”

  “So, what now?” Tavish asked.

  “If ye dinna mind ma two bits, I would tell ye that ma brother has her spirited away somewhere ye wouldnae think to look. He wouldnae go anywhere that ye could easily guess. He’s been sneaky like that since he was a bairn. He couldnae stand to share anything with me or Elizabeth.”

  The Sinclairs turned to look at Laird Gunn who had quietly approached the trio.

  “If ye ken yer brother so well, where do ye think he went?”

  “I dinna ken because I dinna ken yer bride. Where would she be least likely to go on her own?”

  The Sinclairs looked at one another and stated altogether, “Her father.”

  Callum, Tavish, and Magnus remounted their horses and charged out of the bailey with nary a thank you or good-bye to the Gunn.

  When they rejoined their men outside the wall, Callum led the group far enough away from the keep that no one would be able to hear anything that carried on the wind.

  When they stopped by the forest treeline, Callum looked at each of the men. They wore looks of varying degrees of guilt and remorse. They knew they had been drugged but they felt horribly that none of them had been able to prevent the attack. Only Magnus had been awake because, despite eating his share, he was large enough that the dose he received from his portion had not been enough to make him more than drowsy.

  “We ride for the Mackenzies. I believe Sir James and Robert Mackenzie will have her hidden somewhere. I doubt her family even kens she is there. It’s clear to me now that Laird Mackenzie’s disdain and outright dislike of Siùsan is not a secret among the Mackenzies or the Gunns. I wouldnae be surprised if other clans ken this too. If she isnae there, then we move on.”

  “Do ye ken whether or not Sir James is close to anyone in the Sutherland, Munro, or Ross clans? He could have stopped anywhere along the route to the Mackenzies.”

  “Nae. I dinna think so. I dinna think that any of those clans would harbor them and risk angering us and the Mackays, and dinna forget Mama was a Sutherland. Everyone kens that we are allied through marriage. Besides, we havenae any bad blood with the other clans. At least not right now. God save them if I’m wrong and she’s on any of their land. As the Gunn said, he would go where we least expect and that is to her own kin.” Callum swallowed the bile that rose in the back of his throat when he thought about James or Robert touching his wife, the fear she must be feeling, and the fact that she was so unwanted by her father that they could hide her there and he would not notice.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Siùsan had long since given up trying to fight Sir James’s hold on her. Everytime she tried to readjust herself to find a position that did not crush her ribs, he gave a hard swat to her backside. The pounding of the hooves and being tipped halfway upside down had given her a roaring headache. She had to close her eyes since watching the horse eat up the miles as they galloped only made her want to cast up her accounts.

  They had been riding for hours befo
re they stopped the first time. It was clearly only out of necessity for the horses. They were all lathered and beginning to flag with exhaustion. It was already late afternoon and the sun was moving towards the horizon. They rested only long enough for the horses to drink from the nearby stream and to catch their breath.

  Robert took Siùsan behind a bush to relieve herself but insisted on watching her. She fumbled with her skirts since Robert and James had refused to untie her. She was completely humiliated trying to keep her skirts out of the way without falling over while maintaining her modesty. When she finished, she had to call to Robert to carry her back to the horses since she could not walk on her own. She glared at him as he simply laughed.

  “Ye can glower at me all that ye like, Siùsan. It willna change anything. Ye come with us willingly or unwillingly. Ye can choose. Willingly means that ye can ride sitting up. Unwillingly means I’ll toss ye over ma saddle like a sack of turnips.”

  Siùsan forced a smile that looked much more like a grimace. Robert laughed and lifted her onto his saddle then climbed up behind her.

  “Mmm,” he hummed. “I forgotten just how sweet ye smell. Ye fit in ma arms quite nicely.” He wrapped one arm around her waist and used his thumb to stroke the underside of her breast.

  Siùsan desperately wanted to wiggle away from his reach or elbow him in the gut but she feared his reaction, so she suffered through his hand wandering over her waist, ribs, and when he cupped her breast. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed his groping. There were a few knowing looks from the men some of whom were Mackenzies that she had known almost her entire life. Not a single man, Gunn or Mackzenie, looked as though he would come to her rescue. The only time Robert’s hand stopped moving over her was when James rode abreast of them and scowled.

  “Dinna think that ye can have what should have been mine years ago.” Sir James stated with a hand on the hilt of his sword.