“Why did ye fight at Culloden?”
“Because I hate the bastard English, and I was restless and my brothers were going, so I went with them.”
“And then yer brothers died and now ye’re the leader of the clan.”
He rolled onto his back and folded his arms behind his head. “Aye.”
“All I can say is that our sons had better no’ be as mischievous as ye were when ye were a lad.”
He closed his eyes and chuckled. “Good Lord, the thought is terrifying.”
—
The next morning Maggie was with Colin, Sutherland, and a few of Sutherland’s men, saddling up the horses to head to MacLean land. She held her breath, expecting at any moment for Colin to demand that she stay behind, but he merely glanced at her and continued overseeing the preparations for departure.
Eleanor’s expression was sad, and Maggie felt her heart lurch a wee bit at the thought of leaving yet another friend. It seemed lately that just as she was learning how to make female friends, she had to leave them.
“I wish you well,” Eleanor said with tears in her eyes. She had proved that not all the English were bad, though Maggie still had reason to believe the majority of them were.
“I’ll miss ye,” Maggie whispered.
“Oh, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other again. Our husbands are the closest of friends.”
“Good. Because I have a feeling I’ll have many questions about how to run a home.” She awkwardly patted Eleanor on the shoulder. The men were mounting up, and Maggie didn’t want to delay them for fear they would leave her behind.
She rode out with the men, watching Colin’s back as she rode behind him.
She understood him much better since their talk the night before. All his life he’d been told he wasn’t good enough, that he wouldn’t amount to anything. He’d lived up to his family’s expectations because they’d become his expectations. And now he had no expectations.
She was going to change that. She didn’t know how, but if there was one thing that Maggie possessed in full, it was determination, and she would focus all of that determination on making Colin believe in himself.
But first they needed to take his home back from that bastard Abbott.
Chapter 33
The closer they came to MacLean land, the grimmer Colin’s expression became. Maggie stayed silent, not knowing what to do or say to comfort him. Innis would know how to handle Evan, and Eleanor would know how to handle Brice, but Maggie was neither Eleanor nor Innis, and she never regretted it more than now.
Colin reined in his horse and held up his fist in a sign for everyone to stop. Maggie heard the soft swish of dozens of swords being drawn, hers among them. The act was automatic, and she didn’t even see the threat until after she was wielding her sword.
A contingent of mounted Highlander men, large and forbidding, with stern expressions, crested the hill and lined the road, blocking their way.
Colin kicked his horse forward. Sutherland and the rest stayed back but remained at the ready.
A silent standoff occurred. Maggie held her breath, waiting for anything—a charge, a greeting, a mass killing. The leader moved his horse forward. He had not drawn his sword and neither had his men, but they were tensed, ready if need be. Maggie kept her eye on them, picking out the ones she could take.
“Campbell’s men,” Sutherland muttered to her. “What the hell?”
She flicked her gaze to Colin but quickly turned it back to the waiting men. Surely Campbell had not set them up. Surely not…
But that was exactly what it looked like, and for some strange reason she was disappointed in Campbell. She had hoped he was better than this, that just maybe he was on the side of his fellow Highlanders.
“We come in peace.” The leader held up his hand as if the gesture alone would convince them. “I am Adair Campbell, Iain Campbell’s commander. We’re here to help you.”
“Campbell sent ye?” Colin asked in suspicion.
“Aye.”
Maggie glanced at her husband to gauge his reaction, but his expression was neutral, giving away nothing. Beside her, Sutherland made a sound of amusement.
“Very well,” Colin said after a time. “I thank ye for the support.”
Adair tipped his head and motioned his men to the side. Colin passed them, Maggie following, and Sutherland coming behind her. A quick glance behind confirmed that Adair Campbell and his men had fallen in behind Sutherland’s men.
They resumed their journey, although Maggie was keenly aware of the newest addition to their party. She did not feel fully comfortable with their presence. Was this a trap? Had Campbell’s men been given orders to sabotage their mission?
She kept her suspicions to herself, deciding that she would watch them closely, and if she saw the least little thing that confirmed her fears, she would speak to Colin.
They stopped when it became too dark to see. Maggie’s bum hurt. Her back and shoulders ached with the tension of what lay before them. She bunked down for the night and waited for Colin to come to her, but he never did. She spied him sitting against a large tree, one knee drawn up and an elbow resting on it as he stared into the fire. He seemed so alone. She knew that his thoughts were heavy and that he was thinking of the battle ahead and the past that had led him to this point. She understood that sometimes one needed time with one’s own thoughts and that the deep of the night was a good time for such a thing. So she did what she’d promised: She watched his back through the rest of the night.
The next morning they were up early, having broken camp and mounted up before the sun had risen. The men followed Colin’s example and remained quiet. Even a usually laughing Sutherland was quiet. While Adair was polite and respectful, he didn’t make himself overly friendly.
Maggie could almost sense the moment they crossed onto MacLean land. Nothing seemed different. The trees and bushes looked the same, the path was the same one they’d been on for days, but Maggie sensed a difference in Colin. A tension seemed to hum through him and also into her.
They set up camp in a clearing surrounded by trees, far enough from the road not to be seen. Immediately, Colin instructed a sentry to help watch. Always in the back of Maggie’s mind, and probably in that of every other Scotsman here, was the knowledge that if they were discovered by the English marching en masse, they would be rounded up and arrested.
A few men were selected to hunt; others fanned out in a perimeter to secure the site. Campbell’s men mingled with Sutherland’s men for the first time and, surprisingly, everyone got along well.
“Now we wait,” Colin said.
“We wait?” She’d thought that was the last thing they would do. The element of surprise was on their side, and an entire contingent of Scottish warriors couldn’t stay hidden for long.
“To see if there are any clansman around. Word will get out that I’m here, and if they’re still supportive, they will come.”
“How much time do we have before the English find us?”
“No’ much.”
Maggie wrapped her arm around his and laid her head against his biceps, giving him what comfort and encouragement and strength she could. It was obvious that he believed no clansmen would come to him. Possibly he believed that no one was even left.
Day turned into night. The men who had been guarding the perimeter were replaced with fresh men. Maggie took her turn, and into the wee hours of the morning, Colin approached her after calling out quietly. She turned to find him picking his way to where she was sitting, her broadsword at her hand. She’d thought it would be difficult to be alert all night, but her mind had turned and turned until it nearly made her dizzy.
Colin sat with a weary sigh. “I bet when ye wed me, ye did no’ think ye’d be taking a night watch and running from the English,” he said.
She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the forest before her and her ears open to unusual sounds. “It’s been…interesting.”
“That’s a go
od word.”
“I like interesting. I get bored with the same routine day after day.”
“Ye sure ye want to stick with this?” His tone didn’t sound as bleak, merely inquisitive.
“As I’ve told ye, I’m no’ a woman to sit around and wring her hands and darn her man’s stockings.” She paused. “I do hope ye were no’ expecting me to darn yer stockings.”
He chuckled. “The thought never crossed my mind.”
“Good.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, and Maggie was glad for the opportunity to be with him alone. They didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. They could be discovered by the English and arrested, or his clansman could come and they would fight for their home. Or they could just continue waiting. But at least they had tonight.
“What if they do no’ come?” he whispered, and for a moment she had the image of him as a little boy, alone and lonely. She vowed right then that if they were to have children, she would never tell them they were worthless or no good. She would love them all, no matter their tendencies, because each person had a purpose in life and deserved to be loved.
“Then we will find another way,” she said with a conviction that she wasn’t positive she felt. But she knew Colin needed her strength now more than ever. And besides, like she said, she wasn’t one to sit around wringing her hands. She preferred action to sitting.
They turned their heads toward each other at the same time. He was just as startled as she to see that their noses were inches apart. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, a quick kiss because they could not afford to forget they were on watch.
“I’m glad ye’re here,” he said softly.
Chapter 34
By dark of the next day, Maggie was beside herself. She had no idea what to do for Colin or if there was anything she could do. The more time went on, the grimmer his expression became. She overheard men talking among themselves, wondering what they were to do. Could they take the castle alone? Should MacLean retreat?
Colin kept to himself that night. She sat alone through the long dark night, on alert for the English, who could discover their presence any day now.
But the English didn’t arrive.
And neither did any MacLeans.
Maggie approached Colin early that next morning. “The men are talking,” she said, making sure no one heard her. “We need to know what to do.”
“We’ll head out,” he said. “I’ll tell the men to break camp. We’ll go back to Sutherland’s, and I’ll release Campbell’s men to return to Campbell.”
“That’s it? That’s the end?”
His look was bleak and cold and desolate. “What would ye have me do? Storm the castle? With the meager amount of men we have? It’s doomed and we’ll fail.”
“So Abbott wins? The English win?”
“So we stay alive.”
“Give it one more day.”
“Ye said yerself that we canno’ stay any longer. It’s time to go.” He walked away.
Chewing on her lower lip, Maggie turned in a circle and looked around. It was true that they were a meager lot, not nearly enough force to take back Colin’s home, but they could do something. Surely they could do something.
Assured that Colin was well occupied talking to Sutherland and Adair Campbell, Maggie slid into the shadows of the forest and went around the perimeter, keeping clear of the posted guards. She found her horse in the makeshift paddock and quietly led him away.
—
Colin gave the orders to break camp. To his surprise, Sutherland was in agreement with Maggie and thought they should wait a few more days. Adair Campbell said he would do whatever Colin ordered.
Colin had no doubt that his clansmen knew he was here. His smugglers were some of the best in the country and were always aware of what was happening on MacLean land. That they hadn’t approached him yet told him that either they couldn’t come to him because they were imprisoned or dead, or they no longer trusted him. Both options meant that Colin did not have enough men to take back the castle.
He wanted to get closer, to see exactly what was happening to his ancestral home. How many Englishmen were billeted there? How difficult would it be to take it back? But what good would it do if he didn’t have the men for that?
Damn Abbott. Damn, damn, damn him. Colin didn’t want to admit defeat to the bastard. He wanted to fight, but he had all of these men to think about. And Maggie. He couldn’t endanger Maggie.
He watched as their camp was broken down, the men working efficiently. Sutherland’s men. Campbell’s men. But none of his own men.
He looked around for his wife. He couldn’t find her, but there probably wasn’t a need to worry. She had more than pulled her weight throughout this disastrous ordeal. He’d watched her help set up camp, clean the game the hunters had provided, and, of course, take her watch during the night.
“Ye’re sure about this?” Sutherland asked.
“What am I supposed to do? Storm the castle with these few men? We’ll be killed in an instant.”
“Let me scout the area,” Sutherland said. “At least let us discover what we’re up against. With any luck, the English have left only a few men in residence and it will be an easy thing to sneak in and take it back.”
“Abbott is in there waiting for me. He took my home to lure me here. One last confrontation.” A confrontation to the death. Abbott knew it and Colin knew it. Neither could allow the other to live.
“And ye would deny him that? YoYeu would walk away and allow yer enemy to keep yer home?”
“What other choice do I have? We do no’ have enough men to fight.”
“Yer clansmen?”
“Have ye seen them filing in? They’re no’ here. Either Abbott rounded them up or they’re in hiding. I canno’ put any more lives in danger. Ye need yer men, and Campbell needs his.”
“My men will do as I say, and Campbell’s men will do as ye say,” Sutherland said.
“My home is no’ nearly as important as your Staran or Graham’s protectors.”
“Let me ride up there and see what the lay of the land is.”
Colin shrugged, weary to his bones with all of this. “Do as ye wish, but we’re moving out in a few hours.”
Sutherland strode away toward where the horses were penned. Colin again looked for Maggie. It seemed he was always looking for Maggie or always aware of her presence. It was a comfort and a curse.
—
It was late afternoon, and the camp was mostly packed up, when he realized she was missing. His first reaction was a fear so intense that it made his legs weak. Where in the hell was she? Had she been taken by the English?
He ordered a search of the area, and as the minutes dragged on, his fear intensified. She’d survived one imprisonment by luck. He doubted she would be able to do the same a second time.
When the men returned having seen no trace of her, his fear turned to a panic that dried his mouth.
“Her mount is missing,” Adair Campbell said after checking all of the horses.
Colin tried to peer through the dense trees but saw nothing. Had she left on her own? The English wouldn’t have politely asked her to take her horse with her, and she never would have gone with them quietly. Besides, why would the English take her? Why not him?
“What will you have us do?” Adair asked.
Colin looked up into the cloudless blue sky. It seemed odd that when his life was falling apart, that the sky should be so beautiful.
“Where are ye, Maggie, lass?”
A shout answered him, and he turned to find Sutherland running toward him.
“I’ve found Maggie,” Sutherland said, out of breath.
Chapter 35
“She’s in the clearing,” Sutherland said.
Colin was almost afraid to believe that Maggie had been found. His heart leaped, though a part of him harbored dread. But when he reached the clearing, he saw something that he’d never imagined he would see.
One of the men stepped forward with a cocky grin and one eye squeezed closed.
“Duff,” Colin said with a smile.
“MacLean, ye numpty bastard. Where the hell have ye been?”
Colin laughed. Leave it to Duff to say what everyone else wanted to say.
Duff pulled Maggie forward and draped his arm over her shoulder. “This lass says ye’ve been busy gettin’ married,” he said.
“Aye. Among other things.”
Duff’s smile fell away, along with his arm around Maggie’s shoulder. “I heard that, too. If we’d a known, I’da been there to get ye out.”
“I appreciate that, Duff. I thank ye.”
Duff glanced over his shoulder at the clansmen behind him. “It’s bad,” he said. “The bastard English just marched right in and took it all.”
“The women and children?” Colin asked through a tight throat.
“Most of ’em got away. Some are still in there, servin’ the limey bastards.”
“Are they being treated well?”
“We do no’ know.”
Another man stepped forward and Colin’s heart squeezed. He’d never thought he’d see these men again, and even if he had, he’d never thought they would want to speak to him.
“Alan MacLean,” Colin said. Alan had been in charge of the warriors for years. He’d first served under Colin’s father, then under Dougal, and now under Colin.
“We’ve rounded up as many as we could and hidden them throughout the countryside. We’ve been waitin’ for ye,” Alan said.
“My apologies for no’ being here when ye needed me,” Colin said.
Alan shrugged. “No’ much ye can do from prison.”
MacLean's Passion: A Highland Pride Novel Page 23