My Highlander

by Terry Spear

  “They are teaching me as well.” He wrapped his arm around her and he, she, and Wolf headed to the keep. When they reached the keep, Hamish greeted them. “The council has decided who will lead us. They will tell us at the meal.”

  At the feast, one of the council members stood and said, “We have unanimously decided Baudwin will lead us. Hamish will lead his men. Fenella has agreed to wed Ewen.” He looked at Avelina. “And we have Baudwin’s agreement he will be making another alliance through his own contracted marriage.”

  Quinn squeezed Avelina’s hand, then stood to make his declaration to the council. “I will provide an alliance.”

  She was both proud of him and worried for him at the same time.

  Everyone grew quiet.

  “My clan will ally with yours.”

  Everyone cheered him, though Avelina still felt he would get himself killed.

  14

  Quinn had kept busy helping others of Avelina’s clan, just like he would when he was back home. He fought when he had to fight, but he was good at doing many things. The longer he stayed, the more men offered to go with him to take down his brother. His beautiful wife had been right, as much as he had wanted to return home and settle this between him and his brother as soon as possible.

  The longer he waited, the more everyone healed, and were more eager to fight again. But as he was returning from fishing with Lendon, he saw a square sail fluttering in the wind—a ship headed for the island. Wolf joined him, and they watched the ship for a long time, until it was close enough he could make out the markings. It was one of his brother’s ships.

  Maybe Cormac had tired of waiting to hear from Baudwin about their agreement to wed Fenella to him.

  “I’ll carry the coracle to the byre. You warn the chief of the trouble that could be on the horizon,” Lendon said.

  “Aye.” Quinn slapped him on the back. “Come, Wolf.” Quinn raced to the keep while Wolf ran at his side. The wolf could run much faster than him, and often did, but this time he stuck close to Quinn. He swore the beast knew he had to warn their people of the incoming ship.

  He observed several people working in the outer bailey when he ran through the gate. He saw Fagin, who had replaced Hamish as the man in charge of the guards, and headed for him.

  “Trouble?” Fagin asked, frowning. He’d been one of the men to bring Quinn in when they’d learned Avelina had been caring for him and hadn’t killed him.

  “Aye, could be. One of my brother’s ships is on its way here. Just one, so it doesn’t appear he’s intent on waging war.”

  “Just in claiming your wife, I suspect,” Fagin said, smiling.

  Quinn snorted. Then he frowned as he and Fagin headed into the inner bailey. “Where is my wife?”

  “Helping the midwife with birthing a bairn out at one of the crofts. I’ll tell Hamish the news if you can warn Baudwin.”

  “Aye.” Quinn and Fagin split forces and when Quinn reached Baudwin’s solar, he knocked on the open door.

  “Aye, come in, Quinn. What is the news?” Baudwin was on his feet and coming toward Quinn, buckling on his sword.

  “My brother has sent one of his ships.”

  “Just one?”

  “Aye, a messenger, mayhap. He may have sent an ‘escort’ to take his bride-to-be home.”

  “I want you to stay out of sight until they leave. No one needs to know you are still alive, and I’ll tell my people to watch their tongues.”

  Quinn didn’t like the idea of hiding from his kin, but he knew Baudwin was right. If anyone from his home learned he was alive, they’d send word back to his brother. It was better to keep that a secret, until he was ready to travel with Baudwin’s men to take over the clan. “I must see my wife. She’s helping Elizabeth to assist Mai in the birth of her bairn.”

  “They willna want you at the croft. I’ll send Gwyneth. You stay here. Out of sight. I know it goes against all your training, but for your safety, and ours, it needs to be done this way.”

  “Aye.”

  “Trust me.”

  “I do.”

  “Good. Stay above stairs and we’ll send food up to you. I’m sure your wife will want to see you.”

  “It will be a couple of hours before they land on your shores.”

  “Then do whatever you feel you must, but retire as soon as we have word they are here.”

  “Aye. But I will see to my wife.” Quinn left the solar and soon headed out of the keep. He had to speak with Avelina, even if her da felt the women would send him away while Mai was giving birth.

  He wished he had his own horse here, but no one who had a horse offered for him to use theirs and it took him a good half hour before he reached the croft, Wolf running ahead of him. He didn’t want to alarm Avelina, but they needed to discuss what they should do. Would her da pretend she was marrying Cormac? Did his clansmen intend to take her back with them, if Baudwin was too preoccupied to send her along? He suspected that would be the case.

  “Wolf, out!” he heard Avelina command him.

  Quinn smiled, glad he wasn’t the only one who would be unwelcome. When he was near enough to the croft, he called out to Avelina, “I need to see you, Avelina. Though no’ right this instant.”

  “No wonder Wolf is here. I am busy, Husband.”

  “Aye.” He hesitated, then figured he could talk, and she could still do whatever needed to be done inside the croft. “I just came to tell you my brother has sent a ship.”

  Avelina poked her head through the open doorway. “Cormac?”

  “Aye. He might no’ be with them. I wouldna put it past him to—”

  “Avelina,” Elizabeth hollered at her.

  “Just a minute, Quinn.” Avelina returned to her duty and a woman cried out.

  He wanted to rush in and help, but he knew they wouldn’t need his aid, and he would be in the way. A baby cried out, and then he heard Avelina say, “She is a beautiful bairn.”

  Wolf sat by the croft door as if protecting the baby and mother. Quinn suspected the wolf believed this to be his pack, and he was protecting the newest member.

  Quinn glanced back in the direction of the castle. He couldn’t see it from here because of the distance they were from it. He’d already waited another half hour or so and was anxious to get back to the keep with Avelina, but she was busy inside, helping the new mother and the baby to bond. Which made him think of a time when she would be carrying their own bairn.

  He walked around the croft, looking for anything he could do. He fetched water and set it next to the croft, took the sheep out to pasture, returned them to their corral, milked the cow, leaned against the byre, his arms folded as he waited some more.

  “Your Highlander is anxious to be with you,” Elizabeth said. “Send Maria to help out here, and we’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Aye. Quinn has banged around long enough out there, and done all the chores that needed to be done. See what the matter is.”

  He smiled.

  “Aye.” Avelina came out of the croft, her hair in disarray, and he quickly moved away from the byre and joined her, brushing her hair out of her face. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.

  He just held her there like that for a long moment.

  “Send Maria!” Elizabeth reminded them.

  “Aye.” Avelina took hold of Quinn’s hand and headed off to another croft in the distance, even farther away from the keep than this one. “You said Cormac has sent a ship?”

  “Aye. Your da wants me to hide away.” Quinn couldn’t help how disgruntled he sounded.

  She glanced up at him. “You will do as my da says.”

  Wolf raced past them as if he knew where they were headed.

  “You canna be seen or heard. Or we could be forced to kill Cormac’s men. And how would that set with the men you hope to lead?” she asked.

  “Aye, lass, I know. I just wish I could speak with them and solicit their help in this. But one, or all
of them, could return and warn Cormac that I’m coming with a force to take him over. So I will hide.” His words sounded just as disagreeable this time.

  “Good. I would hide with you, but I will be your eyes and ears and report back to you about all I witness.”

  “I was hoping we could be locked away in your chamber instead.” He smiled down at her then.

  She chuckled. “And keep me in bed with you for as long as they stay?” She shook her head. “You can observe some of what goes on through a hidden passage and secret holes for observing what’s happening in the great hall. Only my da and my uncle, my brother, when he lived, my cousin, Hamish, and I know the locations. We, at times, were employed to watch there, to see if we had any traitors among us. But mostly to watch strangers when they visited.”

  “Can you hear any conversation?”

  “Some. Not all. It grows too noisy. But I will show you the way so that you may see who came on the ship. But I warn you, dinna attempt to speak with any of them. Even if you think them to be a friend. A friend could tip the wrong person, not meaning to, and then you wouldna have the advantage upon your return home.”

  “Aye.” As much as he hated to admit she was right, he would go along with the plan.

  They finally reached Maria’s family’s croft. She was five and ten years of age, but she was eager to help with the new bairn.

  After leaving her off at Mai’s croft, Quinn, Avelina, and Wolf headed for the keep. “I will take you through the postern gate, but we might still be seen. I’ll need to go first, and talk to one of the guards to ensure none of the men from your brother’s ship are about, then sneak you into the keep.”

  He hated the idea that he had to sneak in. He hadn’t thought he’d have to worry about such a thing once he and Avelina had married, though he had considered his brother might send a messenger.

  “Stay here. No one from the ship will be back here.” Then she made her way along the wall walk until she reached one of the guards. “Dar, we need your help. Quinn came to fetch me while I was helping Mai give birth. Now we need to get him to my chamber without him being seen.” She prayed this would work. His future success at ousting his brother could be directly affected otherwise. She did think that he could just live with them, though, and never return, if someone did see him and reported that he was still alive.

  Dar leaned over the wall walk and shouted down to the courtyard, “Tell Fagin he is needed on the wall walk at once!”

  A lad nodded and ran off to fetch him.

  “Since Fagin’s in charge of the guards now, he can decide how to handle this.”

  “Thanks, Dar,” Avelina said.

  “You are welcome. Quinn is one of us now, and we protect our own.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you.” She wasn’t sure Odran felt that way about Quinn yet, but she was glad many of the others did.

  She hurried to join Quinn and told him what they would do. They waited until Fagin ran up the stairs and saw them standing there.

  “You are no’ in your chamber,” Fagin said, frowning at Quinn.

  “No statement could be truer.”

  “But we have to get him there now. Where are the men from the ship?” Avelina asked.

  “In the outer bailey still. My men are disarming them. I’ll hold them there until you can reach your chamber.”

  “Is my brother with them?” Quinn asked.

  “Nay. The man in charge was called Liam.”

  “Liam,” Quinn said.

  Avelina didn’t know if that was good or bad news, but they had to leave now. “Thank you, Fagin.” Avelina took Quinn’s hand, and he quickly thanked Fagin before she rushed Quinn down the wall walk stairs to the inner bailey. “Who is Liam?”

  “A loyal and good friend to me.”

  “You canna speak with him, or let him see you, Quinn. You know that. Even if he’s a good and loyal friend. Why would Cormac put him in charge to come here, if Liam is so loyal to you?” Avelina said.

  Fagin followed behind them, and then separated from them to return to the outer bailey to supervise their guests.

  “Mayhap he hoped that Liam, as the messenger, wouldna live to tell the tale. I wouldna put it past my brother to send him into danger now that I’m gone. Liam and Lorne wanted to kill the mercenaries Cormac sent with me, if they returned and I didna, sure they would attempt to murder me. They wanted to come with me and help protect me against them. They are both good friends. I suspect Lorne would have come if my brother had sanctioned it.”

  “You canna see any of them,” Avelina warned Quinn. She knew from his intense posture and determination that he wanted to see his friends. “Quinn.”

  They entered the keep and when they reached the stairs to her chamber, he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. “You can take my mind off it.”

  “I need to join them in the great hall to hear what’s being said.” Not that she wanted to be away from her husband right now. “Thank you for coming for me, even if you were supposed to be protecting yourself from your clansmen.”

  “You come first. This canna wait.” He carried her into the chamber, and then set her next to the bed.

  She rushed to pull off her clothes while he removed his. She wanted to hurry so she wouldn’t miss anything that was being said during the meal. But she wanted this too.

  Once they were naked, he cupped her face and kissed her mouth. She tunneled her fingers through his hair, pressing her body against his. She savored the time with him, these intimate moments, his tenderness. His thick muscles pressed against her softness. She reached between them to touch his manhood and loved when his rigid staff jumped against her fingers. She grasped him in her hand and stroked. He groaned. She loved being in control.

  He was everything that was masculine and desirable, his body, his scent, his touch. Even now, his hand, kneading her breast, made her hot with need, the place between her thighs aching and wet. He kissed her throat, and then lifted her onto his staff. She gasped and took him. She was as ready for him as he was for her.

  He kissed her neck as she clung to him, feeling the heat building, the pinnacle coming as he moved inside her, slow and steady, then fast and deep. She fought for release, her heart—and his—wildly beating. The pleasure splintered into a million pieces, and she treasured the way he made her feel.

  Except now she was so boneless, she didn’t want to leave him alone and go to the great hall. That’s what Quinn did to her. Made her melt into the bed, satiated, and with thoughts only of him and his enveloping her with his body for the rest of the night.

  “We must go,” he said, snuggling with her against the bed.

  “Aye.” But she wasn’t moving a muscle.

  He smiled. “We both must listen to the conversation.”

  She sighed. “Aye.” She rubbed his arm. “All right. Let’s get dressed.”

  Once they were dressed, Avelina led him to the secret tunnel that hid him from those in the great hall. The walls were so thick, Quinn wasn’t surprised that someone had hollowed out some of it to make use of it for an escape route if the chief and his family needed to escape. He still couldn’t get his mind centered on what needed to be done next. All he could think about was the way Avelina had taken his staff in her hand and began stroking him to completion.

  She peeked through a hole, then motioned to several others. “They canna see you,” she whispered. “They’re coming in now. I must go. Stay here or return to our chamber. I’ll meet up with you later. I’ll tell one of the servants to take your meal up to the chamber and leave it, so we dinna have to worry about leaving it there at some particular time.”

  “Be careful,” he whispered back to her. “I’m sure they’ll be on their best behavior. But…just be careful.”

  She knew it was killing him that he couldn’t be there to protect her. “Which one is Liam?”

  “Seated beside your da. I dinna see Lorne.”

  “All right.” She gave him a hug and kiss. “I
t might be late by the time I retire. I may learn more once they are in their cups.”

  “Aye. I will be waiting for you.”

  “I suspect you will still be here,” she said, kissing him again, and then she left him alone in the secret passageway, wishing they could go down to the meal together. She didn’t worry that anyone might try to harm her. All the men would be watching the women, as protective as the men were. And her da and others would know Quinn couldn’t be seen and wouldn’t be there to protect her, so they would watch out for her.

  15

  When Avelina took a seat at the table beside her da, he leaned over and said, “This is Liam. He is representing Cormac.”

  Liam inclined his head slightly to her, but he wasn’t smiling.

  She thought it was odd that he wasn’t at least trying to appear pleasant about escorting Cormac’s intended to her new home. But then she remembered what Quinn had told her. Liam was his good friend. Was he upset that Quinn wasn’t alive then? What had her da discussed with him already? She was glad she had spent the time with Quinn, but she wished she could have been listening to what had been said already.

  “Quinn was your good friend, aye?” she asked, knowing she shouldn’t, but she wanted to say something, if Liam was truly loyal to Quinn still. He’d need allies among his people.

  Liam’s eyes widened. Her da’s narrowed when he looked at her.

  “Aye, and you are?” Liam asked.

  “The chief’s daughter.” She looked away from Liam’s intense stare. She knew he wanted to know more, why she knew Quinn was his good friend and what had happened to him.

  Her da quickly spoke. “Avelina, Liam comes here asking about fulfilling the contract between Fenella and Cormac. But I’ve told him that her da died in battle, and she is my ward now.”

  Liam was studying Avelina, watching to see if she’d give anything away.

  “Have you heard the rumor that Quinn intended to steal Fenella away from her da? Because she loved Cormac and wished to leave here?” Avelina asked.