Patience put her hands upon her hips. “You were doing far more than talking to him.” Her voice was low but irate. “You were kissing him in your bedchamber. You’ve been disgraceful.”
“He is going to ask Father for my hand in marriage.”
Patience snorted. “A lot of good it will do him. He is far beneath you.”
Fury burned through Seona. “He is not beneath me. As you well know, he is second in line to the MacKay chiefdom.”
“Nevertheless, your father will not allow you to marry him, and he will be most displeased about your association with MacKay. Especially the kissing.”
“That’s why I ask that you not tell him.”
“Your father is my brother and I always tell him the truth.”
Her aunt’s self-righteous tone made Seona grind her teeth. How could the woman pretend to be a perfect angel when ’twas obvious to everyone she was doing the same things with MacMillan? Probably more, if the truth was known. If Patience told Seona’s father that Keegan had been kissing her in the bedchamber, he might fly into a rage and have Keegan killed. She couldn’t risk that. She would use the only leverage she had and pray it worked.
“If you tell him about Keegan, then I shall have to tell him about your tryst with Hugh MacMillan, a man Father will see as far beneath you.”
Patience’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes grew wide. “Why, you little tattle.” Though her words were low, they were sharp. When her aunt’s hand raised and flew toward her face, Seona lifted her hand just in time to stop the strike. She then locked her aunt’s wrist in a firm grip.
“Do not ever do that again,” Seona said through clenched teeth, surprising herself. She didn’t know she could be so fierce when it came to protecting Keegan. But he was the most important person in her life now.
“How dare you?” her aunt sneered, yanking her hand back. “Your father will hear about this.”
“Very well. He will also hear about how you are sleeping with one of the guards.”
“You can’t prove that.”
“I ken the truth of it and so does Keegan. Hugh is always honest with Keegan, his direct commander.”
Her aunt’s mouth opened and closed as if she would say something, but didn’t for a long moment. “You wouldn’t,” she whispered.
So, ’twas true. Her aunt really had slept with the guard. Seona was relieved. This might be the only way to keep Keegan safe. “Say anything against me or Keegan to my father and find out. He will no longer allow you to stay at Gillenmor and he will withdraw your funds. Where will your food and fancy clothing come from then?”
“You little strumpet!” her aunt hissed.
“No more than you are.”
Her aunt stood glaring daggers at her. “You are not the sweet innocent lady I thought you were.”
“I cannot say the same about you. I always knew you had a malicious streak.” Just like Father.
Her aunt’s eyes merely narrowed further.
“Do we have a deal?”
“Aye,” her aunt said through clenched teeth, then limped away as fast as her sore ankle would take her.
Hoping she’d done the right thing, Seona released a breath and stepped away from the alcove. Her gaze scanned the great hall and locked with Keegan’s. Immediately, he headed toward her.
Her heart rate spiked as it always did when he was near. She had hardly been able to sleep last night after the amazing things he’d done to her.
“Are you well?” he asked. “You appeared upset.”
“Aye.” She briefly explained the precarious deal she had with her aunt about keeping each other’s secrets.
“’Tis brilliant.” Keegan grinned. “You are more cunning than I realized.”
Truth was she’d do anything for him, to keep him safe.
“And you’ve already proven yourself a lady warrior.”
“I thank you.” She enjoyed the look of pride in his blue eyes.
Too soon, he sobered. “We’ll be heading out in a few minutes. Once we draw nearer to Gillenmor, Haldane will become more of a threat. Do you remember our knife-fighting lessons?”
A chill passed over her. “Aye.”
“And you still carry the knife I gave you?”
“Of course.” She placed her hand upon the weapon strapped to the inside of her forearm. ’Twas her most valued possession.
Keegan nodded. “I pray you won’t need it, but just in case. We suspect Haldane may increase his efforts in capturing you the closer we get to Gillenmor. He may have hired more men. We must be ready for anything.”
***
Seona, her aunt, and their two maids rode in the center of the two dozen men in their party. She was happy that Keegan rode to her left most of the way. She often watched him out of the corner of her eye. He and the rest of the guards were ever on alert. Talking was kept to a minimum, the only sounds the horses’ hooves striking the ground. She had been through this area a few times and knew they were only a mile or two from Gillenmor. Anguish weighed heavily on her heart with each step they took forward.
Up ahead, the narrow muddy road snaked through a small dark forest. Seona dreaded riding through there.
“Halt!” Keegan lifted his hand. “’Tis likely they are hiding in that wood, waiting to ambush us.”
The other men nodded, murmuring their agreement.
“I need ten or twelve of you to scout the wood and kill the outlaws if you find them,” Keegan said.
“Aye,” several of the men said, their eyes lighting with eagerness.
Fourteen men, both MacKays and MacKenzies, rode swiftly toward the wood. Everyone else waited in silence, watching. The breeze picked up, blowing the vibrant green grasses of the gently sloping meadows where cattle and sheep grazed. Crofters tended their crops in the distance, the soil rich and dark. Stone dykes and low-growing bushes divided up the fields.
’Twas a beautiful, calm area. Seona’s home. But it did not feel like home to her anymore. Nay. Now her home was the rough and craggy northern Highlands around Durness. ’Twas a wild and untamed place, filled with rocky terrain, prickly yellow gorse bushes, deep icy lochs and turbulent skies, but its beauty reminded her of Keegan. If she could be with him, she would be at home.
She glanced aside at him. His sharp gaze was fixed on the wood, as if he could almost see what was hidden in the trees. His whole body was tense, as if he was prepared to launch into battle at any moment. She prayed there would be no battle, no ambush or attacks. Why could Haldane not get it through is daft head she would never willingly marry him?
Keegan glanced at her, catching her gaze. The color of his eyes made her think of a blue flame, so intense and practically glowing with vibrant life. He gave her a faint, warm grin, then turned his attention back to the forest. How she loved his protectiveness and his strength of character.
A quarter hour later, the MacKay and MacKenzie men emerged from the forest. She counted all fourteen of them as them approached. Thank heavens no one had been hurt.
“We saw neither hide nor hair of them,” MacMillan reported.
“’Slud. Where are they hiding?” Keegan muttered. “We ride on, then. Be ever on alert.”
“Aye.”
They all urged their horses forward again, at a quicker pace than before, and were soon enshrouded by the forest. Seona had always been afraid of traveling through this area because of how dark it was, with the thick trees blocking out the sun. The air was cool and dank and smelled of rotting leaves. Some even said the wood was haunted because of the many people who had been murdered here. She had never seen a spirit, but she always got chills here.
Thankfully, the men increased their speed even more once within the wood. She was eager to leave it as well.
As they emerged from the trees, one of the guards on her far right yelled out a warning.
“There they are!” Keegan said. “The bastards.”
Haldane’s archer, Gil, was letting fly his arrows as fast as his arms would move. Two more men were shoo
ting bows as well.
“Kill them!” Keegan shouted.
Most of the men leapt down from their horses and, with swords and targes in hand, charged Haldane’s outlaws. The MacKay archers nocked arrows and sent them soaring toward the enemies.
“Protect the women,” Keegan ordered, then sidled his horse up next to hers. “Seona, get on in front of me.” The look in his eyes was so fierce, she dared not disobey him.
She offered her arm and he dragged her onto his horse. “You hold the reins.”
His basket-hilt broadsword was in his right hand and his targe strapped to his other forearm. He locked this arm around her. She felt safer with the shield protecting her chest and Keegan at her back. But he put himself in far more danger acting as a human shield to her. Haldane would want to move the obstacle to get to her.
“Five of you stay with me and help protect Seona,” Keegan told the guards. “Haldane has a habit of attacking at the rear.”
“Aha!” Rebbie said, off to the left. “Here they are now. Guards!”
Around a dozen men charged them from the opposite direction.
“Saints,” Seona hissed. So many. Haldane must have hired more men.
Rebbie and several of the guards met the outlaws thirty feet away. Men who had been fighting the other contingent of Haldane’s gang soon joined them. Chaos erupted, swords clanged, men yelled out battle cries, vulgar names, and howls of pain.
“Come. Let’s move away from the skirmish,” Keegan called to the five guards surrounding them.
Seona glanced around, wondering where Aunt Patience was… and the maids. Behind her, MacMillan and two other guards had taken the women onto their horses with them. They all quickly moved forward along the road, further from the fighting.
Though Seona hated watching men die, she was glad to see that several of Haldane’s men fell under the onslaught of the MacKays and MacKenzies. The brigands were outnumbered. Keegan was canny to bring so many men with them.
Finally, the remaining outlaws gave up and fled, Haldane and McMurdo with them.
“Damnation,” Keegan muttered. “I should’ve killed him myself.”
Seona shook her head, not wishing to see Keegan engaged in one-to-one combat with Haldane. Certainly, she believed Keegan could best him, being five years his senior and more highly trained, but she didn’t want Keegan in that kind of danger.
“Are you well?” Keegan asked, his warm breath fanning the hair at her ear.
She shivered, relief flooding through her. “Aye. I thank you for protecting me.”
“’Tis my pleasure and a great honor.”
Six of their men were injured—cuts, stab wounds, an arrow protruding from one man’s shoulder—but they all remained on their feet.
“How far are we from Gillenmor?” Keegan asked her.
“About a mile or two. ’Tis over the next rise.”
“Does your father employ a healer?”
“Aye, there are two. I’m certain they will help your men.”
“Mount up,” Keegan called out. “’Tis about a mile or two to Gillenmor. The healer there will see to your wounds. And I thank you for your fearsome fighting skills. You have protected these ladies well.”
As they rode forward, Seona savored Keegan’s warm, hard body at her back. She prayed this would not be the last time she rode with him.
Once they’d topped the rise and Gillenmor Castle came into view in the distance, Keegan helped Seona back onto her own horse. The other women returned to their horses as well.
Seona was glad the danger from Haldane was behind them for the moment, but a new danger grew closer with each step they took toward Gillenmor—her father.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Keegan’s stomach knotted as they entered the dimly lit great hall of Gillenmor Castle, but he didn’t let his unease show. He tried to focus on doing his job, his duty for Dirk and the clan, and not the fact that he was bringing the woman he loved to a place where he might have to leave her. Nay, he would not. He was taking her out of here, one way or another.
“Well, ’tis about time,” a deep, rough voice called out. A man, dressed in the Lowland or English style, stood from his elevated seat at the high table, stepped down and strode forward to greet them. Keegan assumed he was Chief Ambrose Murray, Seona’s father. He was stocky, with gray hair. His clean-shaven face was flushed, either from being too close to the fire or too much whisky. With a narrow-eyed gaze, he inspected Seona first.
“A good eve to you, Father.” She curtsied, keeping her eyes downcast.
Keegan frowned, his instincts going on high alert for he sensed her fear.
“Seona,” Murray said, then lifted his gaze to scan over the faces of those who had come inside. Several of the guards and servants had remained outside, seeing to the horses and making sure the healer attended the injured men’s wounds.
“We brought Lady Seona and Lady Patience home in Chief MacKay’s stead,” Keegan said. “He was injured in a skirmish during our travels. And he sent you a gift.”
“Who are you?” Chief Murray asked in a stern voice, his brown eyes hostile.
“Keegan MacKay, m’laird.” He bowed. “Tanist and cousin of Chief MacKay. I’m honored to meet you.”
“Ah.” He shook Keegan’s hand briefly, then turned his attention to the other men. “And who else do I have the pleasure of meeting?”
“This is Dermott MacKenzie and his brother, Fraser.” Keegan motioned to them. “They are younger brothers of Chief MacKenzie.”
“I stayed here for a couple of nights last year,” Dermott said. “Good to see you again, m’laird.”
Murray shook both their hands. “Aye,” he said in a neutral tone.
Keegan motioned to Rebbie. “And this is Robert MacInnis, the Earl of Rebbinglen.”
Chief Murray’s bushy gray brows shot up and his demeanor switched, almost as if he were a different person. “Earl of Rebbinglen?” He stepped forward and gave Rebbie a long, solemn handshake while studying him. “’Tis my great pleasure and honor to meet you again, Laird Rebbinglen. I remember when you were a wee lad.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Chief Murray.”
“You have the look of your father. How is he?”
Rebbie grinned. “Still as ornery as ever.”
“Ha.” With what might be called a grin, Murray slapped Rebbie on the shoulder, then released his hand.
After scanning the rest of the MacKay party and apparently dismissing them, he motioned those he’d met forward. “’Tis time for supper. Please join us.”
Keegan frowned, watching the ladies and the others of their party proceed to the high table, then he followed. Something here was not right and Keegan didn’t like it.
“Rebbinglen,” Chief Murray said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Please join me.”
Keegan eyed the man, noticing he’d said nothing else to his daughter and had only nodded to his sister, Lady Patience. What Keegan had heard all along was true then—above all, Chief Murray valued prestige. Titles. Wealth. Keegan felt as if a blade had stabbed into his stomach. His chances of gaining the man’s permission to marry Seona were going to be nonexistent… unless Rebbie could soften him up and convince him otherwise. Keegan was suddenly very glad Rebbie had accompanied them.
Keegan approached the high table, and when he saw the vacant seat beside Seona, he took it. He’d be daft not to seize any opportunity to be near her, though he was unsure how Chief Murray would feel about this.
***
Seona couldn’t believe Keegan was sitting beside her. With her father only a few seats away? Saints. If he perceived that either of them paid much attention to the other, he’d fly into a rage, no matter who looked on. Her stomach knotted and ached. She wouldn’t be able to eat a bite. She wished she could take her leave of the table, go to her chamber and rest, but to do so would draw her father’s angry attention.
Thankfully, he was too busy entertaining Laird Rebbinglen to notice much else. Rebbie
told him of the recent skirmish that had taken place just beyond Gillenmor.
Seona glanced around, not spotting her sister. She was likely still with Cousin Genevieve.
While the food was being served, Seona was able to relax marginally. She had no appetite for the leek and pea soup. Her attention was drawn to Keegan, beside her. From the corner of her eye, she observed his big strong hands, his muscular arms beneath his doublet, and his plaid. She found his manly scent most appealing.
“Are you not hungry, Lady Seona?” he asked in a conversational tone.
“Nay. Not overmuch.” She lifted her wooden spoon and forced herself to take a bite.
He removed two slices of bread from the large platter close to him and gave her one.
“I thank you.”
Once Keegan had finished his soup, he placed his hands on his thighs. She knew she was mad, but she could scarce eat for thinking what his thighs might look like bare. She’d seen his naked calves often enough beneath the bottom of his belted plaid. They were muscular and lightly furred with golden hairs. Likely his thighs were the same. She had not been able to see them well in the low light when he’d waded from the loch, but she remembered the hard feel of his thighs beneath her when he’d put her on the horse in front of him.
Mo creach! She had to think of something else, but how could she with him sitting so close?
Though she refused to look at him, she felt his attention on her. She prayed he wasn’t staring at her. Someone would surely notice.
Beneath the table, he moved his knee against hers and left it there.
She froze, unable to believe what he was doing. She glanced around, making sure no one was watching. They weren’t; their attention was on the roasted grouse being served. She released her held breath.
Though she loved sitting by Keegan, she didn’t know how much more tension she could handle.
***
After the meal, when the music and singing was underway for the evening’s entertainment, Chief Murray rose from his chair and ambled toward Seona. Her heart vaulted into her throat. Had he seen Keegan staring at her?
“I would have a word with you in my meeting room,” her father said, motioning her impatiently toward the door.
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