And the whole time he’d been searching, trying to avoid this very scenario, his wife had been lying to him.
It wasn’t simply the fact that she’d kept it a secret from him that stung, but that she could keep from him something that gave her such happiness. He’d hoped someday to garner that kind of loyalty from her, but the chance for that seemed to be slipping away.
He wanted to understand, but he couldn’t escape the knowledge that ultimately she hadn’t trusted him enough. Some part of her had believed what her brothers claimed about him. Jamie might want to toss Niall Lamont and the other guardsmen in the dungeon, to keep them out of trouble, but he would never do anything to hurt Caitrina. He’d thought that she’d understood that. And how could she ever think he would harm a child? Brian was barely old enough to hold a sword, let alone die by one.
When they’d married he’d made a vow—the Lamonts were his responsibility—his people as much as hers. But she still saw him as an outsider. Now that she had her brothers back, maybe she no longer needed—or wanted—him.
Despite his anger, his heart had tugged when she’d said she loved him. He’d wanted to believe it. For a moment something cracked in his chest, and it felt as though light were pouring in. But he knew she’d say just about anything to save her brothers, and he couldn’t help but doubt her sincerity. Love meant trust, and her actions had said otherwise.
The hair at the back of his neck rose, and his skin prickled. He had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. Not wanting to take the chance that the Lamont guardsmen would alert them to their presence, he motioned to his men to take the remaining sentries stationed in the forest. Peering through the darkness, he could just make out the odd-shaped shadows behind the trees to his left.
“I know you’re there, Colin,” he said softly. “You might as well show yourself.”
His brother stepped out from behind a tree about twenty feet away. “You’ve always had the most uncanny ability to sense danger.”
Jamie quirked a brow, not missing his brother’s choice of words. “Am I in danger, brother?”
Colin’s eyes narrowed menacingly. “Not as long as you do your damned duty.”
His brother’s attempts to intimidate might have worked when they were lads, but those days were long past. “Don’t presume to tell me my duty. I’m a chieftain in my own right. I don’t answer to you.”
Jamie could see his brother’s face twisted with anger. “But as his captain, you do answer to Argyll, and I’ll see these men hung, drawn, and quartered for what they dared.”
“Perhaps, but you’ll not see it here. These are my lands, and I’m responsible for the men on them. If you have a problem with that, take it up with our cousin.”
“I will.”
“Until then, I want you off my lands. Now.”
Colin’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”
“Try me,” Jamie said with deadly calm.
The two brothers squared off, face-to-face in the darkness, their men gathered behind them. Though Colin had the strength in numbers, both knew that if it came to a fight, Jamie and his warriors’ superior skills would win. And Colin would not willingly suffer that humiliation.
Jamie gave his brother an opportunity to salvage his pride. “But know that if I have to fight you, they will likely escape.”
“Are you sure that isn’t what you intend anyway? How can I be sure that you will not let these men go?”
“You can’t,” Jamie said flatly. “As I said before, this is my land and the people are my responsibility.”
The hatred in his brother’s eyes took him aback. Jamie knew that Colin would not soon forget this perceived disloyalty.
Colin ordered his men to their horses, which presumably had been tethered at some distance away so as not to alert them of their presence. He started down the hill but turned back to issue one parting shot. “I never thought I’d see the day that my sanctimonious brother took the law into his own hands and turned on his own. You grow more like our bastard brother every day. Your pretty little wife has gelded you.”
Jamie’s fists furled and unfurled at his side. He’d thought he was immune to his brother’s taunts, but this one pricked. “Do you doubt my loyalty, brother?”
“To whom? Your wife or your clan?” Colin mocked. “You can’t be loyal to both.”
Yes, damn it, I can. But his brother’s words were not without effect. His love for his wife had stretched his duty to the breaking point—challenging his deep sense of justice. Since his brother Duncan’s treachery, Jamie had always seen the law as absolute—right and wrong. But for the first time, the question of what was right and what was wrong was not so easily answered.
He waited to hear the sounds of hooves in the distance and for the man that he’d sent to follow Colin and his men to return before ordering his men forward. They crept through the darkness toward the cave, only the sound of silence billowing in their wake. If all went according to plan, it would be over before it started.
Caitrina was a mass of tangled nerves when she finally entered the cave. Though she was confident that what she was doing was right, it didn’t make it any easier. Nor did it ease the guilt.
It was dark and damp, with a deep chill that penetrated the heavy layers of wool right through to her skin. At least one good thing would come of this: Brian would be removed to safety and warmth. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, as only a single torch flickered near the back wall of the cave. No doubt they were being cautious, worried that more light might give away their hiding place.
Niall moved forward to greet her. He looked horrible—dirty and scruffy, like the outlaw he’d become. He looked as if he’d aged a decade since she’d seen him last. But there was something more. His expression was as hard and angry as before, but now it was tinged with an unmistakable air of sadness.
“What are you doing out here, Caiti Rose?” he said edgily. “It’s dangerous.”
“I know, but I had to come.”
Despite his irritation, he wrapped her in a warm, brotherly embrace. “I’m glad to see you, lass, but you shouldn’t have come. There are Campbells all over these hills.”
She pushed back and looked into his eyes. “For good reason. Oh, God, what have you done, Niall?”
His eyes darkened with a pain so acute, it almost hurt to look at him. “What needed to be done. But I failed.”
“Why? Why would you risk everything like this? You’ve put all your lives in danger. Auchinbreck will kill you if he finds you.”
“He won’t find me.”
“So you will be an outlaw, when instead you might have taken your rightful position as chief? Your men would have been free. Now you will be living in the wild like broken men. And what of the rest of our clan? It’s not only you who will suffer for what you’ve done. You’ve put everything I’ve done to reclaim Ascog for our clan in jeopardy.”
His face was like stone that was ready to crack. “I’m sorry for it. But I had no choice.” He looked into her eyes, his own as bleak as she’d ever seen them. “I had to, Caiti.” His voice caught. “God, they raped her.”
Shocked by his declaration, all Caitrina could ask was, “Who?”
“Annie MacGregor.”
She searched his face, looking for the sign that she knew was there. “And who is Annie MacGregor to you, Niall?” she asked gently.
The intensity burning in his gaze told her even before he answered. “The woman I love, but was too damn proud to admit.”
“Oh, Niall, I’m so sorry.” She wrapped her arms around him. He stood there stiffly in her arms, yet she could feel the emotion—the pain and helplessness—surging inside, and her heart went out to him. To a man like Niall, a man who lived to protect, she knew he must be feeling that he’d failed the poor girl.
“It was Auchinbreck and his men,” Niall said. “They left her for dead.” His voice lowered. “She was like a broken bird.” His eyes met hers, and the stark pain there made her ches
t squeeze. “God, she was scared of me, Caiti.”
Caitrina sickened with sympathy for Annie, knowing how close she’d come to suffering the same fate. Though it was not uncommon in the times of old feuds to dishonor a clan by ravaging their women, an honorable man would never use a woman to fight his wars.
She could understand why Niall had done what he had, but it didn’t make their situation any less precarious. “Give her time, Niall. She’ll see that you would never hurt her in that way, but you’ll be of no use to her if you go to prison.” Or die. But she couldn’t even put those horrific words in her mouth. “I won’t let them harm you.”
“Then you had better hope that your husband and his brother don’t find me.”
The guilt on her face must have given her away. “What is it, Caiti? You look pale.”
“Niall, I …”
A noise at the entrance of the cave drew his attention. She could hear the successive cries of surprise as Jamie and his men stormed through the entrance. Niall’s gaze shot back to her, and the look of acute disbelief and betrayal he sent her cut her to the quick.
His hands gripped her shoulders, and he jerked her around to face him. “What have you done?”
Panic rose inside her; she was terrified that she might not be able to make him understand. “You don’t understand; Jamie will help you.”
“He’ll send me to the devil by morning.”
She shook her head furiously. “No. He’s promised to protect you.”
“How? By handing me over to his cousin for some of his Highland justice?”
A sudden wave of unease churned in her stomach. “He wouldn’t do that.”
Niall pushed her out of the way as Jamie’s men swarmed the small space. He slid out his dirk from the scabbard at his waist. “You’re a fool, Caiti Rose.”
“I’m trying to help you.” But he was deaf to her pleas, caught up in the effort to repel the invaders. She wouldn’t let Niall’s certainty erode her trust. Jamie had sworn to protect them, and he’d never given her a reason to doubt him. But the enormity of the trust she’d placed in him hit her hard. Argyll. She shuddered. No, Jamie wouldn’t betray her like that.
Her brothers had only just come back to her, she couldn’t lose them again.
Chaos erupted around her as she sank into the stone wall behind her. It was so hard to see what was happening—with virtually no light and the small space crowded with large, mail-clad bodies. Everywhere she looked, men were fighting. With little room to maneuver, bows and claymores were impossible; it was hand-to-hand combat and dirks. It was the latter that she feared.
Jamie and his men easily overpowered the couple of guardsmen who’d been watching the entrance of the cave and worked their way toward the place where Niall, Seamus, and the other guardsmen would make their stand. She wanted to squeeze her eyes closed and block out the hideous sounds—the grunts of pain, the thump of fists slamming into flesh, the struggle. She just wanted it to be over soon with as little bloodshed as possible.
Thank God Brian was safe in the back chamber, Boru standing guard.
Although Niall and her Lamont clansmen were vastly outnumbered, the tight confines of the cave worked in their favor—at least for a while. There was nowhere for them to go; they were trapped with their backs to the cave, and eventually they would be overtaken.
Jamie was doing everything he could not to kill her brother’s men, but she was terrified that if Niall fought back, Jamie would be unable to prevent something terrible from happening.
There were perhaps only half a dozen of her Lamont guardsmen flanking Niall when he and Jamie met, warrior to warrior, each wielding a dirk.
She held her breath, her worst nightmare about to be realized.
Niall showed no signs of backing down. She stepped out of the shadows, moving toward her brother. She clutched his arm, but he didn’t look at her, his gaze fixed on Jamie. “Please, Niall, don’t do this,” she begged.
“Get out of here, Caiti,” he said at the same time as Jamie.
Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “But—”
“You gave me your word, Caitrina,” Jamie added. “I want you to leave … now.”
I can’t! she wanted to scream. Her feet wouldn’t move. She had the horrible feeling that only if she stayed could disaster be avoided. She looked into Jamie’s eyes, but it was useless—he would not budge. Every instinct clamored to argue, but she’d given her word. She dropped her hand and started to back away, her gaze fixed on Niall, who still refused to look at her. Her throat was thick with emotion. She shot a quick pleading glance at Jamie. “Please, don’t hurt them.”
“I have no wish—” All of a sudden, his eyes widened with alarm. “Caitrina, watch out!” He made a move toward her, but it was too late.
Chapter 21
Caitrina was lifted off the ground, a heavy arm wrapped around her waist and the long sharp blade of a dirk pressed to her throat.
“One more step and she’s dead.”
Dear God, it was Seamus. The edge of the blade nicked the tender skin below her jaw and she cried out, more surprised than pained. Jamie froze in his tracks.
Niall’s gaze darted back and forth between Jamie and the old guardsman. “What in Hades are you doing, Seamus?”
“Trying to get us out of here,” the old warrior answered impatiently.
“By using my sister?”
“Who has betrayed us! It was she who brought the Henchman here.”
Caitrina said, “I was only trying to help—”
“Shut up!” Seamus ordered, pressing the blade deeper into her throat. She gasped in shock, feeling a sharp sting followed by the wet trickle of blood sliding down her neck. Any hope that Seamus might be bluffing shattered.
Jamie made a sound of such animalistic rage, she felt it deep in her bones. Clearly, it had rattled Seamus as well, because his hand began to shake dangerously.
“Let her go,” Niall demanded with deadly calm, though Caitrina could see that he was feeling anything but.
“No,” Seamus said more anxiously. “He’ll let us go as long as we have the lass.”
Niall dropped his weapon and kicked it toward Jamie, raising his hands in surrender. He shook his head sadly. “It’s over, Seamus. Let her go.”
“No!”
Caitrina could feel the old man’s heart race against her back and knew that he was panicking—his rash plan hadn’t gone as he’d anticipated. His arm tightened around her waist. She sensed what he was going to do but could do nothing to prevent it. Up until now it had almost seemed unreal, but for the first time she felt fear. His hand shook as he started to draw the knife across her neck.
She could hear the wild desperation in his voice as he turned to Niall, his voice laden with apology. “The lass is a traitor. It’s all her faul—”
The sound of a blade whizzing through the darkness followed by a dull thud stopped Seamus cold. He stiffened with shock and released her as he fell back. The knife he was holding to her neck dropped, landing at her feet in the dirt. She glanced down and then jumped back, horrified. Her father’s old warrior lay glassy-eyed, with Jamie’s dirk planted deep in the side of his throat.
It was deathly silent as she processed what had happened. If not for Jamie’s considerable skill with a blade, she might be lying there instead.
Regret washed over her. Jamie had killed him, but it was her hands that were stained with blood.
She felt herself swept up in her husband’s embrace. “God, are you all right?”
She nodded mutely, and he cupped her head against his chest. She inhaled the deep masculine scent—savoring the warmth and safety of his embrace. He’d looked so calm a moment ago, but she could feel the frantic race of his heart against her chest. He squeezed her to him harder and pressed his mouth against her hair. He held her for a long moment, as if he didn’t want to let her go. She wanted to thank him for saving her life but was too horrified by the one that had been lost in her place.
&
nbsp; With some reluctance, he released her. His hand brushed the side of her face with aching tenderness. For a moment, in his eyes she saw the emotion he normally kept hidden. He tilted back her chin and looked at her neck. “Bring me some damn light.” A man moved forward with a torch.
“Is she all right?” Niall asked.
“Aye, thank God ’tis not deep.” She could hear the anger in his voice and knew he was blaming himself for allowing her to come. Jamie grabbed hold of the edge of her cloak and pressed it against the cut to stanch the bleeding. “Hold it like this,” he instructed, “all right?”
She nodded again, and he ordered one of his men forward. “Take her back to the castle and see that the wound is tended to immediately. Don’t let her out of your sight.” His eyes met hers. “I’ll be back soon.” He leaned forward and dropped another kiss on her forehead.
“Yes,” she managed, then looked to Niall hesitantly.
“Go, Caitrina,” her brother said roughly. “See to your wound.”
Numb, she allowed Jamie’s guardsman to lead her out of the cave and back to Ascog, having no wish to see her brother’s face as he was forced to surrender to her husband.
There was nothing left for her to do here; Caitrina feared she’d done enough already.
Jamie watched as Will led Caitrina to safety, his stomach lodged firmly in his throat. Only now that the danger was gone did the fear settle in as he realized just how close he’d come to losing her. It had happened so damn fast—he hadn’t had time to think. Years of battle, of honing his instincts, had paid off. When the old warrior had turned, it had been the only opening he needed. He hadn’t hesitated; seeing his target, he’d thrown his dirk with a precision born of a lifetime of practice.
“You really do care for her?”
Jamie turned, not realizing Niall Lamont had been watching him. His hands had been bound behind his back while Jamie’s men cleared the tunnels of the outlaws.
The Campbell Trilogy Page 29