Ceci Giltenan

by Highland Solution

  Malcolm did not know what could have happened. Niall should have just been reaching Cnocreidh and yet here he was with Tadhg Matheson at his side. Now it seemed not only would he not be victorious, he stood to lose the entire force currently in battle. If he ordered a retreat now, Niall would pursue him. He risked not being able to make good his own escape.

  ~ * ~

  Niall wasn’t sure what he expected to find when he reached Duncurra, but perhaps the last thing he imagined was Laird Chisholm’s army defending it.

  “It looks like your baby brother has your back after all,” Tadhg said, his face splitting into a grin.

  “If ye would stop patting yourself on the shoulder for a moment, ye would realized they are about to be surrounded,” Niall growled, pointing to the MacLennan men approaching from the east.

  Once the Matheson and MacIan armies joined the fray, however, the battle ended quickly. A small number of MacLennans turned tail as soon as they realized their laird had retreated, but many others died, or fell wounded. When the battle was over, Niall ordered Duncurra opened so the injured could receive treatment. Then he found Fingal and Fearghas Chisholm. Gripping Fearghas’ forearm, he said, “Laird Chisholm, thank ye for defending Duncurra. I will never be able to repay ye.”

  “I trust ye will do the same for me if I ever need ye,” Fearghas replied.

  Then Niall turned to face Fingal. He had spent much of the ride back wondering what he would say to his brother. He felt he had no right even to ask for Fingal’s forgiveness. Finding Fingal defending Duncurra in spite of everything was humbling.

  “Fingal, I am sorry. Ye have never once given me a reason not to trust ye, and rather than rely on that fact, I have listened to barbs and innuendos from people whom I had good reasons not to trust. I fear in my blindness, I have lost something of great value—the love and respect of my brother. Please forgive me.”

  Fingal smiled, but there seemed to be a deep sadness behind the smile. He said, “There is nothing to forgive. Malcolm and Eithne have been practicing deceit for so long, they have become masters. I have only just learned the true depths of their treachery today. As fate would have it, I am not truly your brother, after all.”

  “Fingal, of course ye are my brother, what are ye talking about?”

  With a sad shake of his head, Fingal explained. “Apparently, Eithne was pregnant by Malcolm when she married your father. I am ashamed to say everything that has happened was their attempt to wrest control of Duncurra and Clan MacIan from ye. Malcolm’s primary goal was to expand his own power, and ultimately to pass it all on to me as his heir. To make matters even worse, my father revealed the true depths of his cowardice by fleeing and leaving his men to die as he escaped.”

  “He is not among the dead?” asked Niall.

  “He never entered the battle,” replied Fingal disgustedly. “He held a position at the rear of his men, surrounded by a handful of guards. Shortly after ye and Matheson arrived, he escaped without ordering a retreat. I intended to follow him, but by the time I fought through, he was long gone.”

  Laird Chisholm said, “I think we should run the cur to ground and finish this today.”

  Niall answered, “There is nothing I would like more. It is not wise to let him reach Brathanead. Select the men ye wish to take and we will leave immediately.”

  As Fingal prepared to join them, Niall pulled him aside and said, “Fingal, I think ye should stay here.” At the pained look on Fingal’s face, Niall added, “It isn’t what ye think. I will never again question your loyalty, and I know ye want vengeance. However, I don’t think ye should be put into the position of possibly having to kill the man who sired ye.”

  “Niall, he deserves to die, even if only for abandoning his own men today.”

  “I agree, Fingal, but still, no man should have to carry that on his conscience, justified or not. Let me do this. Stay and see to things here for me.”

  Fingal reluctantly agreed. Within minutes, Lairds MacIan, Chisholm, and Matheson, with warriors from all three clans, headed south toward the MacLennan border.

  ~ * ~

  Katherine and her escort were only a few miles away from Cnocreidh when Hamish reined in on the edge of a clearing and motioned to Muir. After a quick discussion with Hamish, Muir came to her and said quietly, “My lady, I don’t wish to worry ye, however, there appear to be a large number of men on horseback in the woods beyond the clearing. We can hear them, and Hamish doesn’t know who they might be or why they are here. Until we know differently, we can only assume they are a threat, perhaps sent by Laird MacLennan, but we don’t think they have seen us yet.

  “We are going to backtrack with ye and avoid them by circling to the north. Stay as quiet as ye possibly can and, if we are attacked, ye must not leave my side unless I tell ye differently. Do ye understand?”

  Katherine nodded.

  They quietly retreated a safe distance, and skirted around the threat, reaching the edge of the forest on the northeast side of Cnocreidh.

  Before they entered into the open land surrounding the castle, Muir said, “We think we have avoided them, but if we are attacked as we move into the open, ye ride with Hamish as hard as ye can toward the keep. He will see it opened to ye, and the rest of us will protect your back.

  They had barely entered the open area when a group of at least two score and ten men swarmed out of the forest to the east of Cnocreidh. As Muir instructed, Katherine rode hard toward the keep with Hamish at her side. They had barely covered a quarter of the distance when Hamish’s horse took an arrow to his chest and crumpled under him. Katherine stopped to reach a hand to Hamish, but he slapped Eachann’s rump, forcing the horse back into a run toward the castle. However, that momentary pause was enough time for Duncan, who had separated himself from the battle, to reach her. He pulled her onto his horse and rode full speed toward the forest. Before he reached the forest with her, Katherine was able to twist in his arms enough to see her escorts were holding their own, joined by warriors pouring out of Cnocreidh. Duncan crushed her against his chest and pushed her forward, leaning low over the horse’s neck to avoid the branches. He held her so tightly she could barely breathe. She wanted to fight, but she knew if she fell from the horse at the breakneck speed they were riding, she could be seriously injured and possibly lose the baby, so she held on, praying someone would catch them.

  As they rode, Duncan yelled orders to the others, telling them to cover his back and follow as soon as they were able.

  “Duncan, there is no way ye can win this today. We know Malcolm was behind everything. Niall and Laird Matheson have joined forces and returned to Duncurra. Stop now, take me back, and Niall will reward ye.”

  “Ye are daft if ye think I believe that, my lady. Malcolm is my cousin and has been planning this for years. He is not only cunning and cautious, but he was also prepared to do whatever was necessary to achieve his goal.”

  “Ye are the daft one if ye believe he will prevail against their combined armies.”

  “I will admit that together Matheson and MacIan will present a challenge, but it is likely Malcolm controlled Duncurra well before they arrived. The fact is, my lady, if Malcolm holds Duncurra under siege, having Laird MacIan’s wife as hostage could only be advantageous. Nevertheless, if ye are right and Malcolm fails, I still stand to gain control of Clan MacLennan. Having ye as a hostage won’t hurt me, either. This is far from being over for me, and ye are too valuable a tool to just let ye go.”

  The ride was bone jarring and Katherine suspected Duncan pushed his mount as hard as he dared. She heard horsemen following them, but she didn’t know if they were the other MacLennan warriors, her own guard, or more Mathesons from the castle. Late in the afternoon, Katherine finally recognized her surroundings. They were just north of the mountain pass where Tadhg had kidnapped her only two days earlier, and she knew this was MacLennan land. However, rather than turning south, in the direction of Brathanead, Duncan turned north.

  “Wh
y are ye not riding toward Brathanead?”

  “So ye know where ye are, do ye?”

  “Aye, but why are ye riding north?”

  “Because, my lady, it is unexpected. If the men following us are MacIans or Mathesons they will ride toward Brathanead. By heading north we will elude them. Besides, Laird MacLennan is likely to be at or near Duncurra, and we may have a better chance of reaching him there.”

  Duncan’s ruse appeared to have worked, for as they travelled northward, there did not seem to be anyone in close pursuit. However, they had not been on their new course long before they heard horses approaching ahead of them. Duncan swore and turned his horse into the woods. Before Katherine realized what was happening, he clamped a hand viciously across her mouth. “Ye are more valuable to me alive than dead, Lady Katherine, still, I will slit your throat if ye make a sound.”

  ~ * ~

  Malcolm was surprised to see Duncan exit the forest with Katherine.

  “Well, what have we here, Duncan?”

  “We waited, as ye said, for Niall’s army to arrive, but they never did. Finally we saw Lady Katherine arrive under heavy guard. I knew something must have gone wrong, and I suspected ye might need her as a hostage.”

  Malcolm listened but his eyes didn’t leave Katherine. She appeared calm and composed and she didn’t look at him. The mask she assumed didn’t fool him. She was afraid, and fear was an excellent motivator for cooperation. Pain was as well, and he would use it if he needed to.

  “Indeed I do,” Malcolm sneered. He moved his mount until he was within reach, grabbed her chin, and turned her head to face him. He laughed malevolently. “With Niall’s bonny little wife in residence at Brathanead, we will have a delightful morsel with which to bargain. Well done, cousin.”

  She knocked his hand away from her face and spat on him. He backhanded her. “Ye will pay for that, wench, and I can assure ye that ye will remember your uncle as gentle before I am through with ye.”

  To Duncan he said, “Bind and gag her, we need to keep moving.”

  Duncan did as Malcolm instructed, but said, “Laird MacLennan—I did not expect to find ye returning to Brathanead. Riders followed us from Cnocreidh, but I don’t know how many. Some may have been my own men, even so I suspect they were not alone. I turned north hoping to elude them all, but if we proceed southwards, we will put ourselves within their reach.”

  Malcolm looked irritated. “We can’t stop here. I have no doubt vengeance is on our heels as well. We will ride up the mountain and hide in the caves until it is safe to proceed to Brathanead. Make sure that gag is secure, I don’t want a sound out of her.” Malcolm decided to take another precaution as well. “Eithne, dismount and give me your mantle.” He switched Katherine’s mantle for Eithne’s and hoisted Katherine onto Eithne’s palfrey.

  “What are ye doing?” demanded Eithne. “Why are ye giving her my mount?”

  “Ye’ll ride with Duncan.” Eithne protested, but Malcolm pacified her by explaining, “From a distance, anyone will assume ye are Katherine, and they will not risk harming ye.” Besides, he might need a diversion, and as long as he secured his own safety, the consequences mattered little to him.

  ~ * ~

  With her hands bound in front of her, Katherine knew once they began to move again, she would be unable to do anything but stay in the saddle. The wind sharpened and the clouds thickened in the late afternoon sky. It looked as if a snowstorm were brewing and, if it broke soon, the fresh snow would obliterate any trace of their trail. With her bound hands concealed by the mantle around her shoulders, Katherine unpinned the jeweled brooch that had been Niall’s present to her on Epiphany. She hid it between her palms, and just before they left the trail to head up the mountain, she let it slip out of her hands to land in the track. She prayed no one noticed it, and, in their rush to escape, no one did.

  Thirty

  As the day wore on, Niall’s frustration rose. Malcolm seemed to remain just out of reach. Late in the afternoon, dread filled him when they met Muir and Turcuil with a contingent of Matheson soldiers riding north.

  Muir filled him in as quickly as possible. “As soon as the MacLennans poured from the woods, I knew we were badly outnumbered, but we thought we could hold them back long enough for Hamish to get Katherine inside the walls. Matheson reinforcements joined us immediately and we routed them.”

  “And Katherine is safe?”

  “Nay, Laird, Hamish was unhorsed and she slowed to help him. He slapped Eachann back into a run, but it was too late. Duncan reached her and escaped.”

  “Dear God.”

  “Laird, I’m sorry. Rab was gravely injured as well, we left him at Cnocreidh, but Hamish, Keavy, Turcuil, and I pursued them with Matheson warriors. We reached the mountain pass leading to Brathanead less than an hour ago. Not knowing for sure which direction he would go, we split up. Hamish and Keavy led some of the Matheson warriors south, while Turcuil and I led the rest north.”

  “And ye met no one?”

  “Nay, Laird.”

  Niall swore. How could he have underestimated the true depths of Malcolm’s deception? He hadn’t simply relied on drawing Niall away from Duncurra, he had men in place to assure his defeat at Cnocreidh as well. With every ounce of control he had, he tamped down his rage and focused on finding Katherine.

  The leaders agreed it was unlikely Malcolm’s party had been far enough ahead to have made it through the pass before the warriors riding from Cnocreidh had reached it. Muir and his men should have met Malcolm and his guard on the track. Since they didn’t, it was likely that Duncan had indeed ridden north and met Malcolm’s party. Once alerted, Malcolm had probably left the trail to hide in either the woods or the mountains.

  They searched along the track for signs of Malcolm’s trail, but because his army had ridden north the previous day, horses had trampled the snow on the track, making it impossible to distinguish a new trail from an older one. To make matters worse, the clouds thickened and before long, a light snow began to fall. If they didn’t find some indication of where Malcolm had left the track soon, fresh snow would cover any evidence. They had nearly given up hope when one of the Chisholm warriors saw the jewels from Katherine’s brooch glinting in the snow.

  It appeared that Malcolm’s party headed for caves in the mountains, and once again Niall was in pursuit. It wasn’t long before the fresh snow changed from a curse to a blessing. They found Malcolm’s tracks.

  ~ * ~

  Katherine tried to work her hands free, but only succeeded in causing the rope to chafe her wrists until they were raw, bloody, and burning. The gag Duncan had stuffed in her mouth tickled the back of her throat, requiring her to constantly fight the need to retch. On top of everything else, she was freezing.

  While riding with Duncan, he had at least provided her with some warmth. Now she had very little to protect her from the cold. Having removed the brooch holding it around her shoulders, Katherine’s plaid slid down her back underneath the mantle and bunched around her waist. Furthermore, knowing why Malcolm forced her to trade places with Eithne, she had shaken the mantle’s hood off, exposing her kertch. Even from a distance, in the gathering darkness, Niall would know she was not Eithne. While she thought the plan was clever and no one seemed to notice or care that her hood had slipped off, her linen kertch provided no protection from the cold and snow.

  ~ * ~

  Malcolm held up his hand, halting his men for a moment. In spite of the wind that whipped and moaned around him, he heard the unmistakable sound of horses approaching. If he could buy himself just a little time, he could disappear into the caves with Katherine.

  “Duncan, stay here with Eithne and the rest of the guard. They will think it is Katherine with ye, and that will give me time to escape to the caves. When they approach, surrender.”

  “Aye, Laird,” answered Duncan.

  “Surrender? They’ll kill us all when they realize ye still have the little bitch,” screeched Eithne.

&
nbsp; “Nay, they won’t. Niall is nothing if not noble. He will accept your surrender and not harm ye. I will pay the ransom to get ye and my men released.

  ~ * ~

  Niall and the men with him saw the small party stopped ahead of them and charged. As they drew closer, Niall noticed the pair riding away. Even in the heat of battle, Niall’s brain registered the white covering on the woman’s head and knew that Malcolm still had Katherine. He pulled back and skirted around the battle, riding hard to reach Katherine. As he did, he heard Eithne’s blood curdling scream and Tadhg’s anguished battle cry. Ignoring it, he continued to chase Malcolm and Katherine.

  Niall saw Malcolm look over his shoulder, panicked. In horror, Niall watched as Malcolm drew his sword and raised it toward Katherine, but it wasn’t Katherine for whom Malcolm aimed. He slashed at the flank of Katherine’s mount. The mare screamed and reared. Unbridled fear gripped Niall’s heart as he helplessly watched Katherine struggle to stay on her mount with bound wrists.

  He tried to reach her as she clutched desperately at the edge of the saddle. The ground had become slippery with snow and the horse was sliding and stumbling. All thoughts of vengeance for Malcolm fled as Niall saw Katherine lose her struggle to stay in the saddle. She was thrown to the ground, but with her bound hands, she couldn’t break her fall.

  When he finally reached her side, he removed her gag. Relief flooded him when he found her unconscious but still alive. He cut her bonds and felt her limbs for signs of breaks. It looked as if her only injuries were the lump on her head, a bruise on her face, and abrasions on her wrists caused by her bonds. Vengeance would have to wait, he couldn’t leave Katherine.