Much Ado About Highlanders (The Scottish Relic Trilogy)

by May McGoldrick

  She threw up her hands in frustration. “But why would anyone do such a thing? Are they insane? Weren’t they afraid I might cut your throat while you slept?”

  “The thought must have crossed their minds. James left my sword where the horses were tied, out of your reach.”

  He crouched by the fire, pawing through the food.

  Kenna couldn’t believe how calm he seemed in light of everything. Deserted with no shelter and still on MacDougall land. After what the Macphersons did yesterday, she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a price on Alexander’s head. “Emily wouldn’t go with them without putting up a fight. She must have been kidnapped.”

  “She was kidnapped. Yesterday,” he reminded her, looking amused. He took a bite of dried meat. “But from the looks of things, she didn’t put up a fight or call for help.”

  “Maybe she did. You sleep like the dead.”

  “And what about you? Did you hear her?”

  Kenna hadn’t. She recalled last night before falling asleep that she’d found it peculiar that Emily appeared to be so comfortable with James Macpherson. Would her cousin do that? Run away with a Highlander? Would she abandon her? No, none of that made sense.

  “Emily has a reputation she protects fiercely, never mind an upcoming marriage. I wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t refused to be alone with you and your brother.”

  “Her reputation is safe. The abbot saw you two were together. That will be enough until we hand her over to her father in exchange for our ship.”

  “The MacDougalls won’t return your ship unless I’m returned. Don’t forget—I was kidnapped, too.”

  “You overestimate your value. You were taken by your husband.”

  “That’s still kidnapping.”

  “Not in the eyes of the Macphersons or the MacKays. Your father suggested many times that I should ride over to Glosters Priory and reclaim my wife.”

  Her father would say that. Magnus MacKay had only two things he valued: keeping his sons safe and protecting his clan’s future. He needed the Macpherson warriors. And Kenna was just a marker in the exchange. As far as he was concerned, she had no voice in what was to become of her life.

  “I’ll not be a sack of grain to belong to the highest bidder.”

  “That’s exactly what I told your father. I said Kenna is more like a Scots Grey or a bearded collie.”

  “So I’m a chicken . . . or a dog?” She could hurt him. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to hurt someone. She moved toward him, hand outstretched. “My dirk. I want it back.”

  He pushed to his feet, backing up. “Only a fool would hand Kenna MacKay a weapon when she’s this unsettled.”

  “And a bigger fool would think he’s safe in the wilderness, no matter what scheme my father or your brother has been devising to bring me to my knees. It won’t work.”

  Kenna was surprised to see the hilt of the dagger stretch toward her. She paused in taking it, searching his face for any sign of a trick.

  “James might have had the best of intentions, but there’s danger here.”

  She took the weapon and tucked it in her belt. Limping into the woods, she realized this was the first time he’d trusted her.

  Kenna tried to not place too much importance on it. Right now she needed privacy, which she found under a tree close to the river.

  The two of them left alone. What was everyone thinking? What did they hope to accomplish? That all their past trouble would just vanish? Alexander and Kenna couldn’t string two sentences together without fighting.

  She stood up and shook out her skirts. The dream she’d had wouldn’t leave her. And what if she did somehow clamp her mouth shut? Cut back on insults that seemed to come so naturally when she spoke with him?

  Remembering Alexander’s weight on her made Kenna’s heart race, even now. She wasn’t immune to his looks or to the way he had with women. He knew exactly what to do, what to touch, how to make her skin tingle and have her breaths catch in her chest. And he’d returned her dirk.

  She touched her mane of hair and cringed at the thought of how bad she must look. No better than a fairy woman, the Bean Nighe even. A nightmarish sight, to be sure. Her wild hair. Her ruined dress. All she was missing was webbed feet, a great tooth protruding from her mouth, and breasts hanging to her knees.

  Kenna walked to the river and stepped out onto some rocks. The surging waters ran deep and fast all around her. The current was too strong. She leaned down and washed her hands and face. The sane decision would be for Kenna to walk back in the direction they’d come. She could take shelter in some crofter’s cottage while Alexander moved north. His brother and the men would come back for him once they had the ship.

  A movement across the river caught her attention. More than a half dozen men emerged from the trees at the water’s edge. They carried bows and English halberds. All were armed with short swords. She crouched low on the rocks. Perhaps they wouldn’t see her.

  She was wrong.

  “We can ford up stream,” one of them shouted in English, moving quickly upriver. The rest followed on his heels.

  Her first thought was to warn Alexander. There was no way the two of them could fight off so many.

  She stood up and turned to see him coming toward her.

  “Kenna.”

  She recognized the urgency in Alexander’s hushed voice. He must have seen them, too.

  “Go. Run,” she told him. His fate would be much worse than hers, she imagined. With her bad ankle, she would only slow him down.

  “We go together,” he said, lifting her by the waist and plunging them both into the rushing current.

  Gold and revenge. They were the only things that gave a man real pleasure. And, of course, a good fire.

  Sitting on horseback beside Sir Ralph, Donald Maxwell felt, even at this distance, the heat of the flames rising above the roof of the burning tower house. He breathed in the smell of scorched wood and thatch and flesh.

  He’d gotten back to Evers too late to take part in this raid, but what he had learned was worth three days of hard riding.

  “The healer was the wife of Magnus MacKay, a laird far to the north.” Maxwell turned in his saddle and nodded toward the blue mountains in the distance. “She’s the one Cairns told you about. She had a carved stone, and it passed on to her daughter Kenna when the lass married the son of the Macpherson laird, half a year since.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “I sent a raiding party to bring her back. The lass has been in a priory—”

  “I don’t care where she’s been or who she’s married to. I want the stone.”

  “My men know what you want. They’ll bring it.”

  “Where is she now?” Evers asked again.

  “Near Oban.”

  “Good. Send word to them. They’re to come back with the stone or not come back at all.”

  Chapter 7

  Speak, Count, ’tis your cue.

  “You think I’m a child . . . or a fool.”

  Emily paced the room James Macpherson had taken at the ferryman’s inn for her. Her meal, barely touched, sat on the table.

  James shook his head. “That’s not it at all.”

  She huffed and stared out the tiny window at the windswept gray waters of the sound. Along the coast, Oban’s cottages huddled together out of the salty winds of the sea. She could chew his head off. She’d fallen victim to the Highlander’s crafty charm. She was a fool, she thought angrily.

  Because of her gullibility, Kenna was in danger.

  “You told me they could mend their differences with a few hours alone.”

  “I meant it. There’s a great deal they need to discuss, and they’ve never had a chance to do that.”

  She waved him off. “I believed your tales that Alexander hasn’t been the same since Kenna left him.”

  “Anyone who has spent any time with my brother will swear to that.”

  Emily continued to pace. James had played to the romanc
e in her heart, knowing she’d soften at the prospect of her cousin out of the priory and happily settled into marriage. She would not be caught again in his snares.

  “You led me to believe that it was up to us to give them another chance.”

  James Macpherson nodded. “And that’s what we’ve done.”

  Like an obedient sheep she’d followed his lead as the sky lightened along the eastern horizon. Trusting him, she’d crept silently away. She’d rode on, leaving Kenna and assuming the Macpherson men would do right for Alexander and her cousin.

  “You lied to me.”

  “I may have omitted one or two things,” he replied.

  She stopped, facing him. “You told me you left them a horse.”

  “True, that was a lie,” he admitted. “But if we’d left them a horse, they would have arrived here ahead of us. Sharing a mount, there’d be no time to talk. We needed to slow them down.”

  “And now she’s in danger of English raiders.”

  “Alexander can take care of them both.”

  Arriving at the inn, James heard talk of raiding parties being seen farther north than ever. Some were rumored to be in the same area where they’d left Kenna and Alexander.

  Now James intended to go back for them.

  “There’s no point in waiting any longer for my kinsmen. I’m coming with you,” she announced. “As it is, Kenna will never forgive me. If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “That’s out of the question. You’re not coming with me. You’re going back to Craignock Castle as soon as your father’s men get here.”

  All the politician’s charm dropped away when James issued a command. And what he was telling her now was certainly an order.

  Emily matched his glare. “What about my exchange for the ship? Where is it?”

  “Well, that business is settled. I suggest you rest. I suspect the MacDougalls will arrive any time now.” James edged toward the door. “I’ll watch outside for them.”

  Something was wrong. He’d fooled her once. She wouldn’t allow it to happen again. Emily moved to the door, blocking his exit. “You really take me for a fool.”

  His expression hardened, but the arresting gray eyes avoided meeting hers.

  “Talk, James Macpherson, or by God I’ll put on a show that will make my cousin Kenna proud,” she threatened.

  “You’re two different people. Be happy with who you are. You’re much easier to reason with.”

  His words were intended to be a compliment, but Emily didn’t perceive it that way. She took a threatening step toward him, her tone sharper than before. “What is this business that is settled?”

  “Now, listen to me. None of this involves you. Let me go by.”

  “I’ll set the inn on fire if you go out this door.” She poked his chest. It was like jabbing a rock. She did it again, enjoying the thrill of standing up to him. “I’ll scream ‘murder.’ I’ll steal a horse and ride back to where you deserted my cousin.”

  “I didn’t think it was necessary to keep you in the dark. I don’t know why I should be the target of your wrath. Your father could better explain when you return to Craignock.”

  Father. Kenna’s words came back to her. They were nothing but brainless, senseless property in the eyes of their fathers.

  “My father will never see me again unless you explain.” She rose up on her toes, looking him directly in the eye, making certain he understood she meant every word.

  He stared back long enough that Emily felt a kick deep in her belly. Something changed in his gaze. Their faces were a hand’s width away, and time froze in the room. They both felt it. The argument was forgotten.

  James broke the spell and moved to the window. The sea breeze pushed through his dark red hair. Emily studied his broad shoulders. Her gaze moved uncontrollably down his back to the narrow waist and along the length of his kilt to powerful calves that disappeared into boots. The warmth rising into her face was unexpected.

  “The ship,” he said finally. “The Macpherson ship was never part of your dowry. That was only part of the plan. It was a ruse to bring Alexander to Craignock.”

  Emily covered her burning cheeks with cold hands. She was embarrassed by the thoughts rushing through her a moment ago. Sir Quentin Chamberlain. She repeated the name in silence. Her future husband.

  “I’m relieved about that,” she managed to say. “But I’m certain there’s a great deal more you haven’t told me.”

  “Our ship was never actually taken. The kidnapping was simply to bring Kenna and Alexander together. If they reconcile, then that puts the MacKay and Macpherson clans back on their arranged path. We accomplished exactly what we intended. The only complication is the English.”

  She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to shut out her momentary lapse of judgment and focus on what was at stake. “Alexander knew nothing of all this?”

  “Nothing. Those two are so bullheaded that if either one knew, then the plan was doomed. And we carried it off brilliantly, when you think of it. I don’t believe Alexander or Kenna suspected a thing.”

  “So this is not another Macpherson prank?”

  “Absolutely not,” he said defensively. “The clans stand to lose a great deal if those two go through with an annulment. We had to try, and your father was most agreeable in allowing us . . . allowing me to use your wedding for the plan.”

  “My father . . . allowing you . . . and use my wedding,” Emily repeated. Her head was beginning to pound. “Why wasn’t I told?”

  “Very few people know the truth. We couldn’t chance failure.”

  “Failure? What kind of success would it be if Kenna stabbed one of your men at the river yesterday? And you know that was a strong possibility. Because I wasn’t told, I didn’t stop her from climbing down the wall at the abbey, where she could have fallen on her head and died. And that was a possibility, too.”

  “Well, there’s still the distinct possibility that she’s already stabbed Alexander and he’s strangled her in return,” James offered. “But these were hazards our families were willing to take.”

  “Our families. Our. Including the MacDougalls. And you still don’t believe there was anything wrong in keeping me ignorant of the plot? You had so many chances to explain.”

  Before he could answer, a knock on the door drew their attention.

  “A company of MacDougall warriors,” a Macpherson warrior called out. “They’re at the tavern on the harbor.”

  The current was strong. The rushing water broke Alexander’s hold on Kenna as soon as they were dropped at the first bend of the river. She was carried ahead, bobbling under and above the racing stream. Alexander’s ribs and legs banged against submerged objects as he sailed by them. The sword at his belt threatened to pull him under or snag on branches lodged in the rocks, but he wasn’t about to let the weapon go. He tried to stay afloat and avoid smashing into the boulders. Suddenly, he could no longer see her.

  “Kenna!” he shouted over the roar of the water.

  Urgency seized him. He knew she was a good swimmer. That much he’d learned when they jumped off the cliff at the abbey the day before. But neither knew what the next bend in the river would bring. She could bang her head against a rock and go under.

  “Kenna!” he shouted again, swimming with the current and scanning both shores for some sign of her.

  The river became narrower and deeper, and he felt himself drop down a number of levels. Where the current passed between large rocks, the flow of the water was stronger and faster.

  With its roots pulled loose from the bank, a tree stretched across the river ahead. He was relieved when he spotted a slight figure holding on to the very end of one limb.

  “Kenna!” he shouted, gliding in long strokes toward her.

  She turned and stretched out a hand toward him. The water was pushing him away from the tree. In a moment he’d sweep past her. He swam across the current, trying to close the distance to her. But
the river had a mind of its own, pushing him away.

  “Stay there! Work your way to the shore,” he shouted as the water carried him past her. “I’ll find you.”

  To Alexander’s dismay, she let go of the tree and disappeared beneath the surface.

  “What are you—” The breath was knocked out of his body as he slammed against a large boulder. He felt his left arm go numb as his shoulder struck another half-submerged rock beside it. He hadn’t been watching, hadn’t seen it coming. He was nearly on top of another boulder and he winced, awaiting the next smashing blow.

  “Don’t worry. I have you.” Small arms wrapped around him from behind. She stretched her legs out, planting her feet against the boulder and pushing them away from the obstacle. “Lean against me. I’ll pull you to shore.”

  Alexander was relieved to have found her. At the same time he wanted to laugh out loud. He coughed out a mouthful of water.

  “I’ll carry us to shore,” he corrected. “I’m saving you.”

  “Say what you will,” she cried in his ear. “But let’s not waste any of your strength. If you panic, I’ll have to drown you and go off on my own.”

  Alexander heard her grunt as she managed to swing him around and wedge the two of them against another fallen tree limb. He glanced toward the shore. There appeared to be an eddy beyond the tree. They were not far from the water’s edge.

  He turned in her arms. “Hold on to me.”

  “I am holding on to you,” she shouted. “If I let you go, you’d probably crack that thick head of yours on one of these rocks.”

  “Have it your way. I’ll hold on to you.” He looped one arm tightly around Kenna’s waist and used the other to work his way along the tree toward the shore.

  Alexander’s shoulder throbbed. The two of them managed to work together until their feet touched the riverbed. A moment later, they dragged themselves out of the water.

  Once ashore, Kenna sank to her knees on the muddy bank. Alexander reached for his belt and found the sword still attached.

  “You can drop that weapon.”

  They looked up. A soldier stood a few steps away, short sword raised.