Highland Vengeance

by Saydee Bennett

  Camden found Broderick with his soldiers and asked him to come at once to the main keep so he could explain to both he and Olivia what was happening. When Broderick came into the large room, he saw Lady Sinclair standing by the massive hearth and he thought she looked radiant. The Kincaid laird was grateful for her recovery and he continued to tease her about their impending battle. Each time the two discussed the supposed fight they were to have, both Broderick and Olivia claimed that they would be the victor. Camden did not think their bantering about the fight was humorous and he let them both know there would be no battle. Laird Sinclair believed that if there were to be a duel between Broderick and Olivia, he would put money on his wife’s win.

  “Broderick, I am glad you are here. I was hoping you could help me change my husband’s mind about something. I asked him earlier if we could use the stables for the soldiers to train in instead of outside in the cold. If we did that, then I would be able to be there and help you but my stubborn husband believes the frigid weather is good for the men. He says it builds their endurance,” Olivia explained.

  “M’lady I am sorry to tell you this but Camden is right. It is better to have them train outside.”

  “I think he is just trying to keep me locked up in this damn castle, he knows I am not use to these freezing temperatures yet. I tell you Broderick, I was never one to sit around and do nothing. I am restless and I need to get a sword in my hands or else I am afraid I might go mad.”

  “I do understand but if you think I am going to try and persuade Camden into letting you have your way, then I think you are sadly mistaken Lady Sinclair,” Broderick said with a smile.

  “Maybe we could at least go on a short hunt. I can be out for a few hours and if you were with me, I am sure Camden wouldn’t mind.”

  “Yes, I would mind, wife. I have told you countless times that you have to get use to this weather slowly. I will not have my wife frozen solid her first winter in the Highlands. Besides, we have other matters to attend to,” Camden pointed out.

  “What is wrong my laird? What did the messenger say? Is everything alright with my family?” Olivia questioned.

  “I do not know because the message was not from your family. We have a problem though, King James has requested our presence in Edinburgh.”

  “I do not understand, why is speaking with the king such a problem?” She asked.

  From the way Camden and Broderick silently looked at one another, Olivia knew there was much more going on than she had been told. Lady Sinclair was quickly becoming upset and she wanted to know everything that was happening.

  “Laird Sinclair, you will tell me everything now,” she ordered to her husband.

  Broderick knew no matter what the problem was, Olivia would want to be in on the plan. He had learned that it was easier to include her rather than chase after the stubborn woman when she carried on her own strategy.

  “M’lady, speaking with the king is not the problem. I do not believe this is a social call though and it seems your husband is trying to keep all the details from you.”

  Camden glared at his friend for stoking Olivia’s fiery temper and then relented and gave his wife all of the news.

  “It seems that there is a criminal on the loose in the lowlands. He is burning homes and slaughtering sheep at night. The madman is leaving a note with each crime and it reads the same thing each time,” Laird Sinclair explained.

  “What does this have to do with us?’ Olivia asked.

  “The message states that he will continue his rampage until I hand over my English beauty,” Camden said slowly.

  Olivia’s body froze and her heart began beating wildly. “Malcolm,” she whispered.

  “The bastard is a fool if he thinks you are going to just give him your wife,” Broderick said in outrage.

  “I am not worried about him. The king is none too happy about this situation though and he wants a resolution.”

  “There will be a resolution. Malcolm will be dead and buried,” Broderick vowed.

  “Broderick, I need you to stay here and take care of the Sinclairs until we return. I am going to take my guards and my wife to Edinburgh to meet with the king. I will explain to him all that has happened. After King James knows of what has taken place, I am going to take Olivia to England to stay with her brother while I hunt down Malcolm and get rid of the blackheart,” Camden said.

  “M’laird, I want to help you find him,” Olivia said quickly.

  “No, you are staying with your brother under his protection until I come back to get you.”

  “But it will not be as cold in the lowlands and I can track him as well as you, maybe even better. You could use me to draw him out of hiding.”

  “Damn it wife, why don’t you understand? I will not let you be harmed. I almost lost you before and I will not let it happen again. There will be no more discussion of this. You are going to England,” Camden said furiously.

  Olivia had never seen her husband so upset before and she knew better than to say another word. From the look on Broderick’s face, he was just as shocked at Camden’s outburst as Olivia was. Laird Sinclair left the keep and slammed the door behind him. He was angry for so many reasons but he felt guilty for exploding at his wife. Camden wanted this nightmare with Malcolm to be over and the thought of him harming Olivia again made him sick. He had not met Olivia’s brother Garrison but if he trained his army the way Olivia had been trained, then the man deserved the Highland laird’s respect.

  When Camden entered their chamber later that evening, Olivia was waiting by the fire wrapped in nothing but her plaid. She knew her husband was not going to change his mind about her staying in England and Olivia decided to go along with his plan instead of fighting with him. The countess stayed silent and did not move from her chair as Camden began to undress.

  “Go ahead wife, you may begin your argument now.”

  “I have no dispute with you my laird,” Olivia said as she stared into the crackling fire.

  “What is this? You have suddenly become the timid and obedient wife.”

  “If that is what you want. I have decided that I will stay in England while you find Malcolm. Not because I believe you are right but because I respect you my laird.”

  Camden came to her side and pulled Olivia up to stand in front of him. The firelight made the smooth skin on her face glow and he tried hard to remember what he was going to say.

  “Olivia, I thought you understood how much I love you. I do not want you to be obedient or hesitant with me but your safety is something I will not take a chance with. I was brought to hell and back as I watched your fevered body fight with death. I need you to understand. You may disagree with every other thing I say and do so for the rest of our lives but not on this subject Olivia.”

  “I love you too Camden. I promise not to argue about this anymore. I do have one request though,” she said.

  “What is that my love?”

  Olivia dropped her plaid and revealed her bare body to her husband. “Keep me warm.”

  Laird Sinclair granted her request and wrapped his large arms around Olivia as his mouth covered hers. His hands gently rubbed every inch of her back and then he cupped her from behind, lifting Olivia to straddle his waist. Camden moved to the bed without letting his lips leave hers and then he lay back on the bed with Olivia’s breasts pressing against his chest.

  She loved to tease him by moving her body against his and Lady Sinclair knew how to drive her husband almost to insanity as she used her mouth to taunt him. When he could take her assault no more, Camden rolled his wife to her back and returned the sweet agony. His fingers were magical and he always took his time to prepare Olivia’s body to reach its peak of ecstasy before fulfilling her need with his own. Camden’s mouth returned to hers and his tongue mimicked the movement of his body. The lovers finally surrendered as their climax together flooded their senses.

  Camden rolled to his side and pulled his wife close to him. She nestled against
his chest and sighed softly in the dark. The Highland warrior ran his fingers gently through Olivia’s hair and he prayed silently to God that they would live a long a happy life together. He had never been more content and once the nuisance of Malcolm MacKay was gone, they could truly begin to live.

  “Did I take care of your request?” He asked.

  “You did more than keep me warm my laird, you set me on fire,” she smiled.

  “Aye, I did and I plan to do so every night Olivia, now go to sleep, we are leaving at first light.”

  “I love you Camden,” she whispered.

  “I love you too Olivia.”

  Laird Sinclair made his wife stay inside the holding while the others prepared the horses. They would have left earlier but without the morning sun, Camden was afraid Olivia would freeze to death while they traveled through the Highlands. As they said their goodbyes, Broderick spoke with Camden and Olivia watched the two men as they nodded to another before her husband turned to leave.

  “Was that your goodbye to Broderick? You two just nod to one another and that is it?” She asked Camden as he approached her.

  “We are warriors not women,” he answered.

  “Excuse me a moment my laird,” she said before running towards Broderick.

  Olivia threw her arms around the giant man. “Thank you for taking care of the Sinclairs Broderick. It is most appreciated and I believe my husband has forgotten his manners,” she smiled.

  “M’lady, do not hurry home because from the look on your husband’s face, he plans on killing me for hugging you,” Broderick replied.

  “Don’t be silly, I was only saying goodbye.”

  “Goodbye m’lady and God be with you,” Broderick smiled.

  “And you Laird Kincaid,” she laughed.

  Olivia turned to see her husband’s glare and for a moment, she thought Broderick may have been right. Camden looked as if he wanted to kill someone and she laughed at the thought of his jealousy. Liam, Stephan, Keith and Calum were all prepared to leave and Camden stood by his stallion waiting for Olivia. She noticed her horse was tied to her husband’s and she wondered what the purpose for that was.

  “M’laird, why are our horses tied to one another?”

  “You are riding with me wife until we get to lower ground,” he answered.

  “And why is that may I asked,” she said with a bit of offense.

  “I believe it was your request, you did ask me to keep you warm, remember?” He smiled.

  Olivia quickly blushed and moved closer to her husband. The Sinclair soldiers all tried not to smile at her embarrassment as they avoided looking at Olivia.

  “My laird, I will be fine without you. If we ride together, it will only slow us down further,” she insisted.

  The countess untied her horse and mounted it quickly. She glared at her husband and waited for him to take the lead.

  “Do I need to follow Liam or will you be leading my laird?” She asked.

  “I will give you one hour, if you have stayed warm for that long then you may ride by yourself.”

  The six of them headed down the snowy path and all of them expertly maneuvered their horses through the difficult terrain. The men worried about Olivia as the wind began to blow and caused the chilly air to turn bitter cold. They had not been riding for more than a half hour when Camden noticed his wife’s teeth chattering. She rode her horse behind him and the noise from her shivering was loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “M’lady, are you getting cold?” Liam asked.

  “I am just fine Liam, thank you,” she replied with a shaky voice.

  “Lord, you are stubborn wife,” Camden said as he slowed his horse and rode along side Olivia.

  “I am not so cold, it is just the wind,” she admitted.

  Camden took hold of Olivia’s waist and pulled her to his lap. He grabbed an extra plaid from his satchel and wrapped it around him and his wife. She instantly welcomed his heat and curled closer to his chest. Camden shivered as her cold hands touched his body and then realized he should have made Olivia ride with him from the beginning. Her chill drained his warmth and it took a few minutes for them to begin to warm again.

  The group traveled as fast as possible through the snow taking caution the check the depth of the soft powder before letting their horses travel into it. If their stallions stepped into a hallow pocket of snow they could easily break a leg and none of them would take the risk of losing their valuable steeds. Camden was anxious to reach their first destination for the evening because he had a surprise waiting for his wife. They had traveled most of the day only stopping twice to rest the horses and they finally made it to the Sutherland clan’s holding.

  “We will stay here for the night and then leave again in the morning,” Camden explained.

  “Where are we my laird?” Olivia asked.

  “You will know in a moment, I have a surprise for you,” he whispered in her ear.

  Laird Sinclair slid from his horse and then helped his wife down to the ground. Olivia stretched her legs and excused herself for some privacy in the woods. She had noticed that it was already much warmer here than higher up where the Sinclairs lived. Once Olivia came back from the woods, she noticed someone speaking with her husband but she could not quite see who it was. When the countess recognized the Sinclair guard, she ran to him as quickly as she could.

  “Travis!” She yelled.

  “M’lady, I am so glad you are well. I heard about your injury and fever and I am grateful you have recovered,” Travis said with a smile.

  Olivia wrapped her arms around the big soldier and hugged the young man that she had left injured before the battle at the Sinclair holding.

  “I am fine and I take it that you are well also,” she said.

  “I have been well for a while and sent word to Laird Sinclair but he told me to stay here until the heavy snow passes. Now I will be traveling with you to Edinburgh and England.”

  “That is wonderful,” Olivia smiled and turned to Camden. “Was this my surprise?”

  “Yes but if I had known you were going to hug the man like that I would have kept him hidden,” Camden grunted with displeasure.

  Olivia laughed and then squeezed Travis’s hand. “I have so much to tell you.”

  The group sat around the hearth and told their own version of all that had transpired in the past few weeks. Travis had only heard small bits of what had happened from the Sutherland soldiers that had returned from the battle. The youngest Sinclair guard was shocked to hear that Maggie lived and that Malcolm still threatened Lady Sinclair. The Sutherland laird gave a private room to Camden and Olivia for the night and the rest of the group slept by the hearth.

  Before the sun had come up, Laird Sinclair went over his plans with his warriors. He reminded the men that they would be entering the lowlands soon and they needed to be extra aware of their surroundings. Olivia’s safety was at stake and Camden would let nothing happen to his beautiful wife. The group continued on their journey to Edinburgh and now that they were out of the harshest weather, they could ride faster on the cleared paths.

  Olivia rode her own horse and they made good time traveling hard for the next two days. It was late in the afternoon when they reached the outer edges of Edinburgh. The king was expecting him and Olivia but Camden wanted his guards with them too. He did not feel comfortable entering the city without his warriors at his side to help him protect Olivia. Laird Sinclair was sure that word had spread quickly about his arrival and he knew it would not be long before Malcolm knew they were there.

  The king’s stable master took their horses to the stalls to have them looked after while the stewards escorted Camden, Olivia and the warriors inside the castle. Camden watched to see Olivia’s reaction to the king’s castle because it certainly was paltry compared to the English king’s castle. He was pleased to see that his wife put no faith in finery and she did not seem to even notice the difference between the two castles.

  “I am an
xious to see my cousin Princess Margaret. It has been such a long time, I believe we were both young girls when we saw each other last,” Olivia said.

  “Aye, King James is married to your cousin but I believe she is still a young girl, was she not a child bride?” Camden asked.

  “She is not so young , I am only two years older than she is.”

  “Yes, but you are different wife, most women of your young age do not lead armies into battle,” Camden smiled.

  The herald announced Laird and Lady Sinclair to King James IV and Princess Margaret. Olivia felt like a mess and she was sure she looked like one after traveling for the past three days on horse. She was not prepared to greet the king or her cousin but there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. The Highland laird and his wife came before the royal couple and the princess immediately smiled at her cousin that she had not seen for some time. Olivia was shocked to see that the king was much older than her cousin was. The Scottish king looked to be in his thirties with Margaret being only sixteen.

  “Laird Sinclair it is good of you to come. I have been anxious to meet the English bride you begged me for, you are lucky, she is quite beautiful. Also, my wife has wanted to see her cousin since she has been here in Scotland,” King James said.

  Olivia elegantly curtsied to the king and introduced herself. “I am Lady Sinclair it is wonderful to meet you, Your Majesty. Forgive my husband, it seems he has forgotten his manners.”

  The warriors behind Camden gasped at her bowing to the king, for the Highlanders did not truly honor him as their king. They assumed Lady Sinclair had not known this and they quickly forgave the woman for her mistake. Camden was irritated but he did respect the king enough to bow his head slightly before he spoke.