“Nay, you will not!” Meghan argued, swinging about to face him as she reached the chapel door. “You will not, because I’ll not be a wife to any mon! You’re stuck with me, the lot of ye, don’t you know!” And with that she pivoted about and made to open the chapel door.
“Thank God for that!” Colin swore at her back.
She swung about to face him once more. “What did you say?”
“I said God help the bluidy lot of us, Meghan Brodie!”
She eyed him doubtfully. “God help you is right!” she agreed, and turned once more, jerking open the door.
From the rafters above, the raven let out a terrible shriek of protest, and Meghan froze in her step. Frowning, she turned slowly to look at Colin.
“What?” he asked, reacting to the harassed expression upon her face. “What is it I’ve done now?”
Meghan shook her head as she gazed up into the rafters. “Not a bluidy damned thing!” she said, and with a harried sigh, started at once toward the chapel’s single window.
At the window, she threw the shutters wide and peered down in exasperation. It wasn’t that far a drop to the ground, but it annoyed her that she should feel compelled to adhere to some silly bit of superstition only because her grandmother would have done so. She tossed a leg over the sill, all the while vexed with herself for succumbing to this silly superstition.
“Meghan lass?” Colin sounded bewildered. “What the devil are you doing?”
Meghan turned to look at her brother and snapped, “What does it appear I am doing, daft mon? I’m climbing out the bluidy window!”
“Och, Meggie! I see that you’re climbing out the bluidy window, but why are you climbing out the bluidy window?”
“Because I bluidy well feel like climbin’ out the bluidy rotten window, Colin!” Meghan answered peevishly. She cast him an annoyed glance. “Doesn’t everybody now and again?”
He answered with an exasperated shake of his head. Meghan ignored him.
“You’re going to be as mad as auld Minny Fia one day,” he announced with certainty.
Meghan thought it might well be true. Only a mad old Brodie would feel compelled to climb down a bloody window in order to revoke a nonexistent curse.
Rotten bird!
Colin came to the window and peered down at her while she hung by her fingers from the sill. Meghan glowered up at him as she tried to locate the ground with her toes. He merely stared at her, unaffected by her threatening look, and watched.
A knowing grin unfurled across his face. “Um, Meghan,” he said, as she dropped to the ground, “If I recall correctly, you were supposed to make the bird fly out the same way he flew in, not go out that way yourself.”
“Ouch!” she exclaimed as her food twisted in the drop to the ground. She bent to massage her ankle, and peered up at her brother, nettled that he felt compelled to point out that minor detail just now—or that he should even remember, for that matter—and worse, that she should feel compelled to heed such a silly ritual in the first place.
“I tried,” Meghan explained quite reasonably. “But he would not listen to me, so I did the next best thing.” She slapped her hands together, ridding them of grime from the windowsill, and straightened. “Anyhow,” she informed him baldly, casting a wily smile up at him, “superstition is naught but silly nonsense! And I dinna believe a word of Fia’s ravings.”
“Nay?” He chuckled. “Silly wench.”
“Nay,” she answered pertly, and turned to go, limping.
“Alright, Meggie! Go on with ye then, before I change my mind and make you stay. Leith would peel the skin from my arse if he knew I’d let you leave, with all the trouble brewing with that idiot Sassenach.”
“Tell him you tried to keep me, but I escaped.”
“I’ll tell him, instead, that I never saw you,” he shouted after her. “If I wanted to stop you, he knows verra well I can!”
“Only if you sat on me,” she called back. “But I would not suggest it,” she apprised him, “unless you’re sure and certain you never want to conceive yourself a bairn!”
“Impertinent wench!” her brother shouted after her. And then: “Be careful, Meghan! See Alison, then hie thee back home at once!”
“Dinna fret, Colin! I will be fine.” She turned to wave him away from the chapel window. “Go on now, and get that bird out for me!” she demanded.
“Alison awaits you by the old cairn in the meadow just beyond the forest,” Colin apprised her.
“I’ll hurry back!” she promised, limping backward toward the woodlands, shading her eyes from the brightness of the noonday sun. She grinned impishly. “And I’ll be sure to gi’ Alison your love when I see her,” she teased.
“Do that, brat,” he warned, crooking a finger at her, “and I’ll take a bluidy switch to your arse when you return!”
Meghan laughed. “Dinna even try it, Colin Mac Brodie. Dinna even try!”
And with that, she turned her back to him and hobbled into the cool shade of the forest.
CHAPTER 3
God save her soul, she just didn’t think she could do it.
Alison, youngest daughter of Dougal MacLean, sat fretting upon a weather-beaten boulder, the noon sun glaring down into her face. She sat unblinking as she contemplated the dilemma at hand: how was she supposed to face her best friend and explain that it was her own guile that had instigated the feud between King David’s English Lyon and Meghan’s brothers?
Whatever could she say to make amends?
I’m sorry, Meghan, but I did not wish to wed the awful brute, so I stole his goat and blamed it on your kinsmen?
The very thought of such a confession made her miserable.
The truth was that she had never meant to blame it on Meghan’s kinsmen; it had merely worked out that way. Her plan had simply gone awry. She nibbled anxiously at her thumbnail.
Terribly, terribly awry.
Her shoulders slumped dejectedly.
Horridly awry.
She’d intended, in fact, to initiate the feud between her own kinfolk and Montgomerie, not the Brodies and Montgomerie, except that the blasted evidence had strayed upon Brodie land and the Montgomerie brothers had discovered their rotten little goat in the wrong hands!
She regretted her fouled plan wholeheartedly, of course, though she knew it was entirely too late for mere regrets. What was done was done, and it was up to her to make amends now.
Somehow, she had to set things right.
The rope within her hand jerked, recalling her attention to the gift she’d brought for Meghan and her brothers—her own pet lamb, paltry compensation though it might be for the loss of an entire flock. She tugged the wee lammie within arm’s reach and patted its newly sheared coat as she considered her options.
She could go to her father and reveal to him what she’d done, but he would blister her rear and make her marry the loathsome Englishman anyway.
Or...
She could confess to the loathsome Englishman, wed him as she was supposed to do, and then die of a broken heart—if he didn’t murder her first for her duplicity.
Or...
She could continue to wait for Meghan here upon the meadow, tell her the truth, beg her forgiveness, and then help her in rectifying the situation. Meghan always seemed to know what to do.
Why, oh, why couldn’t she be more like Meghan? Meghan was pretty and kind and brave and intelligent. She was all the things Alison wished she could be, and more.
Beauty alone was not enough recommendation, she knew. Her eldest sister, Mairi, had been beautiful beyond words, but not so very intelligent, and certainly not so very kind. Mairi’s beauty hadn’t gotten her anywhere but dead. And though her father had blamed Iain MacKinnon for Mairi’s death, Alison knew very well that her sister had always had a tendency toward melancholia.
Her sister hadn’t loved her husband; and she had chosen to kill herself rather than share her life with him. As dour as Mairi had always been, the prospect of
living with a man she couldn’t possibly love must have proven such a terrible burden for her to have committed such an atrocious sin. It made Alison heartsick to think her sister had been so very unhappy.
The last thing she wished to do was to end like Mairi.
Nay, she couldn’t wed Piers Montgomerie—she just couldn’t! She didn’t love him. Alison had been so very relieved when her father had refused Lagan MacKinnon’s offer of marriage. As flattered as she had been that a man such as Lagan would take interest in a girl as plain as herself, her heart was pledged to another. And if she couldn’t bear the thought of wedding Lagan, less could she bear the thought of wedding some English vulture.
The faintest smile curved her lips at the thought of Colin Mac Brodie.
His very name made her quiver.
His face made her sigh at the mere sight of it—och, but it was the sort of face that tied a girl’s tongue into knots and made her heart leap like an exultant dancer.
And his voice... it was the voice of an angel... soothing like warm honeyed mead. It made her belly flutter and her breast burn with longing. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to hear him whisper in her ear.
Resting her chin upon her hand and her elbows upon her knees, she thought about his eyes... clearest blue, they were... like the reflection of a bright-blue summer sky upon a glass pond.
Aye, Colin Mac Brodie was a beautiful, beautiful man...
But he didn’t know she existed.
Her wistful smile faded.
She’d come upon him here this morn in the arms of another woman, the two of them stealing kisses and laughing together. And oh, how it had made Alison’s heart ache to watch them! How she wished it could have been her!
But alas, it was not.
She sighed heavily, knowing very well that Colin had a great fondness for women; it was obvious. He was with a new one every time she saw him. Usually, it didn’t bother Alison so much, because she hoped he would take his fill of them all, and wished with all her might he would someday see her as someone more than simply Meggie’s little friend. But this morn it had been different. Alison hadn’t yet been able to dispel the heaviness from her heart over seeing the two of them together. It had taken all her resolve to approach him and ask after Meghan with the two of them laughing and carrying on so.
Perhaps it had been harder than ever because she knew Colin was like to loathe her once he discovered what she’d done—och, but she couldn’t bear that!
She stared at the lamb, wishing there were more she could give... more she could do... there must be something...
The Brodies still had possession of the original goat she’d stolen from Montgomerie, but she could scarcely count that a boon... because that rotten little beast had prompted Montgomerie to steal two of the Brodies’ sheep before the spring shearing.
To which the Brodies had responded by thieving his cow.
To which Montgomerie had responded by thieving a horse.
To which the Brodies had responded by taking four more goats.
And then Montgomerie had taken two more cows.
Alison sighed wearily at the thought of so much stubborn male pride.
The Brodies had then stolen seven of Montgomerie’s sheep—and Montgomerie had responded by thieving them all back, and then some! In fact, he’d left them with none at all! And this one poor lambkins wasn’t nearly enough to compensate for the loss of so many.
Good lord! What did she think she could possibly say to the Brodies to set things right?
God’s truth, there was nothing at all!
She could confess to Meghan, aye! But what could Meghan do? Nothing, and then her dear friend would surely feel compelled to tell her brothers—Colin included. After all, how could they possibly think to put an end to a feud without having someone else to blame for it?
That someone would be Alison, of course.
And then her father would discover her perfidy and take a strap to her bottom.
And the English Lyon would feast upon whatever remained of her thereafter!
And worst of all, Colin would know. And he’d cast her hateful glances instead of looking right through her as he did now. While she could scarcely bear his present disinterest, the thought of his enmity was tragic!
She nibbled contemplatively at her thumbnail as she deliberated the possible consequences of coming forward.
What should she do?
Stay and confess to Meghan?
Or go?
Her sense of obligation vied with fear.
What to do... what to do...
Och, but she should simply let these silly men carry on their feud. To fight amongst themselves was what they loved to do, after all. Although what would be its conclusion? She’d heard of these things outlasting even the memory of their origin.
Foolish men!
Would the Lyon feud with honor? she worried.
Or would he resort to bloodshed? Sweet lord, but she hoped not! She had to believe not! But he was an Englishman after all.
She should speak up and put an end to the escalations once and for all, she knew. All she had to do was step forward and take responsibility.
Right?
She tapped a nail against her teeth, considering... What precisely would confessing accomplish? As she’d very likely still have to wed the Englishman, after all—and truth to tell, the Montgomerie-Brodie feud had reached a level to which her simple confession of stealing a single Montgomerie goat was like to make no difference at all.
Too much had passed between them already, she reasoned.
So, then... all Alison could truly hope to accomplish with her confession was to make everyone angry with her—and nay, that simply wouldn’t do at all!
Springing up from her think-place upon the boulder, she hurriedly tethered the lamb to a nearby bush.
Of a sudden, she didn’t wish to wait for Meghan, because Meghan would know intuitively that something was wrong. And if she asked, if she merely glanced at Alison with that canny way she possessed, Alison would be forced to confess everything. She would never be able to keep anything from Meghan, she knew—and truth be told, she didn’t wish to confess anything at all!
The only thing worse than having Colin Brodie angry with her, she determined, was to have everyone angry with her.
Abandoning her gift for Meghan to find, she hurried away from the meadow as fast as she could go.
There was no sign of Alison when Meghan entered the clearing—only a tiny lamb tied to a bush near the old cairn, where Colin had said Alison would be waiting for her.
Meghan’s brows drew together into a frown as she contemplated the bleating little creature. Either her dear friend had left in a terrible rush, abandoning her charge, or this was some cruel joke of Colin’s in order to make clear his feelings toward Alison MacLean.
She didn’t think Colin could be so cruel. It had to be that Alison had hied away for some reason. But... unless Alison were in danger... why would she leave without taking her sweet little lamb?
Meghan’s gaze scanned the meadow for some clue as to her friend’s sudden disappearance, but there was no sign of disturbance at all: the hillside meadow seemed as serene as ever. The posies swayed with the breeze, like little dancing people with painted faces.
In the distance the birds chirped merrily from the lush green treetops of the forest.
All was as it should be.
Shrugging, Meghan made her way to the little lamb, intending to set it free. She stroked it gently while she untethered it and then wrapped the lead rope about her wrist. “Poor wee lammie,” she commiserated with it. “How could anyone abandon such a sweet little thing as yourself?’’
The lamb bleated shyly and peered up at her with bright trusting eyes, and Meghan smiled as she drew upon the lead rope, prompting it to follow.
“Let’s go now!’’ she urged. “You’re comin’ home with me. Findings, keepings!” she announced. Och, but why would anyone bind an animal and then leave it? she wondere
d.
Unless the owner planned to come back for it later?
“Poor wee lost lammie,” she said, coaxing it to follow.
She scanned the meadow once more, still finding nothing and shrugging, she started away. The lamb hesitated, and then followed, and Meghan smiled down at the beast.
Well, it was her beastie now, she determined. They certainly could use the livestock after having been so thoroughly raided by David’s English lackey. And this was Brodie land, after all! It made little sense that someone would leave their animal bound here, whether they were returning for it or not.
And furthermore, they didn’t deserve the poor animal if they could so cruelly leave it to bake beneath the hot sun.
Unless...
She faltered in her step. Perhaps it belonged to Alison and she’d had to abandon it suddenly—though what Alison would be doing with a single lamb this far from MacLean land, Meghan certainly didn’t know. Her brow furrowed.
Could Alison be in danger?
The tiny hairs at the back of her nape prickled.
Perhaps she shouldn’t leave so hastily?
She halted again, and the little lamb stopped, too. Meghan peered down at the wee thing, frowning, and then once more peered about.
What, indeed, if Alison were in danger? What if Meghan left and forsook the opportunity to help her dear friend?
And yet what could Meghan possibly do alone?
She suddenly wasn’t certain what to do.
“What do you think, wee lammie?” she asked. “Do we stay or do we go?”
The lamb bleated and stared up at her, its expression blank.
“You dunno, you say?”
She unwrapped the lead rope from her wrist and stared pensively at the frayed end, brushing it absently with her thumb.
There weren’t any signs of a struggle in the meadow, as best she could tell, and Alison was nowhere to be found. The best thing she could do, she decided, was to get her brothers to order a search. And suddenly... she was beginning to feel a bit uneasy—as though someone were out there...
Watching.
“Well,” she concluded, frowning, “I dunno either, but I’m supposin’ I should take you home.” She cast an anxious glance over her shoulder, and told the wee lamb, “Come along then.” And she led it toward the forest path from whence she’d come.
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