Dawn Annis

by Highlander's Ransom

  “Aye, I would. ‘Tis worth the risk. If both or either clan can work with the Clan MacGregor, we might be able to create enough protection for all.”

  “The laird of the MacDonalds has a daughter of marriageable age. Mayhap could be used to obtain security for an alliance as well as lands through a dowry.”

  Shane saw his father eyeing him closely.

  “’Tis going to take a diplomatic attitude to convince the clan to ally with us. A marriage could possibly be required,” Seamus remarked.

  Shane’s heart sank. “For the good of the clan. Never did I think I would do anything but.” His mind spun with yearnings for Kate.

  “The Campbells are creating a dangerous nuisance for all three of the clans. Believing no harm will come to them because of the king’s denunciation, they raid at a whim, stealing cattle and sheep.” Shane sat down with a clenched fist on the table.

  “With a bordering clan as our ally, we would be able to, put the Campbells back in their place.”

  Changing the subject, Shane brought up the idea of improvements to their stock and lands using some innovative ideas he had brought home from England.

  “Nay,” Seamus cried, “I tell ye we are not farmers. The lads won’t have it.”

  “Edward Maxwell swears by the new ideas. Says they are not just old men talking. The ideas have been put into practice. They work.” Shane threw himself into the chair across from his father.

  “Ye are expectin’ a goodly amount from the clan. Ye’ll have to convince them.”

  “I first, have to convince ye. Ye have ideas of yer own. I’ve seen them.”

  “Aye, I thought we could do a bit different with the livestock. Use a breedin’ plan rather than just whatever bull got there first,” Seamus said, his chin in hand.

  Shane convinced Seamus his agricultural plans would work as well. After considering them seriously, Seamus nodded.

  “Aye, son. It may take a bit of convincing, ye know. Our men haven’t put a plow to the ground in years. I believe they’ll do it for ye if ye explain yer plans and they see the benefits.” Seamus smiled and patted his son on the shoulder. “I may have been against ye in the beginning but I’m seeing the benefits this would bring. I’m behind ye.”

  Shane brought up the subject of Lord Colquhoun.

  “I dinna think anything of the problem. It no longer exists.” Seamus frowned, deep in thought. “No harm has come of kidnappin’ Kate and none will. Colquhoun has no regard for his sister-in-law and likely dinna know she is missing. No retribution will come from that quarter.”

  Kate sat in her place at the end of the table as the noon meal was being served. As Shane and Seamus approached, Shane noticed Iain giving her a long, wistful look.

  Shane strode up to the pair. He kneed Iain, pushing him aside. He didn’t like Iain’s attention toward Kate however innocent. Iain did not view Kate with any romantic intentions, or did he?

  “Iain, yer needed out on the training field.” Shane chastised himself for the small lie. He had no right feeling anything but gratitude and possibly friendship toward the woman. Yet possession was what he felt. Shane elbowed Iain in the ribs. Shane scowled. Iain cleared his throat and immediately stood.

  “Aye,” Iain said. He looked to Kate. “I’ll take my leave.”

  Kate smiled and nodded.

  After the meal, Shane and Iain went to Shane’s study. With the possibility of an alliance between the MacGregor, MacDougall, and MacDonald clans, they would have more men to work rather than training and protecting the borders from raids.

  “We can clear the irrigation and draining ditches. They are clogged with tree limbs, mud. Who knows what else during the past years? There has been no time.”

  Situated as they were on the mountainous west of Scotland, they received a good amount of rainfall. To enable crops to grow, the water-logged land needed draining.

  “With more men, I believe we could use the ditches again.” Shane became excited despite himself.

  Caught up in Shane’s enthusiasm, Iain said, “The land needs clearing. Every year the forest threatens to take over fields with saplings and brush. Stones and small boulders push themselves up from the rocky ground. We would need men to clear and work them to a condition to make planting possible.” Iain looked at Shane. “Would have to happen quickly. The season is upon us.”

  Through Lord Maxwell’s connections Shane sent home two wagons filled with sacks of oat grain. Shane was forced to use these connections rather than purchase the grain himself. Named as an outlaw by the king, he had no buying and selling rights in England. Colquhoun and the Campbells had started the trouble but King James had ended it. Instead of citing the troublemakers, he’d punished the MacGregors to fill his pockets. With this grain, additional barley seed and potatoes ready to plant, his clan could plant more of the fields left to fallow over the years of battling and raids.

  “I think we should ask Kate for her help. She knows a garden. While ye were away I walked with her a bit. She knows about plants growin’ around here ye can eat.” Iain nodded at Shane’s skeptical look. “Kate could help with the vegetable gardens.”

  Shane was reluctant but intrigued by Iain’s suggestion. He was impressed by the lady’s knowledge. He saw what she had accomplished with his mother’s herb garden. He trusted Iain’s judgment on the possibilities but questioned whether she would be agreeable to the idea.

  “I’ll ask her if she would be willin’ to help.” Iain started to stand.

  “Nay, my friend, ‘tis my clan and it should be me doing the asking. I’ll talk to her this evening after the meal.” Shane sighed, knowing the lady might turn him down. He hadn’t spoken with her alone since announcing she would stay with the clan. He didn’t know her thoughts and wasn’t sure he wanted to.

  “Will be dangerous riding through the Campbell’s land and ye may need some help by yer side. Let me ride with ye to provide an extra sword if needed.”

  “Och, man, I would not go without ye,” Shane said. He rose and put his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “We’ll take a few men with us and sneak right by the bastards. No worries.”

  Iain slapped his friend on the back, a grin on his face.

  “I need to get the men’s agreement on this. I am the MacGregor and can tell them what I want.” Shane frowned. “For this, I need them to feel a part of it.”

  Iain said, “Shane, yer their laird. They’ll do what ye tell them. They know ye, they trust ye.”

  “Some of them are going to have a hard time. Some of the younger men have never used a plow. They see themselves as warriors.

  As the MacGregor, he would speak to Kate regarding his request. As Shane, he wanted her help because she wanted to help him.

  “Kate, can I have a word with ye?” Shane raised his voice to be heard across the hall.

  Kate kept walking. She hadn’t heard. He thought surely she had. Frustrated, he followed. She had disappeared.

  As the day passed, she seemed to know when he wanted to speak with her and was one step ahead of him by engaging in a conversation with another or suddenly needed elsewhere. She made a point of leaving when he entered a room. He was left frustrated. He caught her watching him several times, as soon as he made eye contact she would gaze at an object beyond him and then turn away. The lady made it quite clear she wanted nothing to do with him. During meal times when the clan was present she would be cordial but would leave the hall as soon as she could. Whatever her answer was, he had to talk with her soon.

  Kate walked around the isle in the evening after the meal enjoying a bit of quiet after the noise of the clan. Unaccustomed to so many people after living virtually alone for so many years, her walks allowed her some peace and to escape the MacGregor.

  She could not seem to get Shane out of her head. Her nerves were s
tretched taut. She was frustrated and a bit frightened of the feelings she had for him. Hers had been trampled on for so long, first by her father and then by Sidney.

  Her social inexperience with people as a whole but men in particular, had left her feeling unable to control her feelings and desires for Shane. She wanted to be near him and it scared her. She worked in her garden when he was outdoors. She’d find an important chore to do in the hall when he was in his study. Her silliness annoyed her and she’d leave quickly when she did see him. It was embarrassing, her acting like a young girl with a crush. Where was her pride?

  It was obvious the only feeling the laird had for her was what she’d done for his father. Kate did not know what to make of her behavior. She seemed powerless to stop herself.

  As she rounded the corner stairs, heading up to retreat to her room for the night, she saw the MacGregor walking toward her. She immediately turned and walked the other way.

  “M’lady,” Shane called softly to Kate.

  Kate’s heart pounded as she turned. She remained silent. She didn’t trust her voice to work just then. “M’lady, if I may have a word with ye.”

  Kate followed him up the stone staircase.

  At the top, Shane stepped across the hallway and drew back a curtain leading to an alcove with a small window. He indicated to her a bench overlooking the loch. Torches surrounding the courtyard were lit and Kate could see Shane’s face. When they sat, Kate felt Shane’s warm body next to her. She shivered slightly.

  Kate surprised Shane when he sat down next to her. Her wonderful scent and softness made his body react. He wanted to hold her in his arms. How did he ever think he was going to be able to sit next to her? He cleared his throat, unable to speak while he collected his wits.

  In a hoarse voice, he said, “M’lady, thank ye for speaking with me. I’ve spent a great deal of time with my da to bring this clan back to the flourishing people they once were. We have been fighting for so long many of the men dinna know what 'tis like to be home tending their cattle and working their fields. Some even feel ‘tis beneath them as warriors. I am committed to try.”

  Kate looked at Shane with her beautiful eyes and nodded.

  “Let me first say to ye again, how grateful I am for my da’s recovery. Ye saved his life and I will forever be in yer debt.

  Kate smiled. “I did what I could. He is a fine gentleman.”

  Shane coughed and continued. “I have seen ye with the herb garden and Iain has sung yer praises. He told me of yer knowledge of plants. I am hoping ye would agree to help, if I may impose upon ye once again.” Shane stopped talking, relieved he had gotten the request out.

  As the MacGregor, he was unaccustomed to asking for help but it was something else too. He wanted her to stay. She had to stay, not by force, but because she wanted to. His feelings for her grew stronger daily. He wanted to protect her, to hold her, and comfort her. From the rumors, innuendo, and actual facts he had obtained in England, he knew her life had not been easy married to Colquhoun. He surmised the pain she must have felt. He wanted to make sure she was never hurt again. She appeared fragile. He saw her spine of iron.

  He imagined what it would be like to kiss her lush lips. He knew her laughter and her joy, had watched her several times when she wasn’t aware of his presence, and had seen a different woman who sat beside him now. He gazed at her, unable to stop admiring the soft planes of her face, her fair skin, and the way her rose petal lips pressed together, revealing her nervousness. He took in her soft curves and inviting lips.

  “I will help in any way I can though I am not sure what I could contribute,” she said.

  Her sweet voice sent an ache to his heart. He shook his head and gazed deep into her green eyes, searching for something he couldn’t identify. He leaned over, breathing in the scent of wildflowers and spice. He brushed her lips with his own, his breath mingling with hers. It was a light kiss, nothing demanding, just a feathering of touch. He couldn’t help himself.

  A blush rose to Kate’s cheeks. With an enormous effort Shane drew in a deep breath, and stood.

  “Och, Katie, I have waited so long to do that. From the moment I saw ye, I wondered what yer lips would taste like.”

  Kate blinked up at him.

  “Sweet they are.” He smiled and brushed her temple with his hand, and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. He was glad he kissed her. He longed to take her in his arms and give in to his desire to kiss her again and again, but there was business to tend to. If he gave in to his desires he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to force himself to stop in his quest to make her his.

  “Is it possible for us to meet and ye can tell me more about what ye have shown Iain on yer walks around the loch? Maybe then we can decide together what would be the most useful?” Shane said, changing the subject to a more comfortable one.

  He didn’t regret the kiss but he had definitely strayed from his original purpose in speaking with her.

  Kate nodded in agreement to his suggestion.

  “Tomorrow morning in my study.”

  “Yes.”

  Noticing the lateness of the hour, Shane escorted Kate to her chamber. At her door, he kissed her hand and thanked her again.

  After Kate closed the door softly, he leaned against the closed door, jesters dancing a jig in his stomach. Maybe it wasn’t just gratitude she felt. Did he dare to believe it could be more?

  Smithers, who’d made it a point to watch over Kate after he lost sight of her the first night, followed her when she left the hall. He did not approach her, as it was obvious she wanted the company of her own thoughts. When she reached the staircase and was met by Shane, he followed them and observed from a nook in the stone wall. When Shane left for his own room, Smithers slipped down the stairs. He saw how attracted Shane was becoming to Kate. Why wouldn’t he? Smithers knew Kate to be a warm, sensitive, beautiful woman.

  Now he’d have to wait on his plan of escape. He had to see where this attraction would go. And he had to admit, the MacGregor surprised him.

  Smithers would watch. Carefully. He wanted Kate happy and safe. He had been around the castle for only a short while. People were comfortable with his presence, putting him in the position to take Kate away if it turned out Shane was not the man she needed.

  Chapter 16

  Kate sat in the great hall eating her morning meal. Smiling, Shane approached her with a bounce in his step and sat down next to her.

  “I’m very pleased ye decided to help.”

  Kate nodded as she stifled a yawn. She spent most of the restless night staring into the dying fire. With nervous excitement her mind raced until early morning.

  After the meal, Kate followed Shane into his study.

  He closed the door. “I dinna know where to begin.”

  Kate took in her surroundings. The desk overflowed with paper. Two chairs sat in a tiny corner. The far stone wall had a window of mullioned glass giving light to the little room. Along the opposite wall was a bookshelf full of books. Kate was surprised to see such expensive tomes.

  Seeing her gaze, Shane said, “I brought them from England. I was schooled there as a boy.”

  Realizing now where the book of poetry had come from the first night in her room, she saw another of Shane’s many layers, not all obvious at first glance.

  Shane stepped close to her. She smelled leather, sunshine, and fresh air. He reached for a book. His arm brushed against her breast. Sparks raced through her, starting a fire in her loins she’d never before experienced. She stepped back, though she wanted to move toward him. Wanted to feel his kiss, his arms around her, crushing her.

  Kate sat in a chair across from Shane. He took her hands in his and turned them palm up then lightly ran his thumbs over each.

  “If I may,” she said softly, “a walk about the area ma
y be the first order of business. You can determine if the knowledge I possess will indeed be of help to you.”

  “Aye, of course,” Shane said. “That is an excellent idea. Though I have no doubt ye can help.”

  “I truly hope so,” she said, a catch in her voice.

  Her heart drumming in her chest, Kate stood and stepped from the study. Shane dropped her hands and followed, calling to Merta. He led the way across the hall. He gathered their cloaks and set Kate’s about her shoulders. She inhaled deeply, drinking in his masculine scent. She peeked over her shoulder into his eyes.