Love Beyond Belief (Book 7 of Morna’s Legacy Series)

by Bethany Claire

  He started to speak but was rewarded with a quick smack from Anne’s palm.

  “No. Be quiet and listen to me. You boys must get back as quickly as you can. You can’t do that here, so take my keys and drive as quickly as you can for McMillan Castle. As slow as Morna drives, you may be able to reach it before she leaves.”

  Anne paused, stood, and reached for the keys in her pocket before placing them in his hand and giving him a good shove toward the car.

  “I’m serious. Get out of here now. And if all three of you—in fact—if everyone else that is back there that we know and love doesn’t get out of this thing alive and well, I will never forgive any of you. Now get.”

  Callum grunted as she kicked him in his bum for good measure. Without another word, the three men loaded in the car and raced away from Cagair Castle.

  Anne was right. There was no time to waste.

  CHAPTER 36

  On The Road To Macaslan Castle

  1650

  “Oy, there ye are. I’m glad to see ye awake. I feared perhaps ye truly injured yerself. I’ve never seen anyone throw themselves about in such a manner.”

  My eyes flickered open slowly, and I struggled to keep them from closing once more from the pain in my head. My hands were bound between my legs, and I rode in front of a man I didn’t know on a horse so large in size my thighs ached dreadfully from spreading them so wide.

  “Injured myself? Is that how you see it? I was dragged and bound and knocked unconscious. I’m not sure how I could manage that myself.”

  “Ach, I like that ye’ve still got bite after the fight ye put up. I doona care how ye remember it, lass. Neither I, nor any of my men, harmed ye in any way. We simply tried to stop yer screaming. Ye thrashed about such that ye managed to hit yer head on the blunt side of one of my men’s swords. Ye’ll have a mighty bruise from it, but otherwise ye seem to be fine.”

  I twisted slightly, and I could see that the man I rode with led the group of men behind us. I couldn’t see Jerry or Grier anywhere, and I said a silent prayer for their safety as I turned to look up at him.

  He had dark eyes and hair, a full beard, and a sharp slant to his nose that only added to his intimidating look.

  “So, what…you didn’t injure me now just so you could do so later?” I laced my voice with as much venom and sarcasm as I could manage with my pounding head. It irritated me to no end that he found it amusing.

  “Ye’ve a verra poor impression of me, lass. I must say that I canna see a reason for it. We arrived just in time to rescue ye from far worse hands.”

  Rescue me? I sat quietly for a moment, toying with the idea in my mind. Was it possible that I was wrong about who this man was?

  “I’m sorry. I think maybe I’m confused. You are Laird Allen, aren’t you?”

  He laughed against my ear, and I leaned forward dramatically to keep his breath from touching my neck.

  “Aye, one and the same, though I am still not accustomed to being referred to as laird. Please, call me Raudrich. If ye promise me ye willna try to throw yerself off this horse, I’ll untie yer hands.”

  “I can’t promise you anything. If you wish to keep that nose so perfectly sculpted, you better keep me tied up.”

  “Oh, I like ye, lass. Too bad Callum’s already claimed ye as his own.”

  “How would you know that? And don’t tell me you rescued us from anything. We know what you did. We know what you did to the Conalls.”

  He stiffened behind me and for a moment, I feared I was too free with my words. I was, after all, helpless in this situation. If he wished to harm me, there was nothing I could do about it. Instead, when he spoke, his voice was soft and questioning.

  “The Conalls? Has something happened to them? The men with me now were stationed around the Conall territory to help guard it for weeks. I only met back up with them this afternoon as we approached Cagair.”

  My heart surged with anger and fear at the realization that the very men behind me were the ones who killed Donal.

  “You can’t be serious, right?”

  He bent and lowered his voice as he whispered his answer.

  “Aye, lass, I couldna be more serious. Might I suggest that ye tell me exactly what happened? If ye are wise, ye will do so quietly. ’Tis clear that events have occurred without me knowing. I suddenly feel the need to be on guard.”

  “Where are the others I was with?” I ignored his question for now. If he didn’t know—and I didn’t possibly see how he couldn’t—I would have to be sure they were safe before I told him.”

  “I let them go. The man’s head was bleeding, and not one of my men can sew a stitch for anything. The woman claimed she would help him so we saw them to her home before we left with ye. I’ve no need of them as long as they’re safe. I doona believe they are the ones that Drustan Macaslan desires to harm.”

  “What does that mean?” I hadn’t the slightest idea who Drustan Macaslan was, although I assumed him to be a relative of the late Laird Macaslan.

  “Tit for tat, lass. I told ye precisely where yer friends were. Now ye must tell me what happened with the Conalls, and do so quickly and quietly. Then I will answer yer question, and ye will answer another of mine, and so we shall go until either we reach our destination or I decide how we must proceed.”

  I huffed but could see no other way around it. With each new word that came out of Raudrich’s mouth, I grew more confused. He was a hero that within a day turned into our greatest enemy. I should hate him, but I found I liked him more by the minute.

  “Your men attacked the Conalls as they approached home. Donal MacChristy was killed and several other men wounded.”

  He grabbed onto my bound hands and squeezed them urgently.

  “Doona say another word. I beg ye to follow my lead.”

  I nodded in understanding, trusting him despite every reason I had not to. He leaned back away from me and called out to his men that lagged only shortly behind us.

  “The lass says she needs to relieve herself. All of ye dismount and rest a few moments. I’ll walk her further out so she has a moment of privacy.”

  There were words of understanding and agreement all around. As Laird Allen pulled his horse to a stop, he slid off the back and then turned to assist me. The moment my feet touched the ground, he hurried to undo my bindings, grabbing one of my hands to lead me away as he finished.

  He said nothing but moved quickly through the thick woods and brush. He didn’t stop until we were so far away that I knew his men couldn’t hear our conversation.

  “What is yer name, lass?”

  “Sydney.” I rubbed my sore wrists as he released my hand.

  “I doona know what ye were told, but I dinna order the attack on the Conalls. I’ve done naught but work to keep peace throughout the Highlands my entire life. These men betrayed me. Whether it be for money or hatred, I doona know, but if they did as ye say, only to return to my side…”

  His words drifted to an end as he paused and paced around me. As if the short movement helped him gather his thoughts, he turned in front of me and spoke once more.

  “If they attacked the Conalls, we are not safe in their presence. I know these woods well. I can manage to get away from them, but ye must stand where ye are and doona resist me pulling ye up when I reach for ye.”

  He placed his fingers on the edges of his mouth and let loose a loud whistle that left my ears ringing. He ran away from me, and I could hear the hooves coming toward us as he hurried to meet his charging horse. Raudrich mounted the beast with ease as the horse passed by. Before I realized what he meant, he scooped me back on the horse in front of him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To Macaslan Castle, lass. ’Tis where the rest of my men await us. Let us both pray that there are more betrayers behind us than those we may find ahead.”

  CHAPTER 37

  McMillan Castle

  Present Day

  Callum watched with surprise as Morna fond
led the rocks in her hands. Adwen had already passed through, followed shortly by Orick. Only he and Morna remained on the shores of McMillan Castle’s great pond. He couldn’t believe she was truly planning to travel back with them.

  “Ye’ll wait for me, aye? When ye get through? Doona go running off toward the castle. Stay in the water and help me to the shore when I make my splash. I havena swam in over fifty years. I’m not certain I know how anymore.”

  Callum crossed his arms and glared at the ever-changeable witch.

  “Do ye speak in jest, Morna? For I’ve not the time nor am I in the humor for it. How many times have I heard ye say ye would never be going back again? Not for anything, ye have always said.”

  She practiced skipping stones while she spoke.

  “I’m not teasing ye in any way, Callum. I know what I said, but I never thought for a moment that my husband, a lad who has been terrified of my time since we were young, would venture off through that portal with yer girlfriend. I’ll not leave him there to be taken or injured by that bastard, Laird Allen. I’ve been back before—ye can ask Cooper about that if ye are ever so inclined. While I doona like it, I canna see another way around it. Now, skip yer damn stone. I’ll follow ye shortly.”

  Callum was eager to be on his way. The moment his water-soaked feet touched the ground of his own time, he would be ready to leave in search of Sydney. He didn’t know whether he wanted to strangle or marry her when they next met, but he intended to find out very soon.

  Macaslan Castle

  Three Days Later

  1650

  “No. Get your hands off of me. If you think I’m going to go in that castle with you after you covered me with hay and told me to stay put in this stable with your horse—who clearly has a serious case of IBS, by the way—then you are out of your mind. What did you do that for?”

  I sat with my head buried in my shirt as I tried to breathe air that didn’t smell exactly like a horse’s bum. It was an unsuccessful effort.

  “If ye will stand up and follow me while no one is watching, I will explain everything to ye in just a moment. I’ve food waiting for ye in me room.”

  The mention of food was the only thing that lured me from my corner. Raudrich made certain to tell the stable master that no one was to go near his horse except him, so I was able to hang out in the stall unseen, but I wasn’t sure that my nose or my allergies would ever recover.

  He covered me with a black cloak as we entered a secluded side entry to the castle and rushed me quickly to his room so that we would be unseen. The first thing he did after closing the door behind us was point at the gown on the bed.

  “Do ye see that, Sydney? Put it on. I’ll go stand in the corner and turn my head away as ye do so.”

  Until he mentioned it, I’d forgotten all about my severely modern clothes. I couldn’t imagine what he or his men, regardless of whether they were traitors, had thought of my getup. They wouldn’t know anything about where I came from.

  Feeling very inappropriate, I did as he suggested and dressed quickly while keeping a close watch on his back. He stayed true to his word, never turning for even the shortest of glances while I changed.

  “All right. I’m dressed. Now, why did you feel the need for me to spend the better part of the evening with your horse?”

  After deserting the men Raudrich believed betrayed him, we rode hard night and day to reach Macaslan Castle, only stopping for necessary potty breaks. I couldn’t believe the man’s stamina. Nor could I believe it of his horse—both of them seemed completely otherworldly to me. He’d literally not slept a moment. He encouraged me to sleep often during our travels, allowing me to lean against him as we rode. I snored for hours every night.

  He explained little during our journey. Now that we were finally here, I expected him to give a full breakdown of everything.

  “What did Callum tell ye about Drustan Macaslan, lass?”

  “Is that his son?”

  “Aye.”

  I shrugged and told him the little I knew. “Only that he was just as evil-hearted as his father but far less capable of doing anything. I know that Laird Macaslan tried to marry Gillian—you probably don’t know her—to Drustan, but Callum told him she was marrying him. The debacle over all of that is what started everything.”

  It was so strange to me that he seemed completely unsurprised by everything I said. Before he could ask another question, I jumped in again.

  “You knew all that, didn’t you. How? Callum said that your clan lives so far north nobody ever sees you. You also knew that I was with Callum. How did you know that?”

  He gestured to the plate of food he left for me, and I moved to devour it as he spoke.

  “Callum is right that most of my clan lives in our territory far north. I havena lived there in nearly fifteen years. It is not important that ye know where I have been, but I havena been home. Still, I make certain to keep abreast of all that goes on among the territories in the Highlands, though oftentimes it takes news longer to reach me. ’Tis why so much time passed from the fire to when I arrived at Cagair to pick up the remains of me brother and his wife. I not only had to learn of the news myself, I also had to gather his men and take my place as laird after their deaths.”

  He moved to sit by me then continued.

  “All ye said about Drustan is true, with only one exception. I believe Callum underestimates the lad greatly. I see now he is capable of doing far more harm than his father ever could. The two of us must stop him.”

  He reached over to tear a chunk of bread off of the loaf on my plate. He popped it casually into his mouth and leaned back as if waiting for a reaction from me.

  I rolled my hand and spoke with my mouth full. “Continue.”

  “Verra well. Every word I said to Callum the day I met him was the truth. My men and I searched high and low for Macaslan, but we never found him. He was not in Spain. When we knew that for certain, I came to this castle myself only to find a verra distraught Drustan who claimed his father had been missing for days. He’d not told anyone out of fear others would try to take his land if they knew his father was gone. I was much the fool to believe him.”

  I took a sip of wine to wash down my food. “So what was the truth?”

  “Macaslan’s last journey from this castle was the day he set fire to Cagair and murdered my brother and sister-in-law. When he returned here, Drustan had stormed his father’s coffers and paid a large group of men enough money to turn against his father. They locked him away and kept him here until his death would be useful. Without knowing my role in any of this, I gave Drustan the perfect excuse to kill his father.”

  “How do you know? Surely he didn’t tell you all of that?”

  “No, he dinna. I spoke with my most trusted men, and they told me all that they know. I believe them. ’Twas only a small group that turned against me. The rest stayed here to await my orders.”

  “Why were any of your men here in the first place?”

  Raudrich looked down at his feet, and I knew he most likely asked himself the same question.

  “I believed Drustan’s fear was genuine, so I left many of my men to aide his own men in defense of this castle should word spread that Laird Macaslan was missing rather than in hiding. By doing so, the effect was two-fold. Drustan was not only able to pay some of my men enough money that they delivered his father’s head to Callum, but also enough that they were willing to turn against me completely and attack the Conalls to start a war among our clans.”

  I slowed my eating as I listened. I wanted to carefully process every word he said.

  “So he started off simply wanting his father’s territory for his own, but greed got the best of him? He hoped by securing his position here and then turning Callum’s clan and the Conalls against you that he could take over yours as well?”

  Raudrich nodded and stood to refill my glass.

  “Aye, I believe so. When I returned from Spain, I was riding for Cagair to inform Callum
that my search had failed. I dinna know Macaslan was dead until ye told me. My men dinna tell me even as they met with me on the path and rode with me toward Callum’s castle. When I arrived at Cagair to find it empty, I feared that Macaslan had either already returned or all had fled knowing he was on his way. That is why I thought I was rescuing ye. I thought ye and the others were hiding because ye knew Macaslan was coming.”

  He stopped, stood, and started pacing as he had done in the forest.

  “Why were ye hiding, lass? And why was the castle empty if ye all knew Macaslan was dead?”

  I couldn’t very well tell him the truth, so I sat pensively for a long moment as I tried to figure out the answer that made the most sense knowing what I did now. With the portal closed, I knew Callum would have to travel back at McMillan Castle, just as the other men intended to do.

  “Cagair territory is small, and Callum didn’t think he would have enough men. He knew that the Conalls were too deep in grief and too far away to be of much help so he went to gather the McMillans. He expected that once you killed Macaslan, you would try to take this territory as well. I’m sure they are all riding here as we speak.”

  He smiled, not the least bit bothered by my telling him that two clans were coming to kill him.

  “Good. Then they should arrive within the next day or two. I’m sure they were not able to keep the same pace as I did—’tis the only reason we beat them here.”

  It definitely wasn’t the only reason, but I kept that to myself. I was eager to ask the next question on my mind.