Desired by a Highlander

by Donna Fletcher

  “She needs to rest.”

  Slatter laid his grandmother’s hand on her stomach, then leaned over and kissed her brow. “Sleep. We’ll talk again.”

  Slatter moved off the bed and Willow followed him to stand near the hearth. He leaned down to add more logs to the fire.

  “I don’t want her to get cold.”

  Willow ached for her husband, seeing the worry and anger swirling in his dark eyes as he looked up at her.

  He stood. “She suffers because of me.”

  “She suffers because of the man who stole your identity. He’s the one who needs to be found and punished for what he’s done to so many.”

  Slatter knew the man’s punishment… death, at his hands.

  “Right now Seanmhair does well and that’s what matters. She will heal and grow strong and she will make her home here with us. And we shouldn’t waste a minute in seeing that happen. We need to send that message to Devin.”

  Did he deserve this woman’s love? She put all else aside to help him. Deserve her or not. Wise or not. He finally admitted to himself that he never wanted to let her go. And he intended to seal their vows so nothing could keep that from happening.

  “I’ll have someone sit with her,” she said and headed to the door, hearing a small bark and stopped, knowing any moment Snow and Thaw would appear. And they did.

  “What is it, Thaw?” Snow asked and the dog brushed against her leg, his tail wagging, hitting the hem of her garment. “Someone we know is here.”

  “He is learning well,” Willow said. “Slatter and I just finished speaking with Sara and I need someone to sit with her.”

  “I was just coming to do that,” Snow said. “Go. I will keep Sara company.”

  Slatter rested his hand on Snow’s shoulder after she sat in the chair by the bed, Thaw settling at her feet. “I appreciate your help with my grandmother.”

  “She’s family,” Snow said with a pat to his hand.

  Slatter followed Willow out the bedchamber door and as they descended the stairs, he said, “I think we should consult James on our decision before we send anyone to collect what little family I have. He is chieftain of the clan.”

  “The Clan Macardle needs to grow. I’m sure he’d be only too pleased to accept them into the clan.”

  “Let’s make certain of that before we send for them. I don’t want them to arrive here only to be turned away. They have suffered enough.”

  They each slipped on a cloak, having been told that James was checking the storage shed.”

  A cold wind whipped at them when they stepped outside the keep as did a light falling snow, and Slatter was quick to take his wife’s hand in his, covering most of it to keep it warm.

  His considerate gesture did more than warm her hand, it also warmed her heart.

  It wasn’t lost on them that not only a couple of Tarass’s warriors lingered near as they walked, but a few Ruddock’s warriors’ kept steady eyes on them as well. A good watch was being kept on Slatter.

  Willow thought Slatter might complain, but he said nothing. His glance, while appearing to remain straight in front of him, took note of every warrior that marked their path, just as his eyes had seemed to take in everything around them when she had ridden with him.

  James greeted them with a nod. “Thanks to Lord Ruddock finishing the building of the shed, lost to a fire, we have a sturdy food shed.”

  “I know I waste my breath, but I will say it again. I didn’t set fire to your shed. Whatever possible reason would I have for doing so?” Slatter asked, having grown exceedingly tired of taking the blame for something he didn’t do.

  “The offer of coin is a good reason,” James said.

  “Aye, and when we catch the fellow he can tell us how much he was paid for his heinous crime,” Willow said.

  She could see she perplexed James, but then he had always been able to count on her to see reason and do the right thing. He had lost her dependable nature and she hadn’t given thought to how it might have upset him. But she could see now that it did and while she felt a tug of sadness, as strange as it seemed, she also felt a sense of freedom.

  “You’ve often said how you wished to see the Clan Macardle grow in size—”

  “You’re with child already?” James asked not even trying to hide his shock.

  Slatter smiled and rested his hand to Willow’s stomach. “It will be soon enough that Willow grows with child.”

  “But not yet,” Willow was quick to say, seeing the teasing look in her husband’s dark eyes and brushing his hand away before someone saw and set off wagging tongues that would have her with child by nightfall. “Slatter has a small group of people that is like family to him and I’d like to send for them so they can make their home here with the Clan Macardle. I’ve met a few and they are good people.”

  “Are they much like Slatter?” James asked, casting a glance at him.

  “Life has treated them poorly, some more poorly than others, but they are honest, good people and would prove grateful for the opportunity to have a good, permanent home and be part of a good clan. There are young and old alike among them, and all will do their share,” Slatter said with a pride for the small group he had gathered.

  “I will gladly accept them into our clan after your innocence is proven,” James said.

  Willow turned such an angry glare on James that it had him drawing his head back in shock.

  “I can’t believe you would refuse us this,” Willow said.

  “These people you speak of no doubt owe their allegiance to Slatter. They would protect him and possibly lie for him. There is enough lies being spoken and spread without more people to attest to them,” James said.

  “Are you accusing me of lying?” Willow asked.

  “You are an honest woman, Willow, but you have changed since being with Slatter and I must do what is best for the clan, and at one time you would have advised me to do just that.”

  Willow couldn’t argue with his logic. She would have done what he said, advised him against it. And she would have thought the woman foolish for believing a man who was known to lie. She could beg him to trust her on this, but again there’d be no logic to it. James would be right in refusing her. So what did she do?

  “I understand, James. Your clan counts on you to protect them, keep them safe as do my people,” Slatter said.

  Willow heard a low warning in her husband’s voice that she doubted James recognized.

  “Once your innocence is proven, I’ll gladly offer your people sanctuary,” James said.

  Sanctuary, not a home, Willow thought and from the way her husband tensed beside her, he thought the same. Which meant that James didn’t expect Slatter to be proven innocent. He was placating her, letting her believe he would accept her marriage to Slatter, when he agreed with Tarass. Both men would see her husband dead.

  “Now if that is all, I need to get done with this chore before the heavy snow falls,” James said, dismissing them.

  Slatter nodded and Willow turned with him, their hands having remained joined, to take their leave.

  “A private word, Willow,” James said, stopping the couple.

  Slatter kissed his wife’s cheek. “Go speak with your brother. I will be in the keep.”

  Willow didn’t want to leave Slatter’s side. He wasn’t pleased with what James had said and she wasn’t either. James and Tarass thought Slatter guilty and they intended to see him punished. That was why Tarass had sent for the Slayer.

  Willow returned to James and didn’t give him a chance to speak. “You lied to me. You want my husband dead.”

  “What I want is the truth and for you to be safe and not regret a decision made on a whim in a moment of madness,” James argued.

  “If you believe one thing I say, James, believe that my decision to wed Slatter was not decided in a moment of madness, nor did I fall in love with him on a whim. He won my heart just as you won Eleanor’s heart, by being a good and kind man to her. And I
hope you do not waste time in letting her know that you love her and make her your wife. Time with the one you love is too precious to waste even a moment not acknowledging it.”

  James stood staring at her, his mouth open but no words coming out.

  “Though Snow is blind, I think she sees more clearly than any of us. She knew from the start that you and Eleanor were drawn to each other just as she could tell how much Slatter and I love each other, just as she senses Slatter is a good man regardless of what is being said about him.” She shook her head. “I am sorry I’m not the sensible woman you had come to rely on, but I’m not sorry for allowing myself for once in my life not to listen to reason, but follow what my heart tells me. I love my husband and I will not see him hang,” —she shuddered at the thought— “when he is an innocent man.” She went to turn and stopped. “And just so you know. I think Eleanor is a wonderful woman and would make you a good wife.”

  She hurried off, worried what her husband might do.

  Chapter 17

  Willow had grown suspicious of her husband when she realized he was avoiding her. Every time he spotted her, he smiled, sometimes winked, and turned in another direction. He kept his distance from her until evening when the Great Hall filled for supper. He was up to something and he was taking no chances she’d find out about it.

  James requested to speak with her in his solar after supper, a more jovial meal than she had anticipated. Her husband had everyone laughing at the table with tales he had heard in his travels and James even shared a tale or two of his own. It was a pleasurable time, one Willow wished could be repeated more often.

  When Willow went to follow James out of the Great Hall, Slatter stood and took her in his arms. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “This may not be the right time, but I have a need to tell you that I love you. How you captured my heart I’ll never know, but my heart belongs to you now and forever.”

  He stepped away from her then, far too fast for her to stop him, and while his words filled her heart with joy, a sense a dread fell over her. He may have told her he loved her, but she got the distinct feeling he was also saying good-bye.

  Willow hurried to James’s solar, worried about being away from her husband too long, worried she wouldn’t find him there when she returned.

  James was quick to speak with her. “I’ve rethought what you asked and I think it would prove beneficial for Slatter to have his people come here. Perhaps they can help shed some light on the truth.”

  Willow rushed to James and hugged him. “There’s the understanding and kind brother I’ve come to know and love.”

  “My apologizes, Willow. You returned changed, though if I were honest with myself you returned happier than I’ve ever seen you and your confidence and courage just as strong as it’s ever been. When you advised me about not wasting time when it came to love and how easily you accepted Eleanor—” He shook his head. “I should have known you would have never brought danger down upon your family. I will do all I can to help prove Slatter’s innocence.”

  “You believe him?”

  “I believe you and if you believe him that is good enough for me.”

  Willow hugged him again. “Thank you, James, and thank you for being a wonderful brother.” She turned a soft smile on him as she stepped away from him. “So how long before you tell Eleanor how you feel about her?”

  James laughed. “Not long. Not long at all.

  Willow hurried into the Great Hall where she had left her husband, hoping he was still there. The hall room was full of a mix of people, clan members, Lord Ruddock’s warriors, and some of Tarass’s warriors. But she had yet to spot Slatter.

  Chatter and laughter filled the room. Even Snow and Eleanor were deep in conversation and Willow kept her distance from them not wanting to be drawn into their chatter. She needed to find her husband.

  She finally spotted him, talking and laughing with a couple of Lord Ruddock’s warriors, then moving smoothly away from them to chat with some clan members. She watched how easily he engaged people while making his way toward a narrow hall that only the servants made use of and how those he talked with remained in conversation with one another, not noticing when he moved away.

  If she hadn’t kept focused on him, she would have missed how easily he had disappeared into the shadows without notice. She knew where the hall led and before hurrying off she stopped to speak with Snow.

  “A moment with my sister, Eleanor,” Willow said when she reached them.

  Eleanor nodded and left them to talk.

  “What’s wrong?” Snow asked. “I can hear the worry in your voice.”

  “I have no time to explain. I may have to leave for a few days, or not. I’m not sure, but if I do I need you to make sure Sara is looked after. You know what to do.”

  “Slatter goes with you,” Snow said.

  “You’re far too observant, but he doesn’t know that yet.”

  “Stay safe and worry not about Sara,” Snow said and hugged her sister. “And make sure you return home.”

  “You have my word on that,” Willow said and hurried off as teary-eyed as her sister.

  Willow grabbed her cloak she had left on a bench earlier in the day and made her way through the hall that led to the kitchen. She snatched a sack off the wall hook and stuffed it with bread and cheese.

  When the cook looked at her oddly, Willow held the sack up, “A secret, late night rendezvous.”

  The cook laughed and nodded.

  Once outside, she hurried to the stables, her booted-feet leaving footprints in the snow. She was glad the snow hadn’t turned heavy, though the continuous light snowfall had left enough on the ground to leave an imprint.

  She heard faint sounds coming from the stable where her husband’s horse was sheltered and she kept her steps as light as she possibly could. The door stood open and she cautiously made her way inside.

  She had taken only a few steps when an arm caught her around the throat and she gagged for a breath. She was released in an instant, spun around, her husband’s arm going around her to steady her.

  “Damn it, wife, what are you doing here?” Slatter demanded, then cursed at seeing his wife coughing as she breathed in air. “I could have hurt you.” He was berating himself, not her. “You shouldn’t have followed me, and how did you follow me? I never heard your footfalls.”

  She took a couple of more needed breaths before speaking. “I knew where you’d be going when I saw you sneak off. I took a different route.” She coughed again. “And did you really believe you could tell me you love me now and forever, and not think I’d know you were bidding me farewell?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “You’re not going anywhere without me, though if you’re leaving because James refused your people sanctuary, then your departure is no longer necessary. James apologized to me for refusing our request and offered your people a home here.” She coughed again.

  “Stop talking and give your throat a chance to recover,” Slatter ordered, annoyed he had caused her discomfort. “And I appreciate James’s change of heart, but I’ll go myself and escort Devin and the others here.”

  “A foolish choice,” Willow said, trying to fight back a cough. “Tarass will have his men chase after you in no time.”

  “I’ll return before they can find me. Stop talking,” he ordered again and this time continued, not giving her a chance to speak. “Besides, I need to go. If I can draw the culprit away from here and capture him, I can prove my innocence.”

  “And place yourself in danger.” She shook her head. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

  His arm fell away from her and he laughed as he stepped around her and went to his horse, adjusting the blanket before turning to her. “You’re staying put and don’t think to argue with me on this. You’re not going and that’s that.”

  Willow scrunched her nose and tapped at her closed lips a moment, giving it thought.

  “You’ll not get your way on this, wife,
no matter what reasoning you come up with,” he warned.

  She stopped tapping her lips. “So you think the culprit will go after you once he’s realized you have left. But what if he sees that I remain here, lets a few people catch a quick glimpse of him, then kills me, leaving you to be blamed. That would be a reasonable and probably successful plan.”

  Slatter stared at her, an odd look on his face, then went to her, took her in his arms, and kissed her senseless.

  “A good-bye kiss to your wife?” James asked, standing in the open door, his arms folded across his chest.

  Willow had to take a moment to get her bearings when her husband ended the kiss and it took another moment for her to realize why he had kissed her. He had heard someone approach and was quick to make it look like they had snuck off together.

  “A secret rendezvous,” Willow said, turning with a smile.

  “Your brother is wiser than to believe such a foolish explanation,” Slatter said. “I didn’t know who approached and anyone other than your brother might have believed we were having a playful rendezvous.”

  “And the truth is?” James asked.

  “I was taking my leave. I thought the culprit would follow me and danger to your clan would cease. However, Willow pointed out a flaw in my plan. I also intended to go fetch my people and bring them here, since I worry that this madman may not stop at hurting anyone connected with me.”

  “Even though I ordered otherwise?” James asked.

  “I respect you, James, but I don’t take orders well and I protect the small group of people who have come to rely on me as you protect your clan. Willow told me that you changed your mind and I appreciate that, but I need to do what is best for my people.”

  “I’m a man of my word and I will not renege on it. Your people are welcome here. I would ask for your word, though I’m not sure how much it is worth, that you remain here until this matter is settled.”

  Slatter hesitated and he didn’t miss the disappointed look on his wife’s face.