Highland Hero

by Hannah Howell

  David bounded up the stairs, faintly aware of the sound of a fist hitting a body. He guessed that Leith or Sir Malcolm had rendered the man unconcious rather than waste any time securing him. Even as he threw open the door the man had spoken of, he could hear the others pounding up the stairs.

  A soft curse escaped him and his blood ran cold when he saw Tatha sprawled on the floor near the window. Sheathing his sword, he hurried to her side. As he knelt beside her, he saw her chest move and nearly wept with relief. She was alive. At the moment that was all that mattered.

  Gently, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Leith and Sir Malcolm stood by the bed as David checked Tatha for any severe injuries. She had clearly been knocked around, and there was a sizable lump on the back of her head, but David could find no other wounds. He sat down on the bed and took her hand in his, lightly rubbing it warm between his two hands.

  “The fool said Sir Ranald had only just brought the lass up here,” Sir Malcolm grumbled, scowling down at his daughter. “’Tis clear she managed to enrage him right quickly.”

  David stared at Sir Malcolm, torn between disbelief and anger. “I dinnae believe Tatha asked for this beating.”

  “That wasnae what I said. Dinnae tell me ye are one of them sensitive lads. I just said that the fool had been quick to beat her, and if ye try to tell me my lass didnae whet her tongue on his wrinkled hide then ye dinnae ken her as weel as I thought ye did.”

  “My father oftimes sounds as if he is saying something most unkind when ’tis nay the way of it at all,” said Douglas as he entered the room and walked to the side of the bed.

  “I hope ye arenae saying that I am kind,” snapped Sir Malcolm, glaring at his son.

  “I would ne’er insult ye so.” Douglas frowned down at Tatha. “ ’Tis a shame that the best healer we ken is the verra lass who needs tending.”

  “If she would wake, she would be quick to tell us what to do. I wouldnae be surprised to see her heal the dead one of these days.”

  David hid his surprise. Sir Malcolm’s words were spoken in the same gruff, nearly angry tone he always used, but the pride he felt in Tatha’s healing skills was evident. It was increasingly clear that he had wronged the man to think he cared nothing for his daughter.

  “She will wake soon,” David said. “Her breathing has already grown stronger and her eyes move beneath her lids.”

  “Are ye a healer too?” asked Sir Malcolm.

  “Nay, but my mother was, and I learned a few things.”

  “The woman Sir Ranald called a whore and near confessed to murdering?”

  “Aye, that woman.”

  “Why did ye let the mon live?”

  “Why did ye betroth your daughter to him?”

  “A lass needs a husband, a home, and bairns. I have eleven lasses with nay a dower between them. I took what I could get. Aye, the mon wasnae the best choice, but I didnae see the evil in him. Aye, and he was old.” Malcolm shrugged. “I felt he would probably die soon and the lass wouldnae have to endure him long ere she was weel settled, a widow with lands and coin.”

  David stared at the man in bemusement for a moment. A quick glance at Douglas caught him hiding a grin. In his rough way Sir Malcolm had been trying to do what was best for his daughters, and if that best also filled his purse, so much the better. David did think that Tatha might have misjudged the man. If she had stayed to make her distaste clear, Malcolm might well have ended the bargain. Then again, he would never have met her. She had erred when she had run away in panic, but since that error had set her in his arms, David decided he would not chide her for it.

  Tatha opened her eyes and David quickly grasped her by the shoulders, lightly pinning her to the bed. His touch seemed enough to swiftly still the panic that seized her a heartbeat after she woke. She stared up at him for a moment, then yanked on his arms, pulling him down into her hold. David cast a wary glance at her father, amazed to find him grinning.

  “Ah, weel, my lass was ne’er a shy one,” Sir Malcolm drawled.

  David felt Tatha tense and met her wide gaze. “David,” she whispered, “I didnae just hear my father, did I?”

  “Aye,” he replied. “He is standing by the bed.”

  Tatha squeaked in shock and gave David such a hard shove he slipped off the bed, barely stopping himself from sprawling on the floor. Douglas and Sir Malcolm both guffawed, and, as he straightened himself up, David caught Leith grinning at him. He turned his attention back to Tatha, who was staring at her father with a mixture of pleasure and wariness.

  “Glad to see ye didnae take any harm, lass,” Sir Malcolm said, awkwardly patting her on the shoulder. “Ye should be in fine fettle for your wedding.”

  “I willnae marry Sir Ranald,” she snapped, then rubbed her forehead, just speaking having been enough to set it to aching.

  “Of course ye willnae. The mon’s dead.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “Then what wedding are ye talking about?”

  “Ye are marrying Sir David.”

  Chapter 11

  “It would be nice if, just once, someone would ask me if I wish to be married,” Tatha grumbled to her sister Elspeth as the girl helped her dress in her finest dark blue gown.

  All the way back to Cnocanduin, no more had been said of the marriage her father had so bluntly announced. David had made himself conspicuously unreachable and Tatha had ached too much to argue with her father. A part of her had not really wanted to argue anyway. She wanted David, loved him deeply. It simply troubled her that he might be being forced into a marriage he did not really want.

  “This mon is a far better choice than Sir Ranald,” said Elspeth as she pushed Tatha down into a chair and began to gently brush out her hair.

  Although she had taken a potion to ease the ache in her head, Tatha still found having her hair brushed almost painful. “A far better choice. In truth, a mon who could do much better than a too-thin, left-handed redhead.”

  “He wants you.”

  “Are ye sure?” Tatha hated to reveal her uncertainty before anyone, but she needed someone to boost her courage, and Elspeth had always been one of the closest of her sisters, as well as highly practical.

  “Oh, aye. He was readying himself and his men to go and try to rescue you when we arrived. Papa said he took a chance in sending for us because he confessed that ye had stayed with him. If no one believed his claims that Sir Ranald killed his mother then he was exposing himself to a great deal of trouble. After all, ye were another’s betrothed wife.”

  “I ken all that. ’Tis why I left here. My presence so complicated matters that he could not fight Sir Ranald openly despite the raids upon his lands. Everything he tried to claim about Sir Ranald was put into question because I was here.”

  “He had clearly decided that that no longer mattered. He was going to war with Sir Ranald to get ye back.”

  “That does seem to indicate that he has some feeling for me.”

  “Aye, and he had already told Papa that he meant to wed with you as soon as he got ye out of that mon’s grasp.”

  “Oh. I didnae ken that.”

  “Weel, there hasnae been much time for talking.”

  “I love the mon, Elspeth, and I just wish he felt the same.”

  Elspeth patted Tatha on the shoulder. “Trust me in this. He feels something for you. Leith said the mon was devastated to find ye gone and ken that ye were in Sir Ranald’s grasp.”

  “Leith says, does he?”

  Tatha gave her sister a considering glance. Even though she had been groggy from pain when they had finally ridden through the gates of Cnocanduin, she had seen how Elspeth had run out to greet, not her family, but a blushing Leith. She had also seen the way the two of them could not stop looking at each other and smiling.

  “Tatha? Did ye feel something for Sir David the verra moment ye set eyes on him?”

  Tatha smiled at her blushing sister. “Aye, I did. Leith is a verra fine mon. Nay rich, but weelborn and holding a h
igh place here.”

  “Weel, aye, but he doesnae have a bride price.”

  “Father still plays that game, does he?”

  “I am nay sure.”

  “Weel, if Leith wants ye, I think that, between him and David, they will talk our father ’round to liking the idea. Would ye be willing to marry a mon ye have but just met?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  That was said with such conviction, Tatha did not even consider arguing with Elspeth. She decided it made her own qualms seem foolish. David had never spoken of love, but he did desire her. He was young, handsome, and she loved him. It was foolish to bemoan what she did not have when she was about to be given so much. She reached out and took Elspeth’s hand, squeezing it gently in a silent gesture of support and comfort. She turned her thoughts to hoping Elspeth would also get what she wanted.

  “Just go and speak with the mon,” David urged, trying to hide his amusement over Leith’s agitation.

  In a way, David was grateful for the distraction Leith’s problem caused him. It was preferable to wondering where his bride was and if, now that she was beginning to recover from the knock on her head, she would think to flee him as she had Sir Ranald. Turning his thoughts to helping Leith get the lass he had taken such a sudden fierce liking to kept him from racing up to Tatha’s bedchamber and making sure she was actually getting ready to marry him.

  “He wants a bride price.” Leith dragged his hand through his hair. “I have naught. I am but your second-in-command. The lass could do better than me.”

  “Ye have a lineage as fine as hers and, although ye may ne’er be rich, I dinnae think she will suffer any hardship living here with us.”

  “She may wish her own household to lead.”

  “Mayhap that can be arranged. I plan to claim Sir Ranald’s lands as a price for the murder of my mother. I may not get all of them, but I think something will be gained there. E’en if ye stay here, we may get ye a household of your own, a small one, aye, but one of your own.” He frowned at Leith. “Are ye now wondering if ye want her?”

  “Nay. I ken ye may think it madness, but I took one look at that lass and I was sure. Sure she was all I could e’er want.” He straightened up and took a deep breath to steady himself. “Weel, there can be no harm in trying.”

  “I will go with ye. I dinnae think the mon is that set on getting money for his daughters. His thinking may be odd, but he seems to just want them to get what he believes all lasses need—a mon, a home, and bairns.”

  “I ken what ye want, lad,” said Sir Malcolm the moment Leith approached him. He sprawled a little more on the bench at the head table, sipped his ale, and studied Leith closely. “I dinnae suppose ye have any money.”

  “Nay, not for a bride price, sir,” Leith replied solemnly, “but I am nay a pauper. I have enough that your daughter Elspeth willnae be clothed in rags or starve.”

  “It sounds fine to me, Father,” Douglas said, smiling briefly at Leith, “if Elspeth agrees.”

  Scowling at his son, who sat on his right, Sir Malcolm grumbled, “Aye, it would. ’Tis nay your purse that will go empty.”

  “Your purse isnae that empty,” David said. “Ye still have the bride price Sir Ranald gave ye for Tatha, and since he didnae deal honestly with ye, I believe ye get to keep it.”

  “Aye, which means I need nay ask one of ye, but it wasnae meant to pay for two of my lasses,” Sir Malcolm said.

  “Ye still have seven.” David reached out to grasp his tankard off the table and slowly filled it with ale. “I also ken a lot of men, unwed men. Aye, they may not fatten your purse, but they have titles and lands. Allies can be important. I dinnae even mind if, now and again, a few of your lasses stay here, and mayhap they could meet a few of these fine, landed, unwed gentlemen. Fine, honorable men who are sometimes left alone, for they dinnae have quite enough to please those with weel-dowered lasses.”

  “Ye have a clever tongue, lad. Aye”—he waved his hand at Leith—“if the lass wants ye, take her. I may not get any coin for her, but it does mean I dinnae have to pay for her keep any longer.” He looked at Leith when the young man enthusiastically shook his hand. “She is a spirited lass. Take care of her.”

  “Oh, I will, sir,” Leith said even as he hurried out of the great hall.

  “He means to pull her afore the priest today, eh?” Sir Malcolm grinned, then winked as he lifted his tankard. “Two more of the wretched lasses gone. My burden lessens by the hour.”

  “I dinnae think it weighs as heavily upon your shoulders as ye wish the world to believe,” David murmured, then squarely met Sir Malcolm’s gaze. “He will cherish her.”

  “Aye, ye could practically smell their besottedness.” He grinned when David and Douglas laughed, but then quickly returned to scowling. “And ye?”

  “Tatha was mine the moment she set foot within my gates. It just took me a wee while to understand that.” He glanced toward the door, saw Tatha entering the great hall, and immediately moved to her side. “How are ye feeling, love?”

  Tatha looked up at him as he took her hands in his. His gaze was warm and filled with concern. That look eased her nervousness. He could not look at her that way if he were feeling at all trapped.

  “I am fine,” she replied. “I but ache some. I am glad I was ready to come down, for although I wasnae tossed from the room when Leith arrived, it was a near thing. Elspeth can somehow manage to shove a person out of a room yet make it look so benign.” She smiled when he laughed and began to lead her to a seat across the table from her father.

  “The lad is eager to take advantage of the priest,” Sir Malcolm said, scowling blackly as he studied her bruises.

  “Ye have agreed to his wedding her?” asked Tatha.

  “Aye. They are besotted. I am glad I brought the priest.”

  “Ah, I wondered where he had come from.”

  “Weel, ’twas clear from what your mon wrote me that ye had been his guest since ye fled Prestonmoor. Ye are both young and bonnie. Felt a priest might be needed.” He cocked one dark brow but said nothing more when Tatha blushed.

  “And how fare Isabel and Bega?” she asked cautiously.

  “They are wed and gone. Isabel was already packing her things ere the words concerning her betrothal had left my mouth. Bega will do better on her own, nay longer under Isabel’s thumb.”

  “They were nay unhappy, Tatha,” Douglas added quietly. “Truly.”

  “And your mon is going to help me wed off some of the others,” Sir Malcolm said.

  Sitting in his chair at the head of the table, David reached out to take Tatha’s hand. “I will introduce them to some fine unwed gentlemen. Ones who dinnae have one foot in the grave,” he added with a sly glance at her father. “ ’Twill be up to them after that.”

  For a while they talked of the battle with Sir Ranald. Tatha told them all the man had confessed to her. Then David and her father got into an amiable argument about which one of them had the most right to try to lay claim to Sir Ranald’s lands. She realized that at some time during her rescue, David and her father had become almost friends. It even appeared that David had looked closely and understood that the gruff, blunt exterior of her father hid, if not a truly loving nature, at least kindness.

  The arrival of Leith and Elspeth ended the discussion of lands. The couple held hands and blushed as they reached the table. Their blushes deepened when Sir Malcolm grunted and awkwardly patted both young people on the shoulder.

  “So there will be two weddings?” Sir Malcolm asked.

  “Aye, Papa,” replied Elspeth.

  “Good. Good. Now ye will be his problem.”

  “Aye, I will, and I intend to be a verra big one.”

  “That’s my lass. Always do your best. Douglas, move yourself and fetch the priest.”

  All of Tatha’s doubts and concerns returned in full strength as she and David knelt before the priest. She tried to judge what David felt by the way he said his vows, then by the way h
e kissed her after they were made, but it only made her head hurt. Tatha was relieved when he led her away from the increasingly boisterous celebration early. She suspected the reticence the guests showed, their comments tempered, nearly polite, was because she had so obviously been through an ordeal. She hoped Leith and Elspeth did not have to suffer any extra tormenting because of it.

  Once in their room, David helped her undress and slip on her night shift. They crawled into the bed and he held her close. His kisses and the way he gently stroked her told Tatha that he was not going to demand anything of her tonight.

  “ ’Tis our wedding night,” she said as she caressed his chest.

  “Aye, but I can wait. Nay long,” he said teasingly, “but at least until ye dinnae ache so badly.”

  “I think the time in the dungeon made me too weak to fight the fool off,” she murmured, touching a kiss to his chest and feeling him tremble.

  “Ye should ne’er have left, Tatha.”

  “I had to. My being here was tying your hands. Ye couldnae act as ye had to because all would question it as long as I was in your bed. How did ye get my father here?”

  “I told him the truth. He isnae as hard as I thought.”

  “Nay, he isnae a bad mon. I may have erred in thinking I couldnae talk him out of the wedding he had arranged, but I fear I could think of naught but running when I heard Sir Ranald’s name.”

  “Weel, it was foolish, as I think your father would have listened. I believe he simply doesnae ken how to show what he feels. Mayhap he was ne’er shown. He also seems to have a wee bit of difficulty understanding how others may feel about what he does or says. Howbeit, the moment he truly suspected ye were in danger he was here, armed and ready to fetch ye back. And he could see that Leith and Elspeth were besotted and gave little argument to a wedding.”

  “Aye, the truth is in how he acts, nay in what he says. Did he force ye to wed me, David?” she asked softly.