How to Handle a Highlander

by Mary Wine

  “What of the evidence and testimony against you?”

  “What of it? They did nae hang me. We will say they planned to prod ye into a feud and then have Saer MacLeod wed me to gain the Fraser clan’s land.” Sandra opened her eyes innocently. “Are there nae witnesses to the fact that Gahan Sutherland brought me to Saer MacLeod, his brother-by-marriage? And poor Laird Matheson fell to his death before he might have a child with Moira, and now Saer MacLeod has claimed her since they believe me dead.”

  The Fraser captains grinned, and Bari nodded approvingly. “Ye were born the wrong sex, Sandra, for ye have the cunning of a man.”

  “I enjoy me sex very well,” Sandra replied. “And I think it will help me seduce the king into helping us gain vengeance against Lytge Sutherland.”

  “What about his sons?”

  “They will suffer when their father is executed for overstepping his authority.”

  It was a perfect little plan. For sure, there were those who might call it a plot, but Sandra didn’t care. She craved victory, and it was going to be hers. Very soon.

  ***

  Bari Fraser felt his sister watching his every move as he wrote the note, but he had to keep his attention on his quill. The script needed to be tiny to fit into the pouch on a hawk’s leg. He put as much detail as he might into it, then blew across it to dry the ink. Sandra smiled, pleasure sparkling in her eyes. She was sorting through the letters on his desk as she’d done in the past. Reading the information meant for his eyes alone.

  “This will nae gain us the Sutherland retainers. Which was why ye set yer sight on Norris in the first place. He’s wed with a son now.”

  She pouted. “That is a shame, but at least we shall have the most gain while the Sutherlands suffer. I shall find a new groom to bring ye retainers.”

  “Ye’re vicious, Sandra.”

  She lowered herself in front of him before opening the door of his study for him. “How kind of ye to praise me, Brother. Do nae worry. I hear the Earl of Ross is at Court. I’ll have an earl for husband yet.”

  He passed her and chuckled. “I believe ye just might.”

  And he was going to make sure of it. He made his way to the mews, almost shouting for Moira before recalling that she was not there to serve him.

  He wanted to make sure the Sutherlands would not benefit from her, but for the moment, he didn’t know how.

  He slipped the message into the hawk’s pouch and set it loose. The raptor took to the sky eagerly and headed toward Edinburgh.

  Eight

  The roads were easier to travel now that the snow was gone. They made good time, riding north toward Dunrobin. The Sutherland retainers rode in two columns, with Gahan riding near the front. One of the lead horses held the standard of the Sutherland clan, the blue banner whipping in the wind to announce the presence of one of the sons of the earl in their ranks. It was a warning against anyone who might have attacked them. Since Gahan was the son of a nobleman, the penalty for attacking him would be death.

  But it would also tell Bari where they were.

  Moira scanned the hills and forest as they passed them. Dread roiled in her belly, like a premonition of impending doom. Bari wasn’t going to rest, especially with Sandra back by his side. She was sure of it.

  Just before sunset, Gahan held up his hand. He listened and looked at the sky. A shrill cry came, and then another as a hawk circled them. One of the hawks the retainers carried cried out, calling to the one in the air. A moment later, the newcomer landed on the arm of the same retainer.

  “Ye train mated pairs,” Moira remarked. “Clever.”

  “It’s the only way to ensure a hawk will find me on the road,” Gahan said.

  It was more than clever; it was actually quite brilliant. Most hawks mated for life. They had a keen sense of sight and could spot their mate from the air. If the birds were trained to fly to Dunrobin, as this one was, it would see its mate and stop on the way.

  Gahan removed the message and let the hawk greet its mate. Cam opened a pouch hanging on the side of his saddle and produced a thin slice of meat for the raptor.

  “That fucking bitch,” Gahan swore. He handed the scrap of parchment over to Cam and turned to speak to Moira.

  “Yer sister Sandra is on her way to the king to cry for justice. They stopped on Cameron land.”

  “They clearly do nae understand that Bjorn Lindsey is friendly with yer father,” Cam added.

  “Bari Fraser does nae care much for what others think when it conflicts with his own whims,” Moira informed them.

  For a moment, Cam and Gahan stared at her. The other men watched for their reactions. She held her head steady, making it known which side she was on. Highlanders didn’t respect anyone who wouldn’t choose a side.

  “Ye might think me harsh to speak against me blood, but I believe Bari is mad, and Sandra has always been touched by an evil nature.”

  “She is that, sure enough,” Gahan confirmed. “We must go to Court. They will blacken me father’s name and twist the facts, I’m sure of it.”

  His voice carried with it the ring of authority. His men didn’t hesitate to turn their horses around; none of them looked over their shoulders either. Their dedication to their clan was glittering in their eyes. But Moira found herself captivated by their leader. Gahan was worthy of his men’s respect and allegiance. He was everything she’d always longed for in her brother and found herself disappointed by Bari’s lack of honor.

  He locked his dark gaze with hers, and there was no apology there for what he felt he must do. Instead, she saw his determination, and she rose to the challenge. Straightening up, she pointed her mare toward Edinburgh.

  His lips twitched, appreciation softening his features for a moment. “Ye are going to wed me, Moira Fraser.”

  “Is that a fact?” She couldn’t help arguing with him. “Ye’re an arrogant one. Perhaps I shall be a merry widow.”

  He tilted his head to the side and smirked at her. “I’m a Highlander.” He leaned close to her, his breath teasing the side of her neck for a moment. “And ye have a craving for me, lass, one I plan to feed.”

  He was away before she could draw in enough breath to argue. A shiver rippled down her body as the skin on her nape cooled. The man heated her blood. She did crave him.

  But that just might be her damnation, she feared. Because the king was in Edinburgh, and Gahan would be subject to his rule. Everything she admired about him might just be used against them, because he’d do his duty, as surely as she had done hers.

  The road was long, but it flew by far too fast, and the future was so uncertain.

  ***

  Norris looked up as a boy came running into the Great Hall. He was halfway down the aisle before he paused and tugged on his bonnet. But he began running again and made it to the steps in front of the high table.

  “A pair of hawks just arrived.”

  It was just past noon, which made Norris frown. The birds had to have been sent the night before and taken shelter during the dark hours.

  The lad came up the steps and handed him the tiny rolled parchment. Norris read it twice before getting up to find his father.

  “I should have hanged that bitch,” Lytge spat. He stood up and looked more full of energy than he had in some time. “She’s going to twist up the entire sordid mess. We can count on that. She has a talent for beguiling. Get me horse ready, I’m heading to Edinburgh.”

  Norris almost argued but shut his mouth. His father didn’t miss it, either. He chuckled as he turned to stare at him.

  “That’s right, me boy. Ye know what I look like when I’ve set me mind to something.”

  Norris offered his father a grin. “I was thinking it was going to be very fine entertainment, watching ye face off with the Frasers once and for all.”

  “Aye, it will be the final battle.”

  His father didn’t move very quickly toward the door. Age had taken its toll on him, but his face was set with determin
ation. Norris followed him proudly. They were Sutherlands, and if they had their way, the Frasers were going to get the battle they’d wanted.

  But no battle was certain. With a young king, nothing was for sure. They just might be riding to their deaths.

  ***

  The Court of Scotland was full. Gahan scanned it twice before entering.

  The king was approaching his eighteenth birthday, and it looked like all the crowned heads of Europe wanted to keep an eye on him. There were ambassadors and their entourages. Many of them carried portraits of their princesses, hoping to catch the young monarch’s eye. James IV would have to wed, and the choice of bride would be a critical one.

  There were also many daughters of Scotland’s nobles. They wore the newest fashion of skirts and bodice instead of long gowns. Their cheeks were darkened with rouge, and their lips painted. The men wore English-fashioned doublets with their kilts, many of them decorated with trim and skirting at the waist. Gahan preferred his wool doublet, and being in the Highlands, it served him well.

  Their arrival was cause for silence. The horde waiting to be admitted into the inner rooms of the palace parted as Gahan Sutherland and his party marched toward the doors being guarded by royal retainers. Moira was flanked by Gahan’s men, and she set her teeth into her lower lip as they neared the doors. Gahan didn’t look like he was in the mood to be deterred, and the royal guards were holding iron-tipped pikes.

  “I have no quarrel with ye,” Gahan informed the retainers respectfully. “But I’m here to stop a venomous snake from spitting her poison in the king’s ear, and I plan to be heard.”

  The retainers held their position for a long moment before one of them pulled his pike back. His comrade looked at him in confusion.

  “The Sutherlands fought well at Sauchieburn for the king,” the guard said.

  The second pike was pulled back, and their party swept into the inner court of James IV of Scotland. Here there was music and more ambassadors waiting to be seen. At the far end of the room was a set of double doors that were firmly closed, the seal of the king carved on them. Six retainers stood guard.

  Gahan was not a man used to waiting, but Court was a place where everyone waited on the will of the king.

  It was also a place where informants waited in the shadows. Moira could see them whispering near the walls. It wasn’t warm enough to need a fan, but ladies lifted theirs and hid their lips as they spoke. She shivered, the knot of dread in her belly burning. The king’s father had been a tyrant who faced a rebellion at the battle of Sauchieburn because half his nobles were unwilling to follow him. The Sutherlands had followed the young Scottish prince, but it was well known he harbored guilt over helping to kill his father.

  That guilt might manifest itself as a harsh ruling against them if the king believed Sandra’s story.

  The doors suddenly opened, and a herald struck the floor with his staff.

  “Gahan Sutherland. Enter.”

  “It looks like we won’t be standing around after all,” Cam remarked.

  “What it means is that bitch has already made it to the king’s side,” Gahan said grimly as he began to move forward.

  The guards allowed only Gahan, Cam, and Moira inside. The Sutherland retainers didn’t take kindly to being denied access to their laird, but Gahan turned and silenced them.

  The doors shut with a sound that made Moira’s heart quicken.

  “It seems you were rash to say the Sutherlands would not appear before me, Laird Fraser.”

  The young king was a healthy man. He had auburn-brown hair and a sturdy frame. He wasn’t as tall as Gahan, but he was not a short man. James IV sat on a throne set on a canopied dais. Behind him was a tapestry with the Stuart arms woven into it. He wore no crown. His clothing was fine but not overly embellished. He seemed a man of action more than a pampered prince.

  Bari was attired in a very fine doublet adorned with gold pieces sewn into the fabric. The three feathers on his bonnet, which declared him a laird, were fastened with a ruby brooch. Sandra looked like a princess. Her skirts were made of velvet and trimmed with silver bobbin lace. The tight bodice of the dress pressed her breasts up into a tempting display that she made sure was angled toward the king. Her hair was covered with a pearled snood, and she had a golden necklace around her neck.

  “That’s his bastard,” Bari spat. “Which is a further insult to Yer Majesty.”

  Gahan stopped and lowered himself before the king. Moira and Cam followed his lead.

  “I disagree, Laird Fraser,” the king replied. “It is well known that the earl acknowledges both his sons. I respect him more for acknowledging his sins.”

  “Aye, Yer Majesty, because the Sutherlands plan to make sure they rule in the Highlands,” Sandra insisted. “Gahan Sutherland locked me in a tower for over a year and then took me to his brother-by-marriage, planning to marry me off to control the Fraser clan. All this after he picked a fight with me brother and killed him.” Tears glistened in her eyes, completing the look of helplessness.

  “As ye can see, Yer Majesty, he boldly appears before ye with me half sister.” Bari pointed at Moira. “The Sutherlands intend to destroy the Frasers and claim the lairdship for this bastard.”

  Gahan sliced through Bari’s accusations. “Ye ramble like a madman.” He aimed a level gaze at the king. “I’d take offense, Yer Majesty, but there is no reasoning with a lunatic.”

  “Laird Fraser’s arguments are curiously passionate,” the king concurred.

  Bari’s complexion darkened. “Because the Sutherlands have tried to destroy me entire family! I came to ye for justice! The sort that I understood ye knew the value of. Nae even a week past, Gahan Sutherland, Saer MacLeod, and Kael Grant all threatened to feud with me if I did nae allow them to keep Moira.”

  “Is that true, Gahan Sutherland?” the king asked quietly. There was no missing the tight set to his features. “For I see Moira Fraser is in your company, and her brother claims Saer MacLeod was keeping her because Sandra was believed dead.”

  “It is true!” Bari raged.

  The king’s voice rose. “I will hear your answer.”

  “We believed Sandra Fraser dead, Yer Majesty, and aye, Saer MacLeod did say he was keeping Moira,” Gahan said. “But I am the one who will wed her.”

  “She is me sister!” Bari interrupted again. “I forbid it.”

  Bari reached for her, but Cam stepped into his path. Bari turned back to face the king. “Ye see how arrogant they are? In the Highlands, the Sutherlands rule like kings! They stop at nothing to get what they want, even stealing me own blood—Fraser blood.”

  “Enough!” the king declared. “You tell a good tale, Laird Fraser, but there are always two sides to a coin. I would be no better than my sire if I judged this case without hearing from the earl.”

  “He’ll tell ye naught but lies,” Sandra implored. “There was nae a single soul who would help me whilst I was imprisoned in that tower.” She whimpered and pointed an accusing finger at Gahan. “He even gave me poison, hoping I’d damn meself to eternal hell.”

  “Poison for a poisoner,” Gahan reasoned. “Ye nearly killed me father and had Daphne MacLeod hanged for yer crime. I should have hanged ye to put an end to the trouble ye cause.”

  “Why did you not do so?” the king asked in a somber tone.

  “Because he knew she was innocent,” Bari snarled.

  “Speak again without permission, and I shall have you removed,” the king snapped. “Why did you spare her life, Gahan Sutherland?”

  “It’s the truth that I had no stomach for killing a woman. Neither did me brother or father. It is nae a Highlander’s way.”

  The king fingered the lion-claw armrest of his throne for a long moment. “That is something I understand well, yet executions are sometimes needed.”

  Sandra gasped. “I am innocent! It was all a ploy to gain Daphne MacLeod’s dowry and keep me from wedding another! Norris Sutherland is so greedy, he had me lock
ed away until he could get rid of his wife without suspicion. He locked her out of her chambers, and she had to give birth in a stairway! He told me all about how he hoped she’d die!”

  “That is nae true!” Moira argued. “She was in the stairway of my room by her own actions. Norris was very upset by it.”

  Sandra faced her. “Oh, little sister! Do nae believe them! Come home before it is too late.” She knelt in front of the king. “I beg ye, return me sister to us.”

  “Over me dead body,” Gahan growled. “Yer idea of affection was to wed her to Achaius Matheson, a man old enough to be her grandfather.”

  Bari defended himself. “It was a solid match, and now she is widowed, her husband dead after ye pushed him out of a tower on MacLeod land so ye might have Moira.”

  “It would have served me purposes as ye describe them to leave Moira wed to an impotent old man while I bred Sandra and then killed ye. There is the difficulty with yer lies, they do nae make any sense.”

  “Achaius was nae impotent,” Bari insisted.

  “He was,” Gahan declared. “He never consummated his union. If I were the arrogant, greedy man ye are painting me, I’d nae admit yer sister was a maiden when she came to me bed. I’d be looking to collect her widow’s portion from the Mathesons, but I am here to speak the truth. Unlike ye.”

  “Ye…ye bastard!” Bari raged. “How dare ye touch me sister!”

  “How dare ye bind her to an old man?” Gahan countered.

  “Adultery is a grave sin.” The king’s voice was edged in authority. Moira felt her belly tighten as the air froze in her lungs. She and Gahan had broken a commandment. The circumstance did not matter.

  “Yes it is, Yer Majesty,” Gahan agreed. “But an unconsummated marriage is nae a holy union. The sin I am guilty of is needing to wed the lass. Something I am eager to do.”

  “Did Laird Matheson bed you?” the king asked her directly. The bluntness of the question made her cheeks burn.

  Moira shook her head.

  “I saw the soiled sheet,” Bari protested.

  “An old man’s attempt to protect his pride,” Gahan said. “I’d prefer nae to speak of it. He is gone now, and there is naught to be gained by trampling his name.”