Sarah closed her eyes and breathed in his scent that reminded her of fresh air, greenery and his intoxicating unique self. She remained silent, not sure how to speak with betraying the want his touch brought to life.
“I pray you are correct, Sarah. While ‘tis a great disservice to my king and my clan, I pray you are here to change my life.” His whispered words had his breath tickling her cheek.
Abruptly his heat left her body and she opened her eyes to see his back as he left the room.
Sarah swayed on her feet and wondered exactly what she had started.
Chapter 10
The hall had become a zone of rage and fury. It appeared that Elspeth had been pulled from her bed given that she stood dressed only in her robe with an armed warrior situated at her side. Tearlach fumed and demanded answers, only to be ignored. Even Gordain had men with swords around him.
Bella stood at Sarah’s side and refused the command to sit, the tension in the room seeping into the dog. Sarah found Peter and the uncertainty in his eyes made her question how long he suspected what she did about Elspeth. Lena whispered to him and Sarah had the disturbing sensation that if she hadn’t said anything, no one would have. They suspected all along.
Logan, the Bruce’s man, broke the uneasy tension. “Laird Campbell, much has been brought to my attention this morn that sits poorly with me. You have one chance to clear your name.”
“Clear my name from what charge?” Tearlach demanded. “As decreed by the king, I have come to Draig lands with my sister. My men and I have stood as guests and have treated all as kin. In all ways, I have honored our part of the arrangement.”
Logan nodded and turned to Conall, whose face reminded her of stone, no emotion or clue of his thoughts revealed. “Laird Draig, speak.”
Conall’s gaze flitted over Elspeth before it settled on Tearlach. “Many suspect that your sister comes to me unfit for marriage.” His statement left out the meat of the situation and she wondered why.
“My sister’s distaste for the union has no bearing on what she will do. If you seek a bride who would run to you willingly, wed elsewhere.”
“I would unite our clans but need to ken that any child born is of Draig blood. ‘Tis all that matters.” Conall spoke and though the color leeched from Elspeth’s face, her expression screamed of confusion.
Lena stepped to Sarah’s side and whispered, “Conall has just let the matter of innocence be put aside. What he offers ‘tis no small gesture.”
Sarah nodded and let her gaze wander Conall’s impassive stance before she faced Elspeth, whose eyes glittered with unshed tears. Her heart ached for the young woman placed in the center of the controversy. No teenager should ever be in this type of drama.
Tearlach sneered and shoved the man with a drawn sword away from his side. “My sister comes to you as a fit bride. How dare you attempt to dishonor me with your lies.”
Sarah silently wondered why the insult seemed personal for Tearlach, rather than one meant for Elspeth. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Peter stepping forward, only to be held back by Evan. The younger Draig mirrored his brother’s expression and his fortitude hinted at there being more to him than frivolity.
“Young Evan kens what you missed,” Lena whispered. “Conall is furious at Peter for nay speaking his concerns. For him to speak now would only draw more attention to the omission.”
Sarah leaned to whisper back, “Are you in trouble too?”
“Mayhap, we shall see. For now, we must see what ‘tis to be done. I will face judgment for my part.” Sarah turned to see sadness on Lena’s face. “We will again face raids if the talk ends poorly. I sought to have peace.” Her ending statement brought home the why she remained silent. “Several years ago, my husband died protecting the herds from a Campbell raid.” Which means more may perish without the peace.
Turning away from the reality that her interference could lead to horrid repercussions, Sarah stiffened as Tearlach grabbed Elspeth’s arm and pulled her forward.
He practically spit his words. “What ‘tis amiss with her? She is hale and has set aside another offer to secure our peace.”
“‘Tis she with child?” Conall asked, his voice soft yet cold and unyielding.
Tearlach laughed. “You have yet to wed. How could she be with child?” Elspeth staggered on her feet and her brother gripped her tighter, which had a soft cry of hurt leaving her lips.
At her side, Bella growled and all eyes turned to the dog. “Down, girl.” The command had the dog quiet but not relaxed. Apparently, she doesn’t care for the man-handling either. Internally, Sarah debated how far she would let the situation go before she stepped in. No young girl would get hurt while she stood in the room.
“Elspeth is ill every morn, as are many who carry a bairn. The herbs given to her this morn are the verra ones used for that woe. Had her stomach only been troubled, the blend would nay have aided her. Plus, Gordain shares her bed.”
The Campbell Laird clenched his teeth hard enough for muscles to flex in his jaw. He pushed his sister without letting go of her, causing her to stumble. “You lie, Draig.”
Logan held up his hand and a guard stepped forward to separate Elspeth from her brother’s hold. Sarah sighed in relief, feeling the dog bristle against her. Logan spoke to Elspeth. “The marriage will be delayed until you prove the arrival of your moon’s blood. Forgive the mention of private matters before these men, but no chances will be taken of deception or trickery.”
Elspeth nodded as tears began to fall from her eyes. But Tearlach roared into the gathering, “You only seek to delay. The marriage takes place in two days or the contract ‘tis forfeit.”
“I am a patient man, Tearlach. What matters a few more days or weeks? Enjoy my hospitality, drink my wine and hunt on my lands. Nay hardship befalls upon you,” Conall offered with a magnanimous sweep of his arms. “The only condition ‘tis that Gordain be removed from the keep and Elspeth have a constant guard of Logan’s choosing, nay mine.”
“You must think me daft. I would never leave my sister alone with an unknown man. For all I ken, the man would force himself on her to get her with child and end the marriage dealings. ‘Tis your plan? To dishonor her and send her back home ruined?”
Sarah winced at the accusation and turned to Lena, wanting to know that something so atrocious would never be allowed to happen. Thankfully Lena shook away the comment.
“Have you a trusted midwife?” Logan asked Conall.
The Draig Laird turned to Lena. “‘Tis there one in the village above reproach?” His words laced with the undertones of Lena’s part in the silence.
“Aye, Laird. One of the lasses could be sent to fetch Brenda without kenning the why of the need,” Lena answered and then sighed in relief when the harsh gaze turned away from her.
“Tearlach, to settle the matter, the midwife will be summoned to check for signs of a bairn, no more. Innocence means little when peace and the lives of many are at stake. Do you consent?” Conall offered and waited for a reply. The room roiled with tension at a fragile peace strung in the balance.
The Campbell Laird never had a chance to reply when Gordain roared, “You will nay touch her!”
“Silence,” Logan commanded, but his words were lost in the chaos that sprang to life.
To her eyes, the unfolding bedlam morphed into slow motion mayhem as Gordain shook off his guards, leaned down and pulled a dagger from his boot. Before anyone could react, he charged forward, whether aiming at Tearlach or Conall, Sarah couldn’t tell but she stood in his path.
In her head, Sarah heard her mother’s voice, “Do you remember how to disarm an attacker with a knife? How many times did I make you practice that self-defense drill?” Sarah answered silently, “Not enough”. The internal conversation happened with her feet already in motion. Before she had even thought it through, her arm rose up as she dashed in front of Gordain.
Her forearm collided with his, halting his steps and the sweep of
the blade. She prepared to continue the defense move and she shifted her hold to his wrist to twist and force the knife to be dropped. Yet in the fraction of a second, Sarah felt her body lifted from the floor by strong hands as Gordain threw a wild punch with his free hand that barely missed her head. She cried out at the panic of being attacked from behind. Her body twisted out of the hold and her elbow swung to knock her attacker in the jaw, leaving her to fall to the stone flooring on her knees.
A man’s grunt rang in her ears, along with a violent snarl from Bella. Her head swung to catch Bella leaping against Gordain and knocking him to the ground. Bodies whirled in motion, growls filled the air and Sarah heard the snapping of massive jaws. Simultaneously, Elspeth screamed, Lena shouted, and men swore. Chaos reigned, and Sarah had no idea who moved where as she stumbled to her feet.
“Bella, to me,” Conall cried out and amazingly the dog obeyed, but continued to growl at the body prone on the floor surrounded by gleaming sword blades.
Gordain had been stopped, how exactly, she’d missed. Elspeth wept as she pushed past the armed men and knelt at his side. Her hands raised, and she screamed at the blood that covered them. “You bastards!” Leaning over him, she pressed soft kisses to his face. “Dinna leave me, Gordain.” Sobs filled the air and Sarah stepped back, away from the blood seeping out of the man.
“He will nay die,” Conall said from her side. Her head whipped to face him. That he stood rubbing his jaw let her know who had picked her up and who she had hit. “The wound is on his side. ‘Tis long but nay deep. When Bella knocked him to the floor, his head struck first.” He turned away from her. “Lena, fetch what ‘tis needed to bandage the wound. I would see him live.”
Tearlach called out, “Ignore the fool. We need to finish, Draig. Wed my sister or face my wrath.” Sarah peered past Conall and blinked rapidly at the bold demand coming a man with a sword pressed against his throat.
“Agree to the midwife,” Conall retorted. He walked past Tearlach and crouched next to Elspeth, who had draped her body over Gordain. “What say you, Elspeth? Will you consent? I would have your agreement as ‘tis the one that matters. You would be Lady of these lands. Act as her and remove the doubt.”
Elspeth turned her head to glare at Conall, causing her long blonde hair to drift through the blood on the floor. She rose and faced him, covered in blood and she seemed not to notice or care. Her face twisted in anger and disgust. “I hate you for what you have done to Gordain.”
“My blade never touched the lad,” Conall attempted to reassure her.
“You started all and he could die because of you. I never thought to be so relieved to carry Gordain’s child. It means I will nay have to wed you.” Her outraged features turned to snarl at her brother. “How dare you allow such to happen? You swore to mother you would see me wed before any kenned of the bairn. But you had to be stubborn and try to fetch more coin for me. I hate you and that coin mattered more than I did, more than your clan. I would have seen the Draig clan end and place a Campbell in the laird’s seat, but you ruined it.”
“Cease,” Tearlach roared as his hand swung out and struck Elspeth, knocking her to her knees.
Before Bella could leap at Tearlach, Sarah grabbed her collar and wrapped her body around the dog. Her only thought was to keep the dog from being hurt while trying to defend.
Conall reacted, his massive arm swinging and connecting with Tearlach’s jaw. The man teetered and fell onto to his back, and a loud thud filled the air. “Never hit a lass. Men have died for such sins in my presence.” His words roared out into the commotion.
Logan called for silence and all noise ceased, except for Elspeth’s soft sobs against Gordain, whose prone form she had once again covered. “I have heard enough. The marriage ‘tis off. Laird Campbell, you are to face the Bruce’s judgment for your part in the treachery.”
“Hold,” Conall interrupted. He leaned over Tearlach and held out his hand to help the man rise. Tearlach batted away the gesture and rose on his own. “I would still seek peace with the man.”
“You are a fool,” the Campbell Laird spat.
“If any ‘tis a fool, ‘tis you,” Logan added. “I will send a man to question your Lady mother about her part in covering up a bairn growing in the bride. Given the events of the day, I have every confidence of your misdeeds.”
Lena came back into the hall with two other women, four large men and a blanket Sarah assumed was to be used as a stretcher. With Elspeth pulled off him, Gordain’s unconscious form was lifted and removed from the hall. Orders flew in rapid succession.
Evan had been ordered to see Elspeth locked in her chamber after Lena had helped her bathe. Peter’s role to guard Gordain in the men’s barracks left him out of the conversation Logan ordered to be held in Conall’s study between them and Tearlach.
Sarah stood with numbness spreading over her in the abandoned hall, adrenaline fleeing her system to leave her woozy on her feet. Her gaze locked on the bloodstain, the dark mess filling the air with the scent of copper and pain.
What have I done?
Chapter 11
Conall stepped outside and inhaled the sea salt-filled air. For the first time since he returned to his ancestral lands, he felt in command of his life and the future of his clan. Pure relief lifted the previous burden of the arranged marriage from his shoulders and he wanted to cry out his joy, though he refrained from making a spectacle of himself before those who filled the courtyard.
Letting his vision fill with the sight of his people completing the tasks of the day, he noted the dipping of the sun toward the distant edge of the sea. The day was virtually gone with much left to be done.
He turned his head as Evan approached his side. “Elspeth ‘tis in her chamber. Lena has bathed and fed the lass and a guard remains. The corridor is quiet now that she kens Gordain will live.”
Following the riders who appeared as specks down the trail, liberation tasted sweet with Tearlach and his men gone from his lands, along with the most of the Bruce’s men. An escort back to Campbell lands seemed prudent to all parties. Conall nodded and faced his brother. “Do you agree with what happened?”
“Aye,” Evan agreed. “‘Twould have been a nightmare in the making for you to marry her. Besides for the bairn, neither of you wanted to wed. Our parents would have never obeyed the Bruce’s command.”
He nodded and returned his gaze to the sea in the distance, more correctly to the figure seated at the cliff’s edge with a great beast nestled at her side. If Sarah’s hair burned as fire in the light of day, the fading sun had flames leaping with the wind tearing the curls free from its binding.
Conall answered his brother. “You speak truth. But I need to ken if you suspected as Peter and Lena did. Did you keep silent?” His gaze turned back to the young man before him and Conall felt his accusation melt away at the sight of his brother’s disgust.
“Never would I keep aught from you. While we have been apart for years, you are my only kin. Besides, we both ken I have been too busy with my lasses to even think of yours.” Evan’s jest ended the serious dialogue but managed to erase doubts.
While Conall had ended one burden, his mind knew other matters remained to be settled. His hand covered the mark of the Draig, the dragon tattoo that covered his arm. The decision came quickly and felt right in his heart. “I will send for Neville. ‘Tis past time you bore the mark of our ancestors.”
Evan inhaled, and confusion filled his eyes. “Mayhap you should wait. ‘Tis no need to mark me as your heir. If needed, I would see to the clan without it. Besides, you may yet wed before returning to the Bruce.”
Conall wondered how much of his conversation with Logan had been heard without Evan being invited to join the talk. While pressured to find a suitable bride to appease his king’s desire for the Draig bloodline to continue, he would marry only because his heart demanded the bride. And she must want me.
“The needs of the clan come first. You should have been given
the mark on your eighteenth birthday, especially with my absence.” Thoughts of Peter filled his mind and he wondered if it were one more matter ignored purposefully. Shaking away the thought, he knew his time with Peter would come and it should not interfere with Evan. “Besides, brother, I have none to wed. Mayhap that duty will fall to you.” His attempt to make light had Evan chuckling.
“Pretend all you want, but all note the way you look at her. Perhaps the fates have been better to you than you thought. ‘Tis quite rare for a bonny lass to arrive through a door of legend. Mayhap she has come for you.” Evan tilted his head toward Sarah in the distance.
“She is beyond me.”
“Nonsense, she is a woman with no one, at least no one in our time. See if the lass is willing to be courted.” Evan’s suggestion had him again wondering if Sarah had been delivered for him and not only to save the clan. Could fate be so magnanimous?
“Court her, you say. How would one court a woman of legend?” Conall asked in all seriousness, precious little time remaining before the Bruce sent for his return. Never had he courted or attempted to persuade a woman to spend time with him.
Evan laughed and slapped him on the back. “She is a lass, nay more. Do what any man would do, try a few sweet words, take her on a walk and mayhap steal kiss or two.” Evan gave him an exaggerated wink. “Mayhap steal a bit more than a kiss and wake a wedded man.”
His brother may have well suggested he walk to the moon. Conall refused to admit his lack of experience to his younger brother. Changing the topic, he asked, “Has Elspeth agreed to the terms?”
“Aye, she is none too pleased yet kens ‘tis for the best.”
Conall nodded. “Have Elspeth prepare to leave on the morrow. Then send someone to inform Neville we will need his skills after the evening meal on the morrow. You will bear the mark.”
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