Your loyal servant,
Petro de’ Medici
He read it a second and third time to make sure he hadna missed anything. “Fook!” He crumpled the parchment.
“Alex? Where is my sister?” Broc asked.
“Call back the men,” Alex commanded. “Lady Keely has ridden for Dunrobin Castle.”
“I doona understand.” Broc followed Alex outside.
“Read it for yerself.” He shoved the letter into his hand.
“I doona want to read it. I want ye to tell me why.”
“Broc,” Alex said while climbing onto his horse. “There will be time for questions later. Gather our men and ride southward. I willna wait on anyone.”
He rode through the gates like the devil was on his heels.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Keely tried to spit the bit of cloth out of her mouth that the Sutherland guard had gagged her with. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was draped over Struan’s lap. They dinna ride very far, for Struan stopped and she was handed down to a man while Struan dismounted.
“Take her to my tent,” Struan ordered.
She kicked and tried to get away from her captor, but it dinna do any good. He half carried and dragged her inside the shelter, tossing her onto a pallet in the corner.
“There are no rules out here, Lady,” he warned. “If ye doona obey, I will whip ye into submission.”
She stared up at him, memorizing the details of his face.
A few moments later, Struan strutted inside and dismissed the guard. “Ye made it very easy for me, Keely.” He hovered over her with a triumphant look on his handsome face. “Here…” He tugged the gag out of her mouth. “I am sorry for having to treat ye so rough.”
Keely wet her lips and growled at him. “What have ye done with Petro?”
“Why are ye so worried about him?”
“Damn ye, Struan,” she cursed. “Ye left him bleeding on the ground.” When Struan announced he intended to take her back to Dunrobin Castle himself, Petro had attacked. But the scholar was no match for Struan. It only took one blow to the forehead to knock him out.
“All right, lass. I’ll send one of my men to make sure he is still alive. Will that make ye happy?”
“Nothing will make me happy until ye let me go. But I thank ye for doing so. Petro has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Firth,” he yelled.
A man stuck his head through the flaps of the tent. “Sir?”
“Send one of the guards to the lady’s escort. See that he’s awake and able to travel. Escort him back to the MacKay keep.”
“Aye.”
“Ye see? I am capable of kindness.”
“Why have ye taken me? We were on our way to see yer father, by his invitation.”
Struan laughed wickedly. “If ye’d studied the missive a little closer, ye would have noticed the difference in the lettering. Though I am a talented forger, my father’s script is more severe than my own hand.”
“Ye’re a bloody liar and a savage!”
He laughed again. “I always knew there was a hellion underneath that sweet smile. I look forward to spending more time with that side of ye, Keely Oliphant.”
“Lady MacKay,” she immediately corrected.
“Oliphant,” he said, stalking closer. “Soon to be Sutherland.” There was a flicker of something in his eyes that made her wary of challenging him too much. The look of a desperate man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. She’d caught glimpses of that side of Struan while living at Dunrobin Castle. But out here, away from the comfort and luxury of his home, it frightened her even more.
“Ye canna ignore the fact that I am a married woman.”
“That dinna make a difference when ye ran away from yer first husband, Laird John.”
Keely struggled with the binding on her wrists. “Untie me at once.”
“Nay,” he said. “If ye prove ye willna try to escape, then I will consider it.”
“Ye doona care about me.”
“That is where ye are wrong. I kept my distance out of respect, Keely. But I know ye are no longer a maiden, which changes everything—for the better in my opinion.”
She could feel herself blush.
“How endearing,” he said.
“The shame I feel isna endearing, Struan. It should show ye that I am opposed to anything where ye are concerned.”
He reached for her face, and Keely jerked away. But she could only retreat so far in the confines of the tent. He took another step and crouched down in front of her.
“Ye’ve missed the most important thing,” he declared. “Ye are no longer in the MacKays custody. And whoever and whatever is on Sutherland lands belongs to the earl. And my sire…” This time he caressed her cheek. “Gave ye to me to wife.”
She scoffed at his words. “The earl canna give away what belongs to another man.”
“Damn ye,” he muttered as he traced the arch of her eyebrows with his fingertips. As his hand moved down to her mouth, she waited until his thumb edged along her bottom lip, then bit him hard.
He screamed and shot up, shaking his bloody hand out like it would ease the pain.
Keely spat the piece of skin she’d bitten off on the ground.
“Ye little bitch.” He slapped her face, but Keely dinna feel anything.
Her fear had turned into rage which numbed her senses. And if she ever got her hands free, she’d beat him to a bloody pulp. As long as she fought for her own honor, there was nothing Struan could do to hurt her, even if he raped her.
“I will forgive ye for that bit of violence, Keely. But if ye ever attack me again, ye will be very sorry.”
She believed him.
“We will stay the night in camp. In the morning, I will take ye home. Helen will be overjoyed to have her companion back—her future sister.”
She could scarcely think or speak at the thought of ever stepping inside Dunrobin Castle again. The place represented everything she hated, now. “Does Helen know about any of this?”
“What difference does it make? She’s a woman and will do what she’s told. As will ye.”
“I am sure Helen would disagree.”
He shrugged, and it infuriated her that he could remain so calm.
“Let me explain it in simpler terms, my sweet. Behave, and I shall reward ye. Cause trouble of any kind, and I will show ye how cruel I can be.” To prove his point, he knelt in front of her again, only this time, he dinna touch her face. He lifted the hem of her skirts. “What are ye going to do?”
Keely sucked in a breath, weighing her options quickly. She could kick him, but then he’d beat her.
“Good lass,” he whispered as his hand slipped up her thigh. “Aye—dear God…” He cupped her sex. “This belongs to me now.”
She closed her eyes tight, picturing Alex’s face—pretending it was his hand between her legs, anything to ease the mental agony of knowing Struan was touching her.
“Open yer eyes, woman,” Struan commanded. “I willna take ye on the hard ground for our first time.”
Relief washed over her as she dared to look at him again. “Where will I sleep?”
“In here with me.”
“On the same bed?’
“Aye.”
“Am I expected to sleep with my hands tied behind my back?”
Struan studied her. “That willna make for a restful night for either of us. I will send the guards in to make ye more comfortable.” He started for the opening of the tent.
“Where are ye going?”
“Miss me already?” he asked, flashing his white teeth. “Doona worry, sweet, I will be back soon enough.”
After he left, Keely tried again and again to break free. The chord was too strong and tight, and her wrists burned from the friction.
“Alex,” she whispered aloud. “If ye ever loved me, please find me before it’s too late.”
*
Sometime in the middle of th
e night, Keely was awakened when someone grabbed her by the ankles and yanked her through the back of the tent. Though she wanted to scream, she dared not to. Whatever this game was, she’d not give Struan the satisfaction of knowing how afraid she truly was.
Once she was outside, she strained to get up, but the cloaked figure towering over her leaned down and covered her mouth. “Not a word, lass.”
Alex? She nodded vigorously and he removed his hand from her mouth. As if she weighed nothing, he scooped her up and carried her out of the camp. Moments later, he set her on her feet and used his knife to cut the cord about her wrists. As soon as she was free, she threw herself at him, and he caught her, holding her tight in his strong, protective arms.
“How did ye find me?”
He held her at arm’s length. “Petro left a missive in his chamber letting me know where ye’d gone.”
“Have ye found Petro yet?”
“What do ye mean, lass?”
“Struan hit him on the head with a club and left him for dead. I had to beg him to send someone to check on him. Struan promised he would see that Petro got home safely.”
Alex frowned. “The man will pay.”
Keely lowered her gaze to the ground, guilt and shame consuming her. “I-I am…”
She dinna have a chance to apologize, for Alex slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing her words. Desperation unraveled inside of her as she clung to her husband for dear life. The fear that she would never get to see him again, feel his arms about her, taste him, love him … it was too much to hold in. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she kissed him back, hoping in her heart that he’d forgive her stupidity, that he’d understand why she’d left again.
“Keely…”
“Alex.”
“There’s little time to sort this out right now. Ye’re safe here. Hide in the trees and doona come out for anyone but me. I must finish what Struan Sutherland has started or this will never end.”
“I understand, milord.”
He tipped her chin up. “I forgive ye, Keely. But there will be recompense for yer actions.”
She nodded, and would accept any punishment he handed down so long as he was the one administering it.
“Take this.” He shoved something solid into her hand and then disappeared into the night.
It was a dagger, sharp and long and deadly. And she’d use it if she had to. As her husband had commanded, she found a hiding place under a cluster of trees. She held the knife with both hands, too scared to move or even breathe loudly. How her husband managed to find her and get her out of Struan’s tent without getting caught or waking Struan, she’d probably never know. But she owed Alex and God a lifetime of gratitude and obedience. And she’d give it, so long as Alex loved her.
*
Alex entered the Sutherland camp again. This time he dinna try to be quiet, he made all the noise it would take to rouse the drunks from sleep. He wanted to fight and kill every man he could get his hands on. No one stirred from their tents, so he picked up a discarded cup and started banging it against the rocks around the campfire.
“Come out and face me like a man, Struan Sutherland.”
The first signs of dawn lit the sky. All the better, for Alex would look the man directly in the eyes as he buried his sword in Struan’s black heart. To steal a maiden from her father’s house was one thing, but to take a married woman from her husband–that crime carried a death sentence. No king or court in Europe would condemn Alex for having his revenge.
“Struan Sutherland!” he screamed for him again.
Finally, several tent flaps opened, and soldiers filed outside but dinna make a move against him.
“Who are ye?” one of the men asked.
“Laird Alexander MacKay.”
“Jesus Christ,” one of the soldiers muttered. “I told him not to take another man’s woman.”
“I willna fight for him,” another said.
“He kept most of the gold we all worked equally hard to get last time,” the first soldier added. “And now expects us to die for him?” He sized Alex up. “If we doona raise a weapon against ye…”
“I doona care who ye are or where yer loyalties lie,” Alex said. “I have one man on my mind. If ye leave now…”
That’s when Struan appeared on the other side of the fire, his sword at the ready. “How nice of ye to visit, Laird Alex.”
Alex gave him an evil grin. He had never met the man before, but he hated him on first sight. Despised his slithery voice, his skulking face, even the way he held a sword. The way he hid on the other side of the firepit told him all he needed to know about the man’s character. He was a coward. A true bastard in every sense of the word. So he’d die like a man without honor, not on his feet but on his back.
Alex dinna go around the fire, he ran through it like the devil himself, purposely loosing his sword on the way. He tackled Struan, who had no time to think or defend himself. The Sutherland bastard landed on his back with a loud thud and dinna move.
Instead of beating him, Alex slapped his face hard. When that dinna rouse him, he lifted one of the man’s arms—it was limp.
“Bring a torch over here,” Alex commanded whatever soldier stood closest.
“Aye, milord.”
The torch was delivered immediately.
“Hold it above his head.”
In the light, Alex found the reason Struan had been knocked unconscious. Blood stained the rock he had hit his head on when he fell.
“Is he dead?” the soldier asked.
“Nay. He still breathes. Bind his hands and bring him to his tent.”
“Aye, milord.”
Everything in the camp now belonged to Alex, including the Sutherland retainers. If they dinna swear fealty to him, he’d have every one of them executed. As he walked the distance to Struan’s tent, men on horseback swarmed the encampment.
“Where is Alex MacKay?” he heard Laird Oliphant demand.
Alex grinned as he turned around and walked back to where he’d come from. “Matthew,” he greeted his father-in-law by his Christian name.
The laird snorted. “Ye have bollocks aplenty,” he praised as he swung down from the saddle. “Sacking this camp by yerself.”
Alex lowered his head out or respect. “I had God on my side.”
“Ye’ve suddenly found the Almighty again?”
“Somewhere between my home and this place.”
“Good to know, MacKay. Bloody good to know. Where is my daughter?”
“Safe.”
“And where is the bastard that took her?”
“Nay, no this time,” Alex said. “Struan belongs to me.”
“A kick in the ribs never killed a man.”
“Yer kick in the ribs very well could.”
His father-in-law chuckled so hard he coughed. “Best get my daughter. I wish to see her.”
Alex wanted nothing more. He walked the half mile back to where he’d left her, calling her name softly. “Keely. Ye can come out now.”
“Is it over?” she asked, creeping out from the underbrush.
“Aye, Struan willna be bothering us again.”
She ran into his open arms, and Alex buried his face in her long hair. “Can ye find it in yer heart to forgive a sinner?”
“What sins has he committed?”
“He’s sure he’s broken every commandment.”
Keely lifted her head. “Ye coveted yer neighbor’s wife?”
“No exactly,” he said. “My neighbor’s daughter.”
That made her smile—that beautiful, delicate smile he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. “I’ve killed, stolen, havena kept the Sabbath, and lied countless times.”
“About what?”
“Ye,” he whispered.
“Me?”
“Aye.”
“Tell me what ye’ve lied about exactly.”
Alex kissed her forehead, then her soft lips. “About how ye make me feel. There’s so muc
h love inside my heart right now, I think it might burst, Keely.” He kneeled before her and took her hands in his. “I doona want to relive the past ever again. But I will tell ye this one time … I left the Highlands a broken man. And returned five years later still a broken man. Not one day has gone by when I havena thought of ye, craved ye in my mind and heart, in my bed, in my arms, in my life. And this time, Keely Oliphant, I am asking ye to marry me the right way.”
He gazed up at her, waiting patiently for her to give him an answer.
“If ye doona want me, I understand. I know how many dreams ye gave up for me, for John, for my sire, and yer father. Men are swine, Keely. We doona consider the feelings of the people around us when we want something. If ye doona want to stay here, I will give ye my ship, and Petro and my men will take ye wherever ye wish to go. Italy. France…”
“Constantinople?”
That caught him off guard. But he’d decided to lay his world at her feet—whatever she wanted, she could have. “Aye, even Constantinople.”
“Aye,” she said. “I’ll marry ye, Alexander. With all my heart. I love ye.”
He slowly rose to his feet. “Say it again, lass.”
“I love ye.”
He tugged her into his arms. “I love ye, Keely. Always.”
With the promise of a second chance at life with Keely in his heart, Alex carried his bride back to the encampment.
Epilogue
Two and a half years later…
“Havena I told ye a dozen times ye canna go in the birthing room?” Laird Oliphant blocked the doorway.
Alex heard his wife scream for the hundredth time, and was ready to do anything to get through his wall of a father-in-law. “Get out of my way. Please.”
“Nay.”
“I asked nicely.”
“I doona care if ye beg like a woman. Ye’re not going in there.”
“She’s my wife!”
“And she’s my daughter! But some things are sacred, Alex. And that birthing room is no place for a man. The pains will pass, the screaming will stop. My grandson will enter this world like a warrior.”
Alex dinna give a shite about any of that. He wanted to hold Keely’s hand, to comfort her, to take the pain inside his own body so she dinna have to suffer. “Move.” He shoved the laird’s shoulder.
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