Graham looked worried. Bethany took a deep breath. “Graham — I don’t think you’re a bad man. I think you’ve been… misled. You don’t know the people here in this castle, in the village… you don’t know the half of what’s been going on. I think if you got to know the so-called ‘witches’ you despise, you’d change your mind.”
“That may be so,” Graham said simply. “The more I learn, the more I realize how little I truly know about the world.”
“That’s the best attitude to have when it comes to learning new things,” Bethany said, smiling. “Two weeks ago I’d have laughed if someone told me that magic was real. Now… well, I have no doubt.”
“Let me help you,” Graham said finally, a look of resolution on his handsome face. “Let me join your side — tell you how Matthew operates, the tricks he uses in sieges like this. Let me do what I can to help, if it’s not too late.”
“We’ll talk to Donal for you,” Delilah promised, a sudden smile on her previously stern face. “This dungeon is no place for anyone… least of all a MacClaran.”
He took a deep breath, his face troubled. “My father… it seems my father wasn’t exactly the hero my mother claimed he was. Does that mean… I mean, he was my father.”
“You said it yourself, Graham — you barely knew him. His sins are not yours. Your actions already speak louder than his — your choice to come here instead of continuing to support Matthew, once you’d realized what he was capable of,” Bethany said, hoping very much that Donal would agree with her about this. “Donal will see that. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope you’re right,” Graham said, frowning around at his cell. “If I’m to help — well, time is a pressing factor. Cristabella is probably already casting her spell —”
“We have people working on that,” Bethany said, keeping it as vague as possible. “We’ll go to Donal now and tell him what we’ve talked about. With any luck, he’ll see it our way.”
“Thank you,” Graham said, reaching through the bars to catch Bethany’s hand.
She took his hand in hers, smiling a little at how warm and reassuring it felt. She’d really missed him, she realized with surprise — and when she looked into his eyes, she knew that he felt the same way. They really had connected that night in the cave, she realized — it had had as much of an impact on him as it had on her. Was fate really responsible for all of this? Magic, destiny, witchcraft… whatever you called it, were they meant to be together?
“It’s good to see you,” he said softly, clearly at a loss to say anything else.
She nodded agreement, not trusting herself to speak.
“Come on, Bethany,” Delilah said, amusement in her voice. “We’ve got a siege to stop. We’ll talk later, Graham,” she added, fixing the man with a beady-eyed stare. “We’ll have a lot to talk about, I’m sure.”
“Thank you, Delilah,” he said, smiling at her. “I look forward to getting to know you better. Neither of you seem like witches… at least, not what I’ve been told about witches.”
They climbed the stairs in silence, Bethany lost in thought, Delilah clearly fixed on getting to Donal as quickly as possible to free Graham from the cell. They found Donal in the dining hall at the high table with Eamon and Gavin, all three of them deep in conversation about the siege — he looked up as they approached, frowning a little.
“Delilah, Bethany. What do you need?”
“We have to talk about Graham,” Delilah said firmly, glancing at Bethany as she began.
“The prisoner? Word travels fast.” Donal frowned, glancing at the men beside him. “He only arrived a few hours ago — I had intended to keep his presence here quiet, at least for now.”
“He can help us with the siege, Laird Donal,” Bethany said, stepping forward. “But he can’t help if he’s trapped in a dungeon.”
“I can’t trust him, Bethany. You ought to know that, with your …” Donal hesitated. “Background.” He didn’t understand the nature of her work at all, she realized with amusement… still, she appreciated that he was making an effort to acknowledge her expertise in this area. “It might be a trap — Matthew might have sent him deliberately to plant false information.”
“I don’t think so,” Delilah said firmly. “Bethany — tell him. Tell him the whole story.”
Bethany took a deep breath. All three men were peering at her now, inquisitive looks on their faces as they stared down at her from the high table. Why did she feel like she was on trial here? She hadn’t done anything wrong… well, she hadn’t been completely honest with them, that was true. She’d omitted important information. But she was making that good, now.
“Graham is a MacClaran,” she said. “We know that — his father was Kenneth MacClaran, who I’ve since learned was exiled from the Clan twenty years ago.”
“Aye, he was,” Gavin spoke up unexpectedly, a dark look on his face. “And with good reason, too.”
“I don’t disagree,” Bethany said quickly. “He was by all accounts a terrible man. But his blood was still the blood of the MacClarans. And so his son is a MacClaran.”
“Aye,” Donal said testily. “But as Kenneth proved, being blood family is no reason to trust a man. Not on its own.”
“No, not on its own.” Bethany hesitated, bracing herself. “But the fact that he’s a MacClaran … means that the curse Morag lay all those years ago affected him, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Graham lost his wife Galena two years ago in a storm — a freak accident, she fell from a bridge and was drowned in the river below.” Bethany spread her hands. “When he caught me spying on the camp, he called me Galena. He said I was the spitting image of his wife.”
“No,” Gavin breathed, staring at her. “It can’t be.”
“The same way that Delilah was brought back through time to take Morag’s place… I think I’ve been brought back to take Galena’s,” she said simply. “Graham’s a MacClaran in more than just blood… he’s bound up with this curse, too.”
“You can trust him,” Delilah said softly.
“I trust him,” Bethany agreed, surprised to find that it was true.
“This is — interesting,” Donal said thoughtfully, looking between the two of them. “I’m skeptical. A man hellbent on avenging the death of his father doesn’t just change his mind overnight. But… I’ll admit, we can use all the help we can get right now. Let’s see what he has to say for himself. Eamon? Would you mind retrieving our prisoner?”
The huge man nodded, rising to his feet and striding out of the dining hall.
Bethany waited, her stomach twisted into knots. Would Donal release Graham and let him help them? What if she was wrong to trust him — what if he hadn’t given up his allegiance to Matthew, his determination to get revenge?
Chapter 26
They waited in silence in the hall until the doors swung open again. In strode Eamon with Graham at his side. His hands were bound in front of him, but he was walking tall and strong, his blue eyes clear and fixed on the high table. Bethany and Delilah moved aside to let him take his place in the center of the room.
“Laird Donal, thank you for seeing me,” he said, giving the Laird a nod.
“I’ve just been having an interesting conversation with the Cortland sisters,” Donal said, gesturing to the two women. “They’ve vouched for you — they claim you can help us with the siege, and that I should trust that you’ve joined our side.”
“It’s gracious of them to trust me,” Graham said, holding his head high. “I hope to earn that trust. But before I join your side officially… I have some questions. About my father. About the night he died.”
Bethany glanced at Delilah, a little worried about where this line of conversation was going. Delilah took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, a wordless assurance that this was the right thing to do — that this conversation needed to happen.
“Aye, I can answer those,” Gavin said, speaking up unexpectedly. The man got to h
is feet, moving down to stand on Graham’s level — and with a quick glance toward Donal, he untied Graham’s hands. “But I’d rather discuss it as equals. Come and sit with us. You two as well,” he added, his eyes flicking toward Delilah and Bethany. “Delilah was there, too, and Bethany… well, it’s clear she has quite a stake in this situation, too.”
Graham glanced over at her, clearly curious about that… but there was a more important conversation to have. He took a seat at the table opposite Donal and Gavin, and Delilah and Bethany joined them too.
“Now. What is it you need to know?”
“Why was my father exiled? My mother always told me it was due to the manipulations of witches. I know now that that story may have been… inaccurate. But I’d like to know the truth.”
“Kenneth MacClaran disobeyed a direct order and murdered a prisoner in cold blood,” Gavin said simply. “Morag had been accused of witchcraft, yes — but her punishment was banishment from the castle, not death. As punishment for her murder, he was banished from the castle.”
“I see,” Graham said. He was clearly torn by this revelation about a man he’d thought was a hero… Bethany wanted to reach out and take his hand in comfort, but she knew instinctively that he had to face this alone. “And the night he died? The night he was killed?”
“Kenneth returned to these lands, against the terms of his exile, with a band of witch hunters not unlike the group currently camped outside our walls,” Gavin explained. “He tried to hide his identity from us… he’d heard that a woman who looked like Morag was back at the castle, and he wanted to kill her again, despite the fact that she was doing no harm to him or anybody.” Gavin glanced at Delilah, smiling. “My wife.”
“He lured me out of the castle and over to Lord Weatherby’s house,” Delilah explained. Bethany could see Graham joining the dots, connecting the story he’d heard from Lord Weatherby and Baldric with this information. “He and the priest he was working with threatened to torture me — thank god Gavin realized where I was and stormed the manor before they could.”
“We offered him the chance to surrender,” Gavin said. “But he refused — he was hellbent on killing Delilah, and me as well. We fought — to the death, I’m afraid. There was no other option. I’m sorry my actions took your father from you, lad,” Gavin said heavily. “I wish it could have been any other way. But Kenneth chose his side.”
“And I’ve chosen mine,” Graham whispered. Bethany could see the emotion in his face, but there was strength there, too, as he lifted his head. “Laird Donal, I would be honored to join your clan — to do everything I can to help against these invaders, and perhaps earn a place among your men. I’m strong, experienced in battle — I can fight, I can ride, I’m decent with a bow —”
Donal was chuckling. “You don’t need to convince me, lad. First, we overturn the siege… then we’ll talk about finding you a permanent home here. You’re kin, Graham MacClaran, no matter the sins of your father. Just show me that my faith isn’t misplaced.”
“Thank you,” Graham said solemnly. “Thank you for your faith in me.”
“It’s not just in you, if I’m honest,” Donal said, glancing up the table to where Delilah and Bethany were sitting. “You’ve got two rather special women vouching for you — it’s their word, too, that I’m taking into account. Remember that.”
Graham looked down the table and met Bethany’s eyes, and she smiled at him, hardly daring to believe what had happened. But they’d have to wait to have any kind of reunion — there were logistics to be discussed. Within minutes, Graham was deep in discussion with Donal, Eamon and Gavin about the details of Matthew’s forces. It was impressive — he knew every bit of information about the army, from the numbers of men, the kind of equipment they had, and Matthew’s preferred tactics when it came to engaging enemies. He’d performed sieges before — similar situations in which witchcraft was suspected in a building — but usually, his victims had given up after the first assault, and sent out the hapless ‘witch’ that they’d been hiding.
Bethany wondered idly of that was how Cristabella had found her way into Matthew’s employ. Had she been a witch he’d been hunting… had she managed to use her sex appeal to save her own life from a grisly fate? Well, if she hadn’t been using her powers for evil when Matthew found her, it seemed that she was using them for evil now. And as much sympathy as Bethany may have for her plight, she had to harden her heart against the temptation to soften. Cristabella was a powerful and dangerous enemy, and whatever they could do to deal with her, they had an obligation to do.
“I have a question,” Delilah put in when it seemed that the discussion was beginning to wind up. There was a glint in her eye that Bethany found very worrying. “Usually, the castle’s completely capable of taking in guests… but at the moment things are a little crowded. Where is Graham going to stay? He can’t exactly stay down in the dungeon, can he?”
Bethany shot Delilah an irritated glance — she knew exactly what she was getting at. Donal and Gavin seemed to know, too, by the way they were exchanging amused glances, covering their mouths with their hands to hide their smiles. Eamon cleared his throat, a twinkle in his eye.
“Well, there’s possibly a spare bed in the barracks,” he said thoughtfully, “but it wouldn’t be an especially comfortable one…”
“I have a room all to myself,” Bethany said, irritated by the way her face was flushing. “With so many in the castle sleeping three or four to a room, it would be the least I could do to share my quarters.”
Graham looked up at her, clearly surprised and gratified by the offer… but she didn’t trust herself to make eye contact with him, not with her heart beating as hard as it was. The idea of having him in her room, being alone with him… well, it hadn’t been so long since their night together in the cave. But could they tolerate the guffawing and sniggering of the MacClarans, who knew full well what kind of connection they had?
But Donal, Gavin and Eamon, to their credit, behaved with great dignity — save for the twinkle in their eyes as they headed out of the dining hall to convey the new information to their forces, there were no comments made. Delilah cleared her throat, murmuring some completely empty excuse about needing to go and see Emily — Bethany knew full well that Emily was being taken care of by the servants for the time being, and didn’t need checking on at all. And then she was alone with Graham at the high table in the dining hall, and he was smiling at her, clearly as shy as she was.
“Well then, Graham MacClaran,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “What an interesting few days we’ve had.”
“I’m sorry I left you,” he said immediately, his eyes filling with remorse. “I shouldn’t have gone with Matthew and Sven and Adolf that day — I should have stayed at Weatherby’s. Stayed with you. I should have trusted what you said about them —”
She almost laughed. “It’s okay. Honestly, it is. You’d only just met me — why should you have taken my word over anyone else’s? It would have been foolish to leave your whole company behind just because some weird woman from the future told you to.”
“Aye, perhaps,” he said softly, getting to his feet. “But the minute I left Weatherby’s walls, I knew it was a mistake. Matthew… I could finally see him clearly. He’s an evil man, Bethany.”
“I know,” Bethany said simply. “But we’re going to beat him. This castle… I happen to know that this castle stands for centuries after this day. Whatever Matthew said about destroying it and casting all its stones to the four winds… he’s not going to pull it off.”
“Is that so?” Graham tilted his head, his eyes curious. “I know you told me a little about where you’re from, but I’ll gladly admit I didn’t understand. You said you were brought back by the curse to take Galena’s place… brought back from the future?”
“That’s right.” She shrugged. “It sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud… but yes, I’m from the future. The twenty-first century, to be exact.”
; “And how’s Scotland in the twenty-first century?”
“I don’t really know,” she admitted, smiling. “I spent maybe a day or two in Scotland before I got pulled back through time. I’m from America, originally.” She hesitated, trying to remember her history. “I don’t think it’s actually been discovered yet.”
“Fascinating,” he breathed, moving closer to her.
She was suddenly aware of his proximity, of the heat of his body, of his blue eyes burning into hers, and she cleared her throat, trying to get control of a collection of rather unruly impulses that had just reared their heads and were making a lot of extremely bold suggestions involving the long, wide table to the side of them both. “I’d love to know more about America. Everything about you, actually.” He took a deep breath. “Bethany — I know the time we spent together was… intense.”
“It was,” she agreed, looking up at him thoughtfully. “We should probably talk about… where we stand, with all that. I mean —” And she gave voice to an insecurity that had been troubling her for a while. “I know I look just like your lost wife, and that that must be confusing for you. But Graham — I’m not her.”
“I know that,” he said simply. “When I first saw you, I could have sworn you were her… but the more time I spent with you, the more I listen to you speak, see the way you move… yes, you and she could be twin sisters, but you’re as different as night and day. Bethany, I don’t see my wife when I look at you.” He hesitated, a blush creeping across his face. “I mean, not yet.”
She laughed aloud, surprised by his forwardness. “Graham MacClaran! Buy a girl a drink first!”
“Do you — feel anything? For me, I mean?” he asked hesitantly.
She ducked her head, trying to fight the blush that was trying to spread across her face, too. “I mean — yes, obviously. Or do you think I make love to all my captives?” she challenged him, raising an eyebrow archly. It felt more comfortable to joke about their connection than it did to talk about it honestly… but she tried to be brave. “I think… I think we have a connection, Graham. I’ve not felt as strongly about anyone before as I do about you…. and God, I’ve only known you two days.”
Highlander Avenged: A Scottish Time Travel Romance Page 21