And he was willing to put his life on the line in order for that to happen.
After the meeting concluded, he stayed behind, staring into the fire and formulating a new plan in his mind. The group thought they were a true clan, but he was their leader, and whatever he posed, they didn’t dare turn him down.
They were scared of him and rightfully so.
Grinning, he braced his hand on the wall before him and looked into the flames, looking for a sign that he had found the right way to take care of the lady of the clan. He would not allow failure for a second time, and if they did, he would have to consider finding a new group of followers.
It was the way of the world, and he would not allow everything that he had built, everything that he had been taught, everything that this group stood for to be dashed over a lass.
11
“Wot aboot this?”
Katherine looked at the floral decoration the woman was holding, giving her a kind smile. “I think it will be perfect. We can use them tae put along the railings.”
The woman preened under Katherine’s words before hurrying off to tell the others. Katherine watched her go, glad that she could make the woman happy. Instead of having her council plan the upcoming Beltane day, Katherine had asked her housekeeper and servants to gather women in the village, young and old alike, to do so. She wanted them to know that just because she had become their lady that she was not above doing tasks such as this. She wanted them to feel welcomed in her keep, for without the women of the clan, there would be no clan to move into the future.
Katherine picked up the yellow flowers strewn about the table and inhaled their fragrance, her thoughts shifting to something else.
Rather, someone else.
Cameron.
Her heart ratcheted up a notch, and she swallowed against the flutter in her throat, her lips still tingling from the taste of his kiss even after two days. It haunted her day and night, causing her to wake up heated and tangled in her blankets, her body craving for his touch. Katherine had seen stark fear in his eyes when she had arrived injured, and it had occurred to her right then and there that no one, not even her cousin, had ever cared like that before.
Until that day, she thought he detested her.
Katherine had not felt that in his kiss.
Oh, what a wonderful kiss it had been! Her first, by the one man she had developed a crush on all those years ago. Of anyone that could have kissed her first, Katherine was glad it had been Cameron.
But since that day, she had not seen him. She had felt him, of course. Cameron did not take anything lightly and guarding her, he was going to ensure he did completely.
He had remained in the shadows, though, and Katherine had busied herself with the preparation of the upcoming celebration instead. It made her sad to know that once this celebration was over, she would never see him again. A few days ago, she had wanted to see him leave immediately, but now, Katherine wasn’t so certain.
Sighing, Katherine placed the flowers back into the basket and moved away from the table, watching as the women laughed amongst themselves. She hadn’t given much thought to her future outside of being the lady of the keep. What Katherine wanted was a marriage based on love and devotion. She hadn’t thought it existed until her cousin had met Arran and given Katherine a taste of what she could have as well. The way Arran looked at Ainslee sometimes gave everyone around them goosebumps.
Katherine knew it was a rarity to find love in marriage. She had watched as Liam’s wife, Meredith, a frail childhood friend of hers, bear the brunt of her husband’s wrath time and time again. Their marriage had been a strategic one, but Katherine had been witness to how her friend had fallen in love with a husband who would never return the sentiment. Liam had not been the brute he had become later in life, but something had broke in him, and it had cost him his life.
Now Meredith was happy across the border in England, where she had just borne her third child with the warrior from Liam’s guard. Katherine had visited them right before she had officially taken this role, and it warmed her heart to see her dear friend healthy and happy. The nightmarish days of herding the pregnant woman out of the keep as Liam raged in battle with Arran was over. The McDougal clan was healing, and the future that Katherine had so desperately wished for was in sight.
She just had to hold on to her hope.
After the women of the clan finished their decorations, Katherine invited them to lunch with her in the keep, giving them a break from the chores and bairns that awaited them in their huts. She smiled and laughed as they imbibed on ale, listening to them talk with one another about their husbands or bairns that were giving them the grey hairs. After days with the men of the clan, listening to them bicker amongst each other about what was good for their people, Katherine found this as a welcome change.
She sent each woman off with a basket of food for their family, and suddenly, the keep was quiet again, the barest hum of activity from those that worked within it.
Katherine reached for one of the dirty dishes, stacking the plates to give her something to do. “Oh, nay, mah lady!” one of the serving girls called out in horror, stopping Katherine. “’Tis mah duty tae clean the table and such, not yers.”
“I just want tae help,” Katherine replied.
The girl gave her a meek smile. “But ye’re the lady. Ye shouldnae be bothered with dirty dishes and the like.”
Katherine stepped back, watching as the girl started to clear the table, a monumental task given the number of women that had been seated around it only an hour before. What was she to do with herself now?
The council was not meeting today, and she had promised Cameron that she wouldn’t put herself in any sort of danger lest he lock her in her chambers.
If she were a laird, she would be striding to the warrior sparring ring right now, overseeing their training.
Why couldn’t she? A flitting smile crossed Katherine’s lips and she gathered her skirts, hurrying for her cloak. There was one warrior in particular she was interested in seeing.
One that had haunted her dreams.
It didn’t take Katherine long to find him either. The moment she stepped into the sparring ring, the movements ceased, the wide-eyed stares of her warriors following her as she moved past them. “Mah Lady,” Cameron called out, pressing his fist over his bare chest. “Wot brings ye here?”
The warriors reluctantly dropped to their knee, and Katherine forced herself not to stare at Cameron’s broad chest. “I’ve come tae assess their training.”
He quirked a red brow, and Katherine inwardly tamped down the sudden rush of desire she felt for him. She hadn’t only come to their training. She had come to find him. “Alright,” he finally said, “let’s show the lady how far ye’ve come, ye Scottish louts!”
The warriors grumbled around her as Cameron beckoned Katherine forward and out of the way. “Stay here,” he told her, his red hair wild about his shoulders. Katherine gave him a tiny nod, and he strode into the sparring ring, his sword in his hand as he urged them to spar on, the noise nearly deafening.
Katherine barely heard it. Cameron was the distraction, his muscles pulling tight as he sparred with another Scot, the sweat glistening on his skin. Her mouth went dry as she followed his lean frame to the waistband of his breeks, her hands balling into fists as she thought about running her own hands over his muscles. She wanted to feel him pressed up against her again, her heart thrumming in her ears as she let her mind wander back to their kiss.
Katherine wanted Cameron to kiss her desperately.
Her cheeks flushed and she shed her cloak, draping it over her arm in an effort to rid her body of the warmth it had suddenly found. She had come out here to ogle Cameron, and that was exactly what she was doing.
She did not feel any shame in it either.
After some moments, Cameron came back to her side, his body drenched with sweat. “Well?” he asked, thrusting his hand through his hair.
“
Well wot?” she stammered, trying and failing to look unruffled. What would he say if she grabbed him by his broad shoulders and kissed him right now?
Likely he would push her away. Why he had kissed her before was a mystery to Katherine, but Cameron had never shown any true attraction to her before then. He had probably done so to keep her quiet, to teach her a lesson.
The ale in Katherine’s stomach soured. “Wot is it?” Cameron asked in a low voice, seeing the range of emotions on her face. “Katherine.”
“I’m fine,” she stated quickly, embarrassed that she had come out here at all. “I’m sorry for bothering ye and the warriors. I will go do, err, lady of the keep things now.”
His lips lifted in a grin, and Katherine swore her knees weakened at the sight. “I think ye’re missing me.”
“And I think ye think too highly of yerself,” she fired back, turning on her heel.
His laughter trailed after her as she hurried away, back to the keep where she belonged, but there was a smile on her face as she did so.
The next day Katherine sat in her usual chair in council, listening to the Scots around her discuss her recent brush with death. She knew it was coming—the discussion, that is—and no matter how much she tried to push it aside as a hunter’s accident, Katherine knew she couldn’t.
Someone had been trying to either kidnap her or kill her.
“She needs a protector,” one of them argued, as if Katherine was not seated amongst them at all. “A lass her years has already pushed out two bairns now.”
Katherine bristled. She was no broodmare for their pleasure!
“Aye,” another stated, giving her a wary gaze.
Katherine held back her retort, seeking out the eyes of someone who would be compassionate to this conversation.
Cameron was standing against the wall, as he always did, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on her.
Laughing.
She shot him an angry glare and returned her attention to the men at the table. “I dinnae think that mah need for heirs should be up for discussion right now.”
“Och lass, ye’re wrong,” another stated, narrowing his gaze at her as if to assess her as that broodmare they were discussing. “Ye should be wed.”
No, it isnae supposed to happen this way—or so soon!
“I-I will pick out a suitor in due time,” she forced out, hoping to placate them. She had just recently become laird. The last thing she needed was a husband stepping in and pushing her aside, to bear his bairns and tend to the keep.
She was destined for more, and she wanted time to choose her partner wisely.
The Scot shook his head. “Ye nearly died and left us without an heir. It must be done and quickly.”
“Killiam McDougal can protect the lass,” another called out.
Katherine felt the blood drain from her face at the name. Killiam McDougal had already put three of his wives in the ground, their deaths considered to be tragic even though Katherine knew differently. He had been one of Liam’s closest allies until Liam had lost his power, and Killiam had distanced himself from the laird in hopes of saving his own neck. The Scot was likely looking for a seat at this council table, one that she would never be able to regain once he stepped into power.
Her days would be misery. “Nay,” she whispered, barely able to force out the words. “I cannae marry him.”
“Why?” one of the council members asked, a frown on his weathered face. “Killiam McDougal is a good choice.”
Katherine swallowed, her thoughts racing. I cannae wed Killiam. I will be in the ground before the snow hits!
“I cannae.”
The clansman sat forward in his seat, his eyes on her. “The only way ye cannae marry Killiam is if ye are already spoken for. Are ye already spoken for?”
Katherine felt her walls crumble around her. She was not spoken for. “I—” she started.
“Aye, she is.”
Katherine’s eyes flew up to meet Cameron’s stormy ones, the clench of his jaw tight as he addressed the council.
No.
He couldn’t be implying that they were.
Ian glared at the visiting warrior, clearly upset that he had yet again inserted himself into their council meeting. “Wot did ye say?”
“The lady is spoken for,” Cameron repeated, holding Katherine’s gaze. She tried to find some indication that he had a plan, but it looked as if that was his plan. “I’ve asked her tae marry me, and she has agreed. We were waiting until after Beltane tae have the wedding, but it seems our secret is out.”
The council erupted, but Katherine barely heard them, her lips parting at Cameron’s declaration. She could stand and refute his claims, but then that would mean they would marry her to the brute that was Killiam, and she would not survive another year.
Why was he doing this?
More importantly, why was he doing this for her? He had done all that he could to stay away from her. She wasn’t remiss to the fact that he had not agreed initially to be here, and then when Arran forced him to remain, Katherine knew she would be dealing with an angry Cameron.
But this was far beyond anything she could have thought up.
“Ye cannae marry him, lass,” one of the kinder council members finally said, eyeing Cameron with some amusement. “He’s not a McDougal. Ye need tae marry within the clan.”
Katherine held Cameron’s gaze a moment longer before turning to the clan member, hoping she wasn’t about to make a great mistake. He had given her a boon, and she would have to take it.
She had no other choice. “I can, and I am. It will further strengthen our alliance with the Mcaiwn clan. Ye wanted political power, right? Ye want tae see our name go down with the great Scots of our time? ’Tis the only way tae build the name McDougal back tae greatness.”
The Scot just shook his head, and Katherine sat back, her breath catching in her lungs. She had just agreed to marry Cameron.
Oh saints, she was going to marry Cameron!
12
Cameron strode through the keep, his jaw clenched tight and his heart...he didn’t want to think about it right now.
Right now, he couldn’t find Katherine, which was his sole reason for his state.
He had offered to wed her.
Cameron checked her study and turned on his boot when he saw that it was empty as well. It wasn’t that he had thrown the words out there lightly. There had been panic in her eyes when her council had started down the path of her giving them heirs, and the longer they talked, the paler she got. The words had just tumbled out but perhaps the shocking moment was that she had accepted.
Cameron slowed his steps and leaned up against the stone wall, raking his hand through his hair.
She had accepted his offer. He could not lie to himself. He was overjoyed at the thought. After pushing her away, hiding his feelings for years, she was going to be his wife, and he would be the laird of the McDougal clan.
No, he would be Katherine’s husband, and she would continue to rule the clan. He knew that was a concern of hers, being forced to wed someone that would take over her power and thrust her aside. Cameron had no intention of doing something like that. Katherine had been named the leader, and she would remain the leader. He would work at her side, provide assistance and advice to her, and watch her change the future of the McDougal clan.
His knees threatened to buckle, but Cameron shrugged it off, gathering himself together. Truth be told, it was not the plans he had for his life, but now that they were, they felt right.
Katherine felt right.
Even if she was far too good for the likes of him.
She was, after all. He was nothing but a brutish warrior that didn’t care for anything but the thirst for battle.
Until Katherine came into his life, that is.
Cameron pushed away from the wall and continued on his search. Katherine had scurried away far too quickly after the council meeting, and the clan members had held him up, some congratul
ating him on his new position while others likely wanted to run a sword through him. He wasn’t blind to the looks, and that worried him.
He had just put Katherine in even more danger than she had been in before by his words, his actions.
But they were the right words and actions for both of them.
Stepping outside, Cameron spied the stables. His first thought was that she would ride off again, and he would be helpless to find her, but she had promised not to put herself in danger or have him worry any longer, and he believed her.
Still, Cameron imagined it was the last place that anyone would look for their lady.
He approached the stables, and the stable hand came to attention the moment he saw Cameron bearing down on him. “I havenae let her leave.”
Relief flooded Cameron, but he did not let it show. She was safe, just hiding from everyone, including him, likely. “Excellent. Ye might be a good warrior yet, lad.”
The lad’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping in surprise. “Truly?”
Cameron nodded solemnly. He hadn’t thought about the scrawny lad as a warrior, but now that he was looking at him, there was something vaguely familiar reflecting back at him.
It was him, years ago, before he had been pulled out of the gutter and given the same opportunity. It had changed his life. “How long have ye held this post, lad?”
The lad’s chest puffed out, and pride filtered through his eyes. “Three years past. Mah ma died of a fever, and mah pa, he ran off after the laird was defeated. I keep tae the stables these days.”
Loyalty. That was what this clan needed. That was what Katherine needed.
“Go tae the warrior camp and ask for Colin. Tell him I sent ye.”
The lad’s brow furrowed as he looked at the stable. “But who will look after the stables?”
Highlander’s Royal Blood: A Steamy Scottish Medieval Historical Romance Page 7