A Lesson in Passion (28 page)

“Could ya convince him...” he began
as Ginny shook her head.

“No, you need to convince him.
After this, he won't ever listen to me again.”

The young laird looked her in the eye, then
yelled over his shoulder for someone to bring him his horse. “Why
would a mistress go to so much trouble?”

“I told you I wasn't his mistress.
I'm his wife.”

The laird's head snapped up to meet her eyes.
His anger, fueled by how he would feel if his wife behaved the same
way, was evident. But in a moment it was gone. He knew she had
risked a great deal to prevent the battle. He owed her his
gratitude. “If I cannae convince him, and ya need somewhere to live
when the battle is over, I would be honored to take ya home with
us.”

Ginny smiled. “I'll let you know. Get your
horse and meet in the middle of the field. You may want to bring
the MacBain laird as well.”

“Aye. Thank you Mistress
McKenna.”

Turning her horse back toward the
McKenna side, she said over her shoulder, “Don't thank me yet.”
With that, she kicked her horse into a gallop and held on once
again as she faced a far more imposing foe.

• * Chapter 25 *
  

Ian saw her riding back and couldn't
believe it. Why hadn't the Sinclairs kept her? She would be a
bargaining chip in their favor. They probably didn't know he'd
married her and maybe they didn't think Ian would be too concerned
about a mistress. Whatever the reason, she was riding back to him,
with a grim look on her face.

Ian noticed Broderick stiffen next to him. “Ya
willnae touch her, Broderick.”

When the giant man said nothing in response,
Ian turned toward him. “Ya willnae touch her, aye?”

Begrudgingly, Broderick nodded his head to
indicate he would not touch her. If anyone got to touch her, it
would be Ian. And certainly not in the way he did last night, in
their wedding chamber. He was closer to strangling her. Sensing his
anger, Ginny stopped the horse at least twenty feet
away.

“Come here, now, wife!”

Ginny's eyes widened in fear, but she knew
that if she was going to make this work, she needed his
cooperation. Taking a huge leap of faith that he would hear her out
before beating her unconscious, she dismounted from Broderick's
horse. She then took the reins and walked the horse over to Ian.
Before she could say a word, Broderick ripped the reins from her
hands and took back his horse, again.

Ian just stared at her, as did the rest of the
clan. They crowded around, hoping to hear her explanation, as well
as her punishment. It was like those first few days all over again.
All the progress she'd made with the clan had been destroyed. It
was something she would be willing to live with as long as they
didn't battle.

Before she could open her mouth to explain,
Alec walked forward and glared at her. “How could ya, Ginny. Ya saw
what they did to my Aileana. Ya know what they are capable of, but
ya betrayed us anyway. How could ya do that to my wife?” Alec's
face was filled with pain.

Ian hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole
time. His face was like stone, but she could sense his anger
seething under the surface. Ginny figured he was too mad to say
anything. He needed to control his anger before he could speak.
Suddenly Ian looked over Ginny toward middle of the field. There,
on horseback, was the Sinclair and MacBain lairds, no weapons,
waiting for Ian to join them. Ginny let out a sigh of
relief.

Lifting her head haughtily, she stared at one
man then the other. “I did what I thought was right. You may not
agree and you may hate me forever, but please hear me
out.”

Before she could continue, Broderick screamed
at her, “Yar a traitor and if I hadnae given my word, I would have
killed ya myself already.”

Ginny had tears in her eyes. Taking a deep
breath, trying to steady her voice, she said, “Ian, you told me you
couldn't understand why the Sinclairs would do what they did. I
decided to find out why. Their laird recently died and his son took
over. He's willing to speak to you and try to explain. He wants to
prevent the bloodshed.”

Alec snorted. “Of course he does. It would be
his blood he is sparing.”

Ian continued to say nothing so Ginny kept
talking. “He wants a chance to explain. I thought before you risk
your clan and two others, you might want to hear what he has to
say.” Ginny stared into Ian's eyes. Was there some softening there?
She could only hope.

Broderick, barely containing his bitter
contempt, questioned, “Why should we listen to them, Ian? They have
no honor. And this whore has even less.”

Before she could think twice about it, Ginny
yelled at Broderick, “You stupid idiot. You would risk your life,
leave your wife alone, and not even know why. You want someone to
kill that badly, fine! I give you permission to kill me, but only
after Ian has spoken to the Sinclair laird.”

Stupid arrogant jackass,
she thought. Ginny was shaking with anger. What
more could she do? She didn't have this much trouble with the damn
enemy. “Obviously, the choice is yours. Do what you wish.” Looking
over her shoulder at the two lairds waiting in the middle of the
field, she said softly, “They're willing to talk. What have you got
to lose?”

With that, Ginny walked back to the
abbey. Just like the first day, the McKennas were staring daggers
at her, some spit at her feet, but no one laid a hand on her. The
MacDonalds and the MacGregors were staring silently as well.
I am the world's most pathetic romance novel
heroine,
she thought grimly. But what were
these other feelings? She walked through the gate and back into the
abbey.

*
*
*

Ian was dumbfounded. He didn't move for a full
minute, considering what Ginny had said. Broderick was the first to
speak. “Ya canna be thinking of going over there. Mayhap the whore
has been in league with the Sinclairs all this time. It may be a
trap.”

Ian finally spoke. His voice, barely above a
whisper, was full of contempt, “Broderick, ya willnae ever call my
wife a whore again.” Ian turned abruptly and called for his horse.
“Alec, ya will join me to speak to the lairds.”

The MacDonald laird and his MacGregor
counterpart came over to see what had happened. Ian explained what
his wife had done and told them they could join him. All four men
mounted their horses and rode to the center of the field. Ian and
the others did not see any reason to remove their weapons and this
was not lost on Sinclair and MacBain.

“My wife says ya want to talk to
me. Well, now is yar only chance,” Ian sounded bored.

The Sinclair laird, a man named Bram, took the
opportunity to plead his case. He explained that his father had
convinced them of some long forgotten McKenna treachery. Bram gave
the details his father had told the clan and how he had whipped
them into a frenzy of revenge.

Bram and the clan were told they only meant to
steal Aileana, and return her for a hefty ransom. It was his father
who sold her to the lowlanders. Bram admitted that he knew of it
right after the fact, but did not inform the McKenna of where she
was, saving them time in finding her.

At this information, Alec's cheek twitched, as
if he were biting back his anger. Bram knew that this would
probably mean his own death, even told them that, but he would not
let his clan suffer for his stupidity or his father's madness. At
that, Bram turned to the MacBain laird and said, “I release ya and
yar clan. I willnae have ya fight on our behalf.”

The MacBain laird turned on his horse and rode
off, summoning his clan to follow. The Sinclairs, seeing their own
allies leaving, looked scared. Then, surprising everyone, Bram got
off his horse and told Ian that he would happily give his life for
the lives of his clan.

Ian remained silent during Bram's explanation.
Taking a deep breath, and thinking he had one big apology to give
Ginny, he looked down at the Sinclair. “I believe you have been
honest with me. I canna decide yar fate. I leave that to my
brother, since it was his wife who suffered. I willnae let my clan,
or my allies, fight ya.” Then, turning to the MacDonald and the
MacGregor, he said, “I release ya as well. Go home and take care. I
thank ya for yar service.” And without another word, the two lairds
left and took their men with them. At the sight, the McKennas
didn't look scared, they look surprised.

Alec dismounted and came to stand in front of
Bram. Anger, regret, pure unadulterated hate all stirred up his
bloodlust. This man had allowed his beautiful wife to suffer weeks
of pain and humiliation, just to hide the fact that his father had
gone mad. He lashed out so quickly that even Ian was shocked. Bram
went flying and landed on his back.

The Sinclair clan ran forward, prepared to
defend their laird. This caused the McKennas to run across the
field to defend their laird. Before either side could reach the
other, the Sinclair ran towards his clan with his hands up to stop
them. Bram realized that it might be too late.

*
*
*

Ginny retreated to the same room
she had shared with Ian. Without lighting a candle, she entered the
dark room and laid down on the straw mattress. She pulled the
blanket up to her chin, rolled into the fetal position and laid
there, not thinking. As it often does, the mind begins to ask
questions, subjects that tend to be too painful to otherwise
consider.
Does he still love me? Is he
fighting them, right now, killing innocent people over the madness
of one man? Will he really leave me here? Did I fall in love with
him?

Ginny began to think about her life so far,
the men she'd dated and dismissed. She didn't regret dumping them
or being dumped by them, rather that she hadn't found one man who
could turn her knees weak and make her giddy in expectation. That
is, until now. The cruel hard truth was that after so many years of
the dating game, she finally found someone she thought she could
spend the rest of her life with, in a body not her own and a time
so unfamiliar.

Now what? Should she go out there, confront
Ian and let him know that she had no intention of letting him leave
her? Did she have those kind of choices? Over the past months,
Ginny was forced to confront that there were certain limitations
for women in this time period. Some things she could overcome, but
some were insurmountable. It wasn't like she was asking to perform
brain surgery on the space shuttle, she only wanted to be able to
travel to her new home without getting lost or accosted. There was
so much to learn, but isn't that what a lifetime with someone was
for?

Ginny let herself slip away. Lacking
in food and sleep, her body had had enough. Not to mention the
emotional roller coaster she'd been on for days. She would know
soon enough what Ian had decided to do. God knew that she was not
brave enough to face it yet. So, she let herself slip away into the
void of sleep. Her troubles could wait until later.

• * Chapter 26 *
  

The Sinclairs were in a frenzy, but
were cut short when they saw that the McKennas had stopped their
approach. Ian simply held up his hand and the soldiers stopped and
waited for orders. Bram turned to see what had changed and was
amazed at the discipline of the McKennas. Seizing his opportunity,
Bram screamed to his men, “Nay, ya willnae fight them. I take
responsibility for my father's actions. Ya willnae pay for his
sins, only I can do that.”

A Sinclair soldier, presumably the first in
command, yelled back, “What if they kill ya? Who will lead our
clan?”

Bram looked forlorn, but spoke assuredly, like
a true leader. “Ya will take my place, Ewan. The clan will survive.
Ya will keep the Sinclairs strong.” The laird began to turn around,
to go back and take his punishment for his indifference. Suddenly,
he ran to his commander and spoke in his ear.

Ian watched the laird with great interest,
especially when he turned and pointed to the abbey. It looked as if
Bram were trying to elicit an agreement from the commander. The
commander looked confused, then tentatively agreed to whatever the
the laird was asking. When satisfied, Bram turned and walked back
to Alec, to receive whatever punishment Alec deemed
necessary.

After hearing the exchange, Alec's anger
dissipated. He stared at the Sinclair laird, knowing he couldn't
just beat on him while he refused to defend himself. Where was the
honor in that? Hearing him take full responsibility had also taken
the wind from Alec's sails. But part of him still nagged... what
about Aileana? What about justice for what she had endured for
weeks, because of this man?

“Ya will fight me. Ya willnae just
stand there and take it. If I dinna think ya trying, I will kill ya
outright. Aye?” Alec needed to do something for Aileana, but
couldn't kill a defenseless man.

“Aye,” Bram replied,
understanding.

Alec took off his sword. He had no intention
of making this an unfair fight. Both men began to circle around
each other, eyeing one another closely to see if the other would
make the first move. Ian had the horses removed and stood a fair
distance from the fighting men. He would not interfere, only watch
his brother's back in case one of the Sinclairs decided to get
involved.