Forever Her Champion (18 page)

“I can no longer blame ye, Douglas. Each of us were lied to, even if those lies were made with good intentions.” She took another deep breath. “I do no’ wish to carry these feelin’s of shame or betrayal with me any more.”

M
ore than a year
ago Frederick Mackintosh had made a promise to Rose McLaren.
“If me brother ever hurts ye or plays ye false, I’ll kill him with me bare hands.”
Hence, an easy solution to mend Rose’s heart was at hand.

’Twas unfortunate that his daft and addlepated brother Ian was forcing him to keep that promise. He had reached the ends of his patience in the matter. The way his brother had treated the sweet young woman since their return to Mackintosh lands was nothing less than an abomination. ’Twas beyond time someone took the matter into hand.

The hour was quite late, long past the evening meal. Most were back in their rooms or cottages, and only a few remained in the gathering room. He soon found the object of his consternation. There, sitting alone in a dark corner, sat Ian Mackintosh. From the number of empty cups — as well as the way the fool swayed as he sat — Frederick quickly surmised his brother was so into his cups he couldn’t find his arse with both hands.

Ian Mackintosh.

Known throughout the land by women as a man as
beautiful
as he was a consummate lover. He’d left a trail of broken hearts across Scotland, England, France, and God only knew where else. While women adored him, their fathers, husbands, and brothers hated him with equal passion.

Frederick stood before the drunken sot, his feet braced apart, arms crossed over his massive chest, and waited for his brother to recognize his presence. Long moments passed before that happened.

Ian clutched a cup of ale with his large hands, as if he were a man lost at sea and the cup was his last vestige of hope for survival. Listing side to side, he mumbled incoherent words that only
he
could understand in his current state of extreme inebriation.

When Ian finally noticed his brother, he smiled up at him drunkenly. “Frederick,” he said with a slow inclination of his noggin. He took another pull at his ale then swept his arms out wide. The golden liquid sloshed over the rim of the cup but Ian took no notice. “Welcome to me island.”

Frederick had no idea what his brother meant and in truth, he did not care. Before he could tell Ian why he was there and what his intentions were, Ian spoke again.

“I fear ye do no’ belong here, brother o’ mine. This island is fer the wretched and unworthy.” His lips curved into a wry smile; he was apparently quite amused with himself. “Nay, brother! Men such as ye do no’ belong on the island of the lost!”

Frederick let out a sigh of irritation before kicking a stool out of his way. “Ian, ’tis time we had a talk.” Grabbing his brother by his tunic, he hoisted him to his feet.

Ian glowered angrily with bloodshot eyes. “What are ye doin’?” he asked, his speech slightly slurred as he struggled to free himself.

“I be keepin’ a promise.” Frederick smiled deviously before drawing back one mighty fist then slamming it into his brother’s face.

Ian fell backward against the stone wall, as dazed and confused as he was thunderstruck. White flashes of light floated in his eyes as blood trickled from his broken lip. Shaking his daze away, he looked up at his brother with nothing short of fury and hatred in his eyes. “What the bloody hell was that fer?”

As Frederick pulled him to his feet, he answered in a calm voice that belied his frustration and anger. “That was fer breakin’ Rose’s heart.”

Once he was certain Ian wasn’t going to fall over, he hit him once again. This time his fist landed on Ian’s left eye. And again, his brother fell against the wall. This time he could not keep his feet and slid onto his arse. Before Ian could question the why of it, Frederick said, “That was fer breakin’ yer word. A Mackintosh
never
breaks his word.”

He hauled him to his feet yet again. Ian was barely able to stand on his own, but ’twas enough for Frederick to land a third punch. “And
that
was fer upsettin’ me wife!”

Ian fell to the floor, his head lolled side to side while blood trickled from his nose and mouth.

Frederick sighed disgustedly. He’d seen Ian in many a tavern brawl, far drunker than he was now, and he’d still been able to maintain his feet and fight.

Nay, the young man lying askew, bloody and defeated, was not the same proud warrior. “What the hell has happened to ye?”

* * *

F
rederick pulled
his brother to his feet, hoisted him over one broad shoulder, and left the gathering room. Mumbling a curse under his breath he was appalled and disgusted at how easily his brother had given up. Hell, he hadn’t fought at all. ’Twas disgraceful for a man such as Ian to behave so dishonorably, no matter his reasons.

Determined to get to the bottom of things, he carried his brother above stairs. Taking the hallway to the left, he went straightaway to Rose’s room and kicked at the door. Grudgingly, he cursed his brother as he shifted his weight. “Ye’re a bastard, ye ken that don’ ye?”

Ian replied with an incoherent grumble.

Cautiously, Rose cracked open the door. Though he could only see one vigilant eye peering through, that eye was red and puffy from crying. ’Twas fuel added to his already burning anger.

A moment passed before she realized Frederick had someone tossed over his shoulder like a sack of leeks. Her eyes widened in time with the door she pulled open. Frederick entered the room swiftly and tossed his brother into a chair near one of the tables that held her fabrics.

“What happened to him?” Rose blurted out as she rushed to kneel before the man she loved for reasons no one could fathom.

’Twas then Frederick noticed his beautiful wife sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. She shot to her feet and repeated Rose’s question. In a flash, the two women were fluttering about the room, grabbing an ewer and linen cloths, hammering Frederick with too many questions to count.

“Are we under siege?” Aggie asked as she held the ewer over Ian’s lap.

“I did no’ hear the warnin’ bells,” Rose said as she dipped a linen cloth into the water and began wiping the blood from Ian’s face.

Aggie stared blankly at her husband. “Why are ye j-just standin’ there? Ye should be defendin’ the k-keep!”

Frederick held up his hands. “There be no attack against the keep.”

Rose paused her ministrations. “Then what happened? Did he take a fall?” She looked as vexed as she was concerned.

“Rose,” Ian whispered her name almost reverently. “The most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes on.”

With a furrowed brow she turned her attention back to Ian. His face bore an expression of devout love and adoration. “Never has a sweeter, more bonny woman ever graced God’s earth.” His voice was scratchy, his tone quite sad. As if he’d lost her to the black death and was remembering her fondly.

“He’s been drinkin’,” Aggie pointed out as if that answered a multitude of questions.

Annoyed, Rose asked once again, “What happened?”

Looking up at his older brother, Ian answered. “He was keepin’ his word to ye.”

Perplexed, the two women looked to Frederick for an explanation. Hopefully one that made more sense than Ian’s.

“’Tis no less than I deserve,” Ian slurred before Frederick could respond. “A Mackintosh ne’er breaks his word, ye see.”

Neither Rose nor Aggie had any earthly idea what the drunken man meant.

“What is he goin’ on about?” Rose demanded.

Frederick ran a hand through his ginger hair before answering. “I made a promise to ye more than a year ago, that if Ian ever hurt ye or played ye false, I’d kill him with me bare hands.”

Aggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath while Rose was clearly appalled. “
Ye
did this to him?”

“He hurt ye
and
he took back his proposal. Ye’ve been cryin’ fer days now, lass,” he reminded her gently. “I was merely keepin’ me word when me brother broke his.”

“I be ready to accept me fate,” Ian told Rose. He took her hand in his. “I ne’er loved a woman as I have loved ye. I want ye to go on with yer life. Do no’ pine fer me or mourn me loss.”

Rose withdrew her hand from his with the level of disgust she would feel had she just fallen in a pile of warm horse dung. “Ye can no’ be serious!” she exclaimed. She didn’t know which of these two men confounded or angered her more. At the moment, they were tied for first.

“He must kill me,” Ian told her. “He must keep his word because I did no’ keep mine.”

She eyed them both speculatively for a long moment. The more she stood waiting for one of them to tell her this was nothing more than a jest, the angrier she became. Once Aggie took notice of Rose’s furious glower, the way her skin had turned red, Aggie suddenly swore she heard her babe, Ada, crying. Setting the bowl on the table, she scurried to her feet. “Ada needs me, as does Ailrig.”

Pausing at the door, Aggie looked back to her friend. “Ye may strangle Ian, but please, do no’ harm me husband. I still need him, as do me children.” She did not wait for a response before hurrying out of the room and closing the door behind her.

Once she was gone, Rose looked first to Frederick, then to Ian, and back again. “Ye have both lost yer minds.”

“Nay, no’ me mind. Just me heart. To the most beautiful women e’er to grace God’s earth.”

“Be quiet!” Rose shouted at the man she knew she loved without question. But at the moment, she was hard pressed to come up with a reason why. To Frederick she said, “Ye will no’ kill him.”

Frederick chuckled at her ferocity. “Nay, I shall no’ kill him,” he assured her before quickly adding, “Yet.”

Exasperated, she rolled her eyes at him. “Why did ye feel the need to,” she stumbled for the right words. “To beat him senseless?”

“Someone had to.”

“Frederick be the most honorable man,” Ian chimed in. He leaned forward in the chair and rested his head in his hands. “Far more honorable than I. He’d ne’er hurt the woman he loves.”

She spun to face the object of her consternation. “So ye
do
love me?”

His shame was too great — as was the manner in which his head was spinning — to chance lifting his head to look at her. “Of course I love ye.”

“Then why on earth did ye break yer word?”

“Because ye deserve better,” he mumbled. “Why is the room spinnin’?” he asked of no one in particular.

Rose thrust her hands onto her hips. “I deserve better than what?” she asked him. Her tone was sharp.

“Than me,” Ian answered. He sounded entirely ashamed.

Throwing her hands up in defeat, she looked at Frederick. “Go ahead. Kill him. I no longer care.”

U
SA Today Bestselling Author
, storyteller and cheeky wench, SUZAN TISDALE lives in the Midwest with her verra handsome carpenter husband and the youngest of their four children. Her pets consist of dust bunnies and a dozen poodle-sized groundhogs – all of which run as free and unrestrained as the voices in her head.

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