Kate Robbins - The Highland Chiefs Series (10 page)

“I don’t know how much time we have before they come back out. I’m having one of your bad feelings about what may happen when they do. These posts are secured underground, but the wall bases are not. Find a rock or anything to move the soil. Swift now lad, work like your life depends on it. Because it probably does.”

Calum needed no more encouragement. A roar of laughter from inside the cottage was incentive enough for James to fall to his knees and dig like there was no tomorrow.

Chapter Eight

Her opinion of James had been challenged much in the last few hours. Aileana was still irritated by him, but couldn’t deny the raw attraction that coursed through her body every time he was near. The intimacy they shared did little to comfort her. She could not afford to let him possess her.

She opened the door to her chamber and found her gown positioned so she could step into it. She trailed her hand down over the length of the deep green velvet. Would James have liked it?

What an annoying thought.

It was no matter what he thought of her gown since she didn’t need flattery or romantic designs from the likes of him. Still, she had developed an acute awareness of him. His nearness in the solar made the task of rationalizing their danger challenging. Part of her wanted to send Father Addison away and run her hands all over his muscled torso. The other part of her was surprised to discover his presence a comfort. She would not think about the kiss, no she would not.

She stretched to unfasten the clasps at the back of her dress, her fingers fidgeting. She had just begun to remove the garment when Gwen entered. “Oh, I’m sorry my lady, I didn’t know you were in here or else I would have knocked. Getting ready without me, are you?”

Gwen’s smile calmed her and almost made her feel like everything was normal.

Normal. Just a few days ago things were just that. How quickly life could be turned upside down testing the limits of inner strength and stretching it
beyond all sensible boundaries.

“I was trying.” Aileana tried to sound confident, but her declaration was met with raised eyebrows. “But to be honest, I probably would have ended up stuck halfway into my gown with the castle under attack and unable to do anything but crawl under my bed.”

Her blunt attempt at humour resulted in a short burst of laughter from each of them.

Gwen sobered first. “Do you think we’re in any real danger here?”

It was the same question she’d posed to James a short time ago.

“I believe we’re safe for the time being. Come, let us ready ourselves and make the most of the evening, for our guest’s sakes. I believe our
demeanour is a guide for those around us.”

Gwen smiled and nodded while she scurried to tuck, pin, and fuss over Aileana. When they returned to the hall, the room was transformed and capable of accommodating twice
as many guests as present.

“My dear, an unexpected guest has just arrived.” Aileana turned as Sheena approached; her expression solemn. Over her aunt’s shoulder Gawain stood, wearing a broad smile, as though the world was in perfect order. He came to her, took her hands in his clammy, willowy ones and pressed
cold hard lips onto each palm.

“My lady, how radiant you look this evening,” he said. “I’ve thought of nothing but you since I was overtaken with grief when I visited you last. I apologize for my hurried exit and my harsh words. I was too much a coward to have you view my unmanly tears and so I fled. Being here, in this castle, knowing my cousin would never grace its great hall again was too much, and even now threatens to crack my resolve to comfort you.”

Aileana tried to remain calm. His swift departure and his hate-filled words that day had mortified her. When she needed a friendly face and the comfort of someone she could trust, he fled. She was still guilt ridden over how he discovered the letter, yet she was certain of one thing - he was lying about the reason for his
hurried exit
. His current demeanour was baffling. This was the most attention he’d ever bestowed upon her. She could think of no reason to justify this about-face. A sick sensation passed through her. Would he try to woo her? Now?

She never minded Gawain’s thin frame or pale skin, however, she found herself comparing him to another and the skin of her palm tingled in repulsion from the feel of his lips on her hand. Instead of a broad chest with fabric curving around the muscle beneath, Gawain’s tunic lay flat
and almost hollow against him.

“Fear not, dear cousin, you are as welcome to these stone walls as you’ve ever been. I accept your apology. It’s been a trying time for us all. You’re with us now and so I trust you intend to join our celebration?”

He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. Aileana moved to take her place at the head of the table; Gawain followed and positioned himself to do the same. An awkward moment passed while she watched his smile disappear.

Gawain opened his mouth and closed it again. A couple moments passed before he spoke. “Why Lady Aileana, is that not the setting for Lord MacIntosh?”

Sheena interjected and recounted the events leading to James’s absence. She finished with, “Tis Lady MacIntosh who is entitled to sit at the head of the table in his Lordship’s absence.”

“Ahhh, but she does not yet hold that title, does she?”

Aileana stiffened. “I do not yet hold that title, but this is still my home. The man who does hold that title, endangers himself for our benefit, and would not object to my taking his place.”

Gawain bowed
his head, conceding the point.

“The MacIntosh is brave and will protect us from these fiends,” Sheena said, boasting.

Aileana tried hard to look anywhere but at Gawain. His clothes were impeccable and his entire air was too polished. His former brooding was predictable. This new Gawain was a mystery. Her unease grew and she wished for James’s immediate return.

“We are fortunate indeed to have the MacIntosh as our protector,” he said. “I for one will sleep better tonight knowing he tracks our would-be attackers. At least on that front, he is a committed man.”

Aileana caught the sarcasm in his voice. “Dear cousin, do you think to insult a man who is absent and therefore unable to defend himself, but also willing to place himself at risk for our protection?” Though James’s reputation was well known, hearing it from Gawain like this, on this day was too much.

“My lady, I apologize if my assessment of the MacIntosh has offended you. I assumed you had knowledge of his appetite since you are to marry him. He spends so much time at the king’s court as the man’s Highland spy, that I assumed you would possess some understanding of the man and his politics.”

“Common knowledge or no,” Sheena said, “discussion of such matters is highly inappropriate in the presence of a lady, especially the one to whom the gentleman in question is betrothed.” Sheena raised her chin and scanned the dinner table for agreement from the other guests.

Had she blinked, Aileana would have missed the loathing apparent in the glare Gawain directed at her aunt. When Aunt Sheena turned back from surveying the guests, Gawain had smoothed his features with a tight smile. Aileana’s flesh broke out in goosebumps.

“My sincerest apologies again, my lady, for my impudence,” he said. “I humbly beg your apology.”

“My betrothed’s history is of no consequence to me, dear cousin. Only his future concerns me,” Aileana said and turned toward She
ena who smiled and nodded.

Gawain unsettled her.

Or did the topic unsettle her?

Either way, she would not continue this discussion. Sheena engaged her in an exchange about the wonderful springing time thus far. She settled into a conversation designed to prove her extensive knowledge of the estate’s tenants and its production. In the end, she feared Gawain’s comments would remain foreve
r branded on her guest’s minds.

The rest of the dinner improved her spirits somewhat. The servants produced bowls of steaming roasted pheasant and vegetable stew served with heaping platters of warm bread for soaking. The main course consisted of succulent wild deer, roasted pig and duck complimented by baked puddings, roasted vegetables and large drawing bowls of dark gravy. Warm mead and wine flowed free and no goblet fell below half full. Trays of wild berry pies, layered custard cakes and cream-filled pastries completed a grand feast she was proud of.

Though the mood was somewhat sombre, everyone complimented the servant’s hard work. After dinner, most of her guests paid their respects and retired to their rooms for the remainder of the evening. Fear of an attack had doused the merriment from earlier that afternoon. Those who remained joined Aileana and Sheena on large cushion-covered, wooden benches, which were arranged near the stone hearth. Thankfully, Gawain had chosen to retire with the majority of the other guests. When he kissed her hand goodnight, her hair prickled at the nape.

Once she retired, Aileana lie in her bed listening to the noiseless night and couldn’t help but pull the covers right up to her chin. The longer she spent in Gawain’s company, the more uncomfortable she became. He’d watched her, just as James had earlier, but his gaze did not excite her - it scared her. She stood the two men side by side in her mind and t
he effect was rather startling.

The cold look Gawain had given her a few days ago and his almost too smooth demeanour tonight were sides of him she’d never seen. Was this the true Gawain, dark and false? Was the loss of the estate and betrothal to her such a blow to him,
his entire person had changed?

The two men were so different. Would she ever understand either? Aileana relaxed and drifted toward the edge of sleep all the while wishing James would resolve the issue with the raiders and return by daybreak.

She awoke as soon as the hidden door on the tower stairs creaked. Aileana held her breath, but the sound of a boot scuff on the stone floor near her bed brought her straight upright. Her heart pummelled. Before she could scream, she was bound and gagged where she sat. The darkness prevented her from seeing who would dare such an act. Her breaths were short and laboured and tremors shook her body as they wound rope around her arms and legs. Her stomach burned with fear. She struggled as they dragged her from her bed into the narrow passageway. Her arms were looped around her captor’s neck while he crept through the channel leading outside. She knew this route, but hadn’t used it since she was a girl.

They made almost no sound and she tried to sway her body to break free, but the man whose back she rested on was large and held her still. Her face was forced into his hair and the scent was clean. Lavender? This must be a dream. No, it was her worst nightmare.

Once outside the castle boundaries the man broke into a run. She bounced up and down and was sure her arms would pull from their sockets. Just when she couldn’t take any further punishment, she was lifted off his back, her arms re-bound, she was then placed into a cart and covered with layers of canvas.

Her nostrils filled with the stench of rotten cabbage. She was going to vomit if she didn’t get the gag out of her mouth soon. Aileana managed to slip her bound arms from behind her back, down across her body and work her feet through the loop. Once in front of her, she used her hands and teeth to work at the gag and loos
en the ropes around her wrists.

Free from her bondage, her body convulsed. She had feared little in her life. Her uncle had not often raised his vo
ice to her, much less his hand.

Somewhere between shock and hysteria, conversations in her mind consumed her about what to do. Much of the grief and anxiety she had repressed over the last few days found a feeding ground. Her anxiety escalated causing icicles to settle in her stomach.

She longed for safety, but the hard jolting cart was a constant reminder of where she was. She even imagined her uncle calling to her. “Aileana! Fight back, love, with all that you have and all that you are. Fight back!” She longed for his strength to guide her, though could only weep for him, and for herself.

She swallowed salty tears and focused hard on the image of his face. If his strength couldn’t help her nothing could. That wasn’t true. She had strength. She’d proven it earlier that day in the solar with
James. He’d been proud of her.

Think dammit!

Her thoughts cleared; her best option was to jump out of the moving cart. She’d risk injury on the fall, but that was better than any alternative with these brutes. A little clarity gave her all the courage she needed.

Aileana shifted to the edge of the canvas and peeped out from underneath. A surge of confidence evapo
rated when the cart stopped. Oh no!

They hadn’t been
travelling that long. She didn’t know on which road, though, and tried to work out where that distance could have taken them, in all directions. There may be an opportunity to escape yet.

To her dismay, when she was hauled out, she viewed a small cottage she’d never seen before and so wouldn’t know which way to r
un, even if she did break free.

The large man holding her arm asked, “What have you done with your ropes, m’lady?”

The mocking tone he placed on ‘m’lady’ heated her cheeks. He would offer a term of respect in this situation? He had all the control, yet he would mock her attempt to flee. She glared at him and he chuckled.

She was shoved inside the cottage and re-bound, this time tighter. The man placed her on a chair, tied her arms behind her and her feet to the chair’s legs. She was relieved she’d not been tied to a bed. From her current position, she’d be difficult to ravage. Her body shook anew with the mere thought of the word.

Her captor, who she could see clearer now, said, “Maybe this’ll keep you secure.”