My Daring Highlander (8 page)

He hungered for revenge so badly he
could hardly sleep at night. That bastard, Dirk, had murdered his
mother, and then taken the castle and chiefdom from his brother.
Aiden no longer wanted to be chief, so Haldane would take the
responsibility off his hands. ’Twas what his mother and father
would’ve wanted.

He would not rest until Dirk was
dead.

Glancing back through the dawn light,
Haldane saw only six of his men following. Donald McMurdo was right
behind him. Gil and Finlay followed, along with the others. Two
were missing. They must have been injured badly or
killed.

Haldane paused, allowing the others to
catch up.

“Where are MacLeod and Quinn?” he
asked McMurdo.

“Nolan MacLeod got into the tent while
I was trying to kill Dirk. When he noticed Nolan making off with
his woman, he chased after him. That gave me a chance to get the
hell out of there.”

“You didn’t kill Dirk. Furthermore,
you ran instead of helping MacLeod. I thought you were an
assassin.”

McMurdo spat on the ground and
narrowed his dark eyes, looking as mean as ever. But Haldane was
less than impressed with him at the moment.

“That bastard Dirk is big
and a fearsome fighter. I doubt
you
could take him down, laddie,” McMurdo said with a
smirk. “I’d wager Nolan MacLeod is a dead man about now. Dirk
didn’t want his woman messed with. If you think I’m risking my life
for that MacLeod whoreson, you’re wrong.”

“Never mind him,” Haldane snapped. He
was no closer to achieving his objective than he had been
yesterday, and now he was minus two men. “What about Dirk? ’Tis
your job to kill him if you want payment.”

“Aye. I’ll kill him.” McMurdo nodded
confidently. “We’ll catch up to them afore long. They’ll be out in
the open and exposed for many more miles now.”

“I don’t want to follow too closely,”
Haldane muttered, still annoyed that McMurdo hadn’t done what he’d
promised. But Haldane couldn’t kick McMurdo out of the group. He
was more experienced than any of them. He’d taught them things over
the past few months. And he was the one who could most easily kill
Dirk, given his experience. “I’ve lost two more men. Only seven of
us left now. Dirk has almost two dozen.”

“Aye, but we ken well how to be canny
and wily. Nobody said we had to fight fair.”

Haldane nodded. “I like it.” He
couldn’t wait to see what kind of crafty ideas McMurdo had in mind.
The old highwayman had lived this long somehow, despite a life of
crime. Haldane wanted to be like him, wanted to learn everything he
could from him.

“I say we head south again,” McMurdo
said. “Once the sun burns off the fog, one of the lads can climb
the hill just north of their camp to see if the MacKay party has
packed up and left. I’m thinking they’ll head out with all haste
because of the ladies.”

The ladies. Aye.
Haldane pictured Lady Seona and her lovely dark
blue eyes. If only he could’ve lopped off Keegan’s head, he
would’ve had Seona. She’d make a fine wife and lady of
Dunnakeil.

Nolan had told him ’twas a long way to
Teasairg Castle, where the MacKay party was likely headed. Lady
Isobel had grown up there. Haldane and his men would have plenty of
opportunities to attack them again. Next time, they’d use a
different, more successful strategy.

“I agree. We head south.” Haldane
glanced at the six men waiting around him, then kicked his horse
into a trot.

Something jangled behind him as it
fell to the ground. Sounded like a purse of coins. He stopped and
turned to see McMurdo dismounting. He grabbed a leather purse from
the ground and shoved it into his ragged doublet.

“What is that?” Haldane demanded,
riding back.

McMurdo’s eyes narrowed and, for a
second, he looked ready to run Haldane through. The man was
intimidating, but Haldane held the upper hand; he possessed the
thing McMurdo wanted most, including gold. The burial tomb in the
church.

“Is that gold coins?” Haldane
asked.

McMurdo let out a resigned breath.
“Gold and silver,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Where did you get it?”

“I found it in Dirk MacKay’s tent
after he followed MacLeod.”

“Let me see.” Haldane held out his
hand. “Any MacKay money is my money, in truth, for I’m the rightful
heir to the chiefdom and barony.”

McMurdo glared, his lip twitching in a
near snarl, but he handed over the leather pouch. ’Twas heavy and
it filled Haldane’s palm. He pulled open the drawstring to find it
full of gold and silver coins. “Saints! ’Tis a fortune.”

McMurdo nodded. “Just a little more
than I paid for my burial place in the church.”

“Since you turned this over to me, you
will still have your beloved tomb. We can use this to hire
mercenaries. With more men, we’ll be able to take down Dirk and
anyone else who gets in our way.”

“’
Tis a brilliant plan. If
you can find skilled mercenaries. Not too many of them in the wilds
of the Highlands,” McMurdo muttered.

“I’ll find men desperate for work.
Have no worries.”

McMurdo shrugged and
mounted.

Haldane was well aware McMurdo
would’ve kept the money a secret, but he had to admit the old man
was incredibly lucky and canny to have found it. Now, they but had
to catch up to Dirk and his party again. A new plan was forming in
his mind.

Chapter Seven

The MacKay party moved south as
quickly as they could without overtiring the horses. Although
Keegan was tired and his arse numb, Seona had to be feeling a
hundred times worse from the effects of their long journey. They
needed to put a lot of ground between themselves and the outlaws
and arrive at Teasairg Castle as soon as possible. The only problem
was few castles existed in the many miles between Munrick and
Teasairg. The MacLeods and the MacKenzies each held substantial
amounts of land.

Midafternoon, ominous black clouds
crept over the mountains from the west and the breeze picked
up.

Dirk glanced back at Keegan. “The sky
is looking a wee unfriendly, cousin.”

“Aye. ’Haps we can make it to those
cliffs ahead before the worst of it hits. That might block most of
the wind.”

Dirk nodded and called out, “Quicken
your pace! Gale storm coming.”

The riders kicked their horses into
faster trots and gallops. The cliffs looked deceptively close
because of their massive size. By the time they neared the cliffs,
the sky overhead was black. The fierce wind flung a few raindrops
sideways and almost pushed their mounts off the narrow trail.
Thankfully, the horses were accustomed to unexpected gales and
didn’t get overly spooked by the storm.

The drops stung Keegan’s
face but he ignored them, trying to ride closer to Seona where she
was hunched in the saddle, the wind whipping her plaid wool
arisaid
. He’d noticed
before ’twas a high quality tight weave that would keep most of the
moisture out.

One of the lead horses reared, drawing
Keegan’s attention to the herd of red deer that tore out and fled
by the cliffs.

Within moments, the deer had
disappeared from sight. Keegan turned his attention back to Seona,
but her black mare had become unruly, tossing her head about, then
she bolted off the trail and across the moor.

“Saints,” Keegan hissed, kicking his
horse into a gallop and following her over the uneven terrain. He
prayed she would hold on. After a shouted command at the horse, she
hadn’t uttered another sound that he could hear above the brutal
wind. He was proud to see she leaned low over the horse’s neck and
held the reins tight.

She was good with horses, but
apparently the mare she’d brought with her to Dunnakeil last fall
was skittish. If he’d known, he would’ve let her borrow a different
one.

Keegan kept pace about twenty feet
behind her. He needed to approach without spooking the daft horse
further. Seona’s cowl had been blown off her head and her long dark
hair whipped out behind her.

“Whoa!” she ordered the horse, which
promptly ignored her and continued its panicked run.

Pushing his larger mount harder,
Keegan gradually gained on her. “Seona! Come. Get on in front of
me,” he called, his words whisked away in the chill, punishing
wind.

She turned her head, quickly glancing
at him. “I cannot!” Then, she focused her attention on trying to
get the animal under control. She truly was a skilled
rider.

But who knew how long it
would be before the moor turned boggy or… Something up ahead caught
his attention—a wide stream near overflowing with spring
thaw.
Saints!
The
horses couldn’t jump that. Likely, her horse would stop abruptly
and toss her in.

Guiding his horse closer to hers,
Keegan placed the reins in one hand and offered his free hand to
her. “There’s a wide burn up ahead! You can’t jump it. Give me your
arm. I’ll pull you onto my horse.”

When she noticed the swollen stream,
her eyes widened and she looked near frantic. Her gaze darting back
and forth between him and the burn, she held out her hand toward
him.

He grabbed her arm and dragged her
from her mare and onto Curry, while her horse kept going. Holding
Seona tightly around the waist, he slowed Curry and guided him
toward the left and away from the stream. Likely, she wasn’t in the
most comfortable position, because of his saddle, but at least she
was safe.

“Saints, Seona. You scared the devil
out of me,” he grumbled loudly to be heard over the
wind.

“’
Twas not my fault,” she
responded, trying to gather her wildly blowing hair into one hand.
Her skin was still pale, but thankfully she hadn’t gone to pieces
in terror. He admired her strength.

“Nay. Your mare went mad.” He glanced
about for shelter. They were some distance from the rest of their
party now, and he couldn’t even see them beyond the hill. Further
along, he noticed a rocky outcropping and kneed Curry into a trot,
the wind and rain lashing them.

He drew up beside the rocks that
appeared stable enough and helped Seona slide to her feet, before
he dismounted. He guided her toward the stones which blocked much
of the fearsome west wind that pounded them and led Curry behind
him. Keegan glanced upward, determining the stone was solid and
that nothing would fall on their heads.

Immediately they were out of the wind
and rain. He turned back to watch the gale rage across the moor
behind them, the grasses, bushes and plants twisting and almost
lying flat at times.

“There goes your horse,” he said,
pointing. Seona’s mare was a distant black spot, running along the
burn. The animal likely wouldn’t calm down until the gale had
passed. “We’ll recapture her later.”

Following his gaze, Seona
nodded.

“This is a decent shelter.” He was
glad to get her out of the wind and rain.

“Aye,” she said, her breathing still
elevated. Arms wrapped around herself, she shivered and her teeth
chattered, though she tried to hide it.

“Come. I’ll warm you.” He took her
into his arms, but he knew it wasn’t only the temperature of the
chill wind that made her shiver. ’Twas also the waning of the
extreme fear she must have felt taking a wild ride on that daft
horse, tearing across the countryside. “’Tis all right, lass,” he
murmured in her ear. “You’re safe now.”

Her body still trembled, but she
nodded. He would do anything to keep her safe. Did she not know
that?

His face against her cool damp hair,
Keegan closed his eyes and drew in her sweet scent. She felt
perfect against him, but he fought down his need to pull her even
closer, to feel her body completely aligned with his.

Finally, her shivers diminished and
her breathing returned to normal. Reluctantly, he removed his arms
from around her and backed up a step. “Better?”

“Aye. I thank you for helping me. I
don’t know what got into Juliana.”

“Juliana?” he asked.

“My mare.”

“’
Tis a fancy name for a
mare,” he said, unable to hide his amusement. But his main reason
for smiling… he was thrilled she had not been injured.

She grinned, her dark blue
eyes gleaming with happiness.
Saints!
He had never seen her look
more beautiful.

“Did you know your eyes are the color
of bluebells?” he asked.

She glanced away, but her smile
widened and her cheeks turned an adorable pink, replacing the
earlier paleness. She bit her lip, making him wish he could do the
same.

Finally, her eyes met his again. He
had the urge to tell her how incredibly beautiful she was, but he
feared he might overdo it.

“You are mad to say such things,” she
said. He barely heard her above the roar of the wind
overhead.

He held up his hands in surrender. “I
speak the truth.”