Redemption (Book Two of the Shipwrecked Series) (19 page)

“Kate,”
I said with a tired, forced smile.

“I
know,” she met my eyes. “I’m sorry that your journey was, well…” she trailed
off, not sure how to finish.  “Hungry?” she asked, eyes darting towards the
tray in invitation. 

Her
glance was all of the invitation that I needed.  I was starving.  I reached for
a slice of bread, slathered it with some butter, and took a very unlady-like
bite.

“I’m
so sorry, Kate,” Leti blurted as I stuffed my face with the warm bread,
dripping with fresh butter.  She reached out and touched my arm stopping me mid
bite.  Her eyes searched mine. They were piercing green orbs flecked with
gold. 

            “Sorry about what?” I
responded, feeling foolish as soon as the words had escaped my mouth.  Clearly,
she was trying to express her sorrow at the murder of my companions.  I was
sure that this news had spread quickly through whatever this place was.

“Ohhh,”
Leti responded, face draining of color.  She smiled nervously and then bit her
lower lip indicating that she was puzzled by my strange response to her
condolences.

 
“I’d rather not talk about what happened today,” I warned, trying to cover my
blunder.  It was true that I didn’t want to talk about the murders and as a
matter-of-fact, I didn’t want to talk at all.

Leti
bit her lip again and looked away.  She was fighting back tears. 

I
stopped chewing and looked directly at her. 

“Has
no one told ye, Kate?” she asked, searching my face for a glimmer of knowledge.

“Told
me what?” I prodded, swallowing my mouthful of bread in an unlady-like gulp.

“The
Laird, yer betrothed?” she questioned.  My eyes bulged at the word “betrothed.”
I waited, eyes bulging, willing her to go on.  A sick feeling settled in the
pit of my stomach.

This cannot be
happening.

 “He’s
dead,” Leti finished her voice but a whisper.  “My father is dead.  Ye were tae
be his wife.”

I
exhaled the breath that I hadn’t realized that I was holding.  My eyes darted
around the room, unwilling to look at the girl next to me.  I could feel here
eyes searching my face for a response. 

He’s dead.  I’m
still safe.

Leti
looked at me from under disapproving brows, her face scrunched visibly due to
the lack of regard that I had given to her dead father.  I hoped that my face
didn’t show the relief that I felt.   

I
resumed the chewing of my bread, unsure of what would be an appropriate
response.  The effort of retaining my rouse of composure was overwhelming.  I
felt the slight tremors of shock begin to shake in my hands and legs.

“I’m
sorry about your Father,” I said, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

Fresh
tears welled up in Leti’s eyes as she again reached out and grabbed my arm,
squeezing slightly.  “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice trembling, relieved
that I was finally acknowledging his death like any normal, sane person would. 
“He was a good man, and it was quite a shock to us all.  The doctor says that
his heart just failed,” she sniffled.  “He just went to sleep and didn’t wake
up the next morning.”

“At
least he wasn’t in pain,” I offered, trying to comfort this girl that I didn’t
know.  The wounds of losing her father unexpectedly were obviously fresh and
still stinging.

“Yer
verra kind to try to comfort me after all that ye have been through today,” she
smiled slightly, eyes red-rimmed from tears that she was trying to hold back.

If
she only knew what I’d been through today, I thought to myself.  She wouldn’t
believe half of it!  I felt guilty as the thought crept into my mind that I was
glad that this girl’s father was dead.  Marriage was what I was running from. 
I must have the worst luck in the world.  Running from one marriage only to
narrowly elude another.

“He
would have liked ye verra much.  I can tell ye that,” she smiled again,
sniffling now as she battled to regain her composure.  “My brothers have always
said that I’m a good judge of character.  I can tell right away that yer kind,
thinking of others in spite of yer own troubles.”

I
took another bite of the delicious bread, chewing vigorously to avoid talking.

“Speaking
of brothers, Collin will want to speak with ye after ye have some nourishment. 
He’s my oldest brother, half-brother really.  After Da’s passing, Collin’s the
new Laird.  I suppose that he’ll need to decide what to do with ye.”

I
didn’t like the statement “Decide what to do with you.”  The reality of my
predicament continued to settle in.  I had accidentally stolen another woman’s
identity, or at the very least been mistaken for Laird McClain’s betrothed and
said nothing to remedy this mistake. I was in deep, deep trouble.  I was
resolute not to crumble and confess myself to the new Laird.

            Nathan appeared in the
entry way to the great hall, and cleared his throat to get my attention.  I
smiled when I saw him.  His face turned pink beneath his beard when he
recognized that I was so happy to see him.

“The
Laird will see ye now, Mistress,” he announced, warm expression lingering on
his ruddy face.

I
glanced at Leti, still chewing my last bite of bread methodically.  I was weary
to the bone and dreaded my looming meeting with “The Laird.”  I had been warned
in England about the intricacies and the politics of the Scottish Clan system. 

Leti
reached in front of me and pulled the plate away from me, as if reading my
intentions of grabbing just one more bite.  “Better get going,” she instructed,
scooting the plate further out of my reach.  “Collin doesna like tae be kept
waiting,” she said with a tone of warning in her voice as she stood, lifting
the plate with one hand as she smoothed her skirts with the other.  I was still
hungry and had to resist the impulse to tackle her and claim my unfinished
dinner.

Instead,
I followed her instructions.  I stood and pushed myself reluctantly away from
the table. My legs were shaking from either exhaustion or fear, or a bit of
both.  Nathan turned around without a word and strode from the great hall.  I
trudged after him mechanically.  I followed him down a candle lit corridor and
bumped unceremoniously into his backside when he stopped abruptly at a door on
our right.  He knocked against the heavy wooden door twice, and was greeted
with a gruff “Enter,” from within.

Nathan
swung open the door and stood in the threshold, beckoning me to go into the
room with a wave of his massive hand.  I stepped forward, and was surprised by
the solid thunk of the door closing behind me.  Apparently this was to be a
private meeting.

Collin
didn’t acknowledge my presence, but sat behind a massive oak desk, chestnut
crowned head bent in concentration over a stack of papers.  He was a huge man,
even partially concealed behind his desk.  My eyes were drawn to the shear size
of his hands, one holding a paper that he was intently reading and the other
sprawled across the desk.

“Sit,”
he commanded, not looking up.  This was not an invitation, but an order.

I
obeyed reluctantly, and sat in a wooden chair facing his desk.  I was suddenly
unsure of what to do with my hands while I waited for him to speak to me.  I
settled on clasping my now sweaty palms together in an effort not to fidget,
something that I often did when nervous.  I had already made up my mind that I
did not like Collin McClain. 

A
moment passed in silence before he finally addressed me.  He eluded an air of
arrogance and power, even while sitting passively at his desk.   His eyes rose
from whatever he had been reading to meet mine.  They were green and striking. 
He was a handsome man with strong, masculine features.  I detested him strongly
right from the start, and met his gaze with my feistiest glare.  Two could play
at this game.

“Did
ye see the men who attacked yer people?” he asked straight-forwardly. 
Apparently, Collin was not the type to beat around the bush and waste time with
introductions or niceties.

“No,”
I responded, refusing to let the intensity with which he was examining me with
those probing green eyes intimidate me.

He
leaned back in his chair, and folded his fingers together, thinking as he
studied me.  “How did ye escape the attack?” he questioned, eyes still boring
holes into my skin, causing my heart to race and my body temperature to rise.

“I
don’t remember,” I said.  I was not a practiced liar, but I hoped that
confidence would bolster my story.

“Sae
ye mean tae tell me that ye remember nothing,” he said, separating his palms so
that the tips of his fingers were touching those of his matching hand.

“I
know that I woke up in the forest right before Nathan found me.  I knew that
they were all dead.  All that I can think of is that maybe I went into the
trees to relieve myself and they were attacked while I was away.  I must have
come upon the scene and run back into the forest.  Maybe I fainted,” I offered,
still meeting his green eyes, refusing to be the first to look away.

 Collin
McClain was a hard man to read.  He sat expressionless, starting back at me,
seeming to wait for me to continue.

“I
don’t remember,” I said.  “In fact, I don’t remember much about myself at all,”
I added as an extra defense measure against further questioning from Collin.

“I
see,” he said, watching me. “It was unwise of yer father tae send ye with only
one guard.  Yer lucky tae have escaped.”

“He
didn’t think that the journey would be so dangerous,” I lied, knowing nothing
of the “father” that I was defending.

“Then
he is a fool,” Collin said dismissively.  “Leti will have told ye about our
father’s passing now,” he stated without emotion. 

“Yes,”
I muttered in acknowledgement.

“Nathan!”
Collin bellowed straightening in his chair as the heavy wooden door creaked
open behind me.  “Find her a suitable place tae sleep.  Ye might as well put
her in the chambers that were prepared for her arrival.”

Nathan
walked over and stood beside me, nodding in approval to the Laird’s orders. 
“Yes, sir,” he mumbled as he reached down and took my elbow, encouraging me to
stand.

Collin
was already back to reading the papers on his desk, dismissing my presence as a
nuisance to his work.  “I’ll sort out what I plan tae do with ye now that
father is dead.  Stay out of trouble until then,” he said, not looking up.

Nathan
guided me from Collin’s study, closing the door quietly behind us.  His large
hand settled in the small of my back, warm and reassuring as he propelled me
forward down the corridor.  “I’ll take ye tae yer chambers, lass.  It’s been no
doubt a long day.  Ye’ll be needing tae rest.”

As
soon as the door to my chamber closed behind Nathan, I lost every last shred of
compose that I had and promptly fell apart.  I threw myself on the feather bed
and cried my eyes out.  My chest heaved with the reverberations of my emotions
and my eyes stung from the tears that continued to flow down my cheeks. 

Having
gotten that out of my system, I collected myself and began to formulate a
plan. 

 I’ve escaped
two marriages already, if I have to escape ten more, so be it.  I will be free.
  

Chapter Three

I awoke in a panic
to pounding on my chamber door. Had I bolted it last night?

“Kate! Kate, wake
up!” shouted the urgent voice amidst the banging on my door.

My feet felt the
shock of the cold flagstones as I slid from my warm cocoon of quilts and
stumbled blindly towards the door in the pitch darkness. 

“Kate! Hurry!” 
The banging grew more insistent. 

 I fumbled with
the latch that I had indeed locked and came face to face with a terror stricken
Leti as I cracked open the heavy wooden door.  Her face was ruddy from crying
and her usually striking green eyes were puffy and bloodshot.  Her nose was red
and she sniffled as she exclaimed, “Do ye ken anything about healing?” the
words coming out brokenly between the sobs that racked her small frame.

“Wait,” I
mumbled.  I was having difficulty tracking her explanation after my abrupt
awakening.  “Who?  What?” I questioned as I made a lame attempt to smooth my
curls and wipe the remnants of sleep from my eyes.  “Who’s hurt? Leti?  What
happened?”  The sleep was beginning to recede from my brain and coherent
thoughts were within tentative reach.

Leti was growing
impatient with me. She now spoke quickly and directly, her breathing heavy from
the run up to my chamber.  Her desperate demeanor demanded my attention to the
matter at hand.  “Our young men are back from a cattle raid and a few are badly
wounded.  Over half of the clan is gone for the harvest, including our healer. 
We need any help that can be mustered.”

“Yes, I can help,”
I said without thinking, having been trained in some healing techniques as a
young girl.

I was alarmed by
the urgency in her voice.  I could see that her body was wrought with tension. 
Her hands clenched the folds of her dress so hard that her knuckles were white
with the strain as she said, “Brennan’s hurt something fierce.  He’s my
betrothed.  I caught word that they were home early and I went to greet them
and saw him being carried behind his horse in a pallet and...” her voice
trailed off as a sob escaped and the emotion of seeing her betrothed in such a
condition tore from her throat.  Gasping for breath between her sobs, she
exclaimed, “And he was so pale it was as if the blood had left his body!   His
eyes are glassy and he doesn’t speak, doesn’t respond or recognize me or…Oh
God, Kate!  He can’t die!  Please help him!  Please help him... hurry!” she
sputtered in desperation between sobs, as she reached out and grabbed my arm,
half pulling me into the hallway.