Claimed by a Laird (27 page)

She closed her eyes and offered a brief prayer for help
before placing her palms on the table in front of the candles to push herself
up. There had to be another exit out of the chapel that would allow her to
cross into the shadows of the courtyard so she could find a way out.

“Excuse me, my lady,” a deep, baritone spoke English from a
dark corner behind the altar.

Anna gulped down a breath and tensed, her eyes darting
toward the direction of the voice. A dark figure in a long, hooded monk’s robe
stepped out of the shadows toward her. She leaned on the table in front of her,
rattling the candles in their holders in an attempt to rise.

“Please stay, my lady. I only wish to join in your prayers,”
the monk reassured her, holding his empty palms up to calm her.

She could not outrun him in her current state. She eyed him
suspiciously through narrowed slits, but remained still, her senses on high
alert. The low candlelight did little to illuminate his face due as did the
deep hood covering his head. Her pulse thumped ever louder in her temples that
renewed the dull ache in the back of her head where she had been struck.

The monk approached her like she was a skittish, injured
deer and lowered his knees to the cushioned kneeler. “Please, do not be
afraid,” he stated as he settled next to her, his elbow only a scant few inches
from her own.

The man towered over her, even in his stooped state. His
large, weathered hands folded into a prayerful pose.

Finally able to force her voice out of her parched throat,
she replied, “Perhaps if you could remove your hood and introduce yourself to
me, I might be less likely to be alarmed.”

He lifted his hands and pushed the hood back onto his
shoulders, revealing a mass of shoulder-length faded red hair, and a neatly
trimmed beard and mustache of the same color. He turned his face toward her and
smiled gently, the skin around his eyes crinkling. A flame from one of the
candles crackled and leaped higher, throwing light across his features and
illuminating the man’s deep greenish-blue eyes.

Recognition dawned and her breath caught in her throat as a
flash of the photograph of her father holding her as a baby flew through her
mind. Part of her didn’t believe it, and she scrutinized his face for several
moments in silence.

“I am Alec Campbell, your father, Anna.” His smile faded as
a worry entered his eyes. “Please do not fear me. I would never hurt you.”

The color of his hair had faded with wisps of white
sprinkled throughout and his skin had certainly aged since the photograph was
taken, but the features of this man before her were identical to the image of
the father she held in her head from that one image. Tears stung her eyes, but
she forced them back with a deep breath as her suspicious nature moved to the
forefront.

“What is my mother’s name?” she asked, determined to find
out whether or not this man was an impostor. “And my grandparents? How did you
meet my mother? Where did she live?”

He smiled at her barrage of questions and nodded. “Your
mother was called Karen and she was a Graham from Fannich village. Your
grandparents were George and Katherine and they ran a public house down the
hill from Graham Castle. Your mother and I met there on the night of the fall
equinox.”

“How?” Anna suppressed the impatient panic arising with the
distraction of yet another contraction. “How did you get there? You did not
belong there.”

“You are right, I did not,” he agreed. “I had no idea where
I was at first. I was only thinking of the stories my mother told me when I was
a wee one about traveling between worlds. She had just died and the clan was
falling on hard times. I was a desperate young man, throwing caution and good
sense to the wind without any belief the stone she always insisted was
enchanted was anything more than an ordinary rock.”

The contraction subsided. Anna concentrated on her hands for
a moment as she breathed deeply in an attempt to relax. “James said it brought
wealth to the person who held it,” she whispered. “But it was in your
possession and the Campbells were having difficulties.”

He chuckled with a hint of derision. “That is a rumor spread
by the gossips of jealous clans. Has it brought you either gold or fame, lass?”

She shook her head and offered him small smile. She rubbed
her belly as her abdominal muscles finally relaxed and she thought about the
other more precious things she had received since accepting the piece of
amber-colored quartz.

Alec reached out and patted her hand. Instinctively, she
turned her palm up and grasped his hand, covering it with her other hand.

Surprise flew across his face and he smiled. “I did not know
if you ever cared to see me. When the Gowrie sent word he had you, I did not
believe him at first. But I could not stand by and allow him to use you against
me if he spoke the truth. That is why I am here…to get you somewhere safe and
away from him.”

Alec glanced down at her protruding stomach. “From the looks
of you, it will be none too soon.”

She pressed her lips together and briefly closed her eyes in
relief. For the first time since arriving at the Gowrie holding, her worry and
despair dissipated. Finally, she had a chance to escape.

“How is it you are still stuck here in my time?” he asked,
eying her stomach. “The equinox was months ago. You should have been back home
by now. Your husband must be worried sick.”

Anna laughed, her eyelashes quivering nervously as she
stared in wonder and disbelief at her father’s hand lying between hers. “From
the stories James told me, I would need to be in Graham Castle in order to be
taken back to my own time. But the MacAirth took me with him when I helped him
out of the dungeon so I’ve been nowhere near it.”

She glanced at him just as his face paled. He stared at her
for several long moments, obviously attempting to piece together the sequence
of events. “It was
you
who helped him to escape?”

Anna nodded, uncertainty filling her at the sudden strain in
his voice.

“And he…he…” He inspected her giant stomach once again.

Alec ripped his hand from hers and shoved himself onto his
feet. “I will kill him,” he muttered.

As Anna attempted to push to standing, three additional
figures stepped from the shadows behind the altar. She choked back a startled
cry and stumbled backward, losing her footing as her heart pounded in her ears.

Evidently, Alec’s reflexes hadn’t faded nearly as much as
his hair. He caught her under her elbows and lifted her to her feet.

As Anna was about to wrench herself out of his grasp,
certain they had been caught by some of James’ men, one of the robed figures
threw back his hood and asked in Gaelic, “Father, what is wrong?”

She stilled, allowing her father to steady her from behind
as she came face to face with a man who shared her dark-red hair.

The other two figures threw back their hoods as well and all
three men approached. The other two also looked very much like Alec, but they
both sported shoulder-length brown hair.

“Do you see your sister, lads?” Alec spat through gritted
teeth in Gaelic. “The MacAirth did this to her!”

“Sister?” Anna repeated in bafflement, furrowing her brow.

The younger men’s eyes widened as all of their gazes
centered on Anna’s stomach. As if on cue, a contraction began to build. But
this time it was stronger. She wrapped one arm around her stomach, dizziness descending
upon her as the pain increased.

She closed her eyes. Alec grasped her elbow and guided her
backward until the backs of her knees hit the edge of a bench. Gratefully
sinking onto it, she breathed deeply and the contraction slowly eased.

“As soon as we can get her to the MacPhearson’s holding, we
can take our men and march north,” the younger red-haired man muttered. “It is
on our way to MacAirth land anyway.”

“If we can make it that far,” one of the other young men
grumbled. “Just look at her. She is about to drop the babe any moment now.”

“No,” Alec replied. “We need to stand with your uncle. We
cannot allow the MacPhearsons to fight off the Gowrie alone. The MacAirth will
have to wait.”

Anna was finally able to recollect her thoughts and energy
and scooted toward the edge of the bench to stand.

“Sit down, lass.” Her father placed his hand on her
shoulder. “Reserve your strength.”

“Did not the MacAirth decide to keep a red-haired woman some
time ago?” the youngest man asked, thoughtfulness playing across his baby-like
face. “The same woman who helped him escape the Graham dungeon, right?”

The chapel fell silent as all eyes turned toward her. Anna
exhaled with impatience and shook off Alec’s hand so she could stand.

“Yes, he did and yes, I am,” she answered in clipped Gaelic.
She turned toward the young men and glared at them with her fists propped on
her hips. “You will, under no circumstances, attack my husband’s clan. Is that
clear?”

“You speak our language,” the younger, red-headed man
commented in surprise.

“Is that clear?” she repeated, crossing her arms.

When they all nodded, she turned toward Alec, waiting for
his agreement.

“If that is your wish, daughter, and he treats you well, I
will abide.” Alec’s gaze roamed her face as if he were trying to read her
thoughts.

“It is and he does,” she replied, uncertain how comfortable
she was with this stranger calling her “daughter”.

Alec nodded and turned toward his sons. “I suppose I should
introduce you to your brothers. The redhead is Niall, he is my eldest. The
taller one is Sionn and the youngest is Daniel.”

She smiled at each in turn, but her attention centered on
Niall. He did not look much younger than her.

As if he sensed her confusion, Alec caressed her arm. “Once
the stone had gone missing, I could not come back for you or your mother. My
father had made a deal with the MacPhearson for me to marry his daughter while
I was visiting you as a babe and so I was married to my wife within a couple of
months. Niall was born less than a year later. I never thought I would have the
chance to see you again.”

It was silly, but Anna couldn’t help how her heart ached as
though she and her mother had been betrayed. Instead of expressing her
feelings, however, she pushed them aside and simply nodded. Now was not the
time for explanations or in-depth emotional discussions.

“Well now, I suppose you all have a brilliant plan for
getting me out of here,” she stated hopefully, taking a deep breath. “That’s
why you’re here dressed like monks, right?”

Alec smiled tentatively, worry glowing in his eyes. “We have
warriors outside the walls waiting for us.”

“I will take care of the man outside the door.” Sionn drew a
daggerfrom the folds of his robe.

Was he talking about Conn? Sionn almost made it past her
before she grabbed his arm to stop him. “You can’t hurt him. He’s been trying
to help me.”

Sionn’s eyes hardened as he stared down at her. “Make no
mistake, sister. Conn is a Gowrie through and through.”

Anna bristled at his patronizing tone. “You were the ones
who gave him the note for me to come here, were you not?”

“Well, yes.” Niall stepped forward. “But he is still a
Gowrie and we have seen him play both sides before. In fact, one of our men is
outside right now to keep an eye on him.”

She met the gaze of each man in turn, her nerves close to
fraying. “Look, I saved his life once before when Galen was ready to kill him.
He owes me.”

“You what?” Sionn asked in disbelief. “I cannot believe the
MacAirth would have deferred to a mere woman.”

Heat rose to Anna’s cheeks and she stepped menacingly toward
her younger brother. “You listen here, you little squirt.” She poked him in the
chest as she glared at him. “I spent a long time sewing Conn up and resetting
his wrist and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you ruin all of my hard work.
Oh…”

Anna stepped back and grabbed her stomach as another
contraction set in.

Sionn’s mouth dropped open, his cheeks reddening in
embarrassment. “It is all my fault. I am sorry, Anna. I did not mean…”

Alec waved his son away and rubbed Anna’s back as she bent
over and rested her hands on her knees. “Enough. Go get Conn. Tie him up, gag
him and bring him down into the tunnel with us. We will leave him just under
the chapel. By the time he is found, we will have already made it to
MacPhearson land.”

After several moments, Anna eased herself to standing.
“Tunnel?” she breathlessly asked as she rubbed her lower back.

Alec’s eyes twinkled. “The Gowrie is a paranoid man. Years
ago, he had a tunnel built that leads from the chapel to outside the castle walls.
Having been a trusted subject of his finally offers me an advantage.”

* * * * *

Wagons sucked.

Anna had come to this conclusion after bouncing along in the
back when she was first kidnapped. She still agreed, riding in one again as the
Campbells made their way through the dark woods to the MacPhearson holding.

Her father was right, though. She was in no condition to
ride a horse with her intermittent contractions becoming regular and more
painful. She was not sure where they had found the wagon, but assumed they had
stolen it from some poor farmer who had left it in a field they passed in the
middle of the night.

For hours, Anna drifted in and out of consciousness,
catching brief dozes every now and then between contractions. From what she
could tell, they were still about ten minutes or so apart. Since her water had
not yet broken, she was determined not to worry about labor until it was
necessary. All that mattered was she and her newfound family made it to safety.

It was strange, really, to have so many strangers fawning
over her like a favored child. Guilt-ridden Sionn, still under the impression
he had brought on her contractions by arguing with her, worried over her
comfort. He fluffed a pile of straw to create a makeshift pillow and gave her
his monk’s robe to keep her warm on the journey, even going so far as to tuck
it in around her like a mother fussing over her child. Niall regularly asked if
she needed anything and Daniel whispered periodic updates on their progress as
they passed landmarks…as if she had any clue where they were.