Highland Legends 04 - Captive Highlander (3 page)

“I suffered your abuse for the
good of my people.”

“You invited my abuse with your
crude proposal.” He smiled at her. “Sad thing is you enjoyed it in a way you
had not considered.”

For this, she struck him again,
but Ian barely felt the blow. “Stop this!” she choked.

“I want you to know you have the
most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen, so soft and white, and so quick to react
to my touch. All I wanted was to have a taste of your sweet flesh, but alas,
you called a cruel halt before that could occur.” He raised his eyebrow and
gave her the most lecherous leer he could muster. “A taste of you I would
treasure to my grave,” he whispered. “I ken you liked it.”

Katie quivered. She’d like to
take Keith’s mace and beat him. She must control herself. In such a fit of
temper, she might kill her helpless captive. He wanted her angry. It seemed he
did not care if she struck him, but he spoke the truth. His touch lit a fire in
her she had not known before. It was her punishment from God for this blasted
plan of hers. Refusing to let him goad her into striking him again, she bit her
lip in hopes the pain would help her find her balance. “If that is what you
would like to believe,” she said.

“Ah, you gain control of your
anger,” Ian chided.

He read her easily. It made it
harder to keep her temper in check. “I’ll take my leave now,” she said, backing
towards the door to his cell.

“Could you help me to the table
first?” he asked.

“Can you stand?”

Ian tried to push himself from
the bed. His head throbbed. The blow to the head might have been a bit more
serious than he first thought. “My head spins when I try to move.”

Her brow furrowed at his remark.
“Damn Keith and his happy hammer,” she muttered. “If you can manage to stand, I
can help you. I canna lift you without calling Keith back and I doubt he would
approve.”

Ian gazed into the very heart of
her. “A little help might go a long way,” he suggested. Katie came close and
grabbed his arm, helping him to his feet. Taking immediate advantage, Ian pulled
her to him. “Thank you,” he breathed. He could feel her heart thundering in her
chest and her short excited breaths.

“Let go of me!” She tried to pull
away. He held her fast.

“Sweet Katie, I am so out of
balance. Help me back to the bed.”

She snorted, but obliged. “You
promised not to misbehave,” she complained.

“Is this misbehaving?”

“Aye, so.”

“One would not ken you felt so by
the shiver it caused.”

“Arrogant ass! Fear makes my
heart thunder and my breath grow short.” She jerked away from him. Ian leaned
back on his makeshift bed.

“So you admit it excites you.”

“’Tis fear alone which makes me
react so,” she insisted.

He smiled. “If that is what you
would like to believe, virgin Katie.”

Shaking, she ran out the door of
his cell, slammed it closed, and locked it. “There is food in the sack. If
you’re lucky I’ll come back to replenish your stores.”

“I shall look forward to it,” he
said, watching her flush in fury. She turned on her heel and fled the dungeon.
Ian let his eyes drift closed knowing exactly what would fuel his dreams in
this dark and dingy hole.

Chapter 4

Katie struggled composing herself
after her encounter with Ian. He was not what she expected. It confounded her
to no small degree that his touch made her feel alive in a way she had never
known before. She had no choice now. Her plan moved forward and she must finish
it for the good of all.

Drained from lack of sleep, she
needed to make her presence known and hope Rannoch had not noticed her absence.
She wanted to see her father. It hurt to see him in his current state. She
didn’t know if she could bear it without some additional company. Katie would
gather her siblings and they would go as a group. To that end, she made her way
to the spot where she expected to find them.

The sun came through the clouds
and lit the walled courtyard near the lower entrance to the keep. Brianna,
named for their father and two years Katie’s junior, tormented their younger
brother Jamie. “You canna have it,” she cried, holding a bejeweled dagger
behind her.

“Da gave it to me,” he responded,
lunging toward Brianna.

Her golden-brown hair flew in the
wind as she danced back waving the knife above her head. “You cut Tessa’s dress
with it.”

“I needed to know if ‘twas
sharp.”

Brianna resembled Highland laird
Brian Blackburn more than any of them did. She had his hair color and his green
eyes. Tessa, the youngest, came over and looped her arm around Katie’s waist.
“They fight again,” she complained.

“Aye, ‘tis in their nature.”

Smiling, Katie watched Brianna
and Jamie spar. Her brother’s golden hair did not match Brianna’s at all, but
they both shared the bewitching green eyes of their father. When their mother
died giving birth to Tessa, Katie became more like a mother to her fellow
siblings. Some days she resented it. Today wasn’t one of those days. Stroking
Tessa’s hair, Katie smiled. The child had the most fantastic coloring,
white-blond hair, and blue-violet eyes. “Dinna fear, little one. ‘Tis just a
spat. Did he really cut your dress?”

“Aye,” Tessa responded. “‘Twas my
idea to test the sharpness of this blade.

Katie burst out laughing.
“Brianna, give it to Jamie. Tessa asked him to do it.”

Brianna turned to stare at them.
“Is it so, Tess? Did you suggest such folly?”

With a grin and a shrug, Tessa
nodded. “God’s teeth, here,” Brianna said tossing the dagger in Jamie’s general
direction. He caught it with ease.

“I would have you all accompany
me to see father,” Katie said.

“Will father be better today?”
Tessa asked. “We need him back.”

“Aye, we do, but I dinna expect it.
He seems to grow worse instead of better,” Brianna said.

Katie shot her a glare. “We must
be patient and hope the illness runs its course.” Katie’s thoughts flew to the
upcoming visit. She prayed for her father to show some signs of life, but
whatever malady gripped him made his soul captive in a body which could not
move or speak. He still lived inside the motionless shell. She could tell by
the gleam in his eye or the occasional tear trickling from his eye. Other than
that, he lay deathly still.

Brianna sniffed. “Why do you
coddle Tess with false hope? We all ken he’s going to die.”

Tess began to cry at the remark.
“I dinna have a mother. I canna lose my father,” she wailed.

“See what you’ve done now.” Katie
rolled her eyes at her sister.

“I canna go in there and look at
him today. I’m staying right here.” Brianna crossed her arms across her chest
and planted herself on a stone bench in the courtyard. “You are my sister, not
my mother, and you canna make me go.”

Jamie ambled over. “Come on,
girls. We’ll go without her.”

Thankful for her brother’s
support, Katie grasped Tessa’s hand and the three of them entered the keep.

“Is father really going to die?”
Tessa asked. Her small face transformed into a tearful frown.

“’Tis up to God now, Tess. For
now we must pray nightly for his recovery.”

Her little sister looked up at
her with tear-filled eyes. “I pray for it all throughout the day,” she
whispered. “And still it doesna happen.”

“God’s will is done regardless of
the desires of the living.”

Jamie gave Katie a look of
approval for the way she handled Tessa’s fears. “Listen to Katie, she knows.”
Grabbing Tessa’s other hand he walked with them through the hallways to their
father’s chamber.

Katie wrapped lightly on the door
although she was not sure why. Her father could neither move nor speak. Unless
someone attended him, no one would answer.

“Come,” a voice echoed out from
beyond the door.

Katie scowled. It was the
so-called healer. Pushing open the door, Katie entered the chamber followed by
her siblings. The stench of illness filled the chamber. It smelled as if her
father rotted away while the world went on without him. Trying not to gag,
Katie led her siblings into the chamber.

Sorcha Blaine stood near the bed,
her jet black hair swirling around her exposed, marble-white shoulders. Full
breasts rose from her red, low-cut gown. Jamie savored the view until Katie
poked him back to attention. Sorcha’s dark eyes met Katie’s gaze briefly then
she turned back to her patient. The Irish healer leaned down and wiped her
father’s brow with a cloth.

“He grows weaker,” Sorcha said.

Katie’s stomach turned as she
moved further into the dim chamber and came closer to the man who had always
been her rock. Now he lay helpless with drivel and spit running down his chin.
“When did this start?” Katie questioned.

Sorcha stepped back from the bed
to allow them closer. “Yesterday, I searched for you, but I couldna find you
anywhere.”

If Sorcha knew Katie was not at
Duntaigh yesterday, Rannoch knew. The two of them always whispered together in
dark corners. “What is that odor?”

“’Tis the medicine I rubbed on
his chest,” the healer replied.

“The stench alone could do him
in,” Katie snapped. Giving Sorcha a withering glare, Katie came to the bedside.
“Could you let us have a few moments alone with him?”

“Of course, Milady.” She paused
as she stepped back. “Laird Rannoch was looking for you.”

“Rannoch is our ward during our
father’s illness. He is not laird here.”

Sorcha’s dark eyes flashed
briefly with an unnamed fire, and then she nodded. “Aye, so, Milady. Forgive my
careless tongue.” With that, she left the chamber.

“The Red Witch, that’s what they
call her,” Jamie said. “I dinna think she has a gown of any other color.”

“You didna seem to mind her
display.”

“I grow quickly into a man,” her
brother replied. “She invites attention.”

Holding up her hand, Katie
discouraged further discussion. She watched Tessa take her father’s hand and
begin a long conversation about the new puppy the stableman found for her.
Casting a glance around the room, Katie prayed for strength. She walked over
and shoved back the curtains from the narrow windows to let some daylight into
the room. With some light streaming in, the chamber seemed more acceptable.
Sorcha preferred to lurk in the shadows. In one corner sat a table full of
herbs and supposed cures. These were the property of the Irish healer.

Katie’s attention returned to the
massive bed. Tall and finely carved it overflowed with fine bedding fit for a
king. Alas, the king of this keep lay helpless as a newborn babe. At least a
child could move. Her father let out a whining gurgle. Katie stepped over and
stroked his brow. His mouth twisted as if he wanted to tell her something. She
leaned closer, but to no avail. The sounds he made were not words.

Tessa’s hopeful face shined up at
her. “He grows better,” she said. “He tries to speak. I see him whole in my
mind’s eye. It will happen.”

Katie cringed at her little
sister’s reference. Tessa swore she knew certain events would happen before
they occurred. The family discouraged her discussion of this claimed foresight
in fear the church would accuse the child of heresy or worse. If there were
ever one of her sister’s visions Katie wanted to become reality, it was this
one, but the whole idea of such things being possible went against everything
she believed. Katie bit her lip to keep from crying. Stroking Tessa’s shoulder,
she sighed.

“Aye, Tess. He does look better
today,” Jamie said with a surety Katie did not have.

She closed her eyes and prayed
for strength.

At that moment, the door burst
open. Rowan Rannoch entered the room with Sorcha at his heel. “Where have you
been?” he said, roughly grasping Katie’s arm. “I searched the whole castle
looking for you yesterday.”

Katie stiffened and pulled away
from his grasp. “I didna ken I had to keep you advised of my every move,” she
said.

“I am your ward, responsible for
your safety. If I ask your whereabouts or your plans, you will tell me.” His
cold, gray eyes stared holes through her as he waited for a response. “Well?
Where were you yesterday? This is the first I’ve seen you in days.”

How much of a lie could she get
away with? He would badger her until she came up with some reason for her
absence. Closest to the truth was the best. “Yesterday Keith took me to Rannoch
Moor. It grew late and too dangerous to travel, so we camped there before
returning.” She looked at her father, and then back at Rowan. “Could we go into
the hall?”

He nodded and opened the door for
her as they stepped outside the chamber. Sorcha sought to follow them, but
Katie blocked her way. “I need to speak with my ward alone,” she said closing
the door in Sorcha’s face.

Rowan Rannoch studied her with
his brooding eyes. He should have been handsome with his thick, dark hair and
rugged features. Somehow, he was not, at least not to Katie. “You camped on
Rannoch Moor?”

“’Tis so sad to see father like
this. I can barely force myself to his chamber every day.” She drew a deep
breath. “I told Keith I had to get away, just for a bit. He agreed to be my
guard. I spent the afternoon riding on Rannoch Moor, and then ‘twas so late we
camped at the shepherd’s cabin on Belfour Ridge before returning.”

“Hardly suitable for you to take
a lone man with you on such a journey,” he snapped. His glittering eyes flashed
into hers. “I wilna have you do it again, Katie.”

“Keith is my father’s oldest and
dearest friend and counselor. Surely you dinna suggest he favors me in any
perverse way.”

“I dinna think he does, but you
are far too trusting.” He relaxed his stance. “You need something else to think
about, perchance a wedding.”

“Wedding?”

“Aye, so. ’Tis past time I took a
wife. I sent a missive to Robert the Bruce explaining that due to your father’s
illness, I have become your ward. I asked him to grant me permission to marry
you.”

Katie could not hide her shock at
his suggestion. “Milord, you are my ward.”

“Aye and many wards marry their
charges to best protect them when they see fit. Your father is tragically
infirmed. I dinna ken if he will ever recover. I can protect you. I will guard
your castle and lands until your father is well or Jamie is old enough to take
over. I pointed these things out to the king. I’m sure he will agree with my
proposal.” He reached across and ran his hand over her cheek. “What say you,
Katie?”

Rannoch’s touch did not compare
with the touch of Ian Innes. It was so loathsome to think of being Rannoch’s
wife. She had to fight to keep from running down the hall. “I am too young to
wed. I canna possibly think of it until my father’s plight is sure.”

“Not too young,” he corrected.
“You are of the right age to marry and bear children. We will talk of it again
and in time you will come to see the benefit.” Gazing lustfully at her, he
smiled. “If Robert the Bruce approves, you will be mine regardless of your
wishes.”

“Robert is too occupied fighting
the English to consider such a request. I would go now and visit with my
father,” she said. Brushing by him, she fled back into the chamber where the
one she needed to protect her lay suffering in a private hell.

Rannoch found the one he sought.
Draco Drummond struck fear in men’s hearts by his very appearance. His name
derived from the Celtic word for dragon, an apt description for the hulking,
scarred warrior.

“Follow Katie Blackburn. I want
to know everything she does. Find out what she is hiding. You will report only
to me. Do you understand?”

“Aye, Milord.” Draco hesitated.
“Milord, it might be helpful to ken what are you thinking?”

Rannoch let out a frustrated
sigh. “I am not sure, but it is odd that she should be missing around the same
time the Dragon of Dunbocan had his gathering of clans. Could it be Katie
intercepted Laird Blackburn’s invitation and went herself? She has questioned
my judgment of late and encouraged me to seek peace. She doesna ken I am the
one stirring up the Innes clan.”

“King Edward counted on you to
attend and report back.”