Highland Storms (34 page)

His thoughts turned to Marsaili and something inside him lurched. He couldn’t bear to contemplate her marrying Seton, which was probably what would happen. The devious whoreson would force her somehow, perhaps with the help of more MacGregors. The notion made Brice want to scream. She was his and she might be carrying his child.

He went cold all over.
My child!
Dear Lord, and he might never see it.

We have to escape.

In a blinding flash he realised he couldn’t wait years before seeing Marsaili again, couldn’t allow Seton to get his hands on her.
I love her!
What a fool he’d been. He shook his head at himself. He couldn’t believe he’d fallen for a woman again, had let his heart become ensnared once more, but somehow he knew this was different. Marsaili wasn’t Elisabet. If she ever promised him anything, she’d keep her word. He trusted her. If only he’d had the sense to realise that he loved her earlier, then perhaps she would have sworn to become his wife. Once she’d spoken those words, he knew she’d rather die than marry anyone else.

That’s my Marsaili.

Somehow he had to find a way out of this situation. For now, all he could do was bide his time, but when Ramsay and Alex woke up eventually, they’d put their heads together and come up with some plan.

They simply must.

Seton didn’t think he’d ever been so angry in his life, but as he marched back towards Rosyth House he literally saw red. His kist of gold was gone. The money he’d so patiently hoarded for years had disappeared and there were only two alternatives. Either Iain had taken it or the laird had. No one else could have even guessed it existed. Whoever it was, he would find out.

As he came out of the forest, he was astonished to see Iain and his new wife slowly making their way towards the house from the loch, carrying that infernal hound of Marsaili’s on a blanket. He rushed over and brandished his pistol once more.

‘
What in the name of all that’s holy do you think you’re doing? Leave the flea bag and get back inside this instant! Didn’t I tell you to stay in the house?’

Iain shot him a look of disdain. ‘He’s wounded and needs treatment. My wife would like to nurse him and her word is my law. Shoot me for it if you want, I no longer care.’

Seton was speechless at such defiance, but since the pair were heading back towards the house in any case, it didn’t make much difference whether they brought the mangy hound or not. He didn’t look to be long for this world.
And good riddance!

‘
And where’s my gold? Did you take it?’ he demanded. ‘I suppose you thought you’d stop my plans by removing the kist, but I’ll thank you to give it back. It’ll be yours one day, but not yet.’

Iain turned to glare at him with a frown. ‘What kist? What are you talking about?’

‘
You know very well what I mean. The money I’ve been saving up for Bailliebroch. Now give it to me.’

Iain shook his head. ‘I don’t have any money, you know that. Kirsty’s dowry hasn’t been paid out yet and you’ve never given me so much as a merk unless you had to.’ He and Kirsty had reached the stable yard now and carried the large dog into the nearest loose box where they placed him on some hay. They were both panting and red in the face from their heavy burden. Seton still couldn’t understand why they’d go to such efforts for a mere dog.

‘
I’ll go find Flora,’ Kirsty said quietly, without looking at Seton. ‘She’ll know what to do if he needs stitching.’

‘
Stitching? Have you gone mad? He’s not worth the effort,’ Seton spat.

Kirsty fixed him with a narrowed gaze. ‘I’ll be the judge of that, Mr Seton. This hound is my sister’s and I’ll not have him die unless he has to. Are you going to stop me?’

Seton was too astonished by her open challenge to reply. She waited a moment, then left on her errand. ‘You’ll need to curb that tongue of hers,’ he muttered to Iain, but his son stood up and marched over to face him.

‘
I like her exactly the way she is, so just you leave her alone, d’you hear? Now what’s this nonsense about a stolen kist? You shouldn’t have mentioned it in front of her, you know. She’ll tell the laird and then where will you be?’

‘
Hah, he won’t be hearing any tales for a long time, if ever. He’s not coming back in a hurry. I told you.’ The thought of Kinross sailing across the vast ocean towards the colonies cooled his temper somewhat and almost made him smile. Until he remembered his missing hoard. ‘But if you didn’t take my gold, then he must have. Find out from your wife where he might have hidden it. Or better yet, ask Marsaili.’

‘
Marsaili? I can’t ask her, she was taken away by the Redcoats not half an hour ago. Why else do you think she’s not here caring for her dog? Wild horses wouldn’t keep her away normally.’

‘
Taken by the Redcoats?’ Seton felt his heartbeat stutter. What did this mean? And what on earth was Sherringham playing at? He scowled at his son. ‘Why didn’t you stop them? She hasn’t done anything.’

‘
I know that well enough, but what was I to do? One man against a whole troop of Sassenachs? That captain of theirs said he had a warrant for her arrest and everything. I went looking for the laird immediately, but that’s when I found him being taken away as well, on your orders. Anyway, I thought you were in cahoots with the Redcoat so I assumed he was acting on your behalf. Another ploy to make her marry you? Scare her into thinking you her saviour?’ Iain sneered.

‘
No, I had nothing to do with it. We must get her back, immediately.’ He considered his son’s words and remembered he’d had the same idea once before. ‘Although come to think of it, that’s not a bad notion. She ought to be glad to see me for once.’

‘
Well, good luck with persuading the Englishman to release her. I’d rather talk to the devil than have anything to do with that fellow. He’s a nasty piece of work and no mistake.’ Iain spat on the ground for emphasis.

‘
No, you don’t understand. You’ll have to come with me and help rescue her from their clutches. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I doubt he’ll release her unless he feels like it. He won’t listen to me.’

‘
I thought you said you had him exactly where you wanted?’ Iain challenged.

‘
Not with regard to Marsaili. She was never part of the equation. The man’s supposed to smooth my way towards buying back Bailliebroch, nothing more. Apart from arresting Kinross, of course, but that didn’t work out too well.’

Iain shook his head. ‘So you’re telling me Marsaili really is at the mercy of the Redcoats?’

‘
Aye, isn’t that what I’ve been saying? We must go after them. Saddle the
garrons
.’

Iain glanced at the dog, who was whimpering slightly and panting. Seton couldn’t believe his son would care what happened to the animal. He was probably only doing it to please his wife. Seton shook his head. One of these days Iain would be ruled by his head instead of what was in his breeches.

‘
Leave him, your wife can take care of him.’

Before Iain could reply, Kirsty returned, closely followed by Flora. She was frowning and carrying a note. She held it out to Seton. ‘This is addressed to you. I found it in the great hall.’

Seton swore under his breath, but unfolded it quickly.

‘
Damn and blast it!’ Seton threw the note at Iain, who caught it and read it, with Kirsty and Flora looking over his shoulders. Seton swore some more. It wasn’t his fault the laird had escaped. And now Sherringham was ruining everything. It was not to be borne. ‘Come, Iain, leave the women to deal with the mutt. We need to leave now if we’re to have any chance of catching them. And find us some weapons.’

‘
I thought you handed those over to the Sassenach.’

‘
No, he left them behind. Hurry!’

Iain looked at Kirsty, who nodded. ‘If you’re going to save Marsaili, go, but keep an eye on him.’ She glanced meaningfully at her father-in-law. ‘I don’t trust him. Especially not now I’ve read that note.’

Iain kissed her hard on the mouth, then bent to whisper what Seton assumed were sweet nothings in her ear before he finally went to do his father’s bidding.

Seton shook his head. The boy was going soft.

The first thing Marsaili saw when she came to was something red which flickered in front of her eyes. She blinked to try and clear her vision, while registering that her cheek was being rubbed against scratchy material. This proved to be the back of an English soldier’s jacket, which explained the red. She’d been leaning against him because someone had tied her to him, presumably so she wouldn’t fall off the back of his horse.

She lifted her cheek as far away from him as possible and wrinkled her nose at the smell of wool. The soldier himself wasn’t too fragrant either, but she had to suffer this as she couldn’t put any distance between them. He turned his head to glance at her and nodded. ‘So you’re awake at last. That’s good.’

Marsaili wasn’t so sure. ‘Where am I?’ she croaked, her throat feeling as parched as a dirt road on a hot summer’s day. ‘And where are we going?’

‘
To gaol, of course. Where else d’you think prisoners end up?’ The fellow sounded very cheerful and if she’d had full use of her limbs, Marsaili reckoned she would have tried to throttle him. As it was, she found her hands well trussed too, so there was no hope of her doing anything of the sort.

‘
I don’t understand what it is I’m supposed to have done,’ she complained. ‘Surely you can’t go around arresting people for no reason.’

‘
The cap’n has a warrant says you’re a suspected Jacobite,’ the soldier informed her. ‘You’ll have to prove otherwise, but it might take weeks before your case is ’eard. Meanwhile, you’ll enjoy a spell in ’is Majesty’s finest accommodation.’ He chuckled and Marsaili had to grit her teeth to stop from saying something very unladylike.

‘
How come you were given the honour of my company?’ she asked sarcastically. She saw several lascivious glances coming her way from the men in front of and beside them, but this one seemed unmoved by her nearness.
Thank the Lord for small mercies!

‘’
Cause I’m the only one the cap’n can trust with a woman on account of the fact I don’t like ’em. I’ll keep you safe for ’im.’

‘
What?’ Marsaili didn’t understand at first, but then something scandalous she’d once heard about men who preferred the company of young boys surfaced in her brain. She felt her cheeks turn scarlet. ‘Oh.’

‘
Precisely.’

Marsaili drew in a deep breath and hoped the colour in her face was subsiding. She decided to change the subject and looking around her, she suddenly realised they weren’t riding along the English road, as she’d expected, but a narrow Highland track. ‘So we’re going to Fort George then? Or one of the others, Fort William maybe?’ She suppressed a shiver. She’d heard many a tale about what could happen to anyone taken there.

‘
No.’

‘
Where then?’ She was surprised at his answer.

‘
You’ll see soon enough. Now cease your prattle. I’m not s’posed to talk to you at all.’

Marsaili decided there was no point prolonging the conversation in any case. Besides, she felt nauseous from a severe headache and the motion of the horse. Swallowing hard she concentrated on keeping the contents of her stomach where they were.

‘
Ouch, my head! What the hell happened?’

The voice that came out of the darkness, accompanied by a groan, was unmistakeably Ramsay’s. Brice felt him move and heard another muffled protest as he obviously bumped into Alex.

‘
You were knocked out,’ Brice said. ‘Again.’

‘
Fan också
,’ Ramsay swore in Swedish. He sounded very aggrieved and who could blame him? If Brice’s head was sore, his uncle’s had to be twice as bad.

‘
I agree,’ came Alex’s voice. ‘But where are we?’

‘
Can’t you smell it?’ Brice asked. ‘Salt water. We’re on a ship, bound for the Lord only knows where.’ He tried to tamp down on the vexation that was threatening to choke him. It wouldn’t do any good to bemoan his fate. He needed to keep his wits about him. ‘The bad news is we’re being sent to the colonies, presumably as indentured servants.’

‘
What?’

‘
No! That means we’ll be gone for years, if not …’ Brice could almost hear Ramsay’s thought process as the enormity of the situation hit him. ‘Ida! I must get back to her. What will she think? I …’

‘
Wait, calm down.’ Brice lowered his voice, in case anyone was listening to them. ‘The good news is that I heard our captors talking about us having to change ships somewhere in order to get there. That means this is a smaller vessel, not an ocean-going one, so it will have to put in to port somewhere for us to be transferred. When that happens, we have to be ready.’

‘
What do you mean, ready? Oww, my skull …’

‘
Never mind your skull, Ramsay, it’s as thick as granite.’ Brice didn’t know how much time they had to hatch a plan, and therefore there was no room for sympathy at the moment.