Highland Vengeance (12 page)

Broderick continued to follow Olivia
around where ever she went and this annoyed the beautiful countess
to the edge of her limits. Never before had she felt like a
prisoner in the wide-open air. Olivia tried to reason with her
husband but this subject seemed to be where he was most stubborn.
Camden refused to gamble with her safety. So all day, every day,
the massive man with dark hair and dark eyes shadowed her every
move.

Most of the days, Olivia was consumed
with organizing the small village and working with the women to
provide for the men. Today though, she had caught a glimpse of the
men training in the field and her heart skipped a beat as Olivia
watched Camden easily rule the battle. Her husband was truly an
amazing combatant and she would love to have a chance to duel a
sword with him.

When she headed towards the small
field, Olivia noticed her legs were moving but she was not touching
the ground anymore. The giant brute behind her had grabbed Olivia
by the shoulders and lifted her up to stop her from walking in to
the battling men.

“
Broderick, put me down,
damn it!” She yelled.

“
I am sorry m’lady but you
cannot go down there,” he explained.

Olivia used her foot and kicked it back
into Broderick sensitive manhood and he instantly dropped her to
the ground. The countess did not feel a bit sorry for the crumpled
oaf that panted on the cold earth behind her. She hoped Broderick
had learned that touching her again would be a great mistake.
Olivia quickly left him there and ran to the field to participate
in the action. Her arms and legs were begging for the exercise
since she had arrived. Olivia grabbed a large sword from a man that
was waiting for his turn to fight and the brave woman smiled as she
studied the moves of her opponent. The training warriors Stephan,
Calum and Liam were too busy, as was their laird, sparring with the
men in the field that none had noticed her standing
there.

Broderick whistled loudly to get the
attention of his laird and the guards. It had worked too for all of
them stopped their training rather suddenly and then all eyes were
on Olivia and the sword in her hand. She could not tell what they
were thinking but it only mattered to her, what Camden thought.
Olivia looked into her husband’s eyes and then started to move
towards him dragging the giant sword with her.

At first, the laird was furious that
his beautiful wife was even this close to the danger of the men in
training. Camden knew his guard were skilled and would certainly
never cause harm to her but these other men were weak and an
accident was inevitable. As Camden watched her walk to him with
confidence, most of his fury started to fade. He decided to prove
to her once and for all, that she needed protecting.

Camden tried hard not to laugh as
Olivia continued to drag the heavy blade because he was certain it
weighed more than she did. He was also trying hard not be so turned
on by her apparent bravery. Hell, she was a courageous lass for
sure, but maybe not as bright as he had once thought.

“
Laird Sinclair, may I try
some of my own skills and train with you. It might do the men and
your warriors some good to know different techniques used in sword
fighting,” she boasted.

“
Lady Sinclair, you may show
us your skills if you will promise not to interrupt our training
again,” Camden replied, wondering if Olivia could even lift the
weapon over her head.

“
My Laird is ever so kind,”
she said softly and demurely as she batted her eyes.

While entranced by her beauty, Olivia
seized the opportunity at hand. She quickly raised the sword with
ease and caught Camden off guard. The muscular woman used the flat
of her blade to hit her opponent’s hand. Unprepared for the blow,
Camden dropped his sword and before he could blink, Olivia
squatted, swung one leg behind his, and knocked the giant man to
the ground. She gave him a wicked grin while she stood with one
foot on his chest and the tip of her blade pressing carefully at
his neck.

“
My first bit of wisdom for
your men would be to never under estimate your opponent,” Olivia
laughed.

She moved to let him up and then the
husband and wife immediately began dueling with their blades.
Camden was fierce but Olivia met him strike for strike. The
countess was unbelievably fast and she wielded the weapon as
strongly as his men did. The laird was trying hard not to lose his
focus, for seeing her talent was spectacular. Olivia was working up
a glistening sweat in the battle and he was reminded of her glowing
bare skin after he had thoroughly satisfied her the night
before.

“
My laird,” she yelled, “you
may think I am weak for I am just a woman but I have endurance like
you have never seen. I will end this when you grow tired,” she
taunted.

Camden then smiled. “Aye, wife I have
seen your endurance, remember? I know exactly how long it takes to
wear you out.”

Olivia was stunned and lost her focus.
How could he embarrass her by saying something so personal like
that in front of these men? She prayed that none of them had heard
the bawdy comment because she knew she had turned ten shade of red.
Camden had Olivia’s sword in a matter of seconds and the laird
showed her no mercy as he tackled her to the ground.

“
My bit of wisdom for you
wife is to never battle the man you have made love to the night
before,” he whispered in her ear.

Camden stood and helped Olivia to her
feet. The men suddenly burst into cheers for the incredible show
they had just witnessed. Never had they seen a woman with abilities
like that. In fact, most of the men there did not have expertise
like hers. Camden’s guard kneeled and bowed to Olivia while she
stood there sweating and breathing heavily. She could not figure
out what they were doing.

“
Camden, why are your
warriors on their knees?” She asked.

“
I believe they are giving
you a sign of acceptance in the most noble manner. They see you as
one of them,” he smiled.

Olivia laughed and told them to
stand.

“
Maybe all of you will
understand why I fight you so much about weak women,” she
smiled.

“
M’lady, you are not weak. I
do not think our laird was holding back with his strength either.
You must be mad lass!” Liam said.

Stephan still had his mouth slightly
open while he tried to think of something to say. Broderick had
composed himself enough to witness the battle and felt a bit
foolish for not giving Olivia more trust. Then again, never had he
heard of a woman that had such superior sword skills.

“
M’lady, you are truly
worthy of the title warrior and you may protect my back at any
time,” Broderick said with a huge smile.

With all that had just happened on the
training field none of them had noticed the commotion that was
happening in the village. When the shouting and cheering became so
loud, the group of battling men and Olivia hurried to investigate.
As they came into the crowd, Camden yelled to gain order from the
chaos. The clan cleared a path for their laird and his wife and
that was when Olivia saw that the massive loaded wagons she sent
for had arrived.

Camden stood astonished and then became
furious inside as he realized where these wagons had come from. Did
she dare think that he and his clan needed pity from the English?
He would not accept the charity even if it meant his clan would
suffer.

The laird’s wife ran to the wagons when
everyone started to pull and grab items from the wagon as if they
had never seen food before. Olivia would not let their excitement
and greed ruin everything she had sent for. This was not how she
imagined this scene would be.

“
Enough!” She
yelled.

No one seemed to be listening and she
looked to her husband for help. One glance at his angered face made
Olivia shiver, for that was how he looked when he walked towards
her on their wedding day. She decided that maybe Broderick would
help her organize this mess. She looked to him and pleaded with her
eyes. He understood immediately.

Broderick stood on top of the center
wagon and bellowed a deafening scream of order. The silence that
followed was eerily calm.

“
How dare you people act
like wild animals, fighting with one another over the goods that
have been sent by God himself. All of you will stop this at once
and whoever chooses to take another item from these wagons will
suffer their punishment from me,” Broderick yelled.

Olivia was grateful for his loud
commanding voice and she wondered why Camden had walked away from
the wagons as if the sight sickened him. Had he not given this task
to her? She climbed up next to Broderick and looked at all of the
clan staring at her, waiting for her to give the orders.

“
Everything in these wagons
was sent here as a wedding gift to me and Laird Sinclair from my
dear sister in-law in England. It is all for the well-being of our
clan, as a whole and it will be used as such. My lairds’ warriors
will oversee the goods and you will all obey and help them. Travis
and Keith you will see to the food storage. Calum please take care
of the cooking utensils and firewood. Stephan, you will see to the
clothing, material and blankets. Liam will you make sure the extra
horses are cared for and Broderick will you please take care of the
weapons and armor.”

Within moments the entire area was
organized and everyone was working together to unload the wagons.
Liam was already having some men construct a large barn for the new
horses and the clan had come together to share the provisions. This
is what Olivia had hoped for and she knew that with these supplies
they would be able to endure the winter weather.

Olivia was more than grateful that the
wagons had come today for the sky was beginning to look very
threatening and she was sure that by night, the snow would be
falling. She was right too because the air became extremely frigid
and it was not long after everything was stored away that the first
flakes fell from the sky.

The women had made a hearty meal for
everyone and they were all enjoying the fresh food and ale together
as a clan. Everyone that is, except for Olivia and Camden. She had
become worried about her husband after he had walked off earlier
and had not returned. Before it got too dark, Olivia grabbed a long
heavy cape and went to look for Camden.

It did not take her long to track his
path and she found her husband kneeling against a massive boulder.
He had his head bowed and his golden hair fell around his face
covering any expression he may have had. Camden could not hear her
there but he knew Olivia was standing close by. Nothing else but
her could smell of roses this time of year. The laird wondered
first, how she could have found him and second, why she wanted to
find him.

“
Camden, I do not wish to
interrupt your prayer but I am worried about you and it is getting
dark,” she said softly.

Worried about me, he thought, I am not
some weak Englishman that could not be out in the cold dark night
without catching fever. Why is she so worried about me?

“
May I ask you a question?”
She said, moving to be near him.

“
Don’t you always?” He said
dryly as he stood to face her.

“
You did say that I could be
in charge of getting food, did you not?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then why are you so upset
that I have done my duty?”

“
I didn’t know that you had
turned to the damn English for help. Do you not see how weak that
makes me look?” He said harshly.

Her blood instantly started heating and
she tried to calm herself. Olivia felt embarrassed whenever she had
sudden outbursts in front of her husband.

“
Camden what you just said
does not offend me because I am a Scotswoman now but in the future
when you speak of the damn English, remember that you are referring
to my family and I will not forgive you after this moment,” she
said with her teeth clenched.

He stared at her and thought of all the
tiny pieces to her puzzle. Camden thought he probably would never
figure this woman out but he was certainly enjoying the game of
trying. So, he thought, she thinks of herself as a Scotswoman. Aye,
that was pleasing to him. Camden grinned broadly at his wife and
watched her face flush quickly.

“
Camden, don’t smile at me
like that. First, I am furious at you for thinking that I would
actually ask for help. You obviously still do not know your wife
very well. I hate to ask for help from anyone. Everything that was
sent here, was a wedding gift from my sister in-law, Ella. I knew
right away that you would not accept charity from the Duke of
Lansington so I did not bother asking my brother. I did however,
explain to Ella how the new clan was just like her wonderful family
that she had grown up with and then I told her how much I would
love to have all of my jewelry sent here for me to
wear.”

“
So my wife needs her
jewelry? Is that what you are missing from England?” He
wondered.

“
No you fool! Are you not
listening? Do I look like I am fond of jewelry? Ella’s family was
very poor so I compared our clan to her family and she knows how
much I hate to wear jewelry. Ella is very smart and I knew she
would figure out what I really wanted. I got exactly what I needed
without asking for a bit of help.”