Highland Vengeance (27 page)

“
Do not take offense but I
only trust my men and you do not know of what the MacKay bastard is
capable of.”

“
Please fill me and do not
leave any part out.”

The men discussed both battles and
Olivia’s brush with death. The king watched as the emotion played
across Camden’s face when he described almost losing Olivia. King
James was impressed with Lady Sinclair’s skills and the stories of
her bravery. He told Camden that he would love to witness her
battle with a sword one day. After recounting the details of
Malcolm’s treachery, Laird Sinclair told the king that they were
taking Olivia to England to stay with her brother while they hunted
down Malcolm. King James gave his full approval for the Highland
warriors to bring the criminal to justice and in Camden’s mind that
meant death.

Olivia and her younger cousin, Princess
Margaret had a polite conversation and it became apparent to Lady
Sinclair that the English royal had grown up rather quickly. Olivia
knew that she too, had matured since her marriage to Camden and all
that she had been through since. The two of them playing together
as young girls in the palace was a distant memory now for them
both. Princess Margaret was jealous when her cousin told her of all
that had happened. The young Scottish queen enjoyed hearing the
exciting tale of Olivia’s bravery and survival of the past several
weeks.

The Highlanders were invited to join
the royal couple for a feast that evening and the massive warriors
welcomed the large spread. Camden’s soldiers had their fill of warm
food and Olivia tried hard to keep a straight face as she watched
the king gawk at how much the men consumed. She was used to seeing
her husband and his guard eat more in one sitting than most did all
day. King James offered each of them private sleeping chambers for
the night but Camden refused to have his men split up. Laird
Sinclair, his wife and the five soldiers slept on the floor by the
hearth in the keep. Being in Edinburgh made Camden more cautious of
his surroundings knowing that Malcolm could be nearby. As she tried
to get comfortable on the hard stone floor, Olivia squirmed against
her husband.

“
Go to sleep wife,” Laird
Sinclair said gruffly.

“
I am trying to but I think
the ground outside is softer than this solid floor.”

“
M’lady would you like my
plaid to sleep on?” Liam asked.

Olivia knew the soldiers were close by
but she did not know they were listening to every word she said.
She quickly became embarrassed for whining about her comfort and
the countess did not want the men to think she had become
weak.

“
Liam, it is polite of you
to offer your plaid for an ordinary woman but would you dare offer
it to your laird?” She asked.

“
No m’lady,” he
replied.

“
I did not think so. I will
only forgive you this one time for thinking of my comfort Liam,
next time I shall beat you to a bloody mess.”

Camden could have sworn he heard each
one of his men chuckling quietly while his wife huffed in fury. He
pulled Olivia closer to him and tucked her head under chin. The
laird held her in his arms so that she was almost completely off
the hard ground and tried to make her as comfortable as
possible.

“
You certainly are no
ordinary woman,” Camden said softly.

All five of the fierce Highland
warriors said, “Aye” out loud to agree with their laird. There was
no one like Olivia anywhere else. Laird Sinclair never fully fell
into a deep sleep for he wanted to keep his senses aware of all
that surrounded him. Camden listened to Olivia as her breathing
deepened and she became lost in her dream world. She whispered
words that had no logic and it was hard for Camden to understand
what his wife’s visions were about. Once she was safely in England,
Laird Sinclair would find Malcolm and make sure that his wife never
had to see him in her nightmares again.

In the early morning hours, Olivia was
the last to mount her horse after hugging her cousin goodbye and
the group said farewell to the Scottish royalty. The Highlanders
made their way through the city of Edinburgh and Camden realized
that the looks from the lowlanders would never change. They always
seem to stare with their mouths open and a glazed look in their
eyes at the sight of the massive warriors. Laird Sinclair was
grateful for the power he held over them because it was better to
have them terrified of him rather than not afraid at
all.

It took another two full days of riding
before the group reached the border of the Lansington estate.
Olivia had led the way once they reached England and the closer
they became, the more excited the countess was to see her family.
She let the men know when they were on her brother’s property and
Camden was shocked to see how beautiful the terrain was, even
towards the end of winter. Olivia slowed her mount to trotting pace
and then stopped as the group broke through the dense forest. The
sight before her was wonderful as the valley opened up and
Lansington Castle came into view. Laird Sinclair was not surprised
at the large holding and the small village that surrounded it, for
he assumed a royal duke would have such an estate. He was shocked
though that his humble wife had grown up there. She truly had no
belief in extravagance and Camden loved that about her.

“
You are going to like my
family even though they are English,” Olivia announced to
everyone.

“
If they are like you
m’lady, I am sure we will,” Keith replied.

Olivia laughed loudly. “Actually they
are nothing like me but you will still like them,” she
smiled.

“
Alright wife, lead the
way,” Camden nodded with a smile.

Chapter Thirteen

The Highlanders received a wonderful
welcome from the Duke and Duchess of Lansington. A crowd of people
surrounded Olivia as she jumped from her horse in the courtyard of
the beautiful castle. Camden assumed that the large man with the
same eyes as Olivia was her brother Garrison. He watched as the
siblings hugged one another and from the smile on his wife’s face,
it was easy to see how much she loved her brother. Laird Sinclair
immediately dismounted and headed towards the duke, extending his
hand for new brother-in-law’s welcome. The two muscular men clasped
hands and Camden was comforted by Garrison’s warm smile. The laird
immediately felt a certain trust for the man he just met and Camden
was grateful to him for raising Olivia so well.

“
I am Garrison, it is good
to meet you. I guess I owe you an apology for sending my
temper-mental sister off to the Highlands. I hope you have not
asked her to be obedient,” the duke laughed.

Camden smiled at the man teasing his
wife and thought that Garrison must have been a saint for dealing
with his sister’s feisty spirit his whole life. He saw the fury on
his wife’s face and knew that her brother’s remarks had irritated
her.

“
Actually no apology is
necessary. It is I who owe you my thanks for letting this rare
treasure come into my life and do not worry, I learned quickly that
she would not obey,” he replied with a smirk.

Olivia smiled at her husband and his
words seemed to make her forget the taunting words from her
brother.

“
So then you are my same old
Livy! I hoped you wouldn’t change for a man. My wife is dying to
see you.”

“
Where is Ella?”

“
She is in the garden with
the children,” Garrison answered.

Olivia turned and received more
welcomes from those that were there to greet her. The Sinclair
guards had gotten off their horses and watched as their laird’s
wife was engulfed by many well wishers. They noticed in particular
one older woman that was weepy at the sight of Lady Sinclair and
they were not sure whether she was happy or sad at Olivia’s
arrival.

Laird Sinclair introduced his guard to
Garrison and the duke was impressed with the warriors that
protected his sister. He was not surprised that Olivia fit in with
these men and Garrison thought this must be her dream come true. As
everyone began to follow Olivia around to the gardens, Camden
nodded to Garrison and asked him to stay for a moment.

“
There are some things I
need to tell you about, that have happened to your
sister.”

Garrison’s smile immediately changed to
a scowl. “What is the matter?”

“
She is in danger and that
is why I have brought her here to stay with you until I can get rid
of the problem,” Camden explained.

“
I want to know everything,
come with me and we will talk privately,” the duke
insisted.

Camden nodded and then sent his men to
stay by Olivia to watch for anything out of the ordinary. They were
not familiar with their surroundings but they did know what Malcolm
looked like and they would watch carefully for him. Garrison led
the Highland warrior into his private study and then listened to
every gruesome detail of what had transpired over the past several
months, starting with the first attack on the Sinclairs the night
of the wedding. The duke marveled at Olivia’s courageous acts of
bravery but in truth, he was not at all surprised at what she had
accomplished. He could clearly see how much the Highland laird
loved Olivia without needing any vocal expression. Garrison was
sure that his sister must love this man for all that she went
through for him.

The duke offered his army to Camden but
the warrior would not accept the use of an English army. He tried
not to offend Garrison by explaining that it would be greatly
difficult to find Malcolm with a giant English army by his side.
Camden would rather track the man silently and take care of the
villain himself. The highland laird just asked for one favor from
the duke and that was to keep Olivia safe and protected while he
was gone. Garrison of course, agreed and promised to watch over her
until the Highlanders returned.

“
Garrison, do you remember
what message you gave to the king for me?” Camden asked.

“
I am afraid I don’t
remember.”

“
It was sound advice about
your sister and I wish to remind you of that now.”

“
What was that?” the duke
asked.

“
She never stays where you
put her,” Camden said with a huge grin.

The highland warriors followed Olivia
to the large beautiful garden behind the home. They watched as
stewards starting to light giant torches and they saw two children,
a young boy and girl, running towards Lady Sinclair. Olivia
squeezed her niece and nephew tightly and searched all over for her
sister-in-law, Ella. When she saw the beautiful golden-haired
duchess, Olivia was shocked at the size of her pregnant stomach.
Camden’s wife must have been off on her estimation of when the baby
was due for the petite woman looked ready to burst.

“
Ella, I have missed you.
You look wonderful and ready to have to have that baby any day,”
Olivia smiled as she hugged Ella.

“
Actually I believe I still
have at least a month and half before the babe should arrive. Did
you not get my letter?”

“
I am afraid I did not
receive it before we left the Highlands,” Olivia
replied.

“
Why then have you come so
soon? It does not matter really, because you never need a reason to
visit. I have so much I want to speak with you about. I am sorry I
did not attend your wedding, I didn’t even know about it until
after it had taken place. Garrison was in big trouble for that,”
Ella rushed on. “So how is married life? Is your husband treating
you well? Who are the giant men surrounding you? What is Scotland
like and did you receive the things I sent to you?”

Olivia laughed at all her sister’s
questions and she hugged the small woman again.

“
I will tell you everything
but first you must sit down.”

“
Oh yes, shall we go inside?
It is getting rather cold outside and I would not want you to catch
a chill,” Ella said politely.

The Sinclair warriors all chuckled at
what the English version of cold was. Even Olivia thought the
weather was fairly warm compared to the frozen world she had just
come from. The visitors followed Ella into the large keep of the
castle and the older woman the warriors had seen earlier crying
over Lady Sinclair, came into the room with a tray of hot tea for
the guests.

“
It is so glad to have you
here m’lady,” the stout woman said.

“
Thank you Margaret, it is
good to see all of you. Do you happen to know where my husband and
brother are?” Olivia asked.

“
I will find out for you
right away.”

“
Thank you.”

“
Please, all of you be
seated and relax,” Ella said as she managed to sit down without
effort even though her tiny frame barely held the baby she
carried.

“
Ella, this is Liam,
Stephan, Keith, Calum and Travis. They are my husband’s elite guard
of warriors and they are the finest soldiers in all of Scotland,”
Olivia said proudly and then turned to the men. “This is my
sister-in-law, Ella, the Royal Duchess of Lansington.”

The large men each bowed slightly to
Ella to show her respect and then took a seat in the different
chairs around the room. As Olivia watched the warriors struggle to
get comfortable in the small wing-backed chairs and she realized
the scene was almost exactly like the nightmares she had early.
Lady Sinclair frantically began looking around the room for Camden,
and for Malcolm. She knew it was not possible for the evil man to
be there but Olivia had a sick feeling anyway.