Highland Vow (10 page)

“Ye two take care,” he said, briefly clasping each man’s hand before they mounted, then fighting not to pull Elspeth to his side when she gave each man a friendly kiss of farewell.

“We will,” replied Owen, “though ’tis the two of ye who court the most danger. Are ye certain about this plan of yours, Cormac?”

“Nay, but ’tis a good plan all the same. Sir Colin will take time to recover from this defeat. Unless he is charging about Scotland with his entire garrison at his back, the loss of five men will badly hurt him. The fact that these men were mercenaries makes me think the mon left most of his clansmen guarding his lands in case the Murrays came clamoring at his gates. And there is still the chance it will be a long time, if ever, before he kens what happened here last night. Enough time for me and Elspeth to get to court. There is where protection will be needed if Sir Colin persists, if only because there will be a multitude of men there hungry for a coin or two and willing to do most anything to get it. He may e’en have some influence with the king and could get the mon to believe his tale of a kidnapped betrothed. So bring me some Murrays.”

“Trust us,” Paul said even as he and Owen spurred their mounts, quickly disappearing into the morning mists.

“They should be safe, shouldnae they?” asked Elspeth.

Turning to look at her, and almost smiling at the way the cat sitting by her feet was watching him as if it also waited for his assurances, Cormac replied, “Aye, they are skilled at fighting and verra skilled at running and hiding when the odds are heavily against them.”

“Verra good skills to have.”

“They are. Sir Colin doesnae want them, either,”

“Nay, just me.” She shivered and huddled against him when he pulled her into his arms. “I just dinnae understand this, no matter how hard I try. ’Tis madness, I think.”

“The mon wants ye. Mayhap he believes he loves you or thinks ye are what he needs to fulfill some dream.”

“He ne’er revealed such a depth of passion when he courted me. Nay, no passion at all, until I told him nay.”

“Angel, there are men who find a nay a verra great challenge and some who see it as a grave insult and even some who find it a spur to a deep passion, e’en love. And mayhap he is just a wee bit mad.”

“A great deal mad.”

She felt him move against her, the hard proof of his desire shifting against her belly in a strange mixture of almost absentminded desire and need. It was pleasing to know that he could not stop himself from wanting her, that his desire for her was already such a part of him it needed no conscious effort on his part to be stirred to life. It would be even more pleasing if that need and wanting was firmly set a little higher, she thought wryly.

“We are alone now,” he said.

Elspeth glanced up to meet his gaze and saw that the message his body was sending him had finally reached his brain. “Muddy is here.”

“Muddy is a clever cat. He will be able to tell that ’tis time to go and do a little hunting.”

As he talked, he started walking. Since he was still holding her in his arms, that required Elspeth to walk backward. She laughed softly when she stumbled and he simply lifted her up slightly until he was carrying her along.

“Shouldnae we be hastening to leave this place?”

“Aye, we probably should,” he said, stopping at the edge of his crude bed of blankets. “But ’tis still early yet and the next place we shall pause for the night isnae e’en a full day’s ride from here.”

“I was thinking more of the threat of Sir Colin,” she murmured as he set her on her feet and began to take off her clothes.

“E’en he wouldnae be so cruel as to deny us an hour or two of delight.”

“An hour or two?”

Cormac tossd the last of her clothing aside and stared at her. “Weel, maybe not that long.”

She was blushing deeply but did not attempt to hide herself from his gaze, although he noticed that her hands were tightly clenched at her sides and he smiled faintly. The sight of her affected him as powerfully as touching her or tasting her did. She was silken, creamy perfection from her slim neck all the way to her delicate feet. Looking at her and knowing he would soon touch and possess that perfection were anticipation at its keenest. Even if they had a long future ahead of them, instead of mere days, he doubted the pleasure of just looking at her would ever lessen.

He took a deep breath to steady himself as he shed his clothes. His desire for her was always strong, but the thought of how she would soon leave, would soon find another, made it all the sharper. For the first time since he had met Isabel, since he had begun that long, troubled relationship, he had met a woman he would sorely regret parting with. He felt a need to glut himself on her, to make as many sweet memories as he could. For the first time since he had sworn himself to Isabel, he felt regret for that vow and his inability to break it.

Even as Elspeth reached for him, he reached for her. He gently eased her down on the blankets, crouching over her. He prayed for the strength to go slowly. Cormac wanted to savor every delicate, soft inch of her. He wanted to kiss her everywhere, starting at her full, tempting mouth and going all the way down to her cute little toes, then kissing his way all the way back up again. Even as he touched his mouth to hers, he conceded that he might find the willpower to make the trip down—once. As he kissed the hollow at the base of her throat and she stroked his legs with her feet, he was no longer sure he would even make it to her knees.

Elspeth cried out with pleasure when his taunting mouth finally closed around the aching tip of her breast. She thrust her fingers in his thick hair and held him close even as she rubbed her body against his. He was going too slow. She could feel the taut control he exerted over his passion and she was determined to break it.

“Ah, angel,” he groaned against her ribs, “ye arenae helping me. I want to go slow.”

“I ken it. I am just nay sure I can bear it right now,” she said, not surprised at the unsteadiness of her voice, for she was trembling with the strength of her need for him.

When he kissed the dark curls adorning her womanhood, she was shocked over such intimacy in the bright light of day, but only for the length of a heartbeat or two. Then she lost herself to the pleasure of his intimate kiss, all modesty vanquished with a stroke of his tongue. She cried out to him as her passion crested, but he paid her no heed. Nor did he give her any time to recoup her senses, instead quickly driving her to the brink all over again. When she felt herself rushing toward yet another peak, she threatened him with dire consequences if he did not join her on that heady ride.

Cormac laughed and, kneeling between her legs, held her firmly by her slim hips and plunged into her. He groaned, and teeth gritted against the fierce urge to move, he held still. She was so tight, so wet with welcome, and so hot. The pleasure of it went all the way to the marrow of his bones. Then she squirmed against him, wrapping her slender legs tightly around his waist and pulling him in as deep as he could go. All control vanished, and with a soft growl, Cormac proceeded to drive them both to the heights they so hungered for. A shaft of pure satisfaction briefly cut through his blind desire when they found that peak at the same time, relinquishing themselves to the power of their releases as one.

It was a long time before Cormac had the strength or wit to do more than sprawl on top of Elspeth and idly toy with her breasts. As they drew closer to court, Cormac realized that his regrets about having to leave Elspeth were beginning to outweigh his guilt. He did not want to give her up, but he had to. Because he had pledged himself to another, all Elspeth could ever be was his mistress. Cormac knew that would slowly destroy her, even destroy all they shared. He could not treat her or Isabel with such a callous disregard for their feelings, either.

“Now I think we had best set our wee minds back on the problem of eluding Sir Colin,” he said, lightly kissing her as he ended the intimacy of their embrace.

The moment he left her arms, Elspeth sat up and reached for her clothes. “The mention of that mon is as good as a bucket of icy water. Steals all the lovely warmth away.”

“Aye, but better that than risking the chance that the fool might actually get his hands on you.”

Elspeth shivered at the mere thought of that possibility and hurried to finish dressing. In no time at all, they had completed the breaking up of their camp, doing their best to clear away all signs of their presence. Muddy returned just in time to be set in his carrier, licking his lips in a way that told her he had found something to eat.

Cormac looked at the cat idly cleaning himself and showing no qualms about being set in a bag on the back of a horse. “Ye would think he was born to this,” he said and shook his head as he mounted. “He seems to ken everything about traveling.”

“Maybe he was traveling with someone and he got separated from him somehow,”
Elspeth said as she swung herself up on her horse and tried to adjust her skirts a little more modestly. “I did notice that he requires no training, yet I think some should have been required.”

“And mayhap he has enough wit to do just what is needed to have ye keep him at your side.”

She laughed softly and scratched the cat’s head. “That, too, is a possibility. And now he is a hero. A brave wee laddie who risked his own fair neck just to save me.” She exchanged a grin with Cormac over the cat’s loud purring.

“That isnae a wee laddie. ’Tis a monstrous great cat.” He reached out across the small space separating their horses and lightly scratched the cat’s head. “And a clever brute who kens how to make himself indispensible.”

As Cormac nudged his mount into a gentle trot, Elspeth quickly followed suit. She agreed with Cormac’s feeling that it would probably be a while before Sir Colin would be able to trouble them again, but she also felt a small urge to hurry. The attack last night had come too close to costing Cormac and his friends their lives and losing her her freedom. She did not want to go to the king’s court because Isabel was there. However, it could bring her and Cormac some measure of safety. It was now a choice between the risk of losing Cormac to Isabel or watching him die at Sir Colin’s hands. And that, she thought sadly, was no choice at all. It would tear her heart out to lose Cormac to Isabel, but she would rather have that happen than live without him, than live knowing that her troubles with an insane rejected suitor had cost Cormac his life. Far better he was lost to Isabel than lost forever in death’s cold embrace.

“Alive?”

Owen and Paul stood facing three scowling Murray lairds and tried not to tremble. They were tired, hungry, and dirty, but they had no intention of recalling Sir Balfour Murray to the rules of hospitality until they had satisfactorily answered his questions. Although he had spoken that one word softly, it seemed to have cut through the tense air in the great hall of Donncoill as well as an enraged bellow. His brothers, Sir Nigel and Sir Eric, did not look any less threatening. Neither Owen nor Paul had the courage to look at Elspeth’s mother Lady Maldie, or her aunts Gisele and Bethia. They had the sinking feeling that those women would be looking far more fierce than their husbands.

“Aye, Elspeth is alive,” Owen said and hurriedly produced the small ring she had given him. “She sent this with us. She said it would tell ye that she kens we arecoming to ye and approves.” He almost stepped back when Sir Balfour walked over to snatch the ring from his hand.

“Balfour?” called Lady Maldie, who looked so much like Elspeth it had startled Owen a little.

Sir Balfour walked over to the woman and enfolded her in his arms, saying hoarsely, “Our bairn is alive, Maldie.”

“Does that mean we arenae going to be able to kill that bastard Sir Colin?” asked Sir Nigel, his amber eyes hard with anger.

“Oh, nay,” said Balfour. “It just means we have a chance to bring Elspeth safely home before we kill the mon.”

“Weel, while ye all decide how, when, and in what ways ye will kill that bastard,” Lady Maldie said as she tugged free of her husband’s embrace, “we ladies shall see to the care of these poor lads.”

“I have a lot of questions I must ask them,” protested Balfour even as his wife, Gisele, and Bethia started to lead Owen and Paul out of the great hall.

“Ye can ask them after they have bathed, rested a wee bit, and set some food in their bellies.”

It was time for the evening meal before Paul and Owen felt ready to face the rigorous questioning they knew the Murrays would put them through. Owen grimaced as they were led straight to the head table, where waited the three Murray lairds, their wives, Sir Payton, and Elspeth’s brother Connor. Owen briefly scowled at Paul when that man neatly manuvered the seating so that Owen was closest to the Murrays, thus in the direct line of attack.

“My wife told me what little else ye have had to say about my daughter whilst ye bathed and dined,” said Balfour, fixing a stern dark gaze on Owen even as he filled his plate with food. “She is alive, Sir Colin is still on her trail, Sir Cormac saved her, and the two of them are making their way to the king’s court.”

“Aye, sir.” Owen also filled his plate, pleased by the quality and quantity of the food, yet not sure he was going to be able to relax enough to enjoy it. “She and Cormac were safe enough until Sir Colin sniffed out the direction they were headed in. There was one fierce attack and it cost Sir Colin five mercenaries. ’Tis then that Cormac decided to return to the more crowded roads and sent us to tell ye where he and Elspeth are headed. He feels that, if Sir Colin persists, and if Cormac doesnae get the chance to kill him, there could be danger even at the king’s court.”

“And do ye ken how Sir Colin justifies stealing my lass and then hunting her down?”

“He is telling all who will listen that Elspeth is his betrothed wife and that Cormac has stolen her.”

Balfour cursed. “And not one Murray about to contest that vile lie.”

“Young Cormac does have a true skill for being accused of crimes he hasnae committed,” said Lady Maldie.

“Aye, he does that, m’lady,” replied Owen. “He also kens that, if Sir Colin gets to the king, he may whisper that lie into our liege lord’s ear and be believed. I think that may be another reason he decided it was now even more important to try to reach some of her kinsmen.” Realizing that the Murrays were probably not going to ask too many questions about what might be happening between Cormac and Elspeth, Owen relaxed and began to enjoy his meal.

“I will go to court to fetch Elspeth,” said Payton.

“Nay,” cried his mother, Gisele. “Ye are barely healed from your wound.”

Owen ate as he listened to the argument that ensued. Sir Payton’s mother took a lot of convincing and extracted several promises before reluctantly agreeing. It was clear that Payton felt a need to redeem himself, for it was while Elspeth was in his care that she had been abducted. By the time Owen and Paul were ready to seek their beds it was decided that Sir Payton and a small force of men would rest and prepare on the morrow, then leave for the king’s court at dawn the next day. Owen regretted the fact that he and Paul could not go along with them, but they were already late in responding to a summons from Paul’s father. He was not surprised, however, when Payton caught up with him and Paul just outside of the bedchamber they had been given to use.

“There are things ye didnae tell the elders,” said Payton, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall and watched the two men closely.

“I believe we gave your kinsmen all the information needed,” replied Owen.

“Aye, all that was needed, but nay the full truth.”

“And what do ye think I have lied about?”

“Oh, nay, dinnae act as if I insult ye. I dinnae speak of lies. I speak of things left unsaid, truths left untold.”

“If things were left unsaid, mayhap that is what all concerned wished,” Paul said quietly.

“All or just your friend Cormac?” Payton asked.

“All.”

Payton smiled faintly. “I dinnae ken why, but Elspeth and I have always been close. Dinnae fear for your friend. I ken weel how my cousin feels about the fool and just what she might do with what she would see as a perfect chance to fulfill a dream. Sadly, I also ken that her bonny knight is nay a free mon, that that whore Lady Isabel Douglas holds him tight in her murderous little fist. I would but like a hint of what I might find when I reach my cousin.”

Owen and Paul looked at each other for a moment before Paul said, “’Tis hoped that ye will find that Cormac has saved her from Sir Colin and that the bastard is dead. ’Tis also hoped that ye will find that Elspeth has saved our friend.”

“Muddy, where are ye going?” cried Elspeth as her cat suddenly leaped from his
carrier.

Cormac reined in beside Elspeth even as she began to dismount. “Mayhap he just had a sudden need for a patch of dirt.”

“Oh.” She hesitated, frowning in the direction her cat had gone, then she shook her head. “Nay, something is wrong.”

“Elspeth,” Cormac said, but he could not fully repress a smile, “’tis just a cat.”

“I ken it, but my instinct tells me to follow him.”

Sighing in resignation, Cormac dismounted when she started after her cat. “Foolish beast,” he muttered and began to tether the horses. “It probably just saw something that looked like food, but I must now follow them on this fool’s errand. She has gone off alone.”

He hurried after her, softly cursing her impulsiveness. It was an endearing part of her nature, except when there was a madman at her heels. Cormac had thought she had finally understood the danger. When he reached her and found her kneeling by something on the ground, he prayed she was not about to collect some other poor beast.

Elspeth saw Muddy sitting by what looked like a bundle of rags. She frowned a little at the way the cat stared so intently at that bundle; then she noticed that the tiny clump of rags had a plump little arm and was waving it around even as it gurgled happily. It took a moment before she could shake free of her astonishment. Then Elspeth moved closer to peer at the baby. A quick look around revealed no supplies, nothing more than the ragged swaddling around the baby, and the only other person near at hand was the scowling man marching up to her.

“Oh, ye poor wee thing,” she crooned as she removed the infant’s rags and found no sign of injury. “Ye have been cast aside, havenae ye?” After rewrapping the child, she picked it up in her arms.

“Oh, nay, not a bairn,” Cormac complained as he reached her side.

“Someone has just left him here, Cormac,” Elspeth said, her outrage trembling in her voice. “Just tossed the poor, wee lad aside as if he is nay more than a bundle of soiled rushes.”

“Why are ye staring at me like that?” he demanded when he lifted his gaze from the child.

“I was waiting for ye to tell me that I am wrong or foolish, naught but a suspicious fool. That no one would just toss this poor bairn away.”

Cormac sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. Elspeth looked appalled and hurt. The shock he could easily understand, but not the hurt. It was as if this callous act had struck her to the heart. It was as if she was feeling all the pain of rejection the baby was too young to feel for himself.

“Mayhap the mother or father has but slipped away for a moment.” It was a pathetic attempt to disguise the ugly truth, but Cormac felt strangely proud of himself when Elspeth gave him a wide smile of gratitude and kissed his cheek.

“Ye are sweet, Cormac,” she said, then grew solemn again. “But now that my shock has faded, I ken the truth. Someone has thrown her bairn away, left him here to die. Such cruelty. Why not leave the bairn at the church? It may give a lad such as this a hard life, but ’tis life all the same. Far better that than becoming some beastie’s meal.”

“’Tis strange for a lad to be cast aside. ’Tis often the lasses who get abandoned if a
family has too many mouths to feed.” He sighed. “Elspeth, we cannae take the bairn with us.”

“Weel, we cannae leave the poor wee laddie here.”

“Oh, nay, and I wasnae meaning that we should. ’Tis just that we are running from a killer. It may not be safe for the bairn. He isnae a cat ye can stuff in a carrier, but which will take care of itself for the most part.”

“The bairn obviously comes from that village.” Elspeth nodded toward the small cluster of buildings just beyond the foot of the small knoll she and Cormac stood on.

“Aye, I suspect he does. A bastard, mayhap. Some lass’s dark secret.”

“This bairn is no newborn, Cormac. Aye, a lass may be able to hide the fact that she is carrying some mon’s bastard, but ’tis near impossible to hide the infant once it arrives. Bairns tend to be verra noisy creatures.” She looked back at the village. “Someone down there will ken where he comes from. If that isnae any help, surely someone will be willing to foster a healthy male child.”

Cormac was relieved to hear her speak of finding the child a home. “Are ye sure he is healthy?”

“Aye, I looked beneath the rags. The lad is perfect. Plump, healthy color, and of a good temper, I think. Oh, and he has the cutest wee birthmark low on his round little belly. It looks just like a star.”

As he stared into the infant’s bright black eyes, Cormac began to feel uneasy. A plump, healthy male child should not have been cast aside. Unfair as it might be, male children were considered of far greater worth than girl children. Elspeth was right to think that someone would take the boy in, yet why had no one done so yet?

Hiding his sudden doubts, Cormac helped her walk back to the horses. He held the baby while Elspeth settled the cat in its carrier, then mounted. As he handed her the baby, he had the sinking feeling that their entourage had just grown by one—one completely helpless, demanding bairn.

Elspeth frowned as they rode into the village. At first everyone seemed friendly enough. Then the person who had just greeted them would see the cooing child she held and become silent and wary. They would look at her as if she had committed some grave sin by bringing the child she carried into their peaceful village. It was as if they feared the helpless baby she held, yet that made no sense at all. What person with any wit could fear a tiny child?

While Cormac stabled the horses, Elspeth set about trying to discover who had borne the child. She knew she would not be able to give the baby back into the arms of the woman who could abandon her own child, but she did want to ask the woman why she had done such an appalling thing. After several people took one look at the baby, then rudely walked away before she could speak to them, Elspeth cornered a well-dresssed woman of middle years.

“Dinnae ye dare walk away from me,” Elspeth snapped, halting the woman’s attempts to get around her. “I but need to ask a few questions and yet ye all flee from me as if I am covered in plague sores.”

“Weel, what do ye expect when ye bring that devil child here?” the woman said, hastily making the sign of the cross when she saw that the baby was looking at her.

“Devil child? What foolishness is this? ’Tis but a wee bairn and I seek its mother.”

“The bairn’s mother was hanged, then burned as a witch only a few days ago.”

“Sweet Jesu,” Elspeth whispered. “So ’twas one of ye who set the child out to die?”

“Aye. We cannae keep such a child with us. He carries the devil’s mark.”

“That wee star upon his belly?”

The woman nodded. ’Tis the devil’s mark. His mother consorted with the devil. Oh, aye, she tried to claim it was some lordling who wandered through on his way to see the king. She wanted us to believe he seduced her and left her with child, but she was e’er wild and sharp of tongue, and had no morals at all. When this appeared with its black hair and black eyes, we all kenned the truth. His mother was as fair as fair can be, yet look at the thing she pushed out of her womb. Dark as Satan the bairn is and kissed by the devil. Nary a one in the village wanted to curse themselves with such a misbegotten child, so we set it on the hill.”

“To die. Ye left a wee bairn on a hill to die, to be savaged by animals or starve or die of cold.”

“We left Satan’s heir to his care or God’s judgment.”

Elspeth dearly wanted to beat the woman. “Go away.”

“Eh? Ye are the one who demanded I stand here, close to that wee demon, and risk my soul being tainted, just to answer a few questions. Now ye snarl at me and tell me to go away.”

“Aye, and if ye have any scrap of wit in that head, which I doubt, ye will leave verra, verra quickly.”

It did not surprise Elspeth when the woman turned pale and looked frightened. Her voice had been so hard and cold, thrumming with fury, that it had even made her shiver. Holding the baby close and stroking his thick raven curls, she watched the woman hurry away. The spite and the superstitious nonsense that had come out of that woman’s mouth made Elspeth feel ill. She thanked God that the child she held was too small to understand any of the woman’s hateful words.