Highland Warrior (25 page)
Authors: Connie Mason
“McHamish is the man who tried to end my life,” Ross explained. “I doona ken why, but the man came at me with his sword when I greeted him as a friend.”
“I will go to McHamish and fetch my daughter,” Tearlach vowed.
“Not without me,” Ross said. “We will leave at first light. Gordo, can our lads be ready that soon?”
“You canna go, laird,” Gizela insisted. “You willna be able to sit a horse and could do yourself serious harm. You need more time to mend.”
“The healer is right,” Tearlach agreed. “McHamish isna my enemy. If he had a reason for wanting you dead, I will drag the answer from him.”
“You canna go alone,” Ross said. “Take some of the lads with you.”
“Aye,” Tearlach agreed. “We’ll leave at first light.”
The men left. Ross found himself alone with Gizela. “I know most people think you daft, Gizela, but I ken better now. Tell me what you know about my wife. Did she seek out McHamish because of me? Though she fancies herself a fierce warrior, she is still a woman with only a woman’s strength. Can you ‘see’ aught, Gizela? I may not believe in pixies and elves, but I am beginning to believe you have certain powers.”
Gizela closed her eyes, and when she finally opened them they appeared eerily incandescent. Though her expression was vague, her words cut through the silence like a sharp knife.
“The flame no longer burns at Ravenscraig.” Ross opened his mouth to speak, but Gizela raised her hand to stop him. “Your lady is with Sinclair.”
Ross wanted to howl. “Gillian is with Sinclair? Why would she go to him?”
The mist in Gizela’s eyes cleared, and she seemed to look through Ross without seeing him. Then she turned abruptly and fled.
“Gizela, wait! Tell me more.”
Ross staggered from bed to follow. Cursing roundly, he stumbled toward the stairs, hoping to find Gizela in the hall below, but the corridor was strangely deserted.
He met Alice at the top of the steps.
“Is there something you need, laird?” Alice asked.
“Did you see which way Gizela went?”
Alice gave him a strange look. “I didna see Gizela.”
“Fetch her for me.”
“Shall I help you back to bed first?”
“Nay,I doona need help.”
Ross stumbled back to his chamber. He walked across the room and back to test his strength. Though his knees were still wobbly, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he could sit a horse.
When neither Gizela nor Alice returned, Ross poured himself a mug of ale from a pitcher Gizela had left for him earlier and sought his bed. Before he fell asleep, his thoughts turned to his fierce bride with the flaming hair and a spirit to match. When had he come to care for her? How had she found her way into his heart in so short a time?
“Wake up, laird. MacKay has returned.”
Ross opened his eyes to a weak winter sun shining through the window. Gizela was shaking him. He blinked several times until Gizela’s wrinkled face came into focus. “What did you say?”
“MacKay has returned.”
“What time is it? Have I slept long?”
“I put laudanum in your ale. You slept through the night; ’tis nearly noon.”
Ross seared her with a furious glare. “You drugged me again!”
Gizela showed little remorse. “Sleep is the best healer. Alice is fetching something for you to eat.”
“Where is MacKay? Is Gillian with him?”
“The MacKay laird is partaking of the midday meal in the hall. He will tell you what you want to know”
“I will join him. Fetch someone to help me dress. Gillian deserves an apology from me.”
“I doona think—”
“Say no more, Gizela.I am going, and that’s final.”
Ross swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He took a few steps, pleased by his progress. When Gizela continued to stand there, he growled,“Go!”
Gizela scooted from the chamber as Ross went in search of his clothing. Donald arrived a few minutes later, took one look at Ross, and smiled.
“ ’Tis good to see you up and about, laird. We all feared for your life.”
“I couldna remain in bed a minute longer. There is too much to be done. Help me with my braies and shirt. I am anxious to see Gillian. We all owe her an apology.”
Donald sent him a contrite look. “I ken we jumped to the wrong conclusions about the MacKay lass, but we were too worried about you to think clearly.”
“For the first time in my life I amna proud of what my kinsmen did,” Ross allowed. “But I intend to right the wrong that was done to Gillian.”
Ross buttoned his shirt over his bandaged torso and headed toward the door. “Lead the way, Donald; I am ready to resume my duties as laird of Clan MacKenna.”
Though it was slow going, Ross managed to navigate the spiral staircase with naught but a steadying hand from Donald. When he entered the hall, everyone stood up and cheered. Ross failed to locate Gillian when he scanned the hall, but he did see MacKay sitting at the high table. His steps slow but steady, Ross joined MacKay Though it was difficult to admit, it felt good to sit after the long trek down the stairs. But Ross’s mind was on more important matters than pain and weakness.
“Where is Gillian? Did you bring her back with you?”
MacKay sighed heavily. “She wasna with McHamish.”
Ross shot from his chair. “What are you saying? Where is she? She couldna have disappeared into thin air. If McHamish has harmed her, I will kill him with my bare hands.”
“Sit down, MacKenna, and listen to what I tell you. ’Tis a strange story, but it makes sense when one considers Gillian’s fiery nature. My daughter arrived at McHamish’s keep with every intention of killing him.”
“Did she? Kill him, mean?”
MacKay snorted. “I have no doubt she would have if McHamish hadna explained some things to her.”
“What things?” Ross roared. “Doona keep me in suspense.”
“Sit down, lad. Fill your plate and eat while I talk. You look like you could use a good meal.”
Ross had to admit he was hungry Broth and gruel did little to fill a grown man’s stomach. He filled his plate from platters of meat, potatoes, and root vegetables, buttered a slice of thick bread, and began to eat. But he had a hard time swallowing. How could he eat when he knew naught of Gillian’s fate?
MacKey cleared his throat. “When Gillian was driven from Ravenscraig, she went directly to McHamish Keep and accused him of attempted murder. She challenged him, but McHamish refused to fight a woman.”
“I’m surprised Gillian didna run him through,” Ross muttered.
“So am I, but McHamish explained that his rage at you had been fueled by Angus Sinclair and his own daughter. He was so angry, he could think of naught but killing you for making his daughter your whore. He believed you forced her to become your leman and then abandoned her.”
“I should have insisted that Seana return to her father’s keep before I wed Gillian,” Ross reflected. “But Niall wanted her, and she seemed willing enough. Did you find Seana with McHamish?”
“Nay, McHamish swore he hadna seen Seana since Murdoc’s wedding. He didna even know she had left Ravenscraig. Seana and Sinclair conspired against you and brought McHamish into it when Sinclair told him that you had cast Seana aside and forced her to handfast with your cousin, a coldhearted man who treated her cruelly.”
“Niall? Coldhearted and cruel? Bah! Not bloody likely!”
“According to McHamish, Gillian set him straight. Apparently my daughter felt McHamish had been deceived and gave him the benefit of the doubt. He told me he’d been planning to confess all to you, but his wife begged him to stay with her a little longer.”
Ross nearly choked on his mouthful of food. “Think you Gillian went after Sinclair?”
“ ’Tis what McHamish says.”
“Sinclair is without scruples; he has no conscience. What did he hope to accomplish by goading McHamish to act against me? I doona understand.”
MacKay shook his head. “Nor do I. At one time I considered Angus Sinclair the perfect mate for my daughter. I would have wed her to him had I not called a truce between our clans, and had he not delayed in signing the betrothal contract.”
“We’ve heard naught from Gillian. What do you think that means?” Ross asked.
MacKay searched Ross’s face. “I am worried, MacKenna. I doona ken what has happened to my lass.”
Ross’s face hardened. “I will confront Sinclair first and take care of McHamish later. Go home, MacKay. Gillian is my responsibility. I vow I will bring Gillian home to Ravenscraig, safe and sound. Although my kinsmen sent her from Ravenscraig without my knowledge, the guilt is still mine.”
MacKay stood. “Send word if you need me.”
Ross watched MacKay leave the hall. The thought that Gillian was with Sinclair made Ross’s gut clench. Gillian might have been set on vengeance, but Sinclair was too sly and conniving for Ross’s liking. Then again, Gillian might have gone to Sinclair for succor. That thought set Ross’s teeth on edge.
Ross was smart enough to know that Sinclair wanted him dead so he could have Gillian, but deep in his heart Ross knew there had to be more to it than that, a deep, dark reason that no one was aware of. Ross intended to learn that reason if he had to choke it out of Sinclair.
Seana gave him another reason to worry. Where was she? If she hadn’t gone home to her father’s keep, where had she gone? There was but one answer, and it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Only one person would welcome Seana, and that was Angus Sinclair. What kind of mischief were they plotting?
Gillian paced the tower chamber, searching fruitlessly for a way to escape. As Angus had promised, the chamber was comfortable and she had not been harmed. But she was a prisoner, left to languish in solitude—too much solitude, with far too many empty hours to fret, to wonder if Ross was dead or alive,. Though her heart told her he still lived, she needed more proof than woman’s intuition.
Gillian was looking out the tiny window at the rocks below when the door opened and Angus entered the chamber. She whirled, scowling at the man she had come to despise.
“There is no escape, Gillian. You will fall to your death on the rocks below if you attempt to jump out the window.”
“I will keep that as an option,” Gillian sneered. “I prefer, however, to wait for Ross to come for me. It will be interesting to see what punishment he will devise for you.”
Sinclair frowned and pointed to a three-legged stool. “Sit down, lass. There’s something I must tell you.”
Gillian. resisted only a moment before plopping down onto the stool. She was too curious to defy Angus. “Verra well, what do you wish to tell me?”
“Ross MacKenna is dead,” he lied. “He passed away two days ago. Good riddance, say”
Gillian leaped from her stool and flew at Sinclair, flailing at him with her fists. “Nay, you lie! Ross isna dead! I can feel him in my heart.”
Angus captured her wrists and pushed her away. “You love the bastard! How could you? I thought you loved me, that you were forced to wed MacKenna.”
“I didna know what love was until I met Ross. I admit I hated him at first, but that was before I really knew him.”
“He killed your brothers.”
“I don’t know that Ross was the one who slew them. ”Anyone could have killed them in the heat of battle. I now realize that seeking a truce was the right thing to do. The killing has stopped; my surviving brothers will live to wed and have children.”
He shoved her away. She stumbled backward and clutched the edge of the table to keep her balance.
“That will change when the feud resumes,” Sinclair said.
Gillian caught her breath. “Why is that important to you?”
Angus started to answer but caught himself in time. He appeared surprised when Gillian whirled on him and asked, “Who told you Ross is dead? I doona believe you.”
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