Maggie Mine

By

Starla Kaye

©201
2
by Blushing Books® and
Starla Kaye

Copyright © 201
2
by Blushing Books® and
Starla Kaye

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Kaye, Starla

Maggie Mine

eBook ISBN:
978-1-60968-595-9

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Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, Spring 1272

“’Tis over fer now,
m’l
ady,”
Douglas,
her father’s bailiff said with concern. “We’ve held them off fer another spell.”

Maggie
breathed a shaky sigh of relief, felt her stomach finally unknotting. She
watched the small army of English soldiers marching and riding away. Even from this distance, she hear
d
the rustling of their armor and the clomping hooves of the many
war
horses. She, the dozen
warriors
her father had left behind to guard the castle, and the Durward family’s loyal villagers had fought long and hard for nearly two weeks. There had been many casualties, many deaths. She detested the English, who were again invading Scotland in search of prizes to win for King Edward I. It infuriated her even more because the king had asked that her father and her two older brothers join his forces in this ninth crusade.
He’d dared to a
sk for their help and then allowed his English soldiers to attack their castle.

“Aye, we’ve held them off fer now.” She finally set the heavy crossbow down beside her on the battlement. The muscles of her arms throbbed, but the pain was worth it. She’d sent at least a half dozen of the enemy to their deaths. Her brothers would be proud, mayhap even her father. She’d always had a hard time pleasing him.

“Ye need to have Anice tend to your cheek. ‘Tisn’t bleeding much, but could use some cleaning
,
” Douglas stated, his brow furrowed. “Ye shouldna been up here.”

She reached up to wipe at the small cut she’d gotten when she’d had a slight mishap pulling an arrow from the quiver on her back. In a hurry, as was her nature, she’d been a tad careless. But the injury was not important in the scheme of it all. And she was weary of her father’s men trying to pamper her. She barely put up with such nonsense from her father, for which they often butted heads and for which she often experienced the flat of his hand on her bottom. Her brothers didn’t even try to overprotect her unless she was in real danger of getting hurt.

She picked up her crossbow and tossed
Douglas
a withering
look
. “My duty is to our people, including ye. With my father and brothers gone, I am charged with the defense and honor of Urquhart. I canna help defend by hiding out in the keep.”

“But—”

Maggie leveled him with a fierce glower she’d learned from watching her father. “Nay ‘but’ to it, mon. Should we be attacked again, I will be up here again.”

His clenched jaw and pinched lips told her he wasn’t
happy, but he sighed in resignation
and gave a curt nod
. All knew of her stubbornness, which was a strong trait of the Durwards. She never backed down when she believed she was right. Not even at the
threat
of a sound thrashing from her da. Right now, as she thought about the
soldiers
they had lost and the villagers as well, she desperately wished her father were here. She
woul
d still have fought with the men. If that were the situation now, she would
no doubt
be following her father to her bedchamber to receive a taste of the tawse for disobeying his order and worrying him. ‘Twould be worth sleeping the night on her belly, though, just to have had him here.
She missed him mightily, her brothers as well.

Interrupting
her thoughts, Douglas said, “I’ve heard that many are returning now from the Crusade. The English king has already gone back to England.”

A chill inched up her spine; a sick feeling filled h
er stomach, as it had
done ever
since she, too, had heard the rumors. Something was wrong. In her heart, she knew it. She shoved the
near-crippling
fear aside and raised her chin. “Father, Fergus and Brodie will be back soon. We must believe in that.
We must
.
”

“Lord Rob MacKenzie, too, lass.”

Maggie
blinked at him, having tried not to think about her betrothed returning. She’d always found Rob a weak man in comparison to her brothers. He would be a husband that she could easily run over, get her way in all things without much effort. He had a quick smile and a rich, belly laugh. But he wouldn’t be good for her and she knew it.
Most importantly
, he didn’t make her heart flutter with excitement the way she’d always hoped her husband would. A foolish dream, she knew. And she had no say in the matter. They had been betrothed since not long after her birth. With her mother dying
in child
birth, her father had been determined to do as right by her as he could
. He was the clan chieftain, a powerful leader in the Highlands. So that
meant
it was his responsibility to see her married
into a strong family.
The MacKenzies were that, but Rob was weak amongst them.

“Aye, MacKenzie, too
,
”
she acknowledged, then, f
or now
,
put thoughts of him aside. There were other matters to deal with.

She walked away
on legs weak from the long hours in her battle position up here. She
dread
ed
going down to the bailey and learning who else they had lost in this last
encounter
. She was strong, but there were limits. She really didn’t know how much more fighting she could take. How many more deaths she could suffer.

*
*
*

Near the Village of Drumnadrochit

His men were weary
as they made camp for the night. In truth, all were f
ar beyond
exhausted.
Nicholas Neville, too, felt
drained
to his very bones from the long trek back from fighting against
the
Baibars. This last crusade had been a
n immense
failure. He
should
never
have
agreed to go fight with Edward, but you didn’t refuse your king. As a reward for his loyalty and for saving Edward’s life in one battle, Nicholas had been given an English prize: the lordship of Middleham Castle.
That was a
handsome prize indeed. Yet he already had land and the minor castle of Spennithorne, which had been good enough for him. This
prize
was certainly not worth the loyal men he’d lost.

Behind him, he heard the sounds of men settling down
: grumblings, shifting around as they sought some kind of comfort on the hard ground
. He should be
seeking his own bed for the night
as well. Tomorrow would be another trying day
,
one that he did not look forward to. He would much rather be leading his men straight back to their new home at Middleham. Edward had told him there were matters to straighten out, reins of command that needed tightening. Challenges were nothing new to him; neither was being a strong leader. He had confidence it wouldn’t take him long to fix whatever problems were there.
Yes, he was ready to face such a challenge…not make this unpleasant stop on their way.

He pushed the troubling task aside.
The moon was full and bright tonight as he stood overlooking Loch Ness. This part of Scotland was indeed beautiful with its tree-covered mountains, rolling hills below them
,
and the numerous lochs. Yet he missed England. He longed to get home and was more than ready to get out of chain mail for a while.
U
ntil they rode safely into Middleham, he and his men would remain ready for battle.
But
he had given into shedding at least some of the heavy wear. He’d exchanged his
chausses
for breeches.

His gaze shifted to the impressive, sprawling Castle Urquhart in the distance on the headland overlooking Loch Ness. His first problem
on the way home
lie there: Lady Maggie Durward. What he had to tell her would break
her
tender woman’s heart. He didn’t look forward to suffering her tears and her carrying on, even though she deserved to be upset. Simpering, whimpering, childlike young women were ones he avoided. He’d been a
soldier
, a knight with a fierce reputation for many years. As such, he was a hard man, an impatient
one
at times.
He had no use for women who clung to a man.
He preferred women who were as lusty as he was in bed
sport
. Lady Durward was but nine and ten. No, he did not look forward to meeting her tomorrow.

He squinted into the distance for a moment. Something appeared wrong about Urquhart, but maybe it was just a play of the moonlight…or his weariness. He yawned and turned to seek his own bed for the night. It did no good to think about the problem of Maggie Durward. He had no choice in this matter. Even worse, he had to take her with him to Middleham. After learning all that she’d lost in the Crusade: her father, both brothers, and her betrothed…
.
Well, she’d no doubt be truly despondent and gladly go with him to a new home. At least she wouldn’t be coming with him as his intended, but only as a ward of sorts until he found her a new betrothed.

Betrothed
. The word lay heavy on him. He had one of his own waiting his return to Spennithorne. He had never met Lady Elizabeth Stanhope, although they had been betrothed since youths. They were to have married nearly a year ago, but he’d been ordered off to the Crusade before she
ha
d arrived at his castle. At nine and twenty, it was time he wed and started a family. He needed an heir, especially now that he had lands as valuable as Middleham. Still, he didn’t look forward to marrying a stranger. Marrying for love wasn’t a consideration in these times, nor did he believe in love. Lust, yes. Love, no. Unfortunately he was marrying out of duty. She
, too,
was marrying out of duty and to gain higher status when she partied at Edward’s court, which he’d heard she favored. He
ha
d become a prize for a power-seeking woman in these last years, even more so now.
It was
another thought that rubbed him wrong.