My Daring Highlander (29 page)

Thankfully, the men increased their
speed even more once within the wood. She was eager to leave it as
well.

As they emerged from the trees, one of
the guards on her far right yelled out a warning.

“There they are!” Keegan said. “The
bastards.”

Haldane’s archer, Gil, was letting fly
his arrows as fast as his arms would move. Two more men were
shooting bows as well.

“Kill them!” Keegan
shouted.

Most of the men leapt down from their
horses and, with swords and targes in hand, charged Haldane’s
outlaws. The MacKay archers nocked arrows and sent them soaring
toward the enemies.

“Protect the women,” Keegan ordered,
then sidled his horse up next to hers. “Seona, get on in front of
me.” The look in his eyes was so fierce, she dared not disobey
him.

She offered her arm and he dragged her
onto his horse. “You hold the reins.”

His basket-hilt broadsword was in his
right hand and his targe strapped to his other forearm. He locked
this arm around her. She felt safer with the shield protecting her
chest and Keegan at her back. But he put himself in far more danger
acting as a human shield to her. Haldane would want to move the
obstacle to get to her.

“Five of you stay with me and help
protect Seona,” Keegan told the guards. “Haldane has a habit of
attacking at the rear.”

“Aha!” Rebbie said, off to the left.
“Here they are now. Guards!”

Around a dozen men charged them from
the opposite direction.

“Saints,” Seona hissed. So many.
Haldane must have hired more men.

Rebbie and several of the guards met
the outlaws thirty feet away. Men who had been fighting the other
contingent of Haldane’s gang soon joined them. Chaos erupted,
swords clanged, men yelled out battle cries, vulgar names, and
howls of pain.

“Come. Let’s move away from the
skirmish,” Keegan called to the five guards surrounding
them.

Seona glanced around, wondering where
Aunt Patience was… and the maids. Behind her, MacMillan and two
other guards had taken the women onto their horses with them. They
all quickly moved forward along the road, further from the
fighting.

Though Seona hated watching men die,
she was glad to see that several of Haldane’s men fell under the
onslaught of the MacKays and MacKenzies. The brigands were
outnumbered. Keegan was canny to bring so many men with
them.

Finally, the remaining outlaws gave up
and fled, Haldane and McMurdo with them.

“Damnation,” Keegan muttered. “I
should’ve killed him myself.”

Seona shook her head, not wishing to
see Keegan engaged in one-to-one combat with Haldane. Certainly,
she believed Keegan could best him, being five years his senior and
more highly trained, but she didn’t want Keegan in that kind of
danger.

“Are you well?” Keegan asked, his warm
breath fanning the hair at her ear.

She shivered, relief flooding through
her. “Aye. I thank you for protecting me.”

“’
Tis my pleasure and a
great honor.”

Six of their men were injured—cuts,
stab wounds, an arrow protruding from one man’s shoulder—but they
all remained on their feet.

“How far are we from Gillenmor?”
Keegan asked her.

“About a mile or two. ’Tis over the
next rise.”

“Does your father employ a
healer?”

“Aye, there are two. I’m certain they
will help your men.”

“Mount up,” Keegan called out. “’Tis
about a mile or two to Gillenmor. The healer there will see to your
wounds. And I thank you for your fearsome fighting skills. You have
protected these ladies well.”

As they rode forward, Seona savored
Keegan’s warm, hard body at her back. She prayed this would not be
the last time she rode with him.

Once they’d topped the rise and
Gillenmor Castle came into view in the distance, Keegan helped
Seona back onto her own horse. The other women returned to their
horses as well.

Seona was glad the danger from Haldane
was behind them for the moment, but a new danger grew closer with
each step they took toward Gillenmor—her father.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Keegan’s stomach knotted as they
entered the dimly lit great hall of Gillenmor Castle, but he didn’t
let his unease show. He tried to focus on doing his job, his duty
for Dirk and the clan, and not the fact that he was bringing the
woman he loved to a place where he might have to leave her. Nay, he
would not. He was taking her out of here, one way or
another.

“Well, ’tis about time,” a deep, rough
voice called out. A man, dressed in the Lowland or English style,
stood from his elevated seat at the high table, stepped down and
strode forward to greet them. Keegan assumed he was Chief Ambrose
Murray, Seona’s father. He was stocky, with gray hair. His
clean-shaven face was flushed, either from being too close to the
fire or too much whisky. With a narrow-eyed gaze, he inspected
Seona first.

“A good eve to you, Father.” She
curtsied, keeping her eyes downcast.

Keegan frowned, his instincts going on
high alert for he sensed her fear.

“Seona,” Murray said, then lifted his
gaze to scan over the faces of those who had come inside. Several
of the guards and servants had remained outside, seeing to the
horses and making sure the healer attended the injured men’s
wounds.

“We brought Lady Seona and Lady
Patience home in Chief MacKay’s stead,” Keegan said. “He was
injured in a skirmish during our travels. And he sent you a
gift.”

“Who are you?” Chief Murray asked in a
stern voice, his brown eyes hostile.

“Keegan MacKay, m’laird.” He bowed.
“Tanist and cousin of Chief MacKay. I’m honored to meet
you.”

“Ah.” He shook Keegan’s hand briefly,
then turned his attention to the other men. “And who else do I have
the pleasure of meeting?”

“This is Dermott MacKenzie and his
brother, Fraser.” Keegan motioned to them. “They are younger
brothers of Chief MacKenzie.”

“I stayed here for a couple of nights
last year,” Dermott said. “Good to see you again,
m’laird.”

Murray shook both their hands. “Aye,”
he said in a neutral tone.

Keegan motioned to Rebbie. “And this
is Robert MacInnis, the Earl of Rebbinglen.”

Chief Murray’s bushy gray brows shot
up and his demeanor switched, almost as if he were a different
person. “Earl of Rebbinglen?” He stepped forward and gave Rebbie a
long, solemn handshake while studying him. “’Tis my great pleasure
and honor to meet you again, Laird Rebbinglen. I remember when you
were a wee lad.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Chief
Murray.”

“You have the look of your father. How
is he?”

Rebbie grinned. “Still as ornery as
ever.”

“Ha.” With what might be called a
grin, Murray slapped Rebbie on the shoulder, then released his
hand.

After scanning the rest of the MacKay
party and apparently dismissing them, he motioned those he’d met
forward. “’Tis time for supper. Please join us.”

Keegan frowned, watching the ladies
and the others of their party proceed to the high table, then he
followed. Something here was not right and Keegan didn’t like
it.

“Rebbinglen,” Chief Murray said,
placing a hand on his shoulder. “Please join me.”

Keegan eyed the man, noticing he’d
said nothing else to his daughter and had only nodded to his
sister, Lady Patience. What Keegan had heard all along was true
then—above all, Chief Murray valued prestige. Titles. Wealth.
Keegan felt as if a blade had stabbed into his stomach. His chances
of gaining the man’s permission to marry Seona were going to be
nonexistent… unless Rebbie could soften him up and convince him
otherwise. Keegan was suddenly very glad Rebbie had accompanied
them.

Keegan approached the high table, and
when he saw the vacant seat beside Seona, he took it. He’d be daft
not to seize any opportunity to be near her, though he was unsure
how Chief Murray would feel about this.

***

Seona couldn’t believe
Keegan was sitting beside her. With her father only a few seats
away?
Saints.
If
he perceived that either of them paid much attention to the other,
he’d fly into a rage, no matter who looked on. Her stomach knotted
and ached. She wouldn’t be able to eat a bite. She wished she could
take her leave of the table, go to her chamber and rest, but to do
so would draw her father’s angry attention.

Thankfully, he was too busy
entertaining Laird Rebbinglen to notice much else. Rebbie told him
of the recent skirmish that had taken place just beyond
Gillenmor.

Seona glanced around, not spotting her
sister. She was likely still with Cousin Genevieve.

While the food was being served, Seona
was able to relax marginally. She had no appetite for the leek and
pea soup. Her attention was drawn to Keegan, beside her. From the
corner of her eye, she observed his big strong hands, his muscular
arms beneath his doublet, and his plaid. She found his manly scent
most appealing.

“Are you not hungry, Lady Seona?” he
asked in a conversational tone.

“Nay. Not overmuch.” She lifted her
wooden spoon and forced herself to take a bite.

He removed two slices of bread from
the large platter close to him and gave her one.

“I thank you.”

Once Keegan had finished his soup, he
placed his hands on his thighs. She knew she was mad, but she could
scarce eat for thinking what his thighs might look like bare. She’d
seen his naked calves often enough beneath the bottom of his belted
plaid. They were muscular and lightly furred with golden hairs.
Likely his thighs were the same. She had not been able to see them
well in the low light when he’d waded from the loch, but she
remembered the hard feel of his thighs beneath her when he’d put
her on the horse in front of him.

Mo creach!
She had to think of something else, but how could
she with him sitting so close?

Though she refused to look at him, she
felt his attention on her. She prayed he wasn’t staring at her.
Someone would surely notice.

Beneath the table, he moved his knee
against hers and left it there.

She froze, unable to believe what he
was doing. She glanced around, making sure no one was watching.
They weren’t; their attention was on the roasted grouse being
served. She released her held breath.

Though she loved sitting by Keegan,
she didn’t know how much more tension she could handle.

***

After the meal, when the music and
singing was underway for the evening’s entertainment, Chief Murray
rose from his chair and ambled toward Seona. Her heart vaulted into
her throat. Had he seen Keegan staring at her?

“I would have a word with you in my
meeting room,” her father said, motioning her impatiently toward
the door.

“Aye, Father.” Her stomach felt queasy
and she wished she hadn’t eaten a bite. She proceeded into the
smaller room, just off the great hall, which contained a table
covered in papers, a desk, and all sorts of books. The fire had
burned down to embers but the room was still warm. Too bad her
father was not. Nay, the look in his dark eyes was cold.

He took a seat behind his imposing oak
desk. “So, why is it that you return to me unmarried to the MacKay
chief?”

Oh heavens.
How was she supposed to respond to that without
making Dirk out to be a villain?

“He did not wish to marry me.” ’Twas
the only reason she could think of. And the truth.

“Why?” he demanded.

“I explained in the missive I
sent—”

“I had an agreement and a written
contract with his father, Griff MacKay! Why did they choose to
break that oath?”

Seona drew in a deep breath, then
released it, forcing herself to remain calm. “As you ken, Chief
Griff MacKay passed last fall. There was some dispute as to which
of his three sons would be the new chief. We all thought Aiden was
the eldest living son. He, in fact, became chief for about a month.
Then Dirk MacKay returned. He is the eldest son, but everyone
thought him dead for twelve years. Because he is more suited than
Aiden to be a chief and ’twas proven he was indeed the eldest son
of Chief Griff, the clan appointed him the new chief.”

“And why did you not marry this Dirk
MacKay? Why did he not honor the contract his father sighed five
years ago?”

“He was already…” How should she say
this? Already in love with Lady Isobel? Nay, that wasn’t good
enough. Emotion held no sway for her father.

“Well, come on, lass. Spit it out!
Already what?”

“Already betrothed to another lady,”
she said. Her chest tightened with the lie. It was the only excuse
she could think of at the moment. Dirk had not been betrothed to
Isobel at that point, but he was in love with her. That was no
doubt a stronger pull for him.