Saving Grace (48 page)

And then she set about using her cleverness to find a way out of the mess.

Johanna sat on the bench in the dark for almost an hour, but when she finally stood up, she had a clear plan in mind. She was feeling peaceful now, actually serene. Most important in her mind, she was in complete control.

Yes, she had come a long way. She smiled over the compliment she’d just given herself, then had to shake her head because she was acting daft. She wasn’t crazed. She believed she would be all right. If it came to a battle of wits, Raulf wouldn’t stand a chance against her. In her estimation, men who beat women were ignorant. They were also weak-minded and filled with insecurities. Raulf had all of those sorry traits. Yes, she would be victorious if the battle was waged in London’s court with threats and accusations. She would use her knowledge of his sins to condemn him.

But if Raulf decided to use his fists and his sword to get his way, Johanna knew she wasn’t physically strong enough to withstand his attack. It didn’t matter though. Raulf could summon an army to aid him, but in the end, she would still be victorious. Because of Gabriel. He was her champion, her protector, her saving grace. She had complete faith in his ability to keep his family safe. Raulf was no match against him.

A demon, after all, could easily be crushed by an archangel.

Johanna let out a sigh. She was ready to let her husband comfort her. She picked up her skirts and ran to him.

Nicholas intercepted her in the center of the hall. He lifted her into his arms and swung her off the floor.

“Oh, Nicholas, I’m so happy to see you!” she cried out.

“Put her down, damn it!” Gabriel roared. “And get your hands off her. My wife isn’t in any condition to be tossed about like a caber.”

Both Johanna and Nicholas ignored Gabriel’s commands. She kissed her brother and hugged him tight. He finally put her down and draped his arm around her shoulders.

“My sister may look delicate, MacBain, but surely you’ve noticed by now she’s really as strong as an ox.”

“I’ve noticed you haven’t let go of her yet,” Gabriel snapped. “Johanna, come here. You should stand by your husband.”

He sounded surly, but the sparkle in his eyes indicated he was pleased to see her happy. She thought he might actually like Nicholas, too, but Gabriel would go to his grave before admitting it. Men, she’d learned, were a complicated lot.

She pulled away from her brother and went to her husband. He immediately put his arm around her shoulders and hauled her close into his side.

“Why didn’t you bring Mama with you, Nicholas? She would have been happy for your company, and she is planning to come here for a visitation. Isn’t that right, husband?”

Gabriel nodded. “Yes, Nicholas,” he said. “Why didn’t you bring her?”

“She wasn’t ready to leave England just yet,” Nicholas countered. “Besides, there developed a bit of a problem, Johanna . . .”

Gabriel wouldn’t let him finish. “Your mother will come next month.”

“Explain, please, the problem you mentioned,” she requested.

Both men looked wary now. She thought they didn’t know how to give her the bad news. After several minutes of prodding, however, she came to the realization neither one had any intention of telling her about Raulf.

Gabriel could barely make himself let go of Johanna. When they sat down at the table to share their dinner, he kept reaching over to take hold of her hand.

Nicholas sat across from his sister and adjacent to Gabriel. Keith sat next to him. Clare joined them a few minutes later and took her seat next to Johanna.

Both Nicholas and Gabriel stood up when Clare entered the room. Johanna had to motion the other soldiers to also stand.

Nicholas kept his gaze on the lovely woman walking toward him. Gabriel kept his full attention on his brother-in-law. He waited to see a sign of recognition.

“Do you know this woman, Nicholas?” he demanded.

His brother-in-law took exception to Gabriel’s tone of voice. “How the hell could I know her? I haven’t met her yet. ”

Johanna hurried to make the introductions. Clare made a curtsy; but because Nicholas was scowling, she didn’t smile.

Gabriel still wasn’t willing to admit defeat. He believed he’d thought the matter through and come up with the only logical conclusion possible. The MacBain plaid had been spotted near MacInnes land. Nicholas had worn the plaid on his last return trip to England. Since none of the other soldiers had been near the holding, Nicholas had to be the man responsible for getting Clare MacKay with child.

“Are you telling me you’ve never met Clare MacKay before?” he asked.

“That’s what I’m telling you all right,” Nicholas drawled out.

“Hell.”

“Gabriel, what is the matter with you?” Johanna asked. “Clare, come and sit next to me, please.”

“I thought your brother was the one responsible for Clare’s condition.”

“How could you think that?” Johanna cried out. “He would never abandon . . .”

“It was a logical conclusion,” Gabriel defended.

“It was a sinful conclusion,” Johanna countered.

Nicholas was trying to follow the budding argument. He understood Gabriel was trying to blame him for something or other and that Johanna was valiantly trying to defend him, but he didn’t have a clue as to the topic.

“Exactly what is it you think I’m responsible for?” he asked Gabriel.

“Nicholas, this matter needn’t concern you,” Johanna said.

“How can it not concern him?” Gabriel asked. “If he is the father . . .”

She wouldn’t let him finish. “He isn’t,” she blurted out.

The frown on Gabriel’s face was chilling. “I see,” he remarked. He sat down, motioned for Nicholas to do the same, and then turned back to his wife.

“Then you know who the man is, don’t you, Johanna?”

Johanna nodded. She fully intended to explain the situation to her husband, but she wanted to wait until they were alone.

“We have company,” she whispered, hoping her reminder would make Gabriel realize she didn’t wish to discuss the delicate topic now.

He refused to take the hint. “You will give me the man’s name,” he ordered.

She let out a sigh. Clare had been diligently studying the tabletop with her head bowed and her hands fisted in her lap. She looked up when Johanna’s husband demanded an answer, took a deep breath, and then said, “There isn’t any man, Laird MacBain.”

Gabriel wasn’t prepared for that answer. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the MacKay woman for a long minute before he turned to his wife.

Johanna immediately nodded. “There isn’t any,” she said, repeating Clare’s statement.

Johanna kept her gaze on her husband as she reached over and took hold of Clare’s hand. “You’d best get ready,” she whispered.

“Ready for what, m’lady?” Clare whispered back.

“Growling.”

Gabriel ignored the banter. He was still reacting to the news he’d just been given. The ramifications were staggering, and try as he did, he couldn’t understand why the woman would put herself in such jeopardy over a lie.

He shook his head. Johanna nodded. “It’s joyful news, Gabriel,” she remarked.

His face turned red. She guessed he didn’t think it was joyful at all. Clare was squeezing her hand now in obvious fear. Johanna turned to her.

“You have no reason to be frightened,” she announced. “My husband would never hurt you. He’s just been given a surprise, that’s all. In a minute of two he’ll get over it.”

“Will someone tell me what in thunder is going on?” Nicholas demanded.

“No!” Gabriel, Johanna, and Clare all shouted the denial together.

Johanna was the first to realize how impolite they were being to her brother.

“Gabriel, this matter can wait until later for discussion,” she announced. “Please?” she added when he looked like he was going to argue with her.

Her husband finally nodded. “We should only have pleasant conversation at the supper table,” she said then. “Isn’t that right, Clare?”

“Yes,” Clare replied. She let go of Johanna’s hand and straightened on her stool. “Have you given your brother your good news?”

“My husband has,” Johanna replied.

“No, I haven’t,” Gabriel said.

He still sounded irritated to her, but she wasn’t upset. “Why haven’t you told him?”

“I thought you would want to,” he answered.

She smiled. Nicholas’s curiosity was captured of course. “What is this news?”

“I want you to tell him,” Johanna insisted.

“Tell me what?” Nicholas asked.

“Your brother’s a very impatient man,” Clare remarked. “But then, most Englishmen are, aren’t they?”

“No, they aren’t,” Nicholas snapped. “Johanna, tell me your news.”

Clare was startled by Nicholas’s hard tone of voice. Her shoulders straightened a bit more, and she frowned at the man she now decided was a rude boor.

“She isn’t barren.” Gabriel made the announcement and actually smiled. His soldiers all immediately nodded their agreement.

“ ’Tis the truth, she isn’t barren,” Keith remarked.

The men all nodded again. Calum and Leila came into the hall then. Leila was holding Calum’s hand. She let go of him when they started down the steps. Johanna smiled over the sight of the happy couple before turning her attention back to her brother.

He still didn’t look as though he understood. “I’m going to have a baby, Nicholas.”

“How is such a thing possible?”

Johanna started blushing. Gabriel laughed, for he found his wife’s embarrassment amusing. He was still determined to give her hell because she hadn’t told him the truth about Clare MacKay, of course, but he wouldn’t raise his voice to her when he was letting her know how displeased he was, given her delicate condition.

“She is married to a Highlander,” Gabriel said in answer to Nicholas’s ridiculous question. “And that is how it happened.”

Nicholas laughed. He pounded Gabriel on the shoulder while he congratulated him, then turned his attention to his sister.

“This is joyful news,” he said. His voice shook with emotion. “Mother will be very happy.”

Johanna became teary-eyed. She reached for the linen square she kept tucked in the sleeve of her blouse. “Yes, Mama will be very happy,” she said while she dabbed at the corner of her eyes with her cloth. “You must be certain to tell her when you return to England, Nicholas. She’ll want to begin sewing for the baby.”

“Now do you understand why I don’t want my wife upset by any unpleasant news?” Gabriel asked.

“I understand,” Nicholas replied.

They really weren’t going to tell her about Raulf. She didn’t have a shred of doubt about that truth. Both men were trying to protect her from worry. She would have to be told eventually, of course, and she wondered how long they thought they would be able to keep the secret.

Their motives were good-hearted, she supposed, but Johanna wasn’t going to let them treat her like a child. Besides, the matter needed to be discussed. She had a sound plan in mind to keep Raulf from making any trouble, and she wanted to talk to Gabriel about it.

Her husband became preoccupied. Nicholas also seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts. Both men were frowning now, and neither was eating.

Johanna wasn’t about to bring up the topic until the men had finished their supper. She decided to turn the conversation to everyday matters.

“Have you noticed our wall is almost completed, Nicholas? The men have done a fair amount of work since your last visit.”

Nicholas nodded.

“Keith, have I mentioned how fit you look wearing the MacBain plaid?” she remarked.

The soldier grinned. “Aye, m’lady, you have mentioned it at least ten times today.”

“She told me my shoulders look wider and stronger with the MacBain plaid,” Michael interjected.

“She told me I looked taller,” Lindsay called out.

“And I meant every one of my compliments,” Johanna blurted out. “Every single one of you does look better in the MacBain plaid.”

The soldiers laughed. “We have accepted our laird’s colors, m’lady. You don’t have to fret any longer.”

“I haven’t been fretting,” she defended.

“Then why are you suddenly complimenting us?” Keith asked.

She shrugged. The men found her reaction vastly amusing. She deliberately changed the subject to a less embarrassing one. The soldiers had all ignored Nicholas; when one mentioned the incident with the wolves, they outshouted each other in their bid to tell the tale of their mistress’s cunning.

Johanna didn’t believe her brother needed to hear the story, but her protest was ignored. Gabriel reached over and took hold of her hand. The men were laughing and shouting now, and in the middle of the chaos, Gabriel leaned close to Johanna.

“You know I’ll always protect you, don’t you?”

He whispered his question. Johanna leaned to the side of her chair and kissed her husband. “I know.”

Nicholas saw the tender moment between Johanna and Gabriel. He nodded, satisfied. He’d done the right thing by insisting she marry the laird.

Calum asked Gabriel a question then. Johanna scooted back on her stool and turned to Clare.

“Are you feeling all right?” she whispered.

“Yes, m’lady,” Clare answered.

Johanna wasn’t convinced. Clare had barely touched her food and had stayed remarkably silent for most of the meal.

She thought Nicholas might be the reason for Clare’s timid behavior. For some reason the two of them had taken an immediate dislike to each other. If Clare wasn’t sick, then Nicholas was the only other reason for her odd conduct. They both kept staring at each other; and when one caught the other looking, a quick frown resulted.

Their behavior was bizarre as well as distressing, for Johanna had grown quite fond of Clare and she wanted the young woman to like her family.