Taming the Wild Highlander 04 (22 page)

"
Aye, 'tis MacRae who has the men," Angus said, loud enough for Tibold to hear.

Tibold quickly came off the bed and began to dress.
"Where is MacRae's keep?"

Angus told him.
"I must speak with Edana."

"
You dinna plan to take her with us, do you?" her father asked, his face dark with concern.

"
I will talk to her." Angus hoped to leave her here, but he was torn between worrying for her safety if she remained behind and taking her into a potential battle if that's what they were bound for. He entered their room, then shut the door.

H
er eyes remained closed, her hair spilling over the furs, her face angelic in sleep. He sighed. He did not want to move her from here. But he suspected if he left her behind, she might just try to follow him. He sat down beside her on the bed and caressed her hair. "Lass, we have word of where the woman resides."

Edana
eyes popped open and she quickly sat up. "MacRae! Kayne just told me. We must go at once."

"
Aye, but wouldna it be better if you stayed here with a few of your father's men?"

"
Nay," she said, and tried to get out of bed, but he was sitting on the furs, pinning her down and blocking her path.

He leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"All right. Dress. I will get us some food and then we will be on our way."

Before he could leave the room, a knock on the door sounded. He answered it and found the tavern keeper
's daughter standing there with a tray of two bowls of fish soup, bannocks, and chunks of goat cheese.

"
Thank you." He took the tray from her, then shut the door with his foot.

"
How long will it take us to get there?" Edana asked, slipping the chemise over her head.

Fascinated,
he watched the fabric catch on her breasts. He didn't offer to help her with her garment, not believing how lucky he was that he could feast on such beauty. She quickly tugged the chemise down and rushed to pull the léine over her head next.

He took a deep breath.
"Mayhap about three hours. Depending on the weather."

"
Is it raining again?" she asked, sitting down to eat her food.

"
Nay. You canna see the stars tonight, though." He wolfed down his food, like he often did, but noticed she was trying to eat hers just as fast so they could be on their way. "Are you certain you dinna want to wait here for us with your maid? 'Tis late. And I dinna want you in the middle of a skirmish if it comes to that."

"
Nay. I want to see my brothers as soon as possible."

A knock on the door sounded.
"Come!" Angus said.

The door opened and Niall said,
"We are ready to go."

Edana
hurried to pull on her hose and slipped on her shoes, finished the last of her soup, seized her bread, and said, "We are also."

Angus prayed to God he wasn
't making a mistake with allowing Edana to come with them this time.

Oppida
whispered in MacRae's ear, "I will be waiting for you in bed. Dinna delay."

Then she gave him another one of her come-hither smiles and
hurried off. Just her whispered breath on his ear made his cock twitch with eagerness. He watched her hips sway as she left the great hall, most of his men's eyes on her. Eager to join her, he rose from his seat and brought an end to the meal.

Fairly racing up
the narrow stairs like an over-exuberant lad, he soon reached his chambers. She would be in the bed, the curtains drawn around it. He never knew what kind of sex play she would be interested in, and the anticipation made him all the more randy. He stripped down to his tunic when a knock sounded on his door. Unless a battle raged in the outer bailey, he had made it clear no one was to disturb him here. He headed for the door and yanked it open, his face hot with annoyance.

Scully, black-
bearded and eyed, his indomitable advisor, who never looked worried, stood before him, wearing a prominent crease of concern over his brows and said quickly, "One of our men was at Fitzburn Tavern. The chief of the Clan Chattan is looking for his son. From what our man learned, he thought it had to be one of the men manacled in our dungeon. The sick one."

MacRae
cursed about the folly of the situation. "How many men does he have?"

"
He wasna certain. Several were staying at various crofters' homes. Some in the tavern. Others in the stable. With everyone split up so much, he couldna say."

Damnation.
"Aye, let me get dressed. I will meet you below stairs shortly. Wait."

MacRae did
not
want to give up the men in his dungeon. Worse, he hated the notion anyone would attempt to intimidate him into doing what he didn't wish, particularly when he was within his rights to punish the men. He'd had every intention of letting them rot in hell for the rest of their short lives in the foul place of their making.

"
Send men to the tavern and learn as much as you can about Chattan's numbers." MacRae paused. "He doesna know I have them here, does he?"

"
Nay. Before our man left, he had witnessed the Chattan chief speaking to the tavern owner. He didna tell him anything."

"
Good. Send a man to learn what he can and return here at once with the news." MacRae closed the door and stared at the bed. Even if anyone did learn of the men being held here, it would take time for them to reach the keep.

But he couldn
't think of anything else. Making love to Oppida was out of the question for the moment. Cursing aloud, he redressed. He left the room and slammed the door. As he stormed down the corridor, he vowed that the next time some man bothered his woman, MacRae would learn who sired the whelp first. God's wounds, if all the men were brothers? No wonder the chief of the Chattan clan would be looking for them. MacRae would tear down any castle's fortifications himself if he knew his own son was imprisoned inside.

Mayhap they were only the man
's friends or some of the chief's men sent to protect him. Even so, if one of the men was his son, that meant trouble.

MacRae ran down the stairs. He had to know the truth.

***

"
We are moving much too slowly," Edana said to Angus, wishing they could gallop the whole way to the MacRae keep. "What if he learns we are coming? What if he wishes to get rid of them before we arrive?" She couldn't stop worrying about her brothers.

"
Lass, no good will come of stewing about what may happen. We must have faith that all will be settled peaceably."

She eyed Keary then, riding with Tibold ahead of
the pack. She was forced to canter in the middle with Angus and Gunnolf and Niall, serving as her dutiful personal bodyguards. They had made Una stay behind in the village—despite her maid's objections. But Tibold hadn't wanted either woman to come along for the journey. Since Edana was Angus's responsibility now, he'd left the decision about taking her with them up to him.

She realized then just how
much she appreciated Angus as a husband. Her da would have left her behind. Angus had wanted to keep her safe, but knew how much of a stake she had in being with them, and he had agreed to take her with him based on what she'd wanted. She loved him for it.

"
I worry about Keary," she said.

"
Aye."

She glanced at Angus.
"Do you think it will be enough that we get my brothers back? Do you think Keary will want Oppida's head?"

"
Aye, lass. I do believe if he could, he would kill the woman."

"
Does my da know?"

"
I spoke to him in private about Keary's interest in all of this."

"
Good. Mayhap he can stop Keary if he attempts to involve us in a battle." She pondered the chief, MacRae. "Do you know this mon?"

"
Nay. I have never met him."

"
My da?"

"
Once, he said. But he had been busy speaking with others and didna truly get a sense of the man. He said he had a small son, and he seemed devoted to him. But that was it."

"
If he is devoted…" She paused. "What if Keary was right in believing that Oppida poisoned his da's two wives? And poisoned his da? What if the woman wants to rid the chief of his son?"

"'
Tis possible," Angus said. "I suspect Keary intends to reveal all he knows of the matter to MacRae. Whether the man is blinded by the woman's beauty and will do naught about it is another matter."

Edana
gave a soft ladylike snort. "I canna imagine a woman having such an effect on any man to that degree."

Angus smiled warmly at
her. "You have that effect on me, my bonny wife. You could tell me anything, and I would believe you."

She smiled at him.
"I doubt it."

He chuckled.

The men of their party had spread out across the glen, only tightening their ranks when they encountered woodlands. Again, they did so when they had to ford a river that narrowed at one location and widened in either direction from there.

Once they crossed the river, s
ome commotion ahead of them made her perk up in her saddle. "What is the difficulty? Can you tell?" she asked Angus, as she strained to see around the men riding in front of her.

"
I will investigate." He rode up ahead, but when she tried to follow, Niall and Gunnolf cut her off and smiled to see her scowl at them.

She sighed deeply. Maybe a fight was about to ensue and they were right to keep her safe in the center.

Angus quickly returned to her and said, "'Tis one of MacRae's guards. He was told to learn how many of us there are. Now he knows. Only he isna returning to tell MacRae of it."

"
Was he the only man sent to scout for us?"

"
That he knows of. But all of the men are so spread out, if they come across anymore of MacRae's men, they will apprehend them and bring them to Tibold. The scout was told we didna know that your brothers had been imprisoned at the MacRae holdings, nor did they know how many there are of us. I am certain MacRae will quickly concede, once he realizes he is up against three forces, no' just one clan."

She smiled a little at Angus. He raised his brows.
"Aye, though the MacNeills only number two, and Gunnolf is as much a brother to my cousin and me, we call him a MacNeill—but we are powerful, despite our small force. I only have to call on James to strengthen our numbers in short order."

"
Have I told you how much I love you?" she asked.

Gunnolf and Niall glanced in their direction.

"Aye, lass, in every way that it counts and then some," Angus said, smiling.

Her cheeks heated, chasing away the chill.

Carrying torches to light their way, they finally reached the MacRae fortifications in the dark. Six towers sat at equal points along the curtain wall, torches lighting a couple of places on the wall walk where only a handful of men appeared to be guarding on top of the walls.

A shout
went out as guards quickly assembled to see the number of men on horseback heading for the keep. Tibold and Keary kept their men well out of range of arrowshot.

A man shouted down to someone else and the shouts continued as
MacRae men were rallied from their beds.

Between the chilly
night air, the brisk breeze, and the impending danger, Edana felt the cold seep into her bones. She was glad Una was not with them, but also relieved they had not had to face another bout of rain.

"
What are they waiting for?" she asked Angus, whispering as if the men on the wall walk could hear her from this distance.

"
Your da is waiting for all of our combined forces to line up, to show MacRae that he isna dealing with a mere matter of a couple of handfuls of men."

She watched then to see the others lighting torches to show how many men stretched across the dark landscape.
She had no knowledge of battle tactics, though she knew they remained this far away to avoid an archer's arrows.

She wished someone would do something. She wanted her brothers released now. She wanted to care for Drummond at once. Despite believing the men knew what they were doing, if she had been in charge, she would have gone straight to the gate and demanded her brothers
' freedom.

Then her father rode forth with two of his men. She was surprised Keary didn
't accompany him.

"
I am here to demand my sons be released at once. I am Tibold, chief of the Clan Chattan. But I am no' the only one here. Two other clans have pledged their men to me in this matter. Tell that to MacRae."