Taming the Wild Highlander 04 (23 page)

A man disappeared from the wall walk.

"What will he do? This MacRae?" Edana asked Angus.

"
If he is smart, he will release your brothers."

She chewed on her bottom lip and squirmed in her saddle. The men had much more patience than she.

Finally, someone joined the others at the wall walk and shouted down, "MacRae said he will speak to Chattan upon the morrow."

"
Now!" Tibold shouted. "My son, Drummond, is sick with fever. If he dies, it will be on MacRae's head."

The men on top of the wall walk exchanged looks. Then the one disappeared again.

Edana assumed they wondered how her father would know that.

"
Why would he make my da wait until the morrow? Can he no' realize how infuriating that is?" Edana asked.

Angus said,
"I am wondering if he is having your brothers fed and clothed. Mayhap attempting to improve their condition before your da sees them."

She ground her teeth, furious with this MacRae chief.

"Edana,"
her brother, Kayne, whispered across her thoughts.

Tell me, she wanted to say back to him. Tell me what is going on inside MacRae
's keep.

"
My brother, Kayne, called out my name, or thought of it."

"
Anything else?" Angus asked.

She shook her head.
"If I could ask him to tell us all we wanted to know, I would."

The same man as before
finally reappeared on the wall walk. "He said to let you in, and two of your men. No others."

Not about to be left out,
Edana bolted for her father. She would accompany him no matter what.

"
Edana!" Angus shouted, commanding, yet concerned as he galloped after her.

Along the wall walk, the guards crowded around to watch.

Tibold turned to see her riding toward him, his face tight with anger. "Edana, return at once to your place behind the men."

"
Nay," she said. "I wish to see my brothers."

Angus caught up to her.
"Devil have it, Edana. I dinna want you entering this place."

"
I must see my brothers," she said. She implored her da, "Kayne called to me. I must see them."

Another rider
's approach made them turn to learn who else would join them.
Keary.

"
I must speak with MacRae as well. I have learned he has a young son who could be in the gravest danger," Keary said.

From Oppida. Edana agreed.
Though she hoped that he would not cause them trouble when they were attempting to free her brothers.

The gates were opened and instead of Tibold and his two guards accompanying him, his daughter, Angus, and Keary did.

As soon as they rode inside the bailey, they were disarmed, except for Edana who had her dirk hidden under her skirts. The men dismounted and Angus hurried to help Edana from her horse.

The portcullis ground shut
and guards escorted them to the keep.

Her father
's face grew hard with anger. Angus's expression appeared just as dark. Keary hid his expression under a mask of indifference. Her heart pounded as they entered the keep and were led to benches placed next to the fire in the hearth.

"
Sit here. MacRae will join you in a moment," the guard said.

None of them sat. All stood rigid, her da and Angus
's arms folded over their chests. Then Keary copied their stance.

A couple of servants moved through the great hall, not saying a word, eyes downcast, afraid of the fierce-looking men of three clans standing there, watching any movement.

Then a man strode toward them, red haired and bearded, his blue eyes hard, his face flushed with annoyance. He was accompanied by two other men, one whose hair was a light red gold. The other had a head full of brown hair, both wearing scowls just as dark. "I am MacRae," the man said, his voice hardened steel.

"
Let me see my sons," Tibold growled, his voice low with threat.

"
They are being awakened as we speak," MacRae said. "The one was caught forcing himself on my woman. He deserves to be punished. The others fought my men and had to be taken in hand as well. If the woman had been your wife and the roles had been reversed—"

"
My wife is dead, MacRae, and she wouldna have been selling herself off to the highest bidder at some tavern."

"
Now wait just a minute," MacRae said, his face turning purple with rage.

"
He has the right of it," Keary spoke out, his voice just as dark. "I am Laird Lockton. My da was the laird before me, and Oppida served as his mistress. Ask her how she poisoned my da. Ask her how she murdered both his wives before that. 'Twas easy enough to do as she waited until the women were in childbirth, and she made it appear they died because of that. She didna want the competition. But my da wouldna marry her because she canna have children. Ask her of these things. Did she throw herself willingly at other men? Aye. My youngest brother also, after she murdered my father, thinking Finbar would become laird and she would be his wife. Think you she has a loyal bone in her body? Nay, only to serve her own dark purposes. Once that is accomplished, she is done with you."

"
You lie," MacRae growled, his face a deadly scowl. "You lost her to me. You envy what I have."

Keary gave a scornful bark of laughter.
"She is the devil, I say. I would have killed her for murdering my da and the women he had called his wives, though neither were my mother. Oppida slipped out of the castle during the fighting when she realized my youngest brother could not beat me. Would you risk your own son's life on such a woman? Ask him if she has ever tried to force some food or drink on him. My half-brothers and sister didna matter to her because we were not his legitimate sons and daughter. My da didna treat us with any respect. But your son still garners your affection, does he no'? She is evil. Anyone who gets in her way can easily be disposed of."

MacRae stared at Keary, the vein in his neck pulsing with anger, but he did not say anything.

"You want proof? I found the herbs she used to poison my da in her chamber. A man doesna resort to poisoning. A woman does," Keary said. "For your own son's sake, listen to what I have to say. Dinna allow her to blind you like she did my da."

"
Fetch my son," MacRae said to one of his men. To the other, he commanded, "Bring Oppida down here."

With relief, Edana thought MacRae would be reasonable and learn the truth. But what of her brothers?

He turned his attention to Edana. "Who are you?"

"
Edana, sister to the men you hold in your dungeon. And this is Angus MacNeill, my husband."

"
MacNeill?" MacRae said, then swore under his breath.

"
Aye," Angus said. "Laird James is my brother."

But she suspected MacRae had already guessed that
and was concerned the MacNeills would back the Chattan clan in this venture.

Both of the men MacRae sent
to retrieve his son and mistress rushed back into the great hall. "They are missing," the one said, short of breath. "Oppida and your son."

MacRae stared at his men in disbelief. Edana felt sick to her stomach that Oppida could be holding the chief's son hostage, hiding somewhere.

"
Their chambers are empty. Both of them," the man elaborated.

"
Have everyone search for them. Now!" MacRae ordered.

"
Aye."

The two men hurried off to wake the staff.

"Since you seemed to know so much about her, would Oppida have taken my son somewhere?" MacRae asked Keary.

"
Mayhap to buy her time. If she thought you might turn her over to me to mete out her punishment, possibly. Mayhap to silence him if he should be able to corroborate that she has been trying to poison him."

"
I have been blind," MacRae said under his breath.

"
My brothers," Edana said. She wished she could help MacRae search for the boy, but she had to see to her sick brother.

"
Take them to see the Chattan brothers," MacRae said to one of the two guards.

"
Nay, lass," Angus said. "I dinna want you to see the filth down there."

"
They have been moved to a chamber near mine," MacRae said, verging on apologetic.

"
If you wish it, I will help you look for the woman. I know what she looks like," Keary said, his voice dark with threat.

"
Leave the woman to me," MacRae said, his voice stern. "But, aye, you may help with the search."

Keary bowed his head a little,
but Edana thought if Keary got hold of her, he would dispense with Oppida himself. Edana hoped he would not and would allow MacRae to deal with her instead to keep some semblance of peace between the clans.

T
he man led Edana, Angus, and her father up a flight of narrow curved stairs, then down a long corridor. When they reached a chamber where a guard stood, the man with them said, "Let them pass."

"
Wait here," Edana's da said, and she felt her eyes fill with tears. Angus wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close.

Tibold
quickly returned from the bedchamber and said, "Come, daughter, Angus."

They joined him inside the chamber and found Drummond shivering in a bed
, buried in furs, his face pale, sweaty. Her other brothers sat on the mattress, looking thinner than she remembered.

But when they saw her, their expressions brightened
and they all hurried to greet her.

She expected them to smell badly, but they
'd all been scrubbed clean, though it didn't matter. Too glad to see them all alive and as well as could be expected given the circumstances, she quickly hugged each of them. Then, as if she was their mother, she made them return to their seats on the bed. She quickly went to see Drummond.

"
Was he injured? Has a healer seen to him?" she asked the man who had escorted them to the room.

"
Nay, he wasna wounded. No' by a weapon. A healer has seen to him."

"
Then the fever is due to the conditions of the dungeon."

"
Aye," the guard said.

Glad that her youngest brother hadn
't suffered an infection from a wound, she ran her hand over Drummond's hot brow. He stared at her, appearing not to comprehend who she was, and she felt sick at heart. She placed his hot hand against her cheek. "Drummond, I have come all this way to rescue you. You must come home with me now."

"
Did you hear us, lass? Calling for you?" Kayne asked, as if trying to ease the tension in the chamber.

She nodded.
"Aye, I heard you. And you said for me to stay away." She couldn't help sounding annoyed with him.

"
For your own safety," Gildas said.

She humpfed.
"I have brought men from three clans with me, willing to fight for your release. Did you think I would come alone?"

Her brothers looked at their da fo
r confirmation. Angus quirked a brow as if telling on her in a silent way.

"
Well, I didna. I lost my escort in a storm. How could I know that would happen?" she said.

Gildas groaned.
Kayne shook his head and folded his arms.

"
Dinna fret, Gildas, Kayne. I ended up with a husband. Isna that good news?"

Her brothers,
all but Drummond, looked at Angus.

"
Angus MacNeill, youngest brother to Laird James MacNeill of Craigly Castle," Angus said, bowing his head slightly.

Most likely wondering how in the world that had happened, her brothers all stared at him
, except for Drummond. He just gazed upon her. She couldn't tell if he really saw her or was in a world of his own.

She took a deep breath
and held his hand, caressing it with her free hand. "Drummond, you must get well. We have a long way to travel before we are able to return home."

"
He canna travel like this until he is well," her father said. "Taking him into the cold chilly weather could kill him."

Drummond could die even if he stayed here.
But she couldn't think of that. He would get well. She would see to it.

"
How do the rest of you feel?" she asked, hoping that none of them would become ill also.

"
We are fine," Kayne said, "though we could use more food and mead to improve our strength before we leave. They did feed us some before you arrived."