Taming the Wild Highlander 04 (9 page)

Niall said,
"No' me."

But Angus looked
at her so strangely that she thought he appeared to have seen a banshee. "Angus?" she asked.

Gunnolf said,
"We encountered this Oppida. Well, actually heard of her."

Eda
na's hopes instantly rose. "You know her? You know where my brothers could be?"

"
At Lockton Castle. 'Tis Dunbarton's keep. Dougald and I stayed there for a spell," Gunnolf said.

"
Then we must go there."

Angus said,
"We must return you home first and let your da know where they are, if they are there at all."

"
He willna believe us. No' unless we know for certain."

Angus look
ed at Gunnolf for confirmation.

"
We heard tell Oppida was the chief's mistress. She visits taverns looking for payment for her…services. When the chief learns of it, he throws the mon in the dungeon who dared…" Gunnolf stopped mid-sentence.

"
My brothers wouldna have been with such a woman," Edana said vehemently. None of the men said anything, which infuriated her. Did they think she did not know her brothers that well? After she'd seen her father with Zeneva when she would have defended his honor to the death, maybe she didn't know her brothers any better. But she wouldn't admit to that. "They wouldna! Just because you and Dougald had been—"

"
Nay, lass," Gunnolf said quickly. "I mentioned we had heard tales of the woman. Dougald and I attempted to stop Dunbarton's men from raiding sheep on our lands. We found ourselves vastly outnumbered."

"
Oh," she said. "My brothers wouldna have been doing such as they were on their way to see our cousin, the McEwan. They wouldna have been… Well, they must have been doing something honorable as well, and Dunbarton threw them in the dungeon. They must have heard about the woman as you did and thought I might share the information and someone would know then where they are."

"
What think you?" Niall asked Angus. "I believe going for reinforcements might be in our best interest. Beyond that, seeing to the lady's care by leaving her with her da is probably the best idea, do you no' think?"

"
Quite a squabble ensued between Dunbarton's five bastard sons as to who would rule the clan next when he died. We dinna have much to do with them, and they havena been raiding our lands of late," Gunnolf said. "So we dinna know which one is now laird."

"
But you and Dougald have already been in their dungeon once. Dinna you think if they see you, they will want to put you there again? And us because we will be with you, and of course we will fight to keep you from going into the dungeon in the first place," Niall said, clearly sounding as though he was afraid he'd end up in a dungeon again.

Angus said,
"If Keary rules in his father's place. I believe he will listen to us. He did aid us in freeing you and Dougald, Gunnolf. But we will still take the lass home first."

"
We will be heading in the wrong direction and add four more days if no' more to our—your journey—if we go to my da's keep. Four more days of abuse!" Edana exclaimed, her temper flaring.

"
We take you home, Edana. That is my final word," Angus said.

If her brothers were truly at Dunbarton
's keep, she had done her job. Angus would enlist her father's help, and somehow they would convince their laird to release her brothers. So why was she not happy with the prospect?

What if they h
ad some of the scenario wrong? What if Oppida was somehow the key, but the keep Gunnolf thought they were being held at wasn't the correct one?

"
Are you certain they would be holding them at Dunbarton's keep?" she asked. "That Oppida is still at Lockton Castle when Dunbarton no longer lives? That she isna some other chief's mistress?"

Angus didn
't say a word. Neither did Gunnolf.

She pursed her lips.
Then she wondered just how difficult it would be to get them released. "Gunnolf, how were you and Dougald set free?"

"
The first time?"

Eyes wide, she asked,
"You we thrown into the dungeon more than once?"

"
Ja
. The first time, a lass freed us."

"
A lass?"

"
Aye. She gave the guards a sleeping draught and helped us to escape. But we were captured again and the next time we needed extra help."

"
I wasna there, but James led a force to help free them," Angus said.

"
Why were you no' there?" she asked, believing he would have been there to help his brothers.

"
Angus was injured in a swordfight with some of Robert Curthose's men," Gunnolf said. "He couldna fight for a fortnight, but his injuries healed, and he has use of his sword arm again."

She glanced at Angus
's arm, not having seen him favor it in the least. But now she worried he might be injured if he was unable to keep up with the other men.

"'
Tis properly healed," Angus said, giving Gunnolf an annoyed look.

But she still worried.
"Your brother, James, laid siege to Lockton Castle?"

"
James had some assistance. Once he and his men were shown the secret tunnel, they made their way inside."

H
er spirits lifted at once. "You can sneak them out. Good. Aye, you will need my da's men to assist you."

"
We canna just force our way inside," Niall said. "We have to learn if her brothers are even there."

"
Aye, 'tis true," Angus said.

"
How will you be able to do that with a group of men? They will surely realize you mean to wage war on them. Especially when they see my da's men, if they know which clan my brothers belong to. Or I suspect they might."

"
We will come up with a plan," Angus said, sounding as though he was attempting to appease a bairn and wished to end this discussion.

She meant to speak not another word to them all the rest of the way back to the keep, though it would take them two days, but she couldn
't help herself. "What if my da doesna believe you? That my brothers are being held in Dunbarton's dungeon? What if he thinks you will cause trouble with a clan we havena had problems with before? What if he says no' only is he no' sending men, but he doesna wish
you
to visit Dunbarton's keep on my brothers' behalf either?"

But worse, what if they had it all wrong and her brothers were
not shackled at Lockton Castle?

As Angus and his companions crossed the glen, the foaming burn running through the center of it, they paused their horses to drink of the fresh water and fill their flasks. He felt unsure about what to do concerning Edana as she stretched her legs, bending over to add water to her flask. So surprised, he stared, mesmerized as he considered her lovely backside. It didn't matter that she was wearing a brat over her léine. Just the way she was bent over made him harden.

Och.
He quickly turned away, but caught Niall and Gunnolf watching her, all smiles. He frowned at them and once they saw his scowl, they busied themselves with filling their own flasks.

The lass
belonged at home, not with the men who were not family and when she had no female to accompany her.

He glanced at the Scots pine towering nearby and the craggy peaks of mountains, spearing low-lying clouds
, predicting they would soon have more rain.

Shortly thereafter, they
remounted their horses and continued on their way.

The nagging thought kept pulling at his conscience.
She could be right. That even if they convinced her father to allow them to take men with them, what if they couldn't persuade the current Laird of Lockton Castle to give up her brothers? What if the laird wouldn't admit to having the brothers incarcerated at his keep? Worse, what if they discovered her brothers were not even there?

His mind made up, though he could not believe he
'd come to this decision, he hollered, "Hold!"

Everyone stopped.

"We go to see the Laird of Lockton."

"
We canna take her with us," Gunnolf said, frowning.

"
She will be my wife," Angus said.

Her jaw dropped.

"We will pretend you are my wife," Angus clarified. "We will ask for Highland hospitality and see if we can learn for certain that Edana's brothers are there. Once we learn the truth, we can take the news to Edana's father, and he can send men with us to convince the laird to release her brothers."

"
What if the lady herself ends up in the dungeon?" Niall protested.

"
We will endeavor to keep her safe," Angus said, not believing anyone would take such measures with the lass.

"
Sorry, Niall," Gunnolf said, already agreeing to the plan that could lead to their downfall. "'Tis an adventure when you journey with any of the MacNeill brothers. Have they no' warned you?"

"
I thought Dougald was the only one who landed his friends in a cell with him," Niall said glumly.

"
Mayhap 'twas one of the other brothers who was the cause before," Gunnolf said, with just a hint of a smile. "Malcolm and James had their turn also."

"
If you mean the time that Da arranged two marriages for Malcolm at once," Angus said, "'twas Da's fault, no' my brothers."

"
Ja
, but if Malcolm had agreed to wed the daughter of that clan chief, none of us would have ended up in the chief's dungeon. 'Tis good that James finally convinced the chief to free us as the lady that Malcolm finally wed is the perfect one for him," Gunnolf said.

Edana cleared her throat and they all looked at her.

"How can I ever thank you?" Edana asked, so gratefully, she looked as though she would come out of her saddle to hug Angus. Tears swam in her eyes, but they were tears of joy and relief.

He wanted that hug, truth be told. But he was on a mission so important, he couldn
't allow a bonny lass to distract him.

"
But you must promise to guard everything you say, Edana, so you dinna give our purpose away," Angus warned. "'Tis a role we must all play."

"
Oh, aye, you have nothing to fear on my part."

She
looked so eager to aid them in locating her brothers, Angus frowned.

Why did he not believe her?

***

Edana
could have embraced Angus she was so relieved that not only had he believed her, he agreed to take her with them. She hoped Kayne would attempt to speak to her again. She prayed they would learn for certain that her brothers were locked in the dungeon without her escort getting into any trouble themselves.

"
There is one little problem with all of this," Angus said. "Gunnolf has been there before, as he has mentioned. Gunnolf isna one to forget easily and any number of Dunbarton's men might recognize him. We may encounter trouble because of it."

"
Then mayhap we should leave him nearby and see for ourselves if they have my brothers there first," Edana said.

"
If you wish it, Angus, I will wait. Should you no' return by an agreed upon time, I will seek Chattan's help."

"
That is a wonderful idea," Edana said brightly. "Even if my da is reluctant to come to my brothers' aid, believing they are still safe and riding to see our cousin McEwan, he willna balk at demanding
my
release."

Angus
frowned. "You willna try to get us placed in the dungeon so that Gunnolf will seek your da's help, would you?"

She was
shocked he would even consider such a notion. "Surely you jest, Angus. I have no wish to reside with my brothers in a dark, dank cell even for a heartbeat."

Even so, if she could be with them, she would give up her fr
eedom, knowing Gunnolf would bring a rescue party.

Angus looked unsettled as if he knew just where her loy
alties were. "Just so you know—they most likely will be naked."

She gaped at Angus, then quickly closed her mouth and stared straight ahead. She didna wish to see her brothers naked, even tho
ugh she had seen Gildas's bare arse when he was tupping a maid by the loch when she'd chanced upon them. Thankfully, neither had seen her dash away from the scene of their impassioned romance. At least she hoped not.

Chin up, she
continued to look forward, her cheeks heated despite the chill in the air. She would do anything, she reminded herself, if it meant getting her brothers freed.