The Laird of Stonehaven (29 page)

“Money to pay his ransom, and men to fight the English if he fails to raise enough gold to appease his former captors. The king has ordered the Highland lairds to gather men and arms and join him at Hawick. Damn him! He wants us to empty our coffers for him.”

“What are ye going to do?” Heath asked.

“After the way the king treated me, I should ignore the summons. I willna give money to the bastard who meant to execute me.”

“ ’Tis not wise to anger the king,” Stuart warned.

Graeme grew thoughtful. “Heath, how many men can we muster?”

“Two hundred, if we send out the call to our clansmen who live in small fishing villages along the coast. It would take at least a sennight to muster them, but they will come.”

“And perhaps another sennight to reach Hawick.” Graeme stroked his chin. “It could work.”

“What are ye thinking, laddie?” Stuart asked.

“Two hundred men is not an inconsiderable number. Some lairds will ignore the call, for they have not forgiven him for what happened at Inverness, and I canna blame them.”

“Are ye saying we will ignore the call for arms and money?” Stuart asked.

“Nay, ’tis not what I had in mind. The king is desperate for men and money. He’ll be even more desperate when he learns that those very same lairds he intended to imprison will ignore his summons. He will need our two hundred men.” He grinned. “ ’Tis perfect. I shall give him what he wants but demand something in return.”

“Ye expect the king of Scotland to deal with ye?” Heath said incredulously.

“Aye. Dinna let the messenger leave until I prepare an answer to carry back to the king. I intend to tell James that I will bring money and two hundred men if he restores my marriage to Blair.”

Stuart gasped. “ ’Tis a bold move, Nephew. Mayhap ye would be better off without the lass.”

Alyce, who had been standing in the background, bristled indignantly. “I canna believe ye said that, Stuart. If not for Blair, ye wouldna be here. She saved yer life.”

“Alyce is right,” Graeme agreed. “All that aside, I promised Blair’s father I would protect her.”

Heath sent Graeme a probing look. “ ’Tis more than that,” he muttered. “Say what you want, ’tis obvious ye love the lass.”

Graeme started to deny the charge but changed his mind. “ ’Tis true I am uncommonly fond of Blair.”

“Ha!” Heath bleated.

“I knew it!” Alyce said, grinning smugly.

“My feelings are not the issue,” Graeme said. “What think you of my plan?”

“I agree that ’tis possible the lairds will send neither men nor money,” Aiden mused. “I think yer plan has merit, laird.”

“Aye,” the others agreed.

“Alyce, fetch the messenger.”

“Think ye the king will accept yer terms?” Heath asked.

“Aye, I believe so. He isna stupid. He will agree to anything if he’s desperate enough. Heath, send out the call for men. Aiden, check the weapons in the armory and set the lads to repairing those that are in need of attention. Uncle, I will leave the keep once again in your capable hands. Aiden, choose a man to accompany the messenger. He can carry the king’s reply back to me.”

Blair lay in a pool of moonlight. Consciousness returned to her slowly, but once she was fully awake, she recalled everything. She knew where MacKay’s treasure lay. Unsteadily she rose to her feet and staggered to the bed. Her thoughts ran amok. Should she tell MacKay? Did her freedom lie at the bottom of an abandoned well? Would MacKay honor his promise to let her go free once he had his treasure?

Blair couldn’t think about that right now. There were more important issues at hand. The most significant was the return of her powers. If the Prophecy was to be believed, and she had no reason to doubt it, Graeme loved her. What Blair desired above all things was Graeme’s love, but until the spirits had spoken to her tonight she had despaired of ever having it. Why had it taken him so long to acknowledge his feelings?”

Despite the possibility that Graeme loved her, they were no longer wed. The king had ended their union with a stroke of a pen. It mattered not, she decided. She would go to Stonehaven and offer to become Graeme’s leman. No matter what transpired, she would not be parted from Graeme.

Blair stood at the window as a bleak dawn broke through the morning mist. The overcast sky promised rain, and before long a light drizzle began to fall. Within minutes the drizzle turned into a downpour that pelted the window. A dismal beginning for such a portentous day, Blair thought.

Shivering, Blair performed her morning ablutions and went below to the hall. She was walking toward one of the lower tables when MacKay motioned for her to join him.

“Well?” he asked impatiently. “Do ye have answers for me? I can wait nae longer.”

Blair filled her plate with eggs and ham and proceeded to eat. She intended to appease her hunger before she dealt with MacKay. Her appetite, despite her dire situation, had not waned. During the past few weeks she had been ravenous and feared she would soon burst the seams of her gown.

“Speak to me, lass,” MacKay growled.

“I canna think on an empty stomach,” Blair said, needing time to consider the ramifications of revealing the location of the treasure to MacKay.

“Eat yer fill, then tell me what I want to know. What is so difficult about using yer magic to find something of mine that is missing?”

Blair raised her head and stared at MacKay. “What’s in it for me?”

“Are ye daft? Does yer freedom mean naught to ye?”

“Does a fortune in gold and jewels mean naught to you?” Blair shot back.

An idea had just occurred to her. She wanted to take something of value back to Graeme, especially if he had received the same request for money and arms from the king that MacKay had.

“The treasure does indeed exist, and ’tis worth more than you imagined.”

“Ahhh,” MacKay sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I knew it.” He drummed his fingers on the table and stared off into space, his eyes hooded, his expression smug.

“The king need never know of this. I willna share with him.” He turned to Blair and grasped her shoulders, his fingers digging into her soft flesh. “Where is my treasure?”

“Unhand me! The treasure is where you will never find it without my help.”

His hands dropped away. “What are ye up to, lass?”

“If I tell you where your treasure is located, ’tis only fair that I should have a portion of it.”

“Ye expect me to share my treasure with ye?”

“Only a small part. I am not greedy.”

“Nay.”

Blair shrugged. “Then I will never reveal its location to you.”

With the return of her powers, Blair had no fear of MacKay.

She rose. MacKay grasped her arm and pulled her back down. “Dinna play me for a fool, Blair MacArthur, lest ye suffer my wrath.”

“Dinna think I am incapable of making you verra sorry you threatened me. I could arrange for lightning to strike you, if I wished.”

“Ye wouldna.”

“Would I not? I am but asking for a small share of the treasure.”

“How small?”

Blair cocked her head, closed her eyes and was granted a vision of the enormous wealth hidden within the treasure chest. “I want a quarter of the treasure’s worth.”

“Nay, ’tis too much! A tenth! I will give you a tenth.”

Blair considered. A tenth of the treasure would be sufficient. “Verra well, I agree.”

“How do ye know what the treasure consists of?”

“I have ‘seen’ what lies within the treasure chest. You will be pleased.”

“Verra well, a tenth. Now tell me where to find all this wealth.”

Blair rose. “I will fetch my wrap and lead you to it.”

“Be quick about it,” MacKay ordered. “I canna wait to finally possess my ancestor’s legendary wealth.”

Blair returned a short time later, wrapped in a sturdy cloak to protect her from the chilling rain. She walked across the hall and out the door, so sure that MacKay would follow, she didn’t bother looking back.

MacKay caught up with her in the bailey. “Where is it, lass? Ye wouldna play me false, would ye?”

Ignoring him, Blair proceeded directly to the rowan tree growing a short distance from the keep. She stopped abruptly and pointed to the earth beneath her feet.

“Dig here. You’ll find the treasure at the bottom of an abandoned well.”

MacKay gave a derisive snort. “There is no abandoned well beneath yer feet.”

“Do you doubt me?”

MacKay studied her from beneath lowered lids. He looked skeptical, as if he wanted to disbelieve her but dared not. “I’ll set men to digging immediately.”

Spinning about, he spoke to one of the guardsmen standing nearby. A few minutes later a half dozen men carrying shovels poured from one of the outbuildings.

“Tell them where to dig,” MacKay ordered.

Blair pointed to the spot beneath her feet and moved aside. She watched dispassionately as the men began digging furiously. By the time the shovels hit something solid, Blair was soaked to the skin and shivering. When she attempted to return to the warm fire inside the keep, MacKay snagged her around the waist.

“Stay. We will see this through together.”

The solid object turned out to be a wooden barrier that appeared to cover an opening of some sort.

“Damn me, but the witch is right,” MacKay crowed. “Bend yer backs to it, lads.”

The lid was pried up, revealing a deep, dark hole. Blair moved cautiously to the edge. A bright light only she could see appeared before her eyes. Her gaze followed the light to the very bottom of the well. She saw the treasure chest sitting exactly where it had lain for over one hundred years.

“What do ye see?” MacKay asked. “ ’Tis black as pitch down there.”

“Give two men torches and lower them on ropes. The well isna deep and holds no water. They will know what to do when they reach the bottom.”

This time MacKay didn’t stop her when she left. He was too engrossed in retrieving the treasure chest to care. Blair warmed herself before the fire while the men toiled outside in the rain.

An hour later a jubilant MacKay returned, followed by four men lugging the chest. A crowd gathered around as the chest was placed on a table, waiting for MacKay to break the rusty lock.

“Blair MacArthur!” MacKay shouted. “Come here, lass. I want ye beside me when I view the treasure for the first time. If ye have played me false, yer head will be parted from yer body afore ye can work one of yer evil spells on me.”

Blair approached MacKay, aware that the contents of the chest wouldn’t disappoint him.

MacKay attacked the rusty lock with the hilt of his dirk. When that failed, he used his claymore with great vigor. Finally the lock gave, falling to the floor in pieces.

The chamber reverberated with excitement as men and women pressed close for a glimpse of the treasure. MacKay’s hands were shaking as he lifted the lid. The glitter of gold nearly blinded Blair. She gasped and turned away, her face suddenly gone pale. But it wasn’t the sheen of gold that startled her.

It was the pitiful cries of those who had died beneath the swords of MacKay’s ancestors, the men who had raided and killed for the contents of the chest. And she was aware of something she had not sensed before. There was a curse that came with the chest. The man who claimed it would not live long enough to enjoy it.

Each precious gem and gold coin spoke to Blair of brutality, betrayal and death. A shiver raced down her spine. The treasure chest held ill-gotten gains. Would MacKay heed her if she told him about the curse?

“You have what you wanted; I will gather my things and leave,” she said.

“What about yer reward?” MacKay asked, looking as stunned as Blair felt after viewing the treasure and hearing the tormented voices calling out to her.

“I want no part of it. ’Tis yours.”

MacKay’s eyes narrowed. “What changed yer mind? We struck a bargain. Your share of the treasure is not paltry.”

“I want no part of it. ’Tis cursed. Keep it, all of it. A horse is all I require.”

“Fetch the lass’s horse,” MacKay shouted to one of his kinsmen, as if afraid she would change her mind.

“Thank you. I’ll get my things,” Blair said, turning her back on the treasure and all the misery it represented. She could still hear the former owners crying out for retribution, and she had to get away from those haunting voices.

Suddenly she gasped and stiffened as a stabbing pain in the middle of her back brought her to a halt. It felt as if someone had just shoved a dagger into her flesh. Glancing over her shoulder, she was stunned to see MacKay staring at her through narrowed lids. His aura was green, the color of greed, and Blair could read his thoughts as if he had spoken them aloud.

He was reconsidering his agreement to let her leave and wondering how to use her powers to further his ambitions. Deciding it was time to flee, Blair made a wild dash out the front door and into the tempest raging outside.

“Dinna let her get away!” MacKay shouted.

Blair heard men pounding behind her and veered toward the stables. Without a horse she hadn’t a chance of escaping. Darting a glance over her shoulder, she saw that MacKay and his men were nearly upon her.

She stopped abruptly, aware that her powers were all that stood between her and the return to captivity. Facing her adversaries, she spread her arms wide and silently beseeched the spirits to help her. She felt a surge of energy lance through her body and knew the spirits were with her. Raising her voice above the wail of the wind, she called forth the forces of nature. MacKay had nearly reached her when a bolt of lightning streaked to earth from a bank of angry black storm clouds, striking the ground near his feet.

MacKay and his men flew in all directions, stunned and unable to move. Taking advantage of the situation, Blair darted into the stables, mounted the first horse she saw and flew past the confused men lying on the ground. Having had no time to saddle the mare, Blair clung to her mane as she sped through the gate and set a course for Stonehaven.

Feeling an overwhelming need to help Blair, Graeme was too worried and impatient to wait for the king’s reply to his offer. The knowledge that Blair was MacKay’s captive drove him to madness. If MacKay so much as put his hands on Blair, the man wouldn’t live to brag about it.