Wild Highland Rose (Time Travel Trilogy, Book 2) (19 page)

The thought had occurred to her, but she couldn
'
t believe Ewen, this Ewen would do such a thing.  He
'
d been so gentle in the clearing when she
'
d told him about her parents.  So understanding.  Never mind that it hadn
'
t lasted long, the fact that it had been there at all meant something, surely?

Fingal growled deep in his throat.
"
If bedding was all he wanted, he
'
d no
'
have to go to all this trouble.
"

Marjory shivered, and Aimil shot her brother an angry look. 
"
Yer as bad as the lot of them.  Thinking a man can just have his way with a lass whenever he desires.
"

Fingal held out a hand. 
"
I dinna mean that and well you know it.  I was merely saying that Ewen
'
s done more for Marjory since he fell than the entire time he was with her before.
"

"
He stopped the fighting today as well.  And defended me to his father.  The old Ewen wouldna have done that.
"

"
Yer both as addled as he is,
"
Aimil snapped, scorn coloring her voice. 
"
A clean-shaven face is no
'
a rebirth.  And just because he
'
s chosen to help ye on occasion, it doesna mean that he
'
s a new man.  Only that there
'
s something in it for him.
"

"
I
'
m telling ye, I see something different in the lad.  He
'
s no
'
the same.
"
  Fingal stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"
I see it, too
.
"

"
Ach,
"
  Aimil threw her hands in the air. 
"
Ewen this, Ewen that.  To hear ye both talk, ye
'
d think he was a bloody saint.
"

Marjory stared in open mouthed wonder.  She'd never seen Aimil angry.

"I tell ye, ye'd both do well to remember that only a few nights ago he was Ewen Cameron and you counted him as an enemy.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  No one changes that much."  With a thump, she set a full jug of ale on the table.  "Now get back out there and replenish the jug.  Enemies or no', I willna have it said that I'm no' hospitable to guests."

Marjory watched as Fingal picked up the jug and marched out of the kitchen without another word.

Aimil turned to her, shaking a finger.  "Ye mark my words, girl, you watch yer back tonight. 
'
Tis a bedding Torcall Cameron wants, and Ewen has always complied with his father
'
s wishes.
"

"
If I have to bed him to hold on to Crannag Mhór, then so be it.
"
  The words were out before Marjory could think about them, and she realized with dismay that a part of her actually wanted to share a bed with Ewen
—
the new Ewen.  She felt heat rushing to her cheeks.

"
Dinna be daft, girl.
 
Once ye produce a bairn, yer life isna worth a dram o
'
whiskey.
"

"
You dinna know that.  Perhaps he
'
d protect me.
"

"
Yer a fool if ye think a Cameron is capable of anything but deceit.  Believe me when I tell ye that.
"
 
Two bright spots of color marked the centers of Aimil
'
s cheeks, and Marjory knew they were no longer talking about Ewen. 
"
I love ye like ye were my own, Marjory Macpherson, and I
'
ll no
'
let the likes o
'
Ewen Cameron make a fool o
'
ye.
"

"
He
'
s no
'
going to do that, Aimil.
"
  She couldn
'
t for the life of her imagine why she was defending the man.  But here she was doing it just the same.  And the truth was, she believed it.  Believed that she could trust him.  Just like that, her heart had made the decision without even consulting her brain.

"
'
Tis too late, then," Aimil mumbled under her breath, scrubbing furiously at an iron pot.

"What did you say?"

Aimil looked up defiantly.  "I said yer more of a fool than I thought. And I predict this night will mark the end of Crannag Mhór."

*****

Cameron shifted, trying to edge away from Aida
'
s grasp.  The woman was leechlike.  She hadn
'
t left his side all day, which meant he hadn
'
t been able to find time alone with Marjory.

Torcall, too, had become a permanent fixture.  Cameron had to admit Ewen
'
s family loved him.  But
it was a smothering love
.  As if he couldn
'
t be trusted to breathe on his own.

To add to the confusion, Allen had become downright surly.  When Ewen was present, as far as Torcall was concerned, his youngest didn
'
t exist.  At least it explained the hints of anger
and
the veiled hostility.  Allen had no love for his brother, but thankfully, he was too afraid of his father to do anything about it.

Dysfunctional at best
, st
ill it was a family.  Something Cameron had never known.  Again his memories threatened to reveal themselves, only to pull away again like the tide from the shore.

Cameron looked up as Marjory stepped through a small door near the fireplace.  Accompanied by Aimil, she walked to the dais and sat down, reaching for a platter of meat.  Despite the tension running through the room, she seemed calm, smiling at something Fingal said, the dimples in her cheeks making her seem softer.  It occurred to him that Marjory didn
'
t laugh enough, and unfortunately he was sitting with the people who were the cause of it.

Following his gaze, Torcall glanced at the dais. 
"
She
'
s comely enough fer a Macpherson.  At least yer job will no
'
be as odious as if she were ugly.
"

Cameron frowned. 
"
It
'
s not a job, I relish for any reason.
"

Torcall shook his head. 
"
Yer talking daft, boy. 
'
Tis no
'
about what ye want,
'
tis about what
'
s best fer the Camerons.  That and avenging yer mother.
"
  His eyes narrowed in remembered hatred.

"
My mother.
"
  He said the words without any emotion accompanying them.  No picture, no memory at all.  Whoever his mother had been, she was lost in the black chasm of neurons and gray matter
, n
o longer a part of his conscious mind.

"
Ye canna remember.
"
  Torcall
'
s eyes were sad.

Cameron shook his head.

"
Ye look just like her.
 
Yer hair, yer eyes.  She was the most beautiful woman that ever lived.  And I loved her with every breath in my body.
"

"
But she died.
"
  Cameron whispered, afraid to break the spell.  Torcall was different somehow when he spoke of Cait, as if time had rolled backward and taken away the pain etched in the lines of his face.

"
Aye.  At the hand of Manus Macpherson.
"
  He nodded toward the dais, his expression darkening again.

"
Allen told me some of it.  But not how it happened.
"

Torcall pulled his attention back to Cameron
, s
earching his face, as if trying to reassure himself he was truly looking at his son. 
"
'
Tis hard to fathom ye could forget such a thing.  But then ye weren
'
t present that day.
"
  He reached for his ale cup and drained it.
 
"
We were out riding.  Yer mother always loved to ride.
"
  He smiled lost in his past. 
""
Twas a beautiful day, and the world was ours, until we rounded a bend and found the
reivers
.
"

"
Reivers
?
"

Torcall shot him a quizzical look, and Cameron cursed his stupidity. 
"
Cattle thieves.
 
Macphersons, they were.  Wild in their lust to capture the herd.  We tried to pull back out of sight, but
'
twas too late.  They
'
d seen us.
 
In a moment, we were surrounded, outnumbered and defenseless.
"
  His fist tightened at the memory. And Cameron felt his pain.

"
I asked them to let Cait go.  To take me fer ransom and leave her to her sons.  But Manus would no
'
hear of it.  He wanted her.
  I could see it in his eyes. 
But my Cait was a fighter, and she refused to surrender, instead moving her horse away, saying her bairns needed her and she
'
d no
'
go peacefully.

"
Manus laughed.  I can still hear it.  Then he charged at her, his steed twi
ce as big as the mare she rode.
  The wee beast took fright,
and reared back, Cait flew off
and landed against a tree, her neck broken.  I held her in my arms until she died.

"
I wanted to kill him, but there were too many of them and I had you and yer brother to think about.  So I let them take me.
"
 
He reached for a pitcher to refill his tankard, and then drank deeply.
 
"
So ye see, my son, there can be no
'
room in yer heart for anything other than revenge.
"

"
But wasn
'
t that what happened here, when you killed Marjory
'
s parents?
"

"
How is it ye remember that and no
'
yer own mother?
"
  Torcall
'
s voice rose in anger, and Allen looked up to eye them speculatively.

"
I
don
'
t
remember. Someone told me.
"

Torcall studied him for a minute, then nodded. 
"
The raid was meant as revenge.  A way to honor yer mother.
 
And for a while it was enough.  But there was talk of Macpherson retaliation, with more than just our two families involved, and so the lairds came together to find a
solution.
"
  He spat the word as if it were poison. 
"
Yer marriage was the outcome.
 
I
'
ve no mind telling you that I
'
d as soon have seen ye marry the devil himself as Manus
'
spawn, but I had no choice in the matter.
"

"
And now you think if Marjory bears a child it will be the end of it all?
"
  Cameron wasn
'
t sure he followed the logic.

"
I
'
d rather run her through with a claymore, but it canna be so.  And if it canna, then what better revenge than to take Crannag Mhór?
 
Manus loved this valley more than he loved life itself.  And since he took what I loved best…
"

"
You
'
ll take what was his.
"

"
Aye.
"
  Torcall nodded, slamming a fist upon the table. 
"
Tis how it must be done.
"