Highlander’s Wicked Desire (Wicked Highlanders Book 2)

by Fiona Faris

  “If things are tae go badly, dinnae put yerself at risk by comin’ tae me defense. Our people will need ye when I am gone. I dinnae want me choices tae lead ye tae yer end, and the English are still comin’. The clan will need ye tae get through the days tae come. If it looks as if we dinnae stand a chance o’ winnin’ against the bastards, get as many o’ our people as ye can tae safety. Ian will meet ye on the Isle o’ Jura. He and Duncan will find them new homes, a new life away from here.”

  “I will nae leave ye tae die alone. Either we live together, or we die together,” William argued forcefully.

  “William, it is nae a request. It is an order.”

  “Nae,” William shook his head in fierce refusal.

  “William, think o’ Isla. Ye cannae leave her alone tae fight off that bastard Irishman.”

  William’s jaw clenched and his hands spasmed as if he could not control the conflicting emotions that raged through his being. “Isla should have gone with Elizabeth.”

  “There is nothin’ for it now. Ye tried tae make her see reason, and she wouldnae go. Ye must do all ye can tae protect her by stayin’ alive and unharmed.”

  William shook his head and punched his fist into the wall. His knuckles came away skinned, leaving bloody marks upon the gray stone. James felt a chill of foreboding at the sight of the crimson stain, fearing that the hall would soon be awash in the blood of his people. God be with them.

  * * *

  Donald MacDonald and his daughter, Fiona, sat across from James in stunned silence, his best warrior Liam MacDonald standing behind him. “The things ye have suffered, lad. Had ye but told me o’ yer troubles, ye could have had me help without the betrothal tae me Fiona. As it is, I am glad that ye had the courage tae face me.”

  “Ye are nae angry with me? It was ne’er me intent tae shame yer daughter in any way.”

  “Nae, lad, I am disappointed, but nae angry. I would have verra much liked tae have had a laird such as yerself for a son-in-law, but there is nae shame tae be had in the denyin’ o’ it. Ye have put yer people first in all things, a quality that I admire; but the heart is nae a thing tae be denied for long. I loved me wife verra much and disobeyed me own faither in the marryin’ o’ her. How could I be angry with a man for doin’ the verra same thing that I meself have done?”

  “Are ye angry with me, Fiona?” James asked taking her hand in his own. He noticed that Liam twitched in disapproval at the touch, and he smiled inwardly at the man’s obvious feelings for the lass.

  “Nae. The Lady Elizabeth is a verra fortunate lass tae have gained yer heart.”

  “I have a feelin’ that ye will nae need tae look verra hard tae find yer heart,” he indicated Liam behind her with his eyes and she smiled knowingly.

  “Aye, I ken that ye may be right.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  When evening fell, the hall was filled to brimming with the clan’s men and women. James stood upon the dais looking out over his people. The women who his father had raped and abused stood staring up at him, waiting for him to signal that they were to come and join him. The pain and fear he saw in their eyes caused his heart to constrict with guilt, but the determination etched upon their faces to do what needed to be done gave him courage. He looked to William at the door who nodded that he was ready. It was his job to make sure that no one left the hall until James and the women were finished speaking. There would be no more blackmail, no more skulking in the shadows. All would be revealed this night and dealt with accordingly, one way or another.

  James raised his hand for silence and the steward banged his staff upon the floor, each hit echoing throughout the room, punctuating his dread at what was to come. The crowd fell silent and turned their eyes to James. “I have called ye all here tae set right a wrong.”

  The clan’s people all exchanged looks with one another as a murmur rippled through the crowd. Every face in the room showed concern and uncertainty, except for those already in the know. James searched for Robbie MacDonald among the crowd and found the man’s expression to be unreadable. Their eyes met, and he thought he caught the slightest glimmer of anger in their depths, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He has become quite good at concealin’ how he feels o’er the years. I pray there comes a day when he and I can be true brothers.

  James turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Taking a deep breath to settle his raging heart, he told his people about the true cause of his father’s death. He told them everything, holding nothing back. He shared with them every sordid detail of the night his father died and the life that he had led before it. He attempted to keep the women’s names out of the story, taking the dimmest chance that they would accept his word for it, but by the time he finished speaking, the crowd’s murmuring had become a dull roar.

  “What proof do ye have o’ these accusations against our laird? A man who is nae longer here tae defend himself,” one of the men who had expressed his anger on more than one occasion about James’ protection of Elizabeth shouted from the crowd.

  “I am the proof,” Mary MacDonald stepped forward onto the dais. She looked to her son in the crowd. James turned his gaze to Robbie and found tears in his eyes. Robbie nodded his head at his mother ever so slightly, then returned to standing stoically silent against the wall.

  “I am the proof,” another of the women stepped forward beside Mary. One after the other, the women who had spoken with him, shared their secret pain with him, stepped forward.

  Gasps of surprise and dismayed murmurings filled the room. Tears filled many an eye, and anger tightened their features. “Why did ye nae tell us sooner? Why do ye tell us now?” someone from the crowd asked.

  James explained to them about how he had lied to protect them all. He told them of the blackmail scheme and the encroaching English threat. Angry murmurings about how Sassenach troubles were none of their affair filled the air along with curious whispers of who might have been the blackmailers among them. Some of the men argued for James to be removed as laird, others argued that he should remain as he had done nothing wrong, a small number argued for him to be banished or even executed for his part in the former laird’s death.

  One elderly man stepped forward from the crowd, and James recognized him as Mary MacDonald’s father. “I ken well enough why ye did what ye did with the laird. God kens it was a long time in comin’ tae the man, and had I kenned the truth o’ the matter, I would have killed him meself long ago for doin’ what he did tae me Mary. What I dinnae ken is why ye would risk all for that Sassenach lass. ‘Twould have been simpler tae return her tae her people, nae matter the men they might have been. I am nae a man tae condone rape, as ye may well ken, but we must put our own lasses afore any others. The Lady Elizabeth is nae Scottish. She is nae a MacDonald. Why does she deserve our protection at the risk o’ others?”

  “Because she is me wife,’’ James answered, squaring his shoulders to take whatever punishment might come.

  “Yer wife!?” a cry went up in disbelief.

  “ What o’ Donald MacDonald’s lass?” Mary’s father asked. “Ye are betrothed.”

  “Nae, we are nae longer betrothed,” Fiona MacDonald answered for him stepping out of the crowd. James was surprised to see her in the hall. He looked behind her and saw Liam and her father stepped forward as well.

  “And the Laird James has the full support o’ meself and me people,” Donald MacDonald joined him upon the dais. “There is nae place among the Clan MacDonald for rapists. This is nae the Clan Campbell! We treat our lasses better than that, nae matter whether they are Scottish or Sassenach. Am I tae believe that the only honorable men among the Knock Castle MacDonald’s are its current Laird and Keeper?” Donald MacDonald’s words hit their mark. They had been intended to shame those who resisted James’ efforts, and it worked. Those who had protested James’ actions suddenly became quiet.

  “I thank ye Donald for yer words and support.”

  “For as long as James Alexander Ma
cDonald is laird o’ Knock Castle, ye will have Castleton as an ally; but hear me now. If anythin’ ill is tae befall the lad by yer own hand, I will rain down vengeance upon yer heads.”

  “Please, Donald, I dinnae wish for any harm tae befall me people, whether I am tae die at their hands or that o’ the English. I trust that ye will adhere tae me wishes in this matter and ken that I appreciate yer support always.”

  Donald looked as if he might argue, but instead nodded his head in deference to James’ wishes. “We will leave ye now, James, before I do somethin’ that I cannae take back, but me offer still stands. Call upon me, and I will come tae yer aid with all haste, at any time.”

  “I thank ye, Donald, and may have need o’ yer aid sooner than we would all hope.”

  Donald and his people left the hall pushing their way through the crowd, giving the eye to many of the men as they passed. James had told him the truth at great risk to himself and his people. He had never imagined that Donald would have responded the way that he did. Such a laird’s support would be invaluable in the days to come. He watched Donald disappear. He turned back to his people, who stood staring at him in gape-mouthed silence. It was clear that they did not know what to make of the evening’s events. The fact that they had not killed him or banished him yet was a feat in and of itself. He knew that it was in no small part to the women who stood around him and Donald’s words on his behalf. The fact that there had been a great many things to be concerned about appeared to have overwhelmed them, also working in his favor.

  Oddly enough, there had been very few mentions of Duncan and Marra’s roles in the matter after the women had spoken out about what his father had done to them. Even if he was removed as laird, at least he had managed to protect his godson, Ewan, from reprisals upon the lad’s family. In telling the truth, he had taken the power out of the blackmailer’s hands and put it back with the people where it had always belonged. Now as he stood awaiting his fate, he felt freer than he had felt in a very long time. He felt free of his father’s shadow, free of the lies, free to be the man he had always intended to be: truthful, honorable, brave, strong, and loved. I am free…

  He closed his eyes as the image of Elizabeth lying naked in his arms flitted through his mind. Firelight flickered in her bonnie blue eyes, shimmering along the curves of her silken skin. His hands tangled in her hair, as he bent to take her rose petal-soft lips with his own. He clenched his fists as his body surged with the need of her. Elizabeth… His heart whispered her name as if it were his last breath. A gentle touch on his arm caused him to open his eyes shattering the image, but not the lingering feeling of her that always stayed with him. He turned his head to find Mary standing next to him, looking up at him in concern.

  “Nae matter what happens here today, we are behind ye, Laird. All o’ us.” She gestured toward the women that surrounded him, and James’ raised his brows in surprise. Every single last one of the women who had come forward and told their stories of abuse stood, arms linked together as a wall between him and the rest of the clan. They were a force of strength and determination to be reckoned with. He glanced at William who looked as surprised as James was.

  He turned his gaze back to Mary. “What are you doin’? I am fully prepared tae suffer the consequences o’ me actions. Yer testimonies helped tae save the lives o’ those I wished tae save. Now I must face it, alone. Ye have done yer part. I didnae ask ye for this.”

  “Nae, ye didnae, but ye have it anyway. Ye will nae face this alone. In all o’ the years that yer faither raped and abused his fellow clanswomen, nae a single man stood against him. Nae a single man who kenned what had happened did anythin’ tae stop it. Those that kenned what was happenin’ blamed the lassies, nae the man who had caused so much harm. Those that didnae ken didnae care enough tae notice the pain their women were in from the secrets they were hidin’. Ye were the first tae take a stand and do somethin’ about it, nae just for Marra MacDonald, but for all o’ us that didnae have a voice until ye gave it to us. Because o’ ye, nae lass on Skye will e’er be forced tae suffer in silence because we now ken that there is a man who cares, a man who is strong enough tae face the pain that he sees in others and will do anythin’ within his power tae save us from it. There is nae greater gift for any o’ us than that.”

  At Mary’s words, every woman in the hall moved forward and stood between James and the men of the clan. It was unlike anything that James had ever seen before. James looked at William who stared back just as dazed as he. James turned back to Mary and knelt on one knee before her, kissing her hand. “’Tis ye that should be laird, nae I.”

  “Aye, ‘tis true,” she chuckled good-humoredly, “but ye will do well enough.”

  When he stood and faced the men of the clan, he found them all as equally agape as he was. “What do ye say, lads? Will ye help me tae protect these bonnie, fierce, strong lasses o’ ours? Will ye help me tae keep the Sassenach bastards at bay? Tae protect all that we hold dear in this life? After all ye have learned, can ye trust me enough tae be yer laird and tae lead ye against those that threaten our shores? If ye cannae, I will step down and ye can find yerserlves another laird; but if ye can find it in yer hearts tae forgive me deception and tae band together, then I swear tae ye that from this day forward there will ne’er be another secret betwixt me and ye; that all will have a say, includin’ and especially our fellow clanswomen, for they have well earned it.” He scanned the crowd meeting each man’s eyes as he spoke. “What do ye say, lads?”

  There was a shuffle among the men to the side of the room as Robbie moved forward from his place against the wall. William moved forward as well, and they met each other in front of the dais. They stood staring at each other for a moment in silence then as if in understanding of each other’s intentions, they turned pulling their swords from their sheaths and knelt in submission before their laird. In unison they repeated the words of the oath-taking. Mary let out a sob of joy and pride at her son’s actions. One by one, the men of the clan knelt and said their oaths as much to the women of the clan as to their laird.

  James moved forward through the wall of women and stepped off the dais as Robbie and William arose. “It was I who sent the blackmail letters,” Robbie informed him, his clear blue eyes meeting James. “I cared nae that the bastard was dead, I cared that he was mourned as a great man when he was anythin’ but that. I only wanted the truth tae come out and tae ken if ye were truly our faither’s son, or if ye were a better man. Ye showed me today that ye are indeed the better man, that ye are worthy o’ bein’ laird.” Gone was the anger and resentment that James had seen earlier in the evening. It was as if a weight had been lifted from the man’s soul, and James understood how he felt.

  “Would ye truly have killed me and risked all if I had nae told the truth?” James asked.

  “Aye, I would have, and gladly, had ye turned out tae be as our faither was. I thought ye kenned all that our faither had done. I didnae ken otherwise.”

  “Nae, I didnae ken anythin’ about the man I called faither. I had nae notion o’ the monster that lay beneath.”

  “As I said, the better man,” Robbie extended his hand in a gesture of peace and acceptance. “Brother?”

  “Brother,” James nodded, clasping Robbie’s forearm and pulling him in for a brotherly embrace.

  Robbie released him, and he and William moved to flank either side of James. He found their strong silent demeanor as they stood on either side of him comforting, given the turmoil of the last days. He turned to face the men of the clan. “What’ll it be, lads? Shall we ground the Sassenach bastards’ bones in tae dust?” A roar went up from the clan that rivaled a north Atlantic storm in magnitude. The sound filled every crevice of the stones around them, echoing back to them. James’ heart soared with joy and determination at the sight and sound of it. “We’ll teach those Sassenach bastards nae tae mess with the MacDonalds o’ Skye!”

  A chant went up among the men, its rhythmic message a balm for the s
oul. “Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye!”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Elizabeth sat up, panting and afraid. “James,” she whispered into the night. The pull of her heart to be by his side was so strong it felt as if she would, at any moment, be flung across the sea into his arms by the mysterious invisible forces of the universe. It was as if God himself had ordained that it would be so and that her body had no other choice but to obey. Choking on a sob, she arose from her bed and walked out of the door into the moonlight. Wrapping her arisaid around her shoulders, she walked down to the water’s edge and stared out across the expanse toward Skye.

  “James…” It felt as if there was an invisible cord wrapped around her heart that linked her to his own, as if it was his blood and not her own that pumped through her veins. Her pulse throbbed beneath the ribbon around her wrist, each beat of her heart amplifying the memory of his kiss, trapped there by its silken embrace. Separated by both land and sea, Elizabeth could not stand the distance between them and wished to shorten it in any way possible. Dropping her arisaid to the ground, she slipped out of her clothes, and waded out into the water’s cold caress. Gasping she closed her eyes against the initial shock of it and waded out further until the water lapped at the tips of her breasts.