Chapter Thirty-Four
Dorie stood dumbfounded as the mistress of the keep rode out of the bailey in breeches atop a giant of a horse. Kenna led a group of hunters doing their best to supply enough meat for the planned festivities.
Dorie couldn’t help but think the laird wouldn’t approve of his very pregnant wife riding and hunting. She was to deliver the babe in just a few weeks.
Dorie also worried it was premature to plan a victory celebration when they’d not yet heard word if the MacKinlays had engaged or how the battle progressed. For all those left at Dunardry knew it could be McCurdys who arrived back at the castle.
The numbers were in the MacKinlays’ favor, but the McCurdys were sneaky and ruthless. Each time Dorie thought of such things she shivered.
“I’m sure our men will be back safely,” Mari said with a strained smile as she and Dorie worked on bandages the next day.
“Aye. I’ve no doubt about it,” Dorie lied unconvincingly.
They took turns sharing stories, but it was a futile distraction. They were both worried.
Kenna and Mari needed their men to return safely to help raise their children. And Dorie needed Bryce so they could begin their life together free from the danger of the McCurdys.
“They will all come home soon,” Dorie said, her voice more certain this time.
She just hoped it was true.
…
They were winning. Bryce was sure of it. Though the McCurdys were putting up a good fight. Wallace and his crew had run off to leave their laird and the remaining men loyal to him to hold off four armies.
Rory fought beside Bryce. It hadn’t been difficult to find him since he’d been camping at the edge of the woods alone, waiting for whoever came to take Baehaven. He took a knee to pledge his loyalty to the MacKinlays and aided in getting them through the lines.
The viscount had wanted to take down the McCurdy laird for Dorie and for her mother. But it was Bryce who faced him first on the battlefield.
And it was Bryce who delivered the blow that dropped him. The older man sputtered and coughed, and eventually laughed when he realized the injury to his chest was a fatal one.
“For Dorie,” Bryce said. “My wife.”
His eyes locked on Bryce’s and he laughed again, a cruel sound that choked off with a wet cough.
“She was never supposed to leave. Damn Wallace for making that arrangement without my knowledge. The lass was supposed to rot away, thinking every day of how thoroughly she’d destroyed our lives. Her ma’s and mine.”
Bryce looked down at the other man as Dorien stepped closer. It was clear from the expression on his face he’d heard what the old laird said.
“You killed her mother.”
“Nay.” This time when he coughed, red spattered his lips. “It’s true I roughed her up a bit in my rage, but her death…no. She took care of that herself, to spite me.”
“You lie,” Dorien said. “She wouldn’t have taken her own life. Not when she needed to be there for our child.”
The McCurdy’s eyes narrowed on the Englishman. Even at death’s door as he was, it was easy for him to see the similarities between Dorien and the child he’d thought was his daughter for nine years.
“Did she ever tell you of the child?” Blood was running from the corner of the man’s mouth and his voice rattled. “She planned to go to you without Dorie because she knew I’d never let her take the girl. When I refused, she took a blade to her own throat.” He laughed, blood bubbling from his mouth. “Now I’ll see her in hell. And you will never have her.” A few ragged breaths later the smile left his lips as life vacated his eyes.
“He lies,” Dorien said again.
Bryce didn’t know many men who still felt the need to lie when facing death. Generally, they were quick to spill truths until their dying breath. But for both Dorien and Dorie’s sake he would let them have their truth as they knew it. Some things were better not known.
With the fall of the McCurdy laird, the remaining men surrendered quickly and came forward to bow in front of them. Lachlan offered them sanctuary in exchange for their fealty, and they were quick to comply.
When everything was settled Lach turned toward Baehaven Castle and nodded to Dorien. “Your castle, my lord.”
…
It had taken three days for a messenger to arrive with word of a battle that, by now, was most likely over. The news he brought was outdated, not to mention vague. He had no word specifically of who had fallen and who lived. All he was able to report was that the MacKinlay laird was alive, and the McCurdys had been taken by surprise.
Kenna sent the lad for a meal and gave an encouraging smile to the ladies who’d convened. “They had surprise on their side. I’m certain the McCurdy took one look at the men amassed and laid down his sword in surrender.”
Dorie offered a brittle smile and wondered how they were able to sit there without going mad. It took her a moment to see the answer. Each one of them clung to a child. They all had a small piece of the men they loved.
While Dorie had nothing of Bryce.
That night she tossed and turned as visions of her husband being slain in battle taunted her from sleep. It was still dark when she dressed in the messenger’s clothing she had washed and mended earlier and made her way to the stable. She’d secured Rascal in their room, knowing the guard would recognize him and know who she was straight away.
She knew it was a foolish endeavor. If the McCurdys had indeed defeated their forces, they could even now be heading her way. But she’d rather face it straight on than wait another second to hear of her husband’s fate.
At the gate, she was faced with her first challenge. She had found a cap in the hall and pulled it tight over her hair. Lowering her voice, she announced she was to return to the battle to bring back word. Thankfully, the guard didn’t hesitate to lift the gate and allow her to leave.
The sun cast the faintest hint of light on the eastern border so she headed in the opposite direction. It was a simple thing to follow the trail left by more than three hundred horses. As the sun rose higher and she was able to see better, she picked up her pace. She stopped only long enough to rest and water her horse and was off again before dawn the next day.
Rain had settled in and even though it was still summer, she was drenched and shivering in the hills, unsure what time it was since the sun refused to shine. Slogging through the mud made things slower, so she was only at a canter when two men stepped out on the trail, blocking her path.
She turned, but another, larger man had stepped behind her, covered in filth and blood.
“Look what we have found,” a familiar voice bellowed. “If it isn’t my dear sister, here to aid us.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Dorie tried to steer her horse around them, but the man in front had already grabbed the bridle and was holding her mount as her brother reached up with one hand and yanked her down.
She fell hard to the ground and curled into a ball so he’d not step on her. She anticipated a growl and savage barking, but then she remembered Rascal wasn’t with her. He’d not be able to save her this time.
She expected the men would take her horse and go, but a bit of cursing caused her to turn and see that her brother wasn’t able to mount.
From the ground she took in the state of the other two men. One was unable to stand as he held a hand over a large gash across his stomach. Dorie swallowed back bile at the twisted bulge she saw him clutching. The man clearly wasn’t long for this world with a wound like that.
The man holding her horse hobbled on a leg drenched in blood. When he shifted, she was able to see the makeshift bandage tied around the wound that was also dripping with blood.
Her brother stumbled as he tried again to lift himself to the saddle. He reached to rub his back where she noticed the perfect mark of a hors
eshoe.
No doubt, if he could get up, he planned to leave them all behind and save himself. If he was able to take her horse, she would be left behind with no food and no way to get back to Dunardry or to go on to Baehaven.
Feeling the dirk still sheathed at her side, she devised a plan. It would take quick work on her part, but her need to see Bryce drove her up to her feet.
In a flash she kicked out, hitting the man holding her horse in the leg, causing him to crumble in pain. Grabbing the reins from her brother in one hand, she came up with her dirk in the other and slammed the blade into his chest.
He gasped and stepped back, a look of shock on his face. She’d spent the last years at Baehaven being as quiet as a mouse. But now she had something worth fighting for. A new, happy life. She’d not let the McCurdys take another minute of it.
“I want to thank ye, brother.” She said the last word with a sneer. “Ye married me off to the best man possible. I’m now part of a family. I’m loved. And you and your ill-begotten sire will soon be dead and forgotten.”
He slumped to the ground and she lifted her leg to mount. He grabbed her ankle, hissing a curse and tugging at her. But he was weakened from his injuries, and she was able to kick at him to gain her release.
Once mounted, she hissed at the pain in her arm. She hadn’t even noticed her brother had cut her while she was fighting him. Blood flowed freely from a cut on the inside of her arm and dripped from her fingertips.
She wanted to leave immediately, but she needed to see it done. She waited the few moments it took to see Wallace’s chest stop moving with breath.
Then leading her horse away, she hurried toward Baehaven.
…
“Bryce, come in here,” Lach called from the upper corridor in Baehaven.
When he entered the dim, shabby room he found Dorien weeping. The man brushed by Bryce’s shoulder as he fled. Lach wrenched the boards from the window, letting light into the space. Seeing it fully didn’t help. Quite the opposite. A broken bed had been pushed in the corner. A small pile of well-worn books sat next to it. The only other object in the room was a wash basin on a stand in the opposite corner.
Cam squinted at the wall. “What the bloody hell…?”
Bryce gasped when he turned to see what Cam had noticed. Thousands of small lines covered the wall beside the door.
Lachlan came to stand next to him. “This room had been barred from the outside. I think this is probably where Dorie was kept prisoner.”
“For this long.” Bryce stepped closer, noticing the clusters of lines where his wife had kept track of the days, months, and years of her empty existence as a captive in this castle. She’d told him it had been nine years, but knowing that and seeing it broken out by days like this put it all in a different perspective.
He noticed how the lines started a vibrant black but later turned to a russet brown. “Christ,” he whispered. “She ran out of ink and started marking the days with her own blood.”
Bryce thought he’d be ill. If the McCurdy weren’t already dead, he’d take his time punishing him for this. Even if the old laird hadn’t known, he should have. And he should have saved her.
Bryce swore he would track down Wallace and end him.
“She’s safe now,” Lach reassured him. “She’s free to live a happy life with you. She’ll never have to live like this ever again. Thanks to you.”
Guilt over the way he’d treated her at first made his stomach twist even more, but he promised himself he would make sure the rest of her days were spent happy and loved. He knew well enough how memories faded, even when one tried desperately to hold on to them. He would give her better memories so the ones of this place would fade quickly into nothing.
Bryce found his father-in-law outside. The tears were gone but the viscount still looked distraught.
“Are you well?” Bryce asked.
Dorien offered him a strained smile. “My life wasn’t the way it should have been. I should have brought her with me. We could have raised Dorie together. My daughter never would have been punished for having my blood and held prisoner in that wretched room.”
Bryce sighed. “My life isna the way it should have been, either. If Maggie and Isabel had lived, my daughter would be almost fourteen years. We would have gone on rides, talking of her dreams.” He smiled and let that life drift off in the breeze. “But this life is going to be great as well. I have Dorie. She makes me happy. Mayhap we’ll be blessed with children. I’ll never forget the ones I loved before, but I’ve been given a second chance for happiness. I’ll not let it get away.”
“I married Harriet while my heart was still here in Scotland. It was impossible not to notice all the ways she wasn’t like the woman I’d loved. It wasn’t fair to her. She’s an amazing woman who’s borne me four wonderful children. I do love her. I see that now. I wish she were here now to ease my sorrow over Dorie. Harriet deserves better. I vow to do better by her.”
“There’s still time,” Bryce said. “Not many people find happiness at all. We should be grateful for finding it twice.”
They stepped out into the sunlight. A beautiful day for new beginnings.
At first Bryce thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. It would explain the reason he saw Dorie riding toward them on a horse, her gown covered in blood. When Dorien gasped next to him, Bryce realized the viscount saw her, too.
“Is she really here?” Bryce asked.
“Dear God, let her be all right,” Dorien said, then took off running with Bryce right behind him. Bryce passed Dorien and got to her faster. Just in time for her to topple from her horse into his arms.
“Dorie? Dorie!” He pressed a hand to her pale cheek, his fingers finding the pulse under her chin. It was weak and thready. Bryce carried her into the castle and checked her over, calling for a healer.
A reluctant woman came forward and Bryce begged her, “Please help my wife. I canna lose her. Please.”
The woman took a deep breath and nodded. Bryce and Dorien kept close watch over the woman to be sure she didn’t treat Dorie as an enemy. But the woman stitched up the gash on Dorie’s arm and dressed it with clean linen.
“It’s good to see her free,” she said, and gently brushed Dorie’s hair back from her face.
“You know her?”
“Aye. It’s been many years since I’ve seen her, but I remember her as a little girl. She’s been trapped for so long. In a way, we all have.”
“You’re all free now,” Bryce assured her.
“Are we? Or are we just giving our freedom to another?”
In truth, Bryce didn’t have an answer to her question. The castle belonged to Dorien now, per his arrangement with Lach.
“I can assure you, your next laird will be more than fair,” Dorien cut in with a smile.
Did the man plan to stay on as laird? What did he want with a castle in Scotland? At the moment, Bryce didn’t care. For just then Dorie opened her eyes and looked up at him.
…
“You’re alive?” she whispered, her voice rough.
“Aye, and so are you.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Why on earth did you come all this way?”
She looked away nervously. Would he be angry to know she’d risked her life for nothing more than worry? She sat up, wincing at the tightness in her arm. “We’d had no word,” she explained. “And I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to make sure you were alive and well.”
He looked at her for a full minute, his expression unreadable. It seemed he didn’t know what to say. Eventually he shook his head. “I want to scold you and tell you how foolish you were to put yourself in danger just to check on me, but I can’t. Not when you’re here with me, alive and smiling. All I want to do is kiss you.” He held her cheeks in his hands and pressed his lips to hers in a fierce kiss.
They we
re interrupted when her father cleared his throat. Lachlan and Cam had entered the hall and were standing next to Dorien with smiles on their faces. Even Rory was off to the side with a grin in place. Liam stepped around Cam. Thank God. They’d all survived. She relaxed, knowing the women waiting back at Dunardry would be happy.
“What’s going on?” Bryce asked curiously. He must have noticed something was afoot as well. They were all up to something, it was clear enough.
She looked toward Lach, but it was her father who spoke. “As you know, I requested ownership of Baehaven when it fell, and it has indeed fallen.”
A cheer went up around them. Even some of the McCurdys seemed pleased with the outcome.
“As I understand it, you married my daughter without a dowry. In fact, your laird had to pay the McCurdy, and then you didn’t even get what you were promised.”
Bryce smiled down at her and winked. “I’m not complaining. I got more than I’d hoped for from the bargain.”
“And it’s for that reason that I am giving Baehaven to you.”
The smile on Bryce’s face turned to confusion as her father came closer to kiss the top of her head.
“You’ve proven yourself to be a fine husband for my daughter, and I’m making you laird of the remaining clan and any who care to join you. With the understanding that the MacKinlays may dock their ships in your port.”
Dorie reached up to push Bryce’s jaw shut when his mouth fell open in shock. “But I’m the war chief—”
Lachlan held up his hand. “Liam will make a fine war chief. And I’ll leave Rory here for you.” He came closer to clasp arms with Bryce. “We both know we’ll be better off with each of us ruling our own lands. You’re not very good at following orders.”
Bryce laughed and hugged his cousin. “Maybe if your orders weren’t shite.” It was clear Lachlan took no offense to the jest.
Dorie hugged her father tightly. “Oh, Father. Thank you.”
“I hope you will be happy here. I know this place holds a lot of bad memories.” He frowned.
“We will make new memories. Happy ones. It will be a true home, and you and the rest of the family will always be welcome.”
Her Reluctant Highlander Husband (Clan MacKinlay) Page 27
