* * *
“I should dearly love tae see more of the world,” Rhona sighed, looking up at the high castle walls, “alas my world is somewhat restricted now.”
* * *
“Perhaps not forever, one day perhaps ye will see much that ye have always wanted tae see.”
* * *
“And do ye think your brother would allow such a thing?” Rhona asked, pausing and turning to Stewart.
* * *
“That would remain tae be seen. Shall we rest here for a while?”
* * *
The two paused by a seat which, unbeknown to Stewart, had been a favorite of Iain Cameron. Here, he and Rhona had often sat amidst the perfumed air and spoken the words of love.
* * *
Rhona flushed, stifling her emotions as the two now sat in silence, looking out over the gardens.
* * *
“It is a beautiful place; we have nothing of such beauty at the castle back home.”
* * *
“This garden was my husband’s grandmother’s pride and joy. I have always loved tae sit here it is my one consolation now that so much is taken away from me.”
* * *
“I am sorry ye have had to endure so much, Rhona,” Stewart’s heart was heavy at her words.
* * *
How sorrowful she seemed and how much to blame he felt for the actions of his brother.
* * *
“Others have endured far worse,” Rhona continued, “my sufferings are nothing tae that of Iain or perhaps that of the bairn who will have tae grow up a prisoner of his stepfather if Murdoch has his way.”
* * *
“Aye, it is a fate I would not wish for ye Rhona, truly I do not.”
* * *
“I know that and thank ye Stewart for being nothing like your brother, I fear for the future though and for what my fate must now be.”
* * *
“Murdoch will stop at nothing tae have his prize, of that I can assure ye,” Stewart said heavily, “but I assure ye that I will try my best tae protect ye if it be at all in my power.”
* * *
“Thank ye Stewart,” Rhona smiled, the two feeling close as the birds sang above them and the lavender rustled in the breeze.
* * *
Together they sat for some time before returning to the castle where Cairstine was still singing her lullabies to the bairn, the little infant every bit his father’s son.
* * *
“Are ye not up yet, woman,” Murdoch shouted, striding into Rhona’s chambers unannounced and throwing open the shutters. A cold blast of wind rushed into the room, causing the fire to splutter: autumn had come, and there was a chill in the air.
* * *
“Mind your manners, ye wicked man,” Cairstine spat, “can’t ye see that Rhona needs her rest and a chill will be the death of the bairn.” Striding to the windows, she pulled the shutters forcibly closed, scowling all the while at Murdoch.
* * *
“Is your husband not dead yet?” Murdoch rounded on Cairstine who would not be cowed by a man she considered less than an animal. “Perhaps the good Lord will take them both and leave us with fewer mouths tae feed.”
* * *
“Ye and I have very different ideas as tae the goodness of the Lord; may he smite ye, Murdoch, and all who call ye Laird.” She crossed to Rhona’s bed and placed a protective arm around her mistress.
* * *
“Be gone woman, I shall speak tae your mistress alone, leave.”
* * *
“I am going naw …”
* * *
“It is alright, Cairstine, he can do naw more harm to me than he already intends, go and see tae Alistair, I will be fine here.”
* * *
“Aye, go and see tae your husband, miserable woman, may his days be short,” Murdoch sneered, as he slammed the door shut behind her and bolted it, “now lassie, ye and I are going tae have a little talk.”
* * *
His tone changed immediately for Murdoch Mackintosh knew that while he could force, he must at least placate the lassie and make her amiable to their future life together. Rhona knew this too and was determined to use everything in her power to ensure he would never gain the upper hand.
* * *
“The day of our marriage approaches, Rhona, the priest will be here very soon, and ye and I shall stand before the altar and make our vows. Now that ye have given birth perhaps ye are more amenable to such a future?”
* * *
Rhona laughed, the child wriggling in her arms.
* * *
“Ye think that giving birth will suddenly make me realize that this little laddie needs a father such as ye? The man who killed his own dear father and now holds his mother captive? There is madness in ye Murdoch. I have naw choice, but tae stand before that altar with ye. I know just what ye shall do if I do not, but as for finding it amenable? Nothing could be further from the truth” The girl looked bravely into the face of the man who stood before her, deformed by his missing ear and appearing eviler by the day.
* * *
“Life could be very comfortable, ye know,” Murdoch said, sitting down upon the bed and running his hand over Rhona’s leg, causing her to flinch, “I am naw monster, in another time and place, we two may have been lovers.”
* * *
“In naw time or place would I have loved ye, of that I can assure ye, ye are as different to your brother as it is possible tae be.”
* * *
“My brother is nothing tae me. Come now, Rhona, ye and I both know that circumstance is the happy or unhappy fault of birth. If ye had been born a Mackintosh, then ye would despise the Camerons.”
* * *
“But I was not so born, and for that, I thank God each day.”
* * *
“Ye and I shall be married and whether ye like it or not, that day is coming very soon.”
* * *
Rhona looked away in disgust, it was clear that Murdoch had nothing to say to her except the taunts of their future together. As if signaling its displeasure, the child on her breast let out a cry, and she held him close.
* * *
“I shall not want the bairn in our marital chamber,” Murdoch said dismissively, “ensure your servant girl takes care of it, a lady such as ye should not have to see tae bairns.”
* * *
“I will see tae my own son! You may go now, leave us alone.”
* * *
“I shall go when I please, and it shall not be long before ye are with child again, have no fear of that.”
* * *
Now he stooped and came very close to her, taking hold of her hand as she struggled to hold the child at her breast against his grip. His face was weather-beaten, his missing ear extenuated by his hooked nose and greasy black hair. His face was now close to hers, and she could smell his ugly breath.
* * *
“No one is going to save ye Rhona, ye have only me, and I can make our lives together as good, or as difficult, as ye shall choose.”
* * *
She struggled against his grip but leaning in, he kissed her, forcing himself upon her as the child wailed at her breast.
* * *
“There Rhona, let that be the first of many kisses we shall share. Soon ye shall come tae wish my charms upon ye, for I know just what women can be like.”
* * *
“Ye know nothing of women,” Rhona turned away from him in disgust, the taste of him upon her lips making her nauseous.
* * *
“What is it ye think ye are doing, Murdoch?” Stewart Mackintosh stood in the doorway of Rhona’s chamber and looked in horror at the scene before him
* * *
“Performing rights which are mine and nothing more,” Murdoch turned to his brother smiling, “do not act all high and mighty with me, Stewart. Just remember your place.”
* * *
“I should not wish for your place if
that is how ye choose tae use it, Brother.”
* * *
“See tae your duties, brother, and let me see tae mine,” Murdoch stood and slinked from the room, pushing Stewart aside.
* * *
“You’re quite the devil,” Stewart called after him, but he simply laughed and walked on, confident in his power over the lassie he kept prisoner in her own home, believing his control over her to be growing greater by the day as their marriage approached.
* * *
“He did not hurt ye did he, Rhona? Stewart looked concerned
* * *
“Naw, it is only my spirits he dents.”
* * *
“And is all well with the bairn?”
* * *
“Aye, thank the good Lord that it is, now won’t ye sit with me a while Stewart?”
* * *
Placing the boy in his crib, she seated herself by the fire, beckoning him to the chair opposite.
* * *
“I am truly sorry for my brother’s wicked ways, Rhona; he is a dark-hearted man make naw mistake.”
* * *
“His brother is quite different, though, it is as though ye were not of the same blood.”
* * *
“Our mother and our father are the same. The old Laird is a tyrant, his ways were always harsh; even on his deathbed, he is cruel. Our mother is quite different though, the gentlest and sweetest creature ye may ever meet, and how she longs for peace between our clans. I should say we each take after one of them.”
* * *
“Ye long for peace, tae?” Rhona paused from her wool and looked up at Stewart.
* * *
“I am weary of war. Our clans have fought so long and hard these many years and what good has it done?”
* * *
“It has done nothing but cause misery, a misery which we must endure further.”
* * *
“None more so than ye, Rhona, Murdoch’s designs upon ye are wicked, naw woman should be forced tae marry a man she dinna love, not least my brother whom no one could ever love.”
* * *
“It cannae be helped though, Stewart. I must be resigned tae it.” She stared wistfully into the fire, the flames crackling in the hearth as the baby began to cry.
Chapter Six
The Mackintoshes Come
Stewart Mackintosh put down his tools and straightened up from his work in the farrier’s shop. He had spent the morning shodding horses and now noon was approaching, he stretched himself and looked towards the castle gates from where came a commotion.
* * *
An entourage was approaching, the Mackintosh banner flying high above the horses and carts wending their way up the track towards the castle.
* * *
Around a hundred Mackintosh clansmen were arriving into the castle courtyard, and it was clear that they were eager to inspect the spoils of war. Women, too, had come along with several children, and it was with a heavy heart that Stewart realized that they had come to witness the marriage of Rhona and Murdoch. He glanced up towards the tower and saw Rhona looking tentatively out onto the scene below, the bairn clasped in her arms.
* * *
She looked forlorn, resigned to her fate, and staring mournfully as Murdoch Mackintosh emerged to greet his guests. Stewart could not help but feel a deep tenderness towards her. He hated the way his brother was behaving. His heart had grown deeply fond of Rhona these past weeks, a fondness which his brother could never know the truth of.
* * *
He continued looking up at her, and she turned to look down, catching his eye and giving him a faint smile. He too smiled at her, an unspoken sentiment between them. She turned quickly back into her chambers and Stewart watched the arriving guests, Murdoch feting them as greetings and news were exchanged.
* * *
“It is a fine castle and make naw mistake,” one man said. Stewart recognized him as their uncle.
* * *
“Aye, and ye shall see finer things than stone and mortar soon,” Murdoch replied, helping several of the women down from their carts.
* * *
“And these Camerons are not giving ye any trouble, are they?” the man strode across the courtyard inspecting several of the Cameron’s at work in the blacksmith’s forge.
* * *
“They know better than to do so don’t they, brother?” turning to Stewart, he extended his arms.
* * *
“If ye did not treat them with such contempt, brother, then there would be less concern for their rebellion.”
* * *
“Tell us, then, Stewart, are we not to appear victorious over these Camerons? How does it feel after all these years of war between our clans that it is we Mackintoshes who have emerged victorious?”
* * *
Stewart made no reply.
* * *
“Have ye no tongue in your head, laddie?” his uncle asked.
* * *
“I have a tongue uncle but if it were tae speak then perhaps it would not speak favorably of all that has transpired here these past months.”
* * *
“And what is it that has transpired of which ye do not approve, laddie?” his uncle continued, “ye do not believe our banners should fly above this castle?”
* * *
“It is not the banner I disapprove of, Uncle, but the way my brother has treated the widow of the Cameron Laird, demanding of her to be his wife.”
* * *
“Murdoch is entitled to the spoils of war. I detect a jealousy about ye Stewart Mackintosh. Perhaps your brother should send ye away, have ye go see to the crofts upon the heather and leave the business of Lairdship to those who know it.”
* * *
“Because if he did so then he would have no further power over me,” Rhona appeared at the door to the castle keep as the men were passing, the bairn clasped to her breast and Cairstine at her side.
* * *
“Uncle, ye are now in the presence of the Lady Rhona, soon tae be your relative by happy agreement,” he smirked at Stewart who moved to stand at Rhona’s side.
* * *
“Not so happy, I hope that each of ye is proud of what ye have done here,” she continued to glare at the assembled Mackintoshes, “and if ye will follow this pitiful excuse for a man, then it is I that pity ye.”
* * *
Turning once again she returned to the castle, the gathered Mackintosh’s murmuring against her. Murdoch cast angry glances at his brother who now followed Rhona inside.
* * *
Murdoch knew that Rhona would never love him, nor could she be forced to do so. His consolation lay in the knowledge of his power, and thus the preparations for the marriage went ahead, and all was made ready for the celebrations; the day fast approaching. Rhona remained sorrowful for her future; a prisoner in her husband’s castle.
* * *
“Are ye restless, Stewart Mackintosh?” Rhona asked him the following day. She was sitting in the Great Hall spinning wool and Stewart was pacing up and down, his duties as guard a distraction from the thoughts in his head.
* * *
“Distracted? Aye lassie, a little so, it is the arrival of my clan, it weighs heavily upon me.”
* * *
“I should have thought ye might be glad of their company?” Rhona was surprised at his words. “Surely ye do not like having a Cameron lassie for company all the time, although why Murdoch sees the need tae have me guarded at all times, I do not know.”
* * *
“He thinks ye will try tae escape or tae make some mischief with Cairstine and Alistair,” Stewart said.
* * *
“And what do ye think, Stewart Mackintosh?” Rhona lay down her wool, giving the young man her full attention.
Stealing the Highland Bride Page 6
