IntoEternity

by Christina James

  At Alexander’s signal, Davin pulled Violet off her pony. He carried her under his arm as if she were a sack of grain and deposited her behind a fallen log.

  “Stay down,” he told her and then took a position so his body would shield hers from the enemy.

  Alexander took the horses forward around the bend in the trail, thinking to double back. He hoped their tracks would fool whoever followed them into thinking they had proceeded on through the forest. If they were fortunate, their deception would not be discovered until it was too late. Stashing the animals just a short distance from the path, Alexander made his way back to a hiding place along the trail—one that gave him a good vantage point as well as concealed him from view. Then they waited.

  The sounds of the forest seemed unusually loud as they hid behind the green barriers of foliage and trees. Alexander’s breathing grew shallow and labored. Blood thrummed through his veins fierce and hot, preparing him for a fight that could very well prove to end in death. In this wild country a man had to be strong—strong enough to take what he wanted and to hold on to it. Here in the Highlands only the strong survived.

  Time seemed to stand still. Then the snapping of a twig under foot announced the arrival of the enemy but Alexander heard only the plodding sound of one horse on the path. He met Davin’s gaze and the question Alexander saw there mirrored the one running through his mind. Why was there only one animal moving in their direction?

  Fearing they had been found out and at that moment, the enemy was surrounding them on foot, Alexander, as stealthily as a large cat, moved through the forest shadows. He stopped short, catching sight of movement through the branches of a mulberry bush. He waited, drawing his sword and moving into a fighting stance, his muscles tense, ready to strike.

  Taking one long, steadying breath, he lunged from his hiding place. Davin emerged from his side of the path and they both encountered the foe, each moving the tips of their swords to slice across the bastard’s throat at the same moment.

  Holding his sword in a white-knuckled grip, Alexander halted his thrust. He let loose a string of colorful curses as he parried Davin’s blow up and away from their target.

  “What in Hades-burning-fires are you doing here, Duncan? I nearly severed your scrawny neck from your shoulders!” Alexander shouted.

  The boy sat atop his pony, his eyes wide, his skin drained of color.

  “I-I thought you might n-need my help, Alexander.” Duncan stammered.

  Alexander felt much as Duncan looked. He couldn’t believe how close he and Davin had come to ending the boy’s short life.

  “You little…” He was shaking so badly he could not even think of a good insult. “Damn it, Duncan, you should not be here! Now do you understand just how dangerous it is for a young lad to be wandering the length and breadth of the Highlands by himself? Look at what just happened! What if you had been caught by someone else, one of our enemies? Or perhaps a wild animal?”

  “Do not worry, Alexander, I have my dagger with me.” His chest puffed out as he bragged. “I can take care of myself.” His renewed impudence accompanied a return of color to his face.

  “Aye, that is why you nearly lost your head, you little dimwit.”

  Davin growled as he sheathed his sword with a mighty thrust. A fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead and his hand shook as he wiped the moisture with the back of his forearm. The glare he gave Duncan would have had a grown man cowering. But the lad just gave him an impish grin and wiggled his fingers at Davin in a small wave. Before Davin could get his hands on Alexander’s troublesome cousin, he stepped between them and shook his head.

  “You are spoiling him, Alex. He needs a good beating to encourage him to curb his ways. He has to learn.”

  “I know. I know! But now is not the time. Come, we will be late.” He turned on his heels and strode away, his anger too great at the moment to deal with Duncan. Alexander would have to cool off before he decided what to do with the boy. For now he had to concentrate on getting Gusty back and getting off Ross land with all their skins intact. Then he would deal with his young cousin. Maybe he would hand him over to Davin for training. The idea bore serious consideration.

  A short while later they reached Ross Castle, an intimidating fortification that loomed over the black water of the long loch like a mighty sentinel. As they approached the fortress with their small contingent, the Ross clansmen they passed on the side of the road stared after them, obviously baffled at seeing six Sutherlands traipsing toward their keep.

  “Open the gate!” Alexander boldly commanded the guards at the entrance.

  “Not without permission from the Ross himself.” One man shouted back. “I have no wish to get myself thrown in the dungeon for letting the enemy through the gates.”

  “I was invited by your chieftain,” Alexander bellowed. He tried to keep his anger at a minimum but his temper was wearing thin, especially after spending the last few weeks combing the countryside for both his young cousin and then his wife. He really didn’t need to deal with an insolent guard.

  “Laird Ross invited you?”

  “Aye, he commanded me to come and retrieve my wife, Lady Augusta.”

  “Aye, Shawn. I do believe I did invite the bastard.” Donovan came up behind the guard, his face, hidden behind a bush of a beard, unreadable. He looked down at Alexander and his party. “Now I understand why she would not disclose her husband’s name to me. However since you have come under my summons, you and yours shall be under my protection until you leave my lands…for her sake.”

  Alexander nodded respectfully. Though difficult, he would put aside his anger…for Gusty.

  “It is fortunate you came as quickly as you did, Sutherland.” A wry smile touched the corners of Donovan’s mouth.

  “Why?” Alexander asked cautiously.

  “Your wife has been causing quite a stir among my household and I do not think I can take much more of her interference.”

  “Oh?”

  “She has been instructing the rest of the Sinclair females in what she says are the rights of women, among other things.”

  Alexander suppressed a groan. Just what he did not need…Gusty causing problems while they were in enemy territory. It would be a delicate enough situation to negotiate their way out of here with their hides intact.

  “The Clan Sinclair are here?”

  “Och, aye, every single female of that blasted clan has been traipsing through my lands and camping out in my keep. Have you not heard of Edgar’s edict that I must wed a Sinclair lass? Aye, that in itself has caused my outlook toward the whole clan to change.”

  “I remember hearing something on the matter. Have you managed to find a woman to fulfill the injunction?”

  “I thought I had.”

  “Aye? What happened with that?”

  “She ended up being handfasted to you.”

  * * * * *

  Gusty could not believe the subservient mentality of the women of the twelfth century. She hadn’t spent much time with any other women besides Maeve and Isabelle and her nuns at the abbey, and it was a bit of a shock to find out how daughters and wives were expected to behave, with little or no say about their lives. But after the fiasco of the other day, when woman after woman had tried and failed to break the code of Donovan’s foolish riddle, she had taken it upon herself to see that womankind was never made to look so foolish again.

  The women sitting around her were her family, her clan. They were related to her in one way or another and although she hadn’t known them until recently she felt a bond with them. Gusty had never really considered herself either an ultra-feminist or extremely old-fashioned in her views. She preferred more of a middle ground in her beliefs. But being hundreds of years ahead of these women in her rationale, she found their behavior intolerable and had decided to do her best to turn them around a bit in their way of thinking.

  After the talk she’d had with a group of young women yesterday, half of the candidates who had a
rrived thinking they wanted to become Donovan’s wife had gone home. She had only mentioned that it was a good thing to marry for love and not duty. Several of them confessed they had a sweetheart at home—men who had already spoken for them. Only their parents’ urging had pushed them to come to Ross Castle. The older women scoffed at her beliefs and held firm in their quest for the mighty Laird Ross but Gusty could not fault them. He could very well be their last chance to marry.

  Gusty did not care much for the Ross’ arrogant, cold-blooded methods for obtaining a wife. He seemed to be approaching the issue as if it was a game and nothing more. He had admitted he considered a wife unimportant to the scheme of things in his life. Oh, he was handsome enough to make any maiden’s heart beat a little faster. And maybe she could have fallen for him in another time and place, but under the circumstances she had no interest in the man. Hard and cynical, he bored her with his pompous behavior. Gusty didn’t consider the Ross a total loss but only a very special woman could turn him around and set him straight. A woman who wasn’t as backward in her thinking as most of these women seemed to be. No wonder he found her attractive—she had a different outlook on life, she was educated and the large Scotsman found it hard to intimidate her.

  Gusty would give anything to have him meet another modern woman. Perhaps one who didn’t feel she needed to attach herself to a man to know her worth. Gusty promised herself the next time she spoke to Maeve and Hagen she would have them look into this time-travel business. Matchmaking for the Ross might prove to be entertaining.

  She was in the middle of another speech, encouraging a group of young women to look for love in their marriage rather than title or money, when a commotion at the doorway caught her attention. She turned to watch Alexander enter the great hall, followed by Davin and Violet and finally Duncan, imitating his cousin’s swagger to perfection. Her heart jumped with fear as she watched Ross warriors escort the small group. Why had Alexander not heeded her warning? She glanced at Donovan Ross. He did not have a blade to Alexander’s neck, nor were his men dragging Alexander through the doorway in chains and cuffs. Perhaps Donovan had decided to make an effort to be civil. He turned his head in her direction and nodded at her, a slight smile splitting the wild bramble of hair on his face. She did not understand what was going on but she was not about to trust the man.

  “We have called a truce for the time being, my lady. The Sutherland stays as my guest. After that”—he shrugged—“it remains to be seen.” His sigh of resignation was loud. “It is a shame you will not be the reason to end the feud with the Clan Ross and Clan Sinclair. Marriage to you would have made Edgar’s edict tolerable. But it seems I will be looking elsewhere.” He glanced back at Alexander. ”You are indeed a fortunate man.”

  “Thank you, my laird.”

  “Yes. Thank you, Laird Ross,” Gusty said breathlessly almost to overcome with emotion to speak.

  Relieved Donovan Ross had relented enough to allow Alexander peaceful entreaty to his holding Gusty could not keep her eyes off Alexander as he moved in her direction. She could barely keep herself from jumping to her feet and meeting him halfway. She wanted to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him until neither one of them could breathe. Her heart pounded so hard she thought she might faint from the excitement of finally being with him again after so many weeks. Tears of happiness filled her eyes as she rose to her feet and took an unsteady step toward him, her arms out and welcoming him.

  “Why did you come? I told him to tell you not to come.” She whispered harshly in his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. Despite her words she was pleased he had ignored her warning, and she kissed his neck and then his cheek, breathing in his familiar scent. “I am so glad you came.”

  Her two statements contradicted each other but being reunited with Alexander had her feeling giddy with joy. She could not quit smiling even as her tears blinded her. She held him tight, not wanting to let go of him for fear he might disappear. She had spent the last days preaching feminism to all her female kinswomen and now all she wanted was for Alexander to cast her over his shoulder and take her upstairs to the privacy of her room and make love to her.

  Alexander smiled rakishly at her and winked. A tittering sound of female voices filled the background.

  “You are right, Lady Gusty. I will marry for love or not at all. I am going home today.” A young woman, who had thus far been one of the hardest to convince, spoke up.

  Many of the others nodded in agreement. It looked as if Donovan would have more and more women deserting him before the day was done. If this kept up, his keep would be emptied by week’s end.

  Alexander spoke not a word but he held her close as if he would never let her go. Only after several long minutes did he set her away from him. The heated look he gave her was a clear promise that she would be stripped naked and having hot, passionate sex with him as soon as he could find an empty bed. He took possession of her hand and led her past Donovan, who had not moved since the men had entered.

  “Do me a favor, Ross.”

  “Whatever I can, Sutherland.”

  Gusty smiled at Donovan’s dry quip. Apparently having his enemy in his home went against the grain.

  “I am leaving your nephew, Duncan, in your charge for the evening. Get to know your sister’s son while we are here. Keep him occupied for a while. A long while.”

  Gusty watched Donovan as he looked down at the small boy. His face paled and a soft sheen filled his eyes. He bent down and placed a hand on Duncan’s shoulder.

  “Come, lad, there are some new hound pups in the stable. You can choose one to have as your own.”

  With only a quick look back at his cousin, Duncan eagerly followed his uncle.

  Alexander hurried Gusty up the stairs to her room above. They reached the landing of the second floor before he stopped to glance expectantly up and down the length of the long hall.

  “Which way?” he finally asked.

  “Which way?”

  “To our chamber. I want to be alone with my lady wife and I do not want to wait any longer.”

  He turned and gave her a look that heated her blood.

  She pointed down the hall. “The last door on the right.”

  Wasting no time, Alexander hurried her down the corridor, shoved the bedroom door open and stepped inside. He engaged the bolt and then, obviously not satisfied they would be left undisturbed, he heaved a large chest over and placed it against the door. Standing back, he nodded, apparently satisfied with his handiwork.

  “What are you doing? Do you fear for our safety here? I know about the feud between the Sutherlands and the Rosses.”

  “Nay. We are safe from Donovan. He has sworn we will be secure while we are here. We are his guests and it would be a great dishonor to his name if we were to come to any harm while we are under his protection. He would lose the trust of all the Highland clans. Besides, he is no coward. If he wanted me dead, he would challenge me on the field of battle not have his cook poison the stew.”

  “Oh?” Still skeptical, she pointed at the barrier he had constructed. “Then why the high-security system?”

  “That is to ensure we are not disturbed for the rest of the evening,” he stated in a low, satisfied voice as he advanced upon her. “That door will not be opened until morning.” He moved with all the grace of a large feline. “Even if the Day of Judgment comes upon us and fireballs fall from the sky, that door will not open.” He stopped before her and reached for the laces that held the front of her gown together.

  “Not so fast, buster! We need to talk first…about us”—she waved her hand to indicate the two of them—”before this goes any further. I have had a lot of time to consider this whole handfasting issue. I know what I want from this relationship but I’m wondering if you are having second thoughts. I want this to last. If you are not serious enough about our relationship to make it a permanent arrangement, then there’s the door. Just turn around and walk away.” Gusty watched
the shocked look on Alexander’s face turn into a good resemblance of a thundercloud. She took a step back and then another, but for every one she moved back he took one toward her.

  “You are mine, Augusta, now and forever!” His voice was menacingly low as he stalked her and by the time he backed her up against the cool stone wall, he was fairly bellowing at her.

  “It is you I want. It is you I love. Even if I have to follow you through all time and into eternity!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  With her back literally against the wall Gusty could only stare up at this very large, very angry Highlander, wide-eyed in amazement. He had just clearly and unquestionably declared his love for her. She blinked once and dropped her gaze to his frown, wondering if he was now too angry to kiss her. Her heart jumped at the thought and her tongue darted out to lick her suddenly dry lips. Her eyes widened at the low rumble that escaped his throat.

  “Alexander?” She gasped in concern as she reached out and touched his arm.

  “Do not touch me just yet, do not move, do not speak, Gusty,” he advised her through clenched teeth as a sheen of perspiration broke out on his forehead.

  “What’s wrong? Tell me,” she insisted.

  “I thought I had lost you, lass. Never again do I want to suffer such torment. I find I need you. I need you so badly I fear my self-control is near gone. I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled.

  She pulled her hand back and clasped both of them against her breast, wondering what she should do.

  “You still want me? Love me?” Her last words came out in a whisper as she prayed that he did.

  “Oh aye, love. There is no denying I want you.” He reached for her hand and drew it down between them, thrusting his thick erection into her palm.