“I cannae get tired of ye. I look at ye every day and I wonder to meself why ye fell in love with me. I get that I might be quite handsome,” he bragged. He caught Theodora’s hands in his before she could hit him for being so egoistic.
“Ye are too egoistic. The fields of the Highlands couldn’ae contain yer ego,” she had said to him. Theodora had tried in vain to free her hands from his single-hand hold. It annoyed her sometimes that he was much stronger than she was. She understood his reluctance to let go of her hands, knowing that she would slap his arm or chest once he let go of them.
“I am only egoistic because ye chose me out of all the men in England and Scotland,” Naomhan had told her.
“Who told ye about Scotland? I have just gotten here, who kens which kind of men they have here?” She had teased him and he had turned her over on the bed amidst her giggling.
His countenance had been different as he had looked down on her that night.
“Our plan tomorrow might nae work as we hope. I might get arrested tomorrow and taken away to stand trial, if I am lucky. If nae, they would just—” Naomhan had told her the grim truth. She had put her hands to his mouth to shush him.
“I shall be by yer side when tomorrow comes, as I am tonight. If ye get taken, I shall get taken with ye,” she had promised him. Naomhan had freed her hands and Theodora had held him in those hands and rested her head on his broad, hairy chest. The night had been quiet before she had suddenly pulled away and had slapped his chest.
Walking into the gathering of people in the large hall, she had been wary but Naomhan wasn’t. He had often told her that her presence next to him always filled him with confidence, a feeling that he could undertake anything, face armies singlehandedly.
Theodora searched for Stephen’s face in the crowd. It had first been covered in shock, before a confident smile had taken its place. She could only wonder what tricks he had up his sleeves.
“Traitor,” someone shouted from the crowd of people. Naomhan could see that it was Jaime. That started off a noise of murmuring in the crowd.
Logan rose from his seat and told the men to calm down.
“There is a bounty on his head. Would ye pay me the bounty to be quiet? Would ye pay all of us gathered here the bounty?” Jaime raised his voice again.
Logan wanted to speak but Naomhan climbed onto the platform upon which Logan sat with his mother and came to the fore. Naomhan took one last look at Theodora before he turned back to the people there.
“I ran from me home for two years. For two years, I couldn’ae be with me family, with me people, because I was accused of being a traitor to the Queen. It was told that I plotted an assassination against our Great Queen Mary but that was nae true. I was deceived by someone I never expected, someone we all never expected,” Naomhan said.
Looking at the faces of the people, Theodora realized that they perhaps stood a chance of leaving with their heads that day. As he spoke, everyone kept silent. There was a great respect that they fought with, trying to deny because of the tales they had heard. These people had known Naomhan even before she had, and she hoped that they still remembered the man he was.
It was another side to Naomhan that she had yet to see up until that very day. There was a charisma about him and the way he wielded the power he had over them. It wasn’t forced. It was just natural. She found herself wanting to listen to him, as everyone did.
“The man who made up these lies about me is none other than me good cousin, Stephen,” Naomhan said, with a pointed finger at Stephen. All eyes fell on Stephen.
Stephen burst into laughter at the mention of his name.
“I loved Naomhan as a brother as all of ye did but we can never truly ken the thoughts of a man. A man’s thoughts are his to keep, mostly, also if they are so terrible that they endanger the life of our matriarch,” Stephen spoke in his defense.
“Ask them if they have any proof. Our Laird here and Mrs. Grant ken of his arrival in Scotland. That makes me wonder which side they are on,” he continued, trying to throw the guilty stares back at them.
Naomhan jumped down from the platform and approached Stephen. No one got in his way, not even the hot-headed Jaime came out of his corner in the crowd. Stephen stood his ground as Naomhan approached him. Everyone was watching and trying to pick a side. Any mistake from either of them could shift the belief of those gathered there. He knew all he needed to do was to remain calm. The odds were in his favor as Naomhan was the self-acclaimed innocent man who had fled Scotland for more than two years.
“I beg ye, if ye have any conscience left in ye, that ye tell the truth for once in yer life,” Naomhan offered him a chance, to which Stephen laughed.
“If there is a rider here, I ask that ye ride to the Queen with the message that the man who wishes to murder her is here in Scotland,” Stephen spoke to the crowd, before turning back to Naomhan.
He had known this day would come, the day when he would have to look Naomhan in the eye and declare himself his enemy. Naomhan had been nothing but kind to him ever since they had been little boys. Fate had put them on crossed paths, just as it had their fathers. Perhaps before Naomhan was hung for treason, he would apologize to him, Stephen thought.
“If ye were so innocent, why did ye run? Ye should have stayed and fought to prove yer innocence.”
“I ran because ye told me to. I had no idea that ye just wanted to get me out of Scotland so that ye could poison me faither and try to kill me brother.” Naomhan stood in his face, defiant.
“Those are heavy accusations. Dae ye have some evidence to back up yer words, because I am shocked meself?” Stephen asked him. Logan got up to speak.
“Me brother came back because of me faither’s burial. It was when he got home that we heard his truth. Two years ago, when he fled our country, we had nae listened to his side of the story but had followed the advice of a man we had thought we could trust, my cousin Stephen. He is a Grant, just as meself and me brother. He wants to be Laird, just like his faither before wanted. Maybe he does deserve it more than we dae, but he went about it the wrong way. This is nae a man that we can trust,” Logan said.
“Words, words, words mean nothin’. What we ask for is proof?” Stephen spoke above him.
“We found the old seal in Stephen’s room—” Stephen’s face wore shock for a moment before it was gone again. Only Naomhan had caught it and he looked at Stephen with sadness in his eyes. They had been brothers once.
“Men of the council ken that me faither’s seal got missin’ about two years ago when me brother was accused of treason. We couldn’ae have hidden it if we could have used it to prove me brother’s innocence. Stephen took it to forge a letter in me brother’s hand to make him look guilty,” Logan told them.
“It proves nothin’,” Stephen argued. He walked away from Naomhan’s front and came to face Logan. He looked to Isla, who remained on her seat with a passive look on her face. It wasn’t hard for him to figure out that Logan spoke his mother’s words and it vexed him. The walls were slowly closing in all around him. He was not going to give up without a fight. If it was a battle of reason, he knew he could best anyone.
“Ye speak still because nay one here can ken the truth as the both of us dae,” Naomhan said, as he came to his side. “I call the Lord as me defender.” The crowd murmured amongst themselves as his words struck them all. It had been a long time since anyone had made that kind of challenge.
“Aye, I accept,” Logan gave his vote. There were votes of acceptance also from the elders and members of his father’s council.
Stephen scoffed before he removed his cloak and tossed it onto a table.
“For the sake of the truth and to open the eyes of the blind, I shall accept yer challenge, Naomhan, because I believe in the truth. I shall fight ye to the death.”
Theodora’s heart sank as she heard Stephen’s words. She had not understood the meaning of Naomhan’s words until Stephen had accepted the challenge. Naomhan had only
mentioned the idea in passing but had not spoken of it again after she had shut the idea down.
Looking at the dire state of the situation, she understood his decision but it still did not settle well with her. She looked up to Isla for help, some voice of reason, but Theodora could see that Isla approved of the challenge. Theodora had no choice but to watch on as the event unfolded, with Naomhan and Stephen fighting to the death.
36
Theodora was mad at Naomhan. She punched him relentlessly. Even though she knew she could do no damage to him, she had to work out her anger and frustration.
They were inside the castle, trying to find a good sword for him. He had found his to be quite blunt with age. He tried not to look at Theodora but she moved to his front every time he turned to pick a blade.
“Look at me, Naomhan. Look at me,” Theodora yelled at him. Her Gaelic tongue was gone from her lips. She was as English as she was mad at him.
“I knew you would not allow me to challenge Stephen if I had told you,” he told her.
“What happens to me if you lose? Do you even think about that? Do you think I want to become a young widow? I still have so much love to give you. We have not even been wed or had children and you want to throw away your life. You promised me that we would leave if things became too dangerous,” she told him, hitting him some more before he caught her hands in his. His eyes were red with sadness as he tried to look away from her.
“It is more than me now, Theodora. Stephen will kill my little brother if I do not stop him here and on this day. He was once my brother also but I have to stop him and hope that I can save him also,” he told her.
“What if you lose, Naomhan? What if you lose?” she asked him, moving so that he could not hide his face from her. Her eyes were already wet with tears. She loved him more than her own life and it hurt her that he was going to take such a risk. All her life, she had never known such risks. Her parents had protected her from all dangers, and though her travels with Naomhan had shown her another side to the world outside her home, she could not get used to it. It was selfish, she knew, but it was love. She wanted him alive and only to herself, if she could help it.
“I will not lose, Theodora. I cannot because I cannot leave you alone. I will never leave you alone,” he held her arms and promised her.
“Swear to me, Naomhan that you will not lose. Promise me,” she begged him.
“I promise you this, that I will not die. There are so many things that I still want to do to you, with you. I will not die out there,” he promised her and kissed her lips. Theodora kissed him back and they only pulled away from one another when Logan walked in on them.
“It is time,” Logan told his brother. Naomhan nodded.
“Take her with ye,” Naomhan said to his brother. Theodora looked at him as she walked out of the room. Her eyes never left his as she tried to tell if he had lied to her, if he was going to make it, and had no doubt about his triumph. He had not lied to her.
Naomhan picked a sword and swung it in the air to check its balance. It suited him well before he went out to the crowd. Everyone was gathered outside to have the challenge. The ring was set for them. Wood poles were hammered in a circle and a rope tied around to set the boundary. Stephen was inside the ring waiting for him with a sword in hand. Naomhan took a deep sigh, raising his strong broad chest before he got into the ring also. It seemed a defiant gesture for him to go in shirtless.
“We were brothers, Stephen. Why did it have to come to this?” Naomhan asked Stephen as they walked towards one another. He opened his arms to Stephen, baring his chest, but Stephen cared nothing for it.
One of the elders addressed the crowd as well as the challengers.
“This is a duel to the death. A winner will only be chosen if he kills the other man or if he accepts the surrender of his opponent,” the man said, and Logan nodded for the fight to commence.
Naomhan was about to move to the other side of the ring when Stephen suddenly lunged at him. Naomhan was able to move in time to save his eyes but could not save his flesh. Stephen smiled wickedly at him as he drew first blood. Naomhan touched the side of his face and his hand came off with blood. It was at that moment that he realized that he could not hold back if he wanted to live.
Everyone was shocked at Stephen’s sudden attack on Naomhan, Theodora most of all. She had almost jumped out of her seat if Isla had not held her back. Isla held her hand still in hers and squeezed it hard.
“Naomhan will nae die,” Isla assured her. Isla wasn’t certain of the outcome of the fight. Even though she knew of Naomhan’s skill, she had seen him lose many times to Stephen as a boy and a teenager. She could only pray that he survived. The only other good she could do then was to try to put Theodora’s mind at ease. She understood the younger woman’s pains because she would also have been quite uneasy watching her Torquil duel a man to the death.
Naomhan squeezed his hand tighter around the hand of the sword before he charged at Stephen again. He swung hard at Stephen, knowing that Stephen would side-step easily and put him in Naomhan’s blind spot. Stephen grinned at the opening and was about to stab at Naomhan when he was bashed in the face by Naomhan’s shoulder. It was a hit he had not seen coming. He was startled as he staggered onto the side of the ring, almost tripping over the rope. He had his sword up and ready to parry but Naomhan did not come at him.
“This is yer last chance, Stephen. Tell the truth to everyone and I will spare ye,” Naomhan spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
Stephen scoffed as he got back onto his feet, shaking off the faint dizziness he had felt from the hit. He touched his broken nose and shrugged it off. It would not have been a worthy fight if he did not get some bruises and wounds, he thought to himself.
“While I breathe as a Scot, I shall nae back down and let a traitor like ye live,” Stephen spat onto the grass between them. Naomhan frowned and both men came at one another at the same time.
Stephen’s blade was faster, swinging for Naomhan’s head, which he did well to parry with his sword. Stephen pushed with his sword at Naomhan’s. Naomhan’s strength was always his major advantage over Stephen and Stephen had learnt to beat that advantage over the years. As expected, Naomhan leaned harder into Stephen. Stephen bent lower and lower as Naomhan’s strength prevailed before he suddenly slid his sword off Naomhan’s and cut at Naomhan’s thigh.
Naomhan yelled in pain as Stephen continued to hack at Naomhan with both hands. Naomhan tried to fight back but he could not quite do well with the seething pain in his left thigh. He hopped on one leg as he parried, moving back to the wooden pole supports of the ring. The foray threatened his healing shoulders.
Stephen swung one-handed at Naomhan’s right, moving his defense to his right before he jabbed Naomhan’s cut thigh hard, forcing Naomhan onto his knees. Stephen grinned as he held his blade to Naomhan’s neck to discourage him from moving.
“The truth always wins, I told ye so,” Stephen shouted to the people around. His eyes rested on Isla’s. The fright in her eyes filled him with glee, as did the look in Theodora’s. She was already on her feet, running towards them despite Isla’s efforts to stop her. Stephen raised his sword with both hands, ready to take Naomhan’s head. He knew that she could never get to them in time.
On his knees, Naomhan looked to Theodora, who he saw running towards him. There were tears in her eyes but what really struck him was the burning anger in her eyes. He could not tell the words that she yelled as she ran towards them, but all he heard was “you promised.”
Looking up at Stephen, who held his sword high, Naomhan realized that he could not fall, not to Stephen. He had so much to live for, much more than a title. He had his family to protect and he had Theodora, the love of his life. Seeing her running towards danger without any care for herself—she wanted to save him.
That is my responsibility, Naomhan thought to himself, as Stephen’s blade began to descend. Naomhan lunged himself at Stephen, leading with his s
houlder, driving it hard into Stephen’s abdomen. The impact knocked out the air from Stephen’s lungs and sent him onto the ground under Naomhan’s weight. Naomhan raised his sword and hammered it against Stephen’s, which he held up with both hands to save himself.
Naomhan roared as he hammered and hammered until Stephen’s sword broke in two. Theodora stopped in her tracks, panting and smiling at the turn of events. Isla was on her feet, as was Logan. Naomhan raised his sword high for one last strike, when Stephen raised his hands in surrender, begging.
“Spare me life. I surrender,” Stephen pleaded.
“It means nothin’ to me. Ye killed me faither. Who is goin’ to answer for that?” Naomhan asked him.
“Nay, nay, I will speak the truth,” Stephen yelled, hoping to stop Naomhan from killing him. “I wrote the letter in yer hand and used the seal on it. I didnae kill yer faither with me hands. It was Donald, and Donald was the one who tried to kill yer brother in the woods,” Stephen confessed.
Under a Highlander's Spell: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 24
