They stumbled like fools after her, nearly tripping over one another.
McKayla arrived seconds before them. The door gave no resistance when she raced into the room. Everyone froze.
“She’s not here,” Bradon said. “Where is she?”
The worry in his voice did not go unnoticed.
“Fools.”
They turned to find Arianna on the landing below. Hands on her hips, his mother looked at them, expression damning. Eyes narrowed and voice barely tolerant, she said, “These walls have ears. Did you think for a moment I would let my daughter be subjected to any of you?”
Colin couldn’t help himself. “But I thought she would see no one.”
“Then you thought wrong,” Arianna spat. “We gave her no choice. With the four of you behaving such as you are, we had no option but to protect her.” His mother huffed as she walked away, voice trailing down the hall. “From her own kin no less!”
There was no point chasing down his Ma when she was in a foul mood. But what had they done wrong? There had to be more to the story. What was really happening with his sister? That was a mystery he intended to solve. But first he’d have to deal with Mckayla. Colin stepped aside when Bradon and Ilisa passed, apparently off to brood.
But when McKayla tried to pass, he blocked her path.
Wide, gray eyes stared at him. “Don’t think for one second that I’m happy with you.”
“I won’t.” he replied, not put off in the least.
“You deceived me yet again.”
“Aye but ‘twas not with ill intention. My sister has always been different and I’ve always protected her. Am I sorry I didnae tell you about her? Aye. But not so much that I’ll grovel now. There was no way to know she would reach out to you as she did.”
“No, I suppose not,” she said, a bit too compliant as her eyes held his. “You let me down again, Colin. I knew you had secrets and I know you still have more.” McKayla stood up straighter. “I guess I just keep hoping that you’ll share them with me.” She shook her head. “Isn’t that the whole point? To close the gap between us?”
When she pushed forward he let her go.
There was nothing easy about letting this era unravel for her. Right down to his ill sister. While he tried to break her in slowly it seemed everything was determined to do otherwise. He’d no sooner slumped down on the stairs, head in hands, when the last person he wanted to talk to seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Where is she then?”
Not bothering to look up at Malcolm, he said, “Wherever Ma put her.”
“Does Arianna know about Colin MacLeod?” Malcolm asked.
Not really wanting to have this conversation but aware he didn’t have a choice because Malcolm wasn’t budging, Colin raised his head. “Better yet, did you?”
His cousin’s steely eyes looked down. “It doesnae matter whether I did or not. All of this is on you, Colin.”
“Mayhap some but not all.” He shook his head and turned the conversation to what he felt mattered most. “Did you love Nessa right from the start?”
Taken aback, his cousin’s gaze went from the hallway back to him. “Would it have mattered? You had so many opinions. All was figured out in your eyes.”
Baffled, Colin said, “I told you what I knew of her. How was I to know you felt so strongly?”
Malcolm peered down as though he’d been waiting a millennium to do so and replied, “It never surprised me that you didnae see my desire for her. So caught up were you with the need for freedom from all this.” He made a gesture that while small encompassed the castle. “We were not good enough for you. She was not good enough. I’d loved her always and you saw her as nothing. All of us as nothing.”
Colin was quick to reply but his cousin was quicker.
With a sharp shake of his head, Malcolm said, “This clan, our kin, might be quick to forgive you but never think for a moment I will. You are harmful to those you love. If even now they have not figured it out then may the gods watch over them evermore.” He paused, as if to gather his thoughts. “No matter this revelation about Colin MacLeod, I will stand by Nessa. Dinnae think otherwise.”
Before Colin could reply Malcolm was gone.
He closed his eyes and lowered his head. Never once had he realized that Malcolm desired Nessa. What had it been like for him to see them together that summer? Because though not yet married they’d been amorous and open with their affection.
Until the night he realized what she was.
Or better yet what she wasn’t.
Faithful, amongst other things.
While she might not have held his heart, she’d certainly held his attention. In truth, he didn’t find fault with her for taking another to bed. It had been around the time he’d met McKayla. Colin suspected Nessa sensed another woman had captured his interest. Because, as it turned out, the lass had a way with black magic. Not just dark magic but one step further…a form of magi that went far deeper and was exceedingly dangerous. He’d shared all of this with Malcolm, from the dark spells she weaved, to her taking a lover while they were betrothed.
Malcolm had been equally disturbed by the information. Or so he thought.
Restless and intent on leaving, Colin never imagined Malcolm would pursue Nessa. Not after he’d told him who she really was. He’d been so sure William would have had her packed up and shipped home.
But his cousin had fallen in love. And no one knew better than he did how love could make you do crazy things.
It made him sick to think of how easy it was for Nessa to turn from one MacLomain to another. Did she truly love Malcolm? He could only pray that if she didn’t, it wouldn’t destroy him. For that would only add to his regrets.
With a heavy sigh, Colin walked up the stairs and into his sister’s chamber. Hands braced against the eave of the window he stared out over the trees and thought not of Malcolm and Nessa but of his sister. He still remembered standing outside this very room the night she arrived. Never had a child come into the world so silently.
It seemed almost a sign of what was to come.
But Torra had not always been silent. There was a time…
“There, Col!” A peel of laughter rippled across the room. Colin turned and watched through the eyes of time as Torra ran across the room into his waiting arms. He scooped up his three year old sister and kissed the bridge of her nose. Though only ten winters, he was tall and strong, so he sat her on the window sill with ease.
“And what are you up to today, my wee bonnie lass?” he asked.
With huge sage green eyes, she tossed her black hair and said, “Building castle all mine.”
“Oh, aye?” With a chuckle he asked, “And how many rooms will it have?”
Torra held up one finger and smiled.
“Just one then?”
She nodded, quite sure of herself.
“But where will everybody sleep?”
“Just me.” Then she seemed to consider that and held up two fingers. “And room for you.”
“Well what about Ma, Da and Bradon?”
After giving this a moment of thought she issued a grin that reminded him of Iain, crooked and mischievous. “Stables.”
Colin laughed, shook his head and kissed her cheek. “Well, I’m glad I get to sleep inside your castle.”
Her little arms came around his neck and she held on tight. Sad, he once more turned and looked out the window. That little girl was long gone and the connection they’d shared lost…or so it seemed. Even after she turned twelve winters and had changed, forever locked inside her own mind, she still allowed him to visit. But though they sat for hours, silence reigned. The young, bright happy girl she’d been had vanished. In her place someone who almost seemed an oracle.
How else could they explain her uncanny foresight?
“This room was the only part of that summer that I didnae especially like.”
Nessa MacLeod.
Colin gritted his teeth. “Naturall
y, ‘twas not about you.”
“Aye, true ‘twas the only place that was not about me.”
He shook his head. “There was no love betwixt us, Nessa.” Colin turned and frowned. “But for what it’s worth I am sorry that I left as I did. Despite your indiscretions, no lass deserves such.”
Though he knew she did deserve it, Colin was determined to make things right with everyone he’d wronged. Even her.
Nessa leaned against the doorway. “You dinnae mean a word you say, Colin MacLomain. You didnae then and you dinnae now.”
He made to speak but she continued. “You know as well as I that love blossomed.” Her tone grew bitter. “Until you met her. What else was I to do when I found out about it?”
“How did you know about her, Nessa?”
“I could smell her on you,” Nessa hissed. “How did I know? My magi of course…and your actions. One day you’d have me in your bed, the next no more.”
“You were not without company to keep you warm,” he replied caustically. “Ours was never a love match, even you knew that.”
“I didnae!” she replied harshly. Upset that she’d reacted so strongly, she inhaled deeply. “I loved you verra much. ‘Twas my magi that turned you away. I knew it then.” Her eyes, almost desperate for a second, met his. “And I know it now. We dinnae have a choice about the gift that is ours. You know that better than anyone. ”
“Nay, but we always have a choice about how we use it,” he ground out. “And you didnae use it for good then, and I suspect you haven’t used it for good since. Tell me then, if we had such a great love what heartache did you suffer when turning your attentions to Malcolm?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “It must have been a terrible feat indeed.”
Nessa stood up straighter. “Malcolm has been good to me. I would never hurt him.”
“Do you love him?”
“Enough so.”
Colin’s stomach soured. He didn’t have to ask to know she’d already been unfaithful to his cousin. She knew nothing of love. Malcolm deserved better. Nessa took what she needed from whomever she needed it. Why hadn’t Malcolm listened to him? Was love truly that blind?
Whether or not he’d wanted to, Colin said he was sorry. That was all she would get from him. More than done with the conversation he made his way toward the door. Nessa, of course, didn’t budge an inch.
“Think what you will of me,” she whispered. “But I was not the first to betray.” Her eyes roamed over him. “‘Twas you all along.”
Physically no, but mentally yes. In truth, he’d not lain with McKayla until after Nessa had been unfaithful. But he’d already given away his heart. So aye, he had betrayed Nessa first. But regardless, none of it mattered now. She was married to another MacLomain.
“Colin.”
Nessa rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. “Your new wife doesnae like me being alone with you, my laird.” She smirked. “Does she not know I am married?”
“You might be married, but you don’t act like it,” McKayla said, halfway up the stairs. “It’s clear enough that you’ve angled yourself so Colin will have to touch you to exit the room. And then there’s the passion in your voice when you speak to him.”
A trickle of laughter escaped Nessa’s lips but fizzled away when Malcolm appeared at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes went from Colin to her. “Come, lass. Something is happening.”
Colin stemmed out his magic and muttered, “Bloody hell!”
“To say the least,” Malcolm replied, his tone dry.
“What?” McKayla asked Colin after Nessa and Malcolm left.
He shook his head. “Ferchar has come.”
Startled, she looked down the stairs then at him. “How do you know?” She frowned. “Never mind. Magic right?”
Colin nodded and took her hand. “There’s more.”
“Okay,” she said slowly as he pulled her down the stairs. “Care to share.”
They stopped at the railing overlooking the great hall. “He didnae come alone.”
Chapter Twelve
“Oh my God!” McKayla waved her arms and yelled. Was this an illusion? A trick to lull her into a false sense of security? Because right now, she couldn’t believe her eyes. And only God knew how bad she wanted this to be real. With them here, she knew everything would be all right. Because together, there was nothing they couldn’t handle.
“Seth, Sheila, Leslie, up here!”
Nearly tripping on her dress, she held up the obtrusive material and flew down the stairs. They all seemed stunned but were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. McKayla flew into Seth’s arms.
“Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?” Seth asked.
She nodded and squeezed him tight before pulling her cousins in for a group hug. They held onto one another for a long time, afraid if they let go they might slip back through time leaving someone behind.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” McKayla gushed.
“Neither can we,” Sheila replied, wide-eyed as she looked around. “It’s still kind of hard to believe.”
“It might be for a bit,” McKayla said. “But it’s okay. Everyone is really nice.”
“So it seems.” Leslie frowned, her sharp eyes taking in everything from the medieval men, many of whom were already staring back with appreciation, to the castle itself. “Where exactly are we again?”
“Ferchar’s old castle,” Seth said, eyes bright, not a shred of fear in his excited regard. “Thirteenth century Scotland!”
“Though I’m totally thrilled, why are you here?” McKayla asked, unsettled.
Her concern didn’t lessen any when she realized the hall was being cleared out save immediate family. She didn’t have to turn to know Colin stood behind her. Seth’s narrowed gaze gave it away.
Seth stared down Colin. “I’d like to know the answer to that myself, Colin. Why are we here?”
“We’ll soon find out,” Colin said, promptly kissing the back of Sheila’s then Leslie’s hands. Both stared as he urged them to follow.
Sheila pulled McKayla close and whispered, “Wow, sweetie! He looked great back home but something about this place seriously agrees with him.” Her eyes lowered. “And check out your dress. Love it!”
If only she’d seen her dress last night. But that conversation was better left for later.
McKayla had to hand it to her cousins. They seemed to be taking all of this in stride.
But like her, what choice did they have?
Though she felt so much better with all of them here, McKayla couldn’t help but be worried. If Ferchar brought them to medieval Scotland he had a very good reason for doing so. What had happened? Were they in danger? Without doubt. Nervous, she watched as Colin stood with Ferchar, Iain, and William in front of a fireless hearth. The air became so oppressive even the low flames had been doused.
The younger men and Ilisa sat at a trestle table.
Colin urged all to join them.
When he sat at the head of the table she naturally assumed the men would sit alongside him, but that wasn’t the case. “Come, lass, next to me.”
So McKayla’s family ended up on one side of the table and Colin’s family on the other with Ferchar sitting at the opposite end. Tensions were impossibly thick as Seth sat to her immediate right flanked by her cousins. The only one who appeared at ease was Bradon, his interested gaze sliding over Sheila and Leslie. Sheila looked right back and smiled. Leslie, however, was less than impressed as her critical gaze traveled over each and every one of the MacLomains.
“What has happened affects us all,” Ferchar began.
Seth being Seth didn’t hesitate to ask, “What exactly did happen? Typically I like to be asked first before being yanked through time.”
When Bradon arched a brow at Colin, no doubt wondering about Seth’s forward behavior, her husband simply shook his head.
Seth had to be the last person he wanted to see here.
Well, he’d just
have to get over it.
Ferchar’s response was directed at Colin. “A magical wall has formed. One so strong I’ve never seen the likes of it. I had but two choices. Keep them there or bring them here. Gods know Caitlin can protect our son.” His less than impressed eyes grazed over the others. “These three however will better serve here and will be far safer.”
“Better serve?” Leslie said. “Who precisely are we serving? Because I don’t recall being asked.”
“No,” Sheila agreed, her eyes swinging to Leslie. “But you could focus on the scarier thing he said…we’re safer here.”
“Was it Keir Hamilton then?” Colin asked.
“Aye, ‘twas the name given.”
Colin exchanged a look with Iain and William.
William had already filled Ferchar in on what was happening. “His interest lies with McKayla and those she surrounds herself with. They are future MacLomains and ending them is a fervent goal.”
“Excuse me but I am no MacLomain,” Leslie informed.
“Not yet,” Iain said.
“Pardon?”
“What he means is that if you’re here then you’ll someday be one, lass,” Bradon informed, a twinkle in his eye.
Leslie squashed that twinkle with a few select words. “Over my dead body.”
Bradon cocked a brow.
“I’ve been dead, it’s not fun,” Seth muttered. But McKayla could tell he was enjoying all of it.
Leslie only frowned.
“But why is Seth here?” McKayla asked. “I can assure you he’ll never be a MacLomain.”
“Can you?” Ferchar asked. “Did Seth never tell you about his encounters with Adlin MacLomain? Did he not tell you that he descends from the Broun lineage?”
Both Colin and Iain looked at him. Waiting.
Iain, eyes narrowed, looked closer and whispered, “You’re of Calum’s kin.”
“Who’s Calum?” McKayla asked.
“Arianna’s cousin.” Iain looked at Ilisa. “He’s your uncle’s distant offspring.”
Ilisa and Seth looked at one another, surprised. She spoke first. “Bloody hell, we’re a good looking lot!”
Sheila stifled a small burst of laughter.
Mark of the Highlander (The MacLomain Series: Next Generation, Book 1) Page 19
