Frederick's Queen: The Clan Graham Series

by Suzan Tisdale

  Eduard had grabbed her arm, digging his fingers into her flesh and dragged her up the stairs to the barbican. He hadn’t uttered a word since learning Frederick was at his gates. He left Aggie with two guards as he stepped across the barbican to look down at the ground below. Frederick Mackintosh sat atop a horse and appeared to be quite alone.

  “I hear ye want to speak to me, Mackintosh,” Eduard called down. “May I inquire as to what it is ye want to discuss?” He tried sounding uninterested but everyone around him knew he wanted to know why Frederick was here.

  “Ye have somethin’ that belongs to me, Bowie,” Frederick called up.

  Eduard feigned ignorance. “I have somethin’ that belongs to ye?” he said as he pretended to think on it for a moment. He snapped his fingers as he smiled down at Frederick. “Now I remember! Ye fergot yer boots!”

  Frederick was not amused and pretended he hadn’t heard Eduard’s insult. “Ye have me wife and I want her back.”

  AGGIE HAD BEEN standing some ten feet away from the edge of the barbican, listening to Eduard and Frederick. Even from this distance and without seeing his face, she knew her husband was checking his anger, holding back his rage.

  She could not have been more relieved or happy when she heard Frederick speak those words. “Ye have me wife and I want her back.”

  Uncontainable joy flooded her heart. He had returned for her!

  Her mind went back to the afternoon that Ailrig had been hurt. Frederick had told her then that he saw proof of God in her smile. He had told her she was a blessing. Did he truly mean it? Her heart soared as she pushed all negative thoughts aside. She was a blessing to him. She needn’t know anything else other than that. He was here to rescue her, but how, she had no good idea. Eduard did not appear bothered or worried by Frederick’s presence. If she could only see Frederick to gain some idea on how he planned to get her out of here, she would feel much better.

  She gave a quick perusal of her surroundings. There were only two ways off this barbican: the stairs or over the wall. Knowing she had no way to overpower the guards and race below stairs, over the wall was her only choice.

  “Ye want yer wife back?” Eduard laughed as he leaned over the wall. “Ye want yer wife back?” he repeated as if he hadn’t understood the first time.

  “Aye,” Frederick called back. “Return her to me now, unharmed, and I’ll let ye live another day.”

  Eduard turned away from the wall and stormed toward Aggie. He grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the chest high wall. Fearing he was planning on tossing her over, she pretended to trip and fell to her knees. That was when she spied her way out.

  Just inches from the wall was a rope and tied to the end of it was grappling hook. Aggie had to assume it was used to haul things up from below or to lower them as the case may be. As she stumbled to get to her feet, she grabbed the hook and hid it under the cowl she held in her hands as Eduard hauled her to her feet. He was too angry to pay any attention to what she was doing. He pushed her toward the wall. Being so tiny, the top of her head barely made it past the top of the wall. Eduard sighed in frustration, picked her up and sat her on top of the wall.

  Aggie caught sight of Frederick below as he sat atop a horse she didn’t recognize. She didn’t have time to work out where the horse had come from as she fought to keep her seat. Her husband looked livid and for once, she was certain his anger was not directed at her.

  “Do ye mean this, Mackintosh?” he shouted down at Frederick while holding onto the back of her tunic. “This useless, scarred, stuttering, used piece of filth?”

  “I’ll tell ye this once, and only once, Bowie. Be verra careful how ye talk about a man’s wife. Ye might no’ live to regret it.”

  Eduard threw his head back and laughed. “Yer a fool, Mackintosh! A fool fer wantin’ this,” he said as he gave Aggie a shake. “I’ve had her meself, ye ken! I imagine countless men have!” His face was burning red with anger. “Why would ye want a whore as a wife?”

  Frederick shook his head. “I warned ye, Bowie,” he shouted up. A moment later, Frederick raised his hand as he glanced at Aggie.

  Something unspoken passed between her and Frederick. She had no time to think on it as arrows began flying through the air from somewhere within the forest. Aggie took that as her opportunity to take action.

  Spinning around, she removed the grappling hook from under the cowl. Her original thought had been to use it to propel herself down the wall by affixing it to the merlon. But after hearing the Bowie, the man who had stolen far more than just her innocence, speak about her as if she had come to him a willing participant was all too much. And when he accused her of bedding countless other men and called her a whore, she could bear no more. Besides, she was not going to give him the opportunity to toss her over the wall to her death.

  With all the strength she could muster, she swung the grappling hook with all her might and dug it into the back of Eduard Bowie’s neck. Two of the spikes hit their mark at the back of his neck, piercing flesh, muscle and bone. One of the prongs poked through the front of his neck at an odd angle. Bits of flesh hung on its point. Blood began gushing down his neck with each beat of his heart, spurting from the holes she had made. Aggie spun around, pulled her sleeves over her hands to protect them, and began her descent down the wall.

  As she pushed off, the force pulled Eduard toward the merlon and he fell to his knees. Someone screamed out an order from somewhere behind him, and men raced forward to catch their fallen leader. As they pulled him away from the wall, Aggie continued to lower herself down, knowing that with each step she took lowering herself down the wall, the hook dug deeper into Eduard Bowie’s flesh. The last thing she saw was another point of the hook being forced through his neck, his ashen skin, and a very surprised expression that would be eternally painted on his face.

  ALL HELL QUITE literally broke loose in the span of a few heartbeats. Arrows flew through the air, toward the top of the Bowie keep. War cries from the forest as well as the barbican broke out. More than one hundred of Rowan Graham’s men, along with Ian and Peter, flooded out from their hiding spots in the forest and began their attack on the keep.

  None of that had quite as much impact as watching his wee wife plunge a grappling hook deep into Eduard Bowie’s neck. What surprised Frederick further was watching as Aggie flung herself over the barbican and seeing her body falling toward the moat. He remained frozen atop his mount as he watched her sliding down and then plunge feet first into the moat.

  God’s teeth! He kicked his horse forward, ready to dismount and jump in the moat to save her. As he moved forward with his heart lodged in his feet, he saw Aggie’s head bob above the water once before going back under. As he pulled his horse to a stop, she reappeared again, coughing and sputtering and shaking the water from her face.

  Ian had seen what she had done and had moved forward to offer assistance. He slid from his horse and gave his brother an order to remain mounted. “Ye canna walk, remember?” he shouted over the din of battle as he plunged headlong into the water.

  Aggie was soon swimming toward him as quickly as she could. Ian reached her mid-way, and grabbed onto her tunic. He helped her toward the bank, pulled himself out first before hauling her up and out by her trews.

  Aggie continued to cough, the water burning her nose, throat and eyes. Ian picked her up and set her on the back of Frederick’s mount, slapped its hindquarter and gave a shout. Aggie wrapped her arms around Frederick’s waist and held on for dear life.

  Frederick kept his horse at a full run for the next three miles.

  Thirty-Seven

  AGGIE HAD NO idea who had launched the arrows. She had no idea how her husband had managed to find help so quickly. As she held on tightly to her husband’s waist as they raced through trees and bracken, all she cared about was not falling to her death.

  By the time Frederick finally pulled his horse to a stop just a few paces away from a small thicket of trees, she was chilled to t
he bone. Her teeth chattered as her wet clothes clung to her skin. But she wasn’t about to complain. Frederick was free, she was free, and most likely, the source of her haunted dreams and decades long fear was dead.

  “I need ye to dismount first, Aggie,” Frederick said. His voice sounded weak and tired. “I’m afraid me feet will no’ allow me to stand just yet.”

  Gratefully, she slid from the back of the horse and waited to help her husband down. He grimaced as soon as his feet touched the ground. Hanging on to the saddle with a deathlike grip until he got his balance, he took deep steadying breaths. Aggie draped his arm over her shoulder and did her best to help him to sit.

  It was agonizing to see him in so much pain. Guilt consumed her. They were here because of her father.

  Rose and Ailrig came rushing out from behind a large tree with their arms wide open and looked exceedingly relieved. As Aggie was helping Frederick to sit, Rose and Ailrig wrapped arms around her and expressed how glad they were to see them both.

  “I be verra glad to see ye as well,” Aggie said as she propped Frederick against a fallen tree. “But I need to tend to me husband.”

  Rose nodded and went to fetch a bag containing bandages. She returned with it and a blanket she rolled up for Frederick to rest his feet.

  Aggie studied her husband closely. His skin was pale, his face tight with pain, and his breathing seemed labored and uneven. Rose helped to lift his feet and set them on the folded blanket. Aggie quickly began a close but careful inspection of his feet. Each time she pressed a finger against his tender flesh, he winced or sucked in a deep breath.

  “I do no’ feel any broken bones,” Aggie said as she made her way to inspect his hand.

  “We set the bones earlier,” Rose informed her quietly.

  Aggie barely heard Rose over the sound of her pounding heart. Frederick had been beaten and tortured all because her father was a mad man. There had to be a special place in hell for men like Mermadak McLaren and Eduard Bowie.

  Gently, she lifted Frederick’s bandaged hand for inspection. Frederick shook his head and pulled his hand away. “Nay, Aggie, nay,” he said.

  Aggie pulled her hands away as his words stabbed at her heart. He doesna want me to touch him, she thought. Ye canna blame him.

  “I b-be sorry, Frederick,” she mumbled as she started to scoot away.

  “I want to rest, Aggie,” he said as he held out his good arm. “Will ye rest with me, fer just a moment?”

  These emotional ups and downs, the uncertainty of how he might be feeling or what he might be thinking, the guilt, the overwhelming concern for his health was playing havoc with her heart and spirit. He wasn’t shunning her, wasn’t turning her away as she believed he would. Instead, he wanted her near him.

  Surprised but heartily grateful, she scooted close to him. “I just need to close me eyes for a spell,” he said as he draped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. “Och! Yer soaked to the bone, lass.”

  “Aye, but do no’ fash over it,” she said as she nestled her head into his chest. “I’ll change soon.”

  He didn’t argue as she knew he would have were he not so exhausted and weary. Moments later, he was sound asleep.

  HOURS PASSED BEFORE Ian and Peter and the men from Clan Graham met up with them. Aggie had slipped out of her husband’s arm and changed into a clean, dry dress. Sleep was what he needed most at the moment, so she covered him with a blanket and left him be until the men had arrived.

  The sound of all those horses pounding across the land roused Frederick from his deep slumber. He blinked away the sleep and shifted himself to sit upright as Ian, Peter, and Daniel came to join him.

  “How fare ye, Frederick?” Ian asked with more than a hint of brotherly concern.

  “I have suffered worse, Ian,” he said with a smile. “And I’ve been far better, too!”

  Ailrig had caught a few rabbits while Frederick had slept. Using leaves for trenchers, Rose brought each man a bit of roasted rabbit and apologized for the sparse food. “We had to pack lightly,” she explained to Frederick as he took the offered meat.

  “Rose, I be so hungry right now, I could gnaw off Ian’s arm and eat it,” Frederick told her with a wink and a smile.

  Rose shook her head and rolled her eyes at his jest and stepped away to offer what she could to the rest of the men.

  Frederick looked about for his wife. When he could not immediately see her, his stomach tightened with worry until he caught of a glimpse of her standing near a large group of men. He was about to call her over when he noticed that she was tending to the injured. His heart swelled with pride and amazement. Weeks ago, she could not step beyond the gates of her own keep. And today? Today she killed a man with a bloody grappling hook and now tended to the injuries of men who were complete strangers to her.

  “Where do we stand, lads?” Frederick asked as he took a bite of meat. “What happened after we left?”

  “The Bowies put up a good fight,” Daniel said.

  Daniel had stepped in to take Frederick’s place as Rowan’s second in command when Frederick had left. He considered the man a good friend, and after today, he knew he would be forever in his debt.

  “And ’tis fer certain the Bowie is dead.” Daniel said.

  “Aye,” Ian agreed. “I imagine there’ll be a good deal of infightin’ over who will take his place. He had no brothers or sisters, and no legitimate heirs.”

  Peter nodded his head as he ate the roast rabbit. “I’ve heard tell he has dozens of illegitimate children though, but none who can lay claim to his seat.”

  “And I’d no’ worry about retribution,” Daniel said. “I do no’ think anyone will be comin’ after us to seek justice for the bastard’s death. If anythin’ I think they’d come to shake Aggie’s hand.”

  Frederick chuckled softly at Daniel’s comment. If anyone had told him, even a few days ago, that his wife was capable of such a thing as killing a man, he’d have laughed until he cried.

  “We fought mainly to allow ye and Aggie time to escape,” Ian said as he rubbed the grease from the roast rabbit on his trews. “’Twas more fer sport as it has been some time since any of us have been in a real fight.”

  If his feet hadn’t been nearly crushed and his hand not broken in several spots, it would have been a fight that Frederick would have enjoyed. “Do we ken where the McLaren is?” he asked as he finished the last of the rabbit and tossed the empty leaf to the ground.

  “Edinburgh,” Ian said. “At least that was where he and his men talked of goin’ the night we learned what he had planned.” Ian had explained to Frederick earlier how they had come to be here, about how they had overheard the McLaren and made their escape.

  “And what of the McLaren keep?” Frederick asked as he tried to work the kinks out of his neck.

  “Rowan went there to lend aid to Aggie,” Peter explained. “He should be there now, with some one hundred or more of his men.”

  “I still do no’ understand how Rowan came to be involved,” Frederick mused.

  Daniel spoke to that question. “Two of yer men were able to flee the initial attack the Bowie made on ye. John and Richard. They rode straight for our keep and explained what had happened. Rowan immediately gathered us and we came to yer aid. We didna ken about Mermadak givin’ the keep to the Bowie, until this morn. All we knew at the time was that the Bowie had attacked all of ye at Mermadak’s request. We had to assume that meant Aggie might be in trouble. Half of us came to the Bowie keep, while Rowan went to offer help at yer keep.”

  “’Tis good to have ye as a friend, Daniel,” Frederick said as he extended his good arm. Daniel took it and smiled.

  “I imagine that if Rowan came upon the Bowies at the McLaren keep, he set about retrievin’ it for ye,” Daniel said. “’Tis growing late, but if we leave now, we can make it to yer keep before the midnight hour.”

  The last thing Frederick wanted to do was get back on his horse. But he knew they could not aff
ord to stay here any longer. They were still deep in Bowie lands and even if Peter and Ian were correct that no one would come to seek revenge for Eduard’s death, they might seek it for any brothers they lost today. “Aye,” Frederick said. “Do ye have any men so injured they canna travel?”

  Daniel shook his head. “Nay, no’ so grievously injured. We were verra lucky this day, Frederick. I can only hope the same can be said of how Rowan fared.”

  AT HER HUSBAND’S insistence, Aggie rode with him back to their keep. Ailrig rode with Peter and Rose with Ian. Although she felt he should have more time to rest, she did not want to take the chance at angering him. She also understood they also needed to get off of Bowie lands as quickly as possible.

  Aggie soaked up the warmth Frederick’s strong arms offered. He rode with his bad arm wrapped around her waist, the reins to their mount in the other. They rode in silence for some time, before she found the courage to ask the question that had been gnawing at her since that morning.

  “Frederick?” she asked as she played with the edges of her cloak. “Can I ask ye a question?”

  “Aye, me lady wife, ye can.”

  Aggie cleared her throat and mustered some courage. “Why did ye come for me?”

  “I could ask the same question of ye,” he said playfully.

  There was a multitude of reasons why she had done what she had done.

  Frederick leaned in and whispered into her ear. “I came fer ye, because ye are me wife, Aggie. I came fer ye because I couldna allow Eduard to harm ye in any manner or fashion. I came fer ye because yer mine.”

  Something resembling a bolt of lightning exploded in her chest. Were they not surrounded by more than a hundred men, and Rose, Aggie would have insisted then and there that he stop the horse and kiss her. And she’d not settle for a chaste kiss either. Her stomach felt warm and tingly at the idea.