Desiring The Highlander

by Michele Sinclair

  And what he just saw proved that.

  By the tears forming in her eyes, being pregnant was the last thing she wanted to be. Maybe the image of love she gave off was not the truth. Perhaps Cole was not whom she wanted. Had she finally recognized her husband was a coward and infected all those who were underneath him with his own weakness?

  Cole had destroyed his best friend, his hero, and in return, Leith vowed the false laird would lose his life. But maybe Cole didn’t need to die…maybe the best way of hurting him was to let him live.

  A delicious idea stole over Leith. The opportunity he had been waiting for had just arrived. With the exception of Dugan, all the commanders were at the training fields prepping for battle. They were waiting for him to return…something that would never happen, as he had never left. And Ellenor was leaving the protective surroundings of Fàire Creachann. Once on the mainland, her disappearance would go unmarked for hours.

  Eventually, though, someone would notice and the great Cole McTiernay would seek him out. And Leith fully intended to let the man find him. He would give Cole a choice. He could watch his beautiful wife die or he could watch her choose to be with another man.

  Either way, Cole McTiernay was destroyed.

  Chapter 16

  Dugan heard a sharp shrill female voice call his name and ignored it. Kenneth, however, had the opposite inclination. The older man had served with him for years, and when Dugan had merged his men with Cole, Kenneth had not been physically able to build the skills or develop the stamina Cole expected of his soldiers. And unlike the others in his situation who had elected to support Leith, Kenneth had remained loyal to Dugan. That loyalty had spread to include his new laird after seeing firsthand how Cole discovered and then utilized men’s strengths.

  “A lady asked to speak to you, sir.”

  “I believe I said demanded, not asked,” corrected the female.

  Dugan waved his hand for Kenneth to move aside and let the woman enter. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his already quickening pulse. Having been forewarned of Ellenor’s vocal displeasure and promises of going mainland, he had been expecting this visit for several hours. He had also been dreading it.

  The last time Ellenor had approached him with a request, he had almost done the unthinkable and told her of his feelings. Instead, he had fought his instinct to do whatever she requested and immediately left for the mainland, where he could fulfill his responsibilities without seeing her every day. In the past three weeks, he had thought he had conquered his attraction, but this morning when he learned of Ellenor’s impending arrival, every emotion, every desire came rushing back to the surface. And he knew that staying with Laird McTiernay and seeing her ladyship—even infrequently—was not a burden he could withstand for long. But he had made a promise. He would see this clan was established and that Fàire Creachann was prepared to support the families who were depending upon Cole for protection. Then he would leave, and with him, he would take several hard-learned lessons and his pride.

  The door opened. “Dugan, I don’t care how busy you are, you can make time for me.”

  Dugan let go the breath he had been holding. Neither the voice nor the petite female frame standing in front of him belonged to Ellenor. Dark brown eyes fumed down at him. Dugan immediately jumped to his feet. “Brighid, I had not been told—”

  “I am uninterested in why I was forced to wait so long for an audience,” Brighid huffed, cutting him off. “I just want to know exactly what it is you said to Ellenor to upset her and why you find it necessary to make things so extraordinarily hard on her, especially in her condition.”

  Dugan opened his mouth and closed it twice before answering. “I did not know things were hard on her and am not sure what you mean by her condition. Is she unwell?”

  Brighid bit her bottom lip, realizing her mistake. “No, she’s just…um, tired, and you and Henri make things constantly more difficult by seizing any space she has to do the chores necessary to maintain a castle of this size.”

  “I had not realized—”

  “Then what do you think Ellenor meant when she told you about the kitchens?” Brighid demanded.

  Dugan’s face was now full of confusion. “Lady Ellenor did not talk to me about the kitchens or anything else mainly because she has not been here to see me today.”

  Now it was Brighid’s turn to look confused. “But she should have been here hours ago. She was supposed to see you and then come for a visit, but she never arrived. I had assumed Ellenor was so angry by your refusal that she didn’t want to talk until she was in a better mood.”

  “I, too, had heard her ladyship was coming mainland, but she never arrived. Perhaps something interfered with her plans back at the keep.”

  Brighid frowned at him in concern. “I cannot imagine that to be true. She was quite insistent…”

  Dugan massaged the back of his neck. Cole and Donald had left that morning for the training fields, and they were not due back until dinnertime, which was at least another couple of hours. That made it his responsibility to verify Lady McTiernay’s well-being. “I’m sure she is busy with the keep, but I’ll go and speak with her and ensure she is well and address any of those hardships you just spoke of.”

  “I’m going with you,” Brighid stated matter-of-factly.

  Dugan shrugged and opened the door. “Fine with me. Kenneth, you might as well come along, too, in case Lady McTiernay needs some help that cannot be addressed quickly.”

  Once all three had mounted a horse, they headed out of the village and crossed the narrow strip of land to enter Fàire Creachann. A quarter of an hour later, they were at the castle stables, handing their reins to the stable master. Dugan was about to follow Kenneth and Brighid, who were both waiting in the courtyard, when he turned and asked the stable master if he had seen Lady Ellenor lately.

  “No, sir. Not for some time. This morning she retrieved her mount and headed towards the mainland, but has not yet returned.”

  “Was she alone?”

  “I think maybe my new man accompanied her. I know he is quite taken with milady.”

  Dugan cocked his head, trying to remember whom he assigned to work the stables. There had been so many people he had sent over to support the castle, but he couldn’t remember one of them being a stable boy. A steward would know and that was the one position he had yet to find anyone qualified to fill. “Can you describe the boy?”

  The stable master chuckled. “Boy? That was no boy you sent me. He was a man. Built like you, he was. Looked like he should be fighting, not mucking out stalls, but he did as I asked. The only time I had to get on him was about her ladyship. As I said before, he’s quite taken with her.”

  Dugan’s heart suddenly stopped. “This man…was he near bald and a scar along his right cheek?”

  “Aye, that’s him.”

  Dugan grabbed the reins of his horse and ordered the stable master to prepare another. He jumped back on his mount and exited the stables calling for Kenneth. The man came running, along with Brighid. “Kenneth, ride out to the training fields as fast as you can. Leith’s been here and he has Lady Ellenor. Tell the laird I am riding out to Glen Terrand. That’s where Leith will be waiting. Brighid, go find Liam. I think he is at his cottage and tell him to round the elite guard.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Dugan stared at the gatehouse and said, “I’m going to do what I should have done last time.” He gave a swift kick into the brown mare’s sides and disappeared through the gatehouse.

  “Elle!”

  There was no reply and Cole was starting to become concerned. At first, he thought she was angry about his late arrival. He had not been home for dinner for the past five nights and Ellenor had made it clear, there had better not be a sixth.

  He had specifically left the training fields early to ensure a timely arrival, but halfway between the fields and Fàire Creachann, he encountered a young, panic-stricken boy running to the village. His fathe
r had become trapped underneath a cart while harvesting his crops and sent him for help.

  Cole had hoped Ellenor would give him a chance to explain, but when he arrived to an empty bedroom, he knew he would first have to find her. He had already visited the two places she tended to go when she “needed to think” and was about to head back to the solar when he spied lights flickering from the Lower Hall. Was she down there?

  Cole made his way down the grassy slope, and when he approached the entrance to the Lower Hall, he heard several voices inside. All were deep. None were female.

  He opened the doors. The heads of his two commanders and his entire elite guard snapped up.

  “Laird!” gushed Jaime, relief flooding into his expression. “You’re all right!”

  Cole entered the room and examined the looks of concern on all of his men’s faces. “Of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be? Since when do my commanders and guard convene when I am a few hours late from helping out an injured farmer? Did my wife call for you?”

  Cole was unsure why his question caused every man’s face to suddenly turn ashen. Then he heard someone mutter, “He doesn’t know.”

  “Know what?” Cole asked. His voice was low, calm, and full of authority.

  Donald rounded the table and then paused, unsure of how close he wanted to be to the laird when he heard the news. “We believe Leith has Lady Ellenor. And until a few moments ago, we believed he had you as well.”

  Pain, intense and white-hot, flashed in Cole’s eyes and then was gone. In its place was nothing. He walked over to where they were gathered. “Tell me your plan.”

  Jaime swallowed and Donald froze. The jolt of realizing how much their laird had changed hit them full force. Ellenor had breathed life into him, and in an instant, it had been ripped away. It was as if time had rewound four months, before he had met Ellenor, when he was still hollow, devoid of emotion and pain.

  “If Dugan is right, her ladyship is being held at Glen Terrand,” Jaime finally said. “The area is barren, with rock cliff walls to the north and only a few scattered trees. There is nothing to hide our approach.”

  “There’ll be nothing hiding him either,” Donald added.

  Cole stood silently for a moment and then asked, “How long ago?”

  “We suspect just before the noon meal, but we cannot be certain. The stable master saw her around that time leaving with someone who matches Leith’s description.”

  “And Dugan?”

  “About four hours ago. He left directly and sent Kenneth to the fields. We searched for you, but it was getting dark and so we convened here to decide the next steps.”

  Cole felt the weight of all eyes upon him. They expected him to have a grand plan, a sure strategy to safely find and rescue Ellenor. But he had nothing. His mind couldn’t focus on anything. Only one thought kept circling, that he couldn’t lose Ellenor.

  Cole held each man’s gaze, keeping his expression detached. He didn’t want any of them knowing the terror inside him. “Where are the men?”

  “Liam is gathering them in preparation for battle.”

  “Only the guard is coming,” Cole ordered. “Jaime, you and the rest will remain here. Place some men inside Fàire Creachann, protect the village, and have the rest waiting at the pass. Slaughter all who arrive.”

  “You think it’s a trap then,” Donald murmured.

  “I think it’s an opportunity and one Leith will not ignore.”

  Donald nodded and ordered the men to get their mounts and prepare for an immediate departure. The confidence that had been missing minutes before had returned. The men, even his commanders, believed he understood Leith’s plan and had one to counter it. They were only half right. Leith wanted, even expected, to die. He just intended to inflict a great amount of pain before doing so. Cole was reliving his greatest nightmare. Once again, he was the target and someone else would pay the price.

  One of the men brought Steud to his side. Cole took the reins, trying to cut himself off emotionally as he had done with Robert. He yanked the leather straps and pulled his mount around the building to a dark shadow out of eyesight. His fingers wrapped around the pommel and instead of pulling himself up into the saddle, he sank against the large animal and buried his face in the rough mane.

  Tears scalded his eyes, flooding them. The feeling of loss and hopelessness was not something he could suppress, hide, or ignore as he had with Robert. This time it was too great. He imagined Ellenor frightened and waiting for him to save her, looking expectantly into the darkness, wondering when he would arrive. He could not lose her. He would not lose her.

  Rage swelled in his chest, choking every other emotion out. Wiping his eyes, Cole took a deep breath and mounted. He had not lost Ellenor yet and he had at least two hours of riding to devise a plan that ensured he never did. Nothing else mattered. Not his life, not being laird, nothing.

  Cole rounded the building and was about to urge his mount into a lope across the yard when Brighid stepped into view.

  “Laird!”

  Cole stopped. “Brighid, what are you doing here? Trouble is coming. Go to the keep and wait for—”

  “You’re going after Ellenor, aren’t you?”

  Brighid was wringing her hands with worry. “I’ll bring her home,” Cole vowed.

  “There is something you should know. Ellenor just found out this morning she is with child. You need to be careful. She’s fragile and…just be careful.”

  Cole fought a new wave of emotion hitting him and immediately looked away. The hatred boiling in him had done the impossible. It had grown to even greater levels, and it would not lessen until he held Leith’s neck in his hands.

  “I’ll save them both,” he choked and then left at a full gallop. His men fell in behind.

  Ellenor awoke confused. Her head pounded and sharp pains shot through her arms and legs whenever she tried to move them. It was dark, but light from a fire beamed across the area so that she could see just enough to be scared. Her arms were tied to the one tree in the vicinity. No large rocks were in sight, just flat land that ran right into the slope of an enormous mountain, stretching beyond the campfire’s ability to illuminate. Instinctively, she squirmed and pulled her wrists, but the binds were tight. Waves of nausea started to build and it jolted Ellenor into awareness.

  She and her baby were in danger.

  All the fear and doubt she had felt earlier about being pregnant vanished. This child was a piece of Cole and the thought of it being taken from her paralyzed her with fear. Ellenor forced herself to sit still and breathe.

  On their wedding night, Cole had vowed to always come for her and he would not break his promise now. He would find her. It was her job to be alive when he did.

  A shadowy figure caught her attention. She pretended to be unconscious and slumped in relief when he walked on by. The figure joined his comrades. There were seven total and all were huddled around a campfire located about hundred feet down the small, grassy knoll. Their voices were hushed and she could make out only one or two words, nothing to indicate where she was or why she had been captured.

  Someone cackled and Ellenor thought she recognized the sound. She leaned forward to concentrate when cool, firm fingers clasped her mouth. She instinctively jumped and gave a shrill that was muffled. Warm breath glided across her cheek and her spine went rigid. Hot tears began to form.

  “My lady, it’s me, Dugan.”

  Her heart thumped erratically. She didn’t know whether he was there to help or if he was one of her assailants. She was afraid to guess. Then the pressure of the knots binding her wrists eased. “I am going to loosen your restraints, but it is important that you pretend you are still bound. You are being watched closely. It took me some time to make my way to you. The men have been watching the pass carefully but have taken a break to eat. Right now they are paying more attention to their food than to you.”

  Ellenor heard the fear in Dugan’s voice and felt her pulse quicken in respo
nse. “Then why must I pretend to remain bound.”

  “Because someone would notice if you suddenly were able to get up and walk away. You wouldn’t get ten yards and then they wouldn’t chance you getting free again.”

  Ellenor whispered, “Where’s Cole?”

  “When I found out you were taken, I sent word for him to come here, but he doesn’t know the terrain and my men are all over the area. His chances of making it through are slim.”

  Ellenor closed her eyes, her heart hoping Dugan was wrong. “You said these were your men.”

  One of the figures stood up and stretched, staring in their direction. Dugan sank back behind the tree before answering. “Most of them think they are doing this for me. Leith has told them their honor as Highlanders demands they do these things in retribution.”

  “Then go and speak to them. Tell them this is not what you want.”

  “I’ve tried, but they will not be convinced no matter what I say. They have already made up their minds.”

  Ellenor recognized the deep sense of loss in Dugan’s voice. “You are speaking of Leith. It was he who did this.”

  “Aye, he and a handful of others,” Dugan answered softly and began to work on her bindings again. “He…he intends to hurt me, doesn’t he?” she asked, her voice low and raspy as she took in the full truth of her situation.

  Dugan squeezed his eyes shut. The fear in her voice was a torment unlike any blade or spear had ever felt. He wanted to lie and ease her anxiety, but if he did, she might not listen and he had only one slim chance to save her life. “He plans to kill you.”

  “But why? Leith doesn’t even know me.”

  Dugan scoffed. “You really don’t know how you affect people, men in particular.”

  “You are not making any sense.”

  Dugan took a deep breath. “You don’t know how much your husband changed after meeting you. The McTiernays are famed throughout the Highlands for many things, but your husband was known—and justifiably so—for his hardness.”