“An opportunity to do whit?”
“To get rid of the problem, of course! To silence the lass.”
“I killed him, by the way,” Blaine said. “And I will not hesitate to kill anyone who dares to attack Ness. I do not care who it is.”
Hiram smirked. “Even me, brother?”
“Why, I would do that without question, Hiram!”
Blaine’s brother laughed. He looked completely relaxed although he was weaponless. It seemed to make Blaine angrier. Hiram grinned and continued.
“If ye must ken, I also ordered my servant to bring her body to ye so ye would meet, as planned. And he would have, if ye, brother, had not gone and ruined everything for me–”
“I should smite ye where ye stand!”
Blaine drew his sword and took a step towards his brother, but Ness was quicker. She darted in front of him before he could move further and held out a hand to stop him.
“Blaine, wait! Ye would kill yer own brother?”
“I have no love for him,” Blaine snapped. His father and mother were grabbing at his arms, but he easily shook himself free. Ness knew that it was only because of her that his brother was not dead. “But ye–ye would let him live? This man who ordered that ye be killed?”
“I do not like him either,” Ness said, “but ye must not kill him on this account. If ye kill a Campbell because of a McGregor, there will be consequences—too many to count. The very war we are trying to avoid will ultimately take place. Thousands will die.”
“If McGregor blood is spilled, then it is a welcome war,” said Hiram, who was grinning malevolently. Ness fought the urge to grab Blaine’s sword and plunge it into the man’s chest.
“No war,” she snapped. “That is why I am here—to stop the clans from doing anything foolish.”
“Foolish!” exclaimed the laird.
“Aye, foolish. Do ye realize the dangers of this rivalry? We are divided, and this makes us weak! Have ye ever paused to imagine how much stronger we would be in the face of our real enemies if we stood as one?” Ness stopped to catch her breath. Everyone had stopped moving and was staring at her in silence. She continued, “In the past, over a century ago, we lived in unity and were unstoppable in the face of our enemies. Then this rivalry started, and we began to grow weaker individually. And why? Because someone got murdered. It is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Ye dinnae ken whit ye are saying, lass,” Hiram said, sneering. “Father, Mother, can ye possibly believe this nonsense talk?”
“Absolutely meaningless,” said the laird. “It is only natural that this is coming from a McGregor, I have always kent them to be quite senseless.”
“Father,” Blaine seethed.
“Manfred,” said the laird’s wife warningly. When her husband began to look at her questioningly, she said, “I dinnae particularly like this lass, and I think it was foolish of her to have come here alone, being a McGregor–”
“As do I,” Hiram piped up.
“–but she has a point.”
Hiram looked positively stunned, his mouth hanging open. The laird nearly fell out of his seat for the second time. Blaine and Ness looked at the laird’s wife as though she had suddenly materialized out of thin air.
“Kendra.” The laird straightened in his chair, staring at his wife in amazement. “Whit are ye talking about?”
“Let me be honest with ye, Manfred,” Kendra said. “I have never really been an avid supporter of yer rivalry with the McGregors. To be very candid, I believe it has a ring of foolishness to it. And if it continues to go on, it could lead to great problems—and not just for the McGregors, but for us. We could be destroyed in battle, all because of a grudge.”
There was a heavy silence after this. The laird looked rather ashamed of himself. Even Hiram looked as though he wished to be some place else at the moment.
“I guess…I guess ye are right,” said the laird.
“She is,” Ness said. “My father once told me that when both clans were still united, there was an attack by some Englishmen, but we fought them off together. A hundred years ago, we did not have the kind of potential we have today. If we reunite, we can easily defend ourselves from external aggression.
“There is also the issue of trade. There are certain food resources that can only be grown in Glenstrae, resources which we have not sold to the people of Argyll since the rivalry began. We have only made sales to other towns, and we ken ye have been purchasing those resources from them”—she managed to stifle a smirk—“although at a much higher price than we sold them. Our reunion would mean that ye get those resources directly from us, at a fair rate. And in return, of course.”
The laird actually smiled at this.
“And there is the issue of…Ness and me.”
At this, Blaine put a protective arm around her. She drew closer to him, enjoying the warmth and security that he seemed to exude.
“Whit about it?” Kendra wanted to know.
Ness gulped. She had suspected that he would mention their mutual love to his parents, but she had never guessed it would be so soon. What if his parents did not approve? What if, because of this, they decided not to reunite with the McGregors?
“Ness and I happen to be quite…taken with each other,” Blaine finally said, and Ness felt her cheeks grow hot. “I would like yer blessing.”
There was more silence after that. The laird and Kendra looked at a loss for words. Ness felt Blaine’s arm tighten around her.
“This is turning out to be a rather strange day,” the laird said.
“Indeed, my dear,” said his wife. She shot a look in Ness’s direction and Ness was surprised to see her smile. “I think I will like this McGregor lass.”
“Father, ye told me that ye wished I would get married sometime soon. I am not going against yer wishes. After all, ye never told me who the bride in question had to be. All I need noo is yer blessing.”
There was a moment in which the laird seemed to consider.
“A marriage between the two would make for a stronger alliance with the McGregors,” said Kendra.
“If her father can allow it, so can I,” said Manfred.
“I am quite sure he will,” Ness assured him. Then she said, “I should go. I promised my father that I would be back today, no excuses. I do not believe he would be pleased at first when I tell him that I was in Argyll and not Breas, but I am certain I can convince him.”
“That would be wonderful,” Blaine said, kissing her on the forehead and lowering his head to hers. Ness felt her insides give a shiver in anticipation of the kiss. It barely registered that everyone else was still present in the room. She was not bothered about what they would think…
A loud bang caused them to break apart. Ness whirled around and realized what had happened. Where Hiram should have been standing, there was no one.
Chapter 9
The Proposal
Ness could hardly stop smiling. She beamed at Blaine and his parents as they escorted her to the borders of Argyll. She smiled at the man they had instructed to take her home in her cart. By the time she finally stopped, the muscles at the corners of her mouth ached slightly.
It was then that she noticed how fast they were moving. The cart rumbled along the road at a speed that would have made Mr. Knightley have a heart attack. The new driver who had pulled his hat low over his face so that she could not see his features, refused to slow down, even when she screamed at him and threatened him with death at the hands of Blaine. His stoicism was most unsettling.
“Stop, I beg ye!” she screamed, bracing herself; they could have an accident any moment now. Ness did not want to die when she was so close to changing things between the clans, to marrying Blaine–
The driver brought the cart to a halt and climbed out of his seat. He sauntered over to Ness’s window and removed his hat. Ness gasped when she saw the dark eyes and prominent chin.
“Ye!” she cried.
“Hello, Ness,” said Hiram
, smiling his most malicious smile ever. “Nice day for a kidnapping, dinnae ye think?”
***
“Whit are ye going to do to me?” Ness managed to say. She had been trembling from head to toe since Hiram yanked her out of the cart. She knew not what his plan was, and it terrified her to think of the possibilities.
Hiram did not reply, but focused on securing the ropes around her wrists, binding them together. He sat on his haunches and began to work on doing the same to her ankles. Ness cried out and kicked at him, but he held her in place with his hands. In less than a minute, he had her trussed up like a bird about to be cooked.
Finally, he met her tearful gaze. He smirked at her.
“I assure ye I will not harm ye, Ness McGregor,” Hiram said. “Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for whatever foe may stumble across ye.”
“I am going to leave ye here, far away from Argyll and Glenstrae. The only people likely to find ye are travelers or robbers. I am sure the latter will love to rid ye of everything that belongs to ye.”
Ness remembered, with a twinge of horror, her last experience with robbers. Meeting them again would be disastrous. “Why are ye doing this to me?” she demanded.
“I thought ye would have guessed that by noo,” Hiram said with a sneer. “I go about fighting wars for my father whenever he senses them coming, but all my brother does is try to make peace. Yet he is the one who gets praised by Father. He is the one everybody wants to get married.”
He wanted her dead because he was jealous of his brother! “I…I do not believe this.”
“Ye do not have to.” Hiram said. “By morning, ye will not have to believe anything at all, unless ye get lucky.”
And with that, he made her lie on the ground a few feet away from the road, and made for the cart. Ness watched as he sat in the driver’s seat and turned the cart around. It took her a moment to realize that he was headed back for Argyll. Unless he was stopped by somebody or the laird and his family realized who he really was, no one would realize what had happened. No one would find her until she was dead. Her marriage with Blaine would never take place.
Marriage. A sudden idea flashed through Ness’s mind. she jerked her head up just as the cart began to pick up speed.
“Wait!” she shouted. It was a guid thing he had not covered her mouth. Perhaps the thought had not crossed his mind.
Hiram brought the cart to a halt and turned to glare at her.
“Whit is it that ye want?” he snapped.
“Ye do not have to do this,” Ness pleaded. “There is another way to go about this…problem of yers.”
The word problem seemed to irk him, but in a moment the look of annoyance was gone from his face, replaced by amusement. “And whit solution do ye have to offer?”
“I have a sister–Anne–and once I persuade my father to end the rivalry between our clans, I am sure she would be very happy to marry ye.”
Hiram’s eyebrows slowly rose. “She…would?”
“Unless ye still reasoned in that horrid manner of yers, hating all who are of my clan,” Ness spat. “Ye are handsome, like yer brother. Yer problems are within ye. If ye are willing to change, I see no reason why she would not wish to marry ye.”
He slid out of his seat and began to walk towards her, looking serious now. He helped her to her feet, grabbing her shoulders to keep her standing upright. His eyes bored holes into her forehead. “If this is a trick…”
“I assure ye, it is no trick. I would not tell a lie about my sister. Ye can marry my sister and I will marry Blaine.” Then she added quickly, “Please do not leave me here.”
Hiram looked at her for a second and heaved a sigh. “I will naw.”
And he began to loosen the ropes that bound her. When he was done, he stood up and faced Ness.
“Get into the cart. I will take ye to yer father, and I will meet this sister of yers. I hope yer father agrees to this mad plan of yers.”
“If it is mad, then why are ye not against it?” Ness asked him.
She thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. “It is mad…but not impossible.”
Chapter 10
The Laird
Ness was in trouble. Wilson McGregor was going to make sure she never set foot outside his castle until she got married.
He stood in front of his castle, glaring at the letter in his hands. It had arrived just this morning from Breas, addressed to Ness. The laird might have left it alone had he not noticed that the letter was from her friend Matilda. Wondering why on earth Matilda would send her friend a letter when Ness was already with her, he decided to read the letter.
Ness.
I am sorry I did not send ye a letter earlier. I was quite preoccupied. My father has been taking me around Breas, attending balls here and there. To be candid, it has been quite frustrating. I believe he is trying to find me a husband. I hope I am wrong. I am not ready for that kind of thing.
If ye are reading this, then ye did make it hame safely from the ball after all. I hope yer father was not too upset that ye were tardy. Perhaps that is why I have not heard from ye all this while. I hope he allows ye to visit again. Father wants us to attend another ball at the hame of the Relds. I would love it if ye were present.
Matilda.
The message had left him utterly stunned for minutes.
This could only mean one thing: Ness had never gone to Breas since the ball. Matilda’s letter had made that perfectly clear to him. But where else could she possibly have gone if not Breas?
Argyll.
It made perfect sense when he thought about it. For days since she returned from Breas with that nonsense about being saved by the enemy, the idea of the clans being reunited had been the only thing she would talk about. She had lied all this time about missing Matilda and going to visit her.
She was in Argyll right now.
Beside him, his other daughter, Anne, stood fidgeting with a lock of her hair. Wilson suspected that she knew more about Ness’s odd flights than she let on.
The laird looked around. There were a few guards and servants on the castle grounds. He had ordered most of the guards to go in search of his daughter. If they met resistance in Argyll, they would strike with lethal force. His daughter was worth a war. His daughter would be the cause of a war between the McGregors and the Campbells.
He could only hope that she had not been killed by one of those Campbells.
He was still deep in thought when Anne grabbed his arm, her eyes widening in surprise, “Father, look!”
She pointed, and the laird followed her gaze, his eyes landing on a cart that was drawing closer to the castle by the second. The guards he had sent to Argyll were moving behind the cart which was being driven by a man wearing a hat. The laird frowned. The man most certainly was not the same person who had taken his daughter to Argyll. He was not even wearing the colors of the McGregor clan.
He was wearing the Campbell colors.
Three things happened at once.
The laird yelled and drew his sword. The man driving the cart narrowed his eyes and brought the horses to a halt. Then there was a cry, a feminine one, and Ness McGregor leaped out of the cart, holding her arms out in front of her.
“Father, do not kill him!” she cried, coming to a halt in front of her father.
“Whit is wrong with ye?” he snarled. “I have just found out that ye were never in Breas. Ye went to Argyll and noo ye have returned with a Campbell. Have ye gone mad?”
“Father, ye do not understand–”
“Oh, I am sure I understand perfectly well whit is going on,” spat the laird. “It is a conspiracy to kill me! Mark my words, I will not let it happen. Guards, arrest that man!”
A hundred swords were drawn in unison. The Campbell man let go of the reins and calmly leaped off his seat. He smirked at the guards as they advanced on him. Then he turned around and his gaze landed on Anne, and his lips formed a small “O”.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said. �
�I am Hiram.”
Anne said nothing, but her cheeks turned a rosy red.
“I should have ye beheaded!” the laird growled at Hiram.
“Father, dinnae do anything rash,” Ness pleaded.
“Rash!” The laird’s eyes bulged. “The Campbells killed my grandmother!”
“But that is all in the past. Dwelling on it will do ye no guid. Why kill a man who was not even alive when the clans turned against each other?”
The laird scowled. “Was it he who rescued ye?”
“Naw, Father. It was his brother.”
His brother? “Then why have ye brought him here?”
“Father, I need ye to change the way ye see things. The Campbells are naw longer the enemy. I have convinced them to lay down their grudges and be allies with us.”
Lay down grudges? Be allies? It all made no sense to Wilson, but he was prepared to take advantage of the situation. “If they have let their guard down, then it is a great time to strike.”
The guards muttered in agreement.
“Father, ye must naw do this,” said Ness.
“And why is this? Dinnae tell me that it is because whit happened was a long time ago, because I will not–”
“I am getting married.”
The laird froze in mid-speech, gaping at her. even Anne’s jaw dropped.
“Who are ye getting married to?” The laird spluttered. His eyes swiveled in the direction of the man who had called himself Hiram. Surely it was not him?
“That would be me.”
Everyone gasped. The voice had come neither from Hiram nor any of the guards. The laird looked. Then a man identical to Hiram stepped out from behind the cart, smiling at Ness. The laird could have sworn that he had not seen him when the cart arrived.
“Blaine!” Ness exclaimed. “Whit are ye doing here? How–when did ye get here?”
“Just a moment ago. The moment I realized who was driving yer cart, I went after ye and followed ye here.”
“This is the person ye wish to marry, Ness?” said the laird, unable to believe what was going on. “A Campbell?”
Captivated by the Enemy: (Scottish Highland Romance) Page 6
