At the urgency in Paige’s voice, Merida was fully awake. “What is wrong?”
Before she could get her bearings, Paige had yanked her from the bed and tugged her out the door. Once they entered Paige’s chamber, Merida understood why her brother’s wife was so upset.
“I hit him because he tried to…he made advances. He was drunk.” Paige had begun to cry now. “Is he dead?”
Merida had witnessed many a time that Ethan had passed out from too much drink. He was breathing, but it was worrisome to see blood trickling from his forehead and down the side of his face. She touched his face, he was cool to the touch, and then felt his neck and shook him.
Whatever he mumbled was incoherent. Ethan batted her away sloppily and turned to his side and let out a long breath.
“I’ll get Da. Stay here with him,” Merida instructed. “He will not wake.”
She hurried out the door and down the hallway, only to stop abruptly upon seeing Tristan.
He, too, stopped and studied her. “Is something wrong?”
Unfortunately, she stood under a torch and he saw the bloodstain on her nightgown. “Are ye injured?”
“I…” Merida looked down at her nightgown. “No, I am fine. Paige is not feeling well. I am going to seek my mother.”
Tristan frowned. “There’s blood on yer clothing.”
“Tis not blood,” she lied and prayed he’d not insist that it was, so she quickly added, “tis tincture I made for Paige and spilled some.”
Seeming to take her at her word, he nodded and didn’t try to stop her as she hurried past.
Inside her parents’ chambers, Merida was at a loss who to wake. Her mother would know what to do, but her father should be the one to deal with Ethan. In the end, she shook her father awake.
Together with her parents, they returned to Paige’s chamber. Her mother immediately went to comfort Paige and her father yanked Ethan up to sit. “Why are ye still here?” he demanded. “Ye were supposed to return home.”
Ethan babbled about not being able to get to his horse and then other things that didn’t make sense.
In the end, Merida’s mother cleaned up his face and her father half-dragged him to their chamber.
“I will remain with him,” her father said as they put Ethan to bed. “Yer mother can go with ye.”
Merida studied Ethan in his slumber for a moment. “He tried to take advantage of Paige.”
Her mother gasped and glared at the sleeping Ethan. “Something must be done about him.” She turned to Merida. “Neither ye nor Paige will say anything to Alec about this. Allow yer father and me to handle it.”
“Come now,” her mother urged. “Ye must get some sleep. There’s just one more day before the wedding.”
It was hard to imagine what would happen if Tristan found out Ethan was there. Would their marriage happen if he killed her brother? Probably not. The war would begin again and, this time, the Mackenzie would be involved. She detested how much her brother’s stupidity always affected so many. And yet, he slept without a care, like there was absolutely nothing wrong.
“We must by all means keep his being here a secret,” her mother whispered when they entered Merida’s chamber. “The marriage must take place without anything to stop it. Our clans must have peace despite Ethan’s irresponsible actions.”
Her mother instructed that she climb into bed with Paige, who remained upset. Then she lay on a pallet of blankets in front of the hearth. A mother guarding her young.
Merida couldn’t sleep. Why had Tristan been in the hallway? Did he suspect Ethan was about? It had not helped that he’d bumped into her and seen the bloodstain on her clothing. To start a marriage by lying to her husband was not how she’d have preferred. However, peace and the safety of her clan were of the utmost importance.
Hopefully, her father would enlist a guard’s help and get Ethan out of the keep and away before sunrise.
One more day and she’d be married to Tristan Ross. By all accounts, she considered them to be compatible. It was obvious to her that he found her attractive by the way his gaze seemed to constantly follow her movements.
As far as her attraction to him, Tristan had always been on her mind since finding him unconscious in the woods.
Even when not admitting how much she desired him, deep inside, she’d wondered how it would feel to be kissed by him. After their time together by the stables, now she wondered about more. The desire to be intimate and join with him took over other thoughts.
Morning would come and she feared the day ahead. If only Ethan had left.
*
A rooster’s crow woke Tristan and he moaned. His throat was dry and his head heavy. He’d drunk too much whisky the night before in Caylen’s chambers. Two other men had joined them for a few hours of gaming.
Women had been brought in to entertain, but he’d refrained from participating in it. Soon, he’d be married and foremost on his mind was the idea of the marriage bed with Merida.
His temples pounded and Tristan squeezed his eyes tighter. “Ruari?” he said to the emptiness.
“Too much to drink last night does not excuse ye from helping with the horses.” Ruari laughed a bit too loudly.
After getting up, Tristan walked over to a water barrel and dunked his head into the frigid water. It helped to dispel the headache, but only a bit.
He trudged behind Ruari to where their horses were. Thankfully, his cousin took pity and motioned to a crooked chair. “Sit down before ye fall over. I’ll see after the horses.”
Just few feet away, Merida walked away from the corral, tugging a horse behind her. It wasn’t her horse, but a large beast of the same size. She stopped and ran her hand down the animal’s nose as if to reassure it. He wondered if it was her father’s.
Unlike when she was inside the keep, she seemed more herself outdoors in the company of horses.
Tristan took a deep breath, thankful for the cold air and tried to remember if he’d truly seen her the night before in the corridor in a bloodstained nightgown. He’d been heading away from Caylen’s chambers, heading to seek his bed. And although having drank too much, he’d not been so inebriated to not notice her.
He pondered her reply to his question. She’d lied and said it was a tincture. Then again, if it was that she’d been having her womanly courses, it wasn’t something she would have readily admitted.
Putting the thought away, he searched for her but she’d gone off with the horse. After a few moments, she reappeared from the direction of the front gates, this time without the horse.
Interesting.
One of his guards neared. The man yawned and scratched at his beard. “Should I ride out to see if yer brother sends word?”
Tristan considered the man and understood. He, too, was becoming restless, too many days behind walls and in the company of enemies no less.
“Aye, good idea. Take several with ye. I have no need of guards here.”
“We cannot leave ye unprotected. There are too many McLeods.”
Tristan considered the guard’s words. “True, take only four with ye.”
“Aye, the McLeods are not trustworthy,” the guard said.
“A clan to which I will be joined to by marriage tomorrow.”
The guard shook his head. “We hope it will not happen.” He studied Tristan. “Ye do not wish it either, do ye, Tristan?”
“Nay.” He bit the word out. “I would rather not marry, and especially not a damned McLeod.”
A branch flew in his direction and he ducked just in time to avoid it. Tristan’s eyes widened at noting Merida was bent at the waist, seeking another weapon.
“I do not wish to marry a damned Ross either.” She threw the thick stick with force. The guard dodged the second projectile, but it bounced off his shoulder and bounced on Tristan’s head.
“Stop at once,” Tristan called out and stood up straight.
A rock flew in his direction and barely missed him. He and the guard h
urried to find cover behind a short wall.
Tristan lifted to look over the wall. “Merida…” He stopped short when something hit him square in the forehead.
“I would not marry ye ever,” she called out and a cascade of pebbles fell over him and the guard.
A second guard approached and when a rock hit him, he ducked behind the wall next to Tristan. “I believe to have just seen Ethan McLeod,” he said, frowning in Merida’s direction. “What did ye do?”
A larger rock zinged by. It bounced off the wall, hitting Tristan’s shoulder. He flinched and let out a sigh. “Go get our horses. Tell Ruari, but no one else.”
The two men ran off and he straightened. Ignoring the next two items thrown at him, he charged toward Merida.
At seeing him run toward her, she spun and dashed away. Tristan chased her, not really trying to catch her until the fiery lass raced into the keep. Then he hurried back to where the guards waited with their horses.
“Where are ye headed?” the head guard asked at the gates. Although they were not closed and the guard didn’t have any right to question him, Tristan decided it was best to keep the peace.
“To meet my brother’s messenger.”
The guard nodded, seeming satisfied with the explanation. It mattered not if he believed it or not, but he needed a reply in case the laird or someone in the family asked.
“Which direction did he go?” Tristan asked the guard who’d brought the message about Ethan. The man silently motioned to the west. Not the direction Tristan expected.
Twice, Tristan had to stop and throw up. Once again, his stomach lurched but he ignored it. Already, they’d lost valuable time and, at this point, he doubted they’d catch up to Ethan.
“He must have doubled back to go east and we missed it.” Ruari, who’d ridden ahead, returned to where Tristan was. “Tis futile to continue unless we split up and go in all four directions.”
Tristan scanned the area. There was a large loch surrounded by woods. A small village nestled next to the western shores. “We can ask at the village to see if anyone has seen him. If not, I agree, we lost him.”
Too angry at himself for drinking too much, he clenched his jaw when once again his stomach tightened with the telltale sign. “Go on ahead, I have to dismount for a moment.”
Ruari gave him an understanding look. “Take yer time, Tristan. There is little for us to do now.”
The coolness of the breeze helped him regain some semblance of well-being on the ride back. Tristan continued to scan for any signs of Ethan. He couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if they’d caught up with the bastard. No doubt, the wedding would have been called off.
Chapter Eleven
Paige searched out her husband’s sister, still confused at what to think of the happenings of the night before. How she’d keep the secret from Alec, she wasn’t sure. He would know something was wrong whenever Ethan came around her. Alec had become so attuned to her feelings that he often remarked on how she felt even before she admitted it.
“Merida?” She walked into the empty chamber, surprised not to find her. Merida never went down for first meal without coming for her.
Rushing to the window, she looked out to see Merida standing atop a short wall in the garden. Her friend held a hand up to her eyes as she looked out. In the distance, four horsemen approached and Merida scrambled from the wall, but remained in the garden.
“How peculiar,” Paige said in a low voice as she hurried out of the room, down the corridor and then down the stairway.
Still in the garden, Merida continued to gaze out to where the men rode closer. She turned to Paige. “I was about to come get ye. I am famished.”
“What were ye doing standing atop the wall? Ye could have fallen.” Paige’s chastisement went unanswered as Merida kept an eye out.
“Merida?” Paige said, touching her arm. “Is something amiss?”
“I am not getting married,” Merida replied, glaring at the approaching men. “I do not think they caught Ethan.”
At the name, Paige turned to look at the riders. They were Tristan Ross, his cousin and two others.
“How do ye know?”
“Because they are glowering,” Merida replied. “Come, hurry, let us go inside before they come closer.”
Paige had to almost run to keep up with Merida, who yanked her forward. “Why are ye not getting married?”
“Because he insulted me,” Merida said. “Besides, he does not wish to marry me. He said so this very morning.”
Paige’s eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks. “What did ye say? What did he say?”
“Goodness, Paige, I cannot speak of this on an empty stomach. I do not wish to be near that man. Let us go to the kitchens.”
“Yer brother returned home?” Paige asked, her chest tightening. What would happen if Ethan changed the story and told Alec she was the one to make advances? “What do ye think he will tell Alec?”
“He will only be there for a day or so and then off to check the borders and such. Da sent two men to ensure he does. Besides, Alec will not believe anything Ethan says.”
Not as sure, Paige followed Merida to the kitchens. Instantly, the aroma of stew and baking bread sent all worries away. The cook, who wasn’t as kind as Rose, the McLeod cook, but just as efficient, greeted them by motioning to a side table for them to sit at. “Stay out of the way. We have much to do,” she admonished while slapping a wooden platter with meat, cheese and mutton in front of them. Next, a girl put a chunk of crusty bread on the same tray and returned to her duties.
Merida seemed to have forgotten all her troubles as well, smiling as she bit into butter-slathered bread.
“Are ye not worried about what yer father will say if ye refuse to marry?” Paige whispered. “Ye simply cannot refuse.”
With a long sigh, Merida nodded. “I am considering what to do. I threw rocks and sticks at him, ye know?” An impish grin lit her already pretty face. “After my behavior, which I admit was one of a ten-year-old girl, Tristan may not wish to marry me.” She took a second bite of bread and scowled. “He should be the one to call it off.”
“I doubt either of ye have much choice,” Paige said, considering how she could help her friend get out of the situation. In part, however, Paige felt that there was a type of bond between Merida and Tristan. They suited one another and although both had strong personalities, Tristan seemed to be a lot more patient than Merida. His manner complemented Merida’s more headstrong ways.
“No matter,” Merida said. “I will speak to Da and insist he ask the Mackenzie to reconsider.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes more and, finally, Paige had her fill. She placed a hand on Merida’s lower arm. “Ye have to accept things, Merida. Tis best for ye not to seek any changes. It will look bad upon our clan and yer father.”
Merida frowned for a long moment, her expression turning solemn. “He does not wish to marry me.”
“Tis the fact the marriage is forced. Besides, he and ye are from warring clans.”
Paige realized Merida’s feelings were hurt and she understood it. Somehow, she would find a way to speak to Tristan. The man needed to make amends before the marriage took place.
*
By the time Tristan released his horse and washed up, it was too late to eat. His stomach grumbled, empty now after getting sick so many times. At least his headache had finally abated and he felt considerably better.
From where he stood, just outside the stables, he watched steam coming from the kitchen chimney. His mouth watered as he considered going and asking for a light repast to hold him until dinner.
Without him actually willing it, his legs began the walk toward the kitchen door. At the entryway, he peered inside to see Merida seated with Alec’s wife. The women were deep in discussion so they did not see him. If he walked in then, Merida had access to many items she could throw at him. Best to wait.
“Tristan Ross.” He turned to find
one of the Mackenzie’s guards. “A Ross party approaches.”
He followed the guard to the gates just as his guardsmen returned along with his uncle, Gregor, and two more. His uncle nodded in acknowledgement, his gaze instantly moving to where the McLeod guards kept watch.
“Tis not comforting to see that.” Gregor motioned toward the McLeods with his head. He dismounted and allowed the guards to take his steed.
“Uncle, I am glad ye are here. I need counsel as to what to do. Perhaps ye can speak with the Mackenzie. Find a solution to this forced marriage between our clans. It will never work.”
It was only moments later that they were seated in the Mackenzie’s study, along with Laird McLeod.
*
“My laird wishes to impart that he cedes to yer ruling in this matter, however, he also asked that I remind ye of our ongoing feud. Although a truce may come from our joining with the McLeods with this marriage, it does not mean those that seek revenge or retribution for what was lost will adhere to it.” As always, his uncle knew how to phrase things in a way that seemed to leave everything under another’s control. Self-important men like the Mackenzie rarely could tell they were being manipulated.
Tristan listened and studied how his uncle spoke, his mannerisms and tones. It was interesting how both the McLeod and the Mackenzie both listened without interrupting. His uncle had always accompanied his father when meeting with lairds. Now he wished that he’d come along from the beginning. Perhaps they’d not be tied up in a marriage with their enemy.
“Another thing I would like to add,” his uncle continued, “is that we have a truce in place, which we expect to remain in force with or without the marriage. My laird wishes for ye to understand that continuing the battling is not what we wish for our clan.”
The Mackenzie nodded. “What of revenge? It would start another clan war. Does yer laird not wish it?”
“Whether I marry Merida McLeod or not, our wish to avenge our father will not wane.” Tristan had to speak up. His uncle slid him a glance, but didn’t seemed perturbed by his outburst.
“Of course, my nephews will never welcome yer second son.” Gregor spoke to the McLeod this time. “And I cannot ever guarantee there will not be some sort of retribution for what he did.”
A Hardened Warrior Page 8
