Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds

by Adamina Young

  He could read the crowd and see the contempt, but no one dared to speak out against him. He had a feeling that, in time, that would change. As they regained their resources, they would regain their pride, but that was a risk he was willing to take. In time, he would win them over.

  “Good. Shane, Jamie, and Stephen are my three top men. They will be coming around to hear yer most pressing needs. Kane here is also to act as an ambassador. He will always have my ear if ye have something that ye need to say. Now, it’s been a long day. Normally I’d suggest a celebration dinner, but I doubt there’s enough food for that. Go home, get some rest. I promise that tomorrow, ye’ll see some changes.”

  More than a few grumbled under their breath as they dispersed. Kane had nothing but fire in his eyes as he shook his head.

  “Do ye have something that ye want to say to me?” Alec said as he crossed his arms.

  “No,” Kane grunted.

  “No, what?” Alec challenged.

  Kane’s eyes widened in horror, and for a moment, Alec thought that the man would deny him. “No..my Laird,” Kane choked out finally.

  It was hardly a win considering that the words were practically dripping with poison, but Alec let it go. Waving his hand, he dismissed Kane and waited for Innes to approach him.

  “I’d like to stay the night and make sure there are no fights breaking out,” Innes said politely.

  It was a strange request, and it aroused suspicion in Alec. He immediately shook his head. “No. I don’t have enough food in storage to feed the clan, let alone you. I’ll send word if I have need for you.”

  Innes opened his mouth to protest, but Alec was already walking away. Pulling Stephen aside, he cast another glance Innes’s way. The man looked absolutely furious.

  “Escort the Campbells off the land,” he said in a low voice. “I’m not willing to start a war with them, but they are not welcome to return unannounced. There is something fishy going on here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it.”

  “Aye, Laird,” Stephen said as he flashed a grin. “It sounds good to call ye that.”

  Alec nodded and clapped his friend on the back. “I cannae lie. It sounds good to hear it.”

  Everyone dispersed, and he took a moment to glance around the keep. He’d never thought that it was possible, but here he was, laird of a clan. It wouldn’t be like ruling the Sinclairs. It would be a rough road, but Alec was up to the challenge. If nothing else, he wanted to prove himself worthy to the King.

  Worthy to his brother.

  And worthy to himself.

  A few hours later, Alec met his brother at the storage buildings. It looked as though Seth had taken the majority of the crops and game of the keep. There was more than enough to keep them fed, so they had a normal dinner and divided the rest of the food among the clan. If the MacKays were grateful, they certainly didn’t say anything. Finally, everyone retired to their chambers.

  Too amped to sleep, Alec roamed the halls. His thoughts kept returning to the beautiful prisoner, and he told himself that he was well within his rights to visit her. He’d exchanged the guard for another and nodded to him as he knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he eased it open.

  “Claire?” he asked softly. “’Tis Alec.”

  There was a single candle lit, and she was curled up in the corner of the mattress. His entry hadn’t awoken her, and he took a moment to look her over.

  She was such a small thing. Alec couldn’t imagine her lasting a day in the prisons, let alone months. Just how had an Englishwoman made her way into the Highlands, and what the hell had she come to steal? This wasn’t like the streets of London. She couldn’t pickpocket her way for a living, so if they were calling her a thief, it only made sense that she was after something in particular. Seth MacKay had plenty of valuables in the keep, but he couldn’t imagine any of them would gain her attention.

  Suddenly, she jerked and cried out. Even in her sleep, he could see the fear on her face. She was in the throes of a nightmare, another remnant left over from Seth MacKay. He feared that if he woke her, she would be even more frightened to see him standing over her, but he would not leave her like this. Instead, he gently set a hand on her shoulder. “‘Tis all right, lass. Seth cannae hurt ye anymore. Sleep, Claire. Sleep.”

  At the sound of his voice, she stopped thrashing, but she didn’t wake. Slowly, he removed his hand and settled in a chair by the bed to watch her and make sure she slept peacefully.

  “What’s yer story?” he asked her softly.

  Although he knew it wasn’t right, he ached to join her in bed. He wanted to cup the swell of her breast and run his thumb over the fabric covering her nipple. He wanted to nuzzle her neck until she moaned and offered him her mouth. He wanted to taste her, to see if she was as sweet as she looked.

  Growling softly, he backed away from the room. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn’t be fantasizing. He had an uphill battle in front of him, and he certainly couldn’t afford to obsess about a woman he didn’t even know. Bloody hell!

  Safely outside the hall, he closed the door and swept a hand through his hair. Clearly, roaming the halls was dangerous. He needed to go to bed. Alone.

  Connor left the next morning and took the majority of the men with him. Left with a couple dozen Sinclair warriors, he started the process of retraining the men.

  “Seth MacKay had enemies,” he roared to the men on the field. “That does not go away simply because I’m in charge. They may see this moment as a weakness, and we need to be ready. Divide yerselves in groups of four and five, and train with my men. They are the best, so heed them well. In a couple of weeks, I expect to see vast improvement. I doonae want to hear any complaining. Ye need to toughen up. Yer men, so act like it!”

  “This is not how we trained before,” Kane muttered as he shook his head. “They aren’t going to want to take orders from a Sinclair.”

  “Good thing that I doonae give a damn what they want,” Alec said mildly. “What I care about is that they are able to protect their clan if there is an attack. Tell me, how often did Seth train with these boys?”

  “They’re naught boys,” Kane said fiercely.

  “Please,” Alec sneered. “Half of your army cannae even grow facial hair. I’ll be sending a missive throughout the clans to see if any MacKay wants to return, but I doubt it’ll do much good. Until I see improvement, ye’ll train as I say, as often as I say.”

  He could tell that Kane was angry, but the man didn’t argue. Feeling almost sorry for the position that he was in, Alec relented just a little. “Pick a handful of warriors,” he muttered. “This afternoon, two of my men will take another handful out hunting. Yer welcome to join them.”

  Kane looked surprised by the offer. “Aye.”

  “I watched ye in battle. Yer impressive with a sword. Choose yer own group to train for today,” Alec ordered. Normally he reveled in the training, but today he wanted to watch to see who knew what they were doing, and who needed help. After a few days of observing, the real training would begin.

  Catching Stephen’s eye, he pulled him away from the fights. “Did Innes Campbell say anything when he left?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Aye. He said that ye were a fool for thinking that ye could take over the clan without his help. He said his offer to be a close ally wouldn’t last for long.”

  Alec snorted. “The man doesn’t want to be an ally. He wants to gain my trust so that when he betrays me, I won’t see it coming. He knows that if I fail, he’ll get to step in, and I doonna even care how much this clan hates me. I wilnae see it fall into the hands of Innes Campbell.”

  “He also says yer a fool for trusting the thief. What’s he talking about?”

  Alec remained silent for a moment. He hadn’t told any of his men about Claire. “When I investigated the prisons, there was a woman strung up in chains. Guard says she’s been there for a few months, and I have a feeling she was Seth and Innes’s play thing. All they’ll s
ay is that she was a thief, but she wilnae say anything, only that her name is Claire.” He paused. “She’s English.”

  “English?” Stephen asked with a start. “She must be married then. No other reason for her to be here.”

  “She flinches whenever men are near, so I doubt it. I put her in one of the chambers to heal. There are no marks on her that I can tell, but the daft woman won’t let a healer examine her. If she won’t talk, the best I can do is give her work in the keep.”

  “Why not release her?”

  Alec didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t ready for the woman to leave just yet. He wanted to pry her secrets out of her. “She could verra well be a criminal. I want to keep an eye on her.”

  “Is she bonnie?” Stephen asked with a grin. “Perhaps ye just want to keep her close.”

  “I’m not stupid,” Alec snapped. “Go train yer men.”

  Stephen laughed openly and shook his head. “I can’t wait to meet this Claire. Anyone who has ye so vexed is worthy of my attention.”

  “Ye will stay away from her,” Alec said fiercely. “I mean it, Stephen. Ye will not take her to bed.”

  It only made Stephen laugh harder as he walked away, and Alec regretted opening up to his friend. No doubt the man would talk, and soon all of his friends would be teasing him.

  After practice was over, he’d go back to Claire and make a decision about her. Maybe Stephen was right. Maybe he should just give the woman her freedom and be done with it. It would certainly make his life easier.

  It was the first time that Cora had slept in a bed in ages, and while her stomach had growled at the full tray of breakfast, she was only able to eat a few bites. Any more, and she knew that she’d be sick. It would take some time for her body to heal, but it was a good start.

  Fear from her nightmares lingered. The horrid dreams had haunted her for most of the night, but she was free from the prison, and as long as she did not have to go back, she would be all right. Deep down, she knew that.

  Alec Sinclair. She watched from the window as he trained his men. Tall and rugged, he was everything that she’d expected a highlander to be. Like Seth and Innes, he was a terrifying man to look at, but unlike them, she couldn’t stop looking.

  She liked the way that his sculpted muscles rippled when he moved. He was impressive in a fight, and she couldn’t help the stirring in her body when she watched him.

  God help her, she was attracted to the man. It was a dangerous notion considering that he could very well be just like Seth and Innes. Just because he’d freed her didn’t mean she should trust him. If he discovered who she was and what her father had wanted, he could kill her.

  Or marry her.

  Frankly, neither idea sat well with her. So she’d keep her secrets and search for a way out. If she could, she’d leave all of this behind and flee to London. The Thistles would continue to care for her. She knew it in her heart they’d never abandon her.

  As the men left the fields and trickled back to their homes, she walked back over to the bed and stretched out. The pain in her ribs still hurt her something fierce, and the bruises were turning a bright purple, but even the few bites of the hearty breakfast was enough to fuel her. She wanted desperately to walk around, but she knew that the guard at the door would never allow it.

  Cora didn’t know how much time passed before there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was the guard with dinner, she straightened herself. “Enter.”

  When the door opened, it wasn’t the guard but Alec himself carrying a tray of food. Her eyes flew open in alarm, and she fought the urge to climb back to the corner of the bed.

  “Claire,” he said softly. She blinked in confusion until she remembered the fake name that she’d given him. “How are ye feeling?”

  Licking her lips, she watched as he set the tray on the edge of the bed and gently smiled at her. “Better, thank you,” she managed to say.

  “I know that the healer wasn’t able to examine ye. If ye’d like her to come back, I’d be happy to call her.”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I thank you, but that will not be necessary.” She couldn’t let him know of her ribs or bruises. Who knew what Innes would do?

  The man looked obviously frustrated. “Claire, I know that Seth and Innes visited you in the prisons.”

  “They wanted a confession,” she said quickly. “And I refused to give it. I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’d appreciate it if you could give me an escort back to London. I promise that you’ll never see me again.”

  He regarded her closely, and she could tell he didn’t believe her. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said finally. “I want ye to know that you can trust me. Whatever crimes that ye’ve committed, ye can tell me. I’m sure ye’ve already been punished enough.”

  “Then let me go.”

  Alec shook his head. “I can’t do that, my sweet. I know that there is no way Seth and Innes visited ye in prison just to talk. If ye don’t trust me enough to tell me the truth, then I cannot trust ye enough to let ye go.”

  Alarmed, she gasped. “So you mean to keep me trapped in this room? Trading one prison for another?”

  “Nay. If ye won’t admit to any pain, then in a few days ye’ll be moved to the servants’ quarters. Ye’ll have a job here, and ye’ll be treated well, but ye’ll naught be free to leave until ye can be honest with me. Starting with yer name.”

  Cora narrowed her eyes. The man was too bloody smart for his own good. “I told you my name.”

  “And if ye think that I believe it, ye’ll have quite a bit to learn about me. Eat yer dinner. If yer well enough, I’ll order a bath for ye.”

  The very thought of a bath made her moan. Soap and warm water? Occasionally Innes gave her a bowl and a sponge and ordered her to bathe. At first she’d resisted, thinking that it was the only thing that kept her virtue intact, but when he threatened to do it himself, she hastily cleaned herself. It turned out that he just wanted to see what his future bride would look like clean.

  “I would appreciate that. Thank you,” she said stiffly. Part of her wondered if Alec was trying to lure her with comforts in order to get the truth from her, but the other part simply didn’t care.

  “Verra well. We will speak again...Claire.” It was a dark promise, but it sent a thrill up her spine. She could see the hunger in his eyes, but it was different than the way Innes looked at her. It wasn’t as threatening.

  And she wasn’t disappointed to see it.

  So Alec Sinclair wanted her? Cora wasn’t above using that to her advantage if it meant finally getting out of Scotland.

  * * *

  .

  3

  True to Alec’s word, after a few days had passed and Cora could walk around without wincing, Alec ordered the guards to move her to the servants’ quarters. Her new room was much smaller than the guest chambers he’d had her staying in. It consisted only of a small bed, a table, and two chairs, but it didn’t bother her any. She would have been happy sharing a stall with a horse so long as it meant that she was no longer in the prison or guest chambers.

  Despite telling Alec that she was fine, Cora was anything but. A few hours after breaking the morning fast, her entire body screamed for rest. After being trapped for six months, her body wasn’t used to moving at a fast pace, and it protested, but Cora wasn’t about to admit that anything was wrong. Although it was vastly better than the prison, her new position in the castle wasn’t all roses.

  Despite her humble beginnings, Cora had never worked a day in her life. The Thistles were wealthy enough to employ a few servants, and Cora didn’t even begin to know how to cook, and the servants of the MacKay keep knew it. They scowled as they watched her attempt to peel potatoes and muttered behind her back.

  “Lassie!” Louise, one of the cooks, yelled. “Yer butchering the potato. There’ll be nothing left to eat by the time yer finished with them. What are ye doing here anyway?”

  Cora sighed and put the knife down. Louise wasn
’t wrong. She was chopping off just as much potato as she was peeling. “Just following Mr. Sinclair’s orders.”

  “Mr. Sinclair,” Lousie cackled. Her whole portly body shook as the woman bent over, clearly tickled pink by Cora’s statement. “Didya hear that, lassie? Ms.Claire is so verra polite.”

  Mary, the young woman who was stirring the pot of boiling water, smirked. “Shouldn’t we be calling him Laird Sinclair? Or is it still Laird MacKay?”

  “We’ll be calling him nothing of the sort,” Louise snapped. “He’s an imposter and the sooner he goes on about his business, the better.”

  Cora narrowed her eyes. “Seth MacKay was an evil bastard, and I would think that you would be pleased to be rid of him.”

  “Aye, that he was. A disgusting pig of a man, but that doonae mean that we need any help from the Sinclairs. Uppity bunch. Man thinks he’s a gift from God. That’s no better than Seth, if ye ask me,” Louise snorted.

  “No one was asking ye, Louise,” Mary said calmly. “And I think the new laird might actually be able to help us. He’s quite handsome.”

  Cora immediately bristled. Mary was a pretty girl. Unlike Cora, she wasn’t pale and gaunt. Curves in all the right places. Lucious shine in her hair. Full lips. She was probably just what Alec Sinclair would like in his bed.

  Immediately, she banished the thought. Alec made it quite clear the night before that he was dangerous. She shouldn’t care who wanted to be in his bed.