“I think he has some groveling to do, but he said that they made some headway last night.” Hamish grinned. “Just as I plan to make some headway tonight.”
“Hamish!”
He took his time with her tonight, tasting every inch of her, giving her pleasure twice before he eased inside of her, and as the night stretched on, he moved torturously slow until they were so slick with sweat that they had kicked the covers off the bed, only using the heat from each and their own pleasure to keep warm.
Finally, as they lay gasping in each other’s arms, she turned to him and ran her hands lovingly down his face. “Hamish, I need to ask ye a question.”
“Aye.”
“Why do ye want to marry me?”
Smiling softly in the dark, he stroked her bare shoulder. “Why do ye think?”
“Is it because I am Connor and Alec’s sister?”
“Nay. Just before they left, I realized that marrying a woman with two protective older brothers just might be more trouble than it’s worth.”
Grace chuckled. “Aye. I know that I am a pain, but they do care for me. So ye arenae marrying me for political alliance?”
“Nay, I can get that without being saddled to someone who is self-admittedly a pain for the rest of my life.”
She smacked him briefly on his chest. “Then ‘tis it really because of yer honor?”
“Grace, ye could have sprawled out naked in my bed, wetter than the loch, and I would not have taken ye had I not already decided to wed ye.”
“Ye already decided?” Her whole body tensed. “When? When I first claimed that I would marry ye to stay?”
“No, my sweet. I decided to marry ye the first time I met ye. Brilliant mind, sassy mouth, and beautiful face. What is not to love?”
At first she didn’t say anything, and he squeezed her hips gently. “Grace?”
There was a sniff in the darkness, and he realized that she was crying. “Grace, what is wrong?”
“Ye love me?”
Right then, he felt like a fool. No wonder she had pushed so hard to not marry me! What did I expect when I didnae tell her how I feel? The truth was that he’d been so busy trying to keep her safe that it didn’t even occur to him that she didn’t know.
“Aye. Ye drive me mad, woman, but I do love ye. And ye love me, aye?”
“Oh, aye, Hamish. Vera much, although I hate to admit it.”
Chuckling, he slid her up his body until their legs tangled, and he brought her head down for a sweet kiss. “Marry me, Grace. Not because of who ye are or what ye have given me but because we love each other. I doonae want to be like Tyree and spend decades wishing that I had made a different choice just now. I accept and love ye just as ye are, and while I suspect we will still argue, know that I do so because I only wish to protect ye.”
“Aye, Hamish Hamilton. I think that might suit me, but we will have to get a few things straight.”
“And what might that be?”
“I willnae be some simpering wife who only knows how to put together a nice dinner. I am skilled, and I want to be put to use.”
With a growl, he rolled until she was under him. “Oh, I intend to put ye to use, Wife.”
She shrieked with laughter until he was fully plunged inside of her, and then there was no time left for words. Only proving to each other just what they meant.
25
They came for her in the night, after Hamish had set out to hunt down the killer. Without him in her bed, it had taken a long time for her to fall asleep. They’d laid hands on her in the middle of her nightmare. The flashes of silver. The flashes of sunlight. They were trying to tell her something, but when she’d felt the touch of a stranger, she came to with a scream, but there was a hand quickly covering her mouth.
“Lady Grace, ‘tis only me. Kendrew.”
At the sound of his voice, Grace pulled away and rubbed her eyes. The MacSeaver guard had lit a candle for her and immediately averted his eyes. “Forgive the intrusion, but Hamish has returned, and he wanted ye to see the killer for yerself.”
It was all happening so quickly. They’d only set the trap yesterday, but it was clear that it had been successful. Quickly, Grace scrambled to her feet. “I need time to get dressed. Please wait for me in the hall.”
“No need for that. Hamish says that a cloak will be fine. There is nobody else out at this time of night.”
“Why is he not here himself?” Grace grumbled as she sleepily reached for her cloak.
“He doesnae want to take his eyes off the man who has tried repeatedly to kill ye.” Kendrew spoke as though Grace should have already known that, and he was right. If she hadn’t been woken in the dead of night, then she would have thought of that herself.
Throwing the cloak around her, still of the Sinclair colors until she was wed, she followed Kendrew out. The keep was eerily quiet. “Where are my guards?” she asked in a hoarse whisper as she looked down the deserted hallway.
“I sent them to Hamish. No need to worry, my lady. I am more than capable of seeing to yer well-being. The laird didnae want to cause a fuss by bringing the killer to the keep, so Hamish is waiting for ye at the church.”
“The church? I hope he doesnae mean to wed me while I look like this,” she teased even though her heart was pounding with anticipation.
“No ma’am. I believe he is giving the killer an opportunity to confess before he meets his maker,” Kendrew said solemnly.
She shivered at the imagery. Father James must be beside himself.
Kendrew had a large stride, and he didn’t bother to slow, so she was practically jogging to keep up with him. Once again, her skirts were swirling around her ankles, tripping her up. She tried to ask a few more questions, but from Kendrew’s curt answers, she gathered he wasn’t in the mood to talk.
She could sympathize. Her heart was pounding so quickly, she was only talking to try to keep herself calm. By the time she got to the church, she was out of breath. Stilling, she looked around, but the outside of the church was just as quiet as the rest of the night. “Kendrew, I doonae see any guards here.”
When he turned around, there was a malicious look on his face. Rough hands grabbed her from behind and cloth was shoved in her mouth. “Quickly now,” a familiar charming voice said from behind her. “We doonae want to give her a chance to scream and alert her precious laird.”
Brodie Armstrong stepped out from the shadows, a wicked sword in hand. There was a cloth tied around his arm from where her dagger had hit the mark, and if that wasn’t damning enough, he had her weapon and flipped it casually in the air as he looked down on her. The other MacSeaver guard, Braden, finished binding her wrists behind her back stepped away, and stared down at her.
Annoyed by their cold smiles, she spit the cloth out and shook her head. Did they really think she would be such a hysterical prisoner? “As if I need to scream to bring ye to justice,” she said wryly. Ignoring Brodie for a moment, she turned to the two guards. “And why are two men, loyal to MacSeaver, working for an Armstrong who isnae even remotely in line for power?”
“Ye can aim yer questions at me,” Brodie snapped, the charming lilt gone from his voice. She shivered at the sudden change. “They are hardly guards. More like mercenaries, loyal to anyone with coin.”
“And ye, more than happy to dispose of yer own men? Are ye not loyal to anyone as well?”
“Oh, I am vera loyal to my people, more so than my brothers. I will stop at nothing to bring them to their glory. Perhaps ye havenae heard the news yet, my dear, but my eldest brother and laird of the MacSeaver clan is dead. ’Tis a shame really. He was planning on another long speech about peace all the while letting our neighbors grow in power. Even as we speak, Creighton will be out of his mind with grief, wondering how a man in his prime could succumb to a hunting accident. I believe my dear brother will take his own life when I return, and I will have no choice but to step into his shoes and take over.”
Grace’s jaw dropped, and
she stared at him. “Ye killed yer brother?”
“Nay. I was right here during the peace treaty. So wonderful that I had all these witnesses,” he said casually as he tossed the blade again.
Obviously he’d paid someone to dole out the dirty deed for him. It made him no less guilty. “Creighton will know that ye didnae return with him.”
“Doonae worry about that, my dear. I have already tied up that loose end as well.” He frowned and looked at her dagger. “And as I said, Creighton is not long for this world. Ye know, I didnae give ye enough credit. First, ye run around in men’s clothes, and then ye are skilled at throwing blades. What other secrets are ye hiding?”
As if I would tell him!
He shrugged. “‘Tis no matter. I intend to kill ye with yer own blade. I wonder how yer precious brothers will feel about that since they were the ones daft enough to let ye run around armed.”
“Why would ye kill Maggie? She had no part in yer conspiracy. She was a sweet woman.”
For a moment, she could have sworn she saw a flash of guilt in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. “Aye, she was a sweet lass, but she spread her legs for the wrong man, and for that, she had to pay.”
All of this was because of jealousy? Had Brodie been in love with Maggie? She had seen him flirting with her, but she’d assumed that Maggie hadn’t meant much to him. Obviously, she was wrong.
“And now, my sweet Lady Grace, I am afraid we are going to have to part ways. I am sorry to see ye die, ye know. I had thought ye would make a wonderful mistress for the Armstrong clan.”
“Lies! Ye wanted an alliance with Sinclair and MacKay so when the truth came out, ye could cower behind them while they fight their battles for ye. I would never marry a cretin like ye!” she hissed with a visible shudder.
He moved in a blink of an eye, and just as quickly, the calm demeanor was gone, and she could see the insanity swirling around in his eyes. “Ye dare call me a coward?” he snarled as he poked the blade at her neck. “‘Tis just as well that ye will not be by my side, for I have found someone far more powerful than ye will ever be.”
He was so focused on her that he didn’t see the massive shadow in the dark, a legion of men working as one. The mercenary guards died instantly and quietly, and it was only the sound of their bodies hitting the ground that made Brodie whirl around.
Hamish stood directly behind him, his sword at the ready, and as it sliced through him, there was a coldness in Hamish’s eyes that made Grace shiver. “For touching her, ye will die. For murdering yer brother, yer name will live on in the highlands as the most despicable of men, loyal to no clan, to no family.”
Brodie’s eyes widened in shock, and he stared down at the wound. “No,” he whispered as Grace’s dagger finally fell from his hands. “This isnae how it was to end!”
“The minute ye killed one of mine, this was how it was always to end,” Hamish said almost gently and pulled the sword out. As Brodie took his last breath and fell, Hamish stepped over him and reached for Grace. After he untied her, he swept a hand over her throat where the dagger had pricked.
“Forgive me, my love,” he whispered. “I let him get too close.”
“‘Tis not yer fault. We needed all the information, and yer plan worked perfectly.” Shuddering just a little, she threw her arms around him, needing his warmth to ward off the evil.
There was a touch of wonder in his eyes as he smoothed a hand over her hair. “Ye trusted me.”
She did trust him, enough to let a killer lead her out of the keep and into the heart of the danger, to let someone put their hands on her and bind her, knowing that the man she loved and his army had followed the whole time and were close at hand.
“I fear I am ashamed that all it took was the rumor that ye would be gone for Brodie to think that I was defenseless,” she said in disgust.
Chuckling, he bent down and kissed her forehead. “That’s my woman. Reed will see ye back to yer chambers, and I will be there shortly. I trust that I will find ye asleep. Yer brothers will be here in the morning to help me carry the message to Creighton about the truth of the death of his brothers.” Hamish grimaced. “And then we will need to attend court. I fear it may be over a week before I can finally say that ye are my wife.”
Grace smoothed a hand over his face and kissed him gently, aware that they had an audience. “I will be here when ye get back,” she promised.
“Aye, ye will.”
After finally crawling back into bed, her body weary but her mind whirling, she waited for Hamish to return, but it was nearly dawn when sleep finally claimed her, and he still wasn’t there.
Alone, she dreamed.
26
Hamish and the others didn’t know what to expect, but Creighton stared at the body of his brother’s corpse with dry eyes and a cold expression on his face. “Ye say Brodie had Ian killed?” he asked in a hollow voice. “Do ye know who did the deed?”
“I doonae,” Hamish told him quietly.
“Ye didnae think to let him live long enough to answer some questions?” the man lashed out, his grief all too real.
Behind him, his own guards, plus the ones that Connor and Alec traveled with, all put their hands on their swords, but Hamish held up his hand. He could see the anguish in the man’s eyes. Creighton needed to lash out, to expel the anger in him before he stepped into his brother’s shoes, before he could process that one brother had killed another, but that didn’t mean there had to be violence.
“He put a blade to Grace’s throat,” Hamish said evenly. “He killed one of my own. He put an arrow through my friend. Nay, I didnae think it wise to let him live. He claimed to have killed his own men because they werenae loyal to him. I suggest ye go through yer ranks carefully. Ye may find his supporters there, and with it, the hand that slew yer brother.”
Connor stepped forward. He, Alec, and Theo had all joined him, wanting to speak to King Edward about the dissent in the Armstrong clan and show their united support of each other. “We have brought some men to lend ye some to watch yer backs if ye fear ye cannae trust yer guards.”
Creighton grimaced and looked away. “I thank ye for returning Brodie’s body. Though he is a traitor, I will still bury him.”
Hamish nodded and signaled his men to unhitch the wagon. “We travel now to the king, but we have sent word to MacSeaver that there may be traitors among his men too. It appears that Brodie’s manipulations were far reached and he used coin to sway his men’s loyalties.” He hesitated. “I am sorry for yer loss.”
Without realizing it, he turned to Theo. Like it or not, the man was his brother, and he’d been there to help protect Grace. If it turned out that Theo betrayed him or was killed, it would hurt far more than he wanted to admit.
This was the downfall of family, he supposed.
Leaving Creighton to deal with the remains of his brother along with their guards, Hamish didn’t bother asking for hospitality. Now that the guards were with Creighton, to be returned in a few weeks while Creighton stepped into power, it was just he, Connor, Alec, and Theo, and they would make camp at the edge of his lands and then set out for the king’s holdings. He had only been gone for a day, but he already ached to be back and hold Grace.
To marry her.
Connor and Theo flanked him as Alec rose at Connor’s side. Both brothers had been a little astounded at their sister’s trickery, claiming that she’d never quite tried to pull off something so daring before, but they were proud that her loyalty to her friend was so strong.
“Ye are certain that Grace isnae set to run now that her job there is finished?” Connor asked quietly. “Perhaps we should have left more guards behind to watch her. She is wily.”
“Nay, she wants to wed me,” Hamish said confidently with a smile. “She loves me.”
Connor narrowed his eyes. “And ye love her?”
He answered without batting an eye. “Aye, with all my heart.”
The eldest Sinclair grunted. “My wife pr
edicted that. I suppose she knew the two of ye were meant to be together before ye did. Well, we will stay for a wedding and make certain ‘tis what Grace wants. I won’t have ye mistreating her or forcing her to do anything that she doesnae want.”
Hamish suspected as much and tried not to let the distrust sting. Connor had known Grace his whole life, after all, and probably heard her say hundreds of times that she didn’t want to marry.
“Ye are welcome to join us for the wedding and welcome to come visit anytime.” They would soon see that he made Grace happy.
The sun set just as they reached the corner. Hamish glanced around and held up his hand to put them on alert. He didn’t need to. They had already noticed the same thing.
There were no patrols. Not a single guard along this section of the border. Creighton was grieving, but he would have left at least a handful of men here.
Pulling out his sword, he listened in the darkness and tensed. It was quiet. Far too quiet.
“‘Tis a setup,” he said quietly as he dismounted. The others followed suit.
“Ye think Creighton was in league with Brodie after all?” Theo covered his back and scanned the horizon.
“Not at all,” a voice chuckled in the darkness. Then, before they could charge, dozens of men dropped down from the trees and surrounded them.
Hamish readjusted his grip and swore when a torch was lit to highlight a familiar face.
“Lady Beth MacSeaver?” he growled in surprise. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
The newest young bride to the MacSeaver laird looked serene and calm as she studied the small group before them. With her blonde hair piled up on the top of her head, and her sapphires nestled in gold around her neck, she looked every bit like she was going to court rather than traipsing through the woods with armed guards.
Looks were deceiving, because all Hamish had to do was glance into her eyes and see the look of a cold-blooded killer. She frowned as she surveyed the group. “I had hoped to make my congratulations to the Sinclair hellion for making such an advantageous match, but I can see that she isnae here. I suppose that means ye left her behind. No matter. I will deal with her soon enough.”
Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds Page 53
