“Lady Patience is saying she wishes to leave in the morn,” Isobel said. “I tried to calm her down but ’twas no use. I feared she would fall into a fit of apoplexy.”
“In the morn?” Keegan asked. “But we have not yet found Haldane and his outlaws.”
“I’m not certain they will be found until they wish to be,” Dirk said. “’Tis the way McMurdo has always been. Haldane is becoming just like him.”
“Aye.” Keegan stood, the urge to see Seona again near overwhelming him. He might not get to be with her much longer. But he still could not conceive of giving her up. “I should go apologize to Lady Seona and Lady Patience.”
“Nay, not now,” Isobel said gently. “’Haps in the morn.”
He nodded, annoyed that he had made such a grand blunder, getting caught in Seona’s room. “Very well. I bid you all good-night.”
They responded in kind and Keegan let himself out into the corridor. All was quiet and Seona’s door was closed. He had to leave now, else Lady Patience might attack him again with a fire poker. He strode to the end of the corridor and took several steps down the spiral stair. A door opened and closed behind him. He inched back up far enough to see who it was. Lady Patience. She disappeared into her own chamber. Excitement lit within him. Dare he go back and speak with Seona again?
If he did, he would get into deeper trouble, for he didn’t simply want to talk to her. He wanted so much more, and all involved physical contact.
***
Seona covered her head with the counterpane and blankets, so glad Aunt Patience had finally exhausted herself with that rant and gone to her own room. Seona’s head throbbed painfully from the woman’s shrieks.
Aye, she knew her aunt would report all the scandalous news to her father, but she didn’t want to think of the horrid consequences right now. She’d already tortured herself with those for the past two days.
Keegan loved her—that was all she could focus on now. He’d said the words—I love you in that deep, spellbinding voice. The look in his eyes had been serious, passionate and emotional. He’d meant what he said. ’Twas what she’d hoped for during the past few months.
She did not know the exact moment she’d fallen in love with him. It had happened gradually with each smile he’d bestowed on her. Each lingering gaze. Each touch of her hand on his arm.
“Please, God,” she whispered. “Help me to make Keegan my own. My husband. He is a good man.”
She knew Keegan would protect her always and treat her like a queen. She imagined what life could be like with him. They would share a bedchamber at Dunnakeil and sleep together every night. He would kiss her until she was dizzy and begging him for something she didn’t fully understand.
They would talk, laugh and make love. She would never tire of gazing into his spellbinding blue eyes.
She knew now—she’d always felt his love in his kisses, from the first. Closing her eyes, she relived that last one. His lips on hers created magic that sent her into another realm, one where only the two of them existed.
But they couldn’t remain there long.
Aunt Patience was insisting they leave tomorrow and head for home. However, the castle where Seona grew up was not truly her home. ’Twas a prison, and her father the warden.
How would she and her sister escape? How could Seona keep her father from knowing about her and Keegan? She had to find a way to protect him.
Chapter Nineteen
The next morn, Keegan noted that Seona did not eat at the high table with everyone else. But her annoying aunt was there, giving him the evil eye every minute or two. If he were to rise from the table and head for the stairs, she would no doubt follow and try to bludgeon him again. He sighed and ate the porridge, eggs, bacon, and oat cakes without enthusiasm. His stomach ached with dread for today he had to take Seona home.
An hour later, everyone gathered in the back courtyard, near the sea gate, preparing to board two of the twenty-oar birlinns which would take them to the other end of Loch Duich. Their horses had already been transported on larger birlinns and would be awaiting them so they could ride east through the glen.
Keegan glanced up at the overcast sky, gray as his own mood, but no rain fell.
Seona emerged from the keep, and when her enchanting blue eyes met his, his heart somersaulted in his chest. If her aunt hadn’t been beside her, Keegan would’ve approached her.
Isobel hugged Seona and they spoke quietly. His stomach knotted for he knew his time with Seona would be short unless he figured out a way to convince her father of his own worthiness as a husband. If the man was as stubborn as Rebbie had indicated, likely even he would not be able to get through to him.
“Why are you looking so grim?” Dirk asked beside him. He had not even noticed his cousin approaching.
“I’m sure you ken. I have a near impossible task ahead of me. And why are you out here? Does your leg not pain you?”
“Aye, but a warrior must pretend pain does not exist.”
Dirk did appear a wee bit pale, and Keegan feared he was not as recovered as he acted.
“You must take care of yourself and mend,” Keegan said.
“I’ll do my best. Hopefully, you will be back within a fortnight—with your new bride—and we’ll return to Durness in the large birlinn the MacKenzie is giving me as part of Isobel’s dowry. ’Tis an impressive vessel, far larger than our others.”
“Aye.” Keegan could only hope and pray Seona would be his bride by then. But if her father said nay, what would he do?
“You must be ever vigilant for Haldane,” Dirk said. “Rest assured the only way to stop him from his goal is to kill him.”
“Although I don’t wish to kill my cousin, I will if I have the opportunity, for you and for Lady Seona.”
“I appreciate that,” Dirk said, looking disappointed. Keegan knew ’twas because of how Dirk’s brother had turned out.
Keegan could only imagine how he would feel if one of his younger brothers or sisters became a murderous, thieving outlaw.
“Godspeed and have a safe journey.” Dirk grasped his hand in a warrior’s handshake.
“I thank you.”
While Dirk spoke to Rebbie, Keegan stepped away and surveyed the courtyard. The two MacKenzie brothers and ten of their men who would be traveling with them had climbed aboard one of the birlinns. Over a dozen MacKay guards stood by, one of whom helped Lady Patience into the boat. Her face was set in grim lines. Seona stood alone by the sea gate. He headed toward her.
“Lady Seona.” He bowed. “A good morn to you.”
She blushed and curtsied. “Good morn.”
He glanced around to see who might be listening. No one was close. “I must apologize for what happened last night.”
Her face grew even redder. “Nay. Do not worry over it.” She smiled, giving him an intimate glance. It reminded him of the kiss they’d shared the night before.
“Make haste, MacKay,” Fraser called out with a teasing grin.
Keegan darted a glare at him, then turned to Seona again. “Would you like me to help you board?”
“Aye and I thank you.”
After she slipped her hand around his elbow, he led her to the galley, then took her hand and helped her aboard, wishing he didn’t have to release her so soon. Nay, he wished he could lift her into his arms and carry her off to a very private bedchamber where they would not be disturbed for a few days.
But that was not going to happen anytime soon—if ever.
***
Seona sat beside Aunt Patience and their two maids within the polished wood hull of the birlinn. Keegan took a seat with Fraser and Rebbie somewhere behind her and to the left. Listening to his deep voice as he talked to the other men, she closed her eyes, wishing she could watch him, for she found each day his face, his hair, his eyes, his body… everything about him fascinated her more and more. The beautiful words he’d spoken to her the night before haunted her… I love you.
The birlinn r
ocked and swayed upon the water as the last of the men stepped aboard. The oarsmen set to work, rowing the two large boats away from the sea gate and along the loch.
Seona waved to Isobel, tears burning her eyes, her throat tightening. She hoped she would see her good friend again very soon. She’d never had a friend as close as Isobel, whom she could tell anything and trust her to keep it a secret. Of course, Seona was close to her sister, but since Talia was younger, there were many things she couldn’t talk to her about. With Isobel, she could discuss anything.
Besides that, Isobel was a genuine, caring person. Seona would miss her greatly.
“Oh heavens,” her aunt muttered a few minutes later, pressing a hand to her stomach.
“Do you feel seasick?” Seona asked.
“’Tis starting.”
“This calm loch surely can’t be as bad as the rough sea was.”
“Nay.” Aunt Patience swallowed and appeared to be focusing on not growing nauseous.
They moved smoothly along the dark, glassy surface of the loch, the oarsmen singing a song in rhythm to their rowing. She’d always found rowing songs to be very soothing.
When the wind picked up, the crews of each vessel raised the square sail, making the trip far faster and easier for them.
Just over an hour later, they disembarked at the end of Loch Duich.
For two days, their party traveled, sometimes on horseback and sometimes on ferries or birlinns along the lochs, and each night they were fortunate enough to obtain lodgings in a castle or manor house. Fraser and Dermott knew the important people of the area.
Though Seona wished to speak to Keegan far longer than the brief greetings they exchanged in passing, her aunt watched her even more closely than she had before she’d found Keegan in Seona’s room. Sometimes his gaze caught and held hers for a long moment when no one was watching. His eyes were so expressive she could almost read his thoughts. When his eyes darkened, he seemed to be envisioning something passionate and intense; other times, his light blue eyes emanated happiness and mischief.
Her own emotions were tossed upon a stormy sea. Simply to look at Keegan filled her with giddiness, excitement and joy. But thoughts of her future, her home, and her father shrouded her in a smothering darkness.
On the third evening, a misty rain fell, and they arrived at a large fortified castle held by the Mackintosh Clan.
Seona was glad to escape the rain and eat a warm meal in the great hall. Though she wasn’t fortunate enough to sit by Keegan, he wasn’t too far away and she slipped a few glances his way. Once, his gaze caught hers and he smiled, heating her from the inside out.
Afterward, she and her aunt were shown to a large bedchamber containing two beds and a large pallet for their maids.
Seona and the other women were so exhausted, they went to bed early and slept all night. The rain continued and grew harder the next morn. The men of their party decided to stay another night, which Seona was glad for. Though she needed to see about her sister, she was thankful for any sort of delay that kept her from home. Once she arrived there, her time with Keegan would be very short.
***
Haldane led his men east, through the green glens and along the lochs, toward the Inverness area. He only had eight men now. Damn Keegan and the MacKenzies for seizing two of them. Though annoying, their capture didn’t put a damper on his plans. The two miscreants had been his least valuable men. As warriors, their skills were sorely lacking, and he was glad he hadn’t paid them much.
“’Tis there,” McMurdo said, pausing on top of the small rise and pointing at the sizable castle in the distance. “Gillenmor Castle.”
Haldane and the rest of the men stopped in the middle of the well-worn, muddy road.
“’Tis impressive,” Haldane said. The fifteen-foot, gray stone walls surrounding the castle appeared to be impermeable. Several guards patrolled the battlements, visible above the high wall. A fitting place for an admirable lady like Seona to have grown up. A good-sized village lay only a short distance from the castle.
Thanks to his mother and McMurdo, Haldane knew about the general area where Seona’s branch of the Murray clan lived. Along the way, he’d asked two people the exact location of Gillenmor Castle. And now, here they were.
He suspected they’d arrived a few days ahead of Keegan’s party, at least he hoped so. McMurdo was an expert at finding concealed spots where they might hide and wait for the MacKays.
Haldane’s gaze scanned the surrounding area—a vast expanse of arable farm land with mountains in the far distance. Vibrant green pastures, cattle and sheep. He’d never seen such gently rolling land, so different from MacKay country. Plentiful bushes and trees grew along the edges of the crops and expanded into a forest.
“Do you think we might hide out in that wood?” Haldane pointed to the left.
“Mayhap,” McMurdo said. “We’ll need to search it and see if anyone else is using it. See if the Murrays have a gamekeeper patrolling it.”
Haldane nodded. “You and six of the men do that. I’ll take two with me to the village and look for several trained warriors in need of work. After that, I’ll seek out a quick way home by sea.”
“The sea is about a half day’s ride from here,” McMurdo said. “I can handle that tomorrow if you wish. As for now, we need food.”
“Aye. I’ll bring some back from the village.” Haldane well knew hunting game on Murray land would get them into trouble with the chief if he learned of it. They had to remain inconspicuous.
“How far are we from Inverness?” Haldane asked. If he couldn’t find men here to hire, he would have to go further out.
“About five miles.”
Haldane nodded, hoping he wouldn’t have to travel that far. Who knew how soon the MacKay party would arrive in the area? He had to be ready.
“Gil and Rusty, come with me. McMurdo, we’ll meet you at the edge of that wood in a couple of hours,” Haldane said, then headed toward the village. He would have everything set up and in place, but he had to hurry. When he captured Seona, nothing would delay him and his men from reaching Durness within a few days’ time.
He would need at least two dozen skilled warriors to help him take Castle Dunnakeil from whoever Dirk had left in charge. Dirk’s sword-bearer, Erskine, had not been with the rest of the MacKays as they’d traveled south. ’Twas evident to Haldane he was the one left in charge.
Haldane’s brother, Aiden, was there as well, but he posed no threat. Although Aiden was a couple of years his senior, Haldane considered him his wee brother because he was small in stature and utterly incompetent at fighting. Haldane did not want to hurt his brother, but Aiden had best stand aside or he would find himself in the dungeon or killed.
Same with his infuriating half-sister, Jessie. She would likely put up more of a fight than Aiden. She was near as tall as Haldane and had the same flaming red hair, like their da. Besides that, she carried a wicked dagger on her belt.
Truthfully, none of them concerned Haldane. Dirk, Keegan and the more highly skilled MacKay guards would not be at Dunnakeil when he attacked. No doubt, Dirk had only left a few of his weaker men in charge. Haldane would have an easier time taking back what was rightfully his. The legacy his father had left him, and his mother had so desperately wanted him to have. She’d given her life for him and Aiden.
Once Haldane had Dunnakeil well under control, and Dirk returned a few days or weeks afterward—if he survived the injury to his leg—Haldane or McMurdo would have an easier time killing him. Or Gil might fill him with arrows from atop the guard tower. Haldane grinned, loving his plan. He could see it all unfolding so clearly. His mother, God rest her soul, would be proud of him.
What he had to concentrate on now was the best way to slip Seona away from Keegan and the guards. He must grab her as they approached Gillenmor, because once she was inside the castle walls, removing her would be far more difficult. If he and his men were forced to kill Keegan and several of his men in the proc
ess, so much the better.
***
A knock sounded at Seona’s bedchamber door, startling her from her imaginings of Keegan as she’d drifted toward sleep. She sat bolt upright. The gray light of gloaming still lingered outside the narrow window, and a soft rain fell beyond it.
Her aunt had not yet returned from supper. Perhaps she had spent extra time with Lady Mackintosh, an old friend of hers, catching up. Could that be Aunt Patience knocking? Why did she not simply enter?
Seona slipped out of bed, padded barefoot across the floor, and opened the door to find Keegan standing in the dim corridor.
Exhilaration darted through her. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “My aunt could return at any moment.”
Holding back a wicked grin, he shook his head. “I asked someone to keep her occupied.” His voice was equally quiet.
“Who?”
“MacMillan.”
Saints! Was her aunt having a tryst? Seona realized her mouth was hanging open and snapped it closed. “Do you mean… what I think you mean?”
His grin broadening, he shrugged. “Who knows what they will do? Where are your maids? I thought I saw them pass through the great hall not long ago.”
“I know not. Aunt Patience gave them the night off.”
“Well then, may I come in?” Keegan asked. “I need to talk to you.”
Her heart pounding, she glanced toward the stairwell. “What if one of the maids or someone should come along?”
“We’ll bar the door. And you can tell them you don’t wish to be disturbed.”
What he suggested… along with the smoldering look in his eyes, sent hot sparks snapping through her body. If her only joys in life were to be stolen moments with him, she would take them. She stepped back, allowing him entrance to the room. Once she closed the door, he placed the plank of wood into the metal brackets, barring anyone from entering.
He glanced around the dim room, inhaling deeply. “I smell lavender soap.”
“I had a bath a short time ago.”
“Do you mind if I light a candle?”
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