Connor read the contents of her letter and she heard the words from a different frame of mind. After he finished, he told her about the hood they found in the loch.
“But it fell off my shoulders while the horse was in gallop. I couldn’t risk stopping to retrieve it.”
She confessed her side of the story and Connor looked as if he believed her.
“Maddie, I-”
“What is this?” she asked and reached out to touch the leather cord around his neck. She pulled it out and her hand dropped to her side. “You wear this around your neck?” Her voice was tremulous and pain cloaked her eyes. Maddie’s watery gaze lifted from the ring to his eyes.
“Aye. Every day since.”
She inspected him closely. He was more muscular. His shoulders were broader. His skin was bronzer. There were lines around his eyes and dark circles resting beneath.
Maddie placed her hand to her brow and wavered on her feet. Stretching one hand out, he steadied her.
“Easy.”
“Wooo,” she said laughing. She placed a hand over her belly, rubbing and patting it.
“What?” he asked worriedly.
Maddie took his hand and brought it to her stomach. The baby did another cartwheel. His mouth dropped open and formed into a smile. Surprised blue eyes, lit with amazement and wonder, met hers.
She was so large!
“Very active. The baby keeps me up at night,” she said, laughing as the baby moved again.
He grew suddenly serious.
“Maddie, we need to talk.”
The smile melted off her face.
“Nay,” she shook her head. “There is nothing to discuss, Connor. I will not allow the baby to be used as temporary mortar to mend this irreparable marriage.”
Connor couldn’t let her go.
Not now. Not ever.
“Maddie-”
She cut him off when she had a cramp.
“Ugh.”
Maddie placed her hand on her stomach and hunched her shoulders. Connor saw her grimace.
“What? What is it?” His heart stopped. Connor’s throat tightened and he was barely able to swallow. This was the delicate condition Sister Margaret had mentioned.
“Pains. I’ve had them for a while now. Sister Margaret always wants me calm,” she said and gave a sad smile.
He cursed himself for upsetting her.
“‘Tis better to leave with the morning light. We will need to stay the night here.”
Maddie shook her head.
“I am not leaving here, Connor. This marriage was a pretense. It was begun with affectations of love and continued with such,” Maddie said, working the woodiness out of her legs by taking small steps.
“I love ye, Maddie.”
She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. I could never trust you again.”
“NO! Maddie, ye must come back with me!”
She shook her head solemnly.
“Do ye not love me anymore?”
“Love means nothing without trust, and I do not trust you.”
She began to walk to the door.
“We’re sleeping in the same room tonight. I will protect ye.”
“Nay you’re not, and ‘tis quite safe here.”
“Nay, Maddie. I will-”
Another pain gripped her. She moaned. Connor placed a hand on her back.
“Nay, you will not. You will sleep in another room,” she said in a painful whisper.
Fearing that he would cause more cramps, he agreed. “Yes, I will stay in another room.”
She nodded, and continued walking. Connor hovered over her to make certain that she wouldn’t fall.
Sister Margaret was suddenly there. She saw the strain on Maddie’s face.
“I’ll help you to your room, Maddie. Laird, please remain here and I shall take you to yours.” Not waiting for an answer, she took hold of Maddie’s elbow and led her away from Connor.
Connor’s heart broke anew at seeing her leave his side, even if for the night. His chest tightened. He fisted his hands.
“Goodnight, Maddie,” he called out.
She turned back but continued walking without saying a word. He stood there watching the other half of his heart and soul walk away from him.
Chapter Forty
Connor sat down on a bench facing the door. She was expecting his bairn and he had missed the last couple of months of her growing with child.
His child.
All this because he stupidly didn’t read into the letter, and because he hadn’t trusted his instincts and heart that told him that she wasn’t dead.
Connor thought she had staged her death and wanted to get away from him. He wanted to weep with happiness when he saw her alive. He heard footsteps and looked over to his left. Sister Margaret walked towards him.
“How is she?”
“She is in pain, Laird. She has had a difficult couple of months.”
“She mentioned to me that ye always want her calm. Why is that, except for the obvious reason of her condition?”
“Come with me, Laird. You must be weary and have thirst. Have some soup with this old woman, and I shall tell you everything.”
Connor nodded and followed the woman into a dining hall. Once settled with warm soup and a cup of ale, both conversed.
“Maddie came here very fraught and scared. The poor girl actually thought you didn’t love her.”
“What makes ye believe that I do?” he asked her reservedly.
The nun smiled.
“You’re here with me now, aren’t you?” She paused and told him, “Maddie revealed to me that she was carrying. She insisted on doing garden work and sewed things for the baby. A month after arriving here, it was her fourth month with child, she began cramping.”
“She had a small belly before she left our home. I stupidly thought it was due to weight gain,” Connor said gruffly.
“Easy now, Laird. All will mend.”
He nodded. “Please Sister, Connor will do,” he said and almost smiled because he sounded like Maddie.
“Very well, Connor.” Her lips smiled briefly. “Once the cramps began, I worried for they were not good signs.”
Connor’s face paled.
“Nay, please do not tell me that. She will survive!” he said passionately.
She patted his hand.
“I cannot give false assurances, Connor, but God has protected Maddie well throughout her life.”
“Sister, I thought her to be dead. She left a letter. Here, read it,” he said, handing it to her.
Once she read it, she looked up.
“I know logically that she would never take her own life but it sounded as if she had. That, in conjunction with the torn hood we found in a loch, had me believing after a time that she had taken her life.”
“I can see how, Connor. Do not blame yourself, for the evidence was strong.”
“I have lost her, Sister. I have accused her of feigning her death. I have lied to her about how we first met and my intentions towards her. I canna undo this, and she will not forgive me. Nay, she doesna love me, Sister.”
“You’re very mistaken, Connor. She is madly in love with you.”
“But she says she doesna trust me.”
“She does, deep down. Just give her time, Connor. She thought that you didn’t love her- that you had given up on your marriage. In a short period of time, everything she thought she knew was proved false. Again.”
“I canna live without her, Sister Margaret. These last few months, I have only merely existed. I was numb, uncaring, and unfeeling except for the pain that was left within me.”
She patted his hand.
“I will do all that I can, for I see the love between you two.”
Lady Margaret led Connor to an empty chamber.
“The other chambers have been filled with the men who came with you. This room is a little far from Maddie’s, but you’ll see her enough in the morning. Keep some distance and she wil
l come around.”
With that said, she wished him a good evening and left.
Connor looked around the room. After appeasing his curiosity, he stretched out on the bed, and contemplated the day and the last few months.
Connor recalled the last night they were together. Maddie’s mood had been odd. The way they had made love had been the most passionate joining they’d ever experienced. She had told him again and again that she loved him. Connor remembered the tone of her voice, and the tightness of her arms. He understood it now for what it had been then.
She had been saying goodbye.
Connor found it difficult to breathe. He choked through a cough as his eyes grew moist. He closed them in pain. He had done this to them. His breath came and left him in rough pants. He opened his eyes and shook his head. His neck muscles strained as he fought the hatred for himself. Their love was pure and true, damn it, despite the foundation on which it had begun.
‘Twas a miracle. Not only was his Maddie alive, but she was also carrying his bairn. Hope surged in his soul. He closed his eyes, this time in appreciation, and heard the thunk of his heart. He felt the organ come to life in his chest with the prospect of being paired with its mate again.
Connor wiped a hand down his face and sighed. He wouldn’t give up on her. Nay. He wouldn’t give up on them, neither her nor the baby. He wouldn’t lose her again, and he would destroy anything that dared to separate them.
Chapter Forty-One
She awoke him in the night. He sat upwards with a start, reaching for his sword. He recognized the voice and relaxed until he realized what her presence could mean.
“What is wrong? Is Maddie ill?” he said, his voice groggy from sleep.
“She is not in her room! I heard noises since I reside the room next to hers. I heard one name: Binouix!”
Connor’s heart stopped beating. He quickly put on his plaid while the nun waited outside. He stormed out of his room and followed her until he reached Maddie’s. The baby booties and hats caught him off-guard and a lump formed in his throat.
“It looks like there’s been a struggle. Sister, how would he get in?” Connor asked anxiously. His eyes stared into hers.
“I’m not certain!” Her eyes were wide with horror. “How would he have known she was here?”
“Wynton!” he said fiercely.
“Dear Lord, he’ll see her with child and go insane! He’ll try to-”
He didn’t wait to hear the nun voice his fears. Connor gathered his men who were sleeping within the building, and walked out to ready his warriors. In a matter of moments, they rode out. Connor couldn’t stop his racing heart or imagination. He needed to think smart and think fast. Although Binouix’s soldiers tried to conceal their tracks, Connor still saw them with the light of the fast approaching dawn.
“Faster! We must reach her! Ride harder!” Connor roared as he galloped his mount to a furious pace.
He had to have been on Binouix’s heels. The tracks looked fresh. After riding for what seemed like an eternity to Connor, they reached a massive fortress.
They encountered Binouix’s men, who waited in fighting stances. The two groups faced one another as the wind blew.
Connor roared his battle cry and his men charged. Though Binouix’s men were double in number, Connor’s warriors were superior and had the advantage. Soon they overpowered Binouix’s men.
“Follow me! I must get to Maddie!” Connor shouted, kicking his steed forward.
Iain, Kiel, and Athyn flanked his sides, while Kirk and Hugh protected Connor’s rear.
Metal against metal clashed around them. The agonized cries of men falling to their deaths, and the sound of steel on steel were familiar to Connor.
The furious beat of his heart wasn’t.
Maddie hadn’t just found a place in his heart. Nay, she was his heart.
With a fury he’d never before known, Connor combated the enemy. He fought and killed a path amongst the adversaries imprudent enough to fight him. His rage made him cold, lethal, and savage. His sword sliced through every man who stepped in front of him as he made his way to his wife. Once through the first line of paltry defense, Connor and the men dismounted and made their way to the door of the structure’s entrance.
Connor’s massive sword struck down the men who challenged him. He howled in triumph as the adrenaline surged through his veins like a potent herb. Only one thought remained in his head: he must get to his wife and unborn babe.
Quickly.
That one thought gave him superhuman strength.
Savagely and barbarically, he killed his way through the enemy. Some of Binouix’s soldiers actually ran away from him when they saw his crazed eyes. Connor’s sword slashed and felled dozens before he was able to reach the entrance. With his men beside him, he slowly entered and heard her weeping.
“Please!” she begged. “Henry, please do not!”
Connor stood transfixed as he tried to pinpoint where Maddie’s voice was coming from.
He heard a slap and a loud whimper.
“First you denied me that night long ago. Then you allow that bastard heathen to take you away after I attempted to save you. Now, you have married him and are carrying his bastard! Nay, Madeleine,” Binouix said, shaking his head, “The baby will come out now and will die. You’ll not have his bastard. You belong to me!”
“No! Henry, oh God, Henry please! Do not do this! Put the blade away,” Maddie screamed crying.
The men were looking around the rooms on the ground floor but didn’t find her.
Connor’s fear grew tenfold.
“Find her! When I get to him, I’ll bleed him dry!” Connor roared.
“Henry! No! Oh God, please help me! Please!” she cried, an anguishing cry that reverberated off the walls. “Someone! Please come help me!”
“Nay! That bastard will not be birthed!”
“No! Don’t touch me! You’ll kill me and the bairn!” Maddie was hysterical. The cramps began anew and she moaned.
“Bairn? Scottish words, bah! You deserve to die. You are a disgusting whore! His whore!” Henry yelled until his voice was raw.
The men looked on the first floor but they weren’t there.
“Connor! Oh God…Connor, I’m sorry! Please forgive me…please help me…” she cried in anguish. “Connor!” She was pleading to the walls and air, for she knew that Connor was not there.
Connor’s own heart reacted to her call. In what she thought were her last minutes of life for her and their baby, she called out for him.
“He’s not coming, Madeleine. He hates you and the bastard bairn!”
Connor rushed up the stairs and onto the landing. Room by room they searched. He came across a door that was locked. Slamming his foot against it, it crashed to the floor.
Binouix stopped midpoint and looked towards the door.
Connor nearly fell to his knees when he saw how close he was to losing them. Maddie was strapped to the bed and her stomach was exposed. Binouix had already cut Maddie beginning from the left and had stopped at the center. He saw the blood running down her belly. It looked like a shallow cut, to Connor’s relief.
Binouix’s eyes flashed fear when he saw Connor’s cold stare. The rage on Connor’s face was palpable. His eyes had turned a dark blue, and were icy. His body was tense as every muscle was engaged ready for battle. Connor and the other giants behind him chased the air out of the room.
“Connor!” Maddie yelled in relief.
“Step away or I will kill the baby and her!” Binouix yelled in a hysterical voice. Expecting an attack, his eyes darted everywhere frantically.
Connor’s silent stance scared Binouix more than if Connor would have said something. Connor’s eyes remained intently fixated on him. He acted so swiftly, Binouix was caught off guard. Binouix was sprawled on the floor suddenly.
“We’ll settle this now. I relish the thought of feeling yer life drain as I squeeze it from ye,” Connor growled, standing over the Binouix
’s stooped form.
Iain and Kiel rushed over to Maddie after their initial shock faded. Connor had not told them that Maddie was expecting.
Iain and Kiel untied Maddie. Iain let her sit up and she grabbed his arm as a cramp overtook her. She whimpered, catching Connor unaware as he looked over to her. This gave Binouix an advantage.
Binouix stood quickly and swung at Connor. Connor caught the punch in his fist, twisting the arm and breaking it. He punched Binouix in his middle. Binouix grunted as Connor punched him over and over in his stomach.
Connor was lost in a world of madness. He wanted Binouix dead. He let go of Binouix’s fist and backed up a step. Connor’s smile gave Binouix a chill down his spine. That, and the laird’s wild soulless eyes.
“Why doona ye try yer antics on me, bastard? See what it is like to have a man hit back instead of preying on a defenseless woman!”
Iain carried Maddie to a chair on the other side of the room. Immediately, Iain, Kiel, Athyn, Kirk, and Hugh stood around her as a protective wall. Maddie could see the fight, though it was only through a tiny opening between Hugh and Kirk.
Binouix lunged at Connor with a dagger. Maddie kept herself from crying out so that she wouldn’t distract Connor again. She also kept silent throughout the next couple of excruciatingly painful cramps. She held on to Iain’s plaid, twisting it in her grasp. He looked down at her questioningly, but said nothing when he saw the pain on her face.
Connor took Binouix’s hand, the one attached to his broken arm, and broke the wrist. The crack of bone resounded, as did Binouix’s scream of pain.
“Bastard!” he moaned.
“A little broken wrist will be the least of yer worries.”
Connor advanced forward and Binouix took his sword in his good hand.
“Ah, playing fair eludes ye. To grab a sword and threaten to use it when yer adversary is unarmed is dishonorable, but it will make us as evenly matched as ye could possibly get.”
Connor laughed at Binouix’s frightened expression.
The hair on Binouix’s arms rose. Connor’s laugh was bone-chilling.
The Highlander Who Saved Me (Heart of a Highlander Collection Book 2) Page 26
