by Connie Mason
Ross was angry at himself, angry at Gillian, and angry at the predicament in which he found himself. Though he wasn’t accustomed to groveling, he had done so and been rejected. Because he knew he was upsetting Gillian, he took himself off.
MacKay was waiting for him in the hall. “Did Gillian tell you she is returning to Braeburn with us?”
“Aye, she did, but I didna give her leave to go. She is in no condition to travel.”
“The weather is still holding. We can pad a cart with furs and bundle her up. My daughter’s life is in danger as long as she remains at Ravenscraig.”
Ross turned on him. “Nay, Gillian belongs at Ravenscraig. She’s carrying my bairn; I am her husband. ’Tis my responsibility to take care of her.”
MacKay turned belligerent. His son and his kinsmen, noting their laird’s confrontational stance, rallied to him, presenting a united front.
“I doona wish to fight you, MacKay, but you have no legal say over your daughter. I am her husband and will do whatever is necessary to keep her at Ravenscraig.”
They stood nose to nose, neither man willing to give an inch. The tension intensified as Ross’s kinsmen reached for their weapons.
Gizela appeared out of nowhere. With little concern for her own safety, she inserted herself between the two powerful lairds, glaring at each man in turn.
“Your argument is pointless,” she chided. “Gillian canna travel. If you wish the bairn to remain safe within her, she must remain in bed until I give her leave to rise.”
“My lass isna safe here,” MacKay charged, pushing Gizela aside. “She belongs at Braeburn, where she can be protected.”
“You insult me, MacKay. Gillian will remain at Ravenscraig under my protection,” Ross growled, taking a menacing step toward MacKay. “Naught you say will change my mind.”
With surprising strength, Gizela shoved the two men apart. “There is another solution,” Gizela said. “If you canna take Gillian away from the danger, send the danger away from Gillian. Laird Ross has already decided to send Seana McHamish away.”
MacKay seemed to relax. “Aye, the solution makes sense. I will personally provide men to escort Seana McHamish to her father’s keep.”
Niall leaped to his feet, hands clenched at his sides. “You have no reason to send my wife away, Ross. She has done naught. I refuse to believe she is a danger to Gillian.”
“Gillian was pushed down the stairs, Niall. She didna fall,” Ross explained. With slow deliberation he searched each face in the hall, beginning with Gordo and continuing until he had looked every man in the eye. “Tell me, Niall, which one of my kinsmen would commit such an evil deed.”
“None of us would hurt your wife, even though there were times we didna trust her,” Gordo said.
“That doesna mean Seana did it,” Niall exclaimed. “She isna evil.”
“Where is Seana, Niall?”
“I am here, Ross,” Seana said, pushing through the circle of MacKay and MacKenna clansmen.
“Did you push Gillian down the stairs?” Niall asked.
“Nay, I am innocent.”
Gizela snorted. “So you say. Did you know Gillian is carrying the laird’s heir?”
“No one knew, not even Ross,” Niall argued, pulling Seana close.
Seana smiled up at Niall. “Mayhap Gillian is lying about being pushed. Mayhap she wanted the laird’s sympathy.”
“Enough!” MacKay shouted. “This isna solving the problem.” He rounded on Ross. “What say you, Ross MacKenna?”
Ross didn’t doubt Gillian. If she said someone had pushed her, then she was pushed. Furthermore, he’d stake his life on his kinsmen’s innocence. His every instinct pointed to Seana. Though he loved his cousin well, he couldn’t in good conscience allow Seana to remain at Ravenscraig. Why couldn’t Niall see Seana for what she was?
“I’m sorry, Niall. I promised Gillian that I would send Seana away. I canna risk the lives of my wife and bairn.”
“If she goes, I go with her,” Niall bit out.
“So be it. ’Tis your choice, not mine. I love you too well to send you away.”
“Where will you go?” Mackay asked. “McHamish willna welcome his daughter in his keep after the part she played in his attack upon your cousin. He is deeply ashamed of attacking MacKenna.”
“Aye, ’tis true,” Ross agreed. “I spoke with McHamish myself. Neither he nor his wife wants Seana to return to their keep. McHamish’s wife is carrying his bairn, and she doesna trust Seana.”
“We will leave in the morning and seek shelter with one of my kinsmen,” Niall said. “But ’tis only a temporary solution. I will learn the truth for myself and act accordingly. If Seana is guilty of evil deeds, I will disavow her.”
Ross’s relief was palpable when he returned to the solar and found Gillian asleep. It wasn’t going to be easy telling her she would not be leaving with her father.
Another fear was that Niall wouldn’t heed his advice where Seana was concerned. Ross knew Niall was too bewitched by Seana to take her evil nature seriously. Seana knew too much about poisons and potions to be trusted. Afraid that Seana might try to harm Gillian before she left, Ross had decided to stay close to Gillian himself until Seana had left Ravenscraig.
Ross threw some wood on the dying fire, undressed, and climbed into bed beside his slumbering wife. Just lying next to her lush, warm body again was pure heaven. The moment his arms went around her, she sighed and cuddled into the curve of his body. Exhausted from the turmoil of the past several days, Ross fell deeply asleep.
He arose the next morning before Gillian awakened and hurried below to bid MacKay and Niall farewell. Niall and Seana hadn’t appeared yet when Ross entered the hall.
“Good morrow,” MacKay said. “We have broken our fast, and our horses await us in the courtyard. Your cousin and Seana havena appeared yet. We are waiting to make sure they leave before we return to Braeburn. I doona trust the McHamish lass.”
A niggling feeling of dread crept down Ross’s spine. Intuition told him that all was not as it should be. “Nor do I. I will send someone to fetch them.”
He searched the hall for Donald, saw him, and beckoned to him. Donald had taken no more than a few steps when Niall staggered drunkenly into the hall.
“Where is she?” Niall gasped, falling heavily against Ross.
Ross supported his cousin in his arms. “What has Seana done to you?” Ross cried. No answer was forthcoming. Several kinsmen ran up to help ease Niall onto a bench.
“Fetch Gizela,” Ross ordered.
“I am here, laird,” Gizela said, appearing at his side.
“What is wrong with my cousin?”
“Stand aside. Give me room to examine him.”
Ross backed up, motioning everyone else out of the way. Gizela pulled back Niall’s eyelids, clucking her tongue as his eyes rolled back in his head. She checked the color of his skin, examined his fingernails, and smelled his breath.
“He’s been dosed with valerian, a strong tranquilizer. He probably imbibed it last night, most likely in his wine. I doona believe he drank enough to kill him, else he would already be dead.”
“Where is that witch he married?” MacKay roared.
“Donald, instigate a search of the keep. Gordo, check the stable. See if any horses are missing. And then speak to the keeper of the gate. I asked that the gates be opened early this morning in preparation for MacKay’s and Niall’s departure. I have a feeling Seana may have left Ravenscraig. She is verra good at disappearing.”
“Good riddance,” Gizela muttered. “I saw Seana fleeing in a vision. I was on my way to tell you of my vision when Niall staggered into the hall.”
“Do you know where she went, Gizela?” Ross asked.
Gizela nodded solemnly. “Aye, but Angus Sinclair willna welcome her.”
“She went to Sinclair? Again? I should have known.”
Gordo and Donald returned to report their findings a short time later. “Seana is nowhere
in the keep,” Donald said.
“One horse is missing from the stable, and the gatekeeper saw a rider leave shortly before dawn,” Gordo reported. “It was dark. He couldna see clearly and didna think it was important enough to report.”
“Och, I care not where the woman went,” MacKay retorted. “I’ll be on my way, MacKenna. It looks like the weather is about to turn, and I dare not tarry. I hope we are rid of Seana McHamish for good. As for Sinclair, ’tis time he was taught a lesson. In the spring I intend to lay siege to his keep and present it to one of my sons when he weds.” He glanced at the slumbering Niall. “I hope your kinsman survives.”
“Farewell, Tearlach MacKay. Come spring we will take on Sinclair together. Doona worry about Gillian or Niall. Gizela is the finest healer in all the Highlands.”
MacKay’s party took their leave. Ross saw Niall safely back in bed before returning to the solar and Gillian.
Gillian was sitting up in bed when Ross entered the bedchamber. She looked sleepy-eyed and deliciously disheveled. He approached the bed and sat down on the edge.
“Why is Alice not here to help me dress?” Gillian asked. “If I know my father, he is impatient to leave, and I amna ready.”
“Alice isna coming to help you dress, sweeting. You canna leave your bed today. You are to keep to your bed until Gizela says you are ready to leave it.”
“I feel fine,” Gillian maintained, wincing as she tried to scoot up against the headboard. “Has Da agreed to wait until Gizela pronounces me able to travel?”
“You are not returning to Braeburn—not now, not ever.”
“But last night you said—”
“I never agreed to your leaving. You just assumed I had.”
“Did you send Seana away? You ken I canna stay as long as she is a threat to me and my bairn.”
“I said I would send her away, did I nae? Think you I would allow anyone to hurt you and my bairn? Seana is gone. She and Niall were supposed to leave Ravenscraig this morning.”
“I’m surprised Niall would let her go.”
“Seana sneaked off early this morning. She drugged Niall so he couldna stop her. I should have kenned she would disappear, since she’s done the same before.”
“Is Niall all right?”
“Gizela said he’ll be fine. A jug of drugged wine was found in his bedchamber.”
“Where could Seana have gone? I doubt her father will welcome her return.”
“I agree. Your father and I share the opinion that Seana has returned to Sinclair.”
Gillian mulled over this surprising turn of events before speaking. “Be that as it may, Ross, I would feel more comfortable at Braeburn.”
Frustrated, Ross ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Tell me what to do to make things better between us. Jealousy made me say things I will regret the rest of my life. When I learned about the bairn, I saw Angus Sinclair’s face and recalled that he was the man you claimed to love, the man you’d hoped to wed.”
“Angus didna touch me. If he had, I would have found a way to kill him.”
Ross grinned. “Why do I find that so easy to believe? I ken your skill with a sword and your cunning and Connie Mason your courage. Just thinking about you with another man makes me daft. I care deeply for you, Gillian.”
Gillian gave her head a vigorous shake. “You care for me? What is that supposed to mean?”
Reaching out, he gently brushed a strand of flaming hair away from her cheek. Now was the time to tell Gillian that he loved her. Whether she believed him or not made little difference. This was something he had to do. “Do you nae ken what I’m trying to tell you?”
Gillian pushed his hand away. “I amna good at guessing games. Mayhap you should tell me what you are trying to say.”
Gillian’s nerves were shredded raw by the time he answered her question. “I amna a man given to fancy words, or one to spout poetry; I can only state plainly and truthfully what is in my heart.”
“What is your heart telling you, Ross?”
Ross took a deep breath and said, “I love you, Gillian MacKay.” The breath whooshed out of him. “There, I said it.”
When Gillian opened her mouth to speak, he held up his hand. “Nay, say naught. I ken you are nae well and need time to heal, so I willna push for a response. I ken you doona return my love, but I am willing to wait.”
Gillian could hold her tongue no longer. “Why did you nae tell me you loved me before you learned I was carrying your bairn? ”Tis not me you love, Ross. ’Tis the bairn that’s growing inside me.”
“You’re wrong, lass. I love both of you. I’ve denied my feelings for you too long. You’ve become a part of me, a part I canna bear to live without. There is something about you that calls to something in me. Something compelling, something I’ve finally figured out. I love you, Gillian MacKay.”
Denial rode Gillian hard. Why hadn’t Ross said anything before now? All the times he had turned away from her, had distrusted her, were difficult to forget. Not too long ago he had begged her father to take her away, had been eager to abandon their marriage. Her head began to ache.
“Please leave. I’m weary.”
Ross rose. “Gizela will have my hide if I tire you. I should check on Niall anyway. Please doona reject my love, lass. All I ask is that you give me a chance to prove how I feel.”
Gillian nodded jerkily, then clutched her head. “I canna think right now. Send Gizela to me.”
Ross bent and gently kissed the purple knot on her forehead. “I didna intend to distress you. I’ll fetch Gizela immediately.”
Gillian breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind Ross. Too many thoughts ran through her head. Ross’s kinsmen didn’t like her, his former leman had tried to kill her, and then Ross had stunned her by saying he loved her. No wonder her head ached.
Gillian loved Ross so deeply, it seemed like a miracle that he returned her love.
The problem, as Gillian saw it, was that she didn’t believe in miracles.
Chapter Eighteen
Sinclair Keep
An agitated Angus Sinclair paced back and forth before Seana McHamish, ranting and raving, stopping periodically to stab a stubby finger at her.
“Why did you nae send word to me that Gillian was alive? I canna believe you let me believe the lass was dead. Did you arrange her escape and lie to me about it?”
No answer was forthcoming.
“I shouldna have opened my gates to you,” Angus raged. “I should have let you find a more welcoming shelter. Blast and damn! I sent a message to the MacKay, informing him that his daughter was dead.”
“I didna set Gillian free,” Seana lied. “If she escaped, one of your kinsmen was responsible. I didna know she was alive until I returned to Ravenscraig.”
Her lies fell on deaf ears. “You ruined everything. All my scheming, all my plans were for naught. Now Braeburn will never be mine. After years of preparing, of making things work my way, all is lost to me.”
“You are a fool, Angus Sinclair. The MacKay still has three male heirs in line to inherit Braeburn. I fail to ken how keeping the MacKenna’s wife in your tower would aid your plans. She isna free to wed you.”
“Nay, you are the fool, Seana McHamish. You ken naught about my plans. The terms of the truce state that the feud would resume if Gillian abandoned MacKenna and her marriage. I made sure MacKenna and his kinsmen heard Gillian state her wish to leave him.”
“I ken you wanted the feud to resume, but I dinna ken why. How would it benefit you?”
Exasperated, Angus dug his fingers through his hair. “Are you dense? When men die in the heat of battle, no one kens whose sword slays whom. Two of MacKay’s sons fell on the battlefield. The other three would have died, too, had the feud continued, and then MacKay himself would perish. I would then become laird of Braeburn through my marriage to Gillian.
“But MacKay had to seek peace and wed his daughter to MacKenna.” Disgust colored his words. “Gillian
and Braeburn were lost to me, unless Gillian left MacKenna or MacKenna died. When she was forced from Ravenscraig, I was presented with the perfect opportunity to make my dream come true. And then you betrayed me and set her free. Even worse, you made me believe Gillian was dead.”
“You accuse me falsely,” Seana insisted, unwilling to admit her guilt. “Even if Gillian wasna set free, you couldna wed her. She has a living husband, and you canna predict that MacKay and his sons would die.”
A crafty smile curved Angus’s lips. “None of them would have lived long once the clans took up their swords and resumed the feud.”
Seana gasped as comprehension dawned. “You killed MacKay’s sons! Had the fighting continued, you intended to kill the MacKay and his surviving sons.”
Angus shrugged. “ ’Tis no worse than what you tried to do to MacKenna. Unfortunately your poison failed to kill the bastard. I had to take matters into my own hands or lose everything.”
Angus paced away from Seana and then spun around, his expression grim. “Did you flee to Ravenscraig after you left here?”
Seana nodded.
“Why did you leave? Whom did you try to kill this time?”
Seana grimaced. “Doona think you are better than I am, Angus Sinclair. I but gave Gillian a wee shove down the stairs, but the wench has more luck than sense. Had Ross not stopped her downward plunge, she might have tumbled all the way to the bottom and broken her neck.”
“You pushed Gillian down the stairs?”
“I hate her,” Seana spat. “She is the reason I lost Ross. She prevented me from fulfilling my dreams. wanted to be mistress of Ravenscraig. I wanted Ross MacKenna, but he banished me from Ravenscraig. Fleeing seemed a better choice than letting Niall take me where I didna want to go.”
“I wonder what MacKay thought when he received my message. I hoped he would hold MacKenna responsible for Gillian’s death. Had I known Gillian was alive and at Ravenscraig, I wouldna have sent the message to MacKay. Because of you, I have signed my own death warrant. By now Gillian has told her husband and father what really happened to her, how I held her prisoner and forced her to deny her marriage and lie to MacKenna. I’m as good as dead.”
