Highland Devotion (The Band of Cousins Book 7)

by Keira Montclair

  “I don’t understand why I’m here.” She could have admitted to Sela that Mal was her brother, but she didn’t want anyone to associate her with him, so she kept that information to herself.

  Sela took a deep breath and heaved a sigh. “Leena, I did what I could to protect you from all of this. Have you never heard of The Channel of Dubh?”

  Linet closed her eyes with a sigh, then opened them again. It was just as she’d feared. “Aye, I’ve heard of it, and I don’t wish to be sent across the waters. Please help me. Keep me from being one of the lasses they sell.”

  “They don’t just sell lasses,” Sela said in an uncharacteristically small voice. “They sell lads as well. Anything to gain them coin. They steal whomever they can and sell them across the sea as fast as they can. This is to be a huge shipment, larger than any they’ve ever tried before, and they want your help.”

  “My help? Why? And where are they keeping all these lads and lasses?”

  “You’ll see on the morrow. But do not cross them. I’m warning you, unless you wish to be sold along with the others, you’ll do as they say. At this point, you’ll not be sent on the ship.”

  “But the Ramsays are here. The Grants and the Ramsays, they’ve brought guards. They’ll try to save me, I’m certain of it.”

  “The men of The Channel know what they are up against. They had men implanted at Clan Ramsay so they know their numbers. They’ve hired enough English fighters to far outnumber the Ramsay guards. They’ve been preparing for this shipment for quite some time. They believe they’ll earn enough money that they’ll never have to work again. These cruel men will do whatever it takes to succeed. Don’t cross them or they’ll kill you. ’Tis that simple.” She stared at a spot on the wall, her eyes glazing over. “These men…’tis a type of viciousness beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

  Linet closed her eyes, absorbing all that she’d heard, wondering what else could possibly go wrong. Even so, she wasn’t ready to give up hope. She had faith in Gregor and his family. “But you saw what happened at Inverness. The Ramsays and Grants are not to be underestimated.”

  “They’ve learned their lesson and hired more men than they think they need. What happened in Inverness did inspire them to change the location of their headquarters to South Berwick and ramp up the schedule for the shipment.”

  “Why do you stay?” She couldn’t help but wonder why Sela would work for these kind of men.

  “I have my reasons,” she said flatly.

  As did Linet. Her reason was Merewen.

  What was Sela’s?

  ***

  “While you’re readying the horses, I’ll be right back,” Nari said, dancing from one foot to another, “I have to take another…” He stopped, staring at Maggie and Merewen, trying to decide if he could use his favorite word in front of them, but then decided against it. “I’ll be right back.”

  He dashed off toward town, knowing the perfect spot to pish in. It was his favorite because he could sometimes hit the stone on the far side of the bush with his stream. As he raced down the empty path, he pulled out his pretend sword and cut down three imaginary men who were in his way, swinging it exactly the way he’d seen Gregor do when he’d killed those bastards just inside the whorehouse. He’d snuck inside to watch. When he drove his blade into the last one’s heart, he flexed his arms so they looked big like Gregor’s and Connor’s. Then he spat on the bastards with a snort. “Daft whoremonger bastards.” He giggled a bit because he’d used two curse words, even if he was unsure what they all meant. Someday he’d be as strong as Gregor. He might even be as tall as Connor Grant. Mayhap Gregor would make him a real Ramsay guard someday.

  He’d eat whenever and whatever he wanted. Even fruit pastries like they’d served them in the inn.

  He found his bush and relieved himself, surprised to see a horse headed toward him. He finished his business, then glanced up at the man as he passed by.

  He knew that man!

  He whirled around and ran so hard down the path that his feet almost came out from under him. Gregor would be so proud of him!

  He halted directly in front of Will and Maggie, who’d already mounted. One horse snorted a warning to him, but he ignored the beast, his gaze searching the area for Gavin or Gregor.

  He needed to deliver his report directly to a Ramsay.

  Then he glanced up at Maggie again and realized she was a Ramsay. For a moment he debated what to do—she was a Ramsay, aye, but she was still a lass. Lasses couldn’t do what lads could. But this one was different…

  “Nari?” she asked. “Something wrong?”

  He heard Gregor’s voice at last, so he followed it and shouted, “My lord, guess what?”

  “What?” Gregor asked, tipping his head toward him.

  “I found the man you all hate. I just saw him on horseback heading out of town.”

  “How many with him?” Gregor asked. His face had gone dark and angry, just like how Nari’s sire had looked when he’d learned Thorn’s sire was not coming home.

  “None, he was alone.”

  Gregor mounted his horse and held his hand down to Nari. “Lead me to him.”

  “Who did he see?” Maggie asked as Gregor passed them, Nari now mounted in front of him.

  “Earc. I’m going after that bastard.”

  Nari giggled and slapped his thigh at the curse word. He’d done a good job this time.

  Mayhap he’d get a meat pie after all.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Get up, Linet.”

  Mal’s voice called to her early the next morning. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. The only other person sleeping behind the partition was Sela, who lay unmoving in her bed.

  “You have five minutes to get yourself settled. Then meet me in the hall.”

  He slammed the door closed and left. At least he hadn’t bothered her in the middle of the night.

  She stood up and stretched, pleased to see a jug of water on the small side table. Finishing her ablutions, she wiped her teeth with a linen square and left the room, ignoring the two men sleeping on the other side of the partition.

  Once she entered the hall, all talking ceased. She stepped to one side, awaiting Mal’s bellow.

  To her surprise, two men were seated while Mal and about a dozen others stood around them. She’d never seen either of the men before. One called out, “Agnes. Bring the lass bread and cheese.”

  He spoke with an English accent, as did the man beside him, who surprised her when he said kindly, “Sit, my dear.”

  Linet swallowed and took a seat at the table closest to her.

  Apparently, that didn’t suit the man in charge. “Over here, Leena,” he said with a smile, tapping the table in front of him.

  She did as he bid but chose a chair at the far end of the table. A woman brought her a trencher of food and a goblet of goat’s milk. She thanked her and downed the milk quickly, knowing she’d probably not get much later. Gregor had reminded her that no matter what happened, she would always need to keep up her strength.

  As she bit into a small wedge of cheese she’d been given, the leader of the group motioned for the other men to sit at other tables, telling the woman to feed them all porridge.

  “Now, Leena. You can refer to me as Dee and this is Guy. We don’t use our proper names here, just like Sela gave you a name different from the one your parents gave you. We’re grateful and pleased you are finally here because we have an important job for you.”

  His kindness sounded false, but she’d accept it rather than the alternative. What did they want from her anyway? She would soon find out.

  “We have a few lassies who have turned sick. We would like you to visit with them, tend their illness, and make them better within a few days. They’re taking a journey in a sennight, and we need them to be hale and hearty by then.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “In a few days? That could be difficult dependi
ng on what kind of sickness ’tis that they carry. I have none of my potions or salves.”

  “We’ll get you whatever you need. There are plenty of herbalists in Berwick. You will see them and tell us what will heal them. They must be ready to leave in a sennight, though we’d prefer for them to improve sooner. Do you have any questions?”

  “Nay, I’ll do my best.” She took another bite of the bread in front of her, keeping her gaze averted, though she did her best to memorize everything about the two Englishmen.

  If, no when, the Ramsays saved her, she’d want to give them as much information as possible.

  “You have five minutes to finish. Then we go.”

  She nodded, not willing to question a man capable of frightening Sela and Mal. The man’s shirt was dotted with dried blood, but she cared not to know where it had come from.

  When she finished, she wiped her mouth with a linen square and stood. The two men immediately got to their feet. Guy said to Mal, “The three of us will go alone. Keep everyone away from us. Send more guards down the path to ensure no one comes any closer to us.”

  Linet kept her gaze down, refusing to look at the brother she despised as she followed the Englishmen. She’d never get away from a place with this many guards, at least not on her own.

  She had to believe Gregor would find her.

  The men led her to the small building off to the left, and a sound reached her ears, a horrible, heart-wrenching sound that grew louder the closer they came—bairns crying—a weak, sad cry that told her they were ill.

  The first man to reach the small building opened the door. She followed him in, and the smell was so repulsive she nearly stepped back out. Both men did, holding the door open as wide as possible.

  She stayed until her eyes adjusted to the sunlight casting shadows across the faces of the ill. Five bairns of varying ages under five summers lay on pallets inside. Vomit pooled in a basin at the back of the room. One woman sat in a chair staring into the distance.

  “Working hard, Matilda?” Dee drawled.

  “I can’t help them. They heave and mess their rags. Nothing I can do for them.” The look on her face told Linet exactly how hard she’d been working to help the bairns.

  Linet would do all she could to help these bairns because she knew something the others didn’t. The Ramsays would attempt to save them within a sennight. She knelt down next to a child who appeared to be around three winters old. Her skin was dry and gray, her eyes vacant, her fair hair dull, but her gaze locked onto Linet as if she were the wee one’s last hope.

  “Mama?” the wee lass whispered.

  “Nay, I’m not your mother, sweet one.” She touched the child’s cheeks, then placed the back of her hand against the child’s forehead. That burst of heat told her the little one’s body was racked with fever. She doubted the lassie would be able to lift her head off the pillow.

  “Well? What must we do to heal them? Find some potion to give them to make them better.” Dee’s burst of instructions sounded as cold as she would have expected.

  This was not as simple as giving them a potion. Her guess was that because they’d been underfed, they’d caught something, and it had spread amongst them.

  Linet stood back up and stepped outside the building, the door still propped open. “What have you been feeding them?”

  Guy looked to Matilda. “Answer her question.”

  “Naught. I’ve given them naught because they just heave it or send it out their back end.”

  He glanced back to Linet and raised his brows.

  “I know not what they have,” she said, “but they are thirsty and starving to death. If you don’t give them some liquid, goat’s milk or something, they’ll die. Once a child stops heaving, you must give them something to drink. ’Tis the most important potion according to my mistress.”

  “I think we should bleed them. ’Tis the most common practice,” Dee added.

  “Nay!” Linet insisted. Mayhap she’d be punished for her boldness, but they’d asked her to cure the bairns. “If you do so, they’ll be dying by the morrow. None are heaving now so you must feed them. How about broth? Allow them to drink mutton broth or something similar.” She recalled how upset Mistress Brenna had become at the mention of bleeding a bairn at the Ramsay keep. That refusal had always stayed in her mind.

  “How do we do that? They’re barely awake,” Matilda said.

  “If someone brings us broth, I shall assist you in feeding them.”

  The two men exchanged a look, and Guy nodded to Dee and left. Dee, the one who’d acted so kindly, said, “He’ll see it done. I’ll be back to check on the bairns on the morrow, and if they’re not better, I’ll consider it your fault.” He spun on his heel and left, closing the door behind him.

  Linet stood outside the small building, leaning back against the cold stone for support. Her knees had weakened and her belly churned, all due to a thought she’d had.

  A thought that she believed with a certainty that frightened her.

  If there were five bairns this sickly, there had to be more.

  How many?

  ***

  Gregor spurred his horse forward. “Point in the direction he headed, Nari. I want this bastard.”

  “That way, my lord!” The lad’s excitement at the chase was quite contagious. “We’ll catch him. Silver is the fastest horse ever.”

  “Aye, he is pretty fast.” He wouldn’t stop until he caught up with Earc. If they caught him now, they’d find Linet more quickly. None of them knew South Berwick at all.

  They rode to the edge of town and then beyond it, into a meadow. It wasn’t long before he saw the lines of what appeared to be a horse in front of them…a horse that suddenly sped up.

  They had the bastard.

  Gregor leaned down to Nari, who looked up at him with shining eyes. “Lad, I’m going to pull abreast of his horse, then jump onto it to knock him off. I don’t want to kill him. You’ll have to grab the reins when we’re close, then calm Silver. Can you do that for me?”

  “Aye, I’ll do it. Silver likes me,” he said, his hands reaching for the reins.

  “Not yet. I have to get him close enough to jump. You’ll have to wait until I leap.”

  “I can do it. You can count on me. There he is! We’re gaining on him.”

  “Aye, we are.”

  Gregor waited until they were alongside Earc, who had tried to change his direction when he had not managed to outpace them. As soon as he was close enough, he said, “Grab the reins, Nari.”

  He jumped straight at Earc, knocking him off the side of his horse. He sailed across the meadow with him, landing directly on top of him.

  In a perfect position for pummeling.

  Pummel the bastard he did. When he saw his face was bloodied enough, he paused and grabbed him by his tunic. “Rotten bastard. You dared to defile a Ramsay plaid? You’ll lead me to where they’re keeping Linet or else.”

  Earc smirked. “Or else what?”

  “Or else I’ll take you back and let my brother and Uncle Logan at you at the same time.”

  Earc dared to chuckle. “Our men did a good job on your Uncle Logan. He’s no threat any longer.” Earc spat a stream of red saliva off to the side.

  Gregor held his dagger at Earc’s throat. “And where are all those men you sent after my uncle? How many of them have joined you here? Och, you’ve forgotten, have you? I’ll remind you. They’re all dead and my uncle lives. They’re as dead as you’ll be if you don’t lead me to Linet.”

  A group of horses came up behind him, just as Nari returned with Silver. Gavin, Merewen, Maggie, and Will surrounded him with the other Ramsay guards they’d brought along, some cursing Earc out.

  Gavin grinned. “Need some assistance, Gregor? I’d love to help you beat this traitor until he cannot speak.”

  “Nay, not now. He’ll lead us straight to the compound where they’re keeping Linet and the other prisoners. Mayhap we’ll meet up with our other cousins. Yo
u know the Grants, aye, Earc? Connor, Braden, and Roddy Grant are already in South Berwick with a few of their own guards.”

  Earc’s gaze narrowed. “I’ll lead you to Linet because I’m outnumbered, but all the Grant and Ramsay guards you have won’t be worth anything against the guards the Dubh men have hired. You’ll all be killed, so I’m taking you to your death. But ’twill make entertainment for me, so please…allow me to gain my horse and I’ll take you straight into the Channel of Dubh.” A wicked grin twisted his lips. “You’ll see what makes us so powerful. And you’ll wish you hadn’t.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Linet sat in the middle of the small building on a stool, one laddie on her lap. The poor boy could barely lift his head, but she fed him with tiny sips of broth. He awakened whenever the liquid rolled into his wee mouth, and he would swallow and open his eyes to gaze at her.

  What an awful situation for these bairns.

  She’d fed each one as much as they would take, so she stood up, settled them all, and headed toward the door. “I shall return, Matilda.”

  The woman said nothing, so she headed back over to the main building. Opening the door as quietly as possible, she peeked around the corner, surprised to see two young lasses cleaning the main hall. No one else was around so she stepped inside. “Greetings to you. Have you seen Sela?”

  “Nay,” the red-haired lass answered, her nose covered with freckles. She pointed to her friend. “Bess said they took her.”

  “Who took her?”

  Bess blushed and looked away, her tight black plait swinging. “They took her. Dee and Guy. We don’t know why. Elsie and I don’t ask. We just listen.”

  “Do you know where they went?”

  They shook their heads in tandem.

  On a whim, Linet felt compelled to ask, “How old are you lassies?”

  Bess replied, “I’m ten summers and Elsie is ten and two.”