His Highland Lass (The Clan Sinclair Book 1)

by Celeste Barclay

  She looked around and tried to judge just how far she had travelled under water. She did not recognize anything on either side of the river. She floated on her back again as she looked in the direction from which she had come. She could not see Alan anywhere. She whistled once again but she was no longer sure which direction the river flowed. When nothing stirred, she rolled back onto her stomach and swam to the shore. She pulled herself from the river and lay panting on the shore. I shall close ma eyes for just a moment to catch ma breath. The world quickly went black around her.

  Chapter Twenty

  “That call means she is to the east.” Callum called out. He switched directions and the search party followed him. It was leading them to the sounds of a fast moving river. As they approached the bank, they could clearly see two sets of footprints. One was large and sunken quite far into the mud and the other was smaller and sat higher in the mud.

  “It is them.” Alexander looked across the river and then plunged in without another word. He made short work of crossing the churning water and climbed onto the far bank. “There is only one set of prints over here.”

  Tristan scanned the far bank and the land further past it. There was nothing and no one there. He looked down the river and thought he saw something in the water. It looked to be brown and floating on the surface. His heart lurched as he thought it might be hair.

  “There! Down river! There!” He pointed and ran along the river bank towards what was becoming very clearly hair. Short hair. Alexander moved parallel to the group and they all stopped short when they spotted a man floating face down in the river. Alexander jumped back into the river and waded over to the man. He grabbed the man’s shoulders and turned him over. Alan’s face starred back up with open and unseeing eyes. Alexander pulled him to the bank where everyone else waited.

  “He couldnae swim even though I tried to teach him several times. Why would he have entered the river in such a deep spot kenning he couldnae swim?” Tristan’s eyes searched the shoreline on both sides for some hint as to where Mairghread might be. Alan would not have intentionally let her get that far. Perhaps he had entered the water to go after her. Tristan began to fear that Mairghread had been swept away by the current. As he began to turn back towards his men to tell them to fan out along the river, he noticed something stuck on the tree limb slightly further down the river. He moved towards it and instantly recognized the fabric that was caught on the tree. He waded into the river and pulled the material free.

  He waded out of the river and returned to the Sinclair brothers who were staring down at Alan’s dead body with varying degrees of hate and loathing. Tristan examined the material. It had clearly once been the skirt of Mairghread’s kirtle. Part of it was fairly cleanly town away but part of it was jaggedly ripped away. Tristan knew that Mairghread kept more than one knife on her so the one that was lodged in the dead guardsman was not her only weapon. She must have cut away her gown so she could swim free.

  He whistled and Thunder quickly emerged from the forest. His faithful steed had not been easy to train as a colt but the horse now responded like an extension of himself. He mounted his horse and held out the fabric.

  “She’s torn off her skirts so she could swim away. She must be further downstream. Angus and Seamus strap Alan to a horse and ride double. We take him to his màthair.” He kicked the sides of his horse and took off as the others mounted up behind him and followed.

  On horseback, they made quick progress along the riverbank. Tristan came across a spot where the mud was disturbed. He dismounted and looked around. Mairghread’s arisaid had been left behind when she fell from her horse outside the gates and now she had little of her kirtle left. Tristan began to worry that she would become ill with little clothing and being soaking wet. He felt an urgency to find her that boarded on panic. He forced himself to slow down and breathe as he looked at the mud. Magnus came alongside him. His brow was furrowed as he looked down and took a tentative step forward. He stared intently at the mud and squatted down for a closer look.

  “Look at the pattern in the mud. It shows where someone was lying down but then was dragged up the embankment. The imprint of the body is the right size for Mairghread but who would have dragged her away?”

  All of the men began to scan the surrounding area. There were small booted footprints at the top of the rise and two other sets, one larger and one roughly the same size as the booted footprints. They were not made by boots but bare feet. However, all three sets seemed to just disappear once they were at the top of the riverbank. There were no more to guide the search party.

  “Barefoot? No one lives around here that I am aware of. Why would anyone be barefoot? We havenae heard reports of any lawless men in these parts. Could Mairghread have lost her boots in the river? We are almost on the boundary with MacDonnell lands.”

  “MacDonnell? Isnae that where ye sent Alan and Lady Beatris?” Callum asked.

  “Aye, Lady Beatris was the auld MacDonnell laird’s wife and distant cousin before marrying ma athair. She grew up on those lands and still has kin there.”

  “That may explain where Alan was trying to take Mairghread but that doesnae explain where she is now or who took her.” Magnus commented.

  “We ride to the MacDonnell keep. I dinna look forward to telling Beatris that her son is dead, but they may be willing to help us look for Mairghread. We keep an eye open for her or anyone who might ken where she was taken.”

  Chapter Twenty One

  Her head pounded like the inside of a church bell. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she began to gag. As her mind cleared, she realized that there was something shoved in her mouth. She cracked her eyes open but the sunlight made them sting. She looked out from under her eyelashes to check her surroundings. She could not see much but what she did disoriented her. She was in a chamber but not one that she recognized. She stilled and listened to determine if she was alone. She did not hear anyone moving around but sensed that she was not alone.

  “Ye can cease pretending to be asleep. I ken ye’re awake now.” Mairghread knew that voice instantly and wanted to scream and thrash about. She quickly realized that not only was she gagged but she was bound to the bed as well. Her wrists and ankles were tied to the posts of the bed. With her kirtle torn away, she panicked that she was on display for anyone walking by. She breathed only slightly more easily when she felt a sheet covering her legs. Sorcha looked down at her. The sneer of victory on the scorned woman’s face told Mairghread all she needed to know. Alan and Sorcha had plotted to have her kidnapped and even though Alan was nowhere in sight, Sorcha was there to make Mairghread even more miserable.

  “Ye thought ye’d gotten away from Alan. Ye thought ye’d gained yer freedom. The eejit may not have been able to hold on to ye, but I willna let ye go till I am done with ye.”

  Mairghread breathed slowly through her nose and tried to calm her rising panic. She no longer feared Alan raping her but she much more feared Sorcha’s bitterness and vindictiveness. Mairghread knew that a woman could be far crueler in her jealousy than a man. She tried to piece together what had happened since she pulled herself out of the river. She vaguely remembered being pulled along the mud by two people but she had not had the strength to look around. Blackness kept overtaking her every time she tried to open her eyes. She remembered a sense of floating but now she realized someone must have been carrying her. She looked again at Sorcha. There was no way that she could have carried Mairghread anywhere which meant that another man had been there to do Sorcha’s bidding. Mairghread was slowly becoming aware of the various aches and pains in her body after the fall from the horse, the painful but short ride on Alan’s lap, and then the icy swim she had taken. She also became acutely aware that she was naked under the sheet.

  Bluidy bleeding hell! I’m bound, gagged, and naked with nae memory of how I came to be in this position. Ma betrothed’s scorned lover is holding me captive after ma scorned whateva Alan was to me lost me in a river. How
the bluidy hell am I going to get out of this? Tristan is surely looking fer me but does he even have a clue as to where I am. I definitely dinna ken where I am. I canna even ask since I’ve this rag in ma mouth.

  Mairghread looked around the chamber as she tried to get her bearings for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. The chamber was well appointed. There was glass in the windows and tapestries on the wall to cut down the chill. She could see clean rushes on the floor. The bed upon which she was tied had a soft mattress and clean sheets with blankets and furs at the foot of the bed. Just as Mairghread was starting to calm since she realized she was clearly in a keep somewhere, her world tilted again.

  “So the chit is awake?” Mairghread turned her head towards the door as Lady Beatris entered. Beatris moved to Mairghread’s bedside and looked down at her. “Ye thought ye were too good fer ma son but tis ma son who is too good fer ye. We have heard all about how ye’ve been carrying on with Tristan. Ye’ve been used more than a tavern wench in an ally.”

  Mairghread squinted her eyes as she took in Beatris’s pinched face. The longer Mairghread stared at her the redder her face grew. Before Mairghread could change her expression, Beatris’s hand whipped across Mairghread’s cheek making it sting and smart. Mairghread refused to flinch or allow her eyes to water despite how much her cheek hurt. This only infuriated Beatris more. She slapped Mairghread twice more before Sorcha grabbed her wrist.

  “As much as I would like to do the same, marking her face will make her harder to sell.”

  Sell! What are they talking aboot? Mairghread looked back and forth between the two women.

  Beatris looked back down at Mairghread and smirked at her confusion. “Aye, we plan to sell ye to a Norse slaver who comes by every fall. Ye will be a Viking bed slave before Christmastide.” Beatris cackled as she moved across the room. Before leaving, she turned back to Mairghread, “I hope ye learned something from Tristan’s time between yer thighs. Ye’ll need that knowledge if ye hope to survive yer new master.” Mairghread could still hear her laugh after the door closed.

  “Dinna look so shocked. Nae woman who holds Tristan’s interest is an innocent. He likes his women to ken their way around a cock. If he’s still sniffing at yer skirts, ye must be doing something right to his cock.” Sorcha sneered at Mairghread as she, too, moved to the door and then left.

  Alone finally, Mairghread tried to process everything that she had just heard. They assumed her to no longer be a virgin and they planned to sell her to a Norse slave trader. How the hell am I going to get out of this? I’m still bound and gagged and naked. Naught aboot that has changed. I have two women ready to send me to ma death or a life of hell and I still dinna ken exactly where I am. Tristan couldnae ken that Sorcha is with Beatris, and even though he kens where he sent Beatris, he canna ken that they have me. Where did he say that he sent Beatris? Mairghread’s normally steal trap memory could not recall which clan Tristan said Beatris was from. Her mind was fuzzy from exhaustion and the physical pain she was in. She shifted slightly on the bed to try to ease the tension in her shoulders and could only moan from the pain that shot through every part of her. Her eyes closed and she felt herself drifting. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard the door creak. Her eyes flew open as she saw a young woman of about eighteen or nineteen summers enter the room. Mairghread took in the pattern of the girl’s plaid. MacDonells! At least now she knew where she was. The woman carried a tray with food on it. Mairghread’s stomach growled loudly as the scents wafted towards her. She realized that she had not eaten since breaking her fast earlier that morning. She looked out the window and could see that the sun was rapidly setting.

  “Ma lady, I will remove yer gag but ken that there are two guards outside yer door. If ye scream, they will come in.” The young woman allowed her eyes to trail over Mairghread’s restrained body. With only a thin sheet covering her, it was better than nothing but left little to the imagination. The woman set the tray down and came slowly towards the bed. She approached as though she was nearing an injured wild animal. Mairghread tried to relax her body and her expression so the woman would know she had nothing to fear. The woman untied the gag from Mairghread’s mouth. Her throat ached and her jaw was sore from being pried open for so long.

  “Water,” she whispered. Her voice was rough from nonuse. “Please.”

  “Here ye are, ma lady.” The young woman gently placed a waterskin to Mairghread’s lips and allowed her to drink. “Nae too much too soon or ye will be ill.”

  After sipping slowly, Mairghread felt like her voice would be closer to normal so she attempted speaking again. It was still craggy but much stronger.

  “Who are ye? What’s yer name?”

  The young woman looked warry to answer but did anyway. “I am Alyson.”

  “Alyson, ye’re a MacDonnell, right? Is that where we are? The MacDonnell keep?”

  Alyson only nodded her head. She looked towards the door and put a finger to her lips. She neared Mairghread’s head and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “I dinna ken who else might be in the passageway. I am only to feed ye and allow ye to use the chamber pot if necessary. I was warned nae to speak to ye but I dinna think this is right. Ye shouldnae be tied up like a boar waiting for the spit.”

  While Mairghread did not appreciate the comparison to a grizzly boar, she could see the similarities and could not help but smile. Alyson looked at her as if she had gone soft in the head.

  “If I dinna smile then I will surely start crying. I dinna even ken how I got here but I do ken that Beatris and Sorcha plan me harm. If they succeed, they will surely start a clan war between the MacDonnells and the Sinclairs and Mackays. Neither ma athair nor ma betrothed will stand fer this.”

  “Isnae Alan yer betrothed? I thought he was why ye were here.”

  “Nay!” Mairghread answered in a harsh whisper. “Alan stole me from Mackay lands and then lost me in the river. I washed up on the shore and then the next thing I kenned I was waking up here to find Sorcha and Beatris planning to sell me to a Norse slaver.” Mairghread did not know why she had just shared all of this with Alyson but she was overwhelmed and, frankly, terrified.

  A knock came on the door and it opened a crack. A guard stuck his nose in and looked around. When his eyes landed on Mairghread, he leered at her and licked his lips. He looked over at Alyson. “Yer time is up. Come now.”

  “Nonsense, Duncan. Ye ken I just walked in. I must still feed Lady Mairghread. Close the door and wait fer me to come out. Open it again and I will tell the laird ye’ve been harassing his guest.”

  When the door closed, Mairghread raised her eyebrows. “Guest?”

  “Aye. No one kens who ye are and no one kens ye’re tied up and were gagged. Lady Beatris and Sorcha didna tell anyone who ye are and they definitely didna tell the laird that they had ye bound and gagged or placed guards at yer door. I only ken because Sorcha is ma cousin and she forced me to serve ye. No offense intended, ma lady.” Alyson’s cheeks pinkened when she realized how the last part came out.

  “Dinna be embarrassed. I am more than enough embarrassed fer both of us. Sorcha is yer cousin? Does that mean she is a MacDonnell?”

  “Nay, ma lady. Sorcha and her parents are completely Mackays. I am too but ma mother remarried a MacDonnell when I was still a wean. We moved here and I have been here ever since.”

  “How does yer laird nae ken that he has a prisoner in one of his guest chambers?”

  “Lady Beatris and Sorcha pretended not to recognize ye. Sorcha and one of the guardsman brought ye to the keep. They claimed to find ye by the river. Ye were soaking wet and yer kirtle was in tatters. It was such a distraction that nay body asked why they were there. It seemed to make sense. Lady Beatris had them bring ye above stairs and both women promised to tend to ye. The laird agreed as he gives in to Lady Beatris simply to keep the peace. He canna stand his stepmother.”

  “Stepmother? How is that? She’s Laird Mackay’s stepmother too.” />
  Alyson brought a bowl of steaming broth over to the bedside. She put it down on the table next to the bed and moved the pillows behind Mairghread’s head and shoulders to prop her up enough that she could swallow without choking. She held the bowl to Mairghread’s lips and let her sip slowly.

  “Aye, well Lady Beatris married the auld laird after his first wife died. Lady Mary, the auld laird’s first wife, had already birthed two sons and three daughters before she passed. Lady Beatris arrived a short time later because the laird needed a màthair for his children. She didna take any interest in the bairns and weans once she was wedded and bedded. Her belly started swelling with Sir Alan within four moons. As I’ve heard it, it raised some eyebrows but the auld laird liked his pretty young bride. The auld laird’s children were still left without a màthair . Lady Beatris spoiled Sir Alan when he was a wean and his aulder brothers and sisters didna take to him. When the current laird became laird, Lady Beatris left to marry Laird Mackay. Sir Alan was about three or four, I believe.”

  In all her conversations with Tristan, Lady Beatris and Alan’s history before arriving at the Mackays never came up. Mairghread wondered how much of it Tristan actually knew.

  “How have Lady Beatris and Sorcha settled in to being here now? What about Sir Alan? How long has Sorcha been here?” Mairghread thought Sorcha was still living in a croft on her own. She had not known that Sorcha left Mackay land.

  “Lady Beatris and Sir Alan arrived with Mackay guards several sennights ago. Sorcha only arrived less than a sennight ago. Lady Beatris claimed that Sorcha was her maid from when she lived with the Mackays and that she needed Sorcha’s help, that no one was better at dressing her hair than Sorcha. Alan seemed keen to have Sorcha keep him company most nights since none of the McDonnell women want to warm his bed. The laird has already had to stop Alan from assaulting more than one woman in the keep.”