“Sorcha wasnae Lady Beatris’s maid at the Mackay keep. Sorcha was a kitchen worker and server along with the laird’s lover.” It galled Mairghread to admit that out loud but there was nothing she could do to change the past. She could not undo Tristan’s history with other women and if she was being completely honest with herself, she benefited immensely from Tristan’s practice before she came along.
“Sorcha was Laird Mackay’s lover? She is now Alan’s. They seemed to ken each other vera well when she arrived. Vera well indeed.”
“I wonder if Alan was bedding her while Tristan was too. It wouldnae surprise me in the least.”
By now, Mairghread had finished the broth and the bit of crusty bread that went with it. Alyson cleaned up and replaced the bowl on the tray. She looked at Mairghread and shook her head. “Ma lady, I canna untie ye. Lady Beatris or Sorcha would nay doubt kill me if they found ye free. But I also canna bring maself to gag ye either. Will ye promise nae to scream or even make a peep? If ye will remain silent, I willna gag ye.”
“I will remain silent.” Fer now. “Thank ye fer yer kindness.”
“Aye, well I will be back before I retire for the night. I will bring more broth and help ye with the chamber pot if needed.”
Mairghread could only nod her head to that. She realized that meant that she was not even going to be untied to use the necessary if Alyson was offering to assist her with the chamber pot. How bluidy humiliating. Hmmm. I canna even remember how many times I have sworn today. I willna be able to confess all of them. I doubt I’m done for the day either. If either of those bitches return, well there is one more, I dinna think I will be able to stop maself from heaping more curses upon them.
Mairghread looked out the window again. The sun had set. It was evening and she could just make out the sounds of people gathering in the great hall below. She suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired. If I just close ma eyes for a wee while, I will regain ma strength fer when I need to fight. Fer a fight I will give them if they think to give me over to a Norseman.
Twenty Two
The search party made up of Mackay warriors, the Mackay laird, and the brothers Sinclair arrived at the McDonnell keep just as the evening meal was being laid out. Tristan and the Sinclairs entered the great hall with a contingent of McDonnell warriors surrounding them. They had agreed to surrender their weapons before entering the keep but each of them had at least one dirk hidden in a boot. No warrior was ever entirely without a weapon. Tristan looked around and spotted Lady Beatris seated at the dais. Two chairs down from her was the current laird, Malcolm McDonnell. Laird McDonnell looked up as the visitors approached the dais. He looked surprised to see Mackays and Sinclairs entering his keep together. Peacefully.
“To what do I owe this surprise visit?” He boomed from his seat. He stood and moved down to the floor to greet his guests. “Tristan, I havenae seen ye in ages. How are ye? Since when have ye become friendly with the Sinclairs?” While the McDonnells and Sinclairs lived far enough apart that they could not easily antagonize one another, they were not exactly warm to one another either. The four Sinclair brothers assumed their usual position of a semicircle with their arms crossed and feet planted hip-width apart.
“Malcolm, I am betrothed to Lady Mairghread Sinclair. She was stolen from ma land today by our mutual brother. Was she brought here?”
“Alan? Nay. I havenae seen him all day.”
“I didna ask if Alan was here. I ken where he is. What I dinna ken is where is ma woman.” He very nearly growled the last part. Malcolm’s eyebrows shot up. He had fair hair, fair skin, and fair eyebrows. His eyebrows seemed to almost disappear. He turned his sharp blue eyes on his former stepmother who was eying the group of men warily. As she began to rise, Malcolm grasped Tristan’s arm and waved him towards his solar. “If ye want to learn anything, this is nae the place to do it. Ye ken she will only interfere. Come to ma solar. All of ye.”
The men made their way to the back of the great hall and entered Laird McDonnell’s private sanctum. His solar was warm with a small fire burning. There were plenty of chairs available and a large round table in the center. Laird MacDonnell went to the sideboard and pulled out tin cups and a bottle of whisky. He poured and handed out the cups. Before speaking again, he took a long draw from his own cup. He looked at the Mackay and each of the Sinclairs. They looked haggard and impatient. He could only imagine what his bastard of a half-brother had done now.
“As I said, I havenae seen Alan all day. He rode out early this morning and hasnae returned.”
“And I told ye I ken exactly where he is. He’s dead and tied to a horse in yer bailey.”
“What!” Before he could go any further, a soft knock was heard. “Enter!”
Alyson entered with a tray that was overflowing with trenchers. She eased into the room and placed the tray on the table. With her head down, she moved about the table handing out the trenchers of steaming stew. As she moved next to Magnus, he dipped his head to look at her face.
“Thank ye, lass. Ma stomach thought ma mouth ran away.” Alyson giggled and blushed. She looked up and saw Magnus’s face clearly for the first time. She gasped and dropped the trencher she was about to place before Magnus. “Lass, are ye alright? What is it? I didnae think I was that ugly.”
“Ye’re, ye’re, ye’re. Well, ye’re you.” Alyson stammered and could not seem to gather her thoughts. She was looking at Lady Mairghread’s face but the masculine version and instead of stormy, angry blue-grey eyes there were warm, whisky brown eyes staring at her. Alyson looked around the table and began to shake. “Ye’re her brothers, arenae ye?”
“Where is she?” Tristan bellowed as he shoved his chair back. He reached across to Malcolm and grabbed his leine. “Where is Mairghread? What the hell have ye done with her?”
Malcolm tried to break Tristan’s grip but Tristan only yanked harder. He only managed to move Malcolm an inch as they were well matched in height, size, and strength.
“Ye come to ma keep and begin accusing me of what I dinna even ken!”
“Ma lairds, please. I can explain. Please.” Alyson looked to Magnus for help. He was the only huge man in the room that did not terrify her.
“Tristan, calm down. Ye’re scaring the lass too badly for her to talk.” Magnus stood and wrapped an arm around Alyson. “Come now, lass what is it ye ken? What can ye tell us? Ye can see that Laird Mackay is out of his mind with worry.”
Alyson looked up at Magnus and smiled shyly. She turned to look at the other men who all wore an expectant look on their faces.
“Sorcha brought Lady Mairghread in today.”
“Sorcha? What is she doing here?” Tavish piped in. “I thought she was still on Mackay land.”
“As did I. Nae report was given to me that she had left.” Tristan did not know who to direct his anger at now. Malcolm for having his beloved. Sorcha for whatever her involvement. Or his guardsmen who had clearly failed to report that Sorcha had left her croft and Mackay land altogether.
“Sorcha arrived about a sennight ago and claimed to be our stepmother’s maid. Lady Beatris welcomed her as though she kenned her well and said that she couldnae live any longer without Sorcha’s help.”
“Sorcha isnae a lady’s maid. She’s barely a kitchen maid.” Tristan looked to Alyson and tried to smile and encourage her. He feared that it came out as nothing more than a grimace.
“Aye, well Sorcha kenned Lady Beatris and Sir Alan vera well. She seemed to ken Sir Alan better than any of the other women here.” Alyson could not help the blush that overcame her, but she continued to tell the tale. “Today, Sorcha and one of the guards brought in a woman who looked half drowned. They said they had been walking near the river and found her washed up on the shore. Lady Beatris offered to care fer the woman and they took her to a guest chamber. I was sent up with a tray just a short while ago. When I removed the gag from her mouth, the woman told me her name was Lady Mairghread and that she was taken from Mackay land.”
“Where is she? Where is she now? I will see her now!” This time there was no doubt that Tristan roared. Alyson backed up and felt the solid wall of Magnus’s chest behind her. He placed a hand on her waist to balance her.
“Ye were just told that she was placed in one of the guest chambers. She is being well taken care of, I assure ye.”
“Nay, she isnae.” Alyson could only whisper this.
Tristan turned on her and looked ready to murder her.
“Where. Is. She?”
“Tristan, come I will take ye to her.” Malcolm calmly moved towards the door of the solar. Tristan and the Sinclairs moved as one.
“Alyson, stay out of sight. I dinna want Lady Beatris or Sorcha to ken ye told us aught.” Magnus gave her a smile as he followed the other men out of the room.
The group of men had just made it to the landing when they heard a loud crash from one of the chambers. Then there was the sound of something breaking and a scream followed by a loud grunt.
“Mairghread!” Tristan took off at a run towards the noise.
The sight that met his eyes would be forever engrained into his mind’s eye. He would never be able to unsee it. There on the bed laid the one great love of his life. She had one arm and both of her legs tied to the bed posts. She was naked and two men were attempting to defile her. She was swinging her free arm wildly as she landed punch after punch to one man’s head but it seemed not to faze him in the least as he licked her breast. She was bucking her body as she tried to shove both men off of her. Another man was leaning between her legs with his tongue hanging out.
“Nay! Nay! Ye canna touch me! I will kill ye both before ye are through.” Her worn out voice came out between a scream and a whisper.
Tristan felt the rage boil up and out of him. He was seeing red before but now, just like in the heat of battle, his vision tunneled to black on the edges and crisp clearness in the center. He launched himself at the bed and tackled the man between her legs. They crashed to the ground and he straddled the man. His fists flew one after the other as he pummeled the man. The other man’s head hit the hard floor with a nasty crack but he still struggled to push Tristan off of him. It was only a matter of a minute or two before the man breathed his last. Tristan had beaten him to death with his bare hands. Tristan was not even close to being done yet. He jumped from the man and spun around. Alexander and Tavish had the other man pinned to the ground. As Tavish held him, Alexander gutted him with his dirk. Callum was untying Mairghread as Magnus pulled the sheet and blankets over her naked body.
Tristan pushed past Callum and scooped Mairghread into his arms. He did not look at anyone other than Mairghread as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He walked to the passageway and went to the room next door. He was not completely sure of where he was going. He only knew that he had to get Mairghread out of the room where she had been kept a prisoner. He looked around and did not think that Mairghread would want to be placed on another bed just yet. He moved to the chair in front of the fire and sat down. He arranged her in his lap and simply held her. He kissed her forehead over and over as he whispered, “tha gràdh agam” repeatedly.
Mairghread burrowed into his chest as though she was trying to become a part of him. “I love ye too” was all she could manage between sobs. She tried to slow her breathing and to sit up but she simply felt too weak. “Kiss,” she whispered.
Tristan looked down at her watery eyes and could not imagine a more wondrous sight than her in his arms at this moment. He lightly brushed his lips against hers. He did not want to frighten or traumatize her any more than she already was. However, she was not content with a light kiss. She pulled lightly on his neck and raised her chin. She licked the seal of his lips and pressed harder with hers. Tristan could not have turned her down even if he wanted to. The kiss deepened and his hands roamed over her body. He had a tiny thought in the back of his head that he was checking her for injuries just as much as he was enjoying the feel of her in his arms. They had barely begun when the door slammed open. Mairghread yelped and cowered in his arms. Tristan looked down at her and was not happy to see the fear there. He looked over his shoulder to see who had entered.
“Ye canna just carry our sister off and hide her from us.” Callum growled.
“Mairghread, are ye alright, lass? Are ye hurt?” Magnus squatted next to the chair that Tristan and Mairghread shared. He looked her over and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ears. A brotherly move he had done countless times over the years. “Come here, lass.”
She could only shake her head and cling tighter to Tristan. She leaned her head against his broad chest and closed her eyes. She breathed in his musky scent and it was the first sense of calm she had felt since before they had ridden out of the gates that morning. Tristan tightened his hold on her and glared at Magnus.
Magnus stood up and exchanged looks with his brothers. He looked down at his wee sister who was now clearly a woman. A woman who had chosen her man over her brothers. If any of them had been willing to speak of their feelings, they might have admitted that it hurt a bit to see that they had been replaced and were no longer needed, but they each simply shrugged and walked out of the room.
Once they were alone again, Tristan sat Mairghread up and looked into her eyes. The fear was no longer there but a great sadness was. He wondered just what had happened to her in the hours they had been apart. Had a man molested her? He could not get the image of the two men out of his mind. She laid a hand over his heart and just shook her head.
“Ye and ma brothers got there in time. Other than one of them licking ma breast, they didna have time to do anything worse to me. Naebody did anything worse to me.”
Tristan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief but he felt Mairghread stiffen in his arms. He knew instantly why she retreated.
“Mo chridhe, I would love ye and marry ye regardless of whether aught had happened. It wouldnae have been yer doing or yer fault. I simply breathe easily because I am relieved ye were nae hurt more than I can see.”
“Really?”
“Little flame, ye are mine and always will be. I willna ever give ye up nae matter what. I am proud of how ye tried to defend yerself but they were both far larger than ye and ye were tied up. If we hadnae been there in time, I wouldnae have turned from ye once we did get there.”
Mairghread could not understand why that made her feel so relieved but it did. She realized that she worried that he might find her dirty or used after what he had seen. She also realized that she should have given Tristan more credit.
“I am just so thankful that ye came when ye did. I kenned ye would find me eventually but I had nay idea when that might be. I thought it would be days or even sennights before ye tracked me. How did ye ken I was here?”
“We dinna. At least not when we first arrived. We found the spot where ye climbed out of the water and saw that someone had dragged ye to the top of the embankment. We saw three sets of footprints but then there was nothing. We came here in the hopes that whoever rescued ye might have brought ye here. If ye were nae here, we hoped that the McDonnells might help us search their lands. When we arrived, we saw Lady Beatris at the dais. We went to Malcolm’s solar to talk. Before we even had a chance to get very far, a young woman brought in food. Her name was Alyson and she said that she kenned ye were here.”
“Alyson was kind to me. She unbound ma gag and fed me. She said she would come back later with more food and to help me if I needed it.” She could not bring herself to admit that it was to help with the chamber pot. Tristan looked at her and seemed to understand without an explanation. He looked at her wrists that were raw from being bound. “She couldnae untie me or else Sorcha and Lady Beatris would ken who did it. Did ye ken Sorcha is here?”
“Aye. I havenae seen her which is just as well for I will strangle her. If Alyson didna untie ye, how did one hand become free?”
Mairghread paused before she answered that. She knew Tristan would not be happy with
the truth but she also could not lie. The truth would need to be told to Laird McDonnell as it was his men who meant to rape her. She took a long and slow breath before answering.
“The mon, Donald, who was licking ma breast untied ma hand. He forced me to--” She could not bring herself to say it after all. She looked at her hand and suddenly she could not wait to get it clean. She stood up from Tristan’s lap and wrapped the sheet and blanket around her. She walked over to the wash basin and scrubbed her hands. Tristan came up behind her and gently removed the soap from her hands and pressed then softly into the water. He ran his large calloused hands over hers as though she was made of the softest silk. He lifted them slowly and wrapped a drying cloth over them. He dried her hands and then turned her towards him. He smiled at her and nodded his head. She took another long and slow breath. “He forced me to stroke him until he was hard.” She tried to swallow her sob and buried her face in his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Tristan stepped back and she whimpered thinking he was rejecting her. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her to his chest. He used his other hand to lift her chin but she would not make eye contact. “What on God’s green earth could ye possibly have to be sorry fer? He forced ye. Ye said it and I said I saw how much larger he was than ye. I ken ye didna do it willingly. Mairghread, I dinna blame ye fer any of this. It wasnae yer fault. It was the fault of Alan fer stealing ye away. It was the fault of Beatris and Sorcha for having ye bound and fer leaving ye those so-called guards. And it tis Laird McDonnell’s fault fer having guardsmen who believe they can abuse and assault women.”
Mairghread looked up with watery eyes and simply stared at him.
“How did I get to be so fortunate as to be loved by a mon such as ye?”
“Fortune has naught to do with it. It is because ye are a warm, intelligent, quick witted, strong woman who is mightily easy to love that I fell so in love with ye.”
She stepped completely into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist. She was overcome with yet another wave of exhaustion. She could not stifle her yawn even though she tried. Tristan kissed the top of her head and scooped her into his arms. Once again, he looked at the bed but was not sure that she was ready to be placed upon one quite yet. He returned them to the chair. He sat down and stroked her head and back. He felt her body go limp only moments after they settled. He looked down at this woman who held his heart completely. He had never before felt the amount of fear that he had on this day. Not even going into battle or becoming laird at a young age had made him so terrified as the thought that he might have lost Mairghread or that she had come to harm. Neither had he ever felt such an overpowering amount of rage as he did when he found out she was here and then when he saw her in the chamber next door. The bloodlust and killing rage would have scared him too if he had not been so intent upon rescuing her and punishing the offenders. As he continued to stroke her hair and back, he realized a series of things in rapid succession. First, he was going to marry her before the sun set the next day. He did not care who officiated, who was there, or where it happened. He would call Mairghread wife before the next night started. Second, he had to deal with Lady Beatris and Sorcha’s parts in all of this. Third, he and Laird McDonnell were going to have a reckoning on how his guards had behaved.
His Highland Lass (The Clan Sinclair Book 1) Page 13
