The next day, they were both as silent as the grave. It felt as if they had said everything that needed to be said the night before, and now they were already so far apart.
Silently, Reade threaded them through the passes and then the forests, and some time shortly after noon, they could both see the ramparts of Leister Castle rising up into the cloudy sky.
Flying from the walls were banners of green and gold, Montgomery colors, and Reade was Scottish enough to feel angry about an Englishman's banners over an ancient Scottish castle. He fought it down, because that rage would not serve.
"Should I go on my own?" Elizabeth asked, the first words she had spoken in hours.
For some reason, her words sparked a deep fury in Reade's heart.
"I will finish what you asked of me, Elizabeth. I will not break that oath to you."
"I only... All right."
Reade wondered sardonically if she didn't want her English kinsmen to see the Scottish barbarian she had hired to protect her, but he knew in his heart that he was only protecting his true feelings.
The truth was that he couldn't bear to let Elizabeth go any sooner than he had to, and so he followed her toward the castle.
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chapter 44
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Elizabeth could feel her heart beating faster as they came down the road toward Leister Castle. The only thing that gave her any degree of comfort at all in this moment, besides Reade at her back, was the fact that Leister Castle looked a great deal like Doone. It was an enormous edifice that was built to protect the lives of the people inside, and she could imagine her cousin commanding his troops from atop its high thick walls.
But it's a Scottish holding, isn't it? We're so far north, what claim can England have to this place?
She knew her thoughts were disloyal, possibly even treasonous, but she had seen the way the MacTaggarts lived, and how proud they were of who they were. They were not English, and they were also not the barbarians and criminals that she had always heard that they were in London. For better or worse, her views on Scotland had changed forever, and she had no idea what that might mean for her future among her own people.
Own people. And who would those be, exactly?
Her family was dead, her uncle had hunted her across the length and breadth of Scotland, and the people who had taken her in, who had accepted her without a single moment of doubt... they were the MacTaggarts.
As she drew closer, however, it became very clear that Leister was not Doone. Doone was a place that sheltered women and children. Leister was a war machine, and the soldiers within looked as if they were still ready for the war to start again at any moment. She was suddenly very glad that Reade's shield was still painted black. He looked like nothing more than a mercenary, one of so many others who had been tossed by the war. She swallowed hard against the sudden fear she felt for Reade.
“I will send you your fee,” she murmured quietly to him. “If you leave now, I swear you will get it.”
“Do you honestly think that is the only reason I have come to this nest of Englishmen?” Reade retorted. “I will not leave your side, Elizabeth. Not until I know for certain sure that you are safe.”
From the look in his eyes, she knew that she would not be able to budge him, and she schooled herself to stillness, riding forward.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the hail from a guard at the gate.
“Who are you, and what is your business here?”
“I am Elizabeth Kendall, kinswoman to Devon Montgomery, who rules here,” she responded, and she was absently pleased that her voice came out loud and steady.
“And the man with you?”
“Reade Fitzpatrick,” Reade said easily. “I'm the one that brought her up from Ayr.”
Elizabeth twitched a little at Reade's words. How in the world had she missed how his accent had altered the farther north he had come?
“Is that a fact?” asked the guard. “Both of you stay where you are. I'll summon Lord Montgomery, and he can decide what to do with you.”
Elizabeth shivered at the man's harsh words, and she heard Reade's soft growl of anger.
“It's all right,” she murmured. “It's all right. He has no idea who I am. If we met at all, it was when I was too young to remember. I expected to have to prove myself.”
“You're his kin, that should be enough. I will not stand here while some Englishman abuses you.”
“Reade. Don't.”
He subsided, but Elizabeth wondered nervously how much he would take, what she would have to do to prove herself to her cousin.
It really only took a few minutes for Devon Montgomery to appear, but it seemed to Elizabeth to take hours. Underneath her, Finnian fidgeted as if unclear why he wasn't actually trotting or being allowed to graze, and beside her, Reade's hand stayed too close to his sword handle for her liking. She hadn't ever thought about how dangerous this might be for him, and now she had to swallow down her panic.
She knew that the MacTaggarts had fought for Robert the Bruce, but sheltered in London, it had never occurred to her what that might mean and how others might take it.
She was startled when Devon Montgomery himself actually appeared. She supposed she had expected something like her uncle, a commander whose armor was chased with silver and gold, who ruled over his troops like a shepherd might rule over his flock.
When Devon arrived with his men, he was at first indistinguishable from them, all in the rough armor of the common soldier, all with their hair cut soldier-short. Then he stepped forward and gazed at her from the gates, and she knew that with his aura of command, there would be no mistaking Devon for his men.
Her cousin was as fair as she was, though his skin was darker from his time in the field, and she was startled to see that his eyes were the same bright blue as her own.
Mother's eyes. Perhaps he is as kind as she always said her family was.
"I was told that a kinswoman had come looking for me," he said, his voice low and calm. There was no hint of suspicion in it.
Encouraged, she nodded.
"Please, may I come down off my horse and speak with you?"
Devon stepped forward, allowing her to take his hand and dismount easily. She could almost feel Reade's displeasure at that, but he kept it to himself even as he dismounted.
Please, Reade, please do not do anything you will regret.
Once off Finnian's back, Elizabeth could see how tall Devon was, and broad as well. Where Reade was quicksilver personified, Devon was all power, and she could see that he would wield the enormous sword that hung by his side as easily as if it were a toy.
"Well, I can hardly deny a family resemblance," he said. "But tell me the rest. Who are you?"
Elizabeth took a deep breath.
"I'm the daughter of Paul Kendall and Mary Montgomery. Mary was the daughter of Edward and Marie Montgomery, and the sister to Frederick Montgomery, who was your father. We lived in London, until the plague came last year."
Devon frowned at that, but she did not think he disbelieved her.
"So, they are all dead?"
"My father and mother and younger brother, yes. I was taken in by the Earl of Sussex, my father's relative."
She was briefly startled by the vicious expression that crossed Devon's face, so dark that Reade reached forward to pull her back.
After a moment, Devon shook his head, looking a little wry.
"You must excuse me. Sussex is not a popular man at Leister."
"He... he's not?"
Devon shrugged, closing the subject as easily as a priest would close a book.
"He is not and let us leave it at that."
He looked at her more closely, and she had a moment to wish that her eyes could do as his did, to lance through their subject and make them feel as if he knew everything about them.
"I had heard that Sussex came north some weeks ago, chasing... something. The rep
orts were unclear, and more to the point, obscured. As if he were hiding something."
"That would be me," Elizabeth said softly. She was glad that Devon's men were standing down, for all that they looked on the proceedings with curiosity.
"And why did he come looking for you?"
"Because he wanted to marry me."
Devon's reaction was instantaneous, confusion and disgust.
Elizabeth nodded.
"He was securing some kind of special dispensation from the Crown to do it. I believe it might have had something to do with gaining control over the Montgomery holdings."
"It sounds like something Sussex would do. And then what happened?"
Elizabeth looked down, feeling as if the world was getting ready to open up underneath her. What could she tell this man? She trusted him instinctively, but look where her blood had taken her.
Devon stepped closer, one hand on her shoulder.
"It's all right. Tell me what happened."
"He brought men, blank-shield soldiers, north following me. I would have... He wanted to kill me, leaving my body somewhere north to blame on the Scots."
Devon spat something in French.
She blinked at him.
"I understood that."
"I'm very sorry, I should not have said that at all, but I think it's worth it. And your uncle?"
"Dead," Reade said flatly. "By my hand and not hers."
Elizabeth turned wide eyes to Reade, but he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he had locked eyes with Devon, and yes, his hand was far too close to his sword for her comfort.
"And what stake have you in this, gallowglass?" asked Devon evenly. "You just admitted to the murder of an English lord."
"An English lord whose presence in the North was to stir up a war that should be done and gone. And I owe allegiance to no cause, my lord, and my contract was to follow this girl and see her safe. I am not certain I have completed that task yet."
The implication was obvious, and Devon's eyes narrowed. Elizabeth was suddenly very glad that she was between them,
"She is my kinswoman, saved from what sounds like a terrible dark fate. You have brought her to me, the safest place for an Englishwoman in this part of the world. What more have you to do?"
"Have her dismiss me," Reade said. "Well, my lady?"
They both turned to her.
Elizabeth swallowed.
"Yes. Your task is complete. Devon, I'm sorry, but I said you would pay him."
She had to make it look as if he were only a soldier in her employ. She knew Reade was as likely to spit on the money as anything else, but appearances had to be kept up if he was to walk away in one piece. To her relief, Devon only looked amused.
"Less than a day with me and already spending my money. All right. Come in, and we will get your fee taken care of."
They walked into Leister Castle, whose walls were as thick as Doone's, and Elizabeth didn't even realize that Devon was pulling her away from Reade as he pointed out the stables, the towers, and the rectory. Then he was turning around, and Elizabeth realized with horror that there were now men around Reade and no way for her to return to his side.
"All right," Devon said in that same reasonable tone. "Now tell me what Laird MacTaggart's brother is doing with my cousin and a dead English lord on his hands."
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chapter 45
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Reade looked at the armed men around him. For some reason, he wasn't afraid. He hadn't been since he saw Devon Montgomery pull Elizabeth away from him, making sure she was out of harm's way. After that, all he had to worry about was his own skin, and it wasn't as if he didn't already have plenty of experience doing that, after all.
“I am doing as she said,” he said with a shrug. “I met her in Glasgow, she asked for my help getting north to you. I have finished my mission in that regard.”
“And of Sussex?”
Reade grinned, feeling cockier than he knew he should. The English were all a dour and dead serious lot, and some part of him took a strange joy in needling Devon Montgomery. After all, what did it matter now? He knew that at any moment, Montgomery might order his death, but what did that matter so long as Elizabeth was safe?
“Sussex... it feels like you'd rather thank me for that anything else, don't you?”
“Reade!” Elizabeth's voice cut through the still air, and Reade winced a little at the pain in her voice. “Just... don't say any more.”
She turned to Devon.
“He wasn't the one who killed my uncle. I did.”
Devon looked at her briefly and shook his head.
“That's not true.”
“It is!”
“It's not,” Reade confirmed. “Be good to her, Montgomery. She's been ill-used by too many people.”
“I will, of course. Now we have you to deal with.”
“What's the concern? Release me or kill me.”
“Or keep you.”
Reade laughed at that. “If you think you can hold me, Englishman, you are welcome to try.”
“He is not. Arms down, any of you that want to keep breathing.”
Reade, who thought that he was ready for any eventuality, spun around, and found his own kinsmen, the fighting force of Clan MacTaggart in the open gate. They stood armed with bows, sheltered by the wall, and Aidan at their head, looking incredibly displeased.
Well, this just got a lot more dangerous.
* * *
Elizabeth thought that her head might spin off of her shoulders. She realized with a sinking heart that the distraction of Devon's cousin showing up had been enough to allow Aidan and his men to breach the keep. They were too small a force to keep it, but she knew of their reputation and how much danger they could be.
"MacTaggart," Devon said, displeasure sinking deep into his voice. "Come to collect your whelp?"
"Well, that was my initial thought, aye, but seeing as you have left Leister's gates wide open, perhaps we should see to that as well."
"We are at peace," Devon said, his voice steady. "The gates have been open."
Aidan laughed at that, and Elizabeth could hear all the bitterness the war had left in him over the past years, how it had scarred him and the people he loved so.
"Aye? Then we should have come sooner. There's no peace for you here, Montgomery, not until you march out of these hills."
"Not while my king requires my presence," Devon snapped.
Suddenly, Elizabeth had had enough.
"Stop it! Stop it all of you!"
Somehow, her words cut through the air, bringing a strange stillness to the scene. She used that shock to her advantage, pushing her way to the very center of the argument, between Scottish and English to stand where her heart told her she should have been all along: with Reade.
"There is no war right now," she said. "None of us should be fighting."
"There is always going to be a war," Devon said, and for all that he sounded like he regretted it, she knew that he would be as fast to draw his sword as any other man here, faster perhaps.
"But there isn't one. Not today. Aidan, take Reade and go. Please. Please, there's nothing to be gained from this fight today for either side. Let things go as they are."
There was a rustle around them as Aidan and Devon regarded each other carefully, and then to her shock, Reade started to laugh.
"Well, this is a terrible thing and no mistake about it," he said, his voice light as a bird in flight.
"Reade," Aidan said warningly, and Devon's eyes narrowed, as if he wondered what possible trick could be happening now.
"It seems to me that on one side you have the MacTaggarts, and on the other side, you have the Montgomerys. And if we take the Scottish and the English out of it, that's just a clan fight, isn't it?"
"You can't take the English or the Scottish out of it—" Devon started.
"The Montgomerys aren't a clan—" said Aidan.
&nbs
p; "And what you both want is peace. Peace throughout the country, but peace in this region most of all. Yes?"
Both Devon and Aidan nodded, and Elizabeth thought wildly that at the very least they could be confused by Reade together.
"Montgomery, we steal brides in this part of the country," Reade said with a grin. "Savage to your English sensibilities, but it works for us. I have a girl here, one I would marry in front of God, my clan, and all the world, and if I took her, wouldn't that make us your kinsman as well?"
"You'd bind yourself to the Montgomerys?" asked Devon, but Elizabeth saw two things then, two things she wasn't sure anyone else understood about the Rock of Leister. The first was that he was capable of looking to the future, of seeing how people twisted and turned and fell. The second was that he was tired to death of warring.
"Aye, as long as it was this woman I was binding myself to, I would bind myself to the devil himself. And Aidan. A wife for me, and a hostage to hold over the English. Yes."
Aidan nodded curtly. There was something dark in his gaze, something Elizabeth knew he would only say to Reade when they were alone, but he still nodded.
"All right then. An alliance, let's say. Or the beginning of one."
"And what does Elizabeth say to all of this?" asked Devon. "You may steal brides, but where I come from, they are best asked."
I hope I get to know Devon. I think I could grow to like him.
Reade turned to her, and she saw a brilliant light in his green eyes, one that made her think of all the life in spring, all the years ahead, and all the love they bore for one another.
"Well, lass? This all depends on you. If you want, you can go to your cousin and we shall keep as we are."
"And if I say yes?" The answer was on her lips, but she wanted to hear him say it. She wanted to hear him speak of it after all they had been through, and everything they had done together.
Reade stepped closer, lowering his voice so that only she could hear.
"Then, Elizabeth, I will love you until the stars fall down in the sky, until the seas turn back into the land. I will give you children, and I will give you the first bite of my bread and the first sip of my water. I love you, lass, and if you only say you will be mine, then I will make you the happiest woman in the North."
Claimed By The Highlander (The Highlands Warring Clan Mactaggarts Book 1) Page 21
