A Fire Within (These Highland Hills, Book 3) (28 page)

Gratefully, Caitlin accepted the blanket her cousin lain brought
over for Dar, and quickly laid it over him. They had already
changed him from his own wet shirt and plaid into a spare shirt
and plaid that lain had brought along. Still, even in dry clothes
and yet unconscious, Dar shivered uncontrollably.

"Niall's decided we'll make camp for the night here," the dark
blond-haired man said as he squatted beside Caitlin. "We've got a
few men out hunting us some supper, and others gathering wood.
We'll soon have two fires going, and place one here to help warm
him. He should be much improved soon enough."

"I hope so." Caitlin glanced at Dar, worried. "He's been through so much in the past week. And now to take a dousing
in such frigid water ..."

"He's young and strong enough, lass. He should come through
this as well."

lain's gaze strayed to Goraidh, who sat on Dar's other side.
Like Dar, the hermit had his hands bound behind him.

"Ye can keep watch over him, can't ye? Caitlin's brother is
recovered enough that he's now wondering where his sister is."

"Aye." Goraidh nodded. "I'll watch Darach, and gladly." He
looked to Caitlin. "Best ye pay yet brother a visit. This wouldn't
be the time to anger him, not after all he's gone through himself
in trying to get ye back."

Caitlin felt as if she were being pulled in two different directions at the same time. She didn't want to leave Dar just yet.
Leastwise not until his shivering abated and he regained consciousness.

She knew his wound hadn't torn apart again, though how
he had done what he had done in rescuing Niall from the
river and not ripped it open once more was nothing short of
miraculous. But what if he had suffered some internal injury
in the river? If that had occurred, there wasn't much she could
do for him.

Still, leaving his side right now felt as if to do so would be never
to return. She simply must, though, Caitlin resolved, learn how
better to place all her trust in God. Once again, and despite all
of Dar's intentions to the contrary, the Lord had prevented them
from parting. What further proof did she need that she and Dar
were meant to be together?

Besides, Goraidh was right. Niall equally deserved her presence. And she did have a few choice words to share with him
about his foolhardy foray into what had, in retrospect, been the
worst section of the river to ford.

With a sigh, Caitlin rose. "I was but waiting for all of ye to cease yet fawning over Niall. Indeed, I've never seen so many
men in such a dither."

lain grinned. "Well, he is the Campbell, ye know."

"To ye, mayhap," she replied, smiling. "To me, he's just my
big brother."

"Aye, and somehow I'm wagering ye'll have a few less-thanflattering thoughts for him, ye will." Her cousin gestured ahead
of him. "Shall we be going then?"

Caitlin cast one more glance down at Dar, then nodded. "Aye,
I suppose we'd better. Ye know how imperious Niall can get when
he's kept waiting."

"Indeed?" lain feigned mock surprise. "And I've never seen
that in him. Surely ye're mistaken, lass."

She laughed then. She couldn't help it. They shared a special
bond, she and lain, and while growing up had frequently teased
each other over their frustration with the strong-willed Niall. Not
that Niall, in the end, hadn't usually been right. They both just
wished, at least once in a while, they could be right instead.

Some of the clansmen were already stacking wood for a big
fire close to Niall when she and lain arrived. Save for a bruised
cheek and a scrape on his chin, her brother looked surprisingly
well for his recent, near fatal experience in the river. He, too, was
dressed in dry clothes and had a blanket slung over his shoulders,
which he had pulled tightly to him. He was also shivering and
his lips were tinged with blue.

"Let's get that fire burning, will ye?" he muttered irritably
as Caitlin came around to sit beside him, and lain ambled off.
"Then start preparing the other for the MacNaghtens. None
of ye are stiff with cold, and should be able to move far more
quickly than ye are."

"Well, ye must be feeling a lot better," she observed dryly when
he finally turned to her. "I can always tell when a man's on the
mend. He gets verra testy, he does."

"And aren't I allowed a bit of testiness," her brother asked,
"after nearly drowning on yer behalf?"

"The intent was most appreciated-not the drowning, mind
ye, but the rescue attempt. Whatever possessed ye, though, to
leap into the river like that?" She glanced at him, a quizzical look
on her face. "Ye're usually the first to slow the pace and assess the
situation, rather than rushing in as impulsively as ye did."

Niall shrugged. "I was rapidly tiring of getting so close only
to lose ye. And, leastwise to me, MacNaghten looked as if he
wasn't sure he really wanted to return ye or not. I but thought to
distract him from his decision."

"A clever move." Caitlin chuckled. "Of course, if he hadn't
instead chosen to save ye, rather than rush off with me, yer fine
plan may have come to naught."

He paused to nod his approval as one of the men lit tinder and
stuffed it in between the stacked logs. "Aye, I'll admit I didn't
think it through all that well. I'll tell ye true. I never would've
imagined he'd come in after me. Not with the men bearing down
on him from the other side of the river, to ford that verra spot
where he pulled me over to the shore."

Caitlin bit her lip, searching her mind for the right words.
"He's not like his brother, ye know. Naught like Athe at all. Dar
has honor. He's a good man, Niall."

"Is he now?" As the logs began to take flame and fire leapt high
into the red gold sky, her brother lifted his hands to warm them.
"Mayhap he is. That's hard to conceive, though, when he abducted
my sister, dragged her on a merry chase around Perthshire, and then
villainously took her back after she was traded for his brother."

"Athe was the villain in that, not Dar. Ye didn't expect him
to leap on his own brother while the fool had a dagger at my
throat, did ye?"

"Nay, but I still cannot help but suspect the two of them had
planned it to happen that way."

"Well, I can assure ye, Dar almost never left my side from the
moment we arrived at Dundarave, and he never got close to Athe
in Kilchurn, so there was little if any opportunity for him ever
to plot aught with his brother."

"Almost never left yet side, did he?" Niall eyed her closely.
"And that's yet another bone I have to pick with him."

She sighed and lifted her gaze heavenward in an entreaty for
patience. "And what might that bone be?"

"Whether he treated ye honorably. Tell me true, lass. Did
he?"

He treated me far more honorably than I at times wished to
be treated, Caitlin thought. Too oft to count, she had secretly
longed for his kisses, or to be held in his arms. But that wasn't
what Niall was asking.

"Aye," she softly replied. "Dar always treated me honorably.
Always."

Her brother took her hand. "Truly, lass?"

She met his worried gaze with a steady, honest one of her
own. "Truly."

"Good." He released her hand and sat back. "Then I suppose
I won't hang him just as soon as he wakens, like I'd originally
intended to."

"Niall!"

"What?" He grinned. "And have ye so little confidence in me,
that ye'd believe I've turned into a blood-crazed lunatic in the
short time we've been parted? Nay"-he shook his head-"Darach
MacNaghten has earned punishment. I just haven't decided what
that punishment will be."

"So, ye'll take him back with us to Kilchurn, will ye?"

"Aye. He can stew a bit in our dungeon. Until I decide what
to do with him."

"But he saved yet life, Niall."

"Nonetheless, thanks to him, his MacNab-murdering brother is free once again. And, since I was responsible for holding him
until he went to trial, and instead lost him, I'm now the laughingstock of the clans."

Caitlin made a small, disdainful sound. "I hardly think the
other clans would dare laugh at ye."

"Well, then suffice it to say I failed in my duty, and have
Darach MacNaghten to thank for it. Now I've two unpleasant
tasks to complete-recapture Athe MacNaghten and punish his
brother. And, these days, I far prefer spending my time in the
company of my bonny wife and wee bairn than traipsing around
the Highlands or meting out punishment."

He turned to her then and took her in his arms. "Leastwise,
though, I've got my sweet sister back, safe and sound," he said,
his voice taut with emotion. "And that's more blessing than I'd
hoped for. The Lord has been good to both of us, He has!"

Aye, He has, Caitlin thought as she slipped her arms about her
brother and hugged him in turn. He has given me a worthy man
to love. He has given me Dar. And, though the future is yet unclear
and the road ahead may yet be fraught with dif culty, I must place
all my trust in Him.

Trust that everything will turn out well for both Dar and myself.
And for his clan, because he loves them, as undeserving of him as
they truly seem to be.

Not long thereafter, Dar finally awoke. The warmth of a nearby fire
soon helped him feel almost recovered from the chill immersion
in the river. The fact that he was now a captive, with his hands tied
behind him, however, wasn't the most pleasant of discoveries.

By and large, the Campbell clansmen left him and Goraidh
alone, coming by only from time to time to add a log or two to
the fire. From across the camp, though, Dar could see Caitlin
sitting with her brother, who looked decently recovered as well.
Though Dar knew that had been the plan all along-to return
her to her own kind-the realization that the deed had finally
been accomplished nonetheless grated on him.

He no longer had any claim on Caitlin. Which was, in any
case, ludicrous even to contemplate. In truth, he had never had
any claim on her to begin with. At best, the time they had spent
together had been a stolen time. It had never been real or possessed any lasting significance.

"Don't look so glum, lad," Goraidh said, gently intruding on
Dar's dismal thoughts. "Ye haven't lost the lass. Far from it, I'd
say.

"Aye," Dar muttered, not even bothering to look his way. "Ye
can't lose what ye never had."

"That's what ye imagine, do ye? That Caitlin doesn't care a whit for ye?" The hermit sighed and shook his head. "And ye
wonder why the lass loses patience with ye. What a dunderhead
ye are!"

"A dunderhead, am l?" Dar gave a harsh laugh. "Well, if I am,
what does it matter? If the Campbell doesn't soon hang me, it
won't be long before I'm moldering in Kilchurn's dungeon."

"And Caitlin, being the shallow lass that she is, will of course
soon forget all about ye."

Dar shot his companion a searing glance. "She's not shallow.
But for her own good, she should forget me, and I'll be glad
when she does."

"Well, be that as it may, ye won't be getting rid of me quite
so easily."

"And why not? Ye've committed no crime against the Campbell. Ask Caitlin to vouch for ye. Ye could likely be on yet way
home to Clachan Hill on the morrow."

"And are ye also deaf as well as thick of skull?" Goraidh released
a frustrated breath and shook his head. "I just told ye, in so many
words, that I'm staying with ye. It's where I should've been long
ago-at yer side-but only of late have I finally begun to see
what the Lord always wished of me."

Confusion filled Dar. Goraidh should've been with him long
ago? But why?

"Ye're making no sense," he began when he saw Caitlin rise.
Immediately distracted, he watched her walk over to where the
men were beginning to carve the stag, which had been roasting for
some time now, and hold out a plate. Drinking in the sight of her
like one long starved, Dar memorized every feminine curve, the
ebony sheen of her hair, the fair skin, full, pink lips, and beloved
countenance. His heart ached seeing her, wanting, if just one time
more, to hold her in his arms, to kiss her sweet mouth.

But that was never to be again. Never to be, and he must be
a man and accept that.

Finally, her plate laden with several thick slices of venison,
she paused to pick up two freshly baked bannocks, a water flask,
and two cups. Then, making her way around the fire, she headed
straight for them.

Dar's heart commenced a pounding in his chest. His mouth
went dry.

"Hmm, so ye can't lose what ye never had, can ye?" Goraidh
asked, his tone amused but chiding. "But likely she's just coming to ye out of a sense of Christian duty. She is a devout lass,
after all."

"Enough, Goraidh!" Dar growled. "If ye don't have a care,
she'll hear ye."

"As if she hasn't already discerned yet true feelings-and motives!"

Caitlin was drawing too close by then for Dar to reply to the
hermit's mocking comment. Instead, he chose to look up as she
approached, and manage a taut little smile.

"I thought ye two might be hungry," Caitlin said as she sat
before them and placed the plate of food on her lap. "Unfortunately, I was unable to convince my brother to have ye untied
so ye might eat."

She began to slice the meat into bite-sized pieces. "As a consequence, I'm afraid I'm going to have to feed ye both."

Rage filled Dar. Atop it all, he must also be publicly humiliated!

"I'm not so hungry that I'll be fed like some bairn." He jerked
his head in Goraidh's direction. "Feed him, if he'll accept it. But
don't trouble yerself over me."

Caitlin glanced up then, and angry tears gleamed in her eyes.
"Do ye think I enjoy shaming ye like this? But it's the only option, and ye will eat, Darach MacNaghten! I haven't repeatedly
nursed ye back to health now to have ye toss it all aside because
of some misguided, masculine pride."