A Highland Pearl (Highland Treasures Book 1) (20 page)

“Thank you for your hospitality, Hugh. ‘Twas quite a treat
after your dungeon.” Although a hateful experience, Andrew knew he would never
forget Hugh MacKenzie’s dungeon—the place where he met the Lord. With the
grace of God, he could look at his enemies and not hate, but forgive.

“You can thank Bryson for your good treatment. He threatened
to withdraw his approval of my betrothal if I didn’t treat you with respect. If
I had my way, you would be hanging by your thumbs in my torture chamber right
now.” The chief pushed a parchment document toward Andrew. “Sign this and you’ll
be set free when the exchange arrives.”

“What do you mean by exchange, and what am I signing?” He
couldn’t think at the moment who the MacKenzie would want from the Munro clan.
He looked at the Cameron sitting without a word and of a sudden realized the
exchange was Maidie and Sven. The Cameron’s brother who twirled his thumbs in a
nervous fashion was Maidie’s father.

“Nae!”
His mind screamed,
“No’ Maidie.”
He
couldn’t let her go now that he just found her. To never feel her hands on his
body again, or smell the scent of her in his nostrils, or look into her sky
blue eyes and touch her golden locks.
“Nae!”

“You’re pale, Munro, and you don’t know what you’re signing as
yet. Come, put your mark on this document,” Hugh ordered once more and held a
quill pen out to the stunned chief.

Andrew swallowed a lump that rose in his throat. “What is the
document?”

Bryson Fraser spoke, “’Tis a writ of divorce that you have
refused to sign these past five years.”

“What are the grounds for divorce on this writ?” Andrew felt
heat rising to his face and a strong urge to put his hands around his
father-in-law’s throat. He wondered how a man like Bryson Fraser could consort
with the likes of Hugh MacKenzie and Ewin Cameron.

“Adultery, committed by you.” Bryson’s voice rose to a high
pitch and his face turned a crimson red.

The surprised man exchanged hard looks with the Fraser. “And you
ken why I wanna sign such a thing. I dinna leave Tara, she left me for another
with more wealth. You ken that, Bryson.”

“Matters not now. You sign or you die.” Bryson’s hard voice
rose a step higher.

“I dinna commit adultery. She’s the one who did the act while
still married to me.” Andrew matched the intensity of the Fraser.

“I ken you ha’ no’ been chaste these past five years. Don’t
even try to say such to me.” Bryson’s face distorted with rage.

Andrew had no argument. He did remain faithful to Tara for a
time after she left him to be with a former lover who was wealthier and held a
higher position than he. But then, Tara did not come back and sent a writ of
divorce for him to sign. He would not sign the divorce document since she left
him. If he admitted to adultery, her dowry would have to be returned. His
father, Chief William, had used the dowry to buy much desirable land from the
Sutherlands. He refused to sign the document for five years. A divorce or no
mattered little to him until recent events brought Maidie into his life.

With hesitation and looking from one man to the other, Andrew
stepped forward to sign the document. He took the pen from Hugh’s chubby
fingers, scrawled his signature on the line provided, then placed the pen on
top of the parchment.

Hugh smiled broadly, then brought out another document. “This
says you will return Tara’s dowry now that you confessed to adultery. ‘Twas
paid in gold, so in gold ‘twill be returned.” Hugh dipped the quill pen into
the bottle of ink and held it out to Andrew.

With no alternative left to him, Andrew reached for the pen
once more and quickly signed the second parchment. His mind churned now, for
thoughts on a way the dowry could be repaid.

MacKenzie blotted the signatures and then rolled the
documents, tying each with a green ribbon. He smiled with a clap of his hands.
Andrew heard a door squeak behind him and turned to see a beautiful lass
dressed in a blue velvet gown with the bodice fitting closely to her slender
figure emerging from the MacKenzie’s bedchamber. Brown hair hung in well-formed
ringlets about her white shoulders and framed a near-perfect face. His heart
skipped a beat as he remembered the loveliness and feel of her.

“Munro, meet my betrothed.” Hugh MacKenzie rose from his chair
and came from behind the desk. “Now that she’s divorced, our betrothal is
official.” He stepped forward to take Tara by the hand and bring her closer to
the group.

Tara removed her small hand from Hugh’s large one and came to
stand in front of Andrew. She returned his gaze for a long moment, then raised
her hand to slap his face with a force that made his head swim. The sound of
the blow could be heard throughout the library. The MacKenzie bent over
laughing. The others, except for Bryson, joined his merriment.

“Munro, I suppose that’s punishment enough for the past five
years,” MacKenzie said when he finally stopped laughing. He took Tara’s hand
and moved her away from Andrew to stand beside him. Her eyes did not leave
Andrew’s face, but burned a steel brand through his.

His face stung from the blow, burning like the wound on his
belly. He felt certain his cheek held the woman’s handprint in red. He rubbed
the stinging jaw while returning Tara’s stare.

“I have someone else I want you to meet,” MacKenzie said
releasing Tara’s hand and opening the door to his bedchamber. He called to a
person within. “Come here.”

A wee lass emerged through the door clutching a nanny’s hand.
She wore a blue velvet gown the same color and design as Tara’s, with her dark
hair arranged in a similar coiffeur. She loosed her hand from the nanny’s and
ran to Tara. Ah, Tara has a child. Probably the lover’s. The MacKenzie reached
down to pick her up. She stuck a thumb into her mouth and the chief yanked it
out. The wee face wrinkled in a cry, but only a whimper emerged between the
tiny pink lips. MacKenzie brought her forward, took the small hand, and thrust
it toward Andrew. He held her hand and brushed his lips across the back of it.
A sweet smile lit her face while large grey eyes searched his. Andrew looked
into the eyes, now crinkled in a smile. They were the same color as his. He
sought Tara over the MacKenzie’s shoulder. She shrugged.

“Meet your daughter, Munro,” Hugh MacKenzie said with a sneer.

Chapter Seventeen

Andrew stood open-mouthed, gazing at
the pretty child while the others stared at him. His daughter? Tara moved
forward, took the lassie from Hugh and put her in Andrew’s arms. The child
tried to cling to her mother’s neck, but Tara pulled the small arms loose and
stepped back. A guttural sound, not a cry, came from the wee lassie’s throat
when her mother moved out of reach. Andrew held tightly as the child squirmed
in his arms, trying to get down. He sought a chair and sat with the child on
his lap. She kept reaching for Tara until finally she buried the small, dark
head into her father’s shoulder and shook with silent cries.

Tara came closer. “She can neither hear nor speak. Your
daughter is a deaf-mute.”

“How old is she?” he finally managed to ask, trying to
calculate mentally how long ago Tara left him.

“She’s four years, almost five.”

“So you were pregnant when you left and didn’t tell me.”

“Aye, I ken you wouldn’t let me go if I told you about the
bairn in my womb.”

Andrew put his hand on the wee head, now snuggled against his
shoulder. His heart filled with a love he had never felt before. This lass was
his child, part of him, part of Tara. He felt the fire of fury rising within.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Tara?” Andrew forced himself to stay
seated. His hand shook with wanting to choke the woman.

“Why should I have told you? I kept waiting for you to come
for me and you never did.” Tara’s voice broke.

“You left me for another mon. What was I to do? You could have
come back at any time. I would have welcomed you with open arms.” His voice
grew loud.

The wee one raised her head to look into his eyes. She could
tell he was filled with angst. She put a small hand on his cheek. He covered it
with his own while his heart broke into a thousand pieces, and love for her
dispelled the anger. He had his child now and would never let her go.

“She will go with me when I leave this place. She is my child,
and I will keep her.” Andrew looked to her grandfather, Bryson Fraser. “Why did
you keep my child a secret from me, Bryson?”

“I did as my daughter wished.” The chief looked away.

“You did what was convenient for you. Her lover, Gregor, must
have paid you handsomely to keep the secret, knowing I would come for the child
and Tara if I had known.”

Bryson hung his head and scrapped the floor with a boot. Ha,
Andrew brought the ax down on the right spot. The Fraser had made money at
Andrew’s expense in keeping his wife and daughter away from him for four years
now. He wondered how much money lined Bryson’s pocket at present from the
arrangement with the MacKenzie. Hugh MacKenzie was a good fifteen years older
than Tara with five grown children. Two daughters were married with two left at
home. He had one son and desired more. Tara, being young and beautiful, fit his
agenda for bringing forth sons. Hugh didn’t want another daughter, especially
an afflicted one, to feed and provide with a dowry.

The big MacKenzie came to stand beside Tara. “How much will you
pay me to let the lassie go with you?” The man was ruthless.

“What about her mither? She would let her daughter leave?”
Andrew looked at Tara. Brown eyes, lined with dark circles stood out on a face
now drained of all color. More than likely, she had been crying.

Tears pooled in the lovely orbs. “I will let her go with you.”
Tara reached for the child, taking her from Andrew. She turned and rushed back
into the sleeping chamber. The nanny followed, closing the door.

Andrew rose from the chair. “What do you require, Hugh, for me
to take my daughter when I leave?” Andrew’s arms felt empty, now that his daughter
had been taken away.

Bryson Fraser stepped forward. “You have paid enough with the
return of Tara’s dowry and signing the divorce decree.” He turned to the
MacKenzie. “That is what we agreed on and what will be done. I am consenting
for you to marry my daughter.”

“And with a hefty portion of the dowry money returned to you
too, huh Fraser?” the MacKenzie added. “You stand to profit from the deal.”

“You wanna sell my granddaughter.” The Fraser moved to stand
in front of the huge MacKenzie chief. The two men glared at each other, each
taking the other’s mettle. Bryson stood his ground.

“Your daughter is worth more than gold to me, Bryson. I gladly
yield to your demands.” Hugh almost sounded contrite.

He’s a good actor. Male heirs are his objective in the whole
matter, and Tara is the one to carry out the man’s desires. Andrew’s heart went
out to his former wife, knowing what awaited her under the chief’s roof. She
already looked pale and drawn, now she would lose her child.

“When do I leave here?” Andrew could stand this place no
longer.

The MacKenzie turned to face him, putting his chubby-cheeked
face into Andrew’s. His breath smelled of ale and garlic. “When I say, Munro,
and not a minute sooner. I told you, we are waiting for the objects of your
exchange to arrive.”

“What are the objects of my exchange, Hugh?” Andrew knew in
his heart who they planned to exchange for his freedom, but he hoped to be
wrong.

“I guess it won’t hurt for you to ken. My friend here, the
chief of Clan Cameron...” The MacKenzie motioned to Ewin Cameron and his
brother who stood quietly on the opposite side of the room. “Desires for his
niece and her son to return to his clan.”

“Are you speaking of Maidie and Sven then?”

“Aye, you guessed it. I’m speaking of Maidie Cameron and her
son. You thought to keep the lad and his inheritance in your clan, but nae,
both will come to my clan when my son returns from the continent and the lass
weds him.”

Andrew couldn’t believe what he heard. His stomach churned.
Maidie marry the MacKenzie’s son? He looked around at Ewin Cameron and motioned
toward the man standing beside him. “Is this Maidie’s father?”

Ewin spoke up, “Aye, my brother, Charles, is Maidie’s father.”

The stocky man nodded to Andrew, but said nothing.

Andrew spoke to Charles Cameron, but looked toward MacKenzie, “You
would let your daughter marry his son?”

MacKenzie walked up to Andrew and slapped his face. His head
spun. “You’re dismissed now, Munro. Go back to your chamber and wait ‘til the
exchange comes. If your brother values your life ‘twill be soon. Or mayhap you
would like more time in my dungeon.” The big chief waved a hand toward the
guard at the door. The man opened the door moving aside for Andrew, who left
without looking back.

Two guards escorted him back to the chamber. How could Hugh
MacKenzie think all the security was necessary? Surely the man didn’t think
Andrew would leave without his daughter. The thought of the lassie made his
heart ache. He desired to hold her and love on her. He had missed four years of
the wee one’s life, and he wanted to make up for lost time. No matter she
couldn’t hear nor talk. He would teach her to form words with her hands as he
had seen a deaf-mute doing in Edinburgh on his last visit. Mayhap he could
obtain a book to help him teach her.

Andrew opened the door to his chamber to find Colin pacing the
floor. The guards took their place on either side of the portal when he entered
then closed the door with a bang. A smile brightened Colin’s face. He rushed to
Andrew, embracing him around the shoulders like a son would a father. The
stunned man stood for a moment, patted the lad’s arm, then hugged him back.