Celtic Fury (30 page)

Stephen MacDougal looked very uneasy. He said, “Is she here…now?”

So, the MacDougal was afraid of ghosts
. If Rory was not so distraught, he would have laughed. He thought about saying,
Aye she is standing right next to ye’
, but he had noticed that Stephen had gone even paler still. It would not help his cause to humiliate the MacDougal. Rory found it slightly amusing that a trained warrior could be brave in battle but the mere mention of the “Ancient Ones” could send one to hide beneath the covers.

“Na
y
, she mostly comes to me when I am sleeping. I have only seen her once or twice while awake and those times were when I was consumed with darkness or grief.”

Stephen took a deep gulp of the mead, letting the liquid warm him. He remembered the day of Rory’s capture and how he had dropped his sword while looking as if he had indeed seen a ghost. Now Stephen MacDougal knew Rory had. He pondered Rory’s words and finally he said, “Alright. We shall leave in three days hence for Campbell keep.”  Rory’s eyes snapped to the MacDougal.

“We?” 

Taking another gulp of the honeyed brew, Stephen said, “Rode
rick Campbell killed my brother,
Charles. I want to see him brought to his knees as much as ye’ do. I know ye
’
, Rory MacCollum. Ye
’
may have been named the Wolf of the Highlands, but ye
’
are not a man of loose wits. Strong fighter, yes, but addled, no. Fer ye' to take the ancient binding rite assures me ye have not acted rashly. Am I right
in assuming
that ye’ never spoke those vows with Caitlyn McLeod?”

Rory nodded, feeling a little guilty that he had
not
bound himself to Caitlyn, as she still was bound to him to protect him. But he had bound himself to Brielle. MacDougal was right. He had not done that lightly.

“T’is time we stop warring with each other. With Robert’s decree, highland clans must unify. MacDougal will no longer raid MacCollum and in return, we will form an alliance of sorts.” Rory stared at Stephen as if he gone daft.

“Are ye
’
serious?”

“Deadly so.”

“Ye
’
won’t raid our livestock if I agree to this?”

“Nay. No more raids. However, if we express a need perhaps yer
’
clan can aid us and likewise to MacCollum in return.” Rory shook his head and said, “Ye’ should be having this talk with my Da. I am not even next in line as Laird of the clan.” 

“Aye, t’is true, but ye’ are closer to my age and we have a vested interest in bringing down
Roderick Campbell. I think yer’
da is a reasonable man. I think an alliance between our clans would be beneficial to all our people. Will ye’ shake on it, Rory?” 

With a single nod of the head, Rory agreed to the alliance.

“Will ye’ send word to my kin and let them know we march on Campbell? This will serve two-fold, to let my family know I am safe and to hold ye’ to yer’ word.”  Stephen cracked a smile, “What, ye’ dunna’ trust me? Haven’t I been a most gracious host?” With a hint of a smile, Rory answered, “As gracious as a slave driver can be.”

Chapter Thirty

Rory sat his destrier, his back rigid, as his posture marked him as a leader of men and had taken the ranks of just such a leader of the MacDougal forces. They made their way toward Castle Campbell. Rory used the discipline of his concentration needed to lead the men to overshadow his constant thoughts about Brielle.

As they traveled down the Highland Road, they had not ridden very far when they were met with Rory’s brothers and father. The MacCollum faction halted. Caleb called out, “Thank God, ye
’
are safe. I was coming to find ye’,
son, only what the hell are ye’
doing with these…MacDougal
gentlemen?
”

“We have come to an understanding. They are going to help me with Brielle and the Campbells.”

Caleb met his son’s eyes. He saw the darkness within him once again. “How did ye’ know, son?” He shrugged and said, “They have her don’t they?” 

“Aye, Ruiri. They do.” A look of anguish marred his features.

“How, Da?  How did it happen?” 

“We went to the village…to postpone…”

“
The wedding
! Oh my God, so this is my fault again. It was up to me to protect her and I failed again.” 

“Ye’ did not fail her. I did, my son. My complacency caused this.”

“How, Da? I dunna’ understand.” 

“Let us talk, Son. Alone.” Rory looked over at Stephen MacDougal and he nodded.

“Men we will hold. Yer’ commander will give the orders to proceed.”  Caleb looked at Rory.

Commander?

Aye.

Explain!
Rory shook his head, “Nay, I need to speak of Brielle.” 

He dismounted his war horse and followed Caleb past the mounted men and his brothers. When they had gotten far enough away from ears that would overhear the conversation, Rory asked “Is she hurt? Have they hurt her?” 

“She has been slapped repeatedly, from what I could see, not severely, but her face had born repeated marks from slaps.”

“What ye’ could see?
Ye’ saw her?”

“I went to Campbell to retrieve her. I snuck in and tried to get her to come with me,”

“Da, I dunna’ understand.” 

Caleb looked horrified. How was he going to tell his son what Brielle had professed? He felt the weight of his own failure deeply as he steeled himself to say the words to his son.

“She…refused, Ruiri.”

“I am trying to understand Da…please help me understand….” With a labored sigh, Caleb said, “After we…spoke to Father Duncan, the lass was very quiet. She tried to be brave, but I knew she wanted to have a good cry by herself, so I let her go to the pasture. The beasties seem to comfort her. She loves that brindle horse so much. I didna’ wish to intrude on her privacy so I went to get provisions. . . and sit a spell with Mara. By the time I got to the pasture, she had been taken. I rode home, took Shawn with me and headed to Campbell Keep. I camped three days outside the keep and observed. I realized I could get in easily and
with a ruse,
I went to find her.” Rory listened intently. He was leaning casually against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. He felt the darkness seeping into his veins like an old friend. His anger was just under the surface ready to bubble out at any provocation.

“Go on, Da
,”
he said, tightly controlling the rage.

“Rory, there is something ye’ need to know and I dunna
’
know how to tell ye’.” 

“Is she hurt? What have they done to her?” 

“I dunna’ think she is badly hurt. But her spirit has taken harder blows than the ones they have put to her face.” Caleb put his hand on Rory’s shoulder.

“She…doe
s not want ye’ to come for her.
She said, she had made a mistake…She said she does not love ye’.”  That errant muscle worked furiously in Rory’s jaw. He felt ready to explode.

“T’is no matter. She is mine and what is mine I shall retrieve. Love or no.” 

“Ruiri, she is lying. She is trying to protect ye’. Roderick wants ye’ to come for her. It is a trap. Son, ye’ believe me, don’t ye’. . . about her lying. ?”

Rory turned away from his father and said over his shoulder, “Campbells are very good at lying. Why would Gabrielle be any different
?
She thinks to toss t
he ancient vows aside lightly?
Again, no matter. I have claimed her. As my property I will return her to where she belongs.”

Caleb knew that Rory was furious. The lass was going to have to make amends to be certain, that was
, of course,
if they could get her to safety once and for all. Striding back to the ranks of soldiers before him, Rory called out, “We ride on to Campbell as planned.” Caleb called after his son, “Ruiri…”

“T’is time I brought my woman home, Da. I dunna’ wish to discuss another word.” Rory mounted and took the lead. He was deadly silent, thinking about what his father had said. His anger was simmering to a dangerous level. So, she thought to undo their binding? She thought to toss it in his face, aye? Rory was so angry, he felt consumed by it. He knew he had to keep that anger in check in order to be able to lead the men and think clearly to form a strategy to get Brielle home. Rory didn’t know who he was the most angry at. He could kill Roderick for having Brielle taken; he was furious at his father for leaving her unprotected and then leaving her back at Campbell Keep; he was livid with Brielle because she had lied to him and most of all, he was mad at himself…mad at himself for falling in love in the first place; mad at himself for leaving her to fight the MacDougals and for not returning in time for their proper wedding…mad at himself for setting his heart up to be broken yet again. But regardless of whether her words were lies or not, they had wed by the Old Rites and that was as true a bond as the church one and by God he would make her realize it.

Rory rode relentlessly and the men were hard pressed to keep up with him. It was late in the day as they approached the moldering remains of the keep. Despite his anger with her, Rory hated to think of Brielle in this horrid place. In the lengthening shadows, the men surrounded the outer bailey. It seemed unnaturally quiet, which signaled danger to Rory’s trained warrior’s mind. Now they waited.

Chapter Thirty-One

Roderick was sick of that crying chit. Her incessant bawling had frayed his nerves. She seemed never to stop. Threats of beatings did not dissuade her. He was seriously ready to put her in the dungeons to get some peace. He wondered why MacCollum had not shown. Perhaps he had discarded his sister as a plaything after all. He had thought that MacCollum’s undisputed pride would have drawn him out. Instead, Roderick was stuck with this bawling mess of a sister. He swore. She was a horrible mess. Perhaps he should have let the Rabid Wolf keep her. He was to get no peace, he was certain now. He grabbed a bottle of wine. He knew he should keep a clear head in case the Wolf showed himself, but he needed at least a few sips to calm his frayed nerves from the echoes of sobs that continued to drift down to his study. Ah yes, just a few sips wouldn’t hurt.

*****

Every time Brielle thought of Rory, she would start to cry. She had lied to Caleb. She knew that lie would hurt Rory beyond being able to ever forgive her. She knew he could not abide by lies. When he had fought with her, that dreadful day in the solar, he had accused her of being a liar and she had slapped him at the insult. How she regretted that now, for she
was
a liar. She was the worst liar he had ever thought her to be. She did not deserve Rory’s forgiveness. He deserved someone who would never break his heart…someone who would also never be a Campbell. She would always be that thing he hated most and they would always have that between them.

Brielle hated that she had lied to Caleb after all he had done and risked for her. He had been so kind to her. He had risked his very life for her. Those thoughts brought fresh tears to her eyes. Life without Rory would hold no promise. She had no hope for future days. She almost couldn’t bear to think of the numerous days without him. Looking out her window, it was like the world was grey, with no shades of life to welcome her. It was as if the colors were masked and her world was darker without him. When she thought she had cried every tear she possibly could, more seemed to prick at the backs of her eyes and spill like constant leaking trickles. She knew she would never see Rory again and it made her heart hurt in her chest. Knowing she had lost him forever made her stomach roil. She cried so hard, that she retched violently. Once she purged her stomach, she felt a bit better. The filth and refuse of the keep kept her nauseated most of the time. Crying did not help. She knew that, but felt she could not
seem to
do anything else.

After three such days, Brielle felt tha
t familiar malaise upon waking.
She purposely did not eat to avoid being sick, still upon rising, she barely made it to the guarderobe before she vomited. She cleaned herself up and thought a disturbing thought. Could she be carrying Rory’s child?
So lost in distress, she had forgotten when she last bled.
She ticked off the weeks since her last monthly course and she realized the truth. Dear God, it was so. She was pregnant! New fear consumed her. She could not let her brother know. He had said he would kill any offspring of Ruiri’s.

Despite the dire threat, the revelation
suddenly
gave her new strength, for if she could never be with her beloved Rory again, at least she would have this part of him that was part of them both. She would die to protect the child she and Rory had created in love.
For when she had lain with Rory, it was in love and she would always know this child was brought from that union. Rory may hate her for the rest of her days, but this child was a product of when he loved her.
She would do anything to keep safe
a
child of her beloved Rory. Roderick had said he would send her back to Val Cour. If she could go back to England, she would then carry the child in safety. She would let Marcus’ offspring think he had sired the child. Though that thought was abhorrent to her, she felt that it was the best thing she could do. Her child would be safe, and Rory would not learn of it to claim it. Drawing on her strength from the knowledge she was
carrying
Rory’s child inside her, she decided she needed to make herself physically stronger. She could not lose this baby.
It would be all she had left of Rory, now.
She had to take care of herself as best she could and get strong enough to travel back to England. Finally, her tears ceased. She was going to have a baby…Rory’s baby. For Rory’s babe, she had to live.