Highland Vengeance (29 page)

“
Damn it.”

“
What is it m’laird?”
Stephan asked.

“
We have to get back to
Lansington. This is what he wanted, us away from my
wife!”

Keith and Calum were already mounted
and the others hurried quickly to follow their laird. The five men
rode the path in a rapid pace back to the home where Olivia had
spent her early childhood. Their traveling was much easier in the
morning light and with the panic that Lady Sinclair was in danger.
Camden had trust in Garrison but he worried Olivia might be out of
the castle alone. She was stubborn enough to talk anyone into
letting her do what she wanted, including her husband.

Within moments of arriving back at the
castle, Laird Sinclair was yelling to the English soldiers to help
his men find Olivia. Camden raced through the large wooden door at
the entrance of the holding and began shouting his wife’s name.
Garrison came out of the library and saw Camden as he headed up the
stairs.

“
Camden, what is wrong?” The
duke yelled.

“
Where is my
wife?”

“
She is in my bedchamber
with Ella. My wife was having some pain this morning and Livy has
been with her since.”

“
I need to see her, now,”
Camden demanded as he headed towards the duke’s chamber.

“
You can’t go in there, my
wife may not be decent,” Garrison said as he raced after
Camden.

“
The hell I
can’t.”

That statement was said just as the
giant Highland man opened the door to Garrison’s chamber and the
duke had no time to stop him. Camden saw his beautiful wife placing
a wet cloth on Ella’s head and it was obvious that the petite woman
was laboring to have her baby. He was overwhelmed with relief that
Malcolm had not harmed Olivia and that she was still safe in the
castle walls. Camden suddenly felt uneasy as Olivia stared blankly
at her husband and brother as they stood in the doorway while Ella
was enduring the pain.

“
My laird, do you think you
could stop gawking at Ella and give her some privacy?” Olivia
insisted.

“
Forgive me Ella,” the laird
mumbled.

“
Do not worry Camden, it is
hard to control one’s actions when they are in love,” Ella said
sweetly as she winked at her husband.

“
Garrison, I need to speak
with you in private,” Camden said as he turned to leave.

“
My love, I will be back in
a few moments. I love you,” the duke promised.

Olivia was instantly curious as to what
was happening but there was no way she was going to leave Ella,
especially since the midwife had not arrived yet. She could hear
her brother and husband’s deep voices talking just outside the door
and she was dying to know why her husband was so upset.

“
Go. See what is happening
Olivia. I am fine here for the time being,” Ella smiled.

“
I couldn’t.”

“
Margaret is here and she
can stay until you come back.”

Olivia grinned. “I will only be a
moment, I promise.”

When she opened the chamber door, Lady
Sinclair found her husband, brother and a mass of soldiers, both
English and Scottish, flooding the hallway.

“
My laird, may I speak with
you in private?” Olivia asked.

Camden nodded briefly and then followed
his wife to the library and closed the doors behind him. As soon as
they were alone, the bronzed laird grabbed his wife and kissed her
mouth thoroughly. Olivia was not sure what was happening but she
welcomed his passionate kiss and matched his heat with her own. He
held her tightly and he could not seem to get her body close enough
to his. Olivia began to whisper between their kisses and she
finally pulled away to seek answers to her questions.

“
Is everything alright my
laird?”

“
It is now,” he said
huskily.

“
Where did you go last
night?”

The couple sat down on a leather settee
and Camden explained to his wife, everything that had happened. He
knew it would be no use in keeping anything from her, so Camden let
Olivia know what he and her brother had planned. Garrison had
already sent out a sentry of soldiers to scout the perimeter of the
castle to find any tracks that Camden and his men might use to look
for Malcolm. The laird was sure the villain was close by and he was
not going to get away with anything. Lansington Castle, Olivia,
Ella and the children, would all be heavily guarded until the
MacKay man was found.

The door opened after a slight knock
and the duke looked at Olivia. “The midwife is here,” he
said.

“
Go and stay with Ella, we
are taking care of everything else,” Camden said to his
wife.

“
Be safe my love,” Olivia
said as she kissed his lips softly before hurrying to be by Ella’s
side.

The midwife checked on the laboring
duchess and she thought that perhaps with the excitement of the
Highlanders coming the night before, that it may have started her
birthing process. Olivia had helped with other women that had given
birth but suddenly the fear of something going wrong with her
sister, made her extremely nervous. She did everything possible to
hide her apprehension from her brother’s wife because Olivia had
seen other births go terribly wrong. Lady Sinclair knelt by Ella’s
side and prayed quietly with her to the Lord that both Ella and the
babe would be healthy.

Laird Sinclair was grateful to God that
his wife would be completely occupied with taking care of Ella. Now
he wouldn’t have to worry about her climbing trees and sticking her
arrows through someone. Camden could see that Garrison was uneasy
about the birth and the duke would be useless to the soldiers
looking for Malcolm. The Highland laird was unsure of how to
comfort the man about the impending birth and the silence between
the two was awkward. Camden watched Garrison pace outside the door
with worry for his wife and he wished could help the
man.

“
My men and I will handle
the problem that we seem to have brought with us from Scotland.
Keep your guards here to protect my wife and your family. I pray
for your wife’s health,” Camden said.

“
Thank you and I promise to
keep my sister safe. God be with you and your men,” the duke
replied.

“
Laird Sinclair,” Aaron
blurted out from the entry, “we have found where the man has been
sleeping. Not too far from here in the wooded area.”

He raced out of the holding and Camden
mounted his horse in the courtyard to follow Aaron to where they
thought Malcolm may have been. The Highland warriors needed no
instructions from their laird as the brute giants with their
massive stallions hurried behind Camden. Within minutes of finding
the matted down brush where it was obvious someone had been
sleeping, Lard Sinclair could feel the presence of the evil man
nearby. He motioned his men to be still while he jumped to the
ground and searched for evidence of where Malcolm went.

Liam watched his laird do what he did
best and that was tracking his prey. Camden held his hand up to his
men to stay put while he drew his massive sword from its sheath.
The laird followed a rocky path down into a gully and then listened
for the bastard to make a sound. He was close and Camden waited for
the villain to make a mistake. The air was chilly and all the
animals were still hiding which made it easier for Camden to hear
the movement behind him.

Without turning around, Laird Sinclair
thrust his sword towards his back and the blade caught Malcolm
clean through the gut. Camden spun to see the look on the MacKay
man’s face. The bloody man was stunned and had a crazed and wild
look. The Highland laird put his boot to the man’s chest and then
pulled his blade from the rogue criminal, letting Malcolm stagger
backwards and fall to the ground.

“
You have no superior skills
as you claimed, for killing you was far too easy. The only reason
you were able to complete all the sinister things you have done so
far is because I underestimated the sum of your wickedness. Your
reign of terror on my wife, my family and my clan is over,” Camden
vowed.

With that, he left the man on the
ground bleeding with a giant hole through his stomach and went up
the hill to where his men waited. They could see their laird’s
sword was bloody but it did not look as if Camden had even broken a
sweat.

“
He is just down this gully,
finish him off and get rid of the body.”

“
Aye, m’laird,” Liam said
with a grin before he and the others did as they were
ordered.

As Camden rode back to Lansington
Castle, he felt the burden of all the torment from the MacKay clan
being lifted from his shoulders. He was free now to enjoy his life
with Olivia and live in peace with his clan. His beautiful wife had
given him hope and love when the Sinclair laird had nothing left.
Camden hurried to be with her and feel complete with Olivia in his
arms.

Epilogue

“
Laird Sinclair, may I have
permission to dance with your beautiful wife?” Broderick asked as
he bowed to the couple.

“
I will cut your hands off
if they move anywhere they should not be Laird Kincaid,” Camden
replied seriously.

Olivia laughed out loud as she followed
her friend Broderick to where everyone else was dancing merrily.
She turned back to wink at her husband and with that, Camden could
not hold back his smile. The Highland laird could not believe the
good fortune he had come into after the devastating loss of his
father. As he stood there at the wedding celebration of his sister
Maggie, to his own warrior Stephan, Camden recalled the last time
there had been a gala like this one. It ended tragically but it
also brought the brute warrior his own joyous fulfillment,
Olivia.

The summer night air had a slight
breeze and Laird Sinclair watched his wife dancing with his best
friend. Broderick had come to the Sinclair holding for Stephan’s
wedding and it was good to hear how well the Kincaid clan was
doing. When Laird and Lady Sinclair had finally returned from
England, most of the snow in the Highlands had begun to melt away
and the earth was beginning to thaw. It was the perfect time for
Broderick and his clan to return to their new land and start
building their own holding.

Maggie’s smile was contagious as she
took turns dancing with the other warriors in Camden’s guard.
Stephan trusted the men but he still looked agitated as each one
spun his new bride to the music. Camden could not help but stare at
the small bump growing at Olivia’s waistline and although she had
not figured out why her stomach was not flat anymore, Laird
Sinclair was sure she carried his baby.

Broderick laughed as Olivia held her
body perfectly poised as she danced but let her speech ramble on
like a drunken soldier. She had certainly not changed any and
Broderick was grateful for that. No one would ever compare to this
warrior woman and he hoped someday to find someone at least similar
to her. He listened to her explain in great detail how she had been
the one to bring Stephan and Maggie together. Olivia decided that
maybe her calling in life was to match people together to find love
as she and Camden had.

“
Do you think you will marry
someday Broderick?” She asked.

“
Well I doubt there is any
woman like you out there, so I guess I will have to settle in order
to have a son that can rule my clan when I am gone.”

“
Or daughter,
right?”

Broderick laughed. “Yes of course, a
daughter to rule my clan as long as you teach her everything you
know.”

“
I do not have a preference
to whether my baby is a boy or girl,” Olivia smiled.

“
What do you mean, Lady
Sinclair?”

“
I have not told my husband
yet that I carry his baby. He must believe his old married wife is
getting fat,” she grinned.

“
Congratulations m’lady. May
God bless you and the Sinclair baby.”

“
Thank you Broderick and
thank you for all that you have done for our clan. You may always
count on the Sinclairs to help your clan if ever needed, in life
and in death,” Olivia said as she bowed her head.

“
In life and in death, Lady
Sinclair. Now I better bring you back to your husband, he looks
ready to tear my head off,” Broderick grinned.

The rest of the wedding celebration
continued into the night with everyone laughing and enjoying the
ale. Camden and Olivia had said good night to the newly married
couple and headed to their chamber in the Sinclair holding for the
evening. Olivia removed her plaid and then stared into fire that
crackled in the hearth of their room. She waited there for Camden
and began rubbing her small belly as she thought of what was to
come. Olivia remembered back to the day when she helped Ella while
she began to endure her first labor.

Olivia watched as Ella calmly breathed
through each wave of pains as they came. She was impressed with how
controlled the laboring mother was because Olivia had seen other
women scream in pain. After watching Ella, she was not sure what to
expect because everything was going so smoothly and easy. Garrison
had come in to check on his wife several times and each time,
Olivia had to convince him that Ella would be all right.