Taming the Scotsman (18 page)

Ewan took a deep breath as he tried to stave off the bitter agony he felt. Something inside him had shriveled with Ryan’s words.

So Ryan did love her.

Damn you, Fate, for replaying this
.

It was just as before.

Only this time Ewan would make sure the woman went where she belonged. Nora would go home with Ryan, and he would go back to…

Unable to finish the thought, Ewan turned around and left the pub. The soundless crowd parted, letting him pass.

Bavel, Lysander, Pagan and Viktor exchanged awkward looks before they followed after him.

Nora started to go after Ewan as well, but her anger with Ryan was too great.

First she had a score to settle.

The crowd surrounding them slowly began to resume their own business and speculate on hers.

“Why did you do that?” she demanded.

“Because I
have
to marry you.”

“Why? You don’t love me. You can’t even stand me. All you’ve ever done is berate and mock every part of my person.”

Ryan looked away sheepishly as if the truth were almost too hard for him to face. “Because I need your dowry. If I don’t have it, I will die in less than two months.”

Her shock at his words overrode her anger. That was the last thing she expected, but then given his odd behavior, she shouldn’t be surprised by anything he said or did at this point. “Why?”

Ryan sighed wearily and moved away from the crowd that was still mostly focused on them.

He lowered his voice so that only she could hear his words. “Remember last spring when I went to the continent?”

“Aye.”

“I went trying to find myself another bride. My mother was pressing me to ask your father for your hand. She told me that it was past time I settle down and take you for my wife. I was horrified by the very idea of spending my life tied to you. I thought if I could go to the tourney circuit and build a solid reputation and fortune for myself, I would have my pick of brides.”

Nora shook her head at him. “Oh Ryan.
I
can best you at swordsmanship.”

His eyes blazed at her. “I’m not
that
incompetent, Nora. I’m just not excellent. Believe me, I need no reminders from you of just how painfully average I am.”

She almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

But after what he’d done to Ewan, she wasn’t anywhere near ready to forgive him for his actions.

“What happened?” she asked.

He rubbed his face with his hand and looked weary and tired. Aged, in fact. “Every time I lost, I signed vouchers for the value of my horse and armor. I kept thinking that if I could just win one tournament, I would have enough to pay everyone back.”

He let out a long-suffering breath. His eyes appeared haunted and were tinged by humiliation. Now she did feel sorry for him and his foolish quest.

“But I lost time and again,” he continued. “When the season came to an end, everyone started demanding I make good on my vouchers. I didn’t know what to do so I borrowed enough money from Stryder of Blackmoor so that I could come home, marry you, and repay what I owe.”

Nora couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Stryder of Blackmoor? Are you mad? They say he is the devil incarnate.”

“Aye, but I had no choice. Oddly enough, he alone hasn’t pursued me for the money I owe him. But everyone else has hounded me to ground. I have to marry you, Nora. There’s no other way.”

Nora pressed her hand to her temple to fight the ache that was starting there as she thought of everything Ryan had put her through.

The fright she’d had reaching Ewan. The worry and fretting. Now he was completely unrepentant for his actions.

She could strangle him!

“I can’t believe this,” she said. “Debt is the only reason you asked for my hand?”

“Well, I do care for you in a pesky little sister sort of way. And you’re not bad-looking when you’re silent. Unfortunately that is almost never, but—”

“Ryan! I knew you were vile, but this…How could you borrow money and then rely on me as your banker?”

He sighed again. “I know what I did was wrong. The only way I was able to continue on the tourney circuit was by telling everyone that I was betrothed to King Henry’s niece.”

He gave her a pleading, sheepish stare. “So you see, I do need you, Nora. I really, truly will die without you because if I fail to repay some of the men I owe, they will kill me as an example to others.”

“You don’t need me, Ryan,” she said testily. “What you need is a banker.”

“King Henry’s niece, eh? Och now, this just got better.”

Nora turned at a voice that sounded oddly familiar to her. It took a minute to recognize Isobail’s brother Graham from the day before.

But this time, he wasn’t alone.

There were two other men with him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked them.

Graham gave her an evil sneer that was cold enough to set her teeth to chattering. “We’re setting things right.”

“I beg your pardon?” she asked.

Before she could move, Graham pulled out a dagger. “Come quietly, lass, and we won’t hurt you. Fight us, and you’ll be much worse for the dare.”

E
wan stood in the stable, brushing his horse as his mind whirled with the day’s revelations. He didn’t know why he was out here, except that he couldn’t think of anything else to do with himself and the horse needed a good brushing.

Maybe.

Not.

Basically, he needed something to focus on other than the burning pain inside his heart.

Ryan loved Nora
.

But then, so did he.

He loved her more than anything. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Nothing he wouldn’t give her.

Except his hand in marriage.

His stomach twisted even more as He felt hopelessness deep inside his heart.

Why was it ever his plight to love women he couldn’t have? What were the chances of Nora’s father siding with him and breaking Nora’s betrothal with Ryan while Ryan loved her? Especially given the fact that their families knew each other. That Nora and Ryan had grown up together.

It was impossible.

Her father would never allow her to marry a man with so few prospects. He wasn’t Lochlan who was laird or Sin or Braden who were titled lords.

He was a simple landowner with a slightly better than modest income.

One who lived in a cave.

You could take her
.

Aye, he could, but to what purpose? Another feud for his clan. More death. More sorrow.

How could they have a happy marriage based on that?

There were so many lives at stake here. Things much more important than his own happiness, which seemed paltry when compared to what could happen again.

Ewan cursed as pain assailed him anew.

He should have stayed in the mountains. He should never have helped her.

Now that he had…

Ewan couldn’t get her out of his mind. He
needed her more than he had ever needed anyone or anything. The mere thought of living without her was enough to send him to his knees.

How could he go back to what he’d been before her winsome smile had set him free?

“Ewan?”

He looked over his shoulder to see Catarina approaching. The lass was toying with the tip of her long braid. She looked hesitant as she drew near.

“What is it?” he growled. “Can’t you see I’d rather be alone?”

She ignored his surly tone and stood by his horse’s head. She patted the horse on the nose as she watched him. “Nora didn’t lie to you.”

He felt his nostrils flare as more pain wrenched his gut. “What do you know if it?”

“I know enough to say that she would much rather have you for husband than Ryan.”

He tightened his grip on the brush, refusing to let her see how much her words bothered him. “And I would say that you are not Nora and know nothing of her mind or mine.”

“I know what I see,” she said softly. She reached out and stopped his hand from brushing the horse. “You two belong together.”

Ewan stared at her hand on his. Her skin was pale, like Nora’s, her nails every bit as well manicured.

But that hand didn’t make him tremble.

It didn’t cause his body to burn, his manhood to stiffen.

Only Nora did that.

And she was the one woman he couldn’t have.

Alone he could fight for her. Was willing to fight for her. But if Ryan refused to let her go, it would be like Robby MacDouglas all over again.

Another feud.

More unwarranted deaths…

“She belongs to Ryan,” he said insistently, shrugging her hand away. “You heard what he said. He wanted her so much that he dared my wrath to hire you to keep her away from me.”

Ewan paused as he thought about that. “Wait…how did he know to hire
you
? How could he have found out about Nora’s plans, and then having learned of them, why did Ryan go to you and not her father to stop her from fleeing?”

Catarina looked rather sheepish.

She stepped back, her brow fretful.

A bad feeling came over Ewan as he watched her sudden nervousness. Just what was going on here?

“Cat? What are you not telling me?”

She visibly cringed. “Promise you won’t be angry at us?”

“Nay,” he said sternly. “I never make a promise I can’t keep, and by the looks of you, lass, I be thinking I’m going to be good and angry at this explanation.”

She took another step back.

Ewan grabbed her wrist to keep her from fleeing. “You’d best be telling me, Cat.”

She squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutiny, and when she finally spoke, it came out in a flurry. “Her father wanted Nora to marry a MacAllister. He’s been trying to arrange a marriage for a while now between your families, and since Braden and Sin are both recently married, he got a bit worried that some woman would grab
your
interest and he would lose out on uniting your two families.”

Ewan scowled at her words. It didn’t make sense that Nora’s father would want him for a son-in-law. “Why would he wish to marry her to a younger son?”

Catarina cleared her throat. “Because the MacAllister clan will ever come first to Lochlan. Alex wanted a younger son who could take over his clan’s leadership and yet be able to pull MacAllister strength if needs be.”

Ewan went cold at the name.

“Alex?” he repeated slowly in disbelief.

There was only one Alex who had ever broached the subject of marriage with one of his brothers.

“Are you saying Alexander Canmore is her father?”

Catarina nodded.

Ewan cursed. Loudly.

This was truly unbelievable. Aye, her father would have his head.

Both of them.

“Her father is the cousin to the king of Scotland?” he roared.

Catarina offered him a forced smile. “Surprise.”

Ewan felt sick to his stomach as the full weight of what he’d done with Nora came crashing down on him.

He was a dead man should her father ever learn what they’d done.

“She said she was Eleanor’s niece.”

“She is. Her mother is sister to Eleanor. She married Alex years ago when he was in Paris.”

Ewan cursed again as he remembered Alexander had married a French lady. It had never dawned on him that she would be sister to one of the most powerful women in all of Christendom.

Anymore than he would have
ever
believed Nora to be Alexander’s daughter. No wonder she had failed to tell him her clan’s status or her father’s name. No man in his right mind would dare lead her out of the country and risk her father’s wrath.

Alexander Canmore was known for his furious wrath and quick retaliation.

Sweet holy Mary, he’d slept with the niece and cousin of two kings!

Lochlan would kill him for this, and God only knew what her father would do to him…

How could this have happened?

Well, he knew
how
it had happened, but why?

Aye, he was a fool. One destined for an ugly castration.

With a blunted instrument.

As his mind played through the horror of his
situation, Ewan realized Catarina seemed to know a lot about this whole affair, and he wondered what other information she was withholding.

“You knew Ryan was the one who hired you to abduct me?”

This time she didn’t even try to hide from him. “Aye, I knew it. Viktor and Bavel didn’t. They had never seen Ryan before, but I had.”

“When?”

“A few times at Alex’s castle.”

Ewan scowled. “You seem rather familiar with Alexander Canmore.”

“He and my mother are friends. They were very close in their youths.”

Something in her tone made him wonder if she might be one of Alexander’s illegitimate children. But that was none of his business.

He had more pressing worries at hand.

“So why did you bring me here to meet Ryan, then, if you knew what he wanted?”

“To be honest, I didn’t think Ryan would have the audacity to be here when we arrived with you, and her father wanted me to keep the two of you together for as long as possible. When I told him Ryan had tried to hire Viktor to kidnap you, he thought it would be a good way to give you two more time together. He was certain you would grow to love Nora if you were around her long enough.”

Ewan let out a long, deep breath.

Suddenly everything made sense.

Well, not
everything
, but many things were a lot clearer.

Her guard abandoning her at his cave.

Some of the odder comments the gypsies had made over the last few days.

But one thing still didn’t make sense.

“Why would he entrust her to me?” Ewan asked. “How did he know I wouldn’t hurt her?”

Catarina looked as if he’d just asked her the dumbest question on earth. “Because you’re a MacAllister and your family honor is the law all of you live by. He knew you would never let her come to harm.”

Ewan snorted at that. “The man is still a fool. I would never have taken such a chance with
my
daughter’s life, and I find it hard to believe that he would be so careless with hers.”

“Well to be honest, that’s why he sent us. We were to keep you together and to keep watch on you to make sure you didn’t hurt her.”

“But why send gypsies?”

She smiled at that. “We’re not all gypsies. Lysander is one of Alex’s men and Pagan is a good friend of his. That’s why the two of them refused to fight you with a sword after Nora disarmed Lysander. Had you engaged either of them, you would have known immediately they were knights trained for battle and not peasants.”

“And you?”

“My mother is a peasant and I fall under Alex
for my protection. Viktor is my uncle and Bavel my cousin.”

Ewan shook his head? “I canna believe I was duped so easily.”

“Don’t blame Nora—”

“Believe me,” he said, interrupting her, “I don’t. ’Tis her father I want to murder. How could he play with people’s lives like this?”

“Ewan?” Nora’s voice rang out.

Ewan looked past Catarina to see Nora standing at the opening of the stable.

Nora seemed nervous and uncertain as she looked at them together. “Could you please come out here for a moment?”

He frowned at her words. “Nora, there’s nothing—”

“Please, Ewan,” she stressed the words. “I
truly
need you to come outside alone. Now.”

His frown turned into a scowl at her insistent tone. She sounded more like a mother trying to rein in an ill-bred child than a woman who should be contrite for her father’s behavior.

Angry, he headed for her.

It wasn’t until he neared the entrance that he saw she wasn’t alone.

Graham MacKaid was with her, and he had a dagger held to her throat. His two brothers flanked him.

“Make a move and she’s dead.”

Ewan froze. He wanted to turn around to see if
Catarina was still in the stable, but didn’t dare, lest he get her into trouble as well. With any luck, she would be able to sneak out and get one of the others to help with this.

“You wouldn’t dare harm her,” Ewan said slowly, stepping forward with his arms held up nonthreateningly so that Graham wouldn’t get nervous and hurt Nora out of fear.

“Wouldn’t dare kill the king’s cousin?” Graham said his next words loudly as if wanting everyone to hear them. “Ewan MacAllister will kill whomever he pleases.”

Ewan took another step forward, intending to end this once and for all.

“One more step,” Graham snarled, “and she’s headless.”

Ewan stopped instantly.

He met Nora’s fear-filled eyes and tried to offer her comfort. He had no intention of letting her be hurt by Graham or anyone else.

Whatever it took, he would see her safe.

“What do you want?” Ewan asked.

Graham smiled snidely. “You to stand there while my brothers take you.”

Ewan heard Catarina in the stable, and his heart lurched in fear of Graham and his brothers finding her there. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill Catarina.

He didn’t know what Cat had planned, but she always had something planned. He only hoped she executed it carefully.

Ewan stood in silence as Graham’s two brothers tied his hands behind his back.

“Excuse me,” a villager said, drawing near them hesitantly. “Is there a problem here?”

“King’s business,” Graham snapped. “Isn’t it, my lady?”

By her pale face, Ewan knew Nora longed to tell the truth, but didn’t dare. The truth would get both of them killed and probably the good Samaritan too.

“Aye. There’s no problem.”

The old villager looked less than convinced but went on his way.

The taller of Graham’s brothers was still a full head shorter than Ewan. He had dark brown hair and mean brown eyes. He grabbed Ewan by the hair and forced him onto a horse.

Ewan kept waiting for Catarina or one of the others to come and distract them.

They didn’t.

So in the end, the MacKaids mounted their horses and he had to watch helplessly as Nora was placed in front of Graham.

He saw the pallor on her face. The fear and concern.

“It’ll be all right, Nora,” Ewan assured her.

The doubt in her eyes tore through him.

“Aye, Princess Nora. It’ll be just fine.” Graham laughed evilly and kicked his horse forward.

“Why are you taking us?” Ewan asked.

Graham’s younger brother, Rufus, was the one
who answered him. Shorter than Nora, Rufus might have been passably handsome had he ever taken a bath and if he could get the distasteful smirk to leave his lips.

Ewan had met the man only once, years ago when Rufus had stopped with Isobail and their father to visit with his father at the MacAllister castle.

“For the sake of justice,” Rufus snarled. “You ruined our family and so we ruin yours.”

Graham laughed again. “And here I thought the best revenge would be in just taking the woman you wanted and making her my own. Little did I know who she was. Just imagine how her father will react when he learns that she was killed by Ewan MacAllister. He won’t rest until he’s destroyed every single member of the MacAllister clan. There won’t be a single member left standing.”

Ewan was aghast at their plan.

Surely they weren’t serious.

“Are you mad?”

“Not at all,” Rufus said. “We lost everything when you ran off with Isobail. Robby MacDouglas demanded her dowry and then when our father failed to give it to him, he killed Father and banished us.”