The Highlander's Outlaw Bride (13 page)

She gritted her teeth, so tired she could barely hold herself on Maude’s sweated back. Tears, whipped from her eyes by the wind, streaked cold across her cheeks. Still they pressed on.

At last the massive stone hulk of Wyndham Hall loomed through the early morning mist, and Brianna thought she’d never seen anything so beautiful. Home lay at last within reach—her family, everything she loved. Her memory jolted to remember what short time remained to be with them, but she pushed it aside. There would be time later to think about Conn and the life the king had decreed for her.

Shouts rang out from the guards and men scrambled to attention, peering at the ragged group as Brianna and her men rode to the stout double doors of the manor. Maude stumbled to a halt, sides heaving, head low. Brianna slid from the mare’s back and dropped her reins, ground-tying the exhausted mare where she stood. Sore in every inch of her body, her legs numb from the hard ride, Brianna limped to the thick wooden doors and beat on them with a trembling fist. It was too early in the morning for the heavy bar to have been removed, and she waited impatiently for the steward to respond to the guards’ alert and admit her into the hall.

Gavin followed her inside, leaving the others to see to the horses, the mud and sweat cleaned from their coats, their bellies fed. Though it was early, Jamie was already up and nagging his nurse, Una. Brianna heard his shrill voice trailing down the hall, her heart swelling at the sound. Jamie tripped into the main hall and stopped short, surprised to see visitors. His face lit when he recognized Brianna, and he darted across the hall, shouting as he ran.

“Anna! Anna! Ye are home!” He flung himself into her arms, nearly knocking her on her arse with the force of his welcome. She grabbed him to her, hugging him so tight he began to complain.

“Ow! Ye are hurting me!” He struggled against her grasp.

“Jamie! I have missed ye so much!” Tears blurred her eyes as she held him close, breathing in his familiar scent, his small body fitting her arms so differently than it had little more than a month ago.

Jamie wiggled from her arms and held himself up, stretching as tall as he possibly could. “I have grown, Anna. See?” He craned his neck, showing her how much taller he was. Before Brianna could remark on his height, he planted his fists on his hips and glared at her.

“Ye left me!”

Nonplussed, Brianna stared at the child and blinked in bewilderment, too tired to think properly, amused at the fierce scowl on Jamie’s face.

Jamie stomped his foot. “Auld Willie said ye left me.”

Brianna drew back in disbelief. Surely her uncle wouldn’t have said such a thing to the child. Just then, the old man stepped forward and laid a hand on Jamie’s shoulder.

“Wheesht, lad. Dinnae
fash
yer sister so. She has had a hard night of it, so it seems.”

Brianna wanted to ask him what he had actually told Jamie, why Jamie thought she’d left him on purpose. But she was too happy to be home and amid her family to question him now. She gave her uncle a weary smile. “I am glad to be home. I must speak with ye, then I would like a short nap so I can think straight again.”

Auld Willie nodded. “Jamie, lad, run ask Cook to prepare something for yer sister and the men. They look to be famished and in need of her good food. And help set up the tables, like a good lad.”

“I am big now!” Jamie shouted as he ran from the room. “Anna’s home and I am almost as big as her!”

His voice faded from the room and Brianna shook her head fondly at his exaggeration. He’d grown taller, obviously much more of a handful than he’d been when she’d left. He would bear watching, and she frowned as she realized she wouldn’t be around much longer to keep an eye on him. She turned to Auld Willie.

“Could we sit in private?”

He nodded and led her to a corner of the room where a few wooden chairs grouped around a small table to one side of the huge fireplace. They both sat and Gavin joined them.

“Uncle, I have a story to tell ye, but it must wait.” She twisted her fingers and gathered her thoughts. “I was on my way home last night when we were attacked as we made camp a few hours’ ride from here.”

Auld Willie raised an eyebrow. “Do ye know who it was, lass?”

“Nae. It could have been brigands.” Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. “Or someone from Wyndham.”

The old man’s chin jerked, startled. “Wyndham, ye say? Och, lass. What would make ye say such a thing?”

Brianna swallowed and glanced around the room, looking for something, anything at all that would give credence to what she’d been told. Nothing appeared out of place. Rabbie and Duncan entered the hall, Tam on their heels. The pup gamboled over to her and she ruffled his ears.

“I will tell ye later, but I need to know Wyndham is safe.”

“Aye. Wyndham is protected as always.”

“And Jamie? We must keep a close watch on Jamie.”

Auld Willie rose, patting her shoulder comfortingly. “Wheesht, lass. Dinnae
haiver
so. Ye cannae believe Jamie is in danger.”

“Not only Jamie, but myself as well.” She placed a hand on her uncle’s arm and stared at him, willing him to believe her. “Auld Willie, someone at Wyndham set a trap for us the night we left to gather the cattle. Somehow the sheriff knew we would be out there that night and would have hanged us had I not asked for the king’s mercy.”

“And the sheriff let ye go, just like that?” Clearly agitated, Auld Willie began to pace the floor. Tam cocked his head at the man’s actions. An anxious whine slid from his throat and Brianna glanced at him, surprised. Her next words were for her uncle, though her gaze lingered on the pup.

“Aye, though he had a black heart, for he gave his guards orders to kill us the first night, as soon as we were far enough away to keep his hands clean of the deed. We would surely be dead now had it not been for Ewan and Geordie, who found us and told us of the sheriff’s plans. They got us away, and we stayed in hiding for days before the king returned to Troon and I was able to gain audience with him.”

She stood, her hand outstretched to halt her uncle’s heavy pacing. “We are here and safe now. Dinnae
fash
yerself. I will help take care of Jamie.”

Auld Willie came to a reluctant stop and faced Brianna with a wry grin. “Och, lass. Ye have been through a hard time. I will double the guards and be sure no harm comes to ye or our wee Jamie.”

Brianna hugged the old man. “I know I am safe here. Thank ye for all ye have done whilst I have been gone. And thank goodness ye were too sick to go with us that night. I know Jamie has been in good hands.” Tam rose to his feet and pushed between them. Brianna laughed.

“This lad was a present from the king. I offered to buy him since Dubh died a few weeks ago. He will make a good drover.”

Auld Willie eyed the dog and patted Brianna’s shoulder awkwardly. “Get some rest. Ye are fair worn out. There will be something for ye to eat when ye wake.”

Brianna kissed his dry cheek gratefully and climbed the stairs to her room and comfort, Tam trotting happily at her heels.

Chapter 16

A low keening sound woke her. Bolting upright, she bounced once on the soft mattress as she struggled from the bed. Her feet hit the floor before she was completely awake, and with bleary eyes, she noted the sun was only a wee bit lower in the sky than when she’d fallen into bed. She stumbled past Tam, curled on the rug next to the hearth, to her window overlooking the front of Wyndham Hall. Two mounted men, leading a horse with a cloaked form tied across its back, paced in a slow procession up the long road. A somber group clustered around them, more people streaming from the Hall to meet them, a few in clusters of what could only be acute grief.

Shaking the wrinkles from her gown, Brianna stopped long enough to pull her slippers on before running from her room and down the winding staircase to the great hall below, Tam slinking about her ankles. She darted out the front door and slid to a stop on the wide front steps, overcome by a sense of dread. Her hands shook, and she clasped them firmly to still them. There was nothing she could do but lift her chin and swallow hard against the awful taste of trepidation rising in the back of her throat. As the riders approached, she recognized Ewan and William. Her eyes slid to the bundle between them.

Oh, God! ’Tis Geordie
. She dug her fingernails deep into the palms of her hands, using the pain to keep herself from thinking about the young man who had died defending her.

The procession halted in the open space before the hall. She drew a deep breath and walked the necessary paces to them, one firm step at a time, wishing her da or Auld Willie would appear to take this duty from her. Knowing this fell to her alone.

On silent paws, Tam padded hesitantly forward and sniffed the bundle laid across the horse. With an anxious whine, he disappeared into the crowd.

As if in a dream, she floated with excruciating slowness through time and distance. Sounds from the gathered crowd faded from her hearing, the sight of the people growing dimmer, until her entire reality shrank to no more than herself and the dead soldier before her.

She stood beside Geordie’s horse and laid her hand gently on the plaide-wrapped body. Stiff and cold, the form in no way recalled to her the vibrancy of the youth, and she closed her eyes against the harsh reality of death. In the recesses of her mind she heard his voice, saw his playful antics with Tam, the way he had sought to entertain them in their exile only days before. He had been the youngest of the soldiers gathered for the raids, but he had lacked in neither courage nor ability.

She opened her eyes, startled to find herself surrounded by silent, expectant villagers. She had no idea how long she had stood lost in her thoughts, but she caught sight of Gavin standing just to one side of William. He gave her a reassuring nod. She turned to her clansmen and saw their reliance on her, their grief tempered with the expectations she would always have their best interests at heart, and the knowledge that dying for Wyndham and clan Douglas brought honor. She lifted her head and addressed the gathering as the breeze gently blew her skirts about her legs, and the sky darkened with threatening rain.

“’Tis a mark of the esteem we hold for Geordie Douglas that he is here today. He was chosen for his courage and his honor to be a part of those who have labored to keep our clan and village safe.” Brianna swallowed hard and glanced at the familiar faces around her. “He was a young man who believed in his clan, and who never failed to follow his duty through to the end.”

She stopped, remembering just what his duty had cost him, and it was a long moment before she recovered enough to say the final words.

“
Codladh samh
, Geordie Douglas. Sleep ye well.” Her throat tightened as grief overcame her. William and Duncan dismounted and led Geordie’s horse away to the cottage he had shared with his grandmother who had raised him. A keening rose in the air again, like ghosts welcoming their brother home.

* * *

Physically exhausted, she made all the right moves throughout the rest of the day, but her mind raced on without respite. Geordie’s death had brought reality home like nothing else could. He had died defending her. Who wanted her dead? Why? Was there a reiver angry enough with the harassment she and the men had caused? Did someone covet Wyndham? If so, Jamie was also a target.

She could not bear to think of Jamie in danger. When it came time for bed, she insisted she couldn’t be parted from the little brother she had missed so much. Jamie bounded happily up the stairs and slipped into his night shirt with little fuss before climbing into Brianna’s bed, insisting Tam accompany him.

“Tell me a story, Anna!” He bounced on the bed, shrieking with laughter as the young dog batted the furs, growling in mock ferocity.

“Tam, be still! Jamie, dinnae encourage him, or I will make the both of ye sleep in yer proper beds.”

Suitably chastened, Jamie wiggled beneath a blanket and Tam curled beside him.

As tired as she was, she couldn’t help but smile at the pair before her. She settled on the bed beside Jamie.

“Once there were two brothers named—”

“McGillivray!” Jamie shouted, giving the name a rousing roll from his tongue. Tam’s head jerked up, ears perked at the sound. Brianna smoothed Jamie’s hair as she began the story.

“Donald’s brother, Rory, was fond of music and dancing. One night, the brothers were out looking for some sheep that had strayed, when suddenly they saw rays of brilliant light coming from holes in a very large rock—a rock everyone knew was a place where faeries lived.”

She paused, waiting to see if Jamie had drifted off to sleep, but he squirmed under his blanket, far from slumber, his fingers twisting in Tam’s thick fur.

“As they approached the rock, the most wonderful sounds of music and merriment reached their ears, and even though they knew the rock was a place where faeries lived, they crept closer and closer. Finally, Rory suggested they pay the faeries a visit—”

“But Donald said,
Nae
!” Jamie crowed, twisting emphatically beneath the covers.

Brianna nodded. “Donald said nae. But Rory was unable to resist, and he jumped inside the rock where the faeries lived, leaving Donald all alone.”

“And Donald had to go home and tell his ma and da Rory was gone, aye?” Jamie craned his neck around to look up at his sister. Tam gave his face a vigorous swipe with his tongue and Jamie giggled.