A Taste of Sin (36 page)

“I intend to take care of things, Mary,” Christy said, returning her kinswoman’s hug.

“Where is yer bairn, Christy? I canna wait to start spoiling the wee darling.”

“I left him with Lord Derby,” Christy explained. She put on a bright smile to conceal her breaking heart. “Sinjun thought the Highlands were too dangerous for his son.”

Mary pulled a wry face. “Englishmen! Bah! Yer room is all ready, lass. Go take a rest, ye must be exhausted.”

“I am, but before I do, I should warn you that I invited the homeless crofters to move into Glenmoor until their homes are rebuilt. Glenmoor has plenty of empty rooms to spare.”

“Aye, I’ll see to it, Christy. Go on with ye, now.”

Christy mounted the stairs on wooden legs. She couldn’t recall when she’d been so tired. After a good night’s sleep she’d be better able to cope with the situation at Glenmoor. The bed looked so inviting that she flopped down fully clothed and closed her eyes. Margot arrived a few minutes later to show off her son.

“I’ve brought my wee Angus,” Margot said, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding the tiny boy up for Christy’s inspection.

Tears formed in Christy’s eyes as she took Angus into her arms and cradled him against her breast. “He’s a fine braw bairn, Margot.”

“Ah, lass, dinna cry,” Margot said. “I know ye must miss yer own wee laddie something fierce. Lord Derby was wrong to make ye leave him behind. Yer letter dinna explain much, only that his lordship learned about his son and that ye were living with him in his townhouse.”

“Sinjun was angrier than I’ve ever seen him when he discovered he had a living son,” Christy explained. “He wanted to take my bairn away from me and banish me to Glenmoor.”

“Ye dinna mention the annulment. Are ye no longer married to Lord Derby?”

“We are still very much married. For some unexplained reason Sinjun failed to file the annulment with the courts. It’s been difficult. I finally convinced him that Niall needed me and he let me stay. I don’t know what’s going to happen now,” she said on a sob. “Sinjun thinks I care more for my clansmen than I do for my bairn.”

“What did the English bastard do?”

“He told me if I left London I’d never see Niall again. He doesn’t understand, Margot. No one but a Highlander can understand why I had to leave.”

“Dinna he want to come with ye?”

“Oh, aye, but I told him his presence here would only aggravate an already explosive situation. I couldn’t let him come, Margot! I love him too much to risk his life.”

“So ye do love him,” Margot said sagely.

“Even though I know he hates me, there is a bond between us that defies explanation. ‘Tis something I feel in my heart. The attraction that drew us together is still as strong as ever. Sinjun recognizes it but refuses to acknowledge it.”

“If he doesna, he’s a bigger fool than I gave him credit for,” Margot said. “I’ll take wee Angus to his bed so ye can rest. Will we see ye at dinner tonight?”

“Aye. Ask Rory to send riders to the Macdonald and Ranald strongholds. They’re to summon the chieftains to Glenmoor for a meeting tonight. We must decide on a way to stop this senseless feud.”

“Calum Cameron isna going to be satisfied until he has what he wants, and we all know what he wants,” Margot muttered as she left the chamber.

Christy’s clansmen crowded into the hall, waiting for the laird to speak. Christy gazed into their hopeful faces and knew how much they depended on her to end this senseless feud between allies.

“We dinna want to fight our own clansmen,” Murdoch Macdonald shouted over the din of the crowd. “We want our sheep and our cows back, and our families safe in their houses.”

“I know what you want,” Christy said, raising her hand for silence. “’Tis why I’ve returned from London. I’ve already dispatched a message to the Cameron and Mackenzie chieftains, asking for a meeting of the clans at Glenmoor four days hence. If this feud continues, lives will be lost. You’ve already suffered the loss of livestock and homes.”

“Aye, and we’re prepared to retaliate in kind,” Rory said, garnering a roar of approval. “The Macdonalds are no cowards.”

“Before you do anything, I intend to make a plea for peace. Wait four days,” Christy pleaded. “If no agreement can be reached, we’ll decide what to do next. The last thing we need is a full-blown clan war, and I think the Camerons realize that bringing British soldiers to the Highlands would be disastrous for everyone.”

“We’ll wait, Christy,” Murdoch said, speaking for the Macdonalds. “But if the Camerons attack our village again, we willna sit on our hands.”

“Fair enough,” Christy agreed. “You must defend yourselves. Return to the village. Set patrols to guard the livestock and remain alert. I’m hopeful that once The Cameron receives my message he will call a halt to the attacks.”

The crowd dispersed. Even Rory left to take his turn at patrol duty. Christy and Margot remained alone in the hall.

“Perhaps I should have asked Rory to stay,” Christy mused.

“Calum willna attack Glenmoor,” Margot predicted. “He wants it too badly to destroy it.”

“Aye, ‘tis my belief, too.”

All was quiet during the next two days. Neither the Camerons nor the Mackenzies replied to Christy’s invitation to meet, and she began to fear they would defy her. At least they hadn’t renewed their attacks or stolen any more livestock. A tenuous hope for a peaceful solution sprouted in Christy’s breast. She began to think that her return to Glenmoor had encouraged the quiet that had prevailed for the past two days. She went to bed that night feeling that everything could be worked out.

Her dreams for peace among the clans were shattered when she awoke in the darkest part of the night to the terrifying feeling that she wasn’t alone. Her worst nightmare became reality when the swath of moonlight piercing through the window revealed the hulking form of Calum Cameron looming over her bed. She opened her mouth to scream, and immediately a rag was stuffed between her teeth.

“Did ye ken I wouldna come for ye? Ah, lass, ye wound me deeply. I waited a long time for ye to return to the Highlands.”

Christy reached up and pulled the foul rag from her mouth.

“Dinna scream if ye wish to avoid bloodshed,” Calum warned. “I’m not alone, lass, and this is a household of women and children.”

“How did you get in?”

“‘Twas easy enough.”

“What do you want?”

“Why, ye, of course.”

“Neither my husband nor my bairn are in the Highlands for you to hurt,” Christy maintained. “Lord Derby and I are still married. I refuse to go anywhere with you.”

Calum laughed softly. It was not a comforting sound. “It doesna surprise me that his lordship dinna get the annulment. I dinna care about the cursed Englishman or his brat. I’m taking ye anyway.”

“I told you, I’m a married woman.”

“Since when has that stopped a Highlander? Wife stealing is a time-honored tradition. I wanted to marry ye, but if I canna, I will steal ye. After I put my bairn in yer belly ye’ll belong to me. Yer English husband willna have ye once I’ve plowed in his furrow.”

“You’re mad! Glenmoor belongs to Lord Derby. He’ll drive you off the land.”

“I dinna need Glenmoor to control the clans. I’ll have ye. Ye’ll abide in my stronghold and bear my bairns.”

“No!” Christy cried, leaping off the bed.

She was no match for Calum’s superior strength. He had but to reach out to bring her into his brawny arms. The breath slammed from her chest as he tossed her over one gigantic shoulder. Her struggles hurt no one but herself as he carried her from the chamber.

“Remember, lass, not a whisper if ye wish to prevent bloodshed,” he hissed.

As he carried her down the stairs and out the open front door, several silent shadows followed in his wake, confirming his words that he wasn’t alone. Christy knew Calum too well to ignore his warning. Though she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, she fought the urge.

Of all the scenarios Christy imagined, being stolen by Calum had been the one she had never considered.

Chapter 18

S
injun was at his wit’s end. For three days Niall had done nothing but cry for his mother. Neither he nor Effie had been able to comfort the unhappy boy. And despite the wetnurse’s best efforts, the child wasn’t eating well. As a last resort, Sinjun sent for his sister. He remembered Emma’s calming effect on Niall the last time she’d visited, and he prayed she could work the same kind of miracle on the discontented lad.

How could Christy have left?
he wondered bitterly as he paced the room with Niall in his arms. Her lack of responsibility toward her child was yet another sin to add to Christy’s growing list of irresponsible acts. Though he tried not to think of her at all, his traitorous mind refused to obey. He recalled with pleasure bordering on pain their last hours together. He remembered her wanton response to his loving and wondered if her passion had been feigned. She’d told him she loved him. Sinjun didn’t believe it. She wouldn’t have left him and Niall if she loved them. Obviously her clansmen meant more to her than her own family.

Niall’s lusty cries jolted Sinjun back to the present, and he wished Effie hadn’t gone to the market this morning. But truth to tell, even Effie’s devoted attention failed to fill the void of Christy’s absence.

Never had Sinjun been so glad to see anyone when Pemburton arrived with Emma in tow.

Emma knew by the frantic expression on Sinjun’s face that something was amiss, terribly amiss. “What’s wrong with Niall?”

“Thank God you’ve come,” Sinjun said with heartfelt relief. “Do something. He’s been like this for three days.”

“I came as soon as I received your message. Is Niall ill? Where’s Christy?”

“Gone,” Sinjun said with such passionate venom that Emma was instantly wary.

“What did you do to her, Sinjun? Christy would never leave without her son.” She held out her arms. “Here, give him to me.”

Sinjun passed Niall over to Emma. Though Niall didn’t stop crying, his screams abated to a bearable level. Emma cooed to him a few minutes, then spoke to him in low, reassuring tones. She was rewarded when Niall’s pathetic sobs turned into sporadic hiccups, then stopped altogether. As Emma continued to croon to him, he lay his head down on her shoulder and fell asleep, his somber little face wet with tears.

“He’s asleep,” Emma said. “Poor little lad was exhausted. I’ll carry him up to bed. Wait here, Sinjun, I want to know exactly what you did to Christy to make her leave.”

Sinjun was sipping brandy from a crystal snifter when Emma returned. He saluted her with the glass and took a hefty swallow.

“Is that necessary, Sinjun?” Emma asked reprovingly. “Drinking will solve nothing.”

“Believe me, I need it.” He tipped his head and drained the goblet. When he reached for the decanter, Emma snatched it away.

“What happened?” Emma was determined to get to the bottom of this even if she had to butt heads with her obstinate brother. She’d done it before. He knew how tenacious she could be when she put her mind to it.

“I told you, Christy left.”

“I repeat my question. What did you do to her?”

Sinjun sent her a disgruntled look. “Not a damn thing. I tried to convince her to stay, but she was adamant. I even tried to change her mind by refusing to allow her to take my son with her. You saw tike results. She left anyway. Obviously those savages she calls clansmen mean more to her than her son.”

“I’m lost, Sinjun. Start from the beginning. Christy must have had a good reason for leaving.”

“You sit, I’ll stand,” Sinjun said as he began to pace. “It all started when Rory Macdonald arrived from Scotland. The Camerons and Mackenzies are feuding with the Macdonalds and Ranalds. ‘Tis all so senseless. I understand none of it. Rory insisted Christy was needed at Glenmoor to stop the fighting.

“She is their laird.”

“Whose side are you on anyway? I offered to go with her, but she said my presence would aggravate a volatile situation. She refused the offer of English soldiers to keep peace because she feared innocent blood would be shed.”

Men are such dolts,
Emma thought. Didn’t Sinjun realize Christy wouldn’t have insisted that he remain in London if she didn’t have a good reason? She couldn’t really fault Christy for not telling Sinjun about Calum Cameron’s threat to his life, but deep down she felt Sinjun had a right to know.

“I never thought Christy would leave Niall,” Sinjun continued. “I was wrong.”

“You’re often wrong, Sinjun,” Emma chided. “Christy loves Niall. If you weren’t so dense you’d realize that she loves you, too.”

Sinjun sent her a startled look. “What makes you such an expert on my marital status? I thought you didn’t like Christy.”

“Christy and I had a long, rewarding talk that day Julian and I visited, the day we learned about Niall. I discovered many things about your wife during the course of our conversation. She’s a wonderful mother. I understand she’s done things that are difficult to forgive, but she had a reason.”