A Taste of Sin (37 page)

He made a rude sound deep in his throat. “I suppose she told you why she lied to me and tried to deceive me.”

“As a matter of fact, she did.”

Sinjun regarded Emma with disbelief. To his knowledge, Emma and Christy had only shared a few private moments. How had Christy made such a loyal friend of Emma in so short a time?

Hands on hips, legs spread wide apart, Sinjun glared at Emma, his face composed in stern lines. “If you know something I don’t, you’d best tell me.

“If you hadn’t been so stubborn Christy would have told you everything you needed to know. Instead, you treated her like someone beneath your contempt and threatened to take Niall away from her. What a hypocrite. All the time you professed to hate Christy, you were bedding her, weren’t you?”

Sinjun regarded Emma with more than a little shock. “Emma! You’re too outspoken for your own good.”

“Oh, pooh, Sinjun, don’t be such a prude. These are modern times. I know more than you give me credit for. Now, will you kindly answer my question?”

“You don’t deserve an answer. What passed between me and Christy is private. I suggest you tell me what you know before I turn you over my knee for a well-deserved spanking.”

Emma bristled indignantly. “I’m much too old for that. But I’m going to tell you anyway because I believe you should know the sacrifices Christy made in your behalf. Where should I start?”

“From the beginning. Why did Christy lie about Niall? Why did she demand an annulment when it was the last thing I wanted? The last thing I thought
she
wanted?”

Emma took a deep breath and repeated the story just as Christy had related it, leaving nothing out. Sinjun’s face turned from outright disbelief to cautious acceptance as the tale unfolded.

“‘Tis true, every word,” Emma vowed when she finished speaking. “I believed Christy, and so should you. Why else would she leave her child behind? To prevent you from going to the Highlands, that’s why. She feared for your life and did what she thought right to keep you safe.”

“Why didn’t she trust me to take care of myself?” Sinjun argued.

“Perhaps because she knows Calum Cameron. You’ve said yourself that Highlanders are a breed apart.”

“Aye. They’re savages who steal from their neighbors and fight among themselves. They think nothing of taking what they want.”

“‘Tis my understanding that Calum wants Christy,” Emma hinted slyly.

A terrible rage seized Sinjun. “He can’t have her! Christy is mine. Bloody hell! If he lays one finger on her I’ll kill him.”

Sinjun began to pace, his tortured mind awhirl. Everything was perfectly clear now. All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Calum had started the feud for a reason, and that reason was to bring Christy back to the Highlands where he could get his hands on her. What a stupid fool he’d been not to listen to Christy’s explanation when she’d been willing to give it. All he’d been interested in was punishing her for deceiving him.

Despite his low opinion of Christy, however, his need for her had never waned. Guilt plagued him. Christy had welcomed him in her bed, aware that he was using her. If that didn’t prove her love, nothing did. Would she ever forgive him? Had his arrogance killed her love for him? He prayed it was not so, for he knew now what he’d been denying since the day Christy had entered his life.

He loved her.

Loved his own wife before he knew she belonged to him.

“What are you going to do?” Emma asked.

“Go to Glenmoor. No telling what Cameron has in mind for Christy. She has three days’ head start. With any luck I won’t be too far behind her. I’ll travel by horseback, ‘tis faster.”

“You can’t mean to go alone!” Emma said, aghast.

“Aye. Christy was right about English soldiers. There is much unrest in the Highlands right now. Bringing soldiers into the fray could ignite a potentially explosive situation at the cost of innocent lives.”

“I beg you, Sinjun, talk to Julian before you leave. He’s away right now but should return in a few days. He’ll send men to accompany you. Not soldiers necessarily, but men trained to fight.”

“Do you think I’m incompetent? I realize I’ve wasted most of my life in idle pursuits, but things are different now. I’m perfectly capable of handling this on my own. Besides, I can’t wait for Julian to return. Can you and Aunt Amanda stay here with Niall while I’m gone?”

“Of course. I’ll send a maid to inform Aunt Amanda of the arrangements.”

“Effie and Gavin will remain behind to help. Thank you, Emma, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Take care of yourself, Sinjun. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you or Christy.”

“Stay out of trouble, hoyden,” Sinjun said affectionately as he placed a tender kiss upon her brow.

Emma’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “Staying out of trouble is boring. Plenty of time after I’m married, should I ever decide to take a husband.”

Sinjun rolled his eyes heavenward, wondering if a man existed who could handle his spirited sister. “Just try to behave while you’re taking care of my son.”

“I’d never do anything to hurt Niall. I love him too much.”

Sinjun left immediately to prepare for his journey to Scotland.

Christy paced the length of the room and back, frowning at the locked door. She was a prisoner. How could she have let this happen? At least Calum had left her alone after he’d locked her in the room. At first she feared he’d try to force himself on her, but he’d merely locked the door and left her to fret and worry in solitude.

The room was neat and clean but small in comparison to her chamber at Glenmoor. The room was on the second floor, too high from the ground for her to jump from the narrow window. She knew there were other Camerons in the house, for she heard voices and sounds of activity below. Tired of pacing, she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled a threadbare blanket over her nightgown. She wondered what her kinsmen would think when they found her missing and prayed they wouldn’t act precipitously and launch an attack before she had a chance to talk some sense into Calum.

She’d been stunned to realize how easily Calum had gotten into Glenmoor. She shuddered to think what would have happened had Sinjun been there. He would have been slain in his bed, without a chance to defend himself. No matter what happened to her, she knew she’d been right to keep Sinjun away from the Highlands. And though she hated to admit it, Sinjun had been right to keep Niall safe in London.

Christy heard a commotion outside and rushed to the narrow window. What she saw chilled the blood in her veins. The Macdonalds and Ranalds, armed with a variety of weapons, were gathered in the courtyard. Facing them were Camerons and Mackenzies, all armed to the teeth. Christy’s heart leaped into her mouth when Rory stepped forward, looking as fierce as an ancient warrior.

“Release our laird,” Rory demanded.

Calum came forward to meet Rory. “What made ye think we have The Macdonald?”

“No one but ye would kidnap her from her bed. ‘Tis a terrible thing ye did, Calum Cameron. If ye dinna return her unharmed, there will be bloodshed. Are ye willing to place yer kinsmen’s lives in jeopardy?”

“The laird willna be harmed,” Calum promised. “I’ve done nothing that hasna been done before. Ye all know that wife stealing is a time-honored tradition. Once I put my bairn in her belly her husband willna want her back. Ye have the word of The Cameron that she willna be harmed.”

“Bring Christy out,” Murdoch said, stepping forward to lend Rory support. “We dinna trust ye, Calum Cameron. Yer giving us no choice but to fight for our laird’s freedom.”

Christy heard every word and knew what would happen if the Camerons and the Macdonalds clashed. Lives would be lost, women and children would suffer without the support of their men should they perish in battle. She couldn’t allow it. Leaning out of the window, she cupped her mouth and yelled at the top of her lungs to the angry men congregated below.

“Macdonalds! Ranalds! Heed me!”

“‘Tis The Macdonald!”

All eyes turned upward to the window. Calum’s expression was murderous as he yelled, “Get back, Christy. This is between me and yer kinsmen.”

“No! I am The Macdonald. My kinsmen trust me to do what is right for them.”

“Speak, Christy!” Murdoch shouted. “If ye tell us to rid the world of Camerons and Mackenzies, so be it.”

“There will be no bloodshed, Murdoch,” Christy called down. “I’ll handle this on my own. Go back to your homes. Rebuild your cottages. You have nothing further to fear from the Camerons, isn’t that right, Calum?”

Forcing Calum’s hand might not be a good idea, but her kinsmen were treading on dangerous ground. A full-scale clan war could go on for years, resulting in serious repercussions for future generations. This was all so senseless. As for wife stealing, it had been done in the past and would continue as long as clans feuded, but she wasn’t about to let Calum have his way in this.

Calum was silent so long that Christy feared he intended to ignore her challenge. She was all but ready to give up and try reasoning with Calum on another level when he finally deigned to answer.

“Go back to yer homes. I have what I want. Ye’ve nothing more to fear from the Camerons as long as ye recognize me as yer leader. Old Angus was wrong to think a weak woman could lead the clan. I was the natural choice but he passed me by in favor of his granddaughter. The time is right now for me to claim leadership.”

An anguished cry rose up from the Macdonalds and Ranalds as they grasped their weapons and started forward, prepared to do battle to protect their rightful laird.

“No! No fighting,” Christy cried. “Everyone, go home. Let me settle this in my own way. There will be no bloodshed today on my account.”

An ominous silence fell as the Highlanders digested Christy’s words. Some of the clansmen still held out for a battle, but the voice of reason finally prevailed as Murdoch took matters into his own hands.

“Verra well, we’ll honor our laird’s wishes and leave, Cameron, but ye havena heard the last from us. Lord Derby will be notified immediately. He willna forgive yer insult to his wife. Wife stealing may be a tradition in the Highlands, but ‘tis a crime in England. As much as I dislike the English, they still rule our land.”

“No one rules Camerons,” Calum shouted. “I’m warning ye. Keep Lord Derby away from Glenmoor if ye value his life.”

“I agree,” Christy called down to her kinsmen. “Bringing Lord Derby to the Highlands would be a mistake. Go back to your homes and let me handle this.”

Amid much grumbling and no little amount of disappointment, the Highlanders dispersed, each clan returning to its own stronghold. Calum glared up at Christy; she met his furious gaze with cool disdain. He might think he had the upper hand now, but he wasn’t going to get away with this. Somehow she’d find a way to foil his plans and return to her husband and son.

Moments later Christy heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and braced herself for Calum’s anger. She heard the metallic scrape of the key turning in the lock, and then the door burst open. Calum strode inside, his face as dark as a thundercloud.

“Ye made a fool of me!”

“You
are
a fool, Calum Cameron. Neither the Macdonalds nor the Ranalds will submit to your leadership. If you continue this folly you’ll bring more trouble upon yourself than you can handle. The Highlanders haven’t forgotten their defeat at Culloden. Perhaps you are more anxious than I to bring English soldiers to Glenmoor and let them impose their will upon us.”

“I thought ye hated the English bastards who killed our parents as much as I do. Now look at ye. Yer an Englishman’s whore.”

“I’ve been Lord Derby’s wife since I was seven years old,” Christy claimed. “You know I had no choice in the matter.”

“Aye, wife in name only until ye sought him out in England and played the whore with him. Did ye think I dinna know what ye did and why? Ye wanted his child to preserve yer precious Glenmoor. Yer no longer one of us, Christy Macdonald.”

“Then let me return to England, to my husband and bairn. You cannot force yourself on me, Calum, for I will not let you.”

Calum gave a bark of laughter. “How do ye propose to stop me?”

Grasping her waist, he pulled her against him and jammed his mouth down on hers. His kiss was angry, punishing, without a hint of tenderness. When he thrust his tongue into her mouth, Christy gagged and shoved him away, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “You’re disgusting!”

His expression turned ugly as he thrust a fist into her face. “Yer a woman. Do ye think ye can stop me if I wanted to take ye?” He took a menacing step forward. “Once I put my bairn inside ye ye’ll soon settle down to being my woman.”

Christy gave him a smug smile. “’Tis a little late for that. I’m already carrying my husband’s bairn.”

Calum unclenched his fist and backhanded her across the face. Stars burst inside her head as she spun around and crashed to the floor.

“Yer lying!” Calum stalked her, his face mottled with rage. Christy scooted out of his way.

He grasped her shoulders and dragged her to her feet. “Don’t touch me!”

The blanket she’d clutched to her neck fell away. Her fine lawn nightgown left her all but nude and vulnerable to his piercing gaze. He stared at her a long time, then ripped the nightgown from neck to hemline. Long, draining minutes passed while he stared at her.