Claimed by a Laird (20 page)

Her stomach lurched again. There was no way to fight the
nausea any longer. She inhaled sharply and covered her hand with her mouth
before running out of the keep.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs before doubling over
as what little she ate for breakfast spilled forth into the courtyard. As she
continued to retch, her hair was pulled back and her arm rubbed. The concerned
murmurs of other clan members quickly surrounded her.

“There, there, my lady.” Catriona crooned beside her.

“All right, everyone,” Adam announced somewhere behind her. “Go
on about your business. Let your lady have some space.”

As her stomach finally settled, Anna straightened, wrapping
her arms around her abdomen. With aching muscles and a burning throat, she took
a deep breath, embarrassment sweeping over her.

Catriona pulled out a cloth tucked into her belt and mopped
Anna’s face and mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Anna whispered with a sheepish smile. “How do I
clean this up?”

“Do not worry about it, my lady.” Adam patted her on the
shoulder. “I will get someone else to clean it up. Perhaps that young man being
punished with manure duty.”

Anna couldn’t help but crack a smile. She nodded gratefully.
All she wanted to do was sit down in a quiet place and not be disturbed for a
little while.

“My lady, you really should not be up and about until you
are feeling better,” Catriona gently scolded, taking her by the arm. “The laird
will have our necks if you waste away while he is gone.”

Adam glanced from one woman to the other. “How long has this
been going on?”

“It’s really nothing,” Anna stated with a dismissive wave of
her hand.

“For at least a week. Perhaps longer,” Catriona answered.

“Cat!” Anna exclaimed.

Catriona shook her head. “I am sorry, my lady, but I can no
longer keep quiet. You have barely eaten in days.”

“Is this true?” Adam gripped Anna’s other arm.

Anna sighed in exasperation. The last thing she wanted was
for anyone to find out about her condition before she’d had the chance to talk
to Galen. “I am fine, really. I just haven’t been hungry lately. Now, if you’ll
excuse me, I think I will go lie down for a while.”

Adam nodded and released Anna. As Catriona followed her
mistress, he grabbed her arm to stop her. She threw him a questioning frown,
but he remained quiet until Anna disappeared into the keep.

Turning back to Catriona, he asked, “Has this happened
before?”

She nodded. “Yes, at least once. But her stomach has been
paining her for some time now. She has not had the desire to break her fast in
the morning—except for today—for at least a week now.”

“And she asked you to keep quiet about it?”

“Yes.” Catriona looked down at her feet in obvious guilt. “I
cannot any longer though. The laird would be most heartbroken if he came home
and Lady Anna was no longer with us.”

He nodded. Catriona had only been a child when Galen took
over the clan after his father’s death, but Adam was sure she had heard the
rumors surrounding Malcolm and why he had changed so dramatically. Though Galen
was indeed different from his father in many ways, a shred of fear hung in the
back of Adam’s mind where Anna was concerned. He had watched his friend go from
looking at Anna with lust and possessiveness to looking at her with tenderness
and even love in the span of two weeks. Hell, he’d seen the signs of what was
happening within a single day. He could not bear the thought of what it might
do to Galen if Anna were to take ill again…or worse.

“And she has been sleeping much.” Catriona shook her head.
“But it does her no good. She still wears herself out in no time.”

The clues fit together in Adam’s mind and he stared at the
keep, allowing them to fall into place. His thoughts wandered years back in his
memory. He’d had a woman of his own once too and the signs were all there.

“And she will not listen to me, Adam,” Catriona stated with
a pout. “I know I may not be as well-versed in the healing arts as my lady, but
she needs to stop and let someone take care of her for a change. Do you think
we should send for the laird?”

He looked down at Catriona’s pretty, upturned face, worry
creasing her brow. “Go take care of your lady.” He leaned down and caressed her
soft, pink lips with his.

She rewarded him with one of her radiant, trusting smiles
and hurried into the keep.

* * * * *

Adam strode up the hill toward the keep, a smile on his
face. He had been hesitant to speak with Katherine at first, afraid memories of
the deaths of Janet and his unborn child would be too much to bear upon hearing
the old woman’s voice for the first time since she had broken the news to him
so many years ago. Though he still bore the scars, the wound had healed and now
he could finally accept the possibility of moving into a future with Catriona.

But this was only one reason why he was smiling. He no
longer had to worry about Anna’s health. At least not in the way he had been.
He could not wait to see the surprise on Galen’s face when Anna finally told
him.

“Adam!” shouted someone behind him.

Lachlan ran through the courtyard toward him. “What is with
the goofy grin?”

Adam’s smile faded as he took in the stony expression on
Lachlan’s normally jovial face. “Nothing. What has happened?”

Lachlan furtively glanced around and then moved closer. In a
low voice, he said, “I was down along our border south of Ben Dunkeld. A child
came out of the woods and handed me this.”

From behind his back, Lachlan produced a folded piece of
parchment with a red wax seal. “I was told to give it to Lady Anna.”

Adam eyed him suspiciously, took the letter and turned it
over to view the seal, which was broken. “You opened your lady’s private
correspondence? You cannot even read, you daft donkey.”

“I can read some.” Lachlan’s back straightened. “I would not
normally do it, but there was something strange about the child and the way he
approached me. I could not make out anything, though, except for the signature
at the bottom.”

Lachlan’s eyes flashed with fury. Adam unfolded the letter
and quickly scanned the page. The words all seemed foreign to him, as well, and
he was about ready to give up reading when he recognized the signature.

“The Gowrie,” he whispered.

Lachlan nodded. “What could the Gowrie possibly have to say
to Lady Anna?”

The hairs on the back of Adam’s neck stood straight and he
shook his head. “I do not know.”

He spun on his heels and headed straight for the keep with
Lachlan following close behind.

“Cat, get that thing away from me,” Anna demanded as she
waved the blanket away for about the dozenth time.

Catriona daintily stomped her foot and glowered at Anna,
sitting in a chair beside the fire in the great hall. “My lady, you are
chilled,” she insisted.

“It is hotter than blazes in here already.” Anna pinched the
fabric of her leine against her chest and waved it back and forth to create a
breeze. “I would rather be outside.”

“Go easy on the lass, my lady.” John eased himself into a
chair across from Anna. “She is just doing her duty.”

“The laird is going to have
my
neck if you die on
us,” Catriona muttered as she angrily folded the blanket.

Anna stared at Catriona for several moments until the young
woman finally met her gaze. The two burst into laughter.

Anna leaned forward and gave Catriona’s hand an apologetic
squeeze. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a bear lately. I will be fine though, I
promise.”

Catriona clasped Anna’s hand. “I am sorry too, my lady.”

“What news have you, lads?” Owen abruptly called toward the
front of the hall from where he sat next to John.

Anna turned toward the front of the room, surprised to have
been caught unaware of anyone else’s presence. Adam and Lachlan purposefully
strode toward them. The smile dropped from her lips at the somber expressions
on their faces.

“My lady.” Adam greeted her with a bow before turning toward
Catriona. “Will you please excuse us, Cat?”

Catriona nodded with wide-eyed apprehension and glanced at
Anna before walking away. Everyone remained silent until she left the room.

“Would you like for use to leave too, son?” John eyed Anna.

Adam shook his head. “No, I would like for you to stay. We
may need your wisdom.”

Nausea of an entirely different sort settled in Anna’s
stomach as she stared at Adam with growing alarm.

“A letter has been delivered for you.” Adam held a folded
piece of parchment out to her.

She shot to her feet, but her hands remained frozen against
her. “Is it Galen? Has something happened to him?”

“We do not know, my lady. We were hoping you might be able
to read this and tell us,” Lachlan admitted.

She shook her head as dread wound itself around her heart.
“I can’t read Gaelic or Latin or whatever it is you all use to write.”

“We do not think it is written in any of those,” Adam
replied.

Anna stared at the letter with foreboding. She did not want
to read it even if she could. “Who is it from?”

Adam pressed his lips together and gave her a sympathetic
look. “It is from the Gowrie.”

“What?” Owen shot to his feet. “Where is my sword?”

“Easy there, old man.” John pulled his cousin back down into
the chair.

Anna’s eyes widened. The Gowrie? What could the Gowrie laird
possibly want with her unless it had something to do with Galen? Her vision
blurred and she swayed.

Lachlan leaped forward and took her arm. “Perhaps you should
sit down, my lady.”

She nodded and Adam stepped forward, holding the letter
toward her once again. She took a deep breath and accepted it. Her hands shook
as she unfolded the paper.

Greetings, my dearest Anna. I could hardly believe my
ears when my young cousin, whom you protected from the violent, unjustified
wrath of the MacAirth and healed with your delicate hands, told me of your
presence here. I have longed to wrap my arms around you once again, but thought
you lost to me. I knew the woman he described had to be you when he told me of
the strange, amber pendant you wore around your neck—so much like the one I
used to find you long ago. Now that you are here, in my homeland, by some
miracle of the Almighty Lord and Savior, my heart is full and grateful. I fear
for what you have experienced at the hands of the MacAirth and I pledge my very
soul to avenge you. I know the MacAirth to be away—I must see you at once. Send
word and I will come for you at a place of your choosing. Choose wisely, my
love, for until you are out of the MacAirth’s reach, I fear for the success of
our reunion.

James Gowrie of Gowrie

Anna’s hand flew to her mouth. Bitter fear and complete
bewilderment twisted in her gut. How could this be? She shook her head like a
woman possessed. “No, no, no,” she whispered.

Adam crouched beside her, placing a hand on her back. “Do
they have Galen, my lady?”

She shook her head again, her chest heaving irregularly.

“Easy there, lass.” John leaned forward to pat her knee.
“Whatever it is, we will think of something. Just give us the whole of it.”

Anna closed her eyes, silently cursing the universe. Why was
this happening to her? Why was she dragged over eight hundred years into the
past to fall in love, just to have fate fuck it up by having her ex show up?

Fall in love?
Her breathing slowed and she stared
into the fire, attempting to decide which was more frightening—admitting to
loving a guy who wasn’t in love with her or realizing James wasn’t somewhere in
the Highlands of 2013, but
here.
In the thirteenth century. And a mortal
enemy of the guy she had stupidly let get her pregnant and who now possessed
her heart. Leave it to her to royally fuck everything up so thoroughly.

“My lady,” Adam said, his voice stern. “You must tell us
what the Gowrie said to you that has you so frightened.”

Lachlan crouched on the other side of her. “Did he threaten
the laird?”

She swallowed hard, freeing her voice. “No. Well, not in so
many words.”

“Did he threaten you then?” John’s forehead wrinkled as he
lifted his brow.

She shook her head.

“Then what is it that has you so frightened?” Adam asked.

Anna paused nervously, uncertain of what she should say. The
truth was not an option. There would be too many questions. The last thing she
wanted them to know was that she had been married to their sworn enemy. She was
not certain she would be able to withstand their hatred. She stood, hands
shaking as she held the letter.

Lachlan and Adam stood as well, watching her.

Galen will go after James.

Hadn’t Galen expressed frustration about not being able to
get revenge for what James had done to her? Not to mention he once told her he
would go to war for her. No. No one could ever find out what was in the letter.
She would not allow Galen to risk his life trying to avenge something from her
past.

“You cannot tell your laird about this,” she hissed,
strength rushing in her limbs. “He is never to know the Gowrie contacted me.”

Adam’s shoulders sank. “You know we cannot keep this from
him, my lady.”

“You must!” she insisted, looking each man in the eye. “He
cannot know this ever happened. You know him. You know what he will do if he
finds out and I cannot have his blood or yours on my hands.”

When she did not immediately gain their agreement, she
crumpled up the parchment and threw it into the fire.

Lachlan sucked in his breath and she whirled around to
confront the men. If Adam was right and the clan saw her as Galen’s wife, then
she could give them orders they would have to follow just like with Galen,
right?

“Not a single word to Galen,” she warned, propping her hands
on her hips. “This never happened.”

She bit her lower lip when they stared at her in silence,
but then she raised her head, holding it high, and excused herself to go up to
her chamber.

As she lifted her skirts to ascend the stairs, an image of
the quartz pendant flashed before her eyes. Perhaps if she were not even here
then Galen wouldn’t need to go into battle. Her eyes swelled with tears at the
thought of never seeing him again and her heart contracted so painfully at the
idea she could ultimately be the cause of his death that her breath nearly
strangled her throat.

What if James Gowrie took her silence as an indication he
should come after her? What if he got to her while Galen was away? There was no
way she would allow any of the MacAirths to risk their lives for her.

The tour guide at Graham Castle never once mentioned
anything about Galen other than that he was imprisoned there and had married an
Anna Campbell. Everyone here already thought she and Galen were married. For
all she knew, Galen had been fated to meet an untimely death because of her and
she could not stomach the thought. If it was within her power to prevent it and
protect the MacAirths she had come to adore, she would. If she could simply
leave this time period, then no one would get hurt.

Except for her.

Anna breathed deeply and blinked back tears. Maybe this time
the pendant would actually work.

“Adam—” Lachlan said.

Adam held up his hand for silence.

The men remained quiet for several moments until the click
of Anna’s door closing upstairs reverberated through the hall.

“What on earth could the Gowrie have said to have frightened
the lass so?” John wondered out loud. “If he did not threaten anyone, then what
is the matter?”

Adam shook his head. “I do not know. But she was terrified.”

“Of course she was,” Owen grumbled, his bushy brows shifting
in anger. “She is a MacAirth now. The mere mention of the Gowrie name should
frighten her.”

“But why would she not confide in us?” Lachlan asked. “Are
we not her family?”

“She thinks she is protecting us and the laird.” John rubbed
his chin. “She is a brave little thing if not a wee bit misguided.”

Adam turned to Lachlan. “How long will it take you to ride to
Orkney?”

“Six days. Maybe five, if the weather holds,” Lachlan
answered.

Adam nodded. “Take Dan with you. Before you leave, give a
description of the child who gave you the letter to your brother, Gabriel. Have
him gather a search party to see if we can locate him.”

Lachlan nodded and spun on his heel to leave the keep.

Adam glanced up at the stairs. His mistress may not want
their help, but he was damn sure they would protect her—with or without her
cooperation.