FLAME ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS (30 page)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The  torches' flickering flames  illuminated  the shocked faces of all the guests assembled in the bridal chamber.  Silence reigned as Cameron's words were digested. The prattle of a senile old man or the truth?

"What are ye saying?"  Lachlan MacQuerie stood as still as a statue, his voice a his
sed shout.  "Ye canna mean it."

"I do!" Cameron's eyes were sad as he looked toward
Duncan.

"Speak and from this moment on any ties of friendship 'twixt us will be sev
ered!" the chieftain growled.

Cameron drew back under the violence of the hostile blue-eyed stare, then shaking his gray-haired head made the decision to put an end to what was b
egun. "I beg pardon and grieve. I held yer friendship as a precious thing, but I canna let ye endanger yer immortal soul or mine.  'Tis a grievous sin ye hae schemed to, Black Duncan but now at last it will be at end."

Licking his lips
, Cameron unfolded a tale both  bizarre and demonic
that sounded bizarre and demonic of what had gone on the night of Robbie's birth; of their entry into the castle after the battle, of witnessing the birth of a third "bairn. "A male child." 

All within the room gasped and Brianna hurried to her father's side to take his hand, squeezing tightly.  If w
hat this man was saying was valid, then her mother's story had been true.  She had not been delirious after all.

"A son for a son, that is what
Duncan said, and yet I didna ken what he had in mind."  The old man spoke of the old woman, of her stubborn refusal to part with the babe and the circumstances that led to her death. 

"Ye so callously slew the midwife?"
Lachlan's lower lip trembled his rage.  "An old woman!"

"Twas an accident but a blot on our souls nevertheless."  Hanging his head
, Cameron appeared  to be a sincerely repentant man. "Wi' out her there was none to stop us from taking the child."

"Ye stole my s
on!"

"And....and Robbie.....!"  Brianna was horrified.  "Is my
brother
?"

"Aye!  Upon my word he is.  I hae no
reason to lie to ye, lassie."

"But why then....?"  The answer was only too clear. "Blessed God!"  Brianna was appalled.  She had been used as an instrument of revenge to spite her father. 
Duncan had struck a  foul blow and in the so doing she had married and nearly bedded her own brother.

The shouting started then, every
one seemingly talking at once. Accusations. Denials.  Anger.  Louder and louder. It seemed everyone was shouting.

"Ye whoreson!  Ye vile treacherous mon!"  Lachlan flung his epitaphs at
Duncan as every one stared in stony silence.  "Why?  Why would ye do such a thing?"

"To seek reprisal ye sneaking, backstabbing bastard!" 
Duncan's eyes  bulged in  their sockets as he revealed his intent.  "I took yer son awaiting this day and only a traitors babbling tongue denied me." Baiting Lachlan, Duncan boldly boasted of the deed, heartlessly goading his adversary.             

"Ye stole my inf
ant son as reprisal for our feuding?"

"Nae!  As well ye know, old mon.  I did such a thing for vengeance's sake.  For  yer stabbing my son in the back and leaving him to lie all alone to shed
his life's blood on the snow. 'Tis a thing I can never forgive, Lachlan MacQuarie.  Anything that I hae done, ye rightly deserved."

"Killed yer son?
I didna do such a thing unless it was in battle!" Lachlan hotly denied the charge.

"Ye struck him from behind by treachery and when I found him
, he called out yer name.  Over and over he whispered, "
MacQuarie!  MacQuarie!
  Naming the one who so cruelly brought him down."

"Tis a lie!
No MacQuarie would strike down a man from behind. We are warriors, not assassins."

"I say ye are!" 

Silence reigned once again, like the quiet before a devastating storm.

Brianna watched warily as her father and
Duncan stared  in angry fury at each other for a long time, knowing battle was inevitable. Blessed Saint Michael, the feud which all had thought over had now been rekindled.

"Father!  Nae."  She knew her words to be
hopeless the moment she spoke. Her father was placed in an intolerable position. It was either fight or back down. She knew her Father would choose  to fight for his honor even though the MacQuaries were seriously outnumbered.  Even so, she held on to his sword arm hoping to delay the inevitable.

"To arms!  To arms!"  Duncan Campbell dashed Brianna's hopes with his call to war.  He laughed as his clansmen stripped every sword, shield, targe and dirk from the wall
.

The
Campbells burst forth, pressing the Macquaries back, but though Ian armed himself it was not for the reason Duncan supposed. Brandishing his sword he fought against his uncle--not for him.  Uppermost in his mind was Brianna. Above all, he would allow no harm to come to her.

What
followed was a clashing and a slashing of swords, a bloody and violent melee.   Hastening to join the battle, Robbie too  brandished a sword over his head, heeding the familiar cry,  only to pull back.  Which side should he fight for? He was in a quandry. Years of friendship and kinship had been cruelly obliterated by Duncan's revelation. He was a MacQuarie and not a Campbell as he had always believed.  How then could he take arms against his own? Or for that matter, kill those who had nurtured him all these years at the fires of their hearths.  In confusion he stepped back, drawn in two directions, and in that moment Brianna's heart went out to him.

"Robbie!  Come stand beside me," she said gently, taking his hand to lead him to safety.  Together they watched in prayerful silence as the battle exploded all around
them like some ghastly dance.

Ian fought his way to Brianna, thrusting her against the wall to protect her with his body.  With a growl of warning
, he wielded his broadsword.  He would allow no one to come anywhere near her.

"Ian, ye are a traitor!  Damned be ye, lad.  Well, ye'll no hae yer lassie e'en now!" Bellowing an order that no
MacQuarie was to be left alive, "Including the lass," he surged toward Ian, his intent clearly written by his expression.

Two
Campbells held the doorway but Ian  was desperate to make an escape.  It was the only chance he and Brianna had.  "Brianna!"

"Nae!"  She would not go and leave her father and newly found brother.  If that
meant her death then so be it. Stubbornly, she shook her head but her protestations were ignored.  With determinedly strong hands he pushed her toward the corridor, his weapon darting this way and that to form a path.  The tip of his blade shed Campbell blood, but he had no time to care for that. Only for Brianna.             

"Ian!"  Robbie thrust himself forward, making his decision to fight on the
MacQuarie side.  With a skill that belied his age and gentle temperament, he fought savagely, felling  two guards that blocked Ian's and Brianna's way.  "Run for it, mon!"

"I willna leave!  I willna leave, I say."  Brianna was stubborn until a slicing sword
engaged Ian's soft flesh. Realizing that her obstinacy might well mean his life, she capitulated to his urging.  For the moment at least she would leave, but she would come back.  Aye, with an army!  She'd raise the MacDonalds, the MacGregors, the MacKinnons to avenge the wrong done today.  It was her last thought as she turned to view the carnage, then followed Ian through the doorway.

Chapter Thirty- nine

Brianna and Ian ran for what seemed an eternity, looking behind them from time to time until they were certain there was no sign of pursuit. Coming to the stables, they quickly mounted two of the strongest-looking horses and rode off, heading for the coast and freedom.

"We'll get a boat and sail to Ulva and alert the rest of the clan as to what has happened," she exclaimed, urging her horse to a frantic pace.

"Aye, but first we'll take a detour to a small stronghold of MacDonalds that I know about.  Your father needs aid, lassie, if he's to last this day. Perhaps if Duncan realizes that it is not going to be a
rout
, that  he will have to contend with others who will flock to the MacQuarie cause, he will cease the bloodshed."

"
MacDonalds?"
  In Brianna's mind was Robbie's confession of his love for a MacDonald lassi.

He misunderstood the
tone of her voice. "Don't sound so surprised.  They are a branch of MacAlpin like your clan, with great reason to hold enmity towards Duncan.  Dunstaffnage was once their home.  I have little doubt but that this excuse to badger Duncan will be welcome."  At her scowl he added, “’Tis a chance, Lass."

Past the fertile fields of newly harvested rye and wheat they rode with no pau
se for a rest.   Ian swiveled in  his saddle, looking over his shoulder at Brianna as she bravely and daringly kept up the pace he administered. She sat her horse as expertly as any clan warrior, indeed looked as if she had been born on a horse. With her long red hair flying wildly behind her, she appeared to him much as the ancient Celtic goddess  Epona must have looked ages ago.  Pride for this woman he loved swept over him, and he vowed in that moment that they would never be parted again.  She was
his
and it would always remain so until the day they both died.

Ian guided Briann
a to the small remaining  MacDonald stronghold on Argyll, a jumble of shattered and tumbled down stone walls.  Scrambling down from her horse, seeking out the chieftain, she made an impassioned plea for aid.  Once again Ian felt admiration surge inside him. No noble warrior or titled  English lady could have been more eloquent.  In the end, she received the clan leader's pledge for help. The MacDonald war cry resounded in the air. Duncan would find a swarm of angry bees waiting to sting him.

Ian and Brianna
rode all day, until their bodies ached for rest.  So much had happened during the past hours that Brianna could scarcely believe it.  Robbie Campbell was her brother!  Even now she shook her head in  amazement.  Such a cruel hoax Duncan had played, pretending peace, proclaiming desire for a marriage to unite the clans, while all the time he planned a most heinous deed.  She shuddered to think of the consequences, had she indeed consummated her marriage.  Sweet Christ!  Only the thought of Ian's love gave her the strength of mind to push such thoughts away.  He had fought against his own clan for her!  What greater proof of love was there than that?

"I love ye, Ian
!"  She shouted it out, feeling as if the burden of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.  Never again would there be a barrier to their love. Never again!

"And I love you!  Ah, that I could show you  right now jus
t how much, Brie! But I will. I will."

Once they were out to sea, sailing towards Ulva in a "borrowed"
curach
he was true to his promise, holding her close, kissing  and caressing her, despite his necessary attention to navigation. It was sweet teasing torture that was only ended once the small wicker-framed vessel was safely out to sea. Then and only then could their thoughts be turned to their mutual desire for one another. 

Darkness brought a cold, heavy mist but Ian and Brianna did not care.
Locked in each others arms beneath Ian's heavy plaid, basking in the warmth of each others bodies, they did not even notice the  slight chill of the summer's eve.

"When I saw you standing by the bedside with
Robbie, realized what was to come.....  You will never know how lost and helpless I felt, Brie," he whispered, compulsively tightening his fingers around her shoulders, as if to reassure himself she was really there.  "It was as if I died a little at that moment. I was miserable....." 

"As miserable as I was.  I saw my life stretching out before me, a
lonely existence without you." She closed her eyes to the pain that memory evoked.

"For me it was like the answer to a prayer when Cameron shouted out the truth!  Forgive me, but I have never heard more welcome news."  He tickled her ear with his tongue, sending
shivers of fire up her spine. "Robbie's sister!  Aye, I am glad, for it solves so many problems.  At the same time it has given your father a son."

"A son!"  She smiled  as the importance of the
new family member struck her. "Aye, not only I but Glenna will be benefited by that boon.  Now perhaps Father
will
let her marry her Alastair. If......"  Her smile faded  as she remembered the fighting.  "Oh, Ian, what if...." Her voice caught and she pressed her face into his shirt, wanting his comfort.

"We have to be
lieve that all will be  right. Your father is a fiercesome fighter.  He will hold his own. I know Duncan. With the MacDonalds at the castle walls, he will soon have second thoughts about the merits of continuing the battle."  His voice held more confidence than he felt, but above all he didn't want her to worry.  It was something that went far beyond her control or even his.

"I hope ye hae the sight!" 

"We'll think of all the good things the day has brought. Your marriage to Robbie will be judged invalid. Now you can be mine.  If you will have me.  Rogue that I am."  His eyes turned from bright blue to a darker, smokier hue, mirroring his desire. Brianna's heart hammered at the glitter of desire she saw.

"A brave and daring rogue who saved my life.  Aye, I
will
have ye."  Reaching out she clung to him as if she would never let him go.

"How long I've waited to hear you say it."  His lips nuzzled against the side of her throat.  He uttered a moan as her hands moved over the smoothly corded muscles of his shoulders.  "Ah,
how I love you to  touch me." It seemed as if his breath was trapped somewhere between his throat and stomach.  He couldn't say any more.  The realization that she was finally to be his was a heady feeling that  nearly made him dizzy as he brought his lips to hers.  Such a potent kiss.  As if he had never kissed her before.

In fact Ian
had the feeling that he was doing everything for the very first time as he made love to her.  All memories of other women faded from his mind.   Hers were the only arms he wanted around him, hers the only mouth he wanted to kiss, her softness the only reality in this hostile world of warring. She was the only woman he would ever love.  Burying his face in the silky soft strands of her hair, he breathed in its fragrant scent and was lost to any other thought.

"Ian."  Closing her eyes, Briann
a awaited another kiss, her mouth opening to him like the soft petals of a flower as he caressed her  lips with all the passionate hunger they both yearned for. Brianna loved the taste of him, the tender urgency of his mouth. Her lips opened to him for a seemingly endless passionate onslaught of kisses. It was if they were breathing one breath, living at that moment just for each other.

Desire t
hat had been coiling within Brianna for so long only to be unfulfilled, sparked to renewed fire, and she could feel his passion likewise building, searing her with its heat. They shared a joy of touching and caressing,  arms against arms,  legs touching legs, fingers entwining and wandering to explore.

Mutual hunger brought their lips back together time after time.  She craved his kisses and returned them with tr
embling pleasure, exploring the inner softness of his mouth. The wickerwork and leather of the boat was hard against her back, yet at the moment she hardly noticed. All she was aware of was his tall, muscled length straining against hers.

"Briann
a...!"  Desire writhed almost painfully within his loins.   He had never wanted anything or anyone as much as he did her at this moment.  It was like an unfulfilled dream just waiting to come true.

Pushing her tonnag aside, Ian
's palm, firm and warm, slipped down the front of her gown, cupping the full curve of her breast.  Lightly he stroked until the peaks sprang to life under his touch, the once soft flesh now taunt and aching.  Then his hands were at her shoulder, tugging at the gown until her breasts were bare.

His breath caught in his throat
as his blue eyes savored her. "Lovely.....!" And indeed she was, he thought, pausing to feast his eyes on the lush contours of her breasts.  No longer forbidden fruit, he thought.  Now she was
his
.  Bending down, he worshipped her with his mouth, his lips traveling from one to the other in tender fascination. His tongue curled around the taunt peaks, his teeth lightly grazing until she writhed beneath him.  He savored the expressions that chased across her face, the wanting and the passion for him that were so clearly revealed.

A white mist hovered about the sky like the wisps of a bri
dal canopy.  My bridal bed, Brianna thought, moving in sensuous fascination against him.  Her hands crept around Ian's neck, her fingers tangling and tousling the thick waves of his black hair as she breathed a husky sigh.  How wonderful it was to be loved!

The chilled air caressed  Brianna's skin as Ian
  undressed her, slipping her gown over her head.  She caught fire wherever he touched her, burning with an all-consuming need. She shivered in his arms and fearing it was from the night air, he gathered her closer, covering her body even more tightly with his to keep out the chill. With tender concern he tugged at the plaid, giving her the largest portion, tucking it beneath the firm curve of her buttocks.

"I'm not cold...!" she whispered.  "It's just that I want you so....." Now she knew how he had felt.  If she had known then what she knew now she would never have pushed him away.

"Brie!"  A shudder racked through him as he pushed her away.  Just for a moment. Quickly he stripped away his own clothes and Brianna took her turn to appraise him. The image of broad, bronzed shoulders, wide chest, flat belly and well-formed legs would forever be branded in her mind. Reaching out she touched him, her hands sliding over the hard smoothness of his shoulders, moving to the crisp hair of his chest.  Ian had three scars and she lightly traced each one with her finger. "MacQuaries?"

"Nae.  That is a reminder of my time at
Bannockburn when we sent the English fleeing.  I was little more than a boy then and gloried at war. Now I regret every time I wielded my sword if it caused your kindred pain."

"Then ye dunna believe
Duncan's story, that a MacQuarie stabbed his son in the back?"

His fingers
entwined themselves in her flaming hair, pulling her face closer. "I used to, but not anymore.  I can see how an ocean of blood can be shed because of one misunderstanding.  There's more to the laddie's death than we know.  I sense it."  His teeth nipped gently at her lip.  "But come, let us put it out of minds for the moment."  He pulled her closer, rolling her over until they were lying side by side, and she felt a great pleasure in the warmth and power of the firmly muscled body straining so hungrily against hers.

He kissed her again, his knowing, seeking lips moving with tender urgency across hers, his tongue finding again the inner warmth and sweetness of her mouth.  His large body covered hers with a blank
et of warmth. Brianna felt the rasp of his chest hair against her breasts and answered his kiss with sweet, aching desire.  But kisses weren't enough.....

“Ian
....love me..." she breathed.

"In due time...." His hands caressed her, warming her with their heat.  They took sheer delight in the texture and pressure of each other's body.  Sensuously
, he undulated his hips between her legs, and every time their bodies caressed, each experienced a shock of raw desire that encompassed them in fiery, pulsating sensations.  Then his hands were between their bodies, sliding down the velvety flesh of her belly, moving to that place between her thighs that ached for his entry.  His gentle probing brought sweet fire, curling deep inside her with spirals of pulsating sensations.  Then his hands left her, to be replaced by the hardness she had glimpsed before, entering her just a little then pausing.

"Tonight I make you my wife, Brie.  To my heart, my mind, Robbie acted as
my
proxy. The ceremony today was ours.  Do you feel the same?"

"Aye." Every inch of her tingled with an intense arousing awareness of his body.

Bending his head to kiss her again, he  moved his body forward  just as a wave rocked the boat.  The  surge of the water pushed him deep within her, fusing their bodies. There was only a brief moment of pain, but the other sensations pushed it away.  Brianna was conscious only of the hard length of him creating unbearable sensations within her as he began to move within her.  Capturing the firm flesh of her hips, he caressed her in the most intimate of embraces. His rhythmic plunges aroused a tingling fire, like nothing she had ever imagined.  It was as if they were rising high in the water on a wave—then falling back down. Falling. Falling. Never quite hitting the ground. The rocking of the boat coincided with their own pulsations, and she arched herself up to him, fully expressing her love.