Highland Champion (16 page)

“Yet his father must have felt such urgings and acted upon them, or Duncan wouldnae have been born and ye wouldnae be here.”

True, but the mon also whipped himself bloody for such sin, and he did so often. His wife often used my presence as proof of the loathsome foulness of men and their bestial urges.”

“Ye need say no more. I had thought it so. I studied to be a monk for a while and met some men of that ilk.” Liam felt the last of his jealousy of Duncan drown in a torrent of sympathy. “The mon’s childhood must have been a constant torment.”

“Sadly, aye, it was. I feel certain he ne’er told me e’en half of the things they did to him whene’er they suspected he was e’en thinking a lustful thought.”

“He ne’er told Keira. She thinks he found her undesirable, that it was her fault he couldnae bed her. I dinnae think I have really succeeded in making her believe otherwise.”

Malcolm shook his head. “Poor lass. I told Duncan that he should be fully honest with her, but he was slow to work up the courage. And then, his chance was gone.”

“How many ken this truth?”

“Only a few, and they will ne’er speak of it. She is a good lass, and those who ken the truth are more than willing to accept her, and thus her clan, as laird. Ye may need to prove yourself. Although if ye can rid us of that foul demon now holding the keep, ’twill undoubtedly win ye everyone’s loyalty.”

Liam slowly shook his head. “Mayhap, but much more than defeating that swine will be needed to make Ardgleann what it once was. Signs of the mon’s brutality and greed are everywhere. I am a wee bit surprised he left ye with any of your finer pieces.”

Malcolm glanced toward the room where his work was displayed, then looked at Liam. “He took a few, but what matter that? He robbed me of my greatest treasure, of my heart and soul when he took my bonnie Joan,” he finished softly in a faintly choked voice. “I cannae sleep for thinking of what my wee lass may be suffering, and I feel as if I am damned because I can do naught to help her. I stare at that keep and think of how I ache to kill that bastard. Too many times, I have started toward it, determined to confront Rauf, only to be halted by my own cowardice.”

“Your own good sense,” said Liam sharply and then softened his tone. “Do ye really think it would aid your wife if she had to watch ye slaughtered before her eyes? How much more would she suffer if her hell included seeing your corpse rotting in chains and hung from the battlements like those other poor souls?”

Paling slightly, Malcolm shuddered and whispered, “They werenae all dead when he hanged them there.”

Liam cursed softly and profusely. “He needs to die.” He smiled, and if Malcolm’s slighdy uneasy look was any indication, it held all the fury and loathing he now held for Rauf Moubray. “I shall be sure to tell my cousins and Keira’s brothers about that”

“That will matter to them, will it?”

“Oh, aye. It will enrage them. They have all die reason they need to want that bastard out of that keep. He has stolen from one of their own and left her a widow. But this will harden that calm resolve into a cold, intense one. Seeing the bodies hanging from the walls began that. This tale will finish it nicely.”

Malcolm stared at his hands. “I am no true warrior, but I can wield a sword, m’laird.”

A sense of pleasure rippled through Liam at Malcolm’s form of addressing him. The battle had not yet been fought, but this man was clearly stating that he had already accepted Liam as laird of Ardgleann. A lot of people would scowl over his sudden rise in power and prestige, but only the opinion of the people of Ardgleann truly mattered. This first step toward their acceptance was a heady one.

“Then ye are welcome to join us. All we need now is a plan,” he added lightly as he absently kissed the top of Keira’s head.

“Ye love the lass, dinnae ye?” Malcolm said and briefly grinned when Liam blushed faintly.

“I believe I might,” Liam replied and grimaced. “She didnae really choose this marriage.” He told Malcolm a very succinct version of all that had happened to bring him and Keira to this point. “’Tis slow work to convince her that I will be a faithful husband and that all these riches I have gained arenae the reason I wanted her.”

“Aye, ’twill be hard work, I am thinking. Poor old Duncan’s troubles left her wounded in some ways, I suspect, since he ne’er gave her the true reason for them.”

Liam nodded and then turned the conversation to the battle facing them. It was clear that Malcolm had the sort of knowledge that could prove vital in the days ahead. When the man made it clear that he was more than willing to leave his home and join them, Liam did not waste any more time. Within moments, he was leading the man away from the village, the fact that he had to carry a still sleeping Keira not slowing his pace at all.

Keira blinked, looked around, and then frowned. When and how did she get back
to their camp? She slowly sat up as Liam approached her and held out a tankard she recognized as one of Malcolm’s. Smiling her thanks, she drank down the cool cider as he sat down beside her.

“Is that Malcolm o’er there talking to Sigimor?” she asked.

“Aye.” Liam draped his arm around her shoulders and held her close to his side. “He asked to join us, and his knowledge of who is inside the place, and sometimes where, is valuable. Unfortunately, he cannae be sure which bolt-hole might be the one Rauf would choose for his own.”

“The battle will begin soon?”

“As soon as the others arrive, or soon thereafter.”

“There is no turning back now, is there?”

He kissed her cheek. “Nay, lass. After all ye have seen here, would ye truly want us to walk away?”

Keira slowly shook her head. “’Tis just that I only want Rauf Moubray and his dogs to be hurt, and such a clean justice isnae really possible in the battle to come.”

“Probably not. Yet, if a mon must die, ’tis best if he does so in a fight to rid the world of such filth. Aye, and the men from the neighboring lands who are joining with us come because they ken that a mon like this will soon bleed his stolen lands dry and look to theirs for more gain. As Sigimor says, this man is a boil that must be lanced.”

“I should have heeded those in my family who expressed concern about the marriage,” she muttered.

Liam took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. “Ye must shed this guilt that gnaws at ye, lass. None of this is your fault. Duncan was intent upon getting himself a wife. Rauf has wanted Ardgleann for a long time. Those hard truths were there ere ye e’en met Duncan. If nay ye, he would have wed another lass. At least ye had the wit and strength to survive and return with an army.”

“Too late. I—”

He stopped her words with a brief, hard kiss. “By the time ye were healed of your own wounds and certain Rauf wasnae hunting ye down, it was already too late to stop the worst of his cruelty. Give up the guilt, Keira. Ye are the only one who thinks ye have earned it.”

“Mayhap.” She rested her head against his chest. “Have ye come up with a plan? Something better than a direct assault upon the walls?”

“Soon. ’Tis brewing. And I promise ye, wife, ’twill be a verra cunning plan indeed.”

“That is your brilliant, cunning plan?”

Keira stared at Liam, Sigimor, Kester, Malcolm, and Sir Archie in utter disbelief. She suspected she looked as appalled and angry as she felt, for all five men looked wary, although Sigimor also looked amused. The plan to send Kester and Sir Archie into the keep to find a way to let the rest of them in was utter madness, yet none of these men seemed to think so. How they could possibly think a clumsy boy and a man who saw the world as if through a thick mist could accomplish anything other than getting themselves killed, she did not know. Unfortunately, she could not say that aloud. Kester and Sir Archie had their pride. Worse, they looked eager to take on such a dangerous task, to be such an important part of this battle.

“Liam, if I might speak with ye privately?” She was not sure why her cold, angry request should make Sigimor grin so, but she had already decided that he was a bit odd.

For a moment, Liam hesitated. There was really nothing to discuss. The plan was set, and all had agreed that it was their best chance to avoid a serious bloodletting. Then he saw the fear in her eyes. If nothing else, he needed to soothe her concerns for their two friends, and that would require a little privacy. Things might need to be said that could hurt Kester’s and Sir Archie’s feelings or batter their pride.

“Aye, lass,” he said as he took her by the arm, “but we cannae argue o’er this for too long.”

“I said I wished to speak with ye, nay argue,” she protested as he led her toward a large tree at the far edge of their camp.

“I suspicion we will be doing a wee bit of both.”

The moment they halted and faced each other, she snapped, “Are ye insane? How can ye e’en think to send those two into that place, right into Rauf’s bloody grasp? ’Tis like sending lambs to the slaughter. E’en ye have spoken of how Kester cannae walk a yard without stumbling, and Sir Archie has been kenned to attack a shrub, thinking it a wild boar.”

“Exactly.”

She frowned. “What do ye mean?”

“They willnae be seen as a threat.”

“That doesnae mean they will be safe. It just means Rauf willnae raise a sweat in the killing of them.”

Liam took her in his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Aye, there is danger facing them. I cannae lie to ye and say there isnae. Howbeit, Rauf kills only the strong, only those who are a threat to him. Or those who anger him. No mon could e’er see Kester and Sir Archie as a threat, save that they might fall on him.”

“How can ye be sure of that?”

“I cannae be, nay fully, but I am certain enough to risk two lives. Kester and Sir Archie seem witless, harmless fools unless ye take time to speak to them, come to ken who they are. Together, they make one verra clever fighting mon. Kester is Sir Archie’s eyes, and Sir Archie is Kester’s strength. They will go in there claiming your cousin sent them to speak to ye, and Rauf will at least hesitate ere he kills them. He will want to plot out the best way to keep your clan from coming ’round, at least until he can strengthen his defenses e’en more.”

Keira stepped back to frown at him. “But how can they use that to help all of ye
slip in behind the walls? Rauf watches everyone, and the men he has are as vicious and wary as he is.”

“Two things will give Kester and Sir Archie a chance. They will appear helpless to Rauf, no threat at all, so he probably willnae bother to confine them. And Kester can make himself sound like Rauf.”

“Weel, aye, but he cannae make himself look like him.”

“Sir Archie can. There will be no moon tonight. E’en Malcolm says that in the shadows, he could pass for the mon.” Liam lightly kissed her when she continued to frown. “Kester and Sir Archie have practiced so that when Kester speaks, Archie moves his mouth. I have advised them to nay try anything if they ken the risks are too great, to only look about and tally the number of men, what arms there are, and where there may be a weak spot.”

“And they badly wish to do this,” she murmured.

“Verra badly. If this doesnae work, our only other choice is a direct assault upon those walls.”

“Which could cost far more than just two lives.”

“Aye. Everyone is willing, but invading the nest of this adder in the dark of night would be far better.” He stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “And, nay, there is no turning back from this. Ye must needs cease wavering in your commitment, sweet Keira. We have gathered the army needed. Now, we must act.”

She nodded and then looked around at the men camped amongst the trees. There were some of her kinsmen and their allies and some of Liam’s. Little by little, more men had gathered during the short time they had been camped there. Last night, in the short time she and Liam had been with Malcolm, their army had visibly increased. It astonished her that Rauf still seemed unaware of the army gathering on his border. They were camped only a short march away on MacLean land, and that should not have made them invisible.

“How can they not ken that we are here?” she muttered. “Does the mon do naught but huddle behind those walls?”

“That appears to be his strategy. There have been scouts, but they are easily evaded.” Liam smiled faintly. “Or were sent running by the men Sir Ian has set all along his border with Ardgleann. If Rauf suspects any trouble, that will be the mon he expects to bring it. Since Sir Ian’s clan is a small one and isnae kenned as one eager to get into a fight, I doubt Rauf is worried about them at all.” He put his arm around her shoulders again and started to walk her back to the others.

Once back with the other men, Keira listened closely to the whole plan. Kester and Archie would go in as emissaries from the monastery, sent out by Brother Matthew to search for her. They would claim that no one had seen her for months but that they had heard that her husband had died and that she had headed back to her kinsmen. It would make Rauf believe she was dead and that word of his crimes had not yet spread over the land. Since Kester and Sir Archie would approach Ardgleann just before the gates were closed at sunset, it was assumed that they would be invited to remain at Ardgleann until morning. If they could not find a way to let the others slip inside under the cover of a moonless night, they would leave in the morning after gathering all the information they could.

It all sounded so clever and well thought out, but Keira could not help but be afraid
for Kester and Sir Archie. A man like Rauf could not be counted upon to do what was expected of him. She said nothing, however. The intense pride Kester and Sir Archie felt over being chosen for this little sortie was almost painful to see. To express her doubts would hurt them.

The sky was just turning the colors of the sunset when Sir Archie and Kester set out. Sir Archie rode an aging cart horse, and Kester trotted along beside him on a hardy Highland pony. They certainly did not look threatening. She was a little startled when Sigimor stepped up beside her and patted her on the head.

“They will be back, lass,” Sigimor said. “Hale and puffed up with pride in a job weel done.”

“Ye sound verra certain of that,” she said.

“I am. They have the wit, the courage, and the need.”

“The need?”

“Aye, the need to be a part of Ardgleann once ye and Liam claim it. Aye, and the verra great need to be seen as worthy and useful.”

Keira watched the man stride away, pausing only once to knock down a grinning MacFingal. “That is a verra odd mon,” she murmured as Liam took her by the hand and led her toward their part of the ever growing camp.

Liam laughed softly and nodded. As he crouched by their small campfire to stir the pot of mutton stew she had begun earlier, he attempted to explain Sigimor. When he finished his string of tales, he wondered what the frown she wore meant. Sitting by her side, he kissed her cheek and then her hand.

“He married an Englishwoman?” Keira said and sighed with a false exasperation when Liam laughed. “I think I may have been told that, but either I didnae listen close or it slipped my mind.”

“She is a wee, bonnie lass who stands up to him. Jolene doesnae tolerate any nonsense, though he can still stir her into a fierce anger at times. ’Tis a rough place I come from, full of rough men, but there is none better to my way of thinking.”

“Rough but close. He is a good mon for all his odd ways. Ne’er think I meant elsewise. Aye, and thinking on all ye have told me, he truly is like a father to his clan.” She smiled faintly. “And he is right in what he says about Kester and Sir Archie, curse his eyes. They
need
to do this. They need to win a place here, nay just have it given to them.”

“Sigimor is often right. ’Tis one of the more annoying things about him.” He grinned when she laughed, pleased to see that her fears had eased for the moment.

“In all your planning, did ye decide what I am to do?”

“Stay here.”

“But—”

“Ye will stay here, lass. If I can, I will send Kester and Sir Archie back to be your guards, or someone will be left behind to do it, but here is where ye will stay until I can come and get ye.” He grasped her by the chin and gave her a quick, hard kiss. “And if anyone flees this way, ye will hide. The mon tried to rape and kill ye. Dinnae give him a chance to succeed.”

Keira opened her mouth to argue with him and then shut it. There really was nothing she could do to help while the battle was being fought. In truth, she could easily endanger them, for they would feel compelled to keep a close guard on her. Watching out
for her instead of watching out for the enemy could get men killed. Her time would come when the battle ended and there were wounds to tend. It would be hard to sit and wait, however, wondering all the while how those she cared for were faring.

After sharing their meal with Sigimor, Ewan, Malcolm, and her brothers, Keira crawled into the small shelter Liam and the others had built for them. It had proven a good shelter from the chilly wind and mist that had seeped into the area during the night. She had wanted to stay with the men while they talked, but it had become painfully clear that her presence had restricted what they said. Since they were in many ways fighting for her, she had quietly left them to make their plans.

Curling up beneath the blankets, she hoped Liam would not think she was always so meek and accepting. She also hoped he did not linger too long with the other men. Despite the uncertainties that still plagued her concerning their marriage, she was sure of one thing. She did not like to sleep without him at her side.

“Weel, I ne’er thought to see the day,” said Artan, looking at Liam with mild wonder, “but it appears ye have tamed our Blackbird.”

“Dinnae believe it,” said Liam. “She didnae want to leave, but is a wee bit cowed at the moment by a burden of guilt and a heavy sense of debt for what all these men are going to do.”

“She has naught to feel guilty about, and I dinnae think anyone here expects her to feel indebted to them.”

“True, but ’twill take time ere she believes that.”

“If anyone should feel indebted, ’tis ye,” grumbled Lucas, nimbly ducking when Sigimor swung at him. “’Tis true.”

“Aye, it is,” agreed Liam. “I reached high. I ken it. I also ken that I gained the most from this marriage.”

“If ye make her happy, none will care.”

Liam inwardly sighed. It was obviously going to take time for Keira’s brothers to accept him fully, even though they had forced the marriage. The other Murrays in the camp seemed content to accept him as Keira’s husband, although they had made it clear that he had better be a good one. If he stepped wrong, he had better start running, Liam mused. A quick glance at a grinning Sigimor told him his cousin was thinking much the same. Liam also knew that if he shamed or hurt Keira, the Murrays would be hard-pressed to get to him before Sigimor did.

“I intend to be a good husband,” Liam said firmly. “I have given ye my word already, I believe. Now, shall we discuss what lies ahead one more time?”

“Is it not difficult to make plans when ye arenae certain what Sir Archie and Kester might accomplish?” asked Malcolm.

“Some,” agreed Sigimor, “though ’tis always best to have more than one plan.”

“Ye dinnae think we will need more than one, do ye?” asked Liam, recognizing how calm his cousin was and what that meant.

“Nay. I feel certain they will succeed, if nay in getting us in tonight, then in bringing us vital information.” He looked at Keira’s brothers, whose doubt was clear to see on their handsome faces. “As I told your sister—they have the wit, the courage, and the need. They are eager to make a place for themselves at Ardgleann.”

“But Keira has already given them a place here,” said Artan.

“Aye,
given
them one. Tastes a wee bit too much like charity, and there will be those who see it that way. Ah, but now, despite their obvious weaknesses, they have marched right into the lion’s den, and they will be the ones who breach those defenses.”

“Devious. ’Tis a verra devious mon ye are.”

“Thank ye. I do my best.” Sigimor then began to relate his very exact plans for the battle ahead.

When Sigimor was done and what little discussion there was began to wane, Liam stood up. Keira’s brothers immediately fixed him with a look that was not quite a glare. He suspected that some of their lingering unease with him was due to the fact that he was bedding their little Blackbird.

“Where are ye going?” asked Artan.

“I am going to my bed where mayhap, I will be a good husband,” Liam drawled and almost grinned at their ill-tempered grunts.

Sigimor laughed and stood up. “Everyone should try to get a wee bit of rest. We may need to move fast and fight hard soon.”

As soon as everyone left, Liam put out the fire. With so many men around, it did not need to be kept lit to hold any animals at bay. Just outside the opening of the crude shelter he and Keira shared, he stripped down to his braies, had a brief wash with the water Keira kept in a bucket just outside the opening, and then crawled inside. It was so dark he had to grope around until he found a way to slip beneath the blankets, and then he removed his braies. Turning onto his side, a light touch revealed that he was behind Keira. He slipped his arm around her and tugged her close to him. The way she murmured his name and pressed close to him, fitting her lithe shape against his body, had him ready and eager in a heartbeat.