Highland Wolf (17 page)

“And I agree with ye, but with so many of his men riding all o’er the place and in every direction, ’tis too dangerous,” said a shorter, much thinner man. “Ye saw how they are grabbing hold of every mon, woman, and bairn they find and demanding answers, Ellar. They wouldn’t just ride by if they caught a wee peek at us. There is nay hiding amongst the shepherds or the like this time.”

Ellar scratched his long thick beard. “Weel, Robbie, from what little I heard whilst they beat on that poor mon doing naught but relieving himself outside his own wee cottage, they are looking for someone named Annora.”

“I think that is the lass who is the nursemaid to the bastard’s child.”

“A wee lass with blond curls?”

“I think that may be right although I always thought she was Drummond’s get.”

“My cousin Will says she is and he doesnae care what that bastard MacKay claims,” said a short, brown-haired man standing to Ellar’s left. “And I am thinking our laird made a mistake in nay getting to ken all about that bastard MacKay. ’Tis sure that is why we werenae prepared for a raid from Dunncraig and that got poor David killed.”

“I think ye are right in saying that, Ian, but I am nay about to tell the laird that,” said Ellar. “Are ye?”

“Nay,” grunted Ian. “So, what do we do now if we cannae keep trying to gather some information?”

“We got, some information for the laird. We ken that the child, her nursemaid, and some wood-carver have fled Dunncraig Keep and MacKay is willing to beat near to death everyone he meets to try and find out which way the three of them went.”

“And that he and near all his men are riding about leaving the keep lightly protected,” added Robbie.

“Are ye sure we ought to be telling the laird that?” asked Ian. “He is near mad with grief as David was his favorite son. He will be calling us to arms and riding for Dunncraig without hesitating.”

Ellar nodded. “I ken it and that is a good fast way to send many of us to our maker, but we have to tell him. The way these fools are conducting their search it willnae be a secret for much longer.”

James had the urge to hail the men even as they mounted their horses and rode away. They might be convinced to join him in his fight against MacKay, but there was too great a chance they would see him as a source of a reward and Annora and Meggie as weapons to use against MacKay. From what he could recall the laird of the MacLarens had never been sharp-witted and he was now maddened with grief. Tempting as it was to try and gain a few allies, James knew he could not risk Annora’s and Meggie’s safety on a chance he did not feel was so good it was guaranteed.

The moment the MacLaren men were out of sight, James began to make his way back to the cottage as fast as he could. He felt a growing urgency as he ran. Although he
had gained a little useful information, James started to fear that his instincts had tricked him into leaving Annora and Meggie just when it was most important that they stay together and get away.

Annora finished packing what few belongings they had and then sat down on the threshold stone to watch Meggie skipping around the clearing the cottage sat in. She idly wondered what had happened to the people who had once lived here. A moment later she decided that might not be a safe thing to think about. Donnell had driven away, hanged, and imprisoned a lot of people at Dunncraig simply because he felt they were too loyal to James. After a brief prayer for whoever had lived in the cottage, she turned her thoughts to what lay ahead.

It was probably a good idea for James to take her and Meggie to his family instead of fleeing to France, but the thought of meeting all his kinsmen made Annora very nervous. He had told her that many of them had gifts similar to hers, and that meant it might prove impossible to keep a secret from them and she had a big one she wanted to keep. Annora did not think his family would want the woman he had made his leman to be the same one who took care of his child.

“Annora, do ye hear something?” asked Meggie as she ran up to stand beside the stone where Annora sat. “I hear something. I think someone is coming.”

A moment after the child spoke, Annora could hear something as well. From the direction of the burn she could hear someone or something crashing through the trees and undergrowth as if he or it was running without a care for the need of a silent approach. It could be either a panicked animal or a panicked James, and neither of those possibilities helped calm her rapidly rising fear.

From behind the cottage and to the north of it, she could hear horses approaching. Annora knew that sound could only mean that she and Meggie were standing right in the midst of a rapidly approaching danger. One rider could simply be someone passing by on their way to somewhere, a simple traveler or one of the people of Dunncraig. There was far more than one rider coming their way, however. That could mean that a raid was headed for Dunncraig or it could be that Donnell and his men were just about to find the very people they were searching for. Raiders would see her and Meggie as a wondrous prize and Donnell would see them as someone who needed to be taught exactly who ruled their lives. Neither circumstance boded well for her and the child in her care.

Annora grabbed up their belongings and then grabbed a wide-eyed Meggie by the hand. She had barely gone a few feet in the only direction where there did not appear to be danger approaching when the little clearing the cottage stood in was filled with men. Donnell and over a dozen riders broke into the clearing on two sides, reining the horses in hard as they saw her and Meggie. A heartbeat later James burst out of the trees only to come to an abrupt halt to stare at Donnell and his men.

For a moment, Annora just watched the silent confrontation, her heart pounding with fear for James. She wanted to yell at him to run, but just as she opened her mouth, he gave her a brief, hard glower that silenced her. She began to inch her way back from all the men glaring at James, a look of fury and hatred he readily returned. Annora knew that any moment now all the silent tension would snap and she did not want Meggie caught in the middle of a battle even if it would be a short one. James was but one man against over a dozen armed men. Annora knew their chance to escape Donnell was lost.
All she could do was pray that James was not lost as well.

“Have ye come here to die, then, MacKay?” James said as he drew his sword.

Annora blinked. Was the man insane? Then she thought of how he must feel. Not only had he been forced to give up his search for the truth and run from Dunncraig, but being discovered by Donnell here and now meant that he had undoubtedly lost all chance of clearing the stain from his name. He would die with the world believing he had killed his wife. Annora hastily shoved all thought of James dying from her mind because she knew she would never find the strength she would need if she even thought of his fate once he was back in Donnell’s hands.

“Ye are a fool, Drummond,” Donnell snapped. “Did ye think ye could best me by seducing my cousin?”

“I didnae seduce her. I took her because she cares for the child. I took the child to bring ye to me.” He looked at all the men with Donnell. “I should have guessed that ye were too much the coward to come on your own. Nay mon enough to face me? Prefer to do your fighting against poor men chained to the walls?”

“Is something bad going to happen, Annora?” whispered Meggie as she pressed herself hard up against Annora’s leg.

“I fear so, love,” Annora whispered back as she continued to inch her way to the far edge of the clearing.

“I wanna go home.”

“Hush, love. Best if we dinnae draw any attention our way.”

It seemed that fate did not want to bless her with any good luck at the moment, Annora thought as she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She did not need to look to know it was Egan who held her. She recognized his rather unpleasant smell. Meggie screeched and started to kick the man who held Annora, but the child’s efforts were abruptly halted when Egan slapped her so hard she seemed to fly backward a foot before hitting the ground. Desperate to get to Meggie to be sure she was not badly hurt, Annora began to struggle in Egan’s grasp, kicking and softly cursing.

James stared at his child as she sprawled in the dirt. Only a flicker of relief disturbed the hard grip of his rage when Meggie began to sit up, tears making a muddy trail in the dirt on her face. He looked briefly at Annora, who struggled to get free of Egan and go to Meggie. Then he looked back at Donnell MacKay.

How had everything gone so wrong? James wondered. Inwardly, he shrugged, feeling surprisingly numb except for the need to kill MacKay. Fate was dealing him a very hard hand at the moment and failure was a bitter taste in his mouth. The only glimmer of hope he had was that Tormand and Simon would soon know what had happened to him. They would do their best to get Annora and Meggie away from this bastard. He would not allow himself to think of anything but their safety, for his losses were so great he feared he could go mad if he thought about them.

“I think it is time for ye to surrender, Wolf,” said MacKay.

“Why? So ye can kill me slowly as ye did my men?” James saw no reason to deny his identity to the man now.

Donnell cocked his head a little to the right and smiled faintly. “Aye.”

A moment later nearly all of Donnell’s men rushed James. Annora screamed, certain she was about to see James slaughtered before her eyes. He held his own for a while, revealing a skill with his sword that was nearly awe-inspiring. Several of
Donnell’s men actually backed away despite Donnell’s insults and commands that they continue to fight. Then one unusually clever man got behind James while he was too occupied fending off three men in front of him to do anything to save himself. The man hit James so hard with the hilt of his sword on the back of his head that the sound echoed in the clearing.

A soft moan of despair escaped Annora as James fell to the ground. She stood still in Egan’s grasp as Donnell dismounted and walked over to James. When he kicked James hard in the side, she gasped, but then Donnell’s attention turned to her. She tensed as he walked up to her and looked her over from head to toe.

“So, Cousin, ye felt the need to betray me with this outlaw?” he asked in a cold, calm voice that sent shivers down her spine.

Deciding to stay with the tale James had told, that she was no more than a woman dragged along to take care of a child, she shook her head. “I had to stay with Meggie.”

He stared at her for so long that she feared the truth was somehow marked on her face. “I think there is more,” he murmured. “Much more but this is nay the place to find out the truth.” He looked at Egan. “Get her and that sniveling child on a horse and let us get this wolfs head to the dungeon where he belongs.”

Annora watched out of the corner of her eye as Donnell’s men lifted James up and tossed him over the back of a horse. She tried to tell herself that there was still hope, that he was alive and that was all that mattered for now. It did not ease her fear by much as Egan roughly threw her on the back of a horse and then nearly threw a quietly crying Meggie up into her arms.

Relief briefly lightened her grief when Egan did not try to mount behind her, but got back on his own horse. He grabbed her reins and led her back toward Dunncraig. Annora silently tried to soothe Meggie as she fought not to think of what she faced once they were all back at Dunncraig. Donnell did not really believe that she was some innocent victim. Somehow she was going to have to convince him that she was or she, too, might be locked away and then she would be unable to help James.

As subtly as she could she looked toward where James’ limp form bounced around on the back of a horse. Blood dripped down his face from the gash on the back of his head. That was not good, but she reminded herself that head wounds often bled freely and her fear for him eased just a little.

What she needed was a plan, she decided. If she was lucky enough not to be so badly beaten she could not move or locked up to face hanging as a traitor, she would need a plan to get help for James. It was hard to think clearly when she was facing God alone knew what punishment and fearing for the life of her lover, but Annora worked to push all those concerns aside. What chance she might get to help James could be a small one, and the time in which she could grasp it might be fleeting. She could not allow the weakness her feelings stirred within her to cause her to miss any opportunity.

By the time Annora found herself facing Donnell in his ledger room, she was exhausted. Egan had never left her side as she had taken care of a still weeping Meggie. His silence and the way he stared at her were beginning to drive her mad. It was as if he was trying to see some sign that she had let another man touch her. The fact that she had taken James as her lover made it very hard for Annora to act the innocent confused virgin. She did not feel guilty for loving James, but she did feel that there might be something she would do or say that would give her away.

“Ye wish me to believe that ye went with Drummond because he had taken Meggie?” Donnell asked as he sprawled in the chair behind his worktable, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on her.

“Ye put her in my care, Donnell. I felt it was my duty to stay with her and try to protect her.”

“Ah, and the fact that Drummond came to your bedchamber and beat Egan senseless was nay because ye and Drummond are lovers?”

“I may be bastard born, Cousin, but if naught else I learned from my mother’s mistakes,” she said coldly. “Egan was trying to rape me. He came to my bedchamber uninvited. I didnae lure him there for Master Lavengeance to find, if that is what ye are implying.”

“That mon is nay Master Lavengeance. He is Sir James Drummond, the mon who killed our Cousin Mary.”

“Are ye sure of that?”

Donnell sat up straight and glared at her. “Of course I am sure. Didnae it puzzle ye that he has two good eyes yet wore that patch?”

Annora had forgotten that James had discarded the patch during their flight from Dunncraig in the night. “Weel, a wee bit, but there are many reasons to wear such a thing. An injury, a weakness in the eye, an infection.”

“Aye, aye.” Donnell waved away the rest of her words. “Weel, I will be kind and pretend that I am believing all of your explanations and excuses for being with the mon who is my greatest enemy. James Drummond wants me dead, Cousin. He disguised himself and wormed his way into Dunncraig and my confidence in order to murder me. The fact that ye seem to have become verra friendly with the mon doesnae make me feel that ye are one who can be trusted.”

“He was a wood-carver, Cousin. That is all I e’er thought he was.”

“Did ye think a wood-carver could do this to me?” hissed Egan, grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him.

Egan’s face was a mess, Annora thought. She had not taken the opportunity to really look at him since he had grabbed her by the cottage. His eyes were so blackened and swollen she was surprised he had been able to see clearly enough to ride a horse.

“Ye were trying to rape me, Egan, and ye were beating on me.” She lightly touched her bruised cheek. “All I saw when Master Lavengeance burst in was a mon who was about to save me.” She looked back at Donnell. “I admit I was suspicious and verra disappointed when the mon I thought my rescuer dragged me to the nursery and took Meggie. But, as I keep saying, I felt it was my duty to stay with Meggie.”

“How did ye get out of the keep without being seen?” demanded Donnell.

This was going to be a difficult question to answer, she thought. Annora was heartily glad that she had thought over all her possible answers and excuses as she had been taken back to Dunncraig. She was not a particularly good liar, but she could tell a very good story. Having planned ahead for this question, she began to tell her story.

As Annora told an elaborate tale of slipping through the shadows with a knife-wielding man and a sleeping child, she watched Donnell closely. He frowned as she spoke but she could not tell if that was a frown of thought or one of disbelief and, worse, she could sense nothing in him to tell her, either. Since Donnell already had plenty of proof that his men did not always make the most vigilant of guards, she felt no shame in
implying that their lax guard was why she and Meggie were so easily slipped out of the keep.

“The mon is more clever than I thought,” murmured Donnell.

“Do ye really believe all that?” said Egan.

“Most of it. I but wonder if my dear Cousin isnae really the complete victim she claims, however.”

A tiny trickle of sweat went down Annora’s spine but she kept her expression one of calm innocence. “I ne’er saw any evil in the mon, Cousin. Ye trusted him so I felt I could as weel. And since he twice saved me from Egan’s attempts to steal my virtue, how could I not think him a good mon, one I could trust?”

“Ye are mine, woman, and I have the right to take ye anywhere and any way I please,” said Egan, and then he backhanded her.

Annora hit the floor so hard she was dazed for a moment. She noticed that Donnell said and did nothing to stop Egan, and that silent approval of what the man had done made her very uneasy. It told her that, although Donnell could not see where her lies were, he suspected she was telling him some.

Egan yanked her to her feet and shook her. “Look at her mouth!” he yelled at Donnell. “’Tis verra clear that she has been thoroughly kissed.”

“It does appear that way, Cousin,” Donnell said. “Are ye sure ye didnae allow that bastard to seduce ye to his cause?”

“Ye think me some whore?” she demanded, acting completely outraged at the mere suggestion that she had taken a lover. “Do ye nay think I at least have enough wit to tell when I am being seduced? I am nay my mother.”

“But ye carry her blood.”

“I carry that of my grandsire as weel and he was no mon’s fool.”

“Ah, verra true. Still, I fear I dinnae completely believe your tale, Cousin.”

“I cannae change it, for ’tis but the truth.”

“As ye say but I think I will allow Egan to ease some of that fury that has him so tense and try to convince ye that ye just might have a wee bit more to tell us.”

Even as Annora realized what Donnell was saying, Egan hit her in the face with his fist. The only reason she kept standing was that he had a painful grip on her arm. He smiled and she knew she was in for a very long, extremely painful time of questioning. She prayed she had the strength to remain firm and stay with the story she had told them.

It seemed like hours of pain and brutality, interspersed with the same questions over and over again, before Donnell said, “Enough, Egan. She is either telling us the truth or she will die ere she changes her story.”

Annora stayed where she had fallen the last time Egan had hit her. She did not think there was a single part of her that was not shouting in pain. Turning her head upon the cold stone floor just enough to look at the two men standing there looking down at her, she wondered how they could still be free and alive while a good man like James was chained in their dungeon awaiting what would undoubtedly be a long, cruel death.

Just as she was thinking she might at least try to sit up, a man burst into the ledger room crying, “The MacLarens are raiding us!”

“’Tis nay e’en dark yet,” muttered Donnell. “What do the fools think they are doing?”

“Avenging the death of the laird’s son?” Annora said as she eased herself up onto
her hands and knees.

A hard kick to her side sent her sprawling again, and Donnell snapped, “That was a death caused during a raid. It happens all the time. And only an utter fool raids a weel-manned keep in the full light of day.”

“Mayhap someone let him ken that we arenae fully manned at the moment,” said Egan as he roughly dragged Annora to her feet and then nearly threw her into a chair.

Fighting unconsciousness, she listened to Donnell question the man who had brought the news. From what was being said, she gathered that the MacLarens had come very close to taking Dunncraig Keep. It was only the sudden return of the rest of Donnell’s men from their hunt for her and James that had saved Dunncraig. Those men had come up behind the MacLarens and the battle that had ensued had quickly become a rout. That so enraged Donnell that he punched the man who had delivered the news right in the nose, breaking it. Out of the corner of her rapidly swelling eye she watched that man slip away as Donnell turned all of his attention to making plans with Egan, plans that included chasing down the MacLarens and slaughtering them to a man.