Love Beyond Belief (Book 7 of Morna’s Legacy Series) (26 page)

“How do you know? Surely he didn’t tell you all of that?”

“No, he dinna. I spoke with my most trusted men, and they told me all that they know. I believe them. ’Twas only a small group that turned against me. The rest stayed here to await my orders.”

“Why were any of your men here in the first place?”

Raudrich looked down at his feet, and I knew he most likely asked himself the same question.
 

“I believed Drustan’s fear was genuine, so I left many of my men to aide his own men in defense of this castle should word spread that Laird Macaslan was missing rather than in hiding. By doing so, the effect was two-fold. Drustan was not only able to pay some of my men enough money that they delivered his father’s head to Callum, but also enough that they were willing to turn against me completely and attack the Conalls to start a war among our clans.”

I slowed my eating as I listened. I wanted to carefully process every word he said.

“So he started off simply wanting his father’s territory for his own, but greed got the best of him? He hoped by securing his position here and then turning Callum’s clan and the Conalls against you that he could take over yours as well?”

Raudrich nodded and stood to refill my glass.
 

“Aye, I believe so. When I returned from Spain, I was riding for Cagair to inform Callum that my search had failed. I dinna know Macaslan was dead until ye told me. My men dinna tell me even as they met with me on the path and rode with me toward Callum’s castle. When I arrived at Cagair to find it empty, I feared that Macaslan had either already returned or all had fled knowing he was on his way. That is why I thought I was rescuing ye. I thought ye and the others were hiding because ye knew Macaslan was coming.”

He stopped, stood, and started pacing as he had done in the forest.

“Why were ye hiding, lass? And why was the castle empty if ye all knew Macaslan was dead?”

I couldn’t very well tell him the truth, so I sat pensively for a long moment as I tried to figure out the answer that made the most sense knowing what I did now. With the portal closed, I knew Callum would have to travel back at McMillan Castle, just as the other men intended to do.
 

“Cagair territory is small, and Callum didn’t think he would have enough men. He knew that the Conalls were too deep in grief and too far away to be of much help so he went to gather the McMillans. He expected that once you killed Macaslan, you would try to take this territory as well. I’m sure they are all riding here as we speak.”

He smiled, not the least bit bothered by my telling him that two clans were coming to kill him.
 

“Good. Then they should arrive within the next day or two. I’m sure they were not able to keep the same pace as I did—’tis the only reason we beat them here.”

It definitely wasn’t the only reason, but I kept that to myself. I was eager to ask the next question on my mind.

“All right, Raudrich. I’ve decided that I believe you. I will have your back when Callum arrives here ready to slit your throat, but I still don’t understand why all of that resulted in the need for me to hang out in the stables while you said hi to him.”

“Lass, I’ve heard stories of the way Drustan treats the women he meets. If ye met him, the only way I could protect ye is to say ye are my wife, and he knows that I’ve none. Ye will stay here tonight, and I shall sleep in the stables. I just ask that ye lock the door when I leave so no one will disturb ye.”

“Oh no, please don’t do that. You must be exhausted. I really don’t even know how you’re standing there. You take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor. I won’t be able to sleep at all if you sleep in the stables.”

He frowned at me then moved to grab one of the blankets from the bed.

“I’ll sleep on the floor. Ye will sleep on the bed. That is the furthest I will compromise, aye?”

I nodded and yawned at the thought of sleep, but there were still other questions I needed answers to.
 

“Raudrich, why did you not say anything about the way I was dressed? It’s strange to you, yes?”

He laughed and spread the blanket on the floor, far away from the bed and against the back wall of the room.
 

“Just as I’ve heard stories of much that goes on in the Highlands, I’ve also heard stories of Cagair Castle and the strange lassies that appear there by magic, all to marry men much like myself. Aye, I thought it odd, but I simply supposed ye were one of those lassies.”

“You seem to know everything. Why didn’t you know about Macaslan’s death until I told you?”

“I’ve a seer that tells me all, but she canna verra well do that while I’m in Spain. My distance from her prevented me from knowing as much as I usually do. Now, I am verra tired. Let us rest for now.”

I nodded and turned toward the bed, one last thought lingering on my mind.
 

“Okay, but what’s the plan? How do we get rid of the new Laird Macaslan?”

His voice sounded sleepy as he answered, and I knew he would be asleep in a matter of seconds.
 

“Doona ye worry about that, lass. Just
have my back
as ye said.”

I laughed and collapsed into the bed as I heard him begin to snore.
 

CHAPTER 38

Morning took forever to arrive, as Raudrich’s snoring kept me up most of the night. Not that I minded, I was glad to see him sleeping. After the number of hours I witnessed him go without shut-eye, I was starting to worry that he was some sort of supernatural insomniac. Even if he wasn’t, I was pretty sure that he and Cooper would be fast friends.
 

He did rise early, though, just as the sun began to peek through the window. When he did wake, he sprung up with more energy than any person had a right to have before coffee.
 

“Do ye hear that, Sydney?”

I sat up and listened as closely as I could. I didn’t hear a thing.
 

“Do I hear what?”

“Yer people, lass. They’ve arrived.”

I stood and marched over to the door, opening it without hesitation to listen more clearly.
 

Still, everything out in the hall was completely quiet.
 

“I don’t hear anything. I think maybe you need a few more hours of sleep.”

“I assure ye, they are here and storming the castle at this verra moment. Are ye ready? I doona believe Callum and the others will wait long. They will be eager to find ye and the others if they believe I’ve held ye captive here”

“If you can hear them, you seriously got bit by some sort of weird spider as a child. Are you about to pull out a red suit or something?”

He twisted his head to the side like a confused puppy.
 

“What?”

I shook my head. “Never mind. What are we going to do?”

He shrugged, and my eyes widened in shocked surprise.
 

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“No, how could I? I doona know for sure what Callum and the others will do. All I know is that Callum and his men should have no trouble overtaking Drustan’s, as I instructed my own men to abandon the castle while everyone slept last night. Just stay close to me as I follow the noise, and we are sure to find them.”

We crept down the long hallway together. We made it down the main staircase and through one of the ground level hallways before I heard anything. When Callum’s voice reached my ears, I had to resist the urge to run straight for him.
 

“Drustan, ye know that I doona care for ye, but I am not the sort of man that believes the sins of the father should be paid by the son. If ye tell what ye’ve agreed to with Laird Allen, if ye tell us where he is, we willna harm ye.”

Raudrich leaned forward, pushing my head toward the doorway so I could see where he was pointing.
 

“Do ye see the door on the back side of the dining hall? We will enter there.”

I nodded in agreement as we walked around the outskirts of where Callum and his men stood with Drustan backed against a wall in the dining room. When we reached the door on the other side, Raudrich paused and looked over at me with kind eyes.
 

“If ye are not able to stop them in time, doona feel guilt over any of it. I will have given my life doing exactly what I was meant to do.”

“What?” I looked at him nervously, confused by his words. He acted like he intended to run straight for Callum’s sword. As I watched him charge through the door from which we stood on the other side, drawing his blade as he went, I realized he might very well be doing just that.
 

I stood in the open doorway trying to understand what he meant to do, trying to watch his fast movements as he ran toward the cowering Drustan, not hesitating a moment as he plunged his sword into the young laird’s stomach.
 

Raudrich pulled his blade out and threw it to the ground, and I knew then what he meant. He would kill Drustan to end the real evil in the room, but he wasn’t willing to raise his weapon to any other.
 

I jerked my head toward Callum as I watched him draw his own blade and raise it over his head in anticipation of swinging it straight through Raudrich.
 

Screaming for him to stop, I ran directly into the path of Callum’s swing and threw myself in front of Laird Allen.
 

CHAPTER 39

If not for the power of Morna’s magic, Callum’s blade would have split Sydney right down the middle. He heard her screams, even saw her running toward Laird Allen, but the witch’s quick thinking was all that stopped the momentum of his downward swing. The blade left his hand suddenly, flying to the side and striking against stone as he fell to his knees as relief swept over him.
 

In an instant, Sydney was there, holding his face between her hands, kissing him as she wrapped her arms around him before whispering in his ear.
 

“I’m all right. I’m all right, Callum.”

“What is the matter with ye, lass? Why would ye protect him? Has he done something to yer mind? Ye know what he’s done.”

“No. It wasn’t him.” She clung tightly to him, pushing him back as he stood and tried to lunge once more toward Laird Allen. He could see the man’s lips moving, but he couldn’t hear anything past Sydney’s urgent cries as she continued to push him back.
 

“Callum, listen to me. He didn’t do anything. It was Drustan—all of it.”

It couldn’t be true—not after finding the tartan of Allen’s clan on those that attacked the Conalls.
 

He turned and walked away from Sydney. He needed a moment to gather himself, to recover from what he’d almost done and think through what to do next. The McMillan men stood next to him at the ready, but he knew they wouldn’t move without his command.
 

The ride here had been long and tiring—his worry over Sydney’s safety so overwhelming that he’d been ready to draw blood immediately if it meant seeing her safe. But now that he knew she was, he knew there was still much he didn’t know—much that didn’t make sense to him. If there was any chance Sydney was right, he didn’t wish to send an innocent man to his grave.

He gathered himself as he walked over to his sword, retrieving it from the ground before pointing it soundly in Laird Allen’s direction.
 

“What have ye said to Sydney to give her cause to believe ye? Yer men attacked and killed one of the Conalls only a day after ye sent Macaslan’s head to my steps. Ye mean to take over Macaslan’s territory and punish me for the part I played in yer brother’s death by causing harm to those who came to my aide, aye?”

Callum watched Raudrich closely. He saw no malice in the man’s eyes, no trace of the same evil or anger that so often lay behind Macaslan’s and other men who committed similar heinous acts of violence. During all his years of traveling, Callum had seen his fair share of evil men. Laird Allen, despite all evidence to the contrary, didn’t strike him as one of them. It was why he so easily trusted him the first day they met.
 

Laird Allen didn’t respond to him right away. When he did speak, he addressed Sydney first, moving to her side and placing a hand on her shoulder so she would look at him. Callum had to refrain from running the man through out of jealousy alone.
 

“Are ye mad? Had I known what ye meant when ye said ye would ‘have my back,’ I would’ve chained ye up in the stables. Ach, lass, my life is not worth ye losing yers.”

Sydney swallowed and shrugged, apparently unfazed by any of it. “I’m sorry. It was just a reaction.”

Callum took a step toward him, placing the point of his blade against the center of Raudrich’s chest.
 

“Ye doona need to have a hand on her to speak to her. Now answer me question.”

Raudrich nodded and slowly removed his hand from Sydney’s shoulder, holding up both hands in surrender.
 

“All I told Sydney was truth. Ye are right that ’twas both my men that brought ye Macaslan’s head and that attacked the Conalls, but they dinna do so on my order. Drustan paid them off. I am ashamed to say that I doona fully have the trust of my men as of yet, though I intend to rectify that when I return to my territory.”