Sarah Gabriel (23 page)

“She’s much nicer than I am,” Kate said wryly, “very patient and sweet-natured. We both have the Fairy’s Gift, and the fairy’s temper at times…but she got more of the gift, and I got more of the temper.” She twisted her mouth awry.

He smiled a little. God, how he loved her, and it turned inside him, aching, because he had not set it free.

“Give yourself your due, Marie Katherine. Your sister seems a gentle soul, and you may have a bit more fire, but you both have a dazzling charm. I have not met Connor MacPherson. When you see him, please give him my regards, and tell him I think he is a fortunate man.” He inclined his head.

“You are truly leaving?” She glanced at him, frowning, and her quicksilver eyes took on the gray-blue of her gown.

He wished he could be as lucky as Connor, but Kate had refused his proposal. He would not ask again, would not beg. He glanced away, tensing a muscle in his cheek.

He had not wanted to be hurt again in love, had shielded himself from that for so long, and yet here he was, taking the blow and using his pride for a shield again.

“I came to say farewell,” he said. “It is best if I go. You said so yourself.” He held her gaze and she glanced away first. “I was hoping to speak with your brother, as I must, and hoping to borrow a horse for the journey back.”

“Of course,” she said politely, Alec felt his heart sink even further—she did not protest his decision. “My brother and the others are outside on the veranda.”

“Excellent.” He stepped away.

“Alec, wait—” She paused, lifting a hand to her bodice.

“Aye?” He watched her over his shoulder, standing a safe distance from her, but he felt a strange pull in his belly, as if a cord tugged between them.

“So you truly are willing…to go back without me?”

“Do you want me to drag you out of here shrieking, with a host of wild Highlanders on my tail?” He felt impatient suddenly, hurting and harsh when he should not be so with her. “I’ll report my prisoner lost and take my chances. It’s better for you that way, my love,” he finished, his voice almost flat.

He turned and walked toward the outside door. Her footsteps sounded behind him, but he did not turn until he opened the door and waited in silence for her to pass through ahead of him.

O
n the sunlit veranda, Kate picked up her skirts and hurried to keep up with Alec’s long-legged, determined stride. Several yards away, Rob, Connor, and the others turned when they saw them approaching.

Rob came forward, somber and wary, a tall ash blond man with a scholarly look, not at all the hotheaded chief of his reputation; adoring her brother, Kate had always thought him to be a handsome, strongly masculine version of his sisters in appearance and coloring. Connor MacPherson of Kinnoull came behind Rob, looking much more the Highland brigand—her brother-in-law was a large and robust man, his dark-haired good looks striking, his green eyes intense; in his wrapped plaid he looked like a savage warrior, despite
his fine education. In the last few months, she had come to love him as a brother, appreciating his wry humor, his slow smile, his quiet wit.

But she did not know how either of them, or Allan and Neill who followed behind them, would greet Alexander Fraser. She had found no chance to speak with Rob yet, though she knew that Neill and Allan would have told him, and Connor, what they knew.

The hour was early, the breeze chill, and she shivered. “Robert MacCarran of Duncrieff,” she said, “Connor MacPherson, Lord Kinnoull—this is Captain Alexander Fraser.”

Rob eyed Alec for a moment. “Fraser, sir,” he said.

“Duncrieff.” Alec held out his hand. Rob, having no other choice, shook it. Alec turned to Connor. “Lord Kinnoull.”

“It’s Connor,” her brother-in-law replied, and shook his hand. Despite their polite greetings, Kate felt the tension in the air mount as Alec greeted Neill and Allan, too.

“We were just coming inside. It’s cool out here, but Connor wanted to see a change Sophie had made to the gardens here, though she has not yet joined us this morning.” Rob gestured to Kate, who led the way as they walked back into the drawing room. Rob turned to Alec. “You’re recovered from your illness, sir?”

“Aye, well enough to travel,” Alec said. “I thank you for your hospitality, but I must be going as soon as I can, if I may trouble you for a horse. I’ll see it returned to you. Your sister will stay here, by the way,” he added. “I’ll not demand that she go with me.” His voice was
deepened and serious, and Kate felt her breath catch in her throat a little.

Rob nodded, glanced at her. “Kate?”

She lifted her head. “I asked him to leave me here. He has agreed, though he must tell the courts that I ran away. He is taking a chance in doing so.”

“All they will know is I…lost her,” Alec said.

Lost her
. The tone of his voice, and his implication, perceptible only to her, tugged hard at Kate. She glanced at him sadly, but he did not look her way just then.

Her brother nodded. “We are in your debt, sir, when I thought we might be in confrontation. We heard from Allan that you had Kate arrested.”

“I did. Under the circumstances, the lass looked to be an
intriguante
, or at the least a thief. It was not until later that I understood…well, to be frank, Duncrieff, there is something I want to know before I leave.”

“What is that?” Rob sounded cautious. Kate looked on with alarm, thinking Alec would ask them now, directly, about the missing Spanish weapons.

Alec glowered. “What the devil were the lot of you thinking, to send a lass out to do that sort of work?”

Kate caught her breath, and her heart seemed to flip. Rob looked startled, and all of them stared at Alec.

“But she agreed—” Neill began.

“Let Fraser speak,” Rob said. “What do you mean, sir?”

“The mischief she was about was dangerous, particularly for a young woman. She was bound to be arrested, sooner or later. Arrested, or worse,” he growled.

“It was her choice,” Allan countered, stepping closer.
“She knew the dangers involved. We kept watch over her every time.”

Neill nodded. “There were always one or a few of us there. We never let the lass do anything entirely on her own.”

“But you did,” Alec said. “Every time she stepped into an officer’s quarters, she was on her own. She could have been—”

“I was fine,” she said. “Someone was always with me.”

“Always nearby. You were never entirely safe, except once, with me,” Alec said, gazing at her intently.

Staring up at him, Kate was, for a moment, speechless. His concern for her, touched with outrage, and his willingness to challenge her kinsmen on the matter gave her a sudden, strong feeling that he did love her—he truly did.

Her heart began to pound.

“Your kinsmen and friends likely knew some of the risks better than you did,” Alec went on. “A beautiful young woman with an irresistible charm about her should never have gone out alone to do that sort of work.”

“It was my choice,” Kate said. “It was not their doing.”

“I would never have let you do that on your own,” he said.

“Nor would I have asked you,” she retorted. “I told my kinsmen that I would manage it without their assistance. They were not happy about it—they always sent someone with me.”

“She’s a stubborn lass,” Rob said. “You know that by now.”

“I am wondering,” Connor said, “why the captain seems more interested in her safety than her supposed crimes.”

“Aye,” Rob agreed, eyes narrowed.

“She is a fiery bit of a lass, I understand that,” Alec said, “and if she wants to do something it is nigh impossible to stop her. She’s brave and resourceful, and…bonny,” he continued, “and she willingly took on great risk of life, limb, and reputation for the lot of you, and for the Jacobite cause.”

“You seem to care a good deal about it,” Connor observed.

“I do. I care that she could have been ruined or hurt. I care that she was poorly treated in that damnable prison, and where were you lads all that time?”

“Searching for her,” Rob said sharply. “We were going from place to place trying to find word of her—the whole irresponsible lot of us were at it.”

“And it seems she was with you all the while,” Allan said. “So the question might be, Captain, what the devil were
you
doing with her while we were searching?”

“Doing my best to watch after her welfare,” he said.

“And chasing me whenever I managed to escape,” she said to her kinsmen. “But he went after me each time, and that’s why he followed me all the way here.”

“The lad’s as stubborn as she is,” Connor said, arms crossed as he regarded them.

“I would guess the man treated you well,” Rob said, touching Kate’s arm.

“He did.” She looked at Alec. “He took me out of the prison before real harm could come to me. He
treated me with respect. He was always…careful of my comfort.”

Alec inclined his head toward her, his gaze sober. She glanced away. She had never seen the full brunt of his temper, and she felt a secret thrill that the question of her welfare had stoked him to a fiery outburst.

“Then we owe you thanks for that, sir,” Rob said. “And in answer to your original question, I’ll admit that we did ask Kate to help with some clandestine activities. Our Jacobite loyalties will be no surprise to you, so I will not skirt it.”

Alec nodded. “Why did you want to involve her in intrigue?”

“She has a certain…ability that makes it possible for her to go places we cannot go and obtain information that we cannot. We gave her protection, she always had a guard with her, but her own ability protects her, also.”

“You are talking about this fairy business,” Alec said. “You do realize that Katie Hell now has a reputation for magic and spellcasting, along with…certain unsavory traits.”

“Those rumors were a risk we all knew, but so long as her true identity was not known, we did not think it would cause trouble for her. As for the fairy legends, though that may seem foolish to some, we know how real and powerful the fairy gifts can be in this family.”

Alec shook his head slightly. “The lass has a wicked charm, and is highly clever and as stubborn as they come…but all of you believe in this supposed fairy power?”

Kate saw Rob and the others shrug, nod.

“I sympathize with you, Fraser,” Connor said. “I have been in this situation myself.”

“Situation?” Alec asked.

Connor inclined his head. “Being spun about by one of the MacCarran lasses.”

Alec half smiled. “Indeed, Kinnoull.”

“The fairy business, as he calls it, does not work on this man,” Kate said, folding her arms. “I could spin him until we were all dizzy with it, and he could still walk away from me without looking back.”

“Huh,” Neill said. “Is that true? You do not see the girl’s fey charms?”

“Oh, I see them,” Alec drawled. “And I’m as vulnerable as the next man, where she is concerned.”

“You do not seem so,” she said. “I did not think you truly cared, until…now. And now you’ll leave, and I—” She stopped.

He looked down at her. “I’m off for Edinburgh. Do you want to go to prison after all?”

“I do not,” she answered.

“Well, then,” he answered, as if it were final.

“But I would not mind being with you,” she said, heart pounding, for she felt bold and defiant on impulse.

Suddenly she did not care if her decision suited the fairy legends or not. He was leaving, and she would not see him again, and the reality of it suddenly impacted her. She could not let him go. She wanted to plunge headlong into risk with him.

Alec stared at her. They all stared at her. “Would not mind what?” he asked slowly.

“I would love to be with you, as you asked me before,” she whispered. “If you’ll have me.”

His cool blue gaze softened, and he huffed a laugh, shook his head as if bewildered. “Changed your mind, have you?”

“Aye,” she said, lifting her chin. She took a step toward him, and another step. Tears stung her eyes. “If you still want to marry me, Alexander Fraser, I will accept the offer.”

“Marry?” Rob asked. Connor silenced him with a gesture.

Alec tipped his head. “It is a great deal of trouble for a lad to work up the courage to ask a lass to marry him…only to be refused,” he said in a soft, wry tone. His eyes sparkled. “Tell me why you have changed your mind.”

“Will you not make this easy for me?” she asked.

“Should I?” In part, she knew he teased her a little to alleviate the tension, but she also realized how serious and vulnerable he was feeling. He needed to be sure of her feelings, just as she had wanted to be certain last night of his.

Neill, chuckling, grinned at Allan. Meanwhile, Rob and Connor watched her as if spellbound. She took another step forward, her gaze focused on Alec.

“I do want to marry you, Alasdair Callda.” She stood close enough to touch him, yet did not breach the space between them. “I do want that, though you will be stubborn about it.”

He laughed low and soft. She loved the sound, which she knew now was characteristic of him, a low, breathy,
pensive laugh, so quietly masculine that it made her heart beat faster. Reaching out, he slid his hand along her cheek, sending shivers through her. “I’m never so stubborn as you, my lass.”

“Well?” she asked.

“Aye, well?” Neill echoed, and Rob, Allan, and Connor looked keenly interested.

In answer, he leaned down then, his fingers lifting her chin a little, and he kissed her lips. “I will,” he whispered. “Very well, I will.”

She laughed, threw her arms around his neck.

“But I do not know if your kinsmen will approve of this. They may not want to welcome a red soldier into the family,” Alec added, resting his arm around her.

“It would be a bit of trouble, having a redcoat in the family,” Allan said with a mock frown, while Neill nodded.

“If this is what Kate wants,” Rob said, “and if her choice comes from the heart, and Alec’s does as well, that is more important than the color of his coat.”

“It does indeed come from my heart,” Kate said.

“And mine,” Alec echoed. “Truly.”

That was what she most needed to know. Kate glanced at him and smiled, feeling her spirit soar in that small, perfect instant.

“So that is the way of it,” Rob said thoughtfully. Kate was not sure he was convinced. “You do know our family legend, sir?”

“I’ve heard something of it,” Alec answered.

“The Fairy Cup over there, is inscribed with our clan’s motto. ‘Love makes its own magic,’” Rob
quoted, “‘and its own miracles.’ It is engraved along the rim of the cup in ancient script. The legend holds that whenever one of the fairy-blessed in our clan falls in love and wants to marry—well, you tell it, Kate.”

“It must be love of the finest kind,” she began, glancing at Alec. “It must be true love…for if it is a wrongful match, the clan will suffer for it somehow. Love is somehow part of the magic that exists in our clan. I am more and more convinced of that.”

“And this is why you refused me?” he asked.

She nodded. “I had to consider my clan, because I am one of the fairy-blessed MacCarrans. Though I knew my own heart…I was not sure of yours.”

He smiled ruefully. “You had nothing to worry about.” He looked up. “Let me assure you lot, also, that you have no worries so far as I am concerned.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. “That you will not tell anyone in the military that Katie Hell is here and that you’ve married her?”

“I mean that I am one of you. I am a staunch Jacobite.”

Kate gaped up at him. The others stared.

“I’ve kept this to myself for good reason. For a few years,” Alec went on, “I have been involved in some intrigue, working with the Jacobite council, Lochiel and the rest.”

Kate stared, breathless. “You’re a spy?”

“I suppose I am,” he said with a shrug.

“And you’re working under Cameron of Lochiel, chief of that clan?” Rob asked.

“Among others, aye, including my uncle, MacDonald of Keppoch. I’ve been searching for Ian Cameron,
too,” he said quietly, while the others regarded him with expressions of relief and astonishment. “And I’ve been trying to find those blasted Spanish weapons, too, before the government finds them.”

“But you never said,” Kate breathed out. At first stunned, she soon realized that she had felt this all along, in varying ways, and Jack had certainly hinted at it.