The Campbell Trilogy (9 page)

“Hush, child,” her father said harshly. “Have care for what you say. Jamie Campbell is not just a hired thug or Argyll’s strong arm. He’s far more dangerous: a man of great physical strength coupled with cunning political acumen. He is a powerful and influential man in his own right. And a dangerous man to cross.” He gave her a long look. “He has spoken to me about you.”

Caitrina’s cheeks flamed at the man’s arrogance. “He had no cause. I told him as much not half an hour ago.”

“Well, whatever you said did not dissuade him.”

“But I’m sure you did.”

When he didn’t say anything, her eyes widened. “You can’t seriously expect me to consider him,” she said, aghast.

“Aye, lass, I do.” He cut off her protest. “I did not say wed him, but consider him.”

“But he’s a Campbell.”

“Aye, and Campbells are no friends of ours. But I can’t ignore the benefit of an alliance with such a powerful man. It would be an end to the feuding.”

She didn’t miss the twinge of anxiousness in her father’s voice. Again, Jamie’s words came back to her, and the
squeezing in her chest grew a little tighter. The feuding was taking its toll. How could she have been so unaware of what was going on around her? Her father didn’t want her to see, but that was no excuse. “Has it been so very bad, Father?”

He pulled her against him and stroked her hair. “Ah, lass, it’s nothing for you to worry about. I’d never force you to wed a Campbell, but I want you to consider him. Make your own judgment of the man.”

“But—”

He staved off her protest. “That is all I ask. Jamie Campbell is a fierce warrior and a hard man, but not cruel. Despite what you may have heard, he is not a monster. Even though we might not like it, he acts within the law. I can’t like the man, but he has always been fair in our dealings.” His gaze softened. “He’s not the man I would have chosen for you, but there would be much benefit to our clan. As his wife, none could ever harm you. And there are some things—” He stopped and sighed, the deep sound of a man burdened with the heavy weight of responsibility. “There may come a time when we are in need of his friendship.”

Duty.
She heard the unspoken admonition, and it felt like a betrayal. Why was her father doing this? He hated Campbells as much as she did. Why did she get the feeling that he wasn’t telling her something … something important?

“It is time for you to wed, Caitrina. If not to Campbell, then to someone else.”

He meant it. Caitrina felt an acute moment of panic, lost in the uncertainty of the future that had just been thrust upon her. Where she would be ripped away from everything she knew and loved. She remembered that horrible emptiness when her mother died, but then there had been her father and brothers to fill the sense of loss. Without them …

“I know you think so, but I’m not ready, Father. I can’t
bear the thought of leaving you and my brothers.” Life at Ascog with her family was all she had ever known. It would be like tearing her heart in two to be forced from them.

He brought her into his arms again, and for a moment she thought he would relent. But her time, it seemed, had run out.

“And it will cause me great pain to see you go, my love. But go you must.”

Caitrina nodded, tears streaming down her face. The ache in her heart was unbearable.

She wished she’d never set eyes on Jamie Campbell. This was all his fault.

No matter how much she cajoled, her father would not be swayed. The knowledge that she soon must wed was like an ax hanging over Caitrina’s head. It tainted her enjoyment of the next few days and forced her to look at each prospective suitor with eyes that were, if not exactly open, then not exactly closed, either. It also forced her to acknowledge that compared with the boring, fawning attentions of the other men, Jamie Campbell’s confident command stood out.
He
stood out. Not just for his handsome face and impressive build, but for the aura of power and authority that emanated from him. But whether by intent or effect, she also noticed that it served to keep him distant from the rest. He was one of them, but apart.

Why it should bother her that he was alone, she didn’t know. But it did.

As much as she wanted to ignore him, wanted to hate him, something about the man drew her. Throughout the week, she found herself watching him and his interactions with the other Highlanders. For the most part, he kept to himself or with the handful of guardsmen he’d brought with him, though occasionally she would see him speaking with the various chiefs. She supposed it wasn’t surprising; as his cousin’s right-hand man, he would have had dealings with most of the Highland elite. But the guardsmen and lower-ranking men of the clan tended to avoid him, looking at him with a mixture of fear and hatred—particularly
the Murrays and the Lamonts, who were both allies of the outlawed MacGregors.

Despite Jamie’s admonition, she knew not all MacGregors were thieves and brigands. Many, including Alasdair MacGregor and his close relations, had dined in this very hall before they were proscribed. Her father disapproved of their wild ways but sympathized with their plight. Blame for which many in the hall obviously put on Jamie and his cousin.

Quite a few times, she noticed Jamie standing with Rory and Alex MacLeod. The three men presented an impressive picture: tall, broad-shouldered, well-muscled, and uncommonly handsome. Jamie had the height of Rory MacLeod but was slightly leaner in build—more like Alex MacLeod, who stood a few inches shorter than the other two, albeit still well over six feet. She sensed a history among the three men that was different from the rest. Over the course of the week, she’d noticed a distinct warming among them. She’d even caught Jamie laughing once or twice. Perhaps it was because he usually held himself so apart, but the effect was devastating, providing a glimpse into an entirely different side of him—an approachable side.

It intrigued her.

He
intrigued her, blast him.

But the person Jamie was most comfortable with was Margaret MacLeod, Alex’s wife. Seeing them together, watching the easy banter between the two, made something pinch hard inside Caitrina’s chest. It was a feeling unlike anything she’d ever experienced before—almost irrational in its intensity. Even the knowledge that Margaret MacLeod was so obviously in love with her husband did not lessen it any. Why their easy camaraderie should bother her, she didn’t know … except that it did.

Which was ridiculous, since nothing would ever persuade her to consider Jamie Campbell—her father’s halfhearted request notwithstanding.

Her hatred of clan Campbell had been fed since birth and would not be easily cast aside. It was part of who she was: Lamonts hated Campbells. Too much blood had been shed between the two clans. But her reasons were also personal. She’d seen what they’d done to her mother, how much it had hurt her to be disowned by her father and cut off from everyone in her family. She would never repeat her misery. Her father couldn’t seriously expect her to look at Jamie Campbell as anything other than the enemy. If she married a Campbell, she might as well be banished; the effect would be the same. She would be cut off from her clan by years of hatred.

But it wasn’t simply who he was—though that was cause enough—it was how he made her feel. He watched her with those steely blue eyes that seemed to bore right through her. It was a look of possession and desire that threatened her in a way no man ever had before—that just because he’d kissed her, he had some kind of claim on her. It made her feel trapped by feelings she didn’t understand and longings that made her yearn to escape.

She could not deny the strange connection between them: a heightened awareness that left her feeling warm and prickly, her skin strangely tight and sensitive. At meals when his leg or arm would accidentally brush against hers, it felt as if she were jumping out of her skin. He seemed to delight in tormenting her. As if he knew what his touch did to her and how much he unnerved her. But nothing she did or said seemed to get through to him. Her attempt to treat him with cool disdain was met with wry amusement.

The incident in the barn had not been broached, but it was there, hanging between them—as was the memory of his mouth on hers. It was a memory she yearned to forget, but it seemed the harder she attempted to push it away, the more she could think of nothing else. She tried to think of other men kissing her, but the only face she could visualize was his.

What kept her sane was the knowledge that her discomfort soon would be at an end. Tomorrow the gathering would be over. Jamie Campbell would leave with the rest of the guests, and her life would return to normal.

But for how long? Her father had laid down the law about her marriage.

She fought the spark of panic, refusing to think of that now. When everyone left, she would find a way to dissuade him.

Caitrina sat on a rock under the shade of an old birch tree along the edge of the woods. In the moors beyond, the final competition—archery—was just about to get under way.

She stiffened, sensing his presence even before the mocking words had left his mouth.

“Miss me, Princess?”

She hated that he called her that, but after the first time she had refused to let him know how much it bothered her.

“Like the plague,” she replied sweetly.

He chuckled. “Stubborn lass. But as much as I’d love to sit here and spar with you, my sweet, you’ll have to forgive me.” He gave her an amused look and nodded toward the field of play. “I have a contest to win.”

She noticed the bow slung over his muscled shoulder and felt a prickle of disquiet. “But you haven’t participated in any of the games. With such an unusual affinity for hunting, I thought you’d be off on another ride.”

“Keeping track of me, Caitrina? I’m flattered. But I couldn’t resist the prize for this event.”

Her cheeks burned. She hated how she could never tell whether he was teasing or in earnest. “You know very well that was not meant for your ears. Even if you could best Rory MacLeod, which you can’t, it wouldn’t matter. My offer did not extend to you. Besides, I’ve already told you I’m not interested.”

He gave her a long, dark look. One that made butterflies dance low in her belly.

“I know what you’ve told me, but your eyes say differently.”

She turned away from him in a huff. “You are blind and arrogant.”

“Have care, lass. You might hurt your neck tossing your hair around like that.” He twisted a long tress around his finger like a ribbon and then let it spring free. “Though it is lovely.” Laughing at the outraged look on her face, he bowed. “I’ll be back soon to collect my prize.”

He infuriated her, but her gaze followed him as he walked toward the other men, mesmerized by the flex of muscle in his long, powerful stride. She jerked her head away with a start.

He is wrong. He means nothing to me.
It was simply that he’d dared what no man had before. She was inexperienced in her intimate relations with men (he’d been right about that). His had been her first kiss. But Caitrina intended for that to change. Soon.

Perhaps she’d been too hasty in rejecting Torquil MacNeil. He was young and boastful, but seemingly suitable. And certainly more appealing than some of the other men brought before her.

Her gaze slid down the line of contestants. There were about twenty men set to start. Sacks stuffed with straw and grass had been set up at about fifty paces. Each sack was marked with white concentric circles. After each round, the targets would be moved back another ten paces.

Mindful of her duties as hostess, Caitrina left her solitary position on the rock and joined a group of women who’d gathered to watch the contest. With each round that passed, the hammering in her heart increased. Jamie Campbell was holding his own. And so, surprisingly, was MacNeil.

“He’s an excellent bowman.”

Transfixed by the contest before her, Caitrina suddenly realized that Margaret MacLeod had been speaking to her. She blushed. “I’m sorry?”

Margaret smiled and repeated her comment.

“Who?” Caitrina said nonchalantly, plastering an innocent look on her face.

“Jamie. I saw you watching him.”

The blunt observation brought a guilty flush to her cheeks. The other woman was studying her carefully and no doubt noticed the reaction. “Perhaps,” Caitrina conceded. “But not good enough to best the MacLeod chief.”

Meg grinned. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Jamie’s beaten my brother by marriage countless times before.”

Caitrina’s heart raced, and her voice, which she tried to hold steady, came out like a squeak. “Really?”

Meg nodded. “It’s been a fierce rivalry for years. Rory and Alex were fostered with the old earl, and Jamie spent most of his youth at Inveraray.”

Caitrina’s gaze shot to Jamie. He drew back the arrow and released; it flew to the center of the target. “I didn’t realize …” She looked back to Meg, silently asking for more.

“After the death of Jamie’s father, he and his sister, Elizabeth, went to live with the earl.”

She could no longer hide her curiosity. “He had no other relations?”