The Clan MacDougall Series (107 page)

“With shavin’ yer beard, of course.”

“What the bloody hell are ye goin’ on about?” Wee William was in no mood for teasing and pretended he did not know what Rowan was talking about.

“I reckon if the lass be bonny enough fer ye to want her husband dead, then she be bonny enough fer ye to shave that long, ugly beard of yers.” It was getting more difficult for Rowan to keep a straight face.

Wee William cast a sideways glance at Rowan, one that warned him to hold his tongue. But Rowan was not ready yet to give up pestering his friend. There was far too much joy in it.

Rowan turned to the rest of the men. “I wager ten groats now that Wee William shaves his beard within the next fortnight!”

“I give it a sennight!” one of the other men called out.

“I say he shaves it before we arrive home!” called another.

“What happens if she’s wooed by another? He’ll have shaved his beard for naught.”

“I say the lass won’t have him!” Tall Thomas yelled from the back of the pack.

All forward motion stopped when Wee William yanked the reins and spun his horse around. There was no mistaking his anger.

“What do ye mean she won’t have me?” He sent a piercing glare at Tall Thomas. The words stung and the memories of another bonny lass from long ago came to the forefront of his mind.

Tall Thomas swallowed hard before answering. “’Twas meant in jest, Wee William.”

Wee William glared furiously at each man before speaking. “Hear me, and hear me now, lads. I have no intentions of shavin’ me beard.”

He was not ready yet to admit to anyone that his feelings for Nora were far more than friendly in nature. ’Twas none of their business how he felt or what he thought about her.

Wanting to lighten the mood a bit, Black Richard spoke up. “So ye’ve no problem if any of us takes a fancy toward the lass?”

Wee William’s jaw clenched as he ground his teeth back and forth. Hell would freeze over before he gave these men any further ammunition with which to taunt him with. “The lass is a woman full grown. ’Tisn’t up to me who she keeps company with.”

A few of the unmarried men, Black Richard included, began to smile hopefully. “So ye dunna care if we court the lass?” Black Richard asked.

Wee William let out an exasperated sigh. “I said, ’tisn’t up to me. Just keep in mind the lass has been through much this past year. And we dunna ken if she be a widow or no’. And remember
who
the poor lass was married to! The last thing she needs is ye eejits confusin’ her and acting like stags in rut!” He continued to glare at them.

“But I warn ye now, ye dogs. If ye so much as lay an improper hand on the lass, I’ll cut yer throats without givin’ it a second thought!”

With that, Wee William spun his horse around and left them to ponder his warning. Nora was his responsibility now. He’d do whatever he must to insure her safety. It had nothing to do with any feelings he had for her. He was simply doing what any good man would do.

Before he was out of earshot, the men were making wagers again on not only how soon before Wee William would shave his beard, but what the lass’ response to that would be. Depending upon one’s point of view, the odds were sorely against Wee William.

They made camp that night within a small cave. Nora had slept fitfully, fighting nightmares that she refused divulging the details with anyone, including Wee William. The dreams were always the same—Horace still lived. He had found her, dragged her back to Penrith and tossed her into the cellar. She would die there, in the dark, damp cellar and her body consumed by wolves and monsters.

The dreams left her feeling afraid and out of sorts. She wondered if she would ever sleep peacefully or dream of happier things.

The further north they rode, the colder the air became. Nora had lost the feeling in her toes and fingers days ago leaving her to wonder if she would ever regain any feeling in them.

Thankfully, at night she was able to curl up under several thick furs and cling to Elise for warmth. It seemed no matter how many furs she wrapped around herself, the cold from the hard ground still seeped in and chilled her to her bones. Nora prayed that it wasn’t always this abominably cold and damp. She also prayed that neither Elise nor John would catch their deaths from all their exposure to the biting night air.

During the day, the men vied for Nora’s attention and took turns with offers for her to ride with one of them. The men were acting quite strangely. She shrugged their odd behavior off to the fact that they were Highlanders.

Elise refused to ride with anyone other than her Sir Daniel. Nora apologized to the man repeatedly. Daniel would simply smile and say it was his pleasure.

John was not as insolent and angry as he had been in the beginning. Nora could only hope that it meant he was, at the least, coming around to the idea of a brighter future. She knew it would take far more time for him to adjust to their new lives. After all, he was probably just as afraid of it all as she was.

The next night they had camped inside a very dense copse of trees. The men had made a lean-to large enough for Nora, Elise and John to sleep in.

By the third night they were happily on Clan Randolph lands and were given safe haven by a farmer and his wife. While Nora and the children were allowed to sleep in the upper loft of the farmer’s tiny home, Wee William and his men slept in the barn.

By the fourth day, Nora’s black eye was no longer swollen and puffy. It had turned a very ugly shade of green. However the exhaustion and weariness from traveling left dark circles under her eyes. While she tried to maintain a sunny disposition, she continued to remain quiet. She also did her best to ignore all the attention the men were showing her.

The sun had thankfully made its presence known and began to warm the air and melt the snow. Still, it was not enough to erase the bone-tired weariness or warm Nora’s frozen extremities.

The children had seemed far less bothered by all the riding, walking, and living out of doors. Hopefully they would soon arrive at Wee William’s home. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand what Elise happily referred to as their grand adventure.

Wee William’s efforts at trying to seem uninterested or unbothered by the way his men were behaving were valiant. It had taken monumental efforts on his part not to crush the skulls of the idiots who were making no good attempts at hiding their motives. For days now, he had sat idly by as he watched his men make utter fools of themselves.

Seven of the nine men were unmarried and unattached. There were bonny lasses back home waiting with giggling anticipation for the return of a few of them. Those men were looking forward to that day as well.

The remaining four, however, had tripped over themselves trying to gain Nora’s attention. All of it to Wee William’s abject consternation. He wasn’t sure if Nora was too naïve, too worried over her future, or too exhausted to notice the men. Either way, she seemed unmoved by their displays of kindness.

Finally, they had reached beloved MacDougall land. They would happily be inside the walls of Castle Gregor soon enough.

They were making camp by a small loch when the foolish men started in again. Wee William’s patience had worn to a fine fragile thread. He was doing his level best to hold his tongue and keep his temper in check. But their behavior was grating on his nerves.

“Are ye warm enough, Lady Nora?” Phillip had asked, as he walked toward her carrying a fur.

Nora looked at him as though he were daft. She was sitting next to the fire, bundled from head to toe in three heavy furs.

The men were baffling creatures. She could not understand why they were behaving so oddly. It was all becoming too much.

“I believe three furs should be sufficient, Frederick,” she answered as politely as she could.

“I be Phillip, lass.” The young man smiled thoughtfully at her. “Frederick is the ugly one with the warts on his neck.”

Elise was sitting beside Nora and she giggled at Phillip’s insult of Frederick.

“Would ye like more rabbit, Nora?” Daniel asked as he held out a stick holding what remained of the four rabbits they had caught earlier.

It was all she could do not to wretch at the thought of more food. “Nay, Daniel, I’ve had more than enough. Thank you kindly though.”

Daniel looked at Phillip and smiled cheerfully. “Did ye hear that, Phillip? The lass remembers
my
name. I wonder why that is?”

Phillip’s face darkened as he cursed at Daniel in their native tongue.

Before Nora knew what was happening, an all-out brawl broke out. Phillip, Daniel, David, and Frederick were rolling around on the ground in front of her. She jumped to her feet and pulled Elise to safety behind a boulder. John refused to budge from his spot by the fire, wholeheartedly enjoying the unseemly display that was taking place before him.

Black Richard and Rowan stood with arms crossed over their chests, next to Wee William. Tall Thomas and Garret stood on either side of them, shaking their heads.

They spoke to one another in Gaelic apparently unbothered by the fight taking place just feet from where they stood.

Nora was appalled. She stomped toward Wee William and pulled on his arm. “Aren’t you going to stop them?” she asked, clearly upset with all of them. He gave her a look that questioned her soundness of mind.

Rowan shook his head. “Best to let them fight it out, lass.”

Nora let out a sharp breath. “What on earth are they fighting over?”

Black Richard chuckled. “Ye truly have no idea?”

“No, I haven’t! ’Tis why I asked the question! Please, make them stop!” The more time she had spent with this band of men, the less she understood them or their odd ways.

The men turned their attentions back to the grunting, cursing bodies that were now one big heap of dirt, sweat, and blood.

Realizing her pleas had fallen on deaf ears, she decided she should at least make an attempt to bring the fracas to a halt. Besides, they were terrifying Elise. The little girl was hiding behind the boulder, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. They couldn’t hear her crying over the din of the fighting.

“Gentlemen, please, stop this instant!” Nora yelled, clapping her hands as if she were trying to get a dog out of the garden. “I say stop this instant!” Her pleas went unanswered as well as unnoticed.

She took a step closer to the mass of fighting men so that they might hear her better. “Please, stop this foolishness now!” she yelled.

Phillip had loosened himself from Daniel’s grip panting and covered with sweat. His lip was cut and a trickle of blood ran down his chin. He had no idea Nora was but a step away from him. He took a step backward and in the process knocked Nora to the ground. Apparently he hadn’t noticed her because he immediately jumped back into the melee.

With great speed, Wee William moved in, scooped Nora up and carried her away just as Frederick went flying through the air and landed on the piece of earth she’d had just occupied.

There could be no doubt with Wee William’s level of anger. It was plainly evident by the harsh scowl his face bore. In three strides, he reached the rock, and set Nora upon it.

“Are ye hurt?” he asked, as he looked her over for signs of injury.

“Nay,” she muttered, more surprised over the strange expression on Wee William’s face than bothered by any injury to her backside.

Wee William let loose a low, furious growl before turning back to his men.

It would later be told that the sound of his deep voice had traveled to the ends of the earth and back in the length of two heartbeats and that the earth shuddered from its boom.

“Enough!” his voice thundered. The men, who only moments ago had been hell-bent on inflicting as much damage on each other as they could, stopped immediately. All eyes turned to Wee William as he stood next to Nora. Elise stopped crying and scurried up the rock to take refuge with her sister. She was far too frightened to cry.

“All of ye, come with me now!” Wee William’s eyes blazed with fury as he stomped away from the group of men. Nora could have sworn the earth shook with each step he took. Frozen in place, she was too terrified to move. She shuddered as she pulled Elise tighter to her bosom.

All at once the men were on their feet. Looking rather deflated, as well as nervous, they followed Wee William into the woods. Curious to see what punishment Wee William might inflict upon the young men, Rowan and Black Richard shrugged their shoulders and fell in behind. John was fast on their heels.

Wee William had walked a good distance before he stopped abruptly and turned to face his men. They all stood frozen in place and waited. John looked as though he was anticipating a good tongue lashing to come from Wee William and he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“John! Go back and watch over Nora and Elise!” Wee William’s voice warned that he’d brook no argument from the boy. John was no fool and decided it best to do as he was told, even though he would have much preferred to stay and listen.

Once John was out of earshot Wee William began. “I have reached the end of me patience! Ye’ve all been actin’ like men who’ve never laid eyes upon a woman before! Yer behavior is completely unacceptable and I’ll have no more of it!”

He began pacing back and forth. At first he thought he’d be able to handle his feelings and emotions while his men bent over backwards to woo Nora. He had nearly choked more than once on his own jealousy. For days, he had remained sullenly quiet while he watched each of these men try to win her affection.

With each smile, each glance, each offer of food, blankets or a walk in the moonlight, his jealousy and anger grew. He could take no more and he certainly would not allow them to fight over her.

He stopped suddenly and turned his attention back to his men. With his feet spread wide, he crossed his arms over his chest and eyed each of them before speaking.

“I claim her as me own,” he told them. It was a statement of fact and the tone of his voice warned there would be no argument over it. All eyes grew wide with astonishment and not one could find the strength or courage to speak.