Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“We leave in one hour.”
Elijah watched his new wife’s face transform from confusion to fury in the space of a heartbeat. They’d barely made it back to the castle from the kirk, still in their wedding clothes, when he’d delivered the news.
“One hour?” Iris spun around to face him fully, her brown eyes blazing. “I havenae even started to pack.”
“Then ye’d better hurry.” He crossed his arms, studying her flushed cheeks and the way her chest rose and fell with each angry breath. Even furious, she was magnificent. “Henry’s already loadin’ the carriage.”
“Daenae ye dare stand there and give me orders like I’m some servant!” She stepped closer, close enough that he caught her scent that drifted from her. It was clean and wild in a way that made his blood warm. “I may have married ye, but that doesnae mean—”
“That doesnae mean what, exactly?” Elijah interrupted, his voice dangerously quiet. “That ye’re me wife now? That ye’ll do as I say?”
“It doesnae ye can just bark commands at me and expect me to jump!” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I’m nae a possession ye can move around at will!”
Christ. She’s as fierce as she’s bonnie.
The thought came unbidden, unwelcome. He’d expected defiance from her; he’d counted on it after that kiss at the altar had nearly knocked him senseless. But seeing her stand up to him now, chin lifted in challenge, made something primal stir in his chest.
“Are ye nae?” He stepped closer, deliberately invading her space. “Because from where I’m standin’, lass, ye belong to me now, body and soul.”
“I belong to nay one!”
“Ye’re wrong.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Ye became mine the moment ye said those vows, and if ye think I’m goin’ to let ye sit around here playin’ house while me enemies circle like wolves, ye’re sorely mistaken.”
She blinked, some of the fire dying out of her eyes. “Enemies?”
“Aye, men who’d be very interested to ken that Laird McMurphy has taken a new wife. Men who might think a soft Highland bride would make excellent leverage.” He watched understanding dawn on her face. “Is that what ye want, Iris? To be used against me?”
“I...” She swallowed hard. “Nay, but that doesnae mean ye can just do whatever ye like.”
“It means exactly that.” He turned toward the door then paused. “One hour, wife. Be ready, or I’ll carry ye to that carriage meself.”
“Ye wouldnae dare!”
Elijah looked back over his shoulder, letting his gaze travel slowly down her body and back up again. “Try me.”
Fifty-three minutes later, Iris emerged from the castle with her maid Mairie at her side. She’d changed from her wedding gown into a simple riding dress, but Elijah noticed she’d kept her hair in the elaborate style from the ceremony. Almost like she was making a point.
Stubborn lass.
Henry was waiting by the carriage, checking the harnesses one final time. At thirty-two, Elijah’s man-at-arms was built like a stone wall and had the scars to prove he knew how to use every weapon strapped to his body. But seeing Iris approach, he actually removed his cap.
“Me lady,” he said with a respectful nod, “I’m Henry, and I’ll be escortin’ ye and the Laird to McMurphy lands.”
“Just the two of ye?” Iris glanced around the courtyard, clearly looking for more men. “That’s it?”
Henry grinned, revealing a gold tooth. “Daenae worry, lass. The Laird and I can handle any trouble that comes our way.”
“Any trouble?” she repeated skeptically.
“Aye, been doing it for nigh on fifteen years now.” Henry’s expression grew serious. “Ye’re safe with us, me lady. I give ye me word on that.”
Elijah felt something ease in his chest at his friend’s words. Henry had been with him since they were both green boys playing at being warriors. If anyone could be trusted with Iris’s safety, it was him.
“Thank ye,” Iris said quietly, and Elijah heard the genuine gratitude in her voice.
At the carriage steps, Mairie hesitated, glancing between Iris and the Laird.
“I’ll see ye safe this far, me lady,” she murmured, pressing Iris’ hand. “Ye look every bit the Lady, but I wish it were me ridin’ with ye. It sits uneasily in me heart, lettin’ ye go alone.”
“Aye, and I’ll miss ye. But ye will come soon.” Iris managed a small smile.
Tears spilled down the maid’s cheeks as she whispered, “Then may the saints guard ye, me lady.”
“And may they keep ye as well,” Iris answered softly.
With a curtsy, the maid stepped back, leaving Iris to board alone.
“Right then,” Henry announced, swinging open the carriage door. “All aboard for Castle McMurphy.”
Iris climbed in, but before she could settle into her seat, she turned back to Elijah.
“Are ye nae ridin’ in here as well?”
“Nay, I prefer to ride.” He gestured to his black stallion, already saddled and waiting. “Besides, someone needs to keep watch.”
“Keep watch for what?”
Instead of answering, he closed the carriage door and swung up onto his horse. Within minutes, they were rolling out of the Douglas castle courtyard and onto the rough Highland roads. Elijah kept pace with the carriage, scanning the landscape with practiced eyes.
These roads were notorious for bandits, and while he wasn’t particularly worried about common thieves, there were other threats to consider. Like men who’d be very interested to know he was traveling with minimal protection.
Men like Duncan MacLeod.
The thought made his jaw tighten. Catherine Douglas’ brother had been sniffing around McMurphy lands for months, testing borders, probing for weaknesses. If he learned that Elijah was traveling light...
“Something troublin’ ye, me laird?”
Elijah glanced over at Henry, who was riding on the other side of the carriage. His friend’s casual tone didn’t fool him. Henry had noticed his tension.
“Just thinkin’.”
“About our new lady?”
“Among other things.” Elijah’s eyes flicked to the carriage window, where he could see Iris’ profile. “What do ye make of her?”
“Spirited,” Henry said immediately. “Got fire in her, that one. She reminds me of yer late wife.”
“Daenae.” Elijah’s voice was sharp enough to cut glass.
Henry held up his hands. “Dinnae mean anything by it; just observin’ that ye seem to have a type.”
A type.
Elijah almost laughed. If Henry only knew how wrong he was. Margaret had been nothing like Iris. In fact, she had been quiet where Iris was bold, obedient where Iris was defiant, fragile where Iris was strong.
“The lady seems to handle herself well,” Henry continued carefully. “Stood up to ye back there like she wasnae afraid.”
“She should be afraid.” The words came out as a hard growl.
“Should she? Or is that just what ye tell yerself to keep from gettin’ too close?”
Elijah shot his friend a dark look. “Guard yer tongue, Henry.”
“Aye, me laird. Just sayin that ye push away every woman who might actually make ye happy.” Henry’s tone was deceptively light, but Elijah heard the concern underneath. “Maybe this one’s different.”
“She’s me wife because I needed a wife. Nothin’ more.”
“If ye say so.”
Before Elijah could respond, the carriage window opened, and Iris’ head appeared.
“How much further?” she called.
“Several hours yet,” Elijah replied. “Why? Are ye uncomfortable?”
“Nay, I’m bored.” She glanced around at the rugged landscape surrounding them. “And I’m startin’ to wonder if it’s safe to be travelin’ with so few men.”
Henry laughed. “Ye hear that, me laird? The lady thinks we’re nae enough protection.”
“Is that what ye think?” Elijah guided his horse closer to the carriage window. “That we cannae keep ye safe?”
Iris lifted her chin. “I think two men against an entire band of brigands doesnae sound like good odds.”
“Depends on the men.” Elijah’s smile was as sharp as his blade. “Tell me wife, what do ye ken about me reputation?”
“I ken ye’re called the Beast of McMurphy,” she said without flinching. “I ken men fear ye.”
“Do ye ken why?”
She was quiet for a moment, studying his face. “Nay.”
“Because,” Elijah said softly, “I’ve never lost a battle, never retreated from a fight, never left an enemy breathin’ when they threatened what’s mine.” He let that sink in. “Any man foolish enough to attack this carriage will be dead before he draws his sword.”
“That’s quite a boast.”
“It’s nae a boast, lass. It’s a promise.”
As if to prove his point, the sound of hoofbeats thundered from behind them. Elijah’s head snapped around, his hand automatically going to his sword hilt.
“Company,” Henry announced grimly, already drawing his weapon.
Elijah counted quickly. There were eight riders, coming fast, too fast to be friendly.
“Get down!” he barked at Iris, who immediately ducked back into the carriage. He could hear her steadying herself inside, despite the danger.
Good lass.
The riders were closer now, close enough that he could see their faces. They were rough men with hungry eyes and weapons already drawn. Bandits who had probably heard about the wedding and decided a Highland laird’s new bride might be worth a ransom.
They were about to learn otherwise.
“Eight of them,” Henry called, positioning himself on the far side of the carriage.
“I counted. Ye take the four on the right.”
“With pleasure.”
The first bandit reached them with a wild cry, swinging a rusty sword at Elijah’s head. Elijah ducked, came up inside the man’s guard, and drove his blade deep into the fool’s chest. The bandit toppled from his horse without a sound.
Seven more.
Another attacker tried to flank him, but Elijah spun his horse around and caught the man across the throat with his blade. Blood sprayed across the road as the second bandit fell.
Six.
From the other side of the carriage, he could hear Henry’s battle cries mixing with the screams of dying men. His friend was enjoying himself which meant the other bandits were having a very bad day.
A crossbow bolt whistled past Elijah’s ear, close enough that he felt the wind of its passage. He tracked the shot back to its source, a thin man sitting on a brown mare about thirty yards away, already reloading.
Mistake.
Elijah spurred his horse forward, closing the distance in seconds. The archer looked up just in time to see death coming for him, his eyes going wide with terror.
“Please—”
Elijah’s sword took his head clean off.
Five.
The remaining bandits were scattering now, their confidence shattered by the speed and brutality of the defense, but Elijah wasn’t about to let them escape. These men had threatened his wife, and that was unforgivable.
He ran down two more as they tried to flee, cutting them down from behind without mercy. Henry finished the last one with a throwing knife that took the man between the shoulder blades.
And then it was over. The entire attack had lasted less than five minutes, and eight men had died, and neither Elijah nor Henry had so much as a scratch to show for it.
“Well,” Henry said cheerfully, wiping blood from his blade, “that was energizin’.”
A slight tension in Henry’s shoulders betrayed his awareness of the Laird’s mood though his voice remained light. Elijah dismounted, without giving him a response, and moved to the carriage, yanking the door open. “Are ye hurt?”
Iris looked up at him with wide eyes, her face pale but composed. “Nay, I’m fine.” She glanced past him at the bodies scattered across the road. “Are they all dead?”
“Aye.”
“Good.”
The simple word, delivered with quiet satisfaction, made something warm unfold in Elijah’s chest. She wasn’t screaming or fainting or demanding they turn back. She was glad he’d killed the men who’d threatened them.
Christ, she really is perfect.
“Are ye certain ye’re nae hurt?” He reached out without thinking, cupping her cheek in his palm. “Ye’re shakin’.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, but she didn’t pull away from his touch. “I just... I’ve never seen men die before.”
“And now, ye have; how do ye feel about it?”
She was quiet for a long moment, considering. “Safer,” she said finally. “I feel safer.”
The admission struck right to his guts. She felt safe with him, safe enough to speak the truth, even when that truth revealed her own vulnerability.
“Good,” he said roughly. “That’s... good.”
“Elijah?” Her voice was small, uncertain. “When ye said any man who attacked us would be dead before he drew his sword...”
“Aye?”
“Ye werenae exaggeratin’, were ye?”
He looked at this brave, beautiful woman who’d married him under duress and was now looking at him like he was her salvation instead of her captor.
“Nay, lass,” he said quietly. “I wasnae exaggeratin’.”
For a moment, they just stared at each other then Iris nodded once, sharp and decisive.
“Then I suppose I chose the right man to marry.”
The words hit him harder than any blade ever had because in that moment, sitting in a carriage surrounded by dead men, his new wife had just told him she was glad to be his, and God help him, that mattered more than he was ready to admit.
“We should go,” Henry called from outside. “More of them might be about.”
“Aye.” Elijah stepped back, breaking the spell between them, but as he closed the carriage door and remounted his horse, he found himself looking forward to the rest of their journey.
His wife felt safe with him. For now, that was enough. Every other thing would be decided once they got to the castle and to Codie.