15. Beautiful Views Carry a Price
Beautiful Views Carry a Price
“A
fine horse,” Niall said approvingly. “She’ll love it.”
The groom beamed. “It’s a wonderful wedding present, if I may say so, sir. On my own wedding day, I could only give my wife a simple band ring. Not even gold!”
Niall smiled. “It’s the thought that counts, isn’t that so?”
The groom’s eyes grew misty. “Aye, lad, so it does. We’re twenty years married and have never known a moment’s unhappiness together. I wish ye and Lady Catriona the very same.”
Niall nodded thoughtfully, saying nothing.
Strange that an ordinary groom and his wife have the kind of happiness lairds and ladies strive their whole lives to find. Will I be one of the lucky ones who finds it anyway?
I’ve not been lucky so far.
Aloud, he changed the subject.
“Have ye seen Kenneth around here?”
The groom blinked. “Nay, sir. I’ve not.”
Was it Niall’s imagination, or was there a tenseness in the groom’s voice? Kenneth was certainly not beloved by the servants and commonfolk. And where was Kenneth?
Niall hadn’t expected to see him at the wedding. He’d made his feelings clear about that. But neither had Kenneth been at any meals, or been seen wandering around the Keep. Where had he gone?
He put all thoughts about Kenneth aside when Catriona appeared in the distance.
She was walking side by side with a maid, one who had been assigned to her to serve as her lady.
A Lady of the Keep had to have a lady, after all.
Not that there was much change in Catriona’s appearance.
Her hair was as wild as ever, hanging down her back in a wrist-thick braid.
She turned away from the maid, laughing at something, and their eyes met.
A prickle ran down his spine at the sight of her.
I am in trouble, aren’t I?
His father had told him that she’d said, in all confidence, that theirs was a marriage of convenience. Did she really believe that? Did he believe that?
She approached, a faint smile lingering on her lips.
“I’ve got a present for ye,” he said, tilting his head. “Want to see it?”
“Aye.”
He jerked his chin, gesturing towards one stall in particular. “She’s all yers.”
Catriona’s eyes widened. “A horse?”
“Aye. Go on, take a look. She’s a beauty, if I do say so myself.”
She was a piebald, a black and white mare with a thick white mane and tail. She watched Catriona with large, curious dark eyes, following her intently. Catriona watched her back, eyes wide with excitement.
Niall watched Catriona instead, biting back a smile.
She’s beautiful, he thought. And not about the mare.
Catriona gingerly stretched out her hand, running a palm down the horse’s nose.
“Ye should name her,” Niall suggested.
“What should I call her?”
“Whatever ye want.”
She considered, tilting her head at the horse.
“Strawberry,” she said at last.
Niall lifted his eyebrows. “Strawberry? She’s black and white.”
“So? It suits her. I can’t say why. It just does.”
He grinned, shaking his head. “Strawberry it is, then. Now, are ye ready for a ride? Can ye ride?”
“Aye,” she responded, smiling so widely it made his heart ache. “Cheeky. My father owned a horse. Of course I can ride.”
“Just checking,” he laughed. “Are ye ready to go?”
“That I am.”
Niall mounted his horse and shot a quick glance over to where Peter stood, leaning against the stables. Peter gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.
Niall nodded back, swallowing down a rush of anxiety. Then he turned his horse’s head towards the gate.
No turning back now. It begins here.
Cold wind whipped at them as they galloped.
The horses’ manes rippled. The wind tugged at Niall’s clothes, stinging his face and hands raw and pink.
Catriona rode ahead of him. Every now and then, she glanced back, laughing with delight, and shouted back something that he couldn’t quite hear.
The wind tore away her words before he could hear them.
She’s happy, he thought, and his heart swelled. I’ve made her happy.
He could do it, he knew he could. He could make her happy. Together they’d make a change in the Highlands. The right change. Everything would be different.
They galloped on for a mile or two more, and then the path leveled out to a wide plateau. The valley spread out underneath the plateau, a breathtaking view. Catriona reined in her horse, back turned to him. He knew she was staring at it, taking it in.
“I can see the sea,” she whispered.
“Aye. Lovely, isn’t it?”
He urged his own horse up to stand beside hers. Together, they took in the view, both quiet, both watching. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes.
“I can smell the sea sometimes when the wind is just right,” he murmured, eyes still closed when he opened them again, Catriona was looking at him, a faint smile on her face.
“This is beautiful,” she murmured at last. “Thank ye for bringing me here.”
“I used to love coming here,” he said. “Kenneth and I would come sometimes. We were friends, once.”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“Nor have I. I know he hasn’t left the Keep. I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner or later and make another play for the lairdship.”
“Ye think so?”
“I can’t imagine him giving up.”
“So, what do ye think he’s doing now?” Catriona asked.
He shrugged. “Licking his wounds, maybe. Making a plan. Kenneth always has a plan.”
He’d meant that comment as a light, half-joke, but saying it aloud seemed heavier than he’d expected. Almost like a threat. Catriona shivered a little, and he wondered if she thought it was a threat, too.
“Ye can always speak to me, ye know,” Niall murmured. “I want us to work together. I want us to be happy. I know ye are afraid for yer sister. For all of yer sisters. Ye must have known who ye were, even when ye lived with yer adoptive parents. Did ye not talk to them about it?”
She was quiet for a long moment.
“No,” Catriona murmured. “We never did. They had lost a child, a girl about my age. They treated me well, so well. I felt like family. No, I was family. I knew who I was, but I suppose I just… I just put it to one side in my mind. I didn’t think about it.
Nobody talked about it, either. I suppose I forgot. If ye can forget about such a thing.”
Niall stayed silent, waiting. He knew she’d talk more, and it was simply a matter of patience.
Abruptly, she dismounted. He followed, slipping down from the saddle and following her to the edge of the plateau. The edge turned to rock, a steep drop falling away below to crags and pools at the bottom of the hill. It was hard to enjoy the view when the fall was so steep.
The back of Niall’s neck prickled.
Frowning, he lifted his hand, patting his nape. Glancing over his shoulder, he scanned the treeline. Nobody seemed to be lurking there. There were no wild animals, nothing to worry about.
“My family doesn’t feel like mine anymore,” Catriona murmured, drawing his attention back to her. “I feel as though I don’t belong anywhere. I don’t know what to do next or where to go. Have ye ever felt like that?”
“Lost? Aye, I know the feeling. When Kenneth first began to insert himself into clan politics, he seemed to do so well. The councilors liked him. I thought that Father liked him, too. I felt inadequate. But ye know what? If Kenneth and I could have been friends and only worked together, then we would have been unstoppable. What a shame, eh?”
She nodded. “Aye. A shame.”
“Listen to me,” Niall turned to face her.
She stared up at him, eyes hopeful but wary. The wind pushed her hair across her eyes, and he lifted his hand, brushing hair behind her ears. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.
“I want peace,” Niall continued, dropping his voice to a whisper. “I swear to ye, I will not let this Keep become a graveyard of… of pride and ambition. I want peace, I want unity, and I want justice. I want ye, Catriona.”
Her breath hitched in her throat.
“I… I believe ye,” she whispered. Her hand reached for his, somewhat blindly. Their fingers laced together. “I do believe ye, Niall. I could have never imagined, when I came here, that this would happen. Sometimes I cannot believe that this is real.”
“Well, it is,” Niall laughed. He bent down, fitting his lips to hers. It was a quick, easy kiss, a promise of more later. “Now, shall we go back to the Keep? I’m starving.”
“Aye, I’ll race ye!” Catriona yelled, mischief lighting up her face.
She turned her back, racing towards her horse. Scrambling up into the saddle, she tapped her heels against the horse’s side, and they were off.
“Cheat!” Niall shouted, biting back a smile. “I didn’t say that I was ready!”
Of course, he fully intended to let her win. She stood a decent chance of winning anyway, head start or no head start. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to—
A twig snapped in the undergrowth. Niall froze, just about to haul himself into the saddle. He turned slowly, just as a shadow detached itself from behind a tree.
“Only me, cousin.”
Niall stepped away from the horse, eyeing his cousin.
“Kenneth. What are ye doing all the way out here?”
“I could ask ye the same,” Kenneth murmured, stepping out of the greenery.
His hair was greasy and uncombed, and a few days’ worth of stubble grew over his cheeks. There were purple circles around his eyes, which were red-rimmed. When he moved closer still, Niall got a whiff of alcohol.
“I haven’t seen ye in a while,” Niall responded. “I’m glad ye are well.”
“Well? Well?” Kenneth gave a harsh laugh and held out his arms. “Do I look well to ye?”
“Kenneth…”
“Don’t Kenneth me. Do ye know how hard I worked to set up that deal with the other clans?
We could have had treaties with them. We could have been safe.
But no, ye barge in and ruin everything, acting the fool.
I knew that she was one of the MacAlpin girls.
I could tell from when I first set eyes on ye.
And yet ye get all the credit for ‘working it out’. ”
Niall held out a hand. “Look, Kenneth, I don’t want us to be enemies.
I couldn’t let ye sell those women around as if they were things.
We have an alliance now with Clan MacAlpin.
That will help us, don’t ye see? And think of the things ye and I can do together, side by side.
Nobody will be able to stand against us. ”
Kenneth blinked at him, bloodshot eyes flickering beneath heavy lids.
“Together?” he echoed uncertainly.
Niall nodded. “Aye. Ye and me. What do ye say, lad? Eh?”
Kenneth breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, there was steely determination in his face.
“Oh, Niall,” he sighed. “I never did like to share, ye always knew that.”
Niall’s eyes widened. Abruptly, the realization of his position hit him. The cliff edge at his back, and Kenneth now standing behind him and his horse.
Uh oh.
Kenneth flung himself forward, not giving Niall any time to brace himself. They staggered towards the edge of the cliff, arms locked together.
Niall tightened his jaw, fighting with all his strength. A quick glance over his shoulder would show him how close he was to the edge.
Do I want to know?
Grinding his teeth, he surged forward, trying to utilize his superior weight.
Too late.
Kenneth shoved forward with more strength than Niall had ever known him to have. Perhaps an extended struggle would have ended differently, but when Niall’s heel slid off the edge of the cliff, he knew it was too late.
Kenneth knew it too. His eyes blazed with delight, and he gave one more mighty shove.
Suddenly there was no rock under Niall’s feet. He fell, fingers clawing at the air, and did not scream.
Kenneth stood back from the edge for a moment or two, breathing heavily. He couldn’t believe his luck.
“I thought ye might have had more struggle in there than that, cousin,” he remarked aloud.
Behind him, Niall’s horse whinnied nervously, tossing her head.
When he glanced back at the horse, she put back her ears, snapping the air.
He shook his head, turning his back again.
The creature could wander the woods if she liked.
Maybe she’d get back to the Keep, maybe she wouldn’t. It was no concern of his.
He waited for a moment, several moments, to see whether Niall would clamber up the edge, miraculously alive. There was no movement, so he inched forward, peering down.
He bit back a curse. A thick mist was rolling in, covering the bottom of the valley. It was impossible to tell whether there was a body lying down there or not.
“Nobody can survive that fall,” he muttered.
Turning on his heel, he set off towards the trees. His own horse was moored a little way away. If he took a shortcut, he could get back to the keep soon.
There was work to be done.