Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
“Mistress Macnab
just told me the news.” With a look of concern the queen rushed
into Lindsey’s sleeping chamber, followed by her dour husband, who
for once seemed as animated as his wife. “Has she awakened
yet?”
“Aye.” In deference to his monarch, Jamie
scrambled from the chair beside Lindsey’s bed and got to his
feet.
“Sit, my friend.” Mary came around the bed
and touched a hand to his shoulder. Taking a long look at him she
added, “You look more like the victim of an attack than the
lass.”
At that Jamie managed to grin. “It is that
bad?”
“Aye.”
He ran a hand over the stubble on his chin.
His eyes felt as if sand had been rubbed into them. “She put in a
fearful night.”
“Does she know where she is?”
“At times. At other times she fights her
demons.”
“Mistress Macnab complains that you will not
allow her to aid you.”
“She is needed elsewhere. Lindsey is my
responsibility.”
Mary turned her gaze fully upon him. Her tone
was so low it seemed almost reverent. “So that is the way of
it?”
“Aye.” He stared at the figure lying so still
in the bed. A look of tenderness softened all his features. “And I
had to nearly lose her before I would admit it.”
“I hope she is worthy of such feelings.” The
queen squeezed his hand before turning toward the door. “I will
instruct Mistress Macnab to see that all your meals are brought to
you here.”
“Thank you, Majesty.”
She gave him a wan smile. “Nay. I thank you,
Jamie MacDonald. For restoring my faith in man.”
When the door closed behind Mary and Lord
Darnley, Jamie sank gratefully into the chair. Within minutes he
was dozing.
* * *
Lindsey felt the bile rise up in her throat
as the unknown terror seized her once more. She saw the hooded man,
so tall, so menacing, moving toward her. In his hand was a sword.
She stared in horrified fascination as the blade caught and
reflected the light of the sconces that adorned the walls of the
fortress.
“You must not—” her voice was little more
than a whisper “—do this.”
The man laughed, a cruel, chilling laugh, and
strode closer.
She did not scream, for he had already warned
her that no servants would come to her defense. They were his
servants, after all, and he was her father’s avowed enemy.
“I will not have to kill Douglas Gordon,”
came the man’s booming voice. “The knowledge of what I have done to
his beloved little lass will be revenge enough. Such knowledge will
eat at his soul until he loses the will to live. And I will have
won the sweetest victory of all. I will have destroyed the noble
Douglas Gordon. Without his leadership, his fertile lands will be
mine. And his people will be my slaves. Now, lass, come here to
me.”
Lindsey continued to stare at the glittering
blade, her young mind in turmoil. If she allowed this monster to do
what he threatened, his words would be prophetic. It would surely
break her father’s heart.
What would it be like to die? She was too
young to even imagine such a thing. But this she knew, despite her
youth, despite her innocence. She must choose death over dishonor.
Her father’s bitterest enemy, Neville Sinclair, must not be allowed
to sully her.
“I have been patient long enough,” he said
through gritted teeth. “Come here, child.”
“Nay.”
Lindsey turned and began to run from him. But
there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The doors to his chamber
were barred. In a state of panic she ran to the balcony, then
skidded to an abrupt halt. Trapped. She was trapped. She turned.
Neville Sinclair stood barring her way. The only escape now was
death.
Without hesitation she climbed onto the wide
ledge that ringed the balcony. For as far as the eye could see,
there were the green, rolling hills of Sinclair land. Directly
below the balcony was a courtyard where several horses were
tethered. It was such a long way down.
Out of the corner of her eye Lindsey saw the
man racing across the balcony toward her. She inched her way to the
very edge of the ledge. There would be no second chance. If he
caught her, he was strong enough to drag her back.
She was suddenly seized with a feeling of
peace. She had chosen the right path. She was certain of it.
Without a word she leaned forward and felt
herself falling through space. Above her the man’s voice was a cry
of rage at the child who had denied him his chance for vengeance.
Below her the courtyard loomed, the animals shifting nervously as
she fell.
She awoke to the sound of a voice weeping.
Her voice. She was bathed in sweat. Strong arms cradled her against
a solid wall of chest. For long minutes she clung to the gentle
giant who held and comforted her.
Safe. Though she knew not why, she felt safe
with Jamie MacDonald.
Slowly the fear drained from her. Jamie could
feel her gradually relax against him as the tension was
released.
“It was all a terrible dream,” she said
aloud, her voice trembling.
Jamie had heard too much to be fooled. The
terrors she had relived in her mind had been too real.
“Have you had this dream often, my lady?”
“Aye. For many years.”
“Do you wish to talk about it?”
She shivered and he drew her closer and
pressed his lips to her temple.
“How much did I reveal?”
“Enough.” He chose his words carefully.
“Enough to know that you were a very brave lass.”
He felt the shudders that racked her. “I was
but a child. Still, the fear of that time lingers. And so many
things seem to cause the memory to flood my mind.”
“I think you must exorcise this horror from
your memory. Perhaps, by talking about it, the bad dreams will
end.”
Lindsey wrapped her arms around him, holding
on as if she would fall. With her lips against his throat she
whispered, “I have never spoken of it.”
“Not even to your family?”
“Only once to my father and mother. We made a
pact to never speak of it again. My mother warned me that my father
could not bear the pain of that awful time.”
She grew silent and clung to him.
Jamie realized it was up to him to open the
floodgates, else the moment would pass and she would lock her fears
away again. “I have surmised most of it, Lindsey. You were abducted
by your father’s enemy.”
“Aye. Neville Sinclair.”
She shivered again as she mentioned his name,
and Jamie heard the way her voice shook.
“He carried me off to his castle and took me
to his chambers. There he told me what he intended to do to
me.”
“How old were you?”
“Eight years,” she said softly. “Not old
enough to understand everything, but old enough to know that his
intentions were evil.” She began to cry, softly now, as the
memories returned.
“But you thwarted him.”
“Aye. I chose to jump to my death rather than
submit.”
He gathered her closer. “And you thwarted
even death.”
“Aye.” He could hear the tears in her voice.
“My father and his clan arrived in time to see me leap from the
balcony. Father was certain I would die. He said his heart stopped.
But though I suffered painful injuries, I lived.”
“That is why you sometimes limp.”
She nodded and wiped the tears, but they
started afresh. “I shattered my leg. It mended, but imperfectly.
Each time I limped, I would see the pain in my father’s eyes, and
so I had to learn to walk in such a way that my father would not
suffer:”
Now Jamie understood why Douglas Gordon kept
his daughter so close. And he understood Lindsey’s determination to
return to her overprotective father, despite the dangers and
difficulties of such an undertaking.
“My father’s suffering was greater than
mine,” she said simply, “for I was young, and my wounds healed
quickly. But the wounds in my father’s heart have never
healed.”
“You taught yourself to walk without a limp
in order to spare your father any further suffering.”
“Aye. It was not easy, but it was necessary.
It required great discipline.”
“What an amazing woman you are.”
Lindsey pushed herself away to stare at him.
Tears still filled her eyes. “I am a coward. Did you not see? I
still fight this man in my dreams. And I still weep like a child
whenever I am reminded of that time.”
“Aye, my fiery little Lindsey. You do indeed
fight your demons. But at least you fight; you do not surrender to
the fear. And as for your weeping...” He lifted her face and his
thumbs to the corners of her eyes. “It is not only children who
cry, my lady. If anything should happen to you, I would be racked
with tears.”
He brushed his lips over each of her eyelids.
It was the sweetest of kisses, and she felt her heart leap to her
throat.
This rough, terrifying giant, known
throughout her land as heartless, caused her to feel things no
other man ever had.
Or would.
“Now,” he whispered against her temple, “you
must rest and heal your mind as well as your body.”
“You will not leave me?”
“Nay, my lady. You will never again be
alone.”
He pressed her down against the pillows and
drew the linens snugly around her. She caught his hand and pressed
a kiss to it, and he felt the flare of heat.
“You will lie here beside me, my lord?”
“Nay, my lady.” He thought of the desire he
felt each time he touched her. It would not be at all safe to lie
beside her. “I will remain here in your chambers and see that you
are not alone.”
“The dream will come again. I know it. And I
am so weary of the fight. Please, my lord. Lie beside me.”
How could he refuse? “Aye, my lady.”
He drew her into the circle of his arms and
closed his eyes. If indeed there was a heaven, he had already found
it.
* * *
Lindsey awoke with a start. As her lids
lifted she could make out the image of a haggard, unshaven Jamie
beside her. They were lying in each other’s arms, in a most
intimate embrace.
Feeling suddenly ashamed, she struggled to
push herself free of his grasp. His arms tightened around her.
“Are you awake?” she whispered.
“Nay,” came his whispered reply. “I must be
dreaming. Else how can you explain how we happen to be sleeping
together?”