Chapter 5
She stared at him in disbelief. What sort of game was he playing?
She’d been toyed with for nearly three years and in that time, she had grown a callous over her once tender heart.
A lump of fear settled in her chest as she glanced to Flora before her gaze landed on Piper.
Each shared the same expression of wonder and awe.
“It’s settled then, ye’re comin’ with me,” he announced before she could protest. “We’ll leave first thing in the mornin’.”
“What did I tell ye? Ye havenae come to set us free, but to enslave us. This is all part of yer sinister plan, admit it,” Madison said in a flurry. She couldn’t stand the fact that he had spoken for her let alone announced his kidnapping of her to everyone there.
But who was going to stop the brute? He had already made it clear he was a force to be reckoned with.
He bested the laird out in the grove in record time.
Still, there was something that stirred within her knowing the strongest man in the room was had claimed her for his own.
At least no one would dare challenge him. Or if they did, wouldn’t win.
“Would ye rather stay here? I can tell ye this much, there willnae be anythin’ left of it come winter. I would take ye back to yer clan, but ye’ve failed to mention where that might be.” Theodore moved closer to her. His direct gaze held her. No matter what she did to turn from him, he was there.
“And what if I said I would, ye wouldnae let me,” she countered.
He rolled his shoulders back as he took her in. She dared not look away. It was a battle, and she knew the second she turned from him, he would be the winner.
“Of course I wouldnae,” he snapped back. “I ken ye think me a beast, but I assure ye, I’m far from it. I just want to ensure ye’re well cared for. I would hate if me sister was put through what ye’ve been through and I merely want to see ye get the best care.”
“Sure ye did,” she said through clinched teeth.
Her ire brewed and festered just under her skin as people came rushing through the corridor.
The delectable scent of stew floated through the air twisting Madison’s stomach with hunger.
How long had it been since she had anything decent?
She couldn’t remember and the smell was torture.
Her mouth watered as she caught sight of the black iron pot.
She glanced at the poor man carrying such a heavy load as she licked her lips.
“Stay put,” the laird said as he leaned into her with such a threatening glare, she dared not move a muscle.
“Are ye tryin’ to get on his bad side?” Flora whispered into Madison’s ear.
“Did ye see the way he looked at ye?” Piper warned. “I heard some of the others call him Mad Dog. That is nae a name one gets accidentally.”
Madison kept her gaze locked on the laird.
Confusion mingled with gratitude. She wasn’t sure what she was to feel about the man.
As far as she could tell, he wasn’t like the lairds she’d known before.
There was a kindness to his eye that gave her the impression that no matter what she did, he’d be there.
He’d forgive her, he’d be loyal to the bitter end.
Still, he wasn’t bringing her to her family.
Not that she happened to know where they were in the first place.
“Are ye all right? Ye look as if someone has jumped on yer grave,” Flora said as Madison stared at the laird returning with bowls of the stew in hand.
She ground her teeth together in ire and rage.
The was no doubt in her mind he had been sent straight from hell. The stew he brought was the last straw.
“Here,” he said as he offered one of the three bowls he held. Madison froze. Her gaze locked on the bowl stretched out to her.
“Go on,” he said. “Ye need somethin’ in ye. Ye’re nothin’ but bones and the ride to Castle MacLeon is a rough one. Ye’ll need strength if ye’re to be on the back of the horse.”
Madison’s lips parted. She hadn’t the strength to do anything. She blinked trying to figure out if what she was seeing was real, or if her mind had finally snapped.
“If ye willnae have it,” he said, turning the bowl to Flora. “Here, enjoy. I’m sure ye could use somethin’ as well.”
“Maddie?” Flora whimpered. Uncertainty laced her tone as she warred with her desire to eat and her loyalty to Madison. There was no way Madison could let Flora go hungry, not when she could do something to stop it.
“I promise there is plenty in the pot. I’ve instructed the cook to make more as I fear ye lasses will end up finishin’ the whole thing and be lookin’ for more,” Theodore said as he handed Piper the second bowl before giving the last bowl to Flora.
“It’s poisoned,” Madison accused. “Why else would he insist on feedin’ us?”
“Oh yes,” Flora said as sarcasm dripped from her lips. “That’s exactly what he was thinkin’ when he was pullin’ ye from the grove and carryin’ ye all this way. I’ll bring her all this way just to off her with the poison I’ve been savin’ for such an occasion. Nae everyone is as devious as Lewis.”
“Ye daenae have to worry about him ever again. That name can be struck from yer memories if that is what ye wish,” Theodore said in a grave tone that set Madison on edge.
And how do ye ken that?" Madison's voice came out smaller than she intended.
Hope warred with doubt in her chest—she desperately wanted to believe Lewis could never hurt her again, but trust hadn't served her well in the past. The thought of taking this laird's word without proof sent ice trickling down her spine.
"Trustin' people has nae worked out so well for me in the past. What guarantee do I have that what ye say is true?"
The laird's jaw tightened. He glanced at Piper, then Flora, before his gaze returned to her.
"We destroyed the camp where they kept ye.
Burned it to the ground. The men who ran it—most are dead or scattered.
As for Lewis..." His eyes darkened. "The bastard slipped away during the fight, but he'll be hunted down.
Me and the other lairds willnae rest till he's brought to justice. Ye have me word on that."
Madison's throat tightened. It wasn't the certainty she craved, but it was something.
"There's nothin' I can say or do that will convince ye I mean ye no harm," he continued, his voice rough. "Either ye have faith in me or ye daenae. I would like to think that one day, I could earn yer trust. Until then, I'll take yer ire."
"Laird MacLeon,” a thin man announced the moment he entered the room. Madison had never seen him before and could only presume he was someone of importance by the way the laird spoke so privately to him. She swallowed hard as the laird and the man's hushed tones tickled her ears.
“See that the carriage is made ready. We leave as soon as the lass is ready,” the laird said glancing at Madison. She couldn’t stop the heat that flooded through her veins and warmed her skin. It was as if he had looked right through to her very soul.
“I daenae want to go. I want to stay here,” Madison insisted as she clung to her companions. How could she leave Flora or Piper now that they had been reunited again? Surely fate didn’t want them to part ways, not now. They had already lost Gabriella, who had been taken by some other laird.
“There willnae be anythin’ left within the week. Ye’ll have nay roof over yer head and nay food. I would stay with ye, but I have nae the time to babysit.”
“Babysit? I daenae need someone to look after me,” Madison said as the laird handed her a steaming bowl of stew. The smell made her stomach twist. For a brief moment she had forgotten all about her hunger, but now that it was before her once more, there was no way she was going to deny it again.
“Clearly,” he said, smirking at the way it took her only a moment to stare at the bowl, before diving in.
Madison’s eyes rolled back from the pleasure. She couldn’t remember the last time she had tasted such things. All she knew was that she had finished the contents before she knew it. He grabbed her empty bowl and replaced it with a fuller one. She looked up at him.
Why are ye so kind?
This all had to be some front, a mask he wore in front of people. Certainly, he wasn’t this way behind closed doors. Noman she had met had been.
“Like I said before, we’ll leave when the lass is ready. I’m sure once the belly is full, sleep will come all too easily.”
Madison paused as terror rippled through her. “Ye spiked the food?”
The laird rolled his shoulders back and shook his head.
“It must be very exhaustin’ to be ye. But to answer yer question.
Nay. I wouldnae do somethin’ like that to an innocent.
An enemy, that’s a different story, but ye…
nay. And I’m sorry for what ye’ve been through, truly, I am.
But ye’ve got to let that hate go, or it’ll eat ye alive. ”
She watched as the laird moved to back to the cook and speak with other men that came and went.
She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she understood one thing in that moment, the laird wasn’t like Lewis.
In fact, she was certain he wasn’t like anyone she had ever met before.
Still, the uncertainty about him grated on her nerves.
“He’s too nice, that’s what the problem is,” Flora said. “He wants somethin’. Mark me words. When he has ye alone, he’ll ask ye to do somethin’ for him then. Men are never this nice without a cause.”
“And where will ye go?” Madison asked, her gaze lingering on Piper before shifting to Flora.
Piper's brow furrowed. "The dark-haired laird—Elijah, I think his name was—said I'm to come with him to his castle. To recover." She rubbed her arms, uncertainty flickering across her face. "He promised once I'm well, he'll help me find me family."
Flora nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "The younger one, Laird Gilmour, said the same. That I'm to stay with him until..." She trailed off, glancing down at her too-thin frame.
"Until ye're strong enough to travel," Piper finished gently.
Madison's throat tightened. So they were all being taken to different castles, separated after surviving together. "What of ye? Where will ye go when ye mend?" Piper asked, her eyes searching Madison's face.
Madison glanced at her injured leg, the dull throb a constant reminder of her limitations. The aching wouldn't stop until it fully healed—and that would take time she didn't have.
Madison glanced to her injured leg. She wished the aching would stop, but it would be constant until it fully healed, that much she was certain.
“I daenae ken. I daenae have any stock in what the laird says. I’ve had men make many promises to me before and nay one has panned out. There is nay reason for me to think he will either.”
“Ye never ken,” Piper said as she placed her hand on Madison’s injured leg as gently as she dared. “Sprinkle a pinch of faith and hope on anythin’ and ye’ll see a miracle. I believe Laird MacLeon means ye nay harm. Ye should give him a chance. He could be the one to help ye find yer family.”
Madison’s heart tightened. The chance of Piper being right weighed on her. It was a leap of faith that Madison wasn’t ready to commit to doing. She pulled in a long deep breath as she glanced to the laird.
“Ye survived three hunts, stood up to Lewis and ye saved me,” Flora said as Piper chimed in, “and me”.
“We’ve all seen ye do extraordinary things already,” Piper chimed in. “Findin’ yer family and reunitin’ with yer sister, that will be yer crown jewel. But ye’ve got to let people in or ye’ll end up losin’ everyone.”