Chapter 23 #2
He ran to her and then lifted her out of the boat and into his arms, holding her so close there wasn’t any space between them.
He pulled away in time to cut her free, and her arms went round his neck instantly.
They stood like that, molded together, until Kenneth arrived, leading the horses behind him, a look of relief on his face.
“Are ye hurt?” Magnus asked her.
She shook her head, but he could see a bruise on her cheek where she had been struck. If he hadn’t already killed the man, he would have done it again.
“Deal with the body,” he said to Kenneth. “Try to find out where he hails from. I’m takin’ Leah back to MacWatt Castle.”
“Aye, M’Laird,” Kenneth replied softly, handing him the reins of his horse as Magnus helped Leah up into the saddle.
Magnus looked back at the beach, at the little boat that was still floating in the water. He looked across at the far shore and tried to think who could have planned to do this, a heavy weight on his heart that he had brought old wounds into Leah’s life.
They rode back to the castle in silence, Magnus holding her tightly against him, feeling the warmth and safety of her body, never happier to see anyone alive.
They did not speak, Leah dozing against him after her ordeal. The afternoon sun cast long shadows behind them as the clouds rolled in above their heads.
As they reached MacWatt Castle, Magnus dismounted, leaving Leah on the horse, leading them slowly through the gates and waving away the servants who approached them.
She was dazed and tired, and he lifted her down from the horse gently, taking her hand and leading them inside to Betty’s chambers.
When he knocked on the door, Iona opened it, and her eyes went wide as she saw Leah.
Betty bustled forward, gripping her hands and pulling her inside, giving Magnus a meaningful look. “Come, come,” she said, drawing Leah to the fire and seating her where she could be warm.
Magnus stood at the far corner of the room, watching the proceedings, still feeling rage in every muscle of his body at what had almost happened.
He racked his brain, trying to determine who might be behind this.
They had been on the eastern side of the island, which meant the man could have been from one of two clans, unless he’d traveled a great deal further than Magnus had thought.
Whoever it was clearly hated him.
As he watched Betty pull the twigs and brambles from Leah’s long hair, his wife’s hands twisting in her lap, he made up his mind.
I cannae let any harm come to her because of me inaction. I underestimated this man before, I willnae do it again.
He walked over to them, Iona looking a little startled as he came to sit beside Leah.
“How are ye feelin’?” he asked, wishing beyond all things that he could simply take her in his arms and erase the last few hours from her mind.
Leah nodded, pale but unyielding. “I am well. Thank you for coming to get me.”
“He left a trail. We were able to find him, thank the heavens. Kenneth is a good tracker—he saw the hoof prints in the earth.”
Leah nodded again. She was still wringing her hands, and Magnus could not help it—he reached out and enveloped them with his own.
She looked up at him then, a soft, grateful expression on her face accompanied by a warm smile.
“Ye must return to England,” he said decisively, and both the expression and the smile evaporated instantly.
Leah snatched her hands away from him.
Betty tutted loudly from the other side of the room as she returned, waving him away and physically pushing him out of his seat so that she could have a look at her patient.
“I shall do what?” Leah asked, her voice as cold as ice.
“Ye cannae stay here. Ye will return with Miss Katie to England until I have dealt with whoever is after ye.” He clenched his jaw. “That’s an order.”
She sprang to her feet, her fists clenched at her sides, her body rigid. “You will send me away?” she asked in disgust. “What about all you said about ‘no more talk of England?’ What about not wishing any other man to protect me?”
“I never said that.”
“I’m no fool, Magnus. You don’t wish for me to be around other men, but now you would send me back to my father because you have failed to recognize a threat that has been on this island for years!”
She was panting now, more furious than he had ever seen her.
“Och, aye, and ye would have done better, would ye nae? Ye couldnae fight him off or defend yerself, and ye expect me to leave ye vulnerable while there is someone out there who wants ye dead?”
“And whose fault is that?” Leah thundered.
Both of the healers were staring at her now. Iona seemed concerned, but Betty just looked impressed.
“You have told me time and again that I am your wife, but you do not wish me to be anywhere close to you.”
She scowled at him as she advanced, reaching only his elbow, but she was a picture of fiery fury all the same.
“You are the one who has ignored this threat, though you knew that it existed for years before you met me. I was attacked because I was away from you, at a place where you sent me.”
“Ye agreed to that deal!” Magnus spluttered, an unpleasant feeling bubbling up inside him as he watched her rail at him.
She is right. That’s the truth of it. I never tried to find the man who murdered Elizabeth. I recognized the threat and chose to do nothin’ because it was easier to hide away from the outside world than it was to face me own demons.
Leah glared up at him, her little fists still clenched, her eyes blazing as she pointed at him angrily. “You have made your choices, Magnus. You have cocooned yourself here, watching the world pass you by, and when that world comes knocking, you are not prepared for it.”
“I saved ye, did I nae?” he bellowed.
“And if you had not? If you had been further afield, if Kenneth had not been with you, if Katie had not come to find you. Goodness knows where I would be because you are forcing us to stay apart.”
“That is what ye agreed to.”
“Don’t I know it!” Leah cried. “I am sorry for believing this sham of a marriage could ever have actually meant something to you.”
With that, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Magnus deflated, watching the closed door and willing her to come back through it. He then turned to Iona and Betty.
Iona was almost comically still, holding a bowl of a sweet-smelling paste that she had been mixing when he entered the room. Betty, on the other hand, was staring at him with her eyebrows raised.
She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin. “Ye are a fool, Magnus Shaw,” she said softly. “And ye will lose that girl if ye dinnae change.”
“I dinnae want her!” he shouted, feeling the lie explode into the air like a gunshot.
Now it was his turn to storm out of the room. He wanted to find Leah, beg for her forgiveness, hold her in his arms, take back everything he had ever said to her, and take her to his bed.
But he did none of those things. He would not. He had to protect her.