Chapter 24 #2
Dougal flushed. “These men are rebels,” he said, indicating Robbie and Alex’s other men. When Alex’s men looked as though they wanted to protest with their swords, Meg shook her head. Dougal would only delight in the opportunity to kill them.
“These men are guarding a woman who is seeking to return home,” Jamie said. “Leave now, MacDonald, before you do something you will regret.”
Dougal stared at him, furious, as he considered what to do.
Meg knew that Jamie’s presence had complicated things for him.
Making war on the Highland rebels was one thing, capturing the cousin of the Earl of Argyll another.
His eyes narrowed as he called Jamie’s bluff.
“I think it is you who should reconsider, young Campbell. I have been authorized by the king to detain all rebels. If you oppose me, you are opposing the king. And I think your cousin would be surprised to see you with these men. Perhaps you’d care to turn them over to me instead? ”
They were trapped. By bringing Jamie along, Meg had put him in a horrible position. She took his arm, forcing him to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry, Jamie. There is no use in opposing him. It will only make things worse for you.”
Jamie knew he was caught, but he wouldn’t give up. “Mistress Mackinnon is not a part of this,” he said. “Do you use a woman to win your battles now, MacDonald?”
Dougal shrugged, refusing to be shamed. “It is regrettable, but I will do what is necessary. The lass will be my trump card. The king will not care how the rebels are defeated, just that they are. Besides, the king will hardly concern himself in a matter between a man and his wife.”
Meg gasped. “Never!” She would die before she married Dougal MacDonald.
Robbie and Jamie moved to protect her at the same time, using their bodies to shield her from Dougal’s vile glare.
Dougal’s face darkened. “Have care, Mistress Mackinnon. I am prepared to forgive you much, but do not try my patience.” Meg shivered at the coldness in his eyes. “You do not want to anger me.”
“You bastard!” Jamie growled. “You will not involve her.”
Dougal’s amusement fled, turning to annoyance. “You are hardly in a position to be issuing orders. I will do what I must. Alex MacLeod has proved exceedingly difficult to kill. If need be, Mistress Mackinnon will prove an irresistible lure.”
Meg’s heart sank. No. She could not be the instrument of Alex’s destruction. Dear God, what had she done? She should never have come here.
“What are you planning to do with us?” she challenged, refusing to cower before such filth. She might be terrified, but she knew if Dougal sensed her fear, it would be like the scent of blood to a vulture.
Dougal sneered at her bravado. “I’d say that all depends on you, my dear.”
Meg quickly learned what Dougal meant. He would have killed Robbie and the other men when they’d landed back on Lewis, but he spared their lives at the last minute when Meg agreed to marry him. As long as she did what he wanted, the men were safe.
Dougal MacDonald repulsed her; the very idea of marriage to him was repugnant.
They both knew she’d agreed only under duress, but Meg suspected that Dougal enjoyed toying with her.
Taking sadistic pleasure in manipulating her to his bidding, in watching her panic as he’d held the blade to Robbie’s neck, in making sure she knew that she was his prisoner and that he was in control.
Meg thought of Alex’s imprisonment all those years ago in a MacDonald dungeon at the hand of this man and couldn’t imagine what he’d been forced to endure.
It gave her insight into the rage that drove Alex. Dougal MacDonald was a man to inspire vengeance. Anger could be a great motivator, as Meg had learned. It was anger that had propelled her over miles of rugged terrain without complaint.
They’d camped last night in the woods well south of Stornoway.
Meg had been too frightened and anxious to sleep, though she soon wished she had.
Today had been a nightmare. They’d walked for hours, skirting well clear of the MacLeods as they headed north just past Stornoway to a rocky ridge above the northernmost section of the harbor.
They’d stopped, finally, but it would not be for long.
Since their capture, Dougal had kept her separated from the others and well guarded, leaving her no opportunity to escape. He knew as well as she did that even if Jamie or the others could have escaped, they would not leave her behind.
Sitting on a rock, resting her aching feet, Meg wanted to weep with exhaustion and frustration. She swept a strand of hair from her face, feeling the dirt and grime of the long day sitting on her skin. But she knew that it would get much worse before this day was done.
As soon as Alex appeared below, Dougal would make his move. Using her.
Meg would never have told Dougal anything that might put Alex in jeopardy.
And he must have guessed as much, because he focused his persuasion on Jamie—this time using her as the pawn.
Meg begged Jamie not to say anything. Dougal wouldn’t kill her, not until he’d married her.
But when he’d held the blade to her throat, Jamie had told him what he knew—which, thankfully, wasn’t much.
She was glad that they were not privy to all of Alex’s plans.
Though when Dougal realized he’d lost his attempt to take Alex at sea, it had forced him to use her as his sword.
By coming to Lewis, Meg had unintentionally given Dougal the very opportunity he’d been waiting for. Meg knew as well as he did what had happened to Alex’s cousins and how much Alex blamed himself for their deaths. Dougal would give Alex another chance to surrender, this time with her as his bait.
She would be the cause of Alex’s death. For even if Alex surrendered, thereby saving her life, Dougal no doubt intended to kill him.
Alex would know that, too, but it wouldn’t stop him.
And it wasn’t just Alex’s life at stake.
If Alex didn’t do his part, Neil MacLeod would be walking into a death trap at the castle.
Because of her, the entire rebellion could fail.