Chapter 24 #2
“Duty? Duty?” Alaina almost shouted. Tears glinted in her eyes, and she forced herself between her uncle’s sword and Hamish.
“All these years, me sister and I thought that ye loved us, if nae for our own sakes, at least for our maither’s sake.
We thought that ye cared. We thought that ye wanted to raise us because ye loved us, but it was only ever so that ye could marry us off to suitable men to better yerself.
This laird’s son that I’m supposed to marry will probably form a good alliance for ye, willnae he?
There’ll be money, I imagine. There’ll be a treaty.
And when Sophie is old enough, perhaps ye will marry her off, too.
Although why wait? Why nae marry her off now? ”
“Enough,” Logan barked, eyes blazing. His lip curled, revealing sharp white teeth. “Ye talk too much, niece. Marriage is a woman’s duty just as battle is a man’s.”
“But Alaina is nae a woman, is she?” Megan spoke up quietly.
“Nae yet. She is only sixteen. She cannot be wed for years yet. And I think that she is right—ye cannae afford to wait years. If ye take Alaina from here, ye willnae even wait weeks. Ryder will come for ye. He’ll kill ye to rescue his sister if he has to.
Will ye rush her into marriage, if ye ken that Ryder will still come for her? ”
Logan did not flinch. “Alaina’s marriage will set in motion things that even Ryder cannae undo. I will be too powerful for him to fight, with a Campbell army behind me.”
“And mercenaries bought with Campbell money, nay doubt,” Megan breathed. “Ye plan to attack Ryder himself, daenae ye? Ye want to obliterate Clan MacCulloch and make it all into Clan MacAdair.”
Logan sneered. “As it always should have been. Alaina, her sister, and her wretched braither all owe me.”
“We owe ye nothin’!” Alaina shouted, although her bravado was quickly wearing thin.
Logan’s eyes glazed over. “Ye think nae? I gave me sister to the old Laird MacCulloch. It was a fine match, and one which should have made me the most powerful man in the Highlands. Instead, I only received half of the payment I should have gotten, and none of the soldiers.”
“Perhaps Laird MacCulloch did not support yer warmongering,” Megan observed. “I bet ye asked for land, too much of it. Perhaps he agreed to wed yer sister. They loved each other, ye ken.”
“Love is a weak emotion. It has nay bearin’ on the exercise of power. This lass here,” he aimed the sword point at Alaina once more, “will marry who I say, and when I say it. She owes it to me.”
“She owes ye nothin’,” Megan hissed. Logan did not even seem to hear her this time. She glanced around frantically for a weapon.
I’ve carried a dagger and me bow and arrow around all over the Highlands, Megan thought heavily. And now that I need them, I’m unarmed. Wonderful.
There were no guards near here. In this remote part of the corridor, she could not even hear the noise of the Feast Hall. There were no footsteps, no voices. She could shout for help, but it seemed unlikely that Logan would let her do that more than once.
There were three of them, of course, to Logan’s one, but he was tall, strong, and an experienced warrior.
An experienced madman, more like.
He would gut Hamish from navel to chin as soon as look at him, and Megan was not too sure whether he’d balk at killing her, either. He would want to keep Alaina alive, but once he’d carried her off, she’d be as good as dead.
If she is married to Laird Campbell’s son, they’ll work to keep her hidden. They’ll move her from place to place, keepin’ her away from Ryder, hopin’ that he loses interest.
It seemed likely to her that Laird Campbell believed that Logan really did have the right to marry Alaina off as he pleased.
Then, if the marriage happened and Logan attacked the Campbells, they would retaliate in fury at a perceived injustice.
War would spark up, a flame that would consume the Highlands if left unchecked.
She shuddered.
“It was ye who sent the bandits, was it nae?” Megan said aloud.
Logan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
“Brides are snatched every day, lass,” he countered. “It’s nae unheard of. As usual, Ryder ruined me plans. Fortunately, he was too stupid to leave any of the soldiers alive for questionin’. However, he’s nae here now, is he?”
“I daenae need Ryder to save me,” Megan snapped, before she could stop herself.
Chuckling, Logan threw her an amused glance. “Oh, nay?”
“Aye. Nay.”
She punched him square in the nose.
It was a good punch. Not her best, given the circumstances and the constricting qualities of her dress. But Logan was not expecting it, and she put her full weight behind him.
There was a dull crack, and blood spurted from his nose. He staggered backward, clapping a hand over his nose, but did not drop his sword. In fairness, that was a sign of a good warrior.
“Run!” Megan screamed at Alaina and Hamish. “Run!”
Hamish grabbed Alaina’s hand, dragging her away. To run back toward the Feast Hall would mean darting past Logan’s blade, which was too much of a risk, so they wisely turned the opposite way, moving deeper into the Keep. Megan raced after them.
At least she tried. She’d barely made it three steps before a hand clamped in her hair, fingers digging deep into the braid, and hauled her backward.
She gave a strangled scream, sure that her hair was being yanked out by the roots.
Her feet left the floor, and she landed with a painful, breathtaking thunk on the polished stone flags.
The back of her head knocked against the hard stone, making her vision swim.
Megan groaned, lifting a hand to a rapidly swelling lump on the back of her head. There was no blood, but tiny, torn flowers scattered all around her, having fallen from her hair.
There was no time to think. A hand clamped over her mouth, stifling any potential screams.
Logan leaned over her, his face twisted with rage. She suspected that her punch had broken his nose, and drops of blood slowly trailed out of one nostril. A drop fell, splattering on the stone floor just beside Megan’s head.
“Very clever,” he breathed. “Ye hit harder than I might have expected. But I still have a sword, lass. Ye misjudged there.”
He carefully placed the sword across her throat, the blade resting directly against her skin.
It was icy cold, and she knew without looking that it was horrifically sharp.
When she swallowed involuntarily, there was a sharp twinge of pain as the blade grazed her skin. A single hot drop of blood welled up.
So, Megan thought bleakly. This is how I end. Well, I always kent I would end up goin’ down fightin’. Just like Da.
“Me nieces belong to me, just as me sister belonged to me,” Logan whispered.
“Ye ken, when the old laird died, I instructed her to come back to Keep MacAdair, and to bring her daughters. She said that she wanted to stay and that her heart was broken. She couldnae live without her husband, she said. Nonsense. She was still young enough for a decent marriage. I had plans for her, but she threw herself off the Keep walls, driven mad by the loss of the man she loved. So, ye see, by marrying Alaina to a man she cannae love, I am savin’ her. Daenae ye see?”
“I can see that ye are as mad as a march hare, man.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Aye, I should have ken ye would nae have understood. But nay matter. I’ll take Alaina with me today.
Unfortunately, I must bring yer betrothal to an end, as I ken now that ye will only get in me way.
Goodbye, Lady Megan. Ye would have made a fine Lady MacCulloch, I’ll give ye that. ”
Megan closed her eyes, waiting for the final press of the sword. It would be a quick end, at last.
Then, a voice echoed through the silence.
“Ye are a dead man, Logan.”
Her eyes flew open just in time to see dismay cross Logan’s features.
“Ryder,” they both whispered at the same moment.