Chapter 27
“Iwish ye would not have to do this alone,” Creighton told Liam. The laird paced back and forth in Liam’s chambers with a heaviness in his gaze. Liam was packing, although he’d barely had time to rest.
“‘Tis the only way, if we are to avoid war.” Sitting on the edge of his bed, he watched his father pace. “But that isnae the reason that ye are here. What did Jean say to ye?”
“Ye should have told me the troubles ye were having with Alistair. I am yer father and yer laird. I should know when there is contention among my men. There are ways of resolving such matters before they come to this.”
Liam tensed. Were his fears about to be realized? He would not let Jean be trapped in a marriage with Alistair. No matter how much she hated him now, he would make her see reason. “I will wed her.”
“‘Tis what her father and I want, but he will see to her happiness first. After what she just went through with Alistair, she may not want to wed anyone.”
“What she went through?”
“The attack.” Creighton frowned and then sighed. “She didnae tell ye? I hadnae realized.”
“Alistair attacked her? That is why there was blood on her dress? I will kill him.”
“That isnae yer priority. I have men searching for him, and he will be punished for his actions. He has been harboring misinformation for years, and I fear it has turned him bitter. I had not known.”
“What misinformation?”
“I was traveling from the MacKay lands many years ago when I came across a small infant on the side of the road. I had my men scour the woods, searching for his parents or for signs of a traveling party. My worst fears were that I’d find their slain bodies, but I found nothing, No signs of anyone else.
I brought the child home and sought a family to raise him.
Daniel and Breanna. He was too young to remember having any other family, so they raised him as their own, or so I thought.
“Daniel died in battle several years later. He was a farmer, not meant for the battle, and he should have never been on the field with me. I should never have allowed him to fight. Breanna blamed me. Her bitterness grew until she took her own life, but not before filling the child with lies. She told him that I was his father, and I had abandoned him in favor of my legitimate child. You.”
“Alistair,” Liam breathed and closed his eyes. “No wonder he hated me.”
“Aye. I felt responsible for him. First that I found him and second, that I was the cause of his parents’ death.
No, dinnae argue with me,” Creighton said as he raised his hands to stop Liam’s arguments.
“Ye will make mistakes as well, and they will stay with ye. I treated Alistair like a second son, and not once did he ask if I was his true father. If he had, I would have told him the truth and stopped this nonsense. I hope to make him see reason when I do find him.”
Liam pondered what his father said as he finished packing and finally sighed.
“His anger isnae his fault, but he could have directed it better. He should have asked for the truth. Instead, he’s harmed an innocent woman.
Intentionally. He wanted to take her from me and use her. That is unforgivable.”
“I agree,” Creighton said softly. “So ye love her?”
“It doesnae matter. I have said unforgivable things to her, believing Alistair’s lies. Perhaps I am no better. She will not have me now.” Pain wrapped around his heart and squeezed. “All I can do is protect her and make sure she comes back safe. Nay matter what.”
Creighton cracked a smile. “We are all fools when it comes to love. I almost lost yer mother by being an idiot. If ye love her, ye must tell her. She has the right to know the truth.”
His father was right, of course. She deserved an apology and the truth, but this was not the time to tell her. They had a war to stop.
Jean and Liam left that night. It was slower traveling in the dark, but it gave them a head start.
Tomorrow, the rest of the pieces would fall into place.
Liam would be sent to the northernmost territory for patrol, and Jean would run away again.
For once, her penchant for doing what she wanted was going to be useful.
The bait would be set, but it would be a trap for Donal.
And hopefully be the downfall for Clan Gibson.
Tense and silent, they traveled for hours before Liam quietly slowed and guided his horse to a stop. He dismounted, gestured for her to do the same, and guided their horse off the road and into the thick forest.
“This should do. There’s a few hours before dawn,” he said quietly as he glanced around. “You can get some sleep.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll watch over you, Jean. I’ll sleep when we get closer.”
His eyes were unreadable as she studied him. Knowing that it would be pointless to argue, she excused herself to get some privacy. When she returned, Liam had already laid out her bedroll and some food. There was no fire, for obvious reasons.
“Are ye hungry?”
“Aye.” They’d ridden hard, but it was more than that. She’d had nothing to do while they rode but stare at Liam’s back and wonder what he was thinking. In the tension, she’d developed quite the appetite.
“We’ll need to stick to the forest tomorrow.
Anyone working with Donal will ride hard with the news of yer disappearance,” Liam continued.
“Donal will plan quickly to try and take ye before ye reach the settlement. Our goal is to get there before they start laying their traps. Since we cannae bring our own warriors, we need to reach the ones that stayed without Donal knowing.”
Jean smiled at him briefly. His own tension was showing. “I know all of this, Liam.”
“Aye, ye do. My apologies. I just need to keep the plan in my head.”
“I understand. Go take care of yer needs. I willnae stray.”
She settled on her bedroll by the food and broke off a piece of bread. Liam didn’t move but stared down at her. “Jean, when this is over, we will need to speak.”
“We dinnae have to, Liam.” Her throat tightened just a little. “Ye have made yer thoughts on me clear, and I understand yer frustrations. Ye dinnae need to worry. We will remain friends and close allies. I willnae cause any problems.”
“No, that isnae?—”
“I knew what Alistair thought,” she interrupted.
It felt important for her to tell him that, in case their plan did not go as expected.
“I knew he thought we would wed, and I didnae have time to correct him on it. I spent the night with ye without telling ye. I never had any intentions of wedding Alistair. I didnae hide that from ye, but it was a complication, and I should have told ye.”
When she looked up at Liam and saw the pity in his eyes, she nearly broke down right then and there. She was giving him too much, more than he wanted to know. She knew that her feelings were in her voice. She couldn’t hide it.
He knew, and he didn’t feel the same.
“Now isnae the time, Jean,” he said quietly. “I dinnae want ye to worry.”
“About what ye want to talk about? Or about my role as bait? I volunteered, Liam. I understand the threat to me. Ye are the one who doesnae need to worry.”
He looked desperate, like he wanted to say something else, but she waved him off.
When he finally turned away, she hastily ate her food, washed it down with water and settled on her bedroll.
When Liam returned, she was just pretending to be asleep.
She really wasn’t all that certain she could sleep, but with Liam near, she knew she was safe.
And to her surprise, she slipped into a dreamless rest.