Chapter 18
Oscar studied Lennan before answering. His man-at-arms held himself rigid, with one hand clenched at his side and his breathing carefully level.
Whatever had brought him to the upper passage was critical.
Oscar could still feel the ghost of Ceana’s kiss on his lips. He closed the hand that had held her, opened it again, then straightened the front of his coat. A deliberate step put space between them. Paisley and Tommy watched him, their excitement fading with each passing second.
“The next round must wait,” he said. “Paisley, take Tommy downstairs.”
Tommy glanced at Lennan. “Has somethin’ happened?”
“I will tell ye what ye need to ken once I have spoken with Lennan. Go with yer sister.”
Paisley took Tommy’s hand. Oscar waited until both children turned toward the stairs before looking at Ceana.
“Stay with them.”
Her lips were swollen from their kiss, and one loosened strand of hair hung against her flushed cheek. She studied him with the same sharp attention that had stripped through every excuse he offered in the recess, and he turned away before she could answer.
Lennan matched his pace down the nearest stairs. “A rider came from Morrag.”
Oscar’s blood ran cold. “Who?”
“Fergus. One of David’s men.”
Oscar was already three steps ahead. “Where is he?”
“The guardroom beside the inner hall.”
Fergus sat on a bench with road mud dried on his thighs and smoke caught in his plaid. A shallow cut marked his temple, and blood had run into his hair and dried there. The cup beside him remained untouched. He attempted to rise when Oscar approached.
“Stay seated,” Oscar urged. “Give me what ye brought.”
Fergus reached inside his coat and produced a folded note. Only after Oscar had taken it did the man grab the cup.
The wax bore Laird Morrag’s seal, familiar from the letters they had exchanged before the wedding. Heat had softened one edge, and a smear of blood crossed the fold. The seal itself remained clear.
Oscar broke it and read the letter.
MacKane,
Bryce crossed the eastern burn at first light beneath Gilmore colors. Two steadings burn, and his men hold the north road. His sealed demand names Daphne and calls Ceana’s marriage a second theft. We hold Morrag Castle for now, but we cannot do it on our own for long. Bring what strength you can.
Laird Morrag.
The final sentence had been pressed more deeply into the page. David’s signature beneath it remained firm.
Oscar read the note again. David had written it, which meant he had lived long enough to seal it. For all he knew, Ceana’s parents were still alive. If that had changed while Fergus rode, Oscar would have to face Ceana and tell her.
“When did ye leave Morrag?” he asked.
“Yesterday mornin’, me Laird. I changed horses once. The second beast carried me through the night, though she cannae ride again today.”
“How many Gilmore men did ye see?”
“Several scores crossed first. There were more behind them. I saw dust on the eastern road after the first ranks passed.”
Oscar folded the note along its original crease. “They seized the north road?”
“Aye. Men were posted there before I left.”
“The western approach?”
“It remained open then. I cannae swear to it now.”
“Were the gates holdin’?”
Fergus gripped the cup with both hands. “Laird Morrag called the outer tenants inside and barred the gates. Gilmore’s men hadnae reached the walls when he sent me.”
Oscar took a deep breath before asking his next question. “And his wife? How is she?”
“She was inside the castle, seein’ to the wounded.”
Oscar looked at the dried blood on Fergus’s temple. “Did ye see Angus MacWatt?”
“Nay, me Laird. I cannae say where he was.”
His absence proved nothing. Oscar filed it away for later.
Fergus drew another folded sheet from beneath his coat. Soot darkened one corner, and Bryce’s seal remained unbroken on the fastening.
“They brought this beneath a white cloth,” he explained. “Laird Morrag bade me to carry it with his note.”
Oscar took the sheet and passed David’s letter to Lennan.
“Send two mounted scouts,” he ordered. “One takes the direct road and the other checks the western approach.”
“Aye, me Laird,” Lennan responded, his voice firm.
“They are only to observe and return,” Oscar added. “Nobody must engage.”
Lennan was moving toward the door before Oscar finished. “Aye, me Laird.”
Oscar exhaled. This may be something he could handle, but now wasn’t the time to leave anything to chance. It was time to have all his bases covered.
“If Gilmore’s men cross onto MacKane land, bring the nearby tenants inside and bar the gates,” he instructed, just as the door opened to reveal Ceana.
His lips parted, but no words came.
Ceana’s eyes immediately went to the man on the bench. “Fergus?”
Her gaze moved over his smoke-stained plaid and paused on the blood at his temple. Fergus set his cup aside and made another attempt to rise.
“Me Lady, ye neednae fear for me. It is only a cut.”
Ceana scarcely looked at the wound. Her fingers closed around the doorframe as she faced Oscar. “What has happened?”
Fergus looked at Oscar, who gave him a nod.
“Laird Gilmore has attacked Morrag.”
Oscar watched as the color drained from Ceana’s face. Her grip tightened until her knuckles turned white.
“Me parents?”
“They were alive when Fergus left. The castle still held.”
“Give me the letter.”
Lennan handed it to her.
Oscar could see the look of recognition land on her face before she unfolded the page. He then watched as her eyes moved quickly across the lines, then he turned to Lennan.
“Prepare a horse for Fergus once he has eaten and rested. I may need to send a message after the scouts return.”
Ceana folded the note and reached for the cloak hanging beside the door. “Have me mare saddled,” she instructed.
Oscar turned back to her. “Ceana…”
She pulled the cloak around her shoulders. “I am comin’ with ye.”
Oscar regarded her for a moment. His hand still remembered the shape of her through her dress. Soon, that same hand would hold a sword, and when that happened, the last thing he wanted was for her to be anywhere nearby.
“Nay,” he said. “Ye stay here.”
“Someone has attacked me family,” she huffed.
Beyond the guardroom, boots struck the flagstones as men hurried through the inner hall under Lennan’s orders.
Oscar put himself between her and the doorway. “That is exactly why ye must remain here.”
“Well, me faither’s letter asked ye to bring what strength ye can. I am a strength.”
“Bryce demanded Daphne,” Oscar reminded her, keeping his voice low as two men passed close enough to hear.
“Ye wear her face. He could seize ye before he comes near enough to see the difference. Once he learns which sister he holds, he gains a weapon against David and against me. Our marriage has given him cause to strike at ye.”
Her hand tightened on the edge of her cloak. A barred chamber in the inner keep would hold her until the fighting ended. Let her curse him from behind the door. At least she would be alive to do it.
“I am nae askin’ to stand in the battle line,” Ceana said.
“The north road is the route every stranger takes, and Bryce holds it. There is a track west of the river that reaches the lower postern. A man comin’ from the main road will miss the proper fork, and the ground turns soft beyond the birches. ”
Oscar knew Morrag’s position on a map, but a map could not show him the turn hidden behind a rise or the patch of earth that would swallow a horse’s leg.
“Me faither will have placed defenders above the north approach,” she continued. “Me maither will gather the wounded near the old brew house. I ken me faither’s men, and I ken which entrances Bryce may overlook. I can guide ye there. I can help once the ground is secured.”
“Ye can help by stayin’ alive.”
“I willnae sit safely inside MacKane Castle while me clan bleeds over a marriage supposed to protect it!”
Oscar braced one hand on the table. The edge pressed into his palm as he stepped into her path.
“Lady MacKane, ye will go to yer chamber. Now.”
Ceana looked past him. “Lennan, how quickly can me horse be saddled?”
Lennan met his gaze before answering her. “She kens the western ground better than any man we can take from here, me Laird.”
“The track was open when I escaped,” Fergus said from the bench. He tried to straighten and caught the side of the table when the movement made him sway. “I can mark where it begins. I couldnae guide riders over it at their pace today.”
“She may save us hours at the wrong approach,” Lennan added.
Oscar looked at Ceana. Confinement would delay her only until his men left the gates. She would find another horse and follow with whatever guard remained close enough to stop her.
Why do ye have to be so stubborn?
He was still debating what to do when the sound of small footsteps rose in the hall. Paisley stood beside Tommy at the threshold, with Mairi close behind them.
Tommy stared at the sword belt of the first man who hurried past. “Are the bad men comin’ to MacKane?” he asked.
“The attack is at Morrag,” Oscar explained. “Captain Brodie and enough armed men will remain here. Ye will stay inside the inner ward with Paisley and Mairi.”
Paisley looked at Ceana. “Are yer maither and faither in danger?”
“Morrag is under attack,” Ceana said. She went to them and bent until her face was level enough with theirs. “They were alive when Fergus left, and the castle was holdin’ up.”
Tommy caught the front of her dress. “Are ye comin’ back?”
Oscar released the table. His son had begun to expect Ceana at breakfast. If she did not return, he would have to answer that question again.
“I mean to come back,” Ceana assured. “Until I do, ye will heed Mairi and stay with Paisley.”
Tommy released her dress and turned to face Oscar. “Make the bad men leave her family alone.”
“I will defend Morrag,” Oscar promised.
Paisley drew an embroidered ribbon from her sleeve. She approached Ceana and tied it around the silver pin that would secure her cloak. “Send word when ye reach them.”
“I will,” Ceana said.
Mairi had already fastened her keys at her waist. “The lower chamber is bein’ cleared for any families brought inside. I have sent linen to the surgery.”
“The castle is in yer charge until I return,” Oscar instructed. “Keep the children in the inner ward and prepare for those who may need shelter. Captain Brodie commands the walls. Give him whatever the household can supply.”
Mairi nodded her head. “Aye, me Laird.”
Paisley took Tommy’s hand as Mairi led them away. Tommy looked back once before disappearing around the corner.
Oscar waited until their steps receded before facing Ceana. “Ye ride within me reach. Once steel is drawn, ye obey every field order I give. Ye stay away from the fightin’, and ye daenae leave the guard I place upon ye.”
“I agree.”
“And ye willnae take any risks.”
Ceana held his gaze. “I willnae seek danger. I cannae swear I will watch me family die to avoid it. Once the ground is secured, I will help me parents, the wounded, or anyone trapped inside the castle.”
Oscar’s mouth tightened. He would make the same choice if Paisley or Tommy were in danger.
“Ye take a guard whenever ye move.”
“Aye.”
Lennan witnessed the terms with a grave face.
“Have her mare saddled,” Oscar ordered.
The courtyard was crowded by the time they crossed it. The men buckled sword belts, while grooms led saddled horses out of the stables. Oscar chose a sure-footed bay mare that answered to the reins and brought Ceana to her.
Ceana ran one hand down the mare’s foreleg, then checked the bridle and girth. Oscar tested the girth after her and found it secure. She watched him without comment.
He shortened one stirrup by a hole and measured it against her leg. His hand closed around her ankle only long enough to judge the length. Something about the action made him remember the way he had fisted the folds of her dress and the way she had pressed into his hand earlier.
Eventually, he released her and reached for the short knife Lennan offered him. “Can ye draw this quickly and use it?”
“Me faither taught both his daughters enough to escape a man’s hold.”
He fastened the sheathed blade to her hip.
Ceana swept her cloak over it, found the hilt, and drew it several inches without catching the fabric.
Oscar shifted the sheath up. His knuckles brushed the curve of her waist, and he paused for a brief second.
Ceana looked down at his fingers, then raised her eyes to his.
He secured the buckle and reached for her cloak; Paisley’s ribbon was wrapped around the pin at her shoulder. As he fastened it, his knuckles brushed the bare skin above her collar. He could feel her pulse flutter beneath his forefinger.
Ceana remained still anyway.
“At me side until I order otherwise,” he murmured.
“Then keep pace, husband.”
Lennan approached, carrying Bryce’s folded demand. Oscar examined the wax before breaking it. The seal was Bryce’s, and the demand beneath it bore his name alone. Angus had left no mark on the page.
He refolded the sheet and tucked it inside his coat.
“The scouts have gone,” Lennan announced. “The men are ready.”
Oscar took Ceana by the waist and lifted her into the saddle. His hand lingered on her until she found her balance. He then mounted his own horse and placed her beside him within the center of the first formation. Two trusted guards closed in behind her, while Lennan took the other side.
He could see Mairi and the children watching from the inner steps, Paisley holding Tommy’s hand. He gave them a quick nod.
The gates opened, and they turned onto the road to Morrag. Ceana brought her mare level with his and held his gaze.
But too soon, Oscar looked away and dropped his hand. “Ride!”