Plead Forgiveness (Loyalty Series) (28 page)

“The stone keep sits four stories high, and has towers
on all side. The kitchens, storerooms and servants quarters are located on the
first floor. The great hall, buttery and pantry are on the second floor.”

“The top floors are sleeping chambers for the family
and blackguard,” Osgood added. “The towers that connect to the keep are
attached to two other buildings. One is used for the place of arms and
casement, the other building is used by the women that spin, weave, wash, mend
and make clothing.” The redheaded warrior stopped suddenly when a beautiful
child came running towards them.

Osgood picked up his daughter, and then said with
pride, “And here is the princess of the castle. Lady Ella, this is my daughter,
Thea.” Turning to his little girl, he said, “Thea, this is Lady Ella. She is
the one I told ye about last eve.”

Thea had long sable hair that was straight as an arrow
and doe-shaped blue, gray eyes. She was shy at first, but warmed quickly to
Ella.

“Your parents told me how beautiful you were, and I
see they spoke the truth. They also told me you have a gift with plants and
help Lady Esme in the gardens.”

“Aye, Milady,” she said in a youthful, enthusiastic
voice. “Leif has a gift too, with horses.”

“Do you like horses, Thea?”

“Aye, Milady.”

“Then before I leave, you should come meet my horse,
Apollo. He is very gentle and sweet-”

Osgood was quick to interrupt. “Are ye talking about
the same beast that tried to attack our laird and who continued to nudge me out
of the way when I tried to assist ye into the saddle?”

“Aye, but he was just protecting me. You overly large
Highlanders made him nervous.”

“He was nervous! Bah, that great beast could terrify
the hardest of warriors. But, I will admit he was verra gentle with ye, and by
the end of our journey he seemed far more tolerable of our company. He is one
of the finest horses I have ever seen, well trained too.”

“Papa, can I come to the stables to meet, Apollo?”

Osgood kissed his daughter’s forehead, and then said,
“Aye, my wee princess.”

Thea hugged her father, and then smiled at Ella.

“I must now go look in on Colban” Ella began, “but it
was very nice to meet you, Princess Thea.”

Thea beamed at being called princess, and then allowed
her father to lower her to the ground.

While escorting Ella from the keep, Osgood delighted
her with tales about his family and his hopes for his children. Upon reaching
the bailey the pair was detained by Edric, who asked Osgood to demonstrate a
fighting maneuver to one of the younger warriors.

Looking quite sheepish, the giant asked, “Do ye mind
if I help this whelp out for a wee moment?”

“Go right ahead,” Ella said as she took a seat on a
nearby wooden bench. “I would enjoy watching ye shame the younger and less
experienced warriors afore continuing on to Colban’s cottage.”

He grinned at her teasing comment, then joined Edric
and the other warriors a short distance away.

Observing Edric and Osgood as they taught the younger
warriors reminded Ella of a time long ago, when she would watch for hours her
father and brothers train. She always had such pride in her family, which had
not changed, but now it was mixed with immense guilt and grief.

Ella’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the
unmistakable sound of a whip snapping in the air, followed by a high-pitched
scream coming from an animal. Not wasting another moment, she jumped to her
feet and sprinted towards the sound. Her lungs were burning by the time the
stables came into view. She ran through the large archway that separated two
stables, and then came to an abrupt halt in the fenced enclosure.

As her eye took in the horrific sight, the whip
cracked again.

A horse with bloody flanks fought the ropes that
secured him to the fence, while a beast of a man wielded a whip and cursed
obscenities.

Mindless of the man’s enormous size and enraged by his
cruelty, Ella ran up behind him as he pulled the whip back to lash the
defenseless animal again, then lunged forward until she felt the leather in her
hands. She tightened her grip and yanked it hard from the malicious man’s
grasp.

He fell hard to the ground, but Ella wasted no time in
celebrating that small victory. She quickly folded and knotted the whip, then
threw it with all her might atop the roof of the two story stables. When she
saw that her efforts were successful, she turned to confront the man who was
now on his feet, and storming her way.

His lips thinned and his nostrils flared as he stalked
towards her, spitting out accusations and foul words. Ella was shocked that a
Macleod would speak in such a manner to a female, let alone a lady. Realization
came swiftly, noticing the breeches and worn tunic she had changed into before
leaving the castle. At the moment she couldn’t look less like a lady.

With each step he took, her rage increased until she
could no longer remain silent.

“You ignorant bastard! How dare you treat a horse with
such cruelty. You’ll rot in hell for this brutality-”

Unaffected by her words, he grabbed the front of her
tunic and lifted her off the ground, then slammed her into the stable wall.

Her eyes closed as searing pain ripped through her
back and air rushed from her lungs.

“Bitch! I’ll teach ye to-” His words died in his
throat when he felt her blade pressed against his throat. Momentarily stunned
that she would pull a dagger on him, he did not hear the approaching footsteps.
However, he did feel his hair viciously pulled from behind, forcing him to drop
her, then large hands turning him around.

Beyond fury, Osgood tightened his grip on the man’s
neck with thoughts of snapping it like a twig. He hauled Lyall off the ground
until his feet dangled the way Ella’s had, then slammed him into the stable
wall.

Ella had crumbled to the ground the moment she was
released, then jerked at hearing the unexpected crash. When she opened her
watery eyes, she saw Osgood’s massive hands holding her attacker by his throat.
The giant, who was always jovial and sweet natured, now looked as deadly as his
reputation claimed.

A familiar voice broke through her pain and fear.

“Are ye hurt? Did this bastard hurt ye,” Edric asked
as he helped her to stand.

Turning her head, Ella saw that Osgood was still
holding her attacker, whose face was turning bright red and his eyes were
rolling back in his head.

Osgood remained silent as he stared at the man who
dared to attack Ella, a small woman unable to defend herself against the brute
strength and size of a Highland warrior.

“You’re killing him,” Ella said softly as she put her
hand on the giant’s shoulder.

Even with his jaw tightly clenched, Osgood managed to
say, “He hurt ye.”

“Osgood, look at me.” When his eyes locked with hers,
she continued, “I’m well, just a little stunned. I’ve got grit, remember.”
Smiling, she reminded him of his own words, hoping humor would lessen his ire.

He looked intently at her and said, “Yer back. I saw
ye flinch in pain. Pain he caused ye.” He roared the last part of his
statement.

“For a moment there was a wee bit a pain, but no
longer. Let him down so we may talk with him. I don’t think Gavin would
appreciate you killing this man. He is a Macleod, like you, like Laird Gavin.”

As her words sank in, Osgood lowered the worthless
scrap of a man, then said, “His name is Lyall, and he is the one responsible
for Colban’s broken leg.”

Ella’s calm exterior vanished, replaced by rabid
hostility. Lyall, drunk with ale and hot with lust, attacked a defenseless maid
and almost crippled the mild mannered Colban. She lashed out.

“You wretched, poor excuse for a man,” she said,
kicking the man as he lay on the ground, still gasping for breath. “You are nae
worthy to wear the Macleod plaid. Only a true disgrace attempts to rape an
innocent, attacks one of his own in a drunken frenzy, and cruelly whips an
animal he is too ignorant to touch. I should have let Osgood kill you.”

Lyall narrowed his gaze on her as he struggled to sit
up and regain his breath. Wisps of blond hair fell around her beautiful face
when she insulted him in her haughty English accent. Even though he was only
recently released from the dungeon, he had heard the gossip about this woman,
who Laird Macleod planned to ransom. Now, because of her, he would be banished
from the clan.

With nothing to lose, he spat on the ground in front
of her and sneered, “Ye are naught but a worthless English bitch that whored
for her guardian.”

Ella lunged for the man, intending to killing him
herself, but was hauled back by Osgood. The herculean man then threw her over
his shoulder and carried her from the stable yard, while she fought and cursed
to be set free.

However, she did see Nicholas enter the enclosure as
Edric threw her attacker into the middle of the stable yard. Her last glimpse
was of Nicholas grabbing Lyall by the tunic, then with a tight fist, deliver
blow after blow to his face.

As she was carried back to the castle, she thrashed
around, insisting that she needed to care for the horse. Osgood was impressed
with her tenacity and finally said, “Ye are a wildcat to be sure. ‘Tis good to
see the fire and spirit back in yer eyes.”

Calming instantly, she asked, “What do you mean?”

He lowered her to the ground, then stared at his
laird’s future wife. “When we were attacked, I feared ye would lose some of yer
grit. Clearly, I was mistaken. Ye have more than any woman ought to, I’m
thinking. If I dinna stop ye, ye would have attacked a Highland warrior, whose
size and weight double yer own. Did ye honestly believe we wouldnae make the
bastard pay for hurting and insulting ye?”

“Nae, I knew you and Edric would beat the vile
creature black and blue,” she said meekly. “I just wanted to get in a few hits
of my own before you did.”

Osgood’s roar of laughter could be heard throughout
the bailey and keep. He wiped the tears that sprung from his eyes, and then
hoisted her over his shoulder again. “Och, lass, ye could add color to the grayest
of days.”

“Thank you, but why must you carry me around like a
sack of grain.”

“I dinna want to hurt yer back.”

“You could allow me to walk.”

“Mayhap I could, but I dinna plan to,” he said with a
broad smile. “I’m taking ye to my wife so she can have a look at ye and see the
damage Lyall caused.”

“You sound like Gavin.”

“Aye, ye are right. We both care about ye and ken ye
are as stubborn as a mule. We can return to the stables after my bonnie wife
tends yer back.”

Osgood laughed again when she mumbled that he was a
mammoth, ill-bred ogre, then said, “I hope my daughter grows up with yer
spirit, lass.”

He could not see the radiant smile that transformed
her face, but he did hear the surprise in her voice when she said, “Really?”

“Aye, a father would be proud to have a daughter like
ye.”

Nicholas and Edric had dragged Lyall back to the
dungeon, leaving the stable yard virtually empty when Ella and Osgood returned.
They immediately saw that Leif was desperately, but unsuccessfully, trying to
soothe the horse that had been whipped.

The chestnut brown stallion was still tied to the
fence and clearly distressed, Ella noticed. The magnificent animal was bred and
born in the wild, and would provide a challenge to train. She estimated that he
was just over a year old, but until she looked at his teeth, she could not be
certain. A chill went down her spine when she focused on the bloody lash marks
on his flanks.

Osgood tried to help his son calm the horse, which
only made the animal more frantic.

“Who does he belong to?” Not waiting for a response,
Ella cried out, “Dear God, tell me that Lyall does not own him”

“Nae, Milady,” Leif replied. “Paen bought him from the
Munro Clan afore he left for England. The horse is wild, and the Munros thought
they could break him, but failed miserably as ye can see. Paen was outraged
when he saw how cruelly the horse was treated, so he made them an offer they
couldnae refuse. ‘Twas his hope Colban would be able to work with the animal,
but that dinna seem likely now.”

“Paen canna bear to see any animal abused,” Osgood
explained further. “The horse will be set free if he canna be trained.”
Thoughtful for a moment, he then asked, “Lady Ella, have ye worked with horses
born in the wild?”

“Aye, a few. Apollo was born in the wild, and my aunt
bought him for the same reason Paen bought this horse. Does he have a name?”

“Aye, Milady,” Leif answered. “His name his Righ. It
is Celtic for ‘King’.”

“’Tis an appropriate name for him,” she said with a
smile. “Will Paen mind that I work with him? The lacerations on his flanks will
need to be tended.”

“Milady, I fear Righ will nae let ye near him,” Leif
said as he approached.