Plead Forgiveness (Loyalty Series) (59 page)

Giving the pretense of stumbling, Roger grabbed and
threw a handful of sand at his opponent. Ella’s heart all but stopped seeing
her husband disoriented, wiping his eyes to clear his vision. Without thought,
she leaped to her feet and would have rushed to his defense had it not been for
Edric grabbing her by the waist and halting her efforts.

Hearing Ella’s cries only fueled the fire raging
inside Gavin. Yet, with blurred vision, he was forced to act in defense.
Hearing the hiss of a sword cutting through the air, he bounded backwards, and
then felt a slight gust of wind as Roger’s blade narrowly missed his face.
Although his back was to the ocean, Gavin could hear the waves surge onto the
beach a few paces away.

Montgomery took advantage of Laird Macleod’s blinding
state by striking blow after blow and then with the flick of his wrist, sent
his opponent’s sword flying through the air, landing with a splash in the
water.

It was a risky move, but Gavin allowed himself to be
disarmed, which gave him the needed time to wash the residue from his eyes.
With his vision clear, he quickly saw that Montgomery had opened himself up,
showing his confidence and belief that the battle was already won.

Gavin ducked under the diagonal slash Roger delivered
and had intended as a deathblow. Grabbing the dagger from his boot and throwing
axe from his belt, he lunged forward, keeping close to Montgomery so the man
could not fully wield his sword.

Roger backed away in defense, parrying as best he
could the mighty laird’s continuous swings of the dagger and axe. Sweat rolled
down his face, and he began gasping for breath. His feet felt heavy in the
sand, and he knew one wrong move would result in his death.

Images of Ella and Paen swam through Gavin’s mind as
he attacked Montgomery. Knowing the pain this man had inflicted on his wife and
brother, he became mindless to all but his wrath.

Roger suddenly leaped backwards, and with the distance
he’d put between them was able thrust forward his sword. Time slowed as he
watched Macleod’s axe deflect his blade, and then to his horror a dagger slice
through his forearm. His eyes widened at the sight of his sword and decapitated
right hand fall to the sandy beach. Blood and pain were immense as he dropped
to his knees.

Trying to staunch the bleeding with his other hand,
Montgomery looked up at Gavin, and spat, “You may kill me, but your death will
follow shortly thereafter. I have over fifty men on that ship, and they will
kill you as well as that bastard brother of yours. Paen always was a coward-”

His tirade was cut short by the Highland laird, who
grabbed his hair, and then moved to the side, giving him a clear view of the
ocean.

Gavin roared, “Are ye speaking of that ship and that
brother?”

As blood seeped from Montgomery’s severed hand, he saw
Paen and other Macleod warriors on his ship. Half of his men were thrown
overboard, the other half were tied to the mast. Just before Gavin plunged his
dagger into his heart, Roger took in the sight of soul wrenching defeat.

Turning away from Montgomery’s lifeless body, Gavin
searched for his wife. She was surrounded by his men and kneeling beside Arth
with blood and tears running down her beautiful face. Dropping his weapons, he
went to her.

Ella stood on shaky legs, then limped towards him,
unaware if he had discovered her secret yet. The truth would be known to him
soon enough, and then he would decide her fate.

He read the fear in her glistening eyes as he watched
her hobble over to him. Her pain was so vivid, and it was not just physical.
Dear
God, does she nae know how much I love her, how much I need her.

The terror Gavin endured these past hours faded the moment
he embraced her. With his eyes closed, he laid his cheek atop her head, and
inhaled her familiar scent.
She is where she belongs, safe and in my arms.

“Isabel,” he whispered.

“You know. . . I’m Isabel Mackenzie,” she cried as she
pulled away.

He brushed the hair from her face then stated, “Ye are
Isabel Macleod, my wife.”

Like at waterfall, tears fell from her eyes as he
continued, “Ye were a victim of Greystone’s revenge against yer father, and ye
were nae responsible for yer mother’s death.”

She bowed and shook her head, but Gavin lifted her
chin, and added, “Trust me when I say that ye were nae to blame. And that I
love ye, will always love ye, little one. How could ye ever-”

“You still love me?”

His features suddenly turned serious. “My love for ye
is beyond measure and without equal. I refuse to live without my wife. Ye are
mine, as I am yours, now and always.”

Ella wrapped her arms around him, and cried, “I love
you . . . love you so much.” Weeping like a babe, she turned her face into his
neck, completely unaware how her life was about to change.

Gavin called out to his men. “Tell Alex Mackenzie that
his daughter is safe and will arrive shortly.”

“Nae! He . . I . . .” Panic laced her voice.

“He loves ye,” Gavin affirmed, then cupped her innocent
face. “He loves ye, and has been deceived for eight years believing ye were
dead. He dinna write that missive.”

“You know about . . .”

“Aye, my love, I ken everything,” he paused, assessed
her fragile emotional state, and then decided to reveal the miraculous
discovery he’d recently learned. “Ella, yer Aunt Eleanor and Uncle James are
alive.”

Gavin knew this would send her over the edge, which
she proved a moment later.

“Alive . . .” Her sobs of joy outweighed her
tremendous fear, at least for the present.

He held her close while she absorbed the revelation,
yet was all too aware of how impatient Alex was to be reunited with his
daughter. Lifting her into the cradle of his arms, he carried her away from the
battle scene with his joyous men following in his wake.

When the Macleods were mounted, Gavin said to Ella,
“Tis yer father’s right to explain all to ye, his beloved daughter.”

“I’m . . .I’m terrified.”

“I will be with ye, holding yer hand the entire time,”
he stated, giving her an affectionate squeeze. “I swear to nae leave yer side.”

Although she nodded, sheer black fright swept through
her and shivers went down her spine at the thought of seeing her papa again.

Alex Mackenzie paced the length of the large tent set
up outside the front of his castle. When he was told that his daughter was safe
and being brought to him, he immediately gave the word to take back the
Mackenzie fortress. The order came with explicit instruction to keep Baron
Greystone alive. Once he saw his daughter, held her in his arms, he would
finish off the bastard who had kept her captive in hell for eight years.

He was not a patient man by nature, and the wait was
killing him. Continuing to pace, Alex thought about all he would say to his
precious youngest child.

Suddenly, at the sound of approaching horses outside
the tent, his breath hitched. So nervous was he that his hands began to shake
uncontrollably. He gripped the back of the chair beside him and waited for the
moment he had dreamed about since learning she was alive.

Ella followed Gavin inside the tent, tightening her
hold on his hand until her knuckles were white. When her eyes adjusted to the
dim light of the enormous tent, she saw the battle hardened warrior who was her
father. Eight years had passed, but he looked the same. At two score and five,
he looked at least ten years younger. Although, his blond hair and the stubble
on his face was now sprinkled with gray, he still had the piercing blue eyes
and strong, proud chin. She then saw the same longing in his expression that
reflected her own.

She let go of Gavin’s hand, then slowly walked over to
her father. When she saw his eyes sparkle with unshed tears, her powerful need
to be forgiven replaced her fear. And with a fragile whisper, she broke the
silence.

“Papa, please . . . please forgive me.”

Alex Mackenzie’s heart broke at hearing her first
words to him in so many years. When he saw his daughter about to fall to her
knees, he rushed over and enfolded her in his arms. He held his baby close,
silently thanking God for bringing her back into his life.

“Isabel . . . Bella, my precious angel. I love ye. I
have ne’er stopped loving ye.” He closed his eyes, savoring the gift the good
Lord had granted him this day.

He pulled her back to cup her dirty, elfin face in his
large hands and said, “Ye are a dream come true, my angel. Ye dinna ken how
beautiful ye look to me. I have missed ye so much. The pain of losing ye . . .”
He pulled her back into his arms, unable to continue, and cried for the second
time in his adult life. The first was when he learned of his wife and
daughter’s deaths. Now he cried at being given a second chance.

“Ye dinna kill yer mother,” he whispered into her
hair. “I saw her afore she was buried. Trust me, she dinna die from an arrow
wound.”

“I love ye, Papa.”

The sweetest words to Alex’s ears were spoken as he
gently rocked her as if she were still a bairn. He explained how and why they
were all deceived by Greystone, but did not loosen his hold until he saw the
man standing beside Gavin at the tent entrance.

Alex pulled her back, looked at the face that was so
much like Emma’s. “There is another who has great need to see ye”. With that
said, he turned her to face her brother.

Ella’s eyes widen when she saw Guy standing at the
opening of the tent. He starred at her for a moment before he spoke in a faint
whisper.

“Bella . . . my wee Bella.”

Guy looked at the little sister who had followed him
everywhere during her childhood. From the moment she had been born, he had felt
an impenetrable bond between them. Most would have assumed her to be closest to
Hamon, since they were closer in age. But for some reason it had been she and
Guy who shared an unbreakable connection. Mayhap because their personalities
were so alike or that they had spent so much time together. She had been
fearless when he taught her to swim and do tricks on horseback. In truth, it
was the trust she had in him to keep her safe that made her intrepid. And when
he had been told she had been killed, a part of his heart died with her, knowing
that he would forever mourn the loss of his baby sister.

Within a heartbeat, she was in his arms. He picked her
up so her feet hung in the air, they way he used to when she was a little girl.
She was slightly taller than he remembered, but was still small and delicate.
Long moments passed as he held her, for fear if he let her go she would
disappear.

With more emotion than he had ever displayed, Guy
said, “I have missed ye so much, Bella. And I have always, will always love ye,
my
wee Bella.”

Her heart could not contain the rush of emotion at
hearing that her brother still loved her. “I love you, I love you so incredibly
much. Not a day went by that I did not think of you, or the memories we shared.
I thought you would hate me.”

Slowly, he lowered her to the ground, cupped her face
as the impact of what she had suffered hit him. She though he loathed her.

“Nae, sweet Bella. Ne’er are ye to think . . .”
Emotion took hold as he choked out, “We love ye so much and-”

Guy’s words were halted when he heard the sound of
horses just outside the tent. He smiled when he recognized Keir’s bellow of
outrage, then leaned down and whispered in his sister’s ear, “I believe there
is someone here to see ye, lass.”

When Ella heard her name being called by her eldest
brother, she raced out of the tent.

With the unwanted help of the men standing nearby,
Keir dismounted and stumbled towards his father’s tent. When he looked up and
saw her up close for the first time in so many years, he was so stunned he fell
to his knees.

She was so beautiful, looked so much like her mother.
When she dropped to her knees in front of him and threw her slender arms around
his neck, all the pain in his body was forgotten. As she cried into his chest,
he remembered a similar scene from childhood.

Paen and Hamon had just left to be fostered by other
clans when his wee sister raced towards him, blinded by tears that made her
choke and hiccup. He held her close then, as he was now.

More memories assailed him as his sister continued to
sob in his arms. Teaching her how to defend herself, wrestling with her and
their brothers in the great hall. And her laughter! Dear God, her laughter
could make the hardest warrior smile.

“Bella, are ye hurt?”

“Nae, but I have missed you so incredibly much. And I
love ye.”

Keir closed his eyes and said, “I love ye too, dear
sister. Do ye nae ken how precious ye are to me?”

He continued to speak, but not to her, “Thank ye,
Lord. Thank ye for giving her back to us. I canna ever repay . . .” His voice
broke and he cried his gratitude into her shoulder.

A short time later when she assisted her eldest
brother to stand and they began walking slowly to the tent, they were startled
by the thunderous sound of an approaching horse.