Tempting the Highlander (31 page)

Icy laughter bubbled out of her chest. “You think you control your destiny? From the moment you arrived in these Highlands other people have decided your life. You came here with the
king’s
decree and yet quickly conceded defeat. But the sad truth is there was nothing to challenge. That’s right. The engagement was a ruse and as anticipated, you surrendered rather than confronted the two men who seized your fate. Now it is too late.”

Rowena jerked the horse’s reins and headed away from the river, fighting to maneuver through the trees as tears streamed down her face. She had broken her promise, and she had intentionally inflicted pain upon the man she loved. As a result, Rowena had just set into motion the one thing she had feared the most. For if Cyric had not planned to challenge Crevan and Craig McTiernay, he would now. Pride demanded it. Cyric was blessed with a calm, agreeable nature not common among his clansmen, but that did not mean Highland and Schellden blood did not run in his veins. They did and his dignity would require a response.

She had to do something. She had to warn Raelynd and Meriel about Cyric and she had no time to lose.

Rowena steered her horse west and urged it into a gallop. The stable master would be furious and no doubt would eventually seek out the laird and tell him that she had not come back. But by that time, it would be too late. For she intended to find the McTiernays and return with them.

Then, somehow, she was going to convince both brothers to fulfill their intentions as soon as possible. For if they didn’t, Rowena knew she would lose Cyric forever.

Chapter 19

A shout, almost like a sharp scream, echoed all around Raelynd. Sounds in the forest at night were deceptive. Whatever was chasing her could be far away or very close. She had to keep running. Pain shot through her legs but she knew she could not stop. If she did, she would lose everything. Wind started to howl violently, causing the tree branches to whip uncontrollably. One snapped against her collarbone just as another cry filled the air.

Raelynd jerked and her eyes snapped open. She could feel her chest heaving and knew that she’d had another nightmare. What about, she could never remember, but for the past four nights, she had woken scared and breathing heavily. Rarely was she plagued with unpleasant dreams, but they always coincided with when she felt powerless and out of control. And they would not relinquish their hold until Crevan returned with news. Only then would she find peaceful slumber.

Forcing her legs to uncurl, she stretched her calves and endured the pain as blood rushed back into the semideadened limbs. She tried to glance across the room when a severe twinge in her neck prevented her. Raelynd rubbed the angry nerve, promising herself that this was the last night she was going to sleep in the hearth chair.

Able to move with a little less pain, she tried once again to peek at Meriel. She was still asleep on her bed, the place she had slept since Raelynd had returned to explain all that Crevan had told her about Cyric.

That was three nights ago.

Since then Raelynd had felt numb. A month ago she had been naive, unaware of the pure joy of love or the agony of its loss. But even if she could, she would not return to that state of innocence. She only wished she could talk to her sister about everything, but Meriel refused to even discuss the situation. The morning after the brothers had left, she had woke up, pasted on a smile and dedicated her days to sewing in Craig’s room. She only left to eat and join Raelynd at night to supposedly visit. But she would only come in and sit on the bed, eventually falling asleep from exhaustion. It was the first time Raelynd had not been able to confide in her sister or her sister with her.

Outside she heard a faint shout and wished she had Meriel’s view of the courtyard. Raelynd felt her eyelids starting to slip back down when the thought that Crevan had returned sent a jolt of adrenaline through her. Springing out of her chair, she grabbed her bliaut, threw it over her chemise, and laced it as quickly as she could.

Meriel stirred just as Raelynd grabbed her slippers and was putting them on. She glanced at the dark arrow slits in the wall and confirmed it was still night. “Where are you going?”

Startled, Raelynd yelped and her hand flew to her chest. “Don’t
do
that!”

Meriel sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Why are you getting dressed?”

“I think Crevan and Craig are back.”

Meriel’s eyes flew open and she threw off the coverlet Raelynd had placed on her after she had fallen asleep, still dressed. “Wait for me,” Meriel mumbled, and leaned over the side of the bed to find her shoes where she had kicked them off. She was just slipping them on when there was a heavy knock at the door.

It was Crevan.

Raelynd could feel her heart pounding and suddenly she could not move. Meriel, however, did not have that problem and raced to the door to open it. Crevan entered and behind him was Craig. Without thought, Meriel threw her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you are back.”

He chuckled, but Meriel knew it held no true mirth. She let go and moved out of the way so that he could enter the room. She was about to close the door when she heard a familiar female voice.

“That’s no way to treat a friend who just spent a most uncomfortable long day on a horse just to see you.”

Craig’s expression held no sympathy. “You were warned.”

The shock of seeing Rowena yanked Raelynd out of her daze. “What are you doing here?”

Rowena walked over and gave her friend a warm hug. “I came to see you get married, of course.”

“Handfasted!” Craig and Meriel chirped simultaneously.

Rowena’s brown eyes moved rapidly between the two. “Raelynd, I thought you were to marry Craig.”

“She is,” Craig answered, moving to Raelynd’s side. “Meriel and I are only friends.”

Rowena did not argue, but she did nothing to hide her skepticism. Friends did not hug each other as Craig and Meriel did after an absence of just a few days. “So when is this handfasting to take place?”

Crevan’s jaw hardened for it was the only topic Rowena had focused on since she caught up with them. “Tomorrow afternoon.”

Rowena issued him an icy glare. “I thought we agreed that was too late.”

“That is because you weren’t listening,” Craig inserted, clearly frustrated.

Meriel was confused. “Why is tomorrow too late?”

“Because if you are not married by the time Cyric arrives, he is going to challenge Craig and kill him!” Rowena said.

Meriel started to shake her head vigorously. Rowena obviously had forgotten how good Craig was with a sword. Her father believed him the best commander he had ever had. Her hazel eyes bored holes into Craig’s blue ones. “Could he?”

Craig shrugged. “He’s good.”

The simple answer was the equivalent of an affirmation and the conversation picked up speed as Meriel issued a stream of questions Craig and Rowena answered, too often simultaneously and in contradiction.

As the noise level rose, the normally spacious bedchambers grew cramped. Raelynd caught Crevan’s eyes and then headed toward the door. She was not sure if the other three weren’t interested in coming or whether Crevan made it clear they were not invited, but when he joined her outside on the curtain wall adjacent to the tower, she was relieved to see he was alone.

A recognizable large dark figure popped out from Brenna’s murder hole and slinked off into the night. “I wish I had known that it only took a little noise to get rid of Conan,” Raelynd said softly, trying unsuccessfully to hide the sheer panic she felt inside.

Crevan said nothing and only opened his arms, offering what she needed most.

Collapsing against his chest, she began to weep. Crevan had not needed to say a word. His deadpan expression had said it all. “So it is true. My father thinks my cousin capable of being laird.”

“Aye,” he whispered against her hair. “But he would only support Cyric if he married either you or Meriel.”

“And did I understand correctly? Cyric knows the truth and he intends to stop the wedding?”

Crevan took a deep breath and exhaled. “Rowena told him and she believes that he will soon come here and challenge one of us as a result.”

Raelynd could not help her growing sense of unease. “Will he?”

“Pride is a powerful thing.”

Raelynd pulled back and for a long moment she just looked at Crevan. She did not need to repeat the question. “Then we must handfast immediately as Rowena suggested.”

Crevan gathered her hands in his. “It is too late. The last time we spotted him, he was no more than an hour behind us. Besides, it is one thing for Craig and I to pledge ourselves for
your
protection, it is quite another to race into marriage to save ourselves.”

He then escorted her along the wall to an opening that enabled them both to see the majority of the large inner courtyard, including the gatehouse entrance. There he held her and waited. Less than ten minutes passed before the doors were opened and two riders entered. One she recognized as her father, and she knew without being told the other tall dark blond-headed man was her cousin Cyric. And he was angry.

“I’m here and I know you are expecting me,” he growled. The deep voice was clear and unmistakably serious. “I know the truth and I demand Craig and Crevan McTiernay come out and face me.”

Raelynd felt Crevan’s eyes upon her and she looked up at him, knowing what she would find. Crevan would not hide and neither would his brother. “I’m coming with you,” she said.

Taking her hand, he went back to the tower and descended the staircase. By the time they reached the bottom, Craig, Meriel, and Rowena had joined them. They walked out into the courtyard and they were not alone. Cyric’s bellowing had awoken all who had been sleeping in the castle, including Conor and Laurel.

Raelynd was the first to speak. “Hello, Father.”

Rae caught the unhappy look from Conor. “I apologize for the hour of our arrival. It was . . . unavoidable.” Then his hazel eyes softened as they moved to his daughters. “I missed you both this month.”

“And we missed you,” Meriel assured him.

“Craig and Crevan came to visit me and told me of your plans. Then Cyric came to me expressing his . . . um, displeasure upon learning the circumstances of the arrangement. He desires to marry one of you and I support his claim.” Rae shifted his gaze to Crevan and then Craig. “I will not allow two men I admire and respect as much as I do you to postpone your own lives and marriages for unnecessary reasons. Cyric is capable of becoming the Schellden chieftain when I pass and it is my daughters’ responsibility, not yours, to marry and secure their clan’s future.”

Conor yawned loudly and stretched his massive arms and chest, seizing everyone’s attention. “Sounds good. Glad to hear it, Schellden. Craig, Crevan looks like you escaped.”

Laurel jabbed her husband in the ribs. “What?!” he exclaimed.

Ignoring his older brother, Craig took a step toward Raelynd and circled an arm around her own waist. “Schellden, I appreciate your candor, but I have no intention of withdrawing my offer of marriage.”

Cyric had remained silent during the conversation. His attention had been solely on Rowena, who only met his stare with one of her own. After years of hearing and helping to resolve numerous disputes, Cyric was well aware of the destructive nature of pride. It drove men to act in ways contrary to their personality or even their true desires. Cyric had no interest in becoming the next Schellden chieftain, but pride dictated that he do whatever necessary to achieve that right. If he did not, no one would respect him and that was the one thing he could not, would not lose.

“Then I challenge you. Here and now,” Cyric said without inflection.

“No!” Meriel shouted, and felt the resulting weight of all eyes upon her. Bolstering her courage, she moved so that she stood in front of Craig. “I am not worth it and I will not let you risk your life for me.”

“Well, I’m not going to let you marry him,” Craig huffed.

“No, it is I who is going to end this,” Raelynd asserted, looking directly at Cyric. “I am familiar with running Caireoch Castle and am the most knowledgeable to support you as second in charge to my father. I am offering to handfast with you tomorrow afternoon and in return my sister gets to retain her quarters in the castle, and you agree to end hostilities with the McTiernays. Handfasting will give you time to develop your role in the clan and secure your claim to be the next laird. But after a year and a day, we agree to end the union. You can then marry someone else and she will assume my role, leaving me free to live where I please and marry whom I want. Do you agree?”

Cyric studied Raelynd. If he agreed, she and he would be together for at least one year and a day. She was strong willed, outspoken, and quite beautiful. Rumors had not done her justice. Normally, such a rare combination in a woman would have caught his attention, but Rowena had ruined his desire for anyone else. But Raelynd was not seeking passion from him, she was offering a compromise. She restored his pride by enabling him to become the next laird, and at the same time she would gain her freedom. A year of their life was the price.

“I agree.”

Upon hearing those two words, Conor clapped his hands. “Good. Now can we get back to bed? Fallon,” he said, finding the burly steward, who looked more than a little annoyed at being woken up in the middle of the night. “Find Laird Schellden and his nephew a bed in the Warden’s Tower and get them better accommodations in the morning.”

Rae Schellden congratulated Cyric and then followed the steward into the nearby tower. Conor placed an arm around his wife’s shoulders and directed Laurel back to their bedchambers without any argument. With no fighting pending, the crowd lost its interest and began to disperse.

Crevan joined them, disappearing without a word. Raelynd knew that she did not need to explain her actions. He understood them. Their destinies were written by people they loved.

Raelynd offered the man she had just met and agreed to marry a quick nod. “Until tomorrow afternoon.”

He returned the gesture. “Until then.”

Raelynd turned and Meriel hastened to her sister’s side. Craig issued one final glare at the man who had disrupted so many lives over the past month before pivoting and escorting the two women back to their rooms.

Only Rowena and Cyric remained in the courtyard and the tension between them was almost palpable. A year and a day he would be married and to Rowena it could have been until death. For it didn’t change the fact that he chose being laird and Raelynd over her.

“Rowena,” Cyric said, his eyes pleading with her to understand.

And she did.

Cyric did love her. But he was still caught up in this image his father had of him. The man would not rest until he had his father’s respect. “Do you really intend to marry Raelynd?”

“I have no choice.”

Rowena bristled. “No, you do. And what you so desperately want cannot be gained by marrying Raelynd. Tomorrow afternoon will be the demise of your dreams and when they are gone, do not come back to me for support or understanding. I have no intention of being around.”

Then she was gone and Cyric found himself alone. He was not surprised. Pride had driven him there and by tomorrow afternoon, it would cost him the woman he loved.

Morning came early the next day, or at least it felt like it to almost everyone who was rudely awakened in the middle of the night. Only Father Lanaghly had been blissfully unaware of the commotion and able to get a good night’s sleep.

Conor barked an order and Laurel decided to let it pass. He was tired and the midmorning meal had arrived almost at noon. Plus she had forced him out of the Star Tower, giving her dayroom to Raelynd so her sister and Rowena could help her prepare. She had even encouraged young Brenna to join them, which mollified the young girl enormously after being forced to stay in her room last night when it had been clear that something very interesting was taking place in the courtyard. But mostly Conor hated his home being used as an emotional battleground, for it was the one type of fight he knew not how to win. Laurel, however, was looking forward to sundown.