The Knight's Temptress (Lairds of the Loch) (45 page)

Andrew shrugged. “I thought Pharlain might be going to Craggan or even to Dumbarton to help James Mòr seize control of the firth. But since ye’re here, and since Magnus, Rob MacAulay, and these others are likewise here—no tae mention this fool, Dougal MacPharlain—I’m thinking now that that canna be how it is at all. Sithee, one of my lads shouted that a sizeable force of men was riding toward Loch Lomond, so I hied me this way in time to see them heading up Glen Fruin.”

Dougal was still watching the sea of men, and just then he stiffened. Looking for the reason, Lina saw Mag wending his way toward them through the crowd. He stood head and shoulders above the others.

He strode up to them, smiling. Ignoring Dougal, he said to Ian, “You found them both safe, then.”

“Aye, for the nonce,” Ian said evenly. “As you see, I also found Dougal.”

Greeting Lady Aubrey, Mag said, “I trust that our Lizzie is safe, too, madam.”

“Aye, sir,” her ladyship said. “She and Muriella stayed at Tùr Meiloach.”

Andrew looked at his lady and then at Lina, as if something had occurred to him. He said to Ian, “Did ye find Dougal all alone then wi’ my lady and our Lina?”

“As well as two other men of his, sir, who lie dead where we fought.”

“MacFarlan men, belike?”

“I should think so, aye. But they served Pharlain.”

“Nonetheless, they’ll be men of my clan. I’ll have my lads see that they get proper burial.”

Lina caught Mag’s gaze. “They lie in that small clearing Lizzie likes to visit, sir. She took Mam and me there, and somehow, Dougal must have learned of it.”

“Ye can tell us all about that later, lass,” Andrew said. “Ian, Rob MacAulay, and Mag will escort the prisoners we took back to Dumbarton with them.”

“We’ll take Dougal, too,” Ian said. “Unless
you
mean to hang him, sir.”

Andrew looked Dougal over as if he were examining a sorry specimen. Then he said dourly, “I’d like fine to hang him for taking our Lina captive and making his vile threats against her, let alone for what mischief he’s conjured up today, as I can see he has. However, I ken just as fine that Jamie would no thank me for stirring more trouble with Pharlain just when his grace is trying to settle this country down. If we were on me own land, I’d say different. In times past, where I stood didna matter, but Jamie’s changed the times, and I have nae legal jurisdiction here.”

“I do,” Mag said grimly.

Chapter 19
 

A
ndrew looked from Dougal to Mag with a twinkle in his eyes. “ ’Tis true,” he said to Mag. “As son of the Laird of Galbraith, ye do wield power here.”

Lina held her breath—and her tongue—looking from one man to another.

Dougal said, “Galbraith won’t want trouble any more than ye do, Andrew.”

“That be true, too,” Andrew said, nodding. “Ye ken fine that Arthur wouldna like it, Magnus. Still and all, mayhap ye could just make the man disappear.”

Ian said firmly, “With respect, sir, I’d liefer have both Mag and Rob see our prisoners safely to Dumbarton.”

Andrew sighed. “I thought ye might,” he said. “But Jamie won’t want to hang this villain either, not whilst he’s trying to persuade the Highland chiefs to meet with him, and whilst Pharlain can block Arrochar’s pass to the Highlands.”

“Then what do you suggest we do with him,” Ian asked.

“I’ll have some of me own lads deal with him,” Andrew said, signing to two men hovering nearby. “Get him out of me sight and see him well on his way, with my compliments,” he said to them, emphasizing the last three words.
“We’ll keep his weapons, his plaid, and his boots here, so when ye turn him loose in nobbut his tunic, he’ll be harmless to others. Then, if the Fates
allow
him to get home, mayhap his father will return the boon someday when he catches one of our lot.”

Ian nodded but said, “Then I’ll leave Mag and Rob to see to our prisoners, sir. They’ll have enough men to get them to Dumbarton without trouble. His grace will have his own men there by now, as well as those of the Douglas, Buccleuch, and Sir Alex Buchanan. The castle, harbor, and burgh should all be secure.”

“Art sure, lad?” When Ian nodded, he added, “Then your da and Galbraith must have settled their minds about that venture since last I saw ye.”

“They both played their parts, aye,” Ian said with a smile.

Andrew’s eyebrows shot upward. “Did they now? Ye did fine then, and I’m proud to have ye for me good-son. Sithee, I’d suspected that the armed force I followed up the glen might belong to James Mòr. But he wasna with them.”

“I saw him,” Lina said then, avoiding Ian’s eye. “When I was on the glen path earlier, I heard riders behind me and hid. They were in such haste that they did not see me. Nor did they see Mam hurrying up the other side of Fruin Wat—”

She broke off, eyeing her father warily, knowing that she had said too much.

Andrew looked at his lady. “I’m a wee bit curious about that stroll, m’self.”

Lina held her breath, but Lady Aubrey met Andrew’s stern look easily.

He shifted his gaze to Lina. “I didna ken ye’d ever seen James Mòr, lass.”

“I had not seen
him
before,” she admitted. Deciding to get it all over at once, she looked at Mag and added, “But it must have been James Mòr and some of his closest followers, sir, because your brother Patrick rode with them.”

Ian said, “Then those boats of Pharlain’s that you saw this morning heading south, sir, were most likely headed for a meeting place on our south shore.”

“On Colquhoun land?”

“Aye, or MacAulay’s.”

Andrew’s eyes glinted but with humor or anger even Lina could not tell.

Ian said, “Will you be returning at once to Tùr Meiloach, sir?”

“We will,” Andrew said, shifting his gaze back to meet Lady Aubrey’s.

Ian said, “Then, with Mag’s agreement and that of the lady Margaret, I mean to stay here tonight with my lady. We have matters to discuss.”

Mag said, “You are welcome to stay, Ian. You don’t need Aunt Margaret’s permission. If she thinks you do, just leave her to Lina to bring round.”

“Lina is going to be busy explaining a few things to her husband,” Ian said, giving her a stern look.

Emotion surged through her then, a mixture of delight that he would stay, wonder at how he expected her to get home if her parents both left, and a touch of trepidation. She could sense his anger again. But even that filled her with delight one moment and made her wonder the next if she was mad to welcome it.

Ian wanted to get his hands on Lina, on all of her. His cock stirred at just the thought of touching her and teaching her more of what it meant to be married.

But first, he had a duty to see his prisoners on their way to Dumbarton in Mag’s charge and Rob’s.

“I suppose you remember that I, too, have a bonnie wife, my lad,” Mag said dryly. “Forbye, she is with child and awaits me at Tùr Meiloach.”

“I do know that, but Dree will wait. I would remind you that I am but newly wed. Even so, I will grant you a choice. How many prisoners did you take?”

“Fifteen, mayhap two or three more. Andrew’s men slew several, coming round from Glen Finlas and trapping them between our two forces, as he did.”

Ian nodded. “If you start at once, you should reach Dumbarton before dark. Even if you don’t start immediately, it will take you only three or four hours, and there will be a moon tonight. It will take Andrew longer to reach his tower from here. But, since he takes his lady with him, he won’t mind the journey.”

“What is my other choice?” Mag asked.

“Camp here in the yard with them overnight and leave in the morning. You have Rob and his men to aid you. I’ll lend you mine, as well, to keep watch.”

“And thus hand my head to my aunt for washing,” Mag said with a chuckle. “I thank you for letting me make the choice, but I’m in as much of a hurry to return to my lady as you are to be with yours. I’ll get this lot moving as soon as we eat.”

“The hunters planned to roast venison,” Ian reminded him.

“I know they do. But since I do
not
mean to inflict our
prisoners on them, I’ll raid the larder here. I ken fine that we’ll find ale and bread enough for all. I expect we’ll have enough cheese and dried meat to dole out, as well. If I see Jamie or Colquhoun, when should I tell them to expect you?”

“Sometime tomorrow,” Ian said. “I don’t mean to linger here.”

“What about Lina?”

Ian glanced toward his beautiful wife, still standing with her parents.

“That is
my
choice to make,” he said with a wry smile. “It will depend on the explanation she offers for her actions today.”

Mag’s eyes twinkled. “Whatever you do, don’t treat any explanation lightly. I had a similar experience with Andrena, and I cannot say that I behaved wisely.”

“Aye, well, we’ll see,” Ian said. “I can’t have Lina taking her own road as she has been doing of late. Only see where it led her this time and the last.”

“In troth, I’m gey thankful that she was with Lizzie,” Mag said, sobering.

“And I’m glad that Lina was not alone. Even so…”

“Their capture
was
Lizzie’s fault, you know.”

“I do. But Lina should never have agreed to ride down the glen with her.”

“Do as you will then, my lad, but if you would be wiser than I was, tread with great care.”

Ian noted then that the twinkle had returned to the big man’s eyes.

Lina listened to her father with half an ear while keeping track of Ian and Mag in her peripheral vision. Andrew
chatted casually, inquiring about their journey to Bannachra and Lady Margaret’s well-being. But Lina knew he wanted an explanation of her mother’s meeting with Dougal, and one for her own presence there, as much as Ian did. And Andrew’s temper was even more volatile than Ian’s was.

Nevertheless, Lady Aubrey’s tone remained calmly conversational.

Although Andrew fairly radiated determination, neither he nor his lady seemed distressed or angry, so Lina’s own earlier torrent of emotions began to settle into a semblance of her usual calm… until peripheral movement diverted her.

Ian had parted with Mag and was striding toward her through the crowd.

Tentacles of tension slid around and through her, stirred by a mixture of emotions. Her body reacted strongly, sensually, to the look of purpose on his face. Too-delightful images and feelings from their wedding night and afterward filled her mind and body until she could scarcely think of anything else.

As he strode nearer, the expression on his face was enough to make the men between them stand aside to make way for him. She recalled then his saying that her decision to follow her mother was more reckless than anything he had ever done.

Her calm shattered. Her tension grew. She could not claim that following her own mother ought to have been safe, not without lying to him. Nor could she honestly claim ignorance of any danger in what she had done. The danger threatening her mother had been the very thing that had forced her to act, and she had already declared as much to him.

She tried to think of something to say, anything that might disarm his temper. But her imagination failed her.

Striding up to them, Ian nodded to Andrew, then to Lady Aubrey, saying crisply, “I would ask you both to excuse us now. Lina will stay here with me tonight, and I must return to Dumbarton tomorrow.”