Highland Menage: A Perfect Wife Part 12

"Oof!"

Malcolm fell to the ground, fighting to breathe. He didn't recognize the man who'd grinned before putting his head into his laird's gut, and then grabbed the ball and ran away with it.

"Taking a wee bit of time to breathe again, my lord?"

A hand appeared. Malcolm peered up, then grunted. Ramsay had got him a few times already. Of course he'd knocked his keeper on his a.r.s.e in return. He took the hand and was pulled to his feet. He rubbed his sore gut, absently noticing blood on the back of his hand. It looked like it was from someone else. Perhaps from a split lip?

"Is not this game over yet?"

"'Tisn't quite dark yet, laird." Ramsay pointed at the full moon rising across the sky from the descending sun. "When-"

The deep moan of a supernatural creature echoed around the bailey. Malcolm whipped his head around. He could see nothing other than players and observers, all stunned into immobility.

"Jesu! What is that?"

Ramsay grabbed his s.h.i.+rt and yanked him toward the castle. "'Tis Fergus's Trumpet of Doom. He's seen sommat." They raced to stand below the window where Fergus waved his arms.

"Laird," Fergus yelled out the window into the silence. "Two men in a boat took yer lady wife and the wee laddie. He sent three whistles afore they went 'round the headland, and now I canna see 'em!"

Kiera was gone? He clutched at his heart, unable to breathe. Ramsay pounded him on the back. He lurched forward, inhaling deep.

"Close the gates and doors!" roared Ramsay. "All of ye make four lines. Keep families together, babes and grannies and all. None are to go in or out of the bailey. None!"

All scrambled to obey, yelling, screaming, and rus.h.i.+ng about to find children and organize families in lines as ordered. Malcolm stared up at Fergus in frustration. The man's mouth moved but he could hear nothing. He needed to know more! He beckoned for Fergus to come down. The man blanched and backed into the room, shaking his head.

"He willna come down," said Duff, running up. "He's not been out of that room since Kinrowan was built."

Duff had been quietly furious when Malcolm ordered him not to play because of his mask. The game was so rough someone would have ripped it off, revealing their secret. Malcolm had never felt Duff quivering with so much rage before. He'd offered to switch places halfway through and pretend to be Duff, but his brother had stiffly refused, citing his duty.

There was no trace of rage now, only fear of Kiera being harmed, or worse.

"Camden's with Kiera," said Duff. "He's the one who stabbed MacKenzie in the a.r.s.e with his wooden waster. He has a good head on his shoulders."

"Aye, and if Camden's in a boat with Lady Kiera then 'tis dire indeed," said Ramsay. "The old soldier who cared for him told tales of the sea, of monsters and krakens and the like. He may not have kenned how it terrified the wee laddie." Ramsay looked over the bailey, but Malcolm thought he saw something different in his mind. "If wee Camden got in with yer lady it was because he couldna stop her. The lad has courage. As does Lady Kiera."

"She wouldn't get in, especially this time of night, without a good reason," said Malcolm. He took another look up at the window, but Fergus had disappeared.

"Laird, the two of ye would help the rest if ye get in line. 'Twill settle them, like."

Malcolm jerked his head in agreement at Ramsay's suggestion. There was a roaring in his ears, so loud he couldn't think. He told himself his inability to breathe was due to the headb.u.t.t to his gut and not terror. He strode toward the lines, Duff at his side. Kiera and the laddie were in danger, but he had to be strong for their clan. They had to believe all would come home safe.

Nothing else mattered but Kiera's safety, and that of her wee guardian. Not a castle, no matter how grand, and not his life.

He waited with the others, heading one column with Duff at another. Mistress Hetty stood at the front of a third and Father Patrick at the fourth. It was likely no more than five minutes before they were all lined up. Each second grated on Malcolm's patience.

The guard sent to the bailey gate called out. He pointed at the door. A square of white, head height, showed clearly against the dark wood. Duff growled and took a step. Malcolm grabbed him by the back of his s.h.i.+rt to stop him from leaving the line.

"I wish to see what it says as well, but we have to set an example of calm and trust," he said to Duff. "The keeper is in charge of Kinrowan's security. We are new here and must trust him. And aye," he added, "it burns me to wait and not do sommat when Kiera's in danger."

"It looks like parchment, a note stabbed there with a dirk," said Duff in a low growl.

A Ross had come this close? Malcolm's fear turned to fury. He fought both. There was no way to tell one person from another when all were dressed in their finery.

The guard brought the note to Ramsay, who was standing near the armory door. Ramsay read the note. He met Malcolm's eyes and gave a brisk nod.

"'Tis a note about Kiera," said Malcolm. Duff grunted, showing he'd heard.

The door to the small stair's entrance to the bailey opened a crack. Ramsay opened his mouth to blast whoever dared to come out, and then beckoned with his fingers. A guard opened the door. An old man shaking so hard he could barely walk, shuffled out.

"Jesu! That's Fergus!" said Duff.

"Laird!" Ramsay beckoned.

Malcolm and Duff ran to Fergus, who shook like he had palsy. His face was so white he looked as if he'd been drowned for a week. He stared into the bailey as if it were the very gates of h.e.l.l. To a man who'd lived in one room most of his life, it must have been.

"Fergus! Ye came down!"

"I had to, Laird Malcolm," he croaked. "They took yer lady!"

"Ye are a far braver man than me," said Duff. They each took an arm and helped Fergus back inside. He was shaking too hard to walk. Once the door shut out the crowd Malcolm picked Fergus up in his arms. He weighed what Kiera did.

G.o.d, he would carry her again like this. He would!

"I watched yer lady all day in the village, as much as I could see." Fergus spoke in a trembling whisper. "She were walking slow, tired like, but she went down the beach with the laddie. When she got near the headland she hiked up her skirts and ran. She caught the laddie by surprise as it took him a moment to follow. She were near the end when she went down."

"Down?" demanded Duff from below.

"She must've twisted her ankle as she couldna walk. She got up on her own. I'd seen a wee boat with a man and a woman rowing near the sh.o.r.e, following her, like. The woman never moved. The man turned the boat and came in. They talked. Methinks they offered the lady a ride as she couldna walk."

"d.a.m.n! They must have been waiting for a chance, and this was perfect!" said Duff.

"Aye. When he rowed out and didna turn to the beach Camden stood up in that wee boat and waved his arms at me, yelling, and then he whistled three times. Ye ken Camden's an orphan. He comes up and we have a chat. He's a good lad, and kens that I watch."

Malcolm topped the stairs and strode through his office to Fergus's laird.

"He is a brave laddie," said Duff.

"Not as brave as Fergus for coming down those stairs and stepping out into the bailey," said Malcolm. He set the man down on his pallet, sitting beside him. He put his arm around Fergus's shoulders to keep him from falling over. "Duff, methinks this brave man needs a wee tot of whiskey."

Duff touched a finger to his brow and strode out. Malcolm kept quiet, letting the man calm himself and speak in his own time.

"Laird, I tell ye, I couldna breathe when I put a foot out of this chamber. For years I told meself I could leave if I wished. I just didna wish it." He shook his head. "Every step I thought I'd die, but I had to tell ye of yer lady."

Malcolm squeezed his shoulder. "But ye did it, Fergus. Ye went to your laird though it near killed ye. That's as brave as a man who takes up a sword and saves my lady at the peril of his life."

Malcolm decided that Fergus would be the first man he knighted. Respect, and whiskey, was all he could give the man. He noticed a chessboard in the corner, almost hidden.

"Do ye play chess, Fergus?"

"I used to, but none will play with me now. I'm thinkin' on teaching wee Camden. 'Twill pa.s.s the time for both of us."

He was getting some color back. "Aye, and why will none play with ye?"

"I beat them." His chuckle was rusty, but there. "Laird MacKenzie gave me a few games whilst he was here. He beat me once," he said with obvious pride.

"I ken someone who'll give ye a wee battle on the board. Someone who has beat our liege lord often."

Fergus ignored the gla.s.s of whiskey Duff held out. "Who is he?"

"'Tis a la.s.s."

"A la.s.s? Play chess?"

"My Lady Kiera not only plays, Fergus," said Duff. "She wins, too d.a.m.n often. Now drink yer whiskey so ye can tell us all what ye saw today."

"We have blankets, an oiled canvas to keep off the wet, bread, cheese, ale, and a wee lantern," said Kiera brightly. She hoped it would cheer up Camden as the boy blamed himself for their predicament.

As they hadn't searched her she'd used her blade to cut strips from her s.h.i.+ft to wrap her ankle as well as to cut into the food. Or, rather, Camden had cut. She'd been in too much pain after climbing from the boat up to the cave. She'd used her knees as much as possible but had to put her foot down a few times. She was lucky she hadn't slipped and landed in the sea.

But she hadn't slipped, and she would survive this nightmare. And then she'd really work hard to be the perfect wife, even if it meant staying inside Kinrowan until spring!

Kiera squeezed Camden's thin shoulder. "In a few weeks this will be naught but an adventure. You'll boast of how the mighty Camden protected his lady."

"I didna protect ye, my lady," he said morosely. "We are still in this cave, and none ken it."

"Ye waved at someone."

"Aye, Fergus." He sighed, slumping against her. "He canna look out at the beach and into the bailey at the same time. He'd wish to watch the football game with the laird." He choked, almost a cry. "I dinna wish ye te die, my lady."

She pulled him into her arms. He fought the tears while she said nothing. He was just a lad, alone in the world. When she'd asked him if his mother had made his s.h.i.+rt he'd bluntly said he was an orphan, but he'd been raised right by a soldier.

She kissed the top of his head, loving the feeling of his embrace. She would wait for the right time to tell him, but he was no longer an orphan. Her babe would have an older foster brother.

"They dinna wish me dead, Camden. If I die Kinrowan goes to another. 'Tis Laird Malcolm they want. I be but the bait." She sighed. "My dear husbands said naught to warn me. I shall box their ears!"

He sniffed back more tears and sat up. She released him, though kept him close.

"Can ye keep a secret?"

"I've kept one or two in my life," she replied.

"Yer husbands kenned ye'd been inside Kinrowan since ye got here and would wish to see the people. They didna wish to scare ye, so they let ye enjoy yer day. I was to be yer guard. Chester was to help. I tried to keep him near with my wee pieces of venison, but he got tired."

So they knew and didn't tell her. She should be furious, but they were right. She would not have wanted a couple of guards following her everywhere. The women in the village would not have spoken to her with men looming around.

"I dinna wish Laird Malcolm to die, or them to force ye to marry another. Mayhaps Master Duff will save ye, so the laird can be safe?"

"Can you think of a good laird who would stay behind the walls of his castle and let someone else rescue his lady wife?" She felt him shake his head. "Nay. If we canna escape on our own my blockhead husband will put himself out to be harmed." She paused, thinking of the obvious.

"Could Master Duff's scars be covered, so he'd look like the laird?"

She was going to make sure Camden got decent schooling. If he could think like this at seven he would one day be a good leader. They just had to get out of this cave first.

"'Tis a good idea. I shall tell you a secret about those brothers. None ken this but Bessie and Ramsey the keeper. I am trusting you with my life and that of my babe, so I can trust you with this."

"Ye trust me?"

The waver was back. She b.u.mped shoulders with him.

"Of course I trust you! You are here with me, in this wee, dark, damp cave. Without you beside me I'd be screaming. I dinna like cold, dark, tight places."

"I dinna like hearing the sea smas.h.i.+ng agin' the rocks below us," said Camden.

As long as it stays below us when the tide rises, she thought. It was not something to tell the boy.

"You ken why Master Duff wears a leather mask?

"'Tis said he has scars so bad 'twould scare bairns."

"Aye, that is what is said. But 'tis a lie."

His whole body stiffened. "A lie?"

"Malcolm and Duff are identical twins. Duff has a scar on his chin from wrestling with his brothers, while Malcolm has one on his arm to show he was born first. Otherwise, most canna tell them apart. Duff wears the mask-"

"So he could pretend to be laird if he must. And if they kill him ye'd still be married."

The thought of losing either man hurt more than she'd thought possible.

"I canna choose between them, Camden. Malcolm is the laird and needed by Kinrowan. But Duff brings such joy when he makes me laugh-"

Kiera pressed her lips together. She would not cry. When this nightmare was over and all three of them plus the babe were together in their bed, was when she'd allow tears to fall. She needed to focus on something else.

"You were a very brave lad to get in that wee boat," she said. "And even braver to scramble up from the boat to this cave. 'Twas almost dark, just the moon on the water, yet ye led the way for me." She kissed his head. "You will make a fine man one day, Camden MacKenzie."

"I'm no MacKenzie, Lady Kiera. I were an Urquhart, but now I'm just an orphan. But one day I'll be a soldier!"

"Aye, one day you'll be a grand soldier. But you're an orphan no more."

"Nay?"

She gathered him in her arms and set him on her lap. He didn't resist. She hugged him, smiling in the dark.