My Daring Highlander (2 page)

Annoyance twisted through Keegan. He
was tired of this cat and mouse game and eager for a good fight.
“I’m going after him.”

“Not without me,” Dirk
said.

“Nay, you stay here. The clan needs
you.”

“The clan needs you as well,” Dirk
grumbled.

“You are the chief,” Keegan argued,
matching his cousin’s fearsome glare.

“Do you think that matters? Haldane is
my problem and I’ll deal with him.”

“I’m ready to go after him and
McMurdo,” Rebbie said, eager battle-lust gleaming in his dark brown
eyes.

“We’ll all go,” Dirk said, motioning
to a half dozen of his men.

***

Lady Seona Murray watched with
sickened dread as Keegan, Dirk and several more men charged boldly
toward the hill where the outlaws lurked.

She’d stayed with the MacKays for
several months and almost considered them her clan now. They had
certainly shown her more care and consideration than her own clan
had.

“Dirk,” Lady Isobel called, but not
too loud. If her husband heard, he ignored her. “He is mad,” she
grumbled through clenched teeth as the men disappeared from sight,
the eerie mist enfolding them. “Haldane will kill him if he has
half a chance.”

“They are capable warriors,” Seona
said, knowing she was right, but at the same time realizing they
were not invincible. She said a silent prayer for their
safety.

“Aye,” Isobel said, her dark brows
furrowed.

The eight well-armed guards would not
let the women move from the cover of the huge rocks surrounding
them on three sides.

Seona was equally worried about
Keegan, but could not voice her concerns. Her Aunt Patience,
standing on Isobel’s other side, could never know that Seona held
Keegan MacKay in such high regard. All winter and spring he had
made a point to greet Seona at every opportunity with a charming
smile and a bow. Sometimes she would catch him watching her with an
intense focus from the other side of the great hall, but he had not
done anything more intimate than usher her to the high table and
pull out a chair for her almost every evening.

His pale blue eyes enchanted her, made
her feel vibrantly alive. They reflected great interest and
longing. She wanted to do naught but stare into his eyes for hours.
His thick, tawny mane looked as if it would be soft and silky; her
fingers itched to find out. Though he was a tall, broad-shouldered
warrior, his size did not intimidate her, for he had an easy smile.
The only part of him she had touched was his arm when he escorted
her. Each time she slipped her hand around his elbow, she savored
the hardness of his well-developed muscles.

A few times this spring, on rare and
precious sunny days, she and Isobel had watched the men training
with swords in the walled barmkin outside Castle Dunnakeil. She
could not tear her gaze away from Keegan then, especially when he
grew warm and threw off his doublet. His muscles were obvious
through the thin damp linen of his shirt, and his calf muscles
beneath the bottom edge of his plaid intriguing.

She only hoped he would be careful as
he and the men pursued the outlaws. With each minute that passed in
relative silence, Seona’s stomach ached more and more. The mist
before them, strangely lit from behind by morning sunlight, hurt
her eyes. She squinted against the brilliance.

“Why have they not returned?” Isobel
grumbled a quarter hour later.

Having no answer for her friend, Seona
shook her head. Indeed, what could be taking so long? Had they been
ambushed and killed silently? A chill passed over her.

“Will one of you go check on them?”
Isobel asked the bearded guard closest to her.

“Nay. The chief has commanded us to
stay and protect you ladies,” he said in a brusque tone.

A sound from within the white mist
caught Seona’s attention and then a movement, low to the
ground.

Seona shoved Isobel into her aunt,
toward the left side of the stony enclosure. Something struck the
sandstone, spraying rock particles over them.

“What on earth?” Aunt Patience
squawked.

The women ended up in a heap on the
ground. Seona’s knee pained her, but she hoped she hadn’t injured
the others.

Seona looked behind her. “An arrow,”
she said, pointing to the broken shaft and feathers on the ground
where it had bounced off the rocks exactly where Isobel had been
standing.

“Men advancing from the
rear!” a guard shouted. A
clunk
against wood sounded as an arrow drove into his
targe.

The other guards cursed and moved into
position to better shield the women.

“Saints, Seona, you saved my life,”
Isobel said in a stunned voice.

Seona knew not what to say; she’d
simply acted on instinct. Isobel had become like a sister to her
over the past few months, and obviously she’d help her in any way
she could. Just as she wished to return home and help her own
sister.

Seona’s attention was riveted to the
four enemies on foot, wielding swords, storming from the bright
mist in front of them, the opposite direction from where Keegan and
Dirk had charged earlier.

Chapter Two

Who were the men materializing out of
the blinding mist? As of yet, Seona could not see them well enough
to distinguish their features.

Four MacKay guards leapt from their
horses, drew swords and lashed out at the attackers. Blades clashed
and clanged. From her crouched position, Seona caught a glimpse of
one of the outlaws—Haldane, with long red hair and a scruffy beard.
His face possessed a gaunt, hungry look, and his green eyes glinted
wildly.

Seona envied Isobel’s dagger for she
had naught to defend herself with besides the tiny knife she used
while eating. She prayed the older, more experienced guards could
easily defeat the young outlaws.

Shouts echoed from the opposite
direction, startling her. More enemies? Or the MacKays returning?
Behind the tall rocks and horses, Seona was unable to see who was
approaching. She and Isobel stood. Abruptly, Haldane and his three
cronies fled into the mist. Keegan, Dirk, Rebbie and several more
men chased after them on foot, swords drawn, battle-cries
echoing.

“Dirk!” Isobel shouted. “They could be
hiding in the mist!”

None of the men listened; not that
Seona expected them to. She knew how men were—although they might
show caution at times, warriors such as these would display no fear
or hesitance. They’d charge right in to the midst of trouble with
their blades.

Near silence reigned for several
minutes.

Seona held her breath, waiting to see
what would happen next. Praying Keegan and the men helping him
would not be ambushed in such poor visibility.

Moments later, broad-shouldered,
indistinct silhouettes appeared in the bright mist and strode
toward them. Was one of them Keegan?

Aye.

When Keegan emerged, walking with
Dirk, Rebbie and some of the other guards, she released a calming
breath.

“Thank the saints,” Isobel
whispered.

Seona felt the same gratitude, but
could not voice it for her aunt waited beside her, scared
stiff.

Sheathing their swords,
Dirk and Keegan strode closer and the guards moved aside. Keegan’s
intense blue gaze was on her but she tried not to stare at
him.
Saints!
Anytime he was near, she almost overheated.

Isobel launched herself at Dirk, who
caught her and pulled her close for an affectionate embrace and a
kiss on the cheek.

Seona admired their closeness, but
Aunt Patience let out a gasp, her lightly-wrinkled ivory skin
reddening and her dark blue eyes narrowing in disapproval at the
public display. Seona wanted to ask her what was wrong with a
husband and wife showing love and concern for each other? Certainly
Seona’s father had never shown any care for her mother. In fact,
she remembered him showing utter disdain for her many
times.

Isobel drew back. “Seona saved my
life.”

“What?” Dirk frowned. “What
happened?”

“A stray arrow was flying straight
toward me, and Seona pushed me to the ground.”

Dirk’s fierce gaze lit on her. “I
thank you, Lady Seona.”

She tried to curtsy but her legs were
too shaky to perform the motion adequately. “’Tis naught more than
I’d do for mine own sister.”

Dirk hugged Isobel close again and
whispered something in her ear. But Seona’s gaze darted to Keegan,
standing next to his cousin, and the compelling expression on his
face—a proud grin. His blue eyes seemed even brighter than usual as
he observed her.

He took her hand in his large one,
lifted it, and kissed the back. “You are very heroic, Lady Seona. I
thank you for your good deed.”

A thrilling heat suffused
her and she dropped her gaze.
Heavens!
He’d never kissed her hand
before, nor should he whilst her aunt was present. She would
disapprove. ’Twas not her aunt she feared, but what her aunt might
tell her father.

Still, Seona savored the warmth of
Keegan’s skin against her own and the tingles showering her
body.

“No thanks necessary,” Seona mumbled,
refusing to look at Keegan or her aunt. They could be glaring
daggers at each other for all she knew. But at least Patience was
silent this time.

After a long moment, Keegan released
her hand, but her skin still burned where his firm warm lips and
the scratchy stubble on his chin and upper lip had brushed over it.
Seona realized Dirk was talking and forced herself to focus on his
words.

“When we went that way…” Dirk nodded
to the right. “We saw neither hide nor hair of them. They were
decoys to lure us away so that Haldane and the others could attack
from this side. We couldn’t find them when we went that way either
and didn’t want to risk pursuing them up the mountain in the thick
mist.”

“There must not be very many of them.”
Keegan turned aside and crossed his arms over his chest. “Else
Haldane would’ve had more men with him on this side.”

“Aye,” Dirk said. “Last winter he had
around a dozen. No way of knowing whether he’s added to his band of
outlaws or whether some have died or found more profitable thieving
grounds.”

“I’m thinking McMurdo has trained them
to be as elusive as he’s always been,” Keegan said.

“Just what we need. A dozen more
McMurdos.” Dirk shook his head, then glanced at the sky. “After the
mist lifts, we’ll travel south until we reach a village or until
dark, whichever comes first. ’Tis unfortunate there are no castles
between here and Ullapool.”

They waited for over an hour and,
finally, the mist rose further up the mountains.

As they rode south, Seona and the
ladies were heavily protected, with a guard on either side, when
the trail was wide enough. She wished Keegan would guard her
personally, but she knew that wasn’t possible. He rode further
forward, his head turning right and then left as he scanned the
hills and mountains for an impending attack.

***

Although summer days were long, their
party was still several miles away from the nearest village when
gloaming descended over the Highlands. Seona glanced west. The sun
was but a glowing smudge of pink and violet when they stopped
beside a stream in a wee glen. ’Twas a beautiful spot with bare
mountains all around, some green and some gray granite.

A few of the clansmen built a fire
while several others guarded on the outskirts. Soon the scents of
roasted rabbit and quail teased her nose and made her stomach
growl. Despite her hunger, her full attention had been captured by
Keegan on the opposite side of camp where he removed the saddle
from his horse.

When Seona noticed Isobel and Dirk
approaching her, she curtsied.

“I cannot thank you enough, Lady
Seona, for saving the life of my dear wife. Is there anything I can
offer you in repayment?” Dirk asked.

Seona swallowed hard for she was
momentarily speechless. “’Tis not necessary. Isobel is like a
sister to me. I value our friendship greatly.”

“Och. Well, I can understand
friendship, for I highly prize my own friends,” Dirk said. “Still,
if there is ever anything you need, and if ’tis within my power to
grant it, I will do so. Just let me know.”

Seona nodded. “I thank you, my
laird.”

Dirk bowed, kissed Isobel’s hand and
moved away from them to talk to the guards.

“You are like the sister I never had.”
Isobel drew Seona into a tight embrace.

Seona hugged her, then stepped back.
“I feel the same. One can never have too many sisters.” She
grinned, wishing she and Isobel could live near each other, but
once Seona went home she might never see Isobel again. Her throat
tightened.

“I know what you want, but ’tis not in
my power or Dirk’s to give it to you,” Isobel said.