My Daring Highlander (39 page)

“What’s happening?” Rebbinglen asked
in a slurred voice, his dark eyes open a crack. “Did you hit me on
the head, Murray?”

“Nay, my laird. ’Twas not me. Likely
some outlaw did it.” Murray turned to the other two men. “I’m sorry
I wasted your time, gentlemen. I will handle things from
here.”

“Well, Chief, clearly the earl has
been attacked and robbed,” the constable said. “We need to find the
culprit.”

“Indeed. And I will. I’ll not be
keeping you. I’m certain you’d rather be at home breaking your
fast.” He ushered them out the door, then turned back to
Rebbinglen.

Lowering his black brows into a
menacing scowl, Rebbie squinted, glancing around the room. “Where
am I?”

“A room over the tavern.”

“Saints!” Scrunching his face into a
horrible expression, he sat up. “I’m going to kill whoever hit
me.”

Murray backed up a few more inches.
“Aye, and I’ll help you find him. But in the meantime… is it not
true that you slipped my daughter out here for a tryst.”

Rebbie rubbed his scalp,
glaring the entire time. “I assure you that I was
not
having a tryst with
your daughter,” he said through clenched teeth. “Clearly, someone
hit me over the head and brought me here.” He glanced down. “Where
the devil are the rest of my clothes?” His suspicious eyes turned
to Murray.

He held up his hands and remained by
the door. “You were like that when I entered the room, my laird. I
would never touch your clothing.”

“Of course, they took my weapons,
too.” Growling and holding his head, Rebbie stood. He staggered and
braced against the wall. His eyes searched the floor. “Find them,
Murray!”

“Aye.” Murray hastened to the other
side of the bed. “Naught over here.”

“Look underneath the bed.”

Murray wanted to knock the earl on the
other side of the head, but he couldn’t get away with it. And now
that the man was awake and alert, for the most part, and Seona was
not here, Murray couldn’t trap him into marrying his daughter. He
would throttle the daft men he’d assigned to do this
job.

Rebbie turned. “Are they under
there?”

Taking the candle, Murray knelt and
peered beneath the bed. “Naught but a thick layer of dust and a few
mouse droppings.”

“You ken who brought me here, do you
not?”

“Nay, m’laird.”

Rebbie grunted. “Regardless, I am not
marrying your daughter.”

Rage boiled inside Murray. Where was
his daughter? He knew she’d been here with that MacKay bastard.
When he found her, he was going to whip some sense into her. Both
his daughters were disobedient, daft whores. They were determined
to embarrass him and throw their lives away.

“Give me your sword,” Rebbie said in
no uncertain terms.

“What? Are you mad?” Murray’s sword
was worth a small fortune and no one used it but him.

“When you recover my sword from
whichever of your men stole it, you will get yours back. In the
meantime, I require a weapon.” Rebbie held out his hand.

“What are you going to do with
it?”

The earl sent him a sinister grin.
“I’m not going to kill you with it, if that’s what you’re
wondering.”

Damn! What could Murray do but give it
to him? The man outranked him, and his father was a powerful
man.

Reluctantly, Murray drew his sword
from the scabbard and gave it to the earl.

“Your dirk, too.” Rebbie motioned with
his other hand.

“You’re disarming me?” Murray
grumbled.

“Not intentionally. But I suspect the
place is crawling with backstabbers, and I must help my
friends.”

Glaring, Murray handed the foot-long
Highland dirk over and Rebbie slid the two blades into his own
scabbards.

“Laird Rebbinglen!” the shout sounded
from downstairs.

Who the devil was that? Murray moved
toward the door and opened it. “I’ve found him up here,” he
called.

Rebbie’s manservant, George, rushed
into the room. “Are you injured, m’laird?”

“Not overmuch. Someone tried to bash
in my skull, but I’ll live, as you can see. Help me find my shirt
and doublet. And my weapons. The whoreson who knocked me on the
head likely has them.” Rebbie headed toward the door, waving off
George’s offer to assist him down the stairs.

Murray followed them out.

One hand on the rail and one on his
head, Rebbie staggered down the steps, George on his
heels.

“Are those your clothes,
m’laird?”

“Where?”

George ran past him toward one of the
tavern tables. “Aye, I believe these are yours.”

After Rebbie dressed, they exited the
tavern. Outside, mayhem reigned. Several of the Murrays and MacKays
were engaged in sword fights. But his daughter was nowhere in
sight. Aye, Murray would beat Seona when he found her.

***

I’m already
married!
Seona almost yelled the words at
Haldane, but then realized if she revealed this information, Talia
would be in grave danger. The gold band Keegan had placed on her
finger was still there, but none of the outlaws had seen it yet.
The long sleeves of the black cloak she wore hid her
hands.

She had dropped Keegan’s belongings at
the spot where McMurdo had grabbed her. If she’d known this would
happen, she would’ve strapped the dirk to her side beneath the
cloak. Hopefully, if Keegan or any of his men found his things,
they’d know she’d been captured.

“Very well.” Seona stood and faced
Haldane. She’d agree to marry him, or anything, if they’d release
Talia.

He raised auburn brows, giving her a
skeptical look. “How do I ken you’re telling the truth?”

She wanted to box his ears, then kick
him in the groin. “Release my sister and allow me to see that she
is safe, and I will go with you.”

“Nay, Seona,” Talia said. “They are
madmen!”

“Put a gag in her mouth,” Haldane
ordered.

“She will be quiet.” Seona
sent her sister a meaningful look. “Shh.” She then turned to
Haldane. “Will you allow me to talk to my sister in private for a
minute?” she asked as sweetly as she could, although she wanted to
take her
sgian dubh
to him.

“Aye. But I’m keeping an eye on you.
Fan out,” he told his men as he backed away.

Seona helped her sister sit
and lean back against the large stone. At least she was heavily
clothed with what appeared to be three layers of wool
arisaids
.

“Have they hurt you?” Seona
asked.

Talia shook her head. “Naught but a
few bruises from when they tossed me over a saddle.”

“How on earth did they capture you?”
Seona whispered.

“I ran away… or tried to, but they
grabbed me just outside the gate.” Tears dripped from her sister’s
eyes. “They thought I was you for a while, until that one looked at
me closer.” She glanced at Haldane.

“I’m so sorry you were dragged into
this because of me.” Seona dried her sister’s tears with her cloak
sleeve. “Don’t cry. Once they untie you, go to the village and
hide. When you find Keegan or one of his friends, tell them where I
am.”

Her dark eyes grew fierce. “I’m not
leaving you alone with these barbarians.”

It touched Seona’s heart that her
sister wanted to protect her. She blinked back the burning moisture
that threatened to flood her eyes. “Haldane will not hurt me. He
thinks he’s in love with me.”

Talia glared over Seona’s shoulder.
“Come closer,” she whispered.

Seona leaned forward.

“He will force you.”

An icy frisson passed through Seona.
She knew that was a possibility, but she had to get Talia away from
them. None of the brutes cared a thing about Talia. They might kill
her if she became a burden or merely annoyed them.

“I believe I can talk him out of it,”
Seona whispered, not wanting her sister to worry. “I think he
wishes to make me happy.”

“I want to be released, but I refuse
to go back to the castle,” Talia said. “Father is going to make me
marry the Comyn next week. He’s worse than these
outlaws.”

Seona nodded, knowing ’twas most
likely true. “When you’re released, hide and slip to the back of
the tavern.”

“Why?”

“Keegan, Laird Rebbinglen, and their
friends should be nearby. But so is Father. You will have to hide
from him and his men. Keegan will help you. If we could’ve found
you last night, we would’ve run away, and already be far from
here.”

Talia’s eyes widened. “In truth?
Keegan is stealing you away?”

“Aye, and he agreed to take you, too.
But we have to escape these outlaws and Father’s men.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll hide behind the
tavern and wait for you. If I can find Keegan or his friends, I’ll
tell them who has taken you.”

Seona had pointed out Keegan to Talia
from her window when she was locked in, days ago. They had watched
him, Fraser, and Rebbie crossing the barmkin. Seona had described a
few of the other men to her and the clothing they wore.

“How will you escape these madmen?”
Talia asked.

“I’ll figure out something.” Seona
wished she could give Talia her knife, but closely as Haldane and
the men were watching, they’d notice. Besides, she might need it to
escape them. Hopefully, Talia would be safe if she hid behind the
tavern. Even if her father’s men found her, they would not harm
her. The only dangers to Talia at the moment were Haldane and his
men.

Seona stood and turned to Haldane. He
moved closer to her. “I’ll go with you if you’ll untie Talia and
leave her here alone, so that she can return to the safety of the
village.”

He grimaced and shook his head. “I
cannot do that, Lady Seona.”

Fury tore through her, but she tried
to hide it. “Why not?”

“She’ll tell your father’s men,
Keegan’s men, and the whole lot of them will be after
us.”

“Nay, she won’t. You will keep this a
secret, will you not, Talia?”

“Aye. Of course.”

Haldane tilted his head, giving Seona
an amused look. “Come now, m’lady. Do not take me for a fool. Here
is what I’ll do—I’ll leave her right where she is, tied up.
Eventually, someone will find her. But we’ll be long gone by
then.”

“I thought you wanted me to go with
you willingly,” Seona challenged.

“You will,” Haldane said calmly, but
with more of his natural menace creeping out. “Or we can also take
your sister with us and leave her deep in the wood.”

Nay!
Nausea surged through Seona’s vitals. She shook her head. “I
agree ’tis better to leave her here.”

“And you will willingly go with me and
marry me, aye?”

She nodded, having no intention of
doing anything he said.

“We’re heading out,” Haldane called to
his men and motioned toward the forest.

Clasping her hands together
before her, Seona slipped one hand into her smock sleeve and pulled
the
sgian dubh
free of the sheath. When she lowered her arms, the long
sleeves of the cloak covered her hands and the small knife. Moving
her hands behind her back, she dropped the weapon close to Talia.
Once they left, her sister would be able to cut herself loose, run
to the village and report Seona’s abduction to Keegan or one of his
friends.

She glanced around at Talia to see if
she’d noticed the knife. Her sharp gaze told her she had, plus she
had shifted her bound feet to cover the weapon.

“Come,” Haldane told Seona, taking
hold of her upper arm and leading her forward.

“We’re not leaving her, surely,” one
of his men said, leering back at Talia.

“Aye, we’re leaving her. Go get the
horses,” Haldane commanded.

“Hmm, nice,” another of the scraggly
outlaws said as he strode by, eying Seona. “I want her after you,
MacKay.”

Haldane withdrew his dirk and spun. In
less than a second, he had the tip of the blade at the man’s
throat. “This woman is going to be my wife, you whoreson. No one is
touching her but me. Anyone who does will get his throat slit. Do
you ken what I’m saying?”

The man blanched, his eyes wild. “Aye,
m’laird.”

Laird?
Haldane wasn’t a laird. His older brother Dirk was, and
obviously Haldane still held onto the fantasy that he would one day
take Dirk’s place.

“Watch him,” Haldane said to McMurdo.
“Anyone so much as looks at Seona with lust in his eyes, kill the
whoreson.”

“Will do,” McMurdo answered and
followed the others.

Haldane gripped her upper arm again
and guided her deeper into the forest behind the other ruffians.
She glanced back, seeing that Talia was alone. She prayed no other
outlaws would find her before she cut the ropes and freed
herself.