Page 26 of Bride Takes a Charmer (Highland Vows & Vengeance #3)

Shaw knelt next to them and set an arm around his wife’s shoulder.

She visibly shook and tears streamed down her cheeks.

The moment tensed his heart at witnessing the anguish Sorsha must have felt in missing her daughter.

Now she couldn’t speak and swayed with Gillian in her hold.

Gillian’s little arms wrapped around her mother’s neck and tears shimmered in her beautiful brown eyes.

He pressed a hand over Sorsha’s back. “I shall give you a moment to be together.”

He rose and moved to the hall’s entrance, where he stopped and looked back at the scene before him.

He wasn’t an overly sentimental man, but the sight of a mother holding her wee lass nearly buckled his knees with emotions.

As he traversed the hallway, he was now gladdened that he’d retrieved the lass. Gillian belonged to her mother and him.

Back outside, he ambled toward the gate and noticed none of the MacPhersons remained. He whistled for Walen who stood afar speaking with his brother near the training field. His comrade trotted to him but said not a word when he moved to stand next to him.

“I am going to meet with MacPherson and thought ye might want to come.”

“Damned right I would. So would Trey and Henny. There’s a group of our soldiers who insisted they come along too because we trust not the MacPhersons.”

Shaw nodded and motioned to Trey. His overzealous soldiers barreled off the training field and boisterously whooped as they marched on the lane.

He found it almost comical and he didn’t want to be the one to break the news that there probably wasn’t going to be a scuffle.

If the MacPhersons wanted to fight, they would have already used their swords by the gate.

The thumping of his soldiers’ footsteps rumbled behind him as he made his way into the woods.

About half a league away, the MacPhersons had made camp and various fires lit the woods.

Dusk had come and gone by the time he found them.

Shaw wanted to hurry and get the meeting done so he could return to Sorsha.

Alan MacPherson signaled to his men to stay back when Shaw approached.

They stood before the encampment with hostility in their gazes, their swords drawn, and with a show of intimidation in their stances.

Shaw realized he needed to send the MacPhersons on their way at the soonest before blood was shed.

“Alan, come, walk with me, and ye can tell me why ye have come all this way.”

Alan gave a quick look at his men and shook his head before he stepped forward. “There is to be no arms betwixt ye and the Mackintosh soldiers,” he said to his men and then hurried to catch up to Shaw. “So ye did not get my missive?”

Shaw decided to be honest with the man. “I received it, och, I misplaced it before I could read what you’d written. Why have ye come? We are neither rivals nor allies…”

“Nay, we are not but that can change… Nevertheless, I have come to tell ye that the Chattans have been up to no good. I know ye are related and aligned, och ye may want to be made aware that—”

He couldn’t allow the man to continue. “Ye are allied with the Chattans, so explain to me why ye have come to tell me about your rift with them?”

“We are no longer allies. There have been rumors and with Rodick now dead, I trust not Geoff.” Alan seemed to hesitate about telling him what the problem was.

“For Christ’s sake, Alan, spit it out. I do not have all day.” Shaw’s impatience caused him to fist his hands and scoff at the man.

Alan narrowed his eyes, apparently assessing his words carefully before speaking them aloud. Finally, he shrugged, as if satisfied with how he decided to explain. “As ye know the Dunbars’ land was ransacked by the Cummings recently.”

“Aye, my sister wrote to me and told me so. What has the Cummings to do with the Dunbars?” Shaw ceased walking when he reached a small clearing beyond the hearing of the soldiers who stood in wait for them.

“The Cummings detest the Dunbars but that is not what concerns me. Ye see, the Cummings had no reason to attack the Dunbars—unless they were bidden to do so by the Chattans.”

Shaw drew a resigned breath. The fact that the Chattans might have been behind the Dunbar Clan attack did not sit well. Geoff was supposedly allied with the Dunbars. Why would he have the Cummings attack his ally? It made no sense. “And ye now worry that your clan will be next? Is that it?”

Alan nodded his head vehemently. “What is to stop them from taking over the area completely? I am not aligned with many clans but am reconsidering an alliance with the Camerons. I thought it best ye knew.”

“Why the Camerons?” Shaw had his own reasons for wanting to forgo his alliance with the Chattans but he wanted to know what troubled Alan.

“The Camerons have made it known they will go against the Chattans if they try to overtake their land. We must band together if we need to confront Geoff. He is far more brazen than his brother ever was. Have ye heard whether he wants to invade us?”

Shaw understood Alan’s concern and that of the Camerons.

The Chattans were ruthless when it came to land and territory.

“I spoke recently with Geoff and he made no mention of an alliance with the Cummings clan. Besides, his comrade, Idris Dunbar’s home was recently sacked by the Cummings.

If this is true then I believe Geoff would’ve been ireful with the Cummings for attacking one of his allies. ”

Alan groaned. “’Tis something to consider… Perhaps the Cummings are not aligned with the Chattans as is rumored. Still, the Camerons have vocally proclaimed they will not suffer any slight by your family and I would do well to think of that when and if the time comes to pick a side.”

Shaw suspected that might be a situation that warranted thought but for now, no decision had to be made.

“I will let ye know if I hear any news about Geoff’s plans or of his involvement in using the Cummings to overtake the Dunbars.

We shall see if he retaliates against the Cummings for their ill-fated deeds against the Dunbars. ”

“Aye, we will indeed. I shall leave ye then. Send word when ye have any news.”

Shaw stopped Alan from walking away by grabbing his arm.

For as aged as Alan was, his arm was solid and firm.

“I bid ye to remember that just because my mother was related to the Chattans does not mean that I am in league with them. I may or may not take a side when the time comes, och that does not mean that I am against anyone. I seek to maintain peace if such a thing is possible.”

Alan chortled. “Peace, bah, there will never be peace here in the Highlands as long as the Chattans make idle threats and use other clans against their own allies. Why, ’tis sacrilege.”

Shaw marched away and whistled for his men. They walked with haste back to their gates and dispersed, some walking to the barracks, some to the fields, and some toward the kitchen. He continued onward, letting the night air allay him. After such a trying, difficult day, he needed a bit of solace.

The gentle breeze dislodged the locks of his hair from its tie but he made no move to right it.

Oncoming night sent a dismal mien about the land, bringing with it shadows and the expanse of the star-speckled sky.

When he’d calmed enough, he would find Sorsha and relate to her how he’d come to have her daughter on his return. It would take a bit of explaining.

Down the lane near a rocky hillside, a small chapel was made in the hollowed-out earth.

A stoned archway led to the quiet place where he’d often reflected on important matters or when he needed the guiding hand of God.

But he was surprised to see Sorsha leaving the chapel.

She stopped when she noticed him approaching and stood outside the wooden doorway to await him.

“Shaw…”

“Sorsha, love… I am gladdened ye are here because I wanted to speak to ye privately.”

“Mamo gave me the key to the chapel and told me that I could use it whenever I wanted to pray. I hope you don’t mind that I—”

“Of course not, lass. The chapel is for all within the Mackintosh clan and is not usually kept locked. I am gladdened that ye find it as comforting as I do.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “Aye, not many make use of it because the chapel is rather small but I often find peace there. Now tell me, what think ye about your daughter’s homecoming?”

Her smile widened and she pressed him back against the door. “I have never been so surprised. How…When did you…How did you get Geoff to release Gillian?”

“It was not too difficult. I told him that we’d married and he spoke of our alliance. He had to know that if he wanted to keep our support, he would have to release Gillian.”

“I…do not know what to say and am eternally grateful.”

“It is my duty, Sorsha, to protect ye and our daughter.” He tilted her head back and set a gentle kiss on her lips. “Aye, the day I wed ye, Gillian became my daughter. I mean to see that she is protected.”

“I prayed for so many days that she would be safe until…”

“Ye will tell me now…and I will hear the truth, Sorsha, what happened at Castle Tor, to Rodick, and why Geoff kept your daughter from ye. If I am to protect not only your daughter but ye as well, I must know the truth.” He felt her sigh when her body shifted.

Shaw pressed her back so he could see her eyes and took hold of both her hands.

“There should always be honesty betwixt us.”

“You are right. Of course, I shall tell you.”

Shaw put his arm around her and pulled her against him. He hoped to comfort her, especially when she peered off and wouldn’t look at him.

Her voice came quietly, “On the day of the winter festival, I took Gillian for a day of merriment. On our return, I put her to bed and heard Rodick arguing with someone in his chamber. When I opened the door, I saw Geoff strike him with a dagger. Rodick fell and I tried to get to him to give him aid, but it was too late. He only lasted a moment before he succumbed. Geoff forced me to keep his secret by taking Gillian away. He told me that if I bespoke one word of what happened that night, I would never see my child again. Of course, I never spoke of it to anyone.”

“Not even the queen? I know that ye are good friends…”

“Nay, I told no one. I could not tell Margaret and only divulged that my husband had died. She added my name to the marriage list and I’d only found that out when I arrived.

Before I left Geoff proposed marriage as a way to keep his brother’s murder from becoming known.

If not for the king’s list, I would have had no choice but to become his wife. ”

Shaw’s eyes burned with anger. The man was a knave, not only because he used a child to gain Sorsha’s agreement to keep his vile secret but also because he was going to force her to wed him.

If he’d gained his wish, Geoff could have easily thwarted Sorsha by declaring coverture and she’d be unable to testify against him should the sheriff or other lawful entities charge him.

Now his entreaties to remind her of her vows to him and the warning not to listen to whatever Gillian told him made sense.

“Shaw, please… Say something.”

He held her close and leaned his head against hers.

“I make this vow here and now, Sorsha, that ye will never have to contend with that knave. Not only do ye have my protection, but every living, breathing Mackintosh soldier will guard ye and our daughter.” He didn’t tell her that he was sure Geoff wouldn’t give up such a lovely woman as Sorsha or her daughter so easily and he wondered what his cousin would do to win her back.

Would he overtake his clan and try to kill his followers?

The threat was there, real, and certain.

He needed to make sure his walls, clan, home, and family were secure and guarded against his blackhearted cousin.

Shaw would direct his guards to allow no one entrance and ensure that he kept his vow to Sorsha to keep her safe.