Page 16 of Bride Takes a Laird (Highland Vows & Vengeance #2)

I n the deep woods of the forest near the border of his land, Magnus slid from his horse and held his sword clenched in his hand. With so many trees rooted to the ground, there wasn’t enough space to ride through. He tensed with anticipation of battling the Chattans. His men likewise dismounted and waited for his command to attack. They allowed their horses to roam free and the men moved toward the open field nearby to draw their enemy.

The sky lightened as dawn shadowed the land, giving it an ethereal mien. Magnus and his followers reverted silently around the woods to where they’d heard the interlopers. It was eerily quiet. At the onset of a new day, birds were usually chirping and making their calls from atop the tree canopies. Yet, there were no noises from the feathered creatures. Nor were there sounds of scuffles from morning venturers of grouse, wild cats, squirrels, or deer.

His thudding heart overtook his ability to hone in on his surroundings. Magnus took a breath and released a long drawn-out sigh. He kept his eyes trained on the spot where he expected the Chattans would ride through. He listened for the sounds of the trespassers and heard the thud of hoof falls on the forest floor. Then came snorts from horses and muffled voices from men who were unaware that Magnus and his followers lay in wait. He twitched his fingers at his men to indicate their foes were a length before them. Two of his soldiers sprinted ahead and the clang of their swords pierced the air.

At that moment, Magnus shouted and ran forth. He spotted a Chattan follower and clashed his sword with his foe’s. After a brief tarry, he was able to cut the man down. The Chattans were akin to ants retreating from their mound in the ground. One after another came traipsing through the woods between the trees.

Outnumbered, Magnus wondered if he should call a retreat. Yet the advantage was still on his side since the men he’d brought were the fiercest amongst his soldiers and the Chattans hadn’t been expecting their attack. The clangs continued to ring, shouts reverberated through the trees. When he struck a third man, he heard a Chattan shouting and calling for retreat. The forest quieted a moment later and although Magnus’s breath rasped from his exertion, he rose and lowered his sword. Footsteps approached from behind him and he gripped his sword and ready to strike at whomever lurked there. But when he turned, he saw Hayden approaching.

“Are ye unharmed, Laird?” Hayden asked.

“Aye. Round up our men. We need to make sure none suffered injuries and put distance between us and the Chattans. Go.” After Magnus instructed his soldier, he walked toward the treeline where their horses congregated on the field, eating the green shoots of grass. His breath calmed and he was pleased with their efforts to keep the Chattans off their land. The Chattan soldiers would return to their laird and tell him what happened that day. But would that deter the Chattans from seeking retribution? Probably not.

“Laird,” Hayden called, “Oswald and Jake are injured. Two others didn’t make it. Their injuries were fatal. We should probably get Oswald and Jake to a healer.”

Magnus marched to the group of men who stood nearby. Jake and Oswald sat on the ground. Two others tended to them and wrapped Oswald’s leg and Jake’s shoulder. Once their injuries were cared for, at least for now, they retreated from the woods and gained their horses’ backs. His followers retrieved the bodies of their fallen brethren and tied them to their mounts. They’d receive the highest praise at their burials when they reached home.

As much as he appreciated battling with the Chattans, he disliked the fact that two of his men had died and two others were most grievously wounded. His brother was carried on Hayden’s horse because he couldn’t ride alone.

“Laird,” Hayden called, “Jake hast lost a lot of blood. He’s barely hanging on.”

“We’ll stop near the border of our land and MacKendrick’s. There’s a healer there, Lillith, who aids anyone in need. It’s much closer and we’ll get the men seen to sooner.” Magnus took up the rear of the procession. He was concerned for his brother and when he chanced to look at him, his brother appeared to be pitched forward, slouched over and unconscious.

Hayden kept hold of Jake’s tartan-clad body and peered at him. “We need to make haste. Jake is not doing well and might succumb before we get to Lillith’s.”

It didn’t take long to reach the stone wall surrounding the healer’s cottage. Magnus bade his men to await him by the wall as he approached on foot. He knocked at the door and it was opened slightly.

“What do ye want?” a woman’s voice came.

“Lillith, it’s me, Magnus. We need your aid.” He hoped she’d be amiable to help them. She was renowned for her healing methods and she never refused to help anyone regardless of which clan they belonged to.

“I wouldst gladly aid ye but I have a man convalescing within. He is of the clan MacKendrick if that matters to ye.”

Magnus shook his head. “We are not aligned with the MacKendricks but we are not warring with them. I give ye my oath that we will not make trouble for ye or your charge. We only seek your aid for our wounded men. ”

“Very well, bring them inside.” She turned, opening the door more widely before she disappeared from the entrance.

He motioned to his men and signaled to Hayden to bring Jake. His soldier dismounted, pulled his brother from the horse’s back, and set him over his shoulder. He trudged forward and entered the cottage. Oswald, with the aid of another soldier, limped toward the building and also entered.

Magnus was about to follow them but turned and said to the remaining men, “The rest of ye settle in until we know how the men fare. Make camp for now. If we are delayed, I’ll send ye along home with our dead so they can be readied for burial.”

Inside the dark cottage, there were bunches of drying plants hanging from a rope nailed from one wall to another. Scents permeated from simmering cauldrons hung in the hearth and on a long table at the far end of the cottage, sat medicinal jars lined in perfectly aligned rows. Set before them were pestles and healing tools of which Magnus had no knowledge. The woman was apt at her occupation and he admired her for the skill.

Jake was lying on an empty table near the long table of medicinals. Lillith set to work on him and Hayden helped her remove his tunic. She went about her tasks silently and engrossed. Magnus took a moment and peered at the man who lay upon a makeshift cot on the other side of the cottage. He recognized Trevor, one of Declan MacKendrick’s guardsmen.

“Will Trevor survive?” he asked Lillith in a low voice.

“He’s out of danger for now. It will take him time, however, to heal. Now, about this man…”

“My brother Jake,” Magnus supplied.

“He was pierced through his shoulder. It doesn’t appear that anything major was sliced. He’s lost a good bit of blood though. I’ll clean the wound and get him patched up. We must pray that infection doesn’t come to his wound. ”

Magnus paced the small area before the table while she tended to his brother. Jake still hadn’t regained his senses, thankfully, and remained unaware of her poking and prodding. When she finished, Lillith covered the wound with a cloth and tied it.

“He will need to stay here on the table. I have given him a dram which will lessen his pain, ward off infection, and keep him sleeping for a while. Now who else needs aid?” Lillith approached and stood before Oswald.

“Let us see what’s what.” She lifted the hem of his tartan and pressed the fabric far enough upward to reveal the bulky muscle of his thigh.

Oswald drew in a hiss at her touch. “Will I lose my leg?”

Lillith frowned at his leg and focused on the wound. “Ye took a good strike to your leg and it barely bled. There will be a good bruise which will probably take weeks to heal.”

“It hurts,” Oswald said. “I can barely stand on it.”

“Aye, ye shall limp for a time. For now, I will wash your leg with wine and then put some ointment on it to soothe it and a cool compress to ease ye.” Lillith crossed the cottage to the back table and turned her back to them. She prepared medicinals for his soldier’s leg.

“I am sorry, Laird. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to become injured—”

“Ye need not apologize, Oswald. Let Lillith tend to ye.”

“Ye should go and return with the men. I will stay here with Jake and that will give me time to recover. Take our brothers home and bury them.”

Magnus appreciated his soldier’s offer but he didn’t want to leave Jake until he knew for certain that he wouldn’t succumb to his injury. His mother couldn’t stand the loss of another of her younger sons.

Hayden approached and stood next to him. “Go on, Laird. I’ll stay with them both and will come when I have news.”

Lillith returned from her table and dabbed a wine-soaked cloth over Oswald’s leg. “Magnus, ye should go and take your dead home. I will take your soldier up on his offer. He’ll be of use to me here whilst I tend to the wounded. When they recover, I will send them back to ye.”

“Aye, we will go then. Hayden, if ye need me…”

“I will come, Laird,” Hayden said.

Magnus nodded to him, took a glance at his brother who continued to slumber, and turned to the door. Once he was outside, he whistled to his men and readied for the trek home. The men quickly disbanded camp, put out the small fire they’d made, and mounted their horses. They set out for home and he hoped to reach it before nightfall.

The heavens were marked with varying streaks of color as the sun set over the peaks of mountains in the distance. With its brilliance, a smattering of stars made their appearance in the early night sky. They approached the gates and stopped before the guardsmen. After explaining what happened on their trek, the men left to prepare for the burials which would take place after the soldiers’ families were told of their demise. With the onset of darkness, they’d bury their fallen soldiers in the light of the morn.

Magnus was met by Winston at the stables as he approached. His soldier had a fat smile on his face. Marriage agreed with him. Magnus quickly told him of the happenings.

“Terrible news, Laird. I’ll tend to your horse and will aid the men to prepare for the burials.”

“Before ye do, fetch Wyren and have him come to the keep.”

“Aye, Laird.” Winston disappeared with his horse inside the stable.

Before Magnus could seek his rest, he needed to give the news to his soldiers’ families. Giving such dreadful bearings tightened his chest. He never wanted to impart such atrocious news to the families of his clan, but it was his duty as laird.

The families, as expected, were distraught and inconsolable. He slowed his steps on the advance to the fief. Although he wanted to see Kendra, he didn’t wish to have to explain, once again, what transpired on their journey. His father would expect an explanation and would want the details.

Magnus wanted to seek his bed, shut his eyes, and have a wee bit of peace. Come the morning, there would be time aplenty to fill his father in on the news. He opened the door to the keep and entered. There were no voices to be heard and he thought all had sought their beds. But as he gave the great hall a quick glance, he noticed his father sitting by the hearth. Magnus took a settling breath and slowly moved toward him. He took the seat across from his father and leaned back, wary and tense in wait for Wyren.

His father inclined forward and stoked the fire. “’Tis a chilly evening. I should have the men bring more firewood.”

Magnus barely heard what his father said.

Wyren trudged into the room and sat in the chair next to his father’s. “Winston said ye wanted to meet. What happened on your trek? Did ye find anything out?”

“Before we get to that, I must tell ye that Jake was injured in a scuffle with the Chattans. I took him to Lillith, the healer, and she’s tended to him. He’ll take time to recover, that’s if he survives. Hayden stayed with him. Oswald, as well, suffered a battered leg. He stayed at the healer’s cottage too.” Magnus’s words droned out and he couldn’t look at his family. He kept his gaze on his knee and waited for their outrage.

“Lillith is the best healer in these parts. She’ll have Jake well in no time,” Wyren said. He poured a cup of ale from the pitcher that sat on a nearby table and handed it to him. “Looks like ye need a drink, brother.”

“Oh, damnation, your mother will pitch a fit when she hears about Jake. I will wait until the morn to tell her for she’s gone to bed,” his father said .

“Did the Chattans attack or did ye initiate the fracas?” Wyren asked.

Magnus pointed to himself, and after, he chugged the ale until there wasn’t a drop left. The drink did nothing to allay him. “Me, for I am at fault. I wanted to insert my wrath at them being on our land. I should’ve just kept riding… We were headed for home.”

His father pressed his hands over his face and spoke in a harsh tone, “ Och , ye are not to blame, son. ’Tis a sad state of affairs that we lost two men and two convalesce, but at least now the Chattans know we mean business. Mayhap now they’ll stay off our land.”

They fell into silence. Magnus appreciated his father’s and brother’s support. Not that it lessened his regret or culpability.

Wyren refilled their cups. “Tell me what ye found out about Ned.”

Magnus swirled the ale in his cup and peered at it as he spoke, “Aye, apparently Ned told his mistress—”

“Wait…whoa, what say ye? Ned had a woman?” Wyren chortled. “I disbelieve ye. He wasn’t the lover sort of man.”

“She wasn’t his alone.”

“Oho,” Wyren said and his mouth hung open. “That makes more sense for Ned would have to pay for a woman. Never saw him with a lass. Go on.”

“What do ye mean by that…that she wasn’t his alone. Do ye mean she was with others?” His father frowned hard at him.

Magnus nodded. “He paid for his woman with the clan’s coin. Ned also wagered and pilfered coins from the clan’s coffers to pay his wagering debts. But that is not all that I found out because—”

His father shrieked loudly and jumped from his seat. “He did what!?”

“When Ned last visited his strumpet, he told her that a few men from his clan tried to pilfer coins from him and that they would not bespeak of his losses at the dice games if he paid their demand.”

His father retook his seat, leaned forward, and groaned. “God Almighty! Ned thieved from us and used our coins to wager? And to pay for… Cosh, what a mess this is.”

Wyren spoke an expletive under his breath too. “Are ye telling us that these scoundrels—”

“Aye, we have a few traitors to uncover within our clan. Not only did they try to extort coins from Ned, but they probably killed him too. Mary said Ned left her that night and he was intent to meet with the betrayers.”

“But ye said that Aldo likely murdered Ned because he did not pay him what was owed.” Wyren rubbed his face. “This is all so confounding.”

Magnus nodded his agreement because he was downright perplexed by his brother’s behavior too. “It is highly shocking. Ned owed three marks to Aldo, a good amount, but I do not think the man murdered him. I believed him when he said that Ned never showed up for their meeting. I was able to retrace his steps to Mistress Mary’s manor. She is a harlot who entertains men and has a house of ill-repute for the purpose. When I met with her, she said that Ned was a favorite of hers and on their last night together, he told her about the extortion. He spoke of his clansmen trying to take coins from him for their silence. I can only assume that those men murdered Ned when he refused to pay them.”

“And ye wish to force these men to come forward? I doubt they will,” Wyren said.

“They will not come forward on their own and probably told no one of their misdeeds. We will have to use underhanded means to uncover them.” Magnus stood and paced before his father and brother. “I want every single Cameron accounted for. We’ll invite groups of twenty to twenty-five to spar with us on the training field. If they are brazen enough to show their faces on my field, we might catch a word or observe their guilt-ridden miens. Once we have met and accounted for all the men within the walls, I shall go and meet with all those outside the walls. We will not cease our search until we have spoken to every single Cameron.”

“Son, I understand that ye are angry—”

“Angry, Da? I am more than furious that our clansmen intended to take coins from our clan, from my brother, from me. I am wrath that Ned used our clan’s coins for wagering and the use of paying harlots for sex. He was a miscreant of the lowest level. The only reason I seek vengeance now is because I will not tolerate men within our clan who deem to try to take coins from me. Ned does not deserve vindication.”

Wyren stood next to him and set his hand on his shoulder. “Be calm, Magnus. We understand and commiserate with ye. It could take time to find these traitors. In the meantime, we will be diligent in our search for them.”

Magnus shook his head adamantly. “Nay, it is my duty, and I will not cease my search until I find these men and oust them. They’ll be banished for good.”

Wyren turned toward the door. “I will go and get as much rest as I’m able. We shall begin first thing on the morrow after we bury our dead.”

Before his brother could depart, Magnus stopped him. “Attend me a moment… Only the three of us know about Ned’s woman and what she said to me. I spoke none of it with the soldiers who traveled with me.”

“Not even with Jake?” his father asked.

“Nay, not even to Jake. It is better that he not know what foulness Ned was capable of. He will probably learn of it soon enough when we confront the men who intended to thieve from us.” Magnus knew Jake’s fondness for their brother and he didn’t want to be the cause of his younger brother’s hatred. In time, Jake would learn the truth though, there was no way to shield him from the pain of what Ned had done.

“I vow to keep this to myself and will not speak of it even to your mother,” his father said.

Wyren agreed and nodded. “It will be easier to find our traitors, the less others know about this.” He marched to the exit, swung the door open with force, and left the fief.

Magnus stepped outside and walked alongside Wyren. Before he sought his bed, he wanted to let the night air calm him and clear his head. His brother walked off toward his home and he continued toward the gatehouse. When he reached it, he motioned to Craig who continued the night watch with a handful of other soldiers.

“Oh, Laird, I am gladdened ye came. This just arrived for ye.” Craig handed him a missive.

“My thanks, Craig. I want ye to keep our gates closed. None, not even the sentry, are to exit the walls until I give leave to do so. If anyone comes, I want ye to name those who return.”

Craig gazed at him with confusion. “Even the sentry, Laird? Surely, we need to let the sentry do their duty.”

“Until I say otherwise, they are forbidden to leave. All are forbidden to leave.” He hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but he needed to assert his command.

“As ye wish, Laird. I’ll keep any from leaving and will let ye know who returns.” Craig bowed to him and returned to his post.

Magnus didn’t want to give the culprits time to get away. If they got any suspicions that he was on to them, they could easily abscond and he’d have to hunt them down. If the knaves had no choice but to stay within the walls, then he’d find them all the sooner.

As he walked back to the keep, he broke the seal on the missive and opened the parchment. His eyes skimmed over the long lines and his face heated at what he read:

Laird Cameron, I am told by the king’s servant Chamberlain Edmund that you wedded Lord Graham’s daughter, Kendra. She was promised to me and a betrothal was set with the bride price paid to her father. Since our betrothal is now nullified, I am owed ten pounds which I want returned. If you ignore this demand, I will have no recourse but to take action against the Grahams. Yours, Lord Ellish Heatherington, servant to King Alexander.

Magnus practically burned the parchment with his eyes. He wondered if the king knew about this supposed betrothal agreement betwixt Heatherington and Kendra’s father. Then he wondered if Kendra knew of it and why she hadn’t mentioned it to him. With fury, he crumpled up the parchment and tossed it into a small firepit that he passed on the way back to the fief. Magnus decided he’d wait to see how long it took for his wife to enlighten him on her supposed betrothal. He hoped with all his heart that she was either unaware or had an explanation for keeping it from him.

Since Magnus had no time to deal with the lord, he would put him off with a missive and pay the price for his bride. The fact that the man mentioned further action almost made him smile because he would rather take up arms against a nefarious lord by the border than his clansmen, a duty he was most bitter about. But alas, he had no time to scuffle with Kendra’s supposed betrothed. His search for the betrayers was most important now. Instead of vengeance for Ned’s death, he reasoned his vengeance now ingrained in him the need to unveil his traitorous clansmen.