Page 21 of Stolen Highland Dreams (The Highlanders #9)

20

A ttempting to smooth things over with Laird Cameron—Dashiell sure didn’t need to start hostilities with their clan over not marrying Lynette—he explained about Ella, Lady Margery, and what had befallen her family and hoped he would sympathize with her cause.

Appearing saddened to hear the news, Laird Cameron rubbed his gray beard. “I didna know about any of that until she told me in the inner bailey. Her da was a good man. Her mother was always so gracious. My condolences to her and her family. Does this mean that you feel sorry for her? Do you feel you owe it to her to marry her because you live in the castle that was her family’s?”

“Nay, she is the one I love, no other. I’m sure you can understand that.” Though not all marriages resulted in a love match, Dashiell knew Laird Cameron’s marriage had been.

“Aye, I do. I love my daughter, but I understand how you feel. I would be the same way if I were in your place.”

Dashiell wondered if he shouldn’t have had Lynette and her da come to speak with him in the forest, though her da was much more reasonable to talk to. But Dashiell realized she might cause trouble for Ella if she ran into her at the castle. He couldn’t imagine the woman would hold her tongue around Ella. She hadn’t around anyone before.

The hounds barked that they’d located their prey, and Cameron and Dashiell joined the hunt until they took down the wild boar. Then they returned to the castle while others prepared the boar for transport.

Dashiell planned to have Cameron, Lynette, and Cameron’s men stay for the feast and hoped that would help smooth things between them. He didn’t need to have Cameron on his bad side, but he wasn’t about to marry his daughter. He just hoped she would mind her tongue this time at the meal.

When they arrived back at the castle, Dashiell saw Amelda speaking with a perturbed-looking Lynette. Her arms were folded across her waist, and her face was an angry frown as she peered down at Amelda.

“You should see the secret garden.”

“Why do you have a guard standing with you?” Lynette asked.

“Because Laird MacAfee wants us dead and so we have to have guards at all times,” Amelda said.

Dashiell dismounted from his horse and said, “Lady Lynette.” Then he smiled at Amelda. “Where is Ella?”

“A lady is having a bairn, and she’s helping.”

“We are having a feast. Go tell Ella and the other women so they know we’ll be eating if they can join us.”

“Aye.” Amelda ran off to the stairs.

He hoped Lynette hadn’t said mean things to Amelda. He motioned to Cameron to come with him, and they would enjoy some ale with Fallon and Quinn.

“Did you straighten him out?” Lynette asked her da.

Her da looked at her like he was a little embarrassed. Cameron should have straightened her out a long time ago.

They went to the great hall to have their ale while the cooks roasted the boar. Lynette stayed with the men, unfortunately. Her da didn’t answer her as far as her question to him about changing Dashiell’s mind about marrying her.

“What are you going to do about MacAfee?” Cameron asked Dashiell instead.

“I’ve sent a missive to the king about his despicable actions and their reasons. I’m hoping he will put him on trial.” Dashiell took another swig of his ale.

“He would require witnesses. Would Lady Margery speak to the king about it? Would he even believe her?”

Because she was a woman?

“Aye, we’re trying to locate the blacksmith who worked for Gunn. Mayhap if the king didna believe a young woman’s word, he might realize the blacksmith knew what had happened. However, he wasna inside the castle at the time. But one of MacAfee’s men nearly killed him, and Ella came to his aid and helped save Tannon’s life.”

“Ella did?” Cameron glanced at Lynette with a warning look. Ella wasn’t one to be trifled with.

“I’m sure she made it all up.” Lynette looked grumpy, probably irritated that Dashiell wanted Ella for his wife when no one was interested in marrying her.

Cameron said, “Hold your tongue, Lynette.”

Then Amelda came running into the great hall with her guard and smiled at Dashiell. He loved Amelda as if she were his daughter, just as she treated Ella as her mother. “What news have you?” he asked Amelda.

“Ella said the maid had a baby boy and that Ella would be right down. The midwife and Mai will stay with her. But Mina and the other ladies will be down shortly.” Then she waved goodbye, turned, and dashed off for the stairs. Her guard glanced at Dashiell, and he wanted to laugh.

Amelda had enough energy for three of her. Her guard, Bac, raced after her.

“I wish to have an alliance with you,” Cameron said.

“Nay, da, unless he agrees to wed me,” Lynette said.

“‘Tis no’ your place to suggest such a thing,” Cameron said, looking sternly at her.

Lynette sat back in her chair and stared at her da. He had probably never said no to her in all her life, but it was about time he did.

Ella joined Dashiell at the table, and he leaned over and kissed her. He wanted everyone to know what she meant to him.

After the meal and agreeing to the terms of an alliance, Cameron bid Dashiell farewell and wished Ella and him the best.

Lynette wouldn’t even look at them as she and Cameron exited the gates with their entourage.

“What are you going to do now?” Dashiell asked Ella, glad to have an alliance with Cameron and gladder still that he wasn’t marrying Lynette.

“I need to speak with Mina and Mai. They need some more healing herbs.”

“All right. I need to speak with Quinn about issues in the clan. I’ll see you in a little while.”

She hugged and kissed him, then headed for the stairs to the upper floors where the ladies were.

An hour later, Paden hurried to speak with Dashiell in the inner bailey while he was speaking to his cousin.

“My laird! My laird! Lady Ella went into the forest with two maids to gather healing herbs that Mina and Mai needed, and I was with them, but we became separated. I heard men approaching, and I dinna ken where the lasses went.”

Where was their guard force?

“Tell Quinn to gather more of my men and send them out to the forest, Paden.”

“Aye.” Paden raced off.

Dashiell and Fallon hurried to get their horses from the stable, his men quickly joining them. “Ella was always supposed to have a guard force, and I didna approve of her going out to the forest anyway.”

They mounted their horses and headed out. He feared that Lennox or Michael had come for Ella.

“Do you think Lennox is coming for her?” Quinn asked, his voice filled with concern as he caught up to them.

“Mayhap ‘tis naught at all. But what if Michael returned and told him that I wouldna release Ella to his da, and Lennox came with a force to try and convince me that it was in my best interest to turn her and her kin over to him?” Dashiell asked.

“Aye, that is what I fear as well.”

“You stay with me. Fallon, take five men east. I want another five to head west. The rest of us will head north.” Dashiell couldn’t help how his heart was beating so fast.

He feared if Lennox was there, he would grab her, turn around, and head back to his castle fortification.

They hadn’t found any signs of her or anyone else, just robins flitting into the undergrowth, the call of birds twittering or cawing a warning that strangers were approaching. And then he saw a deer. The deer didn’t seem afraid of him, as if it knew he wasn’t there to hunt it.

He stopped and motioned for the rest of his men who rode with him to halt. They watched the deer, and then she walked on a trail to the east. Was she going toward Ella? He prayed it was so.

“Quinn, you’re with me. The rest of you keep heading north,” Dashiell said.

Dashiell and Quinn followed the deer. She soon disappeared into the forest, and they couldn’t find any sign of her. But then a woman screamed. Dashiell and Quinn galloped in her direction. He heard others coming in that direction, but were they his men or others?

“That was Flora’s scream,” Quinn warned.

God’s knees. Then they heard another scream but in another direction.

“Let me go!”

That wasn’t Ella’s voice either.

“Paige,” Quinn said.

“We separate,” Dashiell said, wanting to reach all three women simultaneously, but they had separated. Where was Ella?

He saw four men, not his own, and one of them was attempting to drag Paige onto his saddle. Then to Dashiell’s shock, he saw Ella emerge out of the underbrush, swinging her sword at the mounted man holding Paige’s arm. She cut his leg before another man jumped off his horse to engage her in battle.

“No!” Dashiell rode up to engage the man threatening Ella.

Paige had her dirk out but had scurried back into the bracken.

Ella dropped back so Dashiell could fully engage the man she had struck at. But then, more of Dashiell’s men arrived and fought the other men.

He heard more shouting off to the east, where Quinn had gone after Flora. But those he had sent in that direction were also fighting the men, so Quinn wasn’t alone.

“Ruadh was with us. He heard a noise and went to check it out,” Ella warned.

Once the men they were fighting were dead, they searched for Ruadh.

“Over here!” Fallon called out. “Hell, man. You were supposed to be taking care of Ella.”

Dashiell pulled Ella onto his saddle and rode to where Fallon was.

Ruadh had a huge lump on his head and a cut to his arm. He was sitting on the ground, and when he tried to stand, he rocked unsteadily on his feet. His sword was red with blood. Two of the brigands who had tried to grab the women were lying dead by a rock.

Before Dashiell could dismount, Ella alighted on the ground, tore fabric from her chemise, and wrapped the sword cut on his arm.

“Sorry, my lady.” Ruadh looked dispirited that he had failed at his mission.

“We should have taken a greater force,” she said. “You did all you could.”

Dashiell said, “Quinn, take Paige back to the castle. Fallon, you will take Flora. A couple of you can come with us. Bring Ruadh with you. The rest of you search for anyone else in the forest. Did anyone encounter Michael, or mayhap his da, Lennox?”

“Nay,” everyone said or shook their heads.

“If you see them, bring them to the castle alive.” Usually, Dashiell would have continued searching with his men, but he could still feel the effect of his sword injury. He realized fighting in combat further for him wasn’t a viable option.

Then he, Quinn, and Ruadh rode back to the castle, flanked by two of his men.

“Are you all right?” Dashiell asked Ella.

“Aye, we left our baskets of herbs behind.”

“They are no’ half as important as you ladies,” Dashiell said, unable to curb the annoyance in his voice. “You canna be in the woods alone without a proper guard force. And for now—until we are wed—we still have the issue of your uncle.”

“With the passage of time, I thought my uncle had assumed he had lost the chance to take me to his castle. And we really need those herbs.”

“Unless the men are no’ his, I would say he has been planning this for some time. Mayhap they are MacAfee’s men though.”

“Are you all right?” Ella asked, looking worried.

Dashiell didn’t want to tell her the truth about how he was feeling. But he felt he owed it to her. “I must admit my wound is bothering me.”

She glanced back at him, reached over her shoulder, and pressed her hand against his head. At once, the ache in his chest and head faded away. She was a Godsend.

“I canna lose you, lass.”

She kissed his cheek. “I am here for you.”

“As am I here for you, always.”

“Can we marry?” she asked.

“Aye, we will.”

“Now?”

He looked into her pretty green eyes and smiled. He was surprised but elated. “Aye. We can have a wedding at the castle with just our clan, and then we will have the wedding in front of the guests we’ve invited.”

She smiled at him. “Aye, that will be great.”

He agreed. Once he married her, he felt her uncle would have no recourse to claim her as his ward. MacAfee wouldn’t either. Dashiell hoped he could also ensure that Finnegan and Amelda stayed with them. They should remain with Ella and continue to be part of her life.

As soon as they arrived at the bailey, Dashiell told Quinn, “Announce that Ella and I are marrying within the hour in the great hall. Have Mai attend to Ruadh.”

Quinn smiled. “Aye.”

Dashiell handed Ella down to one of his men, and he set her on the ground. Then Dashiell dismounted, and a groom hurried to take his horse.

Ella said, “The ladies and I are off to the ladies’ chamber to get ready.”

Before she could rush off with Flora and Paige, Dashiell took Ella in his arms and kissed her soundly. “You are the light of my life.”

“You are that for me and more,” Ella said, hugging and kissing him back.

He couldn’t wait to start a family with her.

Ella was glad that Dashiell was going to marry her now. Hopefully, that would end any chance of her uncle getting hold of her. But she still worried about her brother and Amelda. Surprisingly, Mina seemed to be doing much better since she’d had a better place to sleep in the dry, comfortable keep at night.

Ella burst into her bedchamber where Mina was napping, and Ella was sorry she had woken her. “I’m sorry, Mina.”

“You are marrying him now.” Mina climbed off her trundle bed. She smiled. “I saw a dream of it. This is why I told you no’ to tarry while working on your gown.”

“You dreamed that I would marry him now and no’ later?” The gown was the same one that Ella had worked on in the hut for so long, not believing she would be wearing it to her own wedding. She was glad she would wear it for two wedding ceremonies when she thought no one would wed her here because of her age and because she hadn’t been able to speak.

“Aye, now and later.”

Ella was glad she had finished her gown. It wasn’t that she had been putting it off, but she’d been so busy working as a healer. “I need to tell Amelda and Finnegan also.”

“I’ll get Paden to do it,” Paige said.

“Amelda was in the garden. She loves to work there the most,” Ella said. “She loves the outdoors.”

“Aye,” Mina said.

“Finnegan is working with the blacksmith,” Paige said. “I’ll send word to him.”

Then Paige quickly left the bedchamber.

Flora called on another maid to help her dress Ella in her gown. Then Flora helped Mina dress in the gown Ella and Amelda had helped her finish. Paige returned with Amelda in hand and started to remove her léine and change it out for her new gown.

“You fought one of Lennox Gunn’s men?” Mina asked Ella.

“Oh, she was verra braw,” Paige said. “She pulled out her sword and began fighting one of the brigands.”

“We heard Flora scream. Paige and I dropped our baskets and ran in her direction,” Ella said.

“But that’s when the men came after us,” Paige said. “‘Twas frightening.”

“Aye,” Flora said. “Quinn came and rescued me, and soon more of our kinsmen were there, fighting the men. There were only three, but we had seven warriors on our side.”

“Why are you marrying now instead of later?” Amelda asked.

“So that Uncle Lennox canna take me with him,” Ella said but then realized saying so might worry Amelda since her uncle might want to take her next. Amelda wished she had never mentioned to Michael that Amelda was her cousin, which meant his cousin also.

“Do I need to marry too?” Amelda asked, very seriously.

Ella hugged her young cousin. She was only five!

“Nay, much later. Dinna worry.” But Ella was anxious about it if Lennox made an issue of it. She was also nervous about the wedding. She wanted to marry Dashiell more than anything but was still excited, and butterflies had taken flight in her stomach.

Mina took hold of Ella’s hands. “You can do this. You were meant to. I told you. You were meant to be the lady of the manor.”

Ella couldn’t believe that what Mina had said would really come to pass. “Aye, that’s what you said.”

“You didna believe me.”

Ella smiled. “I should have known better.”

“I wonder what Lady Yvaine will say about the abrupt wedding,” Flora mentioned. “Though she is not his advisor, he often seeks her advice.”

“Aye.”

Someone knocked at Ella’s chamber door. “‘Tis me, Paden.”

Paige opened it.

Paden said, “The MacTavish of Glen Affric is ready for Lady Ella in the great hall.”

“Let us go and finish this,” Mina said, “before I get any older.”

Ella smiled. She would probably outlive them all. Then she took Mina’s hand and Amelda’s and they left the chamber as Paden hurried off, most likely to tell Dashiell they were on their way. The maids quickly hurried after them.

The great hall was filled with clansmen waiting for her appearance. Finnegan quickly greeted her, looking older than his ten years. He was dressed in a shirt, plaid, and boots, his hair combed back. Proudly, he took Ella’s arm. His bright blue eyes and mouth smiled. He looked delighted that he would walk his older sister down the aisle to marry the laird.

Ella saw Ruadh wearing a bandage over his arm, and he smiled at her. She smiled back, glad he could stand now, though two men were standing beside him, looking ready to take care of him if he faltered.

Dashiell was smiling broadly, and so was everyone else in the clan. With everyone feeling such great cheer, Ella’s nervousness faded.