Page 20 of The Dark Highlander’s Heart (Thorns Of The Highlands #2)

19

A s he left the Great Hall, Bryan was certain he knew why Alex had chosen him for this errand: The laird anticipated that Bryan would want the chance to say a proper goodbye to Katherine.

He was grateful to Alex for that, at least, though his emotions were churning within him, crashing against each other like waves in a storm. It seemed there would be no need for war. Wasn’t that supposed to be enough to make him feel happy and relieved?

Hadn’t he spent much of the past year dreading the prospect of leading men into battle against the McGregors? Hadn’t he suffered nightmares of the men under his command dying needlessly; of having to convince the dead soldiers’ wives and children that their sacrifices had not been in vain?

Now all of that had been avoided in the span of a single conversation between lairds.

And if that was not enough to satisfy him, he supposed he should be delighted that Katherine would not be forced to marry a man she did not love. He had been desperate for some other option to present itself, and now his prayers had been answered.

But if she had married Kirk, then at least she would have remained here , Bryan thought as he opened the door of the Great Hall and stepped out into the corridor. I would never have allowed anything inappropriate between us, but if nothing else, I would still have had the pleasure of her company.

Except he knew that in the end, that would have been worse. The kind of slow torture neither he nor Katherine would be able to endure for long. Not before their resolve eventually crumbled, and they did do something that would shame all parties involved.

No. This was what was best for everyone.

At least, that’s what he told himself when he found Katherine waiting for him in the corridor. She looked so beautiful, so hopeful, that he almost could not bring himself to tell her. He had to, though. No matter how much it hurt, he knew it would still be easiest for her to hear it from him.

He hoped so, at any rate.

“That did not take long,” she breathed, her eyes gleaming expectantly. “Were they able tae come tae an understanding?”

“They were, aye.” There was a lump in Bryan’s throat. “There will be peace, and ye willnae have tae marry Kirk Oliphant. Not only that, but yer sister is tae be released immediately.”

Katherine’s face lit up. “I cannae believe it!”

Then, realization dawned on her, and her smile faded. “So, that means I am tae return home, then? With him?”

Bryan nodded. “Aye. Ye and yer sister both.”

She blinked, confused. “But he thinks I betrayed him while I was here.Why would he want me back?”

“Ye’re still his daughter,” the captain replied quietly, “and he still wishes tae marry ye off tae someone from another clan someday, tae strengthen his own position.”

She laughed faintly. “‘Tis strange. Once I came tae accept that I would likely be marrying Kirk. Well, I suppose I got used tae the notion of remaining here. I assumed my father wouldnae want me back. I’d given up on ever being accepted as a McGregor again.”

“Is this happy news for ye, then?” he asked hoarsely. “Tae be in yer father’s good graces again, when ye had abandoned all hope of it?”

Katherine shivered. “Somehow, I dinnae believe that being invited back will be quite the same as ‘being in his good graces.’ Nevertheless, it’s where I belong, isn’t it? I’m still a McGregor. The people here were kind enough to let me forget that for a short while, and I’ll always be grateful for it.”

“Yer father willnae be around forever,” Bryan reminded her urgently. “Perhaps, in our lifetime, the enmity between our clans will change.”

She smiled at him sadly. “Ye said it yerself, Bryan. By then, I’ll have been married off tae another. This is for the best. It will save countless lives, and all I have tae do is go home, and do as my father tells me.”

“There must be some other way,” Bryan insisted.

“Ye said that before, remember? And there was another way; the one ye agreed to. Now come, escort me down tae the dungeons so that I may tell Romilly we are tae be released.”

“Ye needn’t venture down there,” he told her. “I can tell her myself, and spare ye the unpleasantness of the place.”

“My sister was not spared from its unpleasantness these many months, and so I can endure a few moments of it. Besides, if I am not with ye, she might believe it is some sort of trick. She seems rather more suspicious than she was before she came tae be in yer custody.”

“Fair enough.”

The dungeon was even darker, danker, and more horrid than Katherine remembered as Bryan led her down there—or perhaps it was simply her mood that made it seem so. There was a part of her that still doubted her sister would agree to leave her cell. In her agitated mental state, Romilly might still believe that she was being freed under false pretenses and led to the chopping block after all.

Indeed, Katherine worried that nothing short of Laird Angus himself would convince her otherwise. And even then, given how deeply Romilly seemed to have plunged into madness and despair, she might believe that “their father” was simply an Oliphant in disguise, engaged in some creative mummery to deceive her.

Will her mind ever heal from all of this? Katherine wondered miserably. I don’t remember her ever being particularly stable, but now she seems tae be a shattered lunatic. Will her return home facilitate any sort of recovery, or is the sister I once knew gone for good?

These concerns continued to plague her as she reached the bottom of the stone steps, and Bryan led her to the cell at the end of the musty and cobwebbed corridor.

When Romilly saw them together, she gnashed her teeth defiantly. “So, yer collaboration with our enemies continues, eh, Sister?”

Katherine let that comment pass. “Our father has arrived tae parley with Laird Alex. An agreement has been reached, and ye are I are tae return tae our homeland this very day.”

Sure enough, Romilly squinted at her doubtfully, just as Katherine had inwardly predicted. “This is some Oliphant deception.”

“Nothing of the kind,” Katherine replied.

“And what concessions were made tae allow such a thing tae come tae pass?” her older sister challenged.

“A promise of peace,” Bryan spoke up. “One of Laird Alex’s advisors will abide in yer stronghold for a period of one year, tae ensure that there will be no more plots against us. In return, ye will go back where ye belong, though such a fate is too good for ye, in my opinion, after what ye tried tae do tae Lady Isla.”

Katherine understood why he said it, but she wished he hadn’t. There was more than enough tension in this exchange already.

Strangely, though, his words seemed to earn a bit of trust from Romilly. “At least ye are honest about yer hatred for me,” she reasoned. “Sugared words would only have shown me otherwise. I will admit, however, I am quite surprised that yer laird would choose tae give up his bargaining pieces so freely.”

“It is because we are not jailers,” he shot back. “We have no genuine interest in keeping young ladies captive indefinitely. All we have ever wanted is tae live in peace alongside ye, without having tae worry that yer people will creep over our ramparts in the night with daggers between their teeth.” He raised an eyebrow. “We’ve received such assurances from yer father. For myself, I wouldnae mind hearing them from ye as well.”

“I do as my father commands,” Romilly retorted sullenly. “I always have, and I always shall. Beyond that, I owe ye no assurances whatsoever.”

“Perhaps ye might direct them tae me, then, Sister,” Katherine suggested. “I would welcome them as well.”

Romilly glared at her. “If our father says there shall be peace, I will follow his lead. Now, ye said something about releasing me?”

Bryan sighed heavily. “That will have tae do, I suppose.” He produced the key to the cell and unlocked it, half expecting the demented woman to lunge at him and claw at his face the moment she was able.

Instead, though, she stepped out into the corridor, almost meekly, to his surprise. She looked around, as though uncertain of whether she might be dreaming. Then she peered at Katherine in disbelief. “That’s it, then? I am free?”

“Ye are free, Sister,” Katherine promised, taking her hand and squeezing it. “Now we are going home tae heal from all of this, and tae scheme against the Oliphants no more. Ye are tae be married tae a worthy lad from another clan.”

Romilly looked down at herself, and oddly, her face filled with mirth. It was a peculiar sight, given how filthy and haggard she looked. “Well, before we make a go of that,” she snickered, “I suppose I ought tae have a bath and do something with my hair, eh?”

The joke caught Katherine off guard, and before she realized it, she was doubled over laughing. So was Romilly, and the pair of them cackled until tears poured down their faces.

Bryan stared at them with a bemused expression.

Eventually, their mirth trailed off, and the three of them ascended the steps again and emerged into the courtyard. There, Laird Angus waited for them, along with the rest of his men. Clearly, he had no desire to remain at Castle Oliphant a moment longer than he needed to.

When he saw his oldest daughter freed, though, his mask of spite disappeared, replaced by relief, and even joy, the likes of which Katherine could not remember ever seeing on his face before. He staggered over to Romilly and embraced her warmly, ignoring the smell of mold clinging to her clothes and the spider webs hanging from her hair.

Romilly dared not say it, especially in front of the Oliphants, but she was deeply appalled by the state of him. He looked as though he’d spent weeks in a dungeon as well, one every bit as harsh and horrid as her own recent prison. What hell had he been through during her absence? Was guilt at being unable to free her the reason for his gray and ghostly appearance? Had it driven him mad?

“My beloved daughter,” he crowed. “Och, I feared I would never see ye again. I feared that sooner or later, they would tire of imprisoning ye and order yer execution.”

“Even if they had,” Romilly replied, holding on to him tightly, “I would have done it all over again, with no regrets.”

Alex and Bryan exchanged an uneasy look, but said nothing.

Then Bryan realized that, with all of these people standing around, he would not be able to say a proper goodbye to Katherine. Then again, even if they’d had all the privacy and time in the world, they still would not have been able to engage in the farewell he would have liked. It would have been terribly inappropriate for her, not to mention a gross dereliction of duty for him.

All they could do, then, was gaze upon each other as each moment brought them closer to being apart forever.

Gaze, and wish that they could speak what was in their hearts.

Rory Aitken waited in the courtyard as well, red-faced, fidgeting with his tunic and evidently wishing he could be anywhere in the world other than where he was about to be sent. Laird Alex had chosen him to remain with the McGregors for the next twelve months. Although he could be somewhat hard-headed, and although he hated the McGregors with a passion, Aitken was also one of the clan’s most trusted and influential members.

As far as Alex was concerned, if neither Kirk nor Bryan could be dispatched for this endeavor, Aitken was the most suitable candidate.

Which still did nothing for Aitken’s mood.

“Come, Daughters.” Angus beamed at Romilly, then his smile curdled as he turned to Katherine. “Let us away at once. Hopefully, never tae return.”

Aitken cleared his throat and took a few steps forward, addressing Angus. “Laird Angus, I would simply like tae say that despite the unfortunate history between our clans, I look forward tae this time we shall have together, and hope that my presence at the McGregor Stronghold will bolster our future endeavors in many?—”

“Aye,” Angus interrupted, waving him off impatiently. “We’ll have chambers furnished for ye when we get there. Until then, I hope ye have a horse of yer own for the journey, for ye’ll nae be riding in my carriage. Now, let us not tarry further.”

With that, Angus turned his back on the man and climbed into the carriage along with his daughters.

Aitken’s mouth opened and closed silently a few times, like a fish who’d been pulled into a boat. Finally, he gave Alex a dark look, then mounted his own horse and hastened to keep up with the McGregors.

Bryan kept his eyes upon the carriage, hoping that before it was out of sight, he might catch one last glimpse of Katherine through the window. Instead, Angus’s face appeared briefly, glaring at Castle Oliphant once more before drawing the curtain shut.

A large hand settled on Bryan’s shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie. He turned and saw that it belonged to Alex, who gave him a sympathetic smile.

“All hope is nae lost, friend,” the laird intoned quietly. “Angus willnae live forever, and in the fullness of time, who knows? Our clans might form an allegiance yet, or at least come tae some understanding that may allow ye tae see her again.”

Bryan knew that Alex meant to comfort him, and so he did his best to smile and nod. Inwardly, though, he knew that what Katherine had said before was likely true: Even if that happened, she would be wed to another by then, and so they would never have a chance to truly be together as they wished.

Better to forget the entire thing, he supposed, now that it was resolved. Better to throw himself into his work, and pray that the peace with the McGregors lasted.

So he walked up to the ramparts and conferred with his guardsmen about their positions and shifts for the day, as he had so many times before.

Meanwhile, it took the rest of the day and night, as well as part of the next morning, for the McGregors to return to the stronghold. During the trip, Angus asked Romilly many questions about her time with the Oliphants; how she had been treated while in their custody; whether she had sensed any weaknesses in their defenses or weaknesses of character in their leadership, and so forth.

“Alas, there is little I can tell ye, Father,” Romilly replied quietly, her eyes cast downward. “I was kept in the dungeon from the moment they discovered our plans against Isla. Captain Black visited on several occasions tae ask that I temper my hostility toward them.”

“Demanded, ye mean, no doubt,” Angus grumbled.

Romilly considered this, and remembered that no, he had not made any real demands of her. He had not browbeaten her for cooperation. He had only continued to suggest, again and again, that both clans might benefit if she put her anger aside and softened her attitude. She had staunchly refused every time.

She did not correct her father, though. She saw no point to it.

For her part, Katherine was somewhat surprised that Romilly did not volunteer additional information. Surely, after so many months in the captivity of the Oliphants, she had more to say about them than that?

Nevertheless, Angus’s questioning of Romilly continued. When this had gone on well past sunset and the carriage and its guards had stopped for the night, Katherine approached her father away from the others.

“Putting aside that ye dinnae seem eager tae see me freed from my captivity,” she began. “One might think ye could learn more from me with regard tae the Oliphants, since I had far greater occasion tae observe them than Romilly did.”

“Aye,” he sneered, “but why would I believe anything ye say tae be true? The very fact that ye were allowed tae move about the castle freely tells me that ye must have agreed tae collaborate with the Oliphants in some way. Ye ought tae be grateful I’ve accepted ye back at all, under the circumstances. I should have let ye stay with them, since ye seem tae have favored their company over ours.”

“That is terribly unfair,” she balked. “I was taken against my will!”

“So it would appear,” her father shot back, “but I still wonder whether ye might have secretly arranged such a thing with the Oliphants, tae betray me. Either way, ye’ll remain silent for the remainder of the journey if ye know what’s bloody good for ye.”

He stormed away, leaving her in shock and disbelief. She wished he had left her behind, if this was how he intended to treat her. But it was too late for that. She knew he would not allow her to go back to the Oliphants now. If she asked, it would only confirm his suspicions.

And what might happen then?

They made camp, and Katherine slept restlessly. Whenever she stirred from her slumber and opened her eyes, she saw Romilly lying a short distance away, not sleeping either, but peering at her in the gloom, her expression unreadable.

Katherine wanted to ask her sister what was on her mind, but something told her that the time was not right to do so. Not with their father and so many of his men around them.

She rolled over onto her other side, shut her eyes, and tried to sleep again. When Katherine finally drifted off, Romilly stared at her even more closely.

Back when they were children together, Romilly had often made a habit of creeping into Katherine’s room and watching her slumber. This began shortly after Katherine was born, and continued until she was almost ten.

Their parents had sometimes quietly observed this behavior, and they smiled at it back then, especially Angus. He believed it was a sign that Romilly was already showing signs of being protective of her younger sister, as befit an older sibling.

But the truth was, Romilly had always simply been curious about Katherine’s sleep. She noted the movements of the lass’s eyes beneath their lids, the way she shifted positions throughout the night, the patterns of her breathing. She’d wondered what dreams were playing out in her sister’s mind; whether they were pleasant or stormy, whether they were populated by fairies and elves from the stories their mother read to them, or if they were darkened by the long shadows of ogres who towered over her and scowled.

Ogres like our father .

The thought came to Romilly as suddenly and shockingly as a bolt of lightning, and likewise left a small, smoldering crater in her heart; one that continued to glow, no matter how hard she tried to stamp it out.

But there was truth enough in the notion, wasn’t there? At least if one were to look at things from Katherine’s perspective. Their father had always loomed large over his youngest child, yelling and snapping at her, making demands of her. Dictating who she needed to be in order to please him, and still refusing to be satisfied with her, regardless of what she did at his request.

When they were young, Romilly had not given his treatment of Katherine much thought. Why would she? Romilly was clearly his favorite, and she privately delighted in that, even if it was at Katherine’s expense. She told herself that all fathers made demands of their daughters; that all fathers tried to mold them into young women who would do their clans proud.

What of happiness, though? Of tenderness and affection, of support and encouragement? Were these not important factors in a father’s love for his child as well? Why, then, had Romilly received such things while her less-fortunate sister had not?

These thoughts weighed heavy upon her brow, and when she found her own path to sleep, it was restless and filled with uneasy dreams; ones in which the same ogre who tormented Katherine now set his beady and disapproving eyes upon Romilly.

The morning’s travel unfolded much as the previous day’s had, with Angus doting on Romilly and largely ignoring Katherine. As the journey reached its conclusion, Romilly’s glances in Katherine’s direction during these interactions grew more frequent, until it was clear to Katherine that her older sister was becoming visibly uncomfortable with the imbalance in how they were being treated. There were even a few times when Romilly attempted to include Katherine in the conversation, but each time she did, Angus made a point of pretending he had not heard.

Katherine simply stared out the window of the carriage, and waited to return to the place that no longer felt like home to her.

As the gray and dreary edifice of the McGregor Stronghold came into view, Katherine suppressed a sigh of disappointment. She had been clinging to the hope that the sight of it would inspire happiness or gratitude in her; some sense of belonging she had lost sight of over the past week. She had hoped that she would feel differently about her homecoming when it actually happened.

Instead, all she felt was cold and hollow.

For her part, Romilly appeared delighted to be within sight of the stronghold. She put her head out the window of the carriage, beaming as they drew closer to it. “I didnae think I would live tae see it ever again,” she exclaimed gleefully. “I thought I would be sitting in that cell for the rest of my days until they got bored of me and executed me, at least!”

“I wouldnae have ever allowed such a fate tae befall ye,” Angus assured her gently.

It took all of Katherine’s effort not to scoff at that; to point out that the Oliphants could easily have hanged or beheaded Romilly a hundred times over in the past few months, and their father would not have been able to do a thing to stop it. That, indeed, he had not even seemed inclined to do anything to stop it during all that time. That based on everything Katherine had seen and heard from him in the weeks before her own abduction, Angus had been perfectly willing to stand his ground in his hatred and contempt for the Oliphants even at the cost of Romilly’s life.

But she was too weary to say any of these things. At that moment, all she wanted to do was go up to her old room and be alone for the rest of the day. If she could not be with Bryan, then at least she could have privacy enough to think of him, and remember the good times they had together.

Unfortunately, she had no idea how wrong she was.

As soon as the procession was in the courtyard of the stronghold and the spiked black gates had slammed shut behind it, Angus helped Romilly down from the carriage and a cheer went up from the McGregor guardsmen on the walls.

Katherine climbed down on her own, and before she could take another step, Angus pointed a finger at her and called out, “Guards! Seize her at once, and take her to the dungeons!”

“What?” Katherine could not believe her ears. “I told ye, I didnae betray ye!”

“She speaks the truth, Father,” Romilly spoke up urgently, looking every bit as startled by his order as Katherine did. “She may not have caused trouble for the Oliphants while she was in their custody, but she is still yer youngest daughter. Ye mustn’t?—”

“I will do whatever I please, for I remain the laird of this clan,” he thundered. “Mayhap Katherine proved herself a traitor while she was a guest of the Oliphants, and mayhap she did not. Either way, she should have shown solidarity with her sister, and her clan by resisting them every way she could. She should have passed that time in a cell next tae ye, rather than gaily cavorting around the castle and making a spectacle of herself in the villages!” He jabbed his finger at Katherine again. “Yer sister suffered while ye supped and laughed with the vermin who imprisoned her. Now it is time for ye tae know how she felt, languishing in that cell for months. And ye shall remain there for as long as I decide!”

Katherine was too stunned to respond. Her head felt as though it was full of angry hornets, and her legs felt like lead weights beneath her.

The guards who stood near her seemed likewise shocked by this turn of events, but given how furious their laird sounded, they did not dare refuse his commands.

As they seized her and started to drag her toward the dungeons, however, Aitken stammered and sputtered indignantly. “Laird Angus, this-this is outrageous. Surely, this cannot be necessary, this barbarism , against yer own daughter!”

Angus turned to face Aitken, livid. “Ye have been here all of two minutes, sir. Do ye already presume tae tell me how tae rule over my clan? Ye do recall my conditions with regard tae this arrangement, do ye not?”

Aitken’s lips drew into a tight line, and he nodded once, stiffly.

“I should bloody well hope so,” Angus snarled. “Ye are here tae observe, nothing more. Remember that, and dinnae ever question a command I give tae my own people, or ye shall find yerself expelled from these lands at once without the luxury of a horse tae transport ye the rest of the way tae Castle Oliphant. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“Ye do indeed, Laird Angus,” Aitken replied quietly.

Angus nodded, then watched his men lead his youngest daughter to the cells beneath the stronghold. Aitken followed a McGregor servant inside, looking as though he would be most eager to retire to his room; away from the vengeful laird.

“Ye are aware, Father, that he will surely write tae the Oliphants at once and tell them of this?” Romilly said. Her tone was calm, but her eyes were filled with bewilderment and dismay.

“I am counting on it,” he chuckled darkly.

“We have only just struck an accord with them,” she pressed. “We have only just returned home, and already ye seek tae provoke them? Why?”

“Ye may not have seen the looks which passed between the captain of their guard and that slattern,” he sneered. “But I most certainly did. Either something improper went on between them during her stay there, or they both wished that it had. Now he shall receive word that she has been imprisoned, and there will be nothing he or his smug laird can do about it, not without breaking the truce we negotiated.”

Romilly was appalled by his machinations. “And if they choose tae act anyway?”

“Then we shall have war after all,” he retorted, patting her shoulder, “and I shall engage in it with my loyal oldest daughter at my side, so that our odds of prevailing will increase a hundredfold. Come now, Romilly. Ye did not truly believe that our score with those scoundrels was settled, did ye?”