Page 29 of The Highlander’s Enchanted Healer (Spellbound Hearts #2)
“Enter, Thor,” I responded.
The door opened and Thor entered with a woman I did not recognize by his side. She was a comely lass with long, curly brown hair and eyes of nearly the same color as her locks, but I could not place her as a daughter of any of the older women in the clan.
“Laird, this woman showed up at the gates and asked to see ye.”
I nodded at Thor and studied the woman, noting how she had a defiant tilt to her chin and a glint in her eyes I didn’t care for. There was something hard there. I motioned to Alba. “This is my sister, Alba.”
The woman’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “I’m Breeda Gordon.”
I tensed, and I could see from the corner of my eye that Alba had stiffened, and Thor’s hand had gone to the hilt of his sword.
Breeda Gordon’s eyes skipped over all of us before locking on me. “I’m nae here to bring ye harm. I’m here to warn ye.”
“Of what?” I demanded.
“Ye’ve a spy in yer midst.”
I immediately thought of the lost battle to Ramsey Gordon and my conversation with Thor.
“Why would a Gordon be here to warn me of a spy in my midst?” I demanded, as my mind turned over names of my warriors and who might be the spy and why.
I discarded names as soon as I thought of them.
I honestly couldn’t imagine any of my clansmen betraying me.
“Because,” she said, her lips pressing into a thin line for a moment, “I have been betrayed and discarded by Laird Gordon.”
My pulse leaped. A scorned woman’s fury, an edge I never expected. “I’m sorry.”
She gave me a wry smile. “Nay, ye’re nae, but ’tis understandable.”
“I assume ye want something in exchange for telling me who this spy is?”
“Aye, Laird, I do. I want to return to my home in the lowlands, and I need safe passage to get there. Once Ramsey discovers what I’ve done, I do nae have a doubt he’ll try to kill me.”
I watched her, taking her measure. “I’ll provide warriors to give ye safe passage after I confirm that what ye have told me is true and ye aid me in getting my brother back.”
“There’s nae a way I can aid ye in that, but he’s alive, safe, and locked in the iron cage that hangs above the inner courtyard.
And—” She moved suddenly, and I pulled out my dagger as Thor withdrew his sword.
Breeda Gordon let out a throaty chuckle.
“I’m only getting the missive I’m to deliver from Ramsey. ”
“Yer laird sent ye to deliver a missive to me?” I asked, suspicious.
She offered a cynical smile. “I convinced him that ye might kill any warrior he sent, out of anger over yer brother, but ye would nae ever kill a woman, given in all the battles with our clans, ye nae once killed women or children. It was my way to leave him and strike at him without raising suspicion.”
She extended the missive to me, and I took it, ripping the seal.
It was, as I’d expected, a demand to bend the knee in exchange for Allan’s life.
I looked up and studied Breeda Gordon. She offered half truths, and I needed to discover what she was hiding.
“How did Gordon betray ye?” I asked, the parchment trembling in my hand.
“He vowed to make me his wife,” she said, her words dripping venom. “He vowed I’d be the lady of the stronghold, and he lied.”
“I take it he’s to wed another.”
“Aye,” she spat. “He’s to wed Laird Leslie’s sister. I’m a fool because I did nae see it coming.” She shook her head. “I thought he’d wed Elena to Laird Leslie to gain the alliance, but it seems he’s even grander plans for his sister.”
“Which are?”
“He’s made a marriage pact for Elena with the king’s brother.”
Shock seized me. “What?” If Gordon allied with the crown, we were doomed. “Why would the king’s brother wish to wed Elena Gordon?”
The lass smirked at me. “Because, Laird Campbell, Elena Gordon can read people’s thoughts, and the king’s brother wants access to that power.”
I stilled at the news. I wasn’t one to believe in magical powers, and yet, I did hear about the four lasses who’d ventured into the woods at the MacLeod holding and stolen the witch’s magic goblet.
It had been whispered about for well over a year since the lasses had been found and returned to the MacLeod holding during the Samhain festival.
I knew the MacLeod lass had predicted many deaths that had come true, and her power was knowing the future.
I did nae ken what the other lasses had wished for, but the knowledge I had about the MacLeod lass made me slower to simply dismiss what I was hearing now.
“I do nae ken,” I said slowly, “how ye delivering news of a spy in my midst gets ye vengeance. Gordon will still wed his sister to the king’s brother, and the king will surely then side with Gordon in our feud.”
“Nay,” she said, her smile taking on a cruel twist, “that will nae come to pass, because the spy in yer midst is Elena Gordon. And I’m certain ye’ll kill her.
” Her words struck like a hammer, and it hit me hard and fast. Only one woman could be that spy: Aria.
My chest convulsed with rage and betrayal.
Alba’s hand dropped to my forearm, her eyes filled with horror.
The truth throbbed behind my ribs. Aria was Elena. She’d used me to destroy my clan.
I struggled to form words. “Why would I want to kill Elena Gordon?” I loved her. I did. I hadn’t admitted it until today, but it was true. The lass had my heart.
But she was not who I’d thought she was…and now it seemed I’d let in the enemy.
Breeda’s gaze was ice. “Because she’s the reason Ramsey defeated ye in battle. She read yer warriors’ minds and sent Ramsey yer battle plans to ensure yer defeat.”
Everything I felt for her—the longing, the softness in my bones—had been the enemy’s blade. I raised the parchment, crumpling it in my fist. Betrayal had a woman’s face at last, and my love stood condemned.