Page 35 of The Icy Highlander’s Virgin (Highlanders’ Feisty Brides #4)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
" F orgive the intrusion, but ye need to come right away," he panted. "It's about Ewan, m'lady. That guard from yesterday—he's got a blade to his throat in the courtyard."
The peace of the chapel shattered into fragments as Erica leaped to her feet, her face going pale.
"What guard?" But even as she asked, she knew. The angry young man from their patrol. The one she had merely exiled, despite Lachlan's warning her that pardoning a traitor never turned out well.
They rushed through the corridors, Lachlan's hand on his sword hilt, until they burst into the courtyard where a crowd had gathered in a tense circle. At its center stood the dark-haired guard, one arm wrapped around Ewan's throat, a dirk pressed to the older man's neck.
"Lady McLaren!" the young guard called out, his voice shaking with rage. "Come to save yer precious councilman?"
"Let him go, Tam," Erica said, her voice steady despite her racing heart. "Whatever grievance ye have is with me, nae him."
"Me grievance is with what ye've done to this clan!
" Tam pressed the blade closer, and a thin line of blood appeared on Ewan's throat.
"Councilman Boyd is me father, and I kent how he loved and served yer father faithfully, then Laird Leo, and ye just dismissed him like he was nothin'?
Like his years of service meant nothin'? "
Lachlan took a careful step forward. "Lad, put down the dirk and we can discuss this?—"
"Shut up!" Tam's voice cracked with desperation. "This is yer fault! Our plan was goin' well until ye came and filled her head with ideas!"
"What plan?" Erica demanded.
"To restore proper leadership to this clan! Me father kent how to run things, kent what Laird Leo would have wanted." The blade trembled in Tam's grip. "He would never have dismissed a loyal councilman just because he disagreed with another councilman!"
"I dinnae dismiss yer father because of Ewan. He dinnae show me the respect I deserved as his lady. And Leo is dead," Erica said firmly. "I'm the lady now, by right of inheritance."
"I daenae care about yer rights!" Tam backed toward the wall, dragging Ewan with him. "Ye want yer precious guard captain to live? Then renounce yer title. Step down and let me father return to his rightful place."
The crowd murmured uneasily, some faces showing horror at his methods. Erica could feel the weight of their watching eyes, and she knew that how she handled this moment would echo through the clan for years.
As Tam continued backing toward the wall, neither he nor the watching crowd noticed the slight movement at a window above. Frederick had slipped around behind, using his knowledge of castle layouts to position himself.
"Tam," Erica tried again, "ye're makin' a mistake. Put down that dirk."
"Nay!" The young man's voice grew more desperate. "I willnae until ye return him to his duties. He served us faithfully while ye were off playin' wife to another clan!"
"I never went to play. I was tryin' to save all of us," Erica said quietly. "Just as ye're tryin' to save yer father now. But this isnae the way."
Tam's back hit the stone wall, and in that moment of contact, Frederick dropped silently from the window above. His powerful arms wrapped around the young guard, one hand clamping over the dirk while the other pulled him away from Ewan.
"Got him!" Frederick grunted as the weapon clattered to the stones.
Ewan staggered forward, one hand pressed to his bleeding throat, while Tam struggled uselessly in Frederick's iron grip.
"Nay!" Tam screamed. "This isnae over! Me father has supporters throughout the clan! Ye cannae stop all of us!”
Lachlan's voice carried across the courtyard with deadly authority. "Take him to the dungeons. And I want a full investigation into anyone who might share his... loyalties."
Frederick and two other guards hauled Tam away, the young man's shouts echoing across the courtyard until they disappeared into the castle.
"Ewan!" Erica rushed forward immediately, her hands reaching for her guard captain as he staggered away from his captor. "Let me see."
The older man touched the shallow cut on his throat, wincing slightly. "Aye, lass. Just a scratch. Takes more than a frightened boy with a dirk to finish off an old warrior like me."
Erica gently moved his hand aside to examine the shallow cut, her touch careful and concerned. "Are ye certain? It could have been so much worse..."
"I'm fine, m'lady. Truly." Ewan's weathered face showed gratitude for her concern. "Frederick's timing was perfect."
"Are ye certain ye can remain here? After this?" Her voice carried genuine concern. "I could order ye back to Kinnaird with us."
"Nae, m'lady. This is where I'm needed most." Ewan's expression was grim but determined. "If there are more like Tam lurkin' about, someone needs to root them out."
Lachlan stepped forward. "Ye'll have additional support. I'll send a full squad of men just for castle security—separate from the border guards. Men who answer only to ye and have no divided loyalties."
"That would be welcome," Ewan acknowledged with a grateful nod.
Only after she was satisfied that Ewan was truly unharmed did Erica allow herself to step back. And only when they were alone in their chambers later did the full reality of how close she'd come to losing her most trusted ally hit her.
She sank onto the bed, her hands shaking as the delayed shock finally took hold. "He could have killed him, Lachlan. Right there in front of everyone, and I couldnae have stopped it."
Lachlan was beside her immediately, his arms coming around her as her body trembled with the aftershock of fear and adrenaline.
"But he didnae," Lachlan said firmly, his voice steady and reassuring. "Ewan is safe. Frederick got there in time. And now we ken exactly what we're dealin' with."
The hours that followed were spent in careful preparation—meeting with loyal clan members, issuing new security protocols, and ensuring that communications between McLaren and Kinnaird would remain constant.
By the time they were ready to depart, the sun was beginning its descent toward the western hills.
As they prepared to mount their horses in the courtyard, two maids approached shyly, one carrying a small bouquet of wildflowers tied with a simple ribbon.
"For ye, m'lady," the younger girl said, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. "From all of us who serve in the castle."
Erica accepted the flowers with genuine delight, breathing in their sweet fragrance. "Heather and wild roses—these are me favorite flowers! How did ye ken?"
"Ye told us, years ago, when ye were only a wee lass," the older of the two replied. "Ye said ye loved them because they grew wild and free, no matter how harsh the Highland winds."
She had no recollection of telling anyone what her favorite flowers were, but the thoughtful gesture brought tears to Erica's eyes. "Thank ye. Both of ye. This means more than ye can imagine."
As they rode through the gates, Erica held the bouquet carefully, unwilling to let the wind scatter the delicate petals.
"Thank ye," she said to Lachlan as they crested the hill and McLaren castle fell behind them. "For takin' me home, for understandin' why I needed to be there."
"I promised we'd be goin' back and forth between our territories," he replied. "I'm a man of me word, Erica. Always."
She looked down at the flowers in her hands, a wistful expression crossing her face. "I'll miss havin' these growin' wild around me home."
"Then we'll make a new garden at Kinnaird," Lachlan said without hesitation. "Plant heather and wild roses wherever ye like. Create a piece of McLaren within Kinnaird's walls."
The offer was simple but heartfelt, and it made something warm bloom in Erica's chest. The idea of blending their two homes, their two lives, felt like another step toward the partnership they were building together.
"I'd like that," she said softly. "I'd like that very much."