Page 38 of When a Highlander Vows (Enemies to Lovers #1)
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“ I suppose it will always be thus, Lottie,” Caitlin said at breakfast as she and her companion sat together, enjoying the morning meal.
“Aye, but it is more of late. I am worried there is some problem,” Lottie said, but soon the lines of concern on her expression cleared, and she said, “I hope ye had a good evenin’, Lass.”
“Och, Lottie, ye must nae say such things. Ye will make me blush,” she added, looking down at her food as her cheeks burned.
“Ye forget that I was once a young woman with a very healthy appetite.” When Caitlin looked up, the old woman winked, and she blushed all over again. “But what I would like to hear is that me grandson has made ye an offer of marriage.”
“He must have time, Lottie,” Caitlin said. “He asked for me to be patient as he learns to share his heart.”
That seemed to soothe her old friend, and she smiled, “Och, that is a good lad. At least he has told ye somethin’. For action is very good, and I can see his love in the way he treats ye, and how he has gifted ye, but he has never been very good with words.”
Caitlin remembered the way he’d spoken to her in his study after he gave her the gift. Words that had made her heart swell with love.
“He is far better than I ever expected.”
When Lottie’s eyes opened wide, Caitlin hurried to say, “With words, I mean!”
Lottie’s laughter filled the hall, and Caitlin sighed. She would never be able to not embarrass herself. Of that she was certain. But after Lucas left so hastily that morning, she was more concerned about his safety. Tucked away in her quiet village, she had never heard tell of so many skirmishes along the clan borders. Or of all the things a laird might be called away to deal with.
“Will he be all right, Lottie?” she asked, her voice now soft and quiet.
Loss had been the mark of her whole existence. Now that she had found love again, a true, real, and strong love, she worried what it would do to her to lose it. The darkness would swallow her up, and nothing would bring her back again. The realization scared her to her core. The love she felt for Lucas was now as strong as death, and having him leave again so soon after they’d made their revelations to one another made her fearful.
“Aye, Lass, he will be all right,” Lottie said kindly. “It would take a great many things to topple me grandson. If he is good at words, as ye say, then ye ken he is far better at fightin’, the thing he has been workin’ on and bred for his entire life.”
Caitlin let out a breath, soothed but just for the moment. She wouldn’t feel totally better until Lucas was back in her arms again. She and Lottie ate, and they were just about to go on their morning walk, when Archie rushed in through the gates calling for them to be closed. The look of strain in his eyes as he rushed toward them made Caitlin’s heart speed up.
“Archie, what is it?” she asked, hoping there was not already bad news.
“Dinnae ken yet. But the two of ye must go to the main hall with Sarah and Colin and Paige. Men are ridin’ toward us. Cannae see the colors.” He hurried them inside and then rushed off to find his wife.
Outside the doors, Caitlin could hear the gathering of soldiers to guard them, and she put a hand to her chest. She had left her spectacles upstairs, not yet used to wearing them, and the blurry world around her was now only fraught with terror. Lottie hurried to the window and squinted.
“Shite, ‘tis that bloody idiot.”
“Who?” Caitlin said, rushing to her side, trying to peer out as well.
“Jack Webster, Laird of the MacGregor Clan. Foolish man.”
“But why? Why would he come now? Why would he ride to us when our laird has gone away?” Caitlin was afraid, but Lottie was angry.
“Daenae worry, Lass. Lucas will handle it all.” She patted Caitlin’s arm, but Caitlin wasn’t reassured.
The look in Archie’s eyes, though, when he pushed them inside the main hall had been anything but calm. Sarah and Paige entered, Colin in front of them, and they rushed to hug Caitlin and Lottie. Caitlin leaned down to hug Colin as well.
“What have ye heard?” she asked Sarah as Paige walked Lottie to a seat to keep her from the window.
Sarah rubbed a hand over her large belly. The day would come any day now when she was ready to give birth, and Caitlin prayed it was not that day.
“It is Laird MacGregor, come to stake his claim over the Castle. He is speaking to Archie now, claiming that he will siege this castle until Lucas gives him what he wants.”
“But Lucas is nae here.”
“Aye, so he hopes that it will fall easier,” Sarah said, looking worried. “And when Lucas comes back, they can ambush him and take him down. Then the Castle will be free for the taking.”
Caitlin felt faint, but she had to be strong for the others. “Come and sit down, Sarah. All will be well. I ken it.”
She helped Sarah to a seat, and Colin followed along, coming to comfort his mother. Caitlin sat as well, and she thought about Lucas. Tears welled in her eyes when they heard the first sounds of fighting outside. Was this the end? After all that wonderful happiness, Lucas was going to be taken away from her?
She did not understand why fate was so cruel, and a tear dropped as they listened to the groans of men and the clash of metal.
No one. There was no one. A messenger had ridden in that morning to the castle, Archie said, delivering the message that Lucas was needed at the border again. The message was from Laird MacGregor, claiming that McDougall men had broken through the borders again, and frustrated, Lucas had ridden off, determined to meet with the laird at long last to deal with this once and for all. The fact that the laird’s message had interrupted a lovely morning with the woman he loved more than anything else in the world did not help the fury inside of him as he rode to meet him.
But once he arrived on MacGregor land at the appointed place, there was no one there to meet him. The border he’d created was still in place, and there was no sign of recent problems. He jumped down from Searbas’ back, looking around in confusion until he heard the distinct sound of a sword being unsheathed.
He turned again to see two cloaked strangers, without colors, walking toward him, pulling their swords from their sheaths ready for battle.
“Time for it to come to an end, Laird McDougall,” the one man said, his face hidden underneath his dark hood.
“Aye, a message from Laird MacGregor,” the other said, and before Lucas could respond with words, they lunged for him, growls in their throats, their swords held high.
But Lucas was not quelled by two men. His sword had come out the second he’d seen the men, and his dirk was at the ready as well. The fight was quick, over in seconds, and Lucas was glad that this time, Caitlin was not there to witness it, hiding from her place in the bushes.
Once he’d felled the men, he stared down at them as the lay mortally wounded on the ground. He removed their cloaks and saw with stark disbelief, that they were wearing the MacGregor colors.
“What is the meaning of this?” he asked the one who was still looking at him.
“He is takin’ yer land as we speak. His Clan demands power,” the man continued, choking a bit. “Ye willnae defeat him now.”
With a scoff, Lucas stood, his heart hammering away in his chest. “Just ye wait.”
Hopping on Searbas’ back again, he kicked the horse into speed as they galloped away. His mind flew instantly to Caitlin, and he hated the thought of what fear she was going through in that moment. He could just imagine her there. Shuddering. Sitting there wondering where he was, wondering if he left her again. Wondering if all the happiness they’d suddenly found would be gone in a moment.
There was one thing he knew for certain. As he rode back toward his castle, the castle that was his birthright, the castle that he earned through blood toil. He knew that he would burn it to the ground. Let it go. He would do whatever he had to do, give everything up and Caitlin would be safe.
That was his greatest concern now. But Jack Webster learned about McDougall Castle and somehow knew that Caitlin was his woman. And somehow would find a way to take his gravest revenge.