Page 102 of The Chieftain
“Ach, you’re slacking in your duty to her,” Alex said. “But I suppose ye have beenbusy.”
Ian raised an eyebrow and shot a look between him and Alex—and just like that, Connor could tell that Ian had guessed that something had happened between him and Ilysa. It was one thing to know each other so well that they could read each other’s minds on the battlefield; this was quite another. Praise God Duncan had a blind spot when it came to his sister.
“Ach, no, why did MacIain bring a Campbell with him?” Connor asked when he caught sight of the boar-head crest of the Campbell clan on the sail of one of the galleys.Damn it. He had hoped to have the battle with the MacLeods concluded before the Crown’s lieutenant learned of it.
“That’s John Campbell in that galley,” Ian said, referring to the Campbell chieftain’s brother, who was also the Thane of Cawdor. “The other galleys are his as well.”
“MacIain is no coming?” Connor asked.
“No,” Ian said. “He’s dead.”
CHAPTER 41
Connor gripped his cup so tightly his knuckles were white as he listened to John Campbell tell how Alexander of Dunivaig had attacked and killed MacIain and MacIain’s two oldest sons, who were his own wife’s father and brothers. Twenty-some years of marriage and six children of shared blood had only masked, not erased, Alexander’s drive for vengeance against his wife’s clan. MacIain had finally been held to account for his treachery that resulted in the execution of three generations of Alexander’s family—his grandfather, father, and brothers.
How could Alexander face his wife after killing her father and brothers? Connor recalled sitting at their table and observing what he thought was genuine affection between Alexander and his wife. Connor felt sorry for the poor woman. His own efforts to create a reliable alliance through marriage seemed futile. While such marriages sometimes succeeded in forging strong allegiances, just as often they ended in blood feuds.
“Can I call upon the friendship between our clans and ask ye to join our battle?” Connor asked John Campbell, though he knew it was pointless.
“That friendship is what will keep us from fighting on the side of the MacLeods,” John said, raising his cup to Connor. “I do hope you’re not too aggrieved that I came to retrieve MacIain’s granddaughter.”
The Campbells had moved with their usual stunning speed to take control of the MacIain’s lands. Before the dead chieftain’s body was in the grave, the Campbells claimed guardianship over his only surviving son, a boy of nine, whose mother was a Campbell. Connor doubted the son would ever gain control over MacIain lands. Similarly, John Campbell had been dispatched to collect Jane, whose marriage would be arranged to better suit Campbell interests.
“I regret giving up my bride, of course,” Connor lied, as there was an advantage to letting the Campbells believe they owed him a favor. “But Jane and I part on good terms.”
That much was true. Jane, who was upstairs joyfully packing, was almost as relieved as he was to avoid a marriage destined to make them both miserable. But Connor could not help thinking that if she had never arrived, Ilysa would still be spending her nights in his bed.
***
Lachlan decided he was still captain since Connor had not said he wasn’t. While the chieftain drank whiskey with his guest, Lachlan made sure the men had their weapons and supplies ready. He marveled at Connor’s patience. With a battle to be fought, he had to sit inside the keep playing host to the Thane of Cawdor, who looked to be an arrogant son of bitch if there ever was one.
“Lachlan!”
He turned to find Robbie, one of the young men he and Connor had trained, running toward him with a bloody dirk in his hand.
“What’s happened?” Lachlan asked.
“I think I killed Sorely.”
“Take me to him,” Lachlan said. “Ye can tell me why ye did it on the way.”
His own calm seemed to settle Robbie, which was good. Lachlan didn’t want a garbled explanation.
“I was guarding the gate, like ye told me,” Robbie said as they crossed the courtyard. “I let everyone in and no one out.”
The gist of the story was that when it was most chaotic with all the newly arrived guests and warriors coming in, Sorely tried to leave. When Robbie stopped him, Sorely started to argue and then suggested they go inside the gatehouse to discuss it.
“As soon as I went through the door, he tried to dirk me,” Robbie said, his eyes wide. “Without thinking, I did exactly as ye taught me. Next thing I know, Sorely’s on the floor bleeding. I think he’s dead.”
“Sometimes a man isn’t as dead as he looks.” Lachlan walked faster and hoped Sorely was still there.
When he entered the gatehouse, Sorely had dragged himself a few feet across the floor.
“Ye don’t look as if you’re going to last,” Lachlan said, kneeling beside him. “That will save us the trouble of executing ye since I assume you’re the one who murdered the two guards.”
“To hell with ye, Lachlan,” Sorely said and spit out blood.
“Ye want to tell me why you’re a miserable traitor to your clan?” In Lachlan’s experience, men wanted to talk at the end, and he suspected Sorely would want to justify himself.
