Page 36 of Only a Highlander Will Do

Callum came to Tormod’s side. “Why the gloomy face?”

“It is Fiona. She is gone. Mother helped her leave Dunvegan.”

“That’s impossible,” Graeme said, pulling on his boots. “We locked this castle down so tight no one was getting in or out without our knowing.”

Rowena held up her candle, illuminating her brothers’ faces. “I saw them together on the Fairy Bridge. Mother came back to the castle and Fiona headed farther into the gardens.”

Tormod couldn’t stop thinking about her, couldn’t stop imagining what was happening to her alone outside the castle’s walls. “Mother!” he yelled again.

This time a swirl of mist appeared, coming through the wall just beyond the staircase. They all turned towards her, watching her approach. She hovered there, just beyond reach. There is no need to shout, my son.

“Where is Fiona?”

I suppose she is on her way to her home.

“It’s dangerous out there for her. For anyone! Why did you help her?”

She was deeply troubled and wanted to leave. I decided it was kinder to let her go now before you got too emotionally attached.

It was too late for that. Tormod ground his teeth together. In the past two days with Fiona by his side, the all-consuming restlessness that had been his constant companion for the past five years had disappeared. He’d stopped feeling the need to fight everyone and anything, even himself. With her he had started thinking about what it might be like to stop going to war, settle down, and start a family.

An ache spread inside Tormod. If he didn’t find Fiona before the MacDonalds did, none of that would be possible. And, because he knew his enemies so well, he also knew that once the MacDonalds found her, instead of taking her back to Monkstadt, they would kill her because it would wound the MacLeods more deeply than simply spiriting her away.

Frustration coiled his gut. “We must ride out immediately.”

“And go where? We have no idea where she has gone, and none of us can track her movements in the dark,” Alastair asked.

“We will head to Ulster Castle. ’Tis but an hour’s ride away. If we do not find her on the way or at the castle, then we’ll ride on to Monkstadt.”

Alastair frowned. “We’ll essentially be declaring war against the MacDonalds if we do.”

Tormod met and held his brother’s gaze. “Then we go to war. You were willing to do much the same to keep Gwendolyn safe. My wife is every bit as worthy of such a show of force.”

Alastair sighed. “You are right. Family comes before diplomacy.” He turned to Graeme. “Ready the men.”

“I am coming with you,” Rowena said.

“Nay,” her brothers all said at once.

Alastair frowned at his sister before turning to his wife. “You and Gwendolyn must remain here and ready the castle in case we do go to war and come back with casualties.”

Rowena crossed her arms over her chest. “Gwendolyn is quite capable of handling that on her own. Besides, Mrs Morgan is sure to help Gwendolyn prepare everything. I will just be in the way. I can better serve you. When you find Fiona, someone will need to appeal to her in a way only another woman can.”

Knowing he had already lost this battle with his sister, Tormod nodded. “I will allow it, only if you promise to listen to our every command once we are outside the gates of Dunvegan. I’ll not risk your safety. Understand?”

Rowena smiled. “I understand.”

Tormod shed all his earlier thoughts of settling down, once more becoming the warrior he was trained to be. He stepped back into his chamber and emerged a moment later wearing his sword at his hip and holding a sgian-dubh in his hand that he tucked into the inside of his right boot. “Let’s be away. Every moment counts.”

Chapter Thirteen

Fiona walked through the darkness and walked some more until the sky started to lighten in shades of pink and yellow. When she could finally make out the familiar sight of the sea on her left, she allowed herself an exhausted smile. She was almost home. Perhaps when she gazed upon the familiar stones of Ulster Castle the ache in her heart would disappear.

The thought that she was close to her home gave Fiona an extra burst of energy. She dropped her stick, lifted the tattered hem of her skirt and ran. When she heard the thunder of hoofbeats behind her, she ran even faster. Had Alex MacDonald finally found her? Would he capture her when she was within reach of her goal?

Fiona cried out and pushed herself harder, nearly stumbling over the rocks in her way as she tried to reach the safety of what? A locked door would not stop the army behind her.

She thought she heard someone call her name. But that was most likely her exhaustion mixed with wishful thinking. She came to the rise where she could see Ulster Castle in the distance. Suddenly a cannonball fired and all around her the world thundered. The earth beneath her feet shook, making it difficult to continue.