Page 53 of Only a Highlander Will Do

Tormod.

She could feel his welcome presence at her back. “Well done, my sweet.” Savage satisfaction tore through Fiona at the sound of Tormod’s voice.

Chapter Twenty

Rowena shivered. She pulled the cloth of her dress more tightly around her and drew her knees up to her chest. The cold of the dungeon seeped through the thick stone walls. The candle had long since burned out and darkness surrounded her, and with every skitter and thump by creatures or worse, humans, her heart raced.

Fiona’s father had long since fallen asleep a few yards from her. She could tell by the regularity of his breathing and the occasional jag of snoring. Sleep had all but eluded her for the past two days. Whenever she had felt herself slipping into that state, she’d been plagued by such terrible visions of torture and abuse at the MacDonalds’ hands that she immediately startled herself into consciousness.

Whether it was a few moments or hours later, she was no longer certain, but now Rowena heard footsteps coming towards the door. They stopped and the bolt was thrown aside with far more force than before. Perhaps it was Marcus’s father, James, who had come to see her instead of Agnes. Rowena’s hopes soared at the thought of a new candle. There was a long pause before the door finally opened.

Candlelight spilled through the darkness and Rowena brought her hand up to shield her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness. She opened her mouth to greet Marcus’s parent, but it was not an older man who stood there glowering at her. It was a young man whose dark hair and dark eyes reflected the light of the candle in his hands.

“Who are you?” she asked, trying to sound brave, but the cold made her teeth chatter, making her sound frightened instead.

“So you are Rowena MacLeod.” He stepped inside the dungeon, leaving the door open behind him. “As soon as the laird and his son were otherwise engaged, I had to come down here and look upon you myself.”

“Who are you?” Her voice sounded stronger now.

His gaze narrowed on her face. “I am Marcus’s cousin, Bryce.”

All the tension suddenly left Rowena and her heart surged with unexpected hope. “That is a relief.” She offered him a polite smile. “For a moment there I was—Oh, never mind. I’m glad you’re here.”

He studied her closely as he set the candlestick on the dungeon floor. “Are you?”

There was something in his manner that gave her a moment’s pause. Was he here to help her as Marcus’s mother had? Suddenly she wasn’t so certain. Tension returned to her muscles.

“I wanted to gaze upon the succubus who convinced my cousin to betray his own people—to see for myself what charms you possess that could make a rational man do something so out of character.”

The walls seemed to be closing in on Rowena as she struggled to make sense of what Marcus’s cousin said. The hope that had flared within her for a brief moment had been replaced by a cold fear. “Marcus and I fell in love.”

He crept closer. “If that is so, then why did he leave you?”

Rowena clutched her cold, clammy hands together. “Marcus is preparing for our future life.”

“You’ll not have a future life with my cousin—at least not the one he had planned. Not when I am through with you.” He started unfastening the flap of his breeches. “My cousin always gets everything he wants, no matter the obstacle. Since the laird kept his son from spoiling you, I will see that deed is done. Marcus will never want you when I am through.”

Rowena swallowed hard. She felt as though a piece of flint had been jammed into her throat, stopping her breath. Bryce jerked her to her feet and pressed her back against the wall. Rowena pummelled his chest with her hands. “Let me go! Marcus will kill you for this.”

He caught her hands and locked one of his around both wrists, like a band of steel, pinning them over her head while his other hand clawed at her skirt, lifting it higher and higher. “Then let’s make certain this is worth dying for.”

In desperation, Rowena cast about the room for something to strike him with. Just then, something stepped from the shadows. A sickening thump sounded. Bryce’s eyes went wide and his grip on her lessened. A second thump followed the first and before Bryce could react, he slumped to the floor at Fiona’s father’s feet.

The man she’d thought was asleep tossed the rock in his mangled hands to the ground. “You did me a favour, offering me your food. I returned it. We are even now.”

“Thank you,” Rowena said on a relieved breath.

The older man turned towards the door and waved for Rowena to follow. “That idiot was so distracted by you that he forgot to close the door, and it appears the guards are no longer there. Let’s go before they return.”

*

At Tormod’s command, the warriors at his back surged through the open gate to engage the enemy. Tormod and Alastair led the charge. While Alastair struck down one man after another, Tormod made his way to Fiona’s side and sent Alex MacDonald staggering backwards with a strike of his sword.

The screech and clangour of steel, along with noisy grunts of exertion, filled the bailey as Alex gained his balance and charged Tormod. Sword poised, Alex thundered forward. “I’ll kill you and have your head on a pike, MacLeod, then I’ll burn what’s left of you later.”

Tormod braced for impact. Alex wouldn’t triumph. Not this time.

When Alex struck, Tormod twisted to the left, sending his opponent behind him. Two MacDonald warriors charged Tormod. He caught one in the stomach with his foot and plunged his sword through the shoulder of the other.