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“Why did you stop?” Ramsey asked
“Did you see the man up there on the catwalk? Did you see him, Ramsey?”
Brodick answered “I saw hiates now to meet Ramsey You met him on the day we arrived Don’t you remember?”
She was frantically shaking her head “No, Brodick, I didn’t meet him”
“Yes, you did,” Ramsey insisted
“No, I didn’t,” she cried out “But I’ve seen him before He’s the man who betrayed you”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Raatekeepers to call the men to arht as a tomb Soldiers raced to the catwalks, their arrows already notched to their bows in preparation, as alloped out into the valley to surround the periet into the estate, and no one was going to get out
Every able-bodiedto support their laird, and for the first time since the MacPhersons had joined the Sinclairs, there was no prejudice or rivalry United, they stood together, five deep, in a wide circle around the courtyard, waiting and watching, with but one single intent—to protect Ramsey
Gideon waited in the center of the courtyard with eleven other traitorous men, all Sinclairs, and all loyal to the er and confident His moment had finally arrived, and soon noould beco forward to killing Raive him their loyalty
Brodick ordered Liae, but Gillian countered his command with one of her own
“You will stay and protect your laird”
Brodick heard her and nodded his agreeid then and took the lead to the cottage She wanted to call out to Brodick, to tell him to be careful and not take any foolish chances, but his thoughts were on the battle ahead of him, and she didn’t want to distract him She prayed to God instead and asked Hiid, she saw herthe sa
Raround before their horses had stopped, and drawing their swords, they closed the distance
Proster tried to follow his laird, but Dylan shoved hiht to protect your laird’s back”
“Then ill?” the soldier demanded
“The Buchanans, of course Watch and learn, boy”
Lia our mistress,” he said “And we are thankful, but until you are properly trained, you are a hindrance to your laird, forcing him to protect you Patience, boy Do as my commander orders Watch and learn”
Gideon boldly stepped forward to confront Raht to rule the Sinclairs,” he shouted
Rahed, the sound harsh in the sudden stillness “You challenged me once before, you son of a bitch I should have killed you then”
“You dared to coed to me Me!” Gideon shrieked “I should have been laird, not you I am worthy”
“Worthy?” Ramsey roared “You think you’re worthy? You prey on children and woet what you want, and you believe that ain with the English devils to steal my brother and kill hiht you could rectify that blunder by going back to England and ordering the death of a five-year-old boy No, you aren’t worthy You’re a coward and a traitor, you bastard”
“I did what needed to be done to gain the loyalty of all the Sinclairs You and Michael will both die I’id KirkConnell to denyof old men and let them foul our land with the MacPherson scum How dare you believe they are equal to us When I’ue”
With the crook of his finger, Ramsey motioned for Gideon to attack “Coth”
Screaed His friends advanced at the same time, their plan to overwhelm the laird with their sheer number, but Brodick and Dylan moved forward, their swords swift as they cut doo of the ene their weapons A weathered Sinclair soldier, flanked by two MacPhersons, joined the fight then, thinking to even the odds
Brodick never took his gaze off Anthony andthe look in his eyes, Anthony tried to run, but Dylan blocked his retreat Brodick wasted little ti with the soldier and killed hi, then crashed to the ground Brodick spit on hi to watch Ramsey
A loud piercing squeal issued froh his shoulder to his waist, nearly cutting him in half The commander fell to his knees, a look of stunned disbelief on his face As he was drawing his last breath, Ramsey kicked him onto his back and lifted his sith both hands as he ht he thrust his sword into Gideon’s black heart
Raer The silence was heavy; the only sound, that of his heavy breathing The scent of blood hung in the air and filled his nostrils He shuddered once, like a dog shaking his coat to rid it of water, then straightened and jerked his sword from Gideon’s body
“Does anyone else want to challenge me?” he roared
“Nay,” a man shouted from deep within the crowd “Our loyalty is to you, Laird”
A resounding cheer went up then, but Raround around hirass blackened with their spilled blood Turning to the three soldiers who had stepped forward to fight the battle with hi their bodies outside my walls and leave them to rot”
He noticed then that he, like Brodick, had splatters of blood on his ars, “I want to wash their stench from my body”
Without a backward glance, Brodick followed his friend to the lake
When they ell away froland tomorrow”
Brodick nodded “At first light”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Proster told Gillian and Bridgid what had happened In his enthusias detail as he described the fight, blow by bloody blow, and told them far more than either one of theid’s face was gray and Gillian was sick to her stomach
“You’re certain Brodick and Ramsey were unharmed?” Gillian asked
“Neither suffered so much as a nick,” Proster replied “They were both covered with blood, but it wasn’t theirs, and they went to the lake to wash it off Ra to let the bodies of the dead rot”
“I don’t wish to hear another word,” Bridgid said She dismissed the soldier then and opened the door for hi to help with the healing”
“You ht want to wait,” Proster advised “Or take the back way The grass in the courtyard is black from blood spilled, and I’ed away yet”
“I’ll go to et some salve fro”
“But they weren’t good men,” he countered “They deserved to die”
They continued their argument as Proster closed the door
Gillian sat down to wait for Brodick She expected hih the door at any moment An hour later she was still wai
ting Byfor him and was told by one of the MacPhersons that her husband had left with Raone to Iain Maitland to tell him the news
She tried to wait up for her husband, but because she’d had so little rest the night before, she couldn’t keep her eyes open She finally fell into a fitful sleep
Brodick woke her up in the ht when he pulled her into his ar, and she felt a desperation in hiht or reject him Nay, she stroked and caressed hi ild and frantic, and when he climaxed deep inside her, she came apart in his arms
She told him she loved him, and he cherished her words because he knew that her love was going to be sorely tested in the days ahead By toht, she could very well hate him
Brisbane and Otis knocked on her door early the followingGillian was dressed for the day and had just finished hermeal
“We have been instructed to take you to your sister,” Brisbane announced
“Did she finally agree to see me, then?” she asked as she stepped outside
Otis shook his head “She has been ordered to see you”
Gillian tried not to let theain refused her They walked together to the stables, where their horses were saddled and waiting Brisbane took the lead, and neither he nor Otis said another word until they reached a cluster of cottages near the border that once separated the MacPhersons from the Sinclairs
Gillian was suddenly nervous and scared Christen had already rejected her, and as painful and hu as that was, she had accepted it, but if her sister didn’t knohere the king’s treasure was or had forgotten all that had happened, then everything was lost and Uncle Morgan was doomed
“Please, God, let her remember,” she whispered as she dise Brisbane had pointed out
“We’ll wait here for you,” Brisbane said
“You needn’t wait I know the way back”
The door opened then, and a wonized as her sister stepped into the sunlight Her husband, tall and gaunt, followed her His hostility was evident as he hovered protectively over his wife
Christen was a good head taller than Gillian Her hair was much darker too, and Liese had told Gillian that Christen had golden curls, but she didn’t reh Gillian knew this woer to her
She was heavy with child No one had bothered to mention that fact to Gillian
Had Christen not looked so sullen, Gillian would have eain They stared at one another for a long minute before Gillian finally broke the uncomfortable silence
“Are you Christen?”