Highland Hellion (Highland Weddings #3)(46)

“Night, ma’am.”

“Felicitations!”

“Pleasant…rest…”

“Get out, the lot of ye savages.” Adwin followed his order with a couple of kicks at the backsides of the men who were a bit slower in their obedience.

The chamber door was shut with a very firm sound that she felt as well as heard.

For it left her very much alone with her groom.

*

“I wondered…when ye’d come for me.”

Colum Gordon’s voice crackled with age, but there was a clear note of victory in it. Tyree moved closer, noting the glitter of satisfaction in the old man’s eyes.

“Always glad to be of service,” Tyree said mockingly.

Colum’s attention flickered to the pillow Tyree had in his fist. “I stopped sleeping in the bed years ago,” he continued. “Because I knew one of ye would try to smother me.”

Tyree grinned. “Easy enough in a chair.”

He tightened his grip on the pillow and raised it.

“No’ as easy as ye think, lad.”

Tyree froze. Diocail’s voice came from the far corner of the laird’s chamber. As he watched, Diocail emerged from behind a tapestry.

Colum chuckled. “I still have loyal men who will no’ allow ye to murder me.”

“Loyal?” Tyree questioned. “He allowed the witch to escape.”

Colum’s face tightened. “Is that true?”

Diocail came closer and braced his feet shoulder-width apart. “It is.”

Colum tried to say something but ended up hacking.

“And I will no’ apologize,” Diocail continued once his laird had quieted. “She was no’ a witch, and I will no’ feed the hunger for witch-hunting. ’Tis a nasty thing, that, breeding fear in folks who would have otherwise had the good sense no’ to see the hand of Satan where there is only the unfairness of life. The Gordons do nae need to be suspicious of one another. Before ye fault me for me actions, remember who is here to defend ye and who has come to further his own lot by snuffing out yer life.”

Colum had been digging his fingers into the padded armrest of his chair. His eyes were mere slits in his head due to his rage, but he only opened and closed his mouth a few times once Diocail finished.

Tyree paled, realizing he was losing the battle. “The Gordons need new leaders, Diocail. Help me open the doors to a new laird, and ye will be me war chief. It’s hardly murder—he’s got one foot in the grave already.”

“Murder is murder,” Diocail replied. “I have enough sins to bear without adding that sordid bit of business to me list of transgressions, and I will no’ be standing by while ye do it. No’ when I’ve sworn me allegiance to Colum as laird of the Gordons. A man is only as good as his word.”

“Well, then.” Tyree dropped the pillow and pulled his dirk. “It will be a fine morning, because I’ll be greeting it with ye and Colum both dead.” He began to move in a slow circle around Diocail. “After all, I came here and found ye murdering our laird. Such a shame I was too late to stop ye, but I dispensed justice.”

Colum tried to cry out for help, but his voice was thin and didn’t carry across the wide expanse of his huge chambers.

Diocail only bared his teeth and curled his fingers in a come-hither gesture. “Try me, lad.”

Tyree grinned, but a moment later he was jabbing at Colum. Blood went spurting as the chair toppled and Diocail lunged at Tyree. They fell on the floor as Tyree turned the dirk on Diocail. It was what he’d intended, to make Diocail come at him so Tyree had the advantage.

The chamber was full of the scent of freshly spilled blood and the grunts of men fighting for their lives. Colum dragged his body away from the two men, leaving a path of blood behind him.

There was a bone-crunching sound, and the chamber went silent. Colum stopped trying to reach the door and turned to see what his fate would be. Both men were in the middle of the floor, a tangle of limbs and Gordon wool. The fresh blood was scarlet and covering both of them. For a long moment, Colum squinted at them, trying to find a hint as to which one had prevailed. It had been a long time since he’d tasted fear. Now, the taste was thick on his tongue as he felt his own blood slipping down his skin.

There was a heave and motion as Diocail sat up and pushed Tyree’s lifeless body off him. There was a wicked slice down the side of his face that he didn’t bother to wipe as he stood and came across the chamber.

Diocail opened the chamber door and let out a whistle. Colum started to chuckle as he realized he’d been delivered.

*

“It’s no’ something to laugh at.”

Katherine shrugged. “You look like a bundle of sheep’s fleece on the way to market.”

He did, too, with his blond hair sticking up and the rest of him bound by the fabric. The Lindseys had left him standing on his feet and really quite helpless, if such a thing were possible.

Rolfe sent her a disapproving glare when she softly snickered.

“Duncan even included a book of poetry for yer enjoyment, but ye’ll have to unwrap a few layers if ye want to find it.”

“I’m astonished to hear he even knows what poetry is, much less has a book of it.”

She was moving toward Rolfe, pulling one of the ends of the fabric free from where it was tucked into a fold. “There is a small fortune in cloth here.”