Highland Warrior (Campbell Trilogy #1)(91)

What a mess. She should have trusted Jamie. If she had, maybe this could have been prevented. Justified or not, Niall had attempted to murder one of the most powerful men in the Highlands. After what Colin had done to her family, she did not blame her brother, but she wondered if something else had provoked the sudden attack. Something that had to do with the strange man Mor mentioned. None of that mattered—Niall would die no matter what the reason if Auchinbreck found him.

By midday, her prayers were answered. When the call went up, she rushed to the window in her chamber in time to see Jamie ride through the barmkin gate. Wanting to avoid another confrontation with Colin, she waited—impatiently—for him to come to her.

The minutes dragged on. Finally, after about half an hour, she heard the heavy footfalls tread up the stairs and cross the corridor. A moment later, the door opened.

Though the fire had burned low, the room heated with his presence. She could feel the anger radiating from him. Anxiously, her eyes flickered to his face.

His mouth was drawn in a tight line, and his visage bore the marks of his journey. She wondered if he’d slept more than a few hours since he’d left. His lips were chapped raw from the cold, and lines were imprinted around his eyes as if he’d been squinting into the icy rain. Soaked to the skin, he looked as if he’d slogged through bad weather for days—which he probably had.

She wanted to go to him, but the forbidding look on his face stopped her. “Jamie, I—”

“You know what has happened.” His voice was hard and flat.

God, he’d never looked at her so coldly. She knew then that he realized she’d lied to him. Fear ripped through her. Surely he would understand? She’d been in an impossible situation, divided between two loyalties.

And you didn’t choose him, a voice inside her head reminded her.

She’d always thought him imposing, but never had he seemed so unreachable. Never had he held himself so apart from her. She’d hurt him, she realized. By not giving him my trust, I’ve made him think I don’t care for him. How would she explain?

He was waiting for her reply. “Yes, your brother informed me of his purpose for being here.”

The mention of his brother seemed to trigger his conscience. “I’m sorry that you had to be here alone when Colin arrived. I’m sure it was difficult for you.”

She lifted her chin, meeting his gaze. “It was.”

“He mentioned that you threatened to toss him out.”

Her cheeks burned, not sure what Jamie’s reaction would be. Colin might be the devil, but he was Jamie’s brother. “I did,” she admitted.

“I would have liked to see that.”

For a moment, she thought she detected the shadow of a smile, but then his gaze hardened. “You know what this means, don’t you? If your clansmen are found responsible for the attack on my brother, not only will they have broken the truce, but they will be charged with murder. My brother is out for blood, and their actions have put all of us in jeopardy.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we married, I took surety for the Lamonts. I am responsible for their behavior, and my brother wants me to pay. Colin was furious that Argyll gave me Ascog when he thought it belonged to him by right.”

The blood drained from her face. Niall’s rash actions had put Ascog in jeopardy. Her dream of returning their lands to the Lamonts was slipping through her fingers. And what would become of Niall and Brian and the others? Her eyes shot to her husband. “You must do something.”

“It’s a little late to ask for my help now, Caitrina.”

Her heart stopped, hearing the censure in his words. Late. Was he telling her it was too late for them? “I’m sorry,” she said. “You must believe that I never meant for this to happen.”

His eyes pierced her with accusation. “Is what my brother said true? Was your brother Niall with them?”

Did you lie to me? She heard the unspoken question. Her eyes burned as she met his gaze unflinchingly and nodded.

He let out a vile oath that shook her—the uncharacteristic loss of control proof of the extent of his anger. “When?” he demanded.

“Not long ago. I only discovered that they lived when you were called away to Dunoon.”

“They?”

Her mouth lifted in a smile. Even in the circumstances, the joy she felt at the thought of her brothers’ survival could not be dampened. “Brian survived as well as Niall.”

She explained how they’d escaped and what had happened after the battle—how they’d fled to Eire and returned only when news of the MacGregor’s surrender reached them. She left out the part of them fighting with the MacGregors, but when she told him of Brian’s recent injury, he no doubt realized how it had occurred.

The whole time she’d been speaking, he’d been watching her face carefully. “I’m happy for you, lass.” She could hear in his voice that he was. “I know how much they mean to you. You must have been overjoyed.”

She blinked back the tears. “I was. I am. I still can’t quite believe it.”

“If you’d told me the truth, I might have been able to prevent them from coming to any harm.”

“I wanted to tell you, but Niall swore me to secrecy.”

“I’m sure he did, but you should never have agreed, knowing that in doing so you would be keeping something like this from me.”