CHAPTER 43

Graeme rode out of the courtyard with his brothers at his sides and as directed, the gate was shut behind them while Silas rallied the men inside the keep. Tension was thick, and there was a sense of expectancy that permeated the air.

Everyone expected war. Most even wanted it. It was the chance to avenge the Montgomery losses to the Armstrong clan.

Graeme knew that if the slightest thing went wrong, his clan would swarm in like avenging angels and the entire valley would drip with blood.

He rode slightly ahead of his brothers, carrying a wide, white bedsheet as a sign of truce and that he planned no attack on the approaching army.

They swooped over the hill and down the other side to meet the Armstrong laird at the bottom.

Looking ahead, Graeme saw Tavis pause, then hold up his arm to halt the mass of soldiers behind him. ’Twas an impressive sight that forced Graeme to respect the might of the Armstrong fighting force.

Helmets and armor glistened in the sun. Shields reflected the light, sending blinding reflections from the well-honed metal. Crossbows and swords were held at the ready. It was an army that had come prepared to fight.

Tavis rode slightly ahead of his troops with his two sons at his sides. As he neared where Graeme and his brothers had stopped, he pulled away his helmet and pierced Graeme with the full weight of his stare.

“Where is my daughter?” he demanded.

“Ian McHugh has her,” Graeme returned.

Tavis reared back in surprise and then frowned. Brodie and Aiden scowled, and then Brodie spit out, “Liar.”

Graeme forced himself to keep his temper in check. It would be so easy to give the order to fight. His men were ready. They were itching to shed Armstrong blood. Everything Graeme had dreamed about was here, right in front of him. The chance to avenge his father’s death and end the decades of strife caused by the blood feud between the two clans.

But Eveline was more important. For Eveline, he’d do whatever was necessary, even if meant crawling to her father on his hands and knees and humbling himself before the other chieftain.

“Why say you something so outlandish?” Tavis barked.

“We do not have time to stand here arguing,” Graeme said in an even voice. “Eveline is what’s important. If you love your daughter, have your men stand down so that we can talk over this matter between us and then form a plan to bring her back safely.”

Tavis’s eyes glittered with rage. “You dare question my affection for my daughter?”

“You’re wasting time,” Graeme pointed out. “Look at me, Armstrong. No army behind me. I rode here in good faith with only my brothers at my side. You could kill me now. I’ve raised no arms to you. I want my wife back and I’ll have her if it’s the last thing I do.”

Tavis stared at Graeme for a long time, his brow furrowed in deep thought. “Speak your piece, Montgomery. I’ll hear what you have to say and then render judgment on the matter.”

“The man thinks he’s God,” Bowen muttered.

Graeme held up a hand to silence his brother.

“Did you know that Eveline is not daft at all? That she’s a highly intelligent, cunning lass with a quick wit and a heart as big as the highlands?”

Tavis’s jaw went slack, as though it were the very last thing he’d expected to hear Graeme say.

“She’s deaf, Armstrong. Not simple. Not touched. Not mad. She merely cannot hear and yet she can read the lips of others and can understand what it is they say.”

“How do you know all of this?” Armstrong asked hoarsely.

“She told me.”

“You lie!” Aiden roared. “She cannot speak. She has not spoken since her accident.”

Teague drew his sword in a flash. “You’ll cease calling into question the honor of my brother. He speaks the truth. I’ve heard her myself.”

Tavis bit out a rebuke to Aiden and ordered him to be silent. Then he turned back to Graeme. “She spoke to you? Is it true she cannot hear?”

Graeme nodded.

“Then why?”

The older man’s hands shook and bewilderment was heavy in his eyes. He looked suddenly much older than his years. It was obvious what Graeme had said hurt him.

“Why would she perpetuate such a deception?” Tavis asked hoarsely.

“Because she feared she would be forced into marriage to Ian McHugh,” Graeme said quietly. “She saw an opportunity to be able to cry off the marriage and so she allowed you and the rest of her clan to believe she was daft because it saved her from the one thing she feared the most. Ian terrorized her from the moment talks began of marriage. He spelled out in precise detail exactly how she’d suffer at his hands. She saw a way to escape and she seized it. Before long the lie took on a life of its own and she saw no way out.”

Tavis whitened and then put a hand to his nape as he stared aghast at Graeme. “She told me … Sweet mother Mary, she came to me. She said … Oh God, I didn’t believe her. I thought she was expressing normal maidenly fears. I had no idea.…”

“You left her no choice,” Graeme bit out.

“And now? You say he has her? How did this happen? Did you not protect her as you should?” Tavis demanded.

“Nay, ’tis true enough that I did not do all I should do. ’Tis my fault she is even now in that bastard’s hands.”

“Nay!” Bowen cried out, his face red with anger. “I will not allow you to take blame for this. He was shot by an arrow less than a fortnight ago by a man wearing the scabbard that the Armstrong soldiers wear.”

Tavis’s head came up, his eyes sparking in anger. “I did not order an attack on my daughter’s husband. I would have never endangered her in that manner. Furthermore, I would not dishonor a blood oath sworn before God and my king.”

“I know you did not,” Graeme said calmly. “I did not know it at the time, and it caused Eveline much grief, for she witnessed the entire thing, and it was she who told us of the scabbard and how they came to be made.”

Tavis closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring. “My own daughter believes that I would betray her this way?”

“Eveline was betrayed by four members of my clan acting in conjunction with Ian McHugh. Last eve, Eveline was taken by McHugh and his escape was aided by men I trusted. I have no desire to engage you in battle, Armstrong. All I want is for my wife to be returned safely to my side.”

Tavis stared at him for a long moment, his gaze burning into Graeme, peeling him back, layer by layer. Then his eyes widened in surprise.

“You care for my daughter.”

“My love for her is stronger than my hatred of you. ’Tis why I’ll not raise arms against you today. Instead I ask your aid in the battle against the McHughs.”

Tavis, Brodie, and Aiden all stared at Graeme in astonishment. Then they looked at one another and then back to Graeme and his brothers.

Respect glimmered in Tavis’s eyes as he met Graeme’s gaze once more.

“Summon your men,” Tavis said in a brisk tone. “The McHugh Keep is half a day’s ride. We leave at once.”

CHAPTER 44

“ ’Tis as if they are not expecting battle,” Bowen said as he stared down at the McHugh fortress.

Graeme frowned, though he was in agreement. There was little activity and indeed, it looked as though normal day-to-day operations were being carried out below.

They’d encountered no guards at the border. No one had given warning to the McHughs of the massive army approaching because there looked to be no readying of weapons or men.

Things were quiet. Too quiet. The sun was still well above the horizon and yet the entire keep looked to be readying for the day’s end.

Such laziness and inattentiveness were unforgivable. Did McHugh care nothing for the protection of his clan? Or did he think the Armstrongs and Montgomerys were even now in battle and as such he had nothing to worry about?

Tavis leaned forward in the saddle and then centered his stare down the line at Graeme. “If this is a trick, Montgomery, I’ll not rest until you and all of your kin are wiped from this earth.”

In response, Graeme spurred his horse and began riding down the incline to the gate of the McHugh holding. There was no way to be secretive with an army the size of the two combined clans. His hope was that in order to preserve the lives of his clansmen, the McHugh laird would give up supporting the madness wrought by his son and surrender Eveline into Graeme’s hands.

If not, Graeme was prepared to slaughter every single McHugh.

As Graeme approached, and the hundreds of soldiers began appearing over the hillside, a cry of alarm went up inside the gates of the McHugh holding.

Panic sounded. Cries, shouts, the clank of metal. Screams from women and the sobs of children. Graeme refused to allow it to soften his mind. His wife was somewhere in there, terrified, and God only knew what she’d already been forced to endure.

Patrick McHugh appeared at the guard tower a moment later, fear in his eyes as he surveyed the threat before him.

“Tavis, what brings you here to my keep looking as though you are readying for battle?” he yelled.

“I’ve come for my wife,” Graeme snarled before Tavis could respond.

Patrick looked pale and sweaty. “Your wife? Laird, I’ve not seen your wife. Why would you look for her here?”

Graeme only grew angrier. “You try my patience, McHugh. Present your sniffling, pitiful excuse for a son at once or I vow we’ll kill every last one of your kin.”

Patrick held up both hands. “Tavis, be reasonable. Please. Speak to Montgomery. You and I are friends. We are allies. I have not seen Eveline. You must believe me. I cannot fight the combined power of your two clans and hope to win. I’ll not risk my people when we’ve done no wrong.”

Tavis wavered, his gaze skirting to Graeme. For a moment, Graeme thought that Tavis would side with Patrick and question Graeme’s account again. Graeme’s blood surged with fury, but Tavis said in a low, urgent tone, “Is it possible Patrick could not know of what his son has done?”

Graeme’s lip curled. “I find it hard to believe. However, if Patrick has done no wrong, then he should not object to producing his son to answer the charges against him, nor should he object to us searching the keep.”

Tavis nodded his agreement.

“Produce your son,” Graeme bellowed up. “If you claim you have done no wrong, then you’ll let us question your son and you’ll let us inside your gates to search the keep. Make no mistake, McHugh, this is not a request. We’ll gain access one way or another. ’Tis up to you how it is done. Now do as I’ve said. I’ll not wait a moment longer to be reunited with my wife.”

“By all that’s holy, I do not know of what you speak!”

Patrick’s words were tinged with desperation. He was visibly shaken and it was obvious that he was seized with fear.

“Deliver your son,” Graeme said in an icy tone. “ ’Tis all that will save you and your clan from annihilation.”

“Give me but a moment. I beg you. I’ll summon him. Do not harm him. He couldn’t have done all you’ve accused him of.”

“If he’s innocent then you have nothing to fear,” Tavis barked out. “Now stop wasting our time and present him forth. If my daughter has come to harm, ’tis not the Montgomerys you’ll have to worry about.”

Hearing the solidarity between the two rival clans, Patrick folded on the spot.

“Bring Ian to me,” he barked back to one of his men. “And open the gates to admit the chieftains.”

Tavis quickly turned and counted out a contingent of men to ride inside the gates with him and his sons. Graeme nodded to Bowen to direct him to do the same. They’d not go in without enough men to successfully defend against an ambush. The rest would remain outside and on guard.

A moment later, the gate opened, and Graeme urged his horse forward. His pulse was pounding loudly in his ears, the taste of fear acid in his mouth. He feared he was too late. He feared that Ian would have already brutalized Eveline.

God, don’t let him be too late.

Men and women alike scurried away as Graeme, his brothers, Tavis, and his sons were the first to ride into the courtyard. Behind them came forty other soldiers, all with weapons drawn, their gazes rapidly scanning for any threat.

Patrick rushed forward and a bare moment later, a sullen Ian was brought before Graeme by two of his father’s men. Graeme’s gaze honed in on the smaller man. He didn’t seem remotely nervous or afraid. He stared boldly at the two chieftains still astride their horses and then sneered in their direction.

Graeme slid down, wanting to be face-to-face with Ian so he wouldn’t have a false sense of safety. He wanted the younger man to know exactly what fate awaited him.

Behind him, his brothers also dismounted, and then Tavis and his sons came in close behind Graeme.

Ian’s chin came up. The only evidence that his bravado was faltering was the hard swallow he took.