Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

James knew it had finally happened; he had lost all control for the first time in his life. Something in him just snapped when he saw Angus put his hands on Blair. He knew there was no way he could let her stay there, and he knew the old wise woman was right. The clan needed him, and he couldn't walk away this time. He had to stand his ground, no matter the consequences. Angus was bad before, but now he was sick with power. It had overtaken him. He spoke of Blair's father as a madman. It may have been true, but Angus was worse than Blair's father ever had been. At least her father had the fortitude and heart to stop before he killed his nephew.

Angus wiped the blood from his lip and spat on the floor. Shaking his head, he flung the pieces of hair from his face. "Ye're still a fuckin' coward, James. You were a coward seven years ago when ye left here, and ye're still a coward now. Υe brought this girl 'ere to leave her with me, and ye were gonna scurry back to yer little place, in some tiny guard on the other side of the Highlands. Well, ye're not in yer safe place anymore. How dare you come into my castle and interfere in how I reprimand my wife."

James shook his head. "She's not yer wife yet, and she won't be unless she chooses to be. She may have been traded to the clan against her will, but ye can't force her to do anything as she's a livin' being, not some pack of dogs ye bought fer ye damn bear hunt each year."

Angus narrowed his eyes at James for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Ye love her, don't ye. How poetic is that? ye fall in love with a girl, and just like this clan, I took her from ye. You'd think you'd be used to losing to me."

It was tempting for James to lose it again. He relished the thought of pulling his dagger and throwing his brother on the floor, pressing the blade to his throat, and hearing him beg for mercy like when they were boys, fighting in the fields. Angus was the kind of man that needed to be taught a lesson. Deep down, though, James knew that he was unteachable. He was far too gone to ever come back from it.

"You can tell people all the stories ye want, Angus, but we both know why I left all those years ago. I showed ye mercy, but ye aren't gonna take anything from me again. I stand fer Blair because she is a thousand times the Scot that you'll ever be."

"Guards," Angus yelled, tucking his shirt in. "I'm tired of hearin' yer mouth, James. Let's see how ye feel after a few days in the dungeons. I'm sure yer leader would be interested to know what kind of disrespect ye showed me here."

Two guards ran in the room, swords out, surveying the scene. James glanced to his right and left, as they stood on both sides of him.

Both of the guards stopped in their tracks, staring at him. James looked closer and chuckled. "Shamos? McCleary? I haven't seen you idiots in such a long time."

"James?" Shamos said, confused.

Both of the guards looked over at Angus, not making a move. James could see that he had the upper hand, even if it were for just a moment. He put up his hands and glared at his brother. "Over seven years ago I made a huge mistake. I should have accepted your duel and killed you, instead of sparing your life. I should have at least stayed and let the clan tear you to pieces. You've always been a bastard, a selfish, power-hungry bastard, but you've gone over the deep end now. There's no coming back from it, it's who ye are."

"Get him out of my sight," Angus barked as he turned to Blair. "And you. You'll be lucky to be scrapin' the shite out of the dog pens when I'm done with ye. I knew I shoulda turned yer uncle down. He was tryin' to get rid of the crazy."

When Angus turned back to James, he growled with anger. Neither of the guards had moved toward James. He could see the struggle happening in their minds. Most people in the clan agreed with Angus because they feared for their families, but anyone who knew James from that time, knew he would never abandon them if it weren't for a good reason. James knew Angus had to be stopped, or even worse killed, otherwise he would burn the clansmen's lives to the ground. He couldn't stand to see it happen.

From the looks of things out in the village, it was worse than he could have imagined. James reached to his side and pulled out his sword. He gripped the handle and stared at the insignia on it. When he left, he had taken his grandfather's sword with him. He was willing to leave to keep, the clan and families safe, but he wouldn't give Angus everything. With a toss, he grabbed the sword handle and pointed the blade at his brother.

"I challenge you to a duel, Angus McFerguson. The winner takes Lairdship, and the loser…dies."

"This is outrageous," Angus bellowed. "Take him to the dungeons, you fools, or I'll drive a sword through your bellies myself."

James looked over at the two men who had unsheathed their swords and were now standing up at attention. Angus growled. "What are you doing?"

"They're following family tradition, Angus. You'd know all about that, right? It's customary for the guards to cease until the invitation to duel is answered and determined by both parties. While you are their Laird, this rule is as old as this castle, and holds weight beyond titles. We don't want to break that timeline. After all, you have always been very adamant about following what our ancestors put into place. So, I'll ask for ye answer then, with the guards and young Blair as witness. And if yer answer be yes, no harm must befall Blair as she awaits our duel."

It was time that James felt the wrath of almost a decade of Angus' tyranny against the very people that made the family who they were. James forgot the blood ties the moment Angus showed his true nature. He realized that blood wasn't what made loyalty or honor. It wasn't what made someone family. Blair was more family to James than his own kin, and the clan had begun not through blood, but through honor and trust. The first men of the clan weren't all related, and it didn't matter if Angus shared a father and mother with James, he wasn't his family.

What he saw when he rode into the village was imprinted into his mind. The children, the grime and disease, the poverty. James was now determined to make Angus pay for every act of deceit, unjust punishment, death, and despair he inflicted on the people of the McFerguson Clan. James wouldn't let one man take apart what his forefathers had created, and he wouldn't allow the honor of his house be sullied. And he'd never let him touch Blair ever again.

Blair's sisters would be saved another way, and James knew with the clan at his back it would be easier than subjecting Blair to a lifetime of cruelty by his brother. At that point, if James were to leave, he knew Angus would hurt her. He would hurt her for no other reason other than because he knew James cared for her. James was a special breed of man. He carried the values of his father, grandfather, and those before him. He fought for those who couldn't on their own, but even more so when it came to Blair.

If Angus accepted the duel, James would swing his sword for every member of his clan. He would swing his sword for Blair's sisters. And most of all, he would swing his sword for Blair.

Blair could remember a time when honor was something that the men of her clan set their days by. The loyalty that her clan showed her father, even in the darkness of death and fear, was something she hadn't seen since the day of his death. However, standing there, fear making her hands tremble, watching James stand up to his brother was reminiscent of those times, long ago. He was a man that people could get behind, and while she didn't understand the depth of the story, she understood James better and better every moment.

The challenge had been tossed, and they now stood in a silent still room waiting for the answer. The silence of the room sunk through Blair like the winds on the hills of her uncle's lands. As it reached her core, another emotion beyond reverence began to take hold. It was fear. Blair feared for James' safety. She wanted to believe he wouldn't make a challenge of such magnitude without feeling assured, but she had come to understand that men did strange things because of loyalty and honor. Men did big things when it came to protecting their families, and even after all of those years, Blair could tell the clan was still his family.

Her hands still trembled, but not because she feared Angus, but because she feared losing James. She feared losing her sisters. She feared facing the world without her family, the people she cared most deep for. In that moment she knew why James was doing what he was doing, but that didn't make her fear any less.

Angus stood staring at James, and James at him. The clouds outside of the window were gray and looming, and the fire hissed and crackled. The guards stood like statues on either side of James, waiting for their next move. She knew Angus would struggle to break the traditions passed down for generations, his pride and the sickness of power he held was far too strong. What Blair did know was that the future was now completely untold, and the next few moments would determine where they would go from there.

Whatever the path, Blair had to be ready to run. She had to be ready to leave with no real idea of where she would go. If James fell, and her sisters remained at the keep, Blair would have no one, and she would leave her heart on McFerguson land. She would leave her heart, not with the man she was charged to marry, but the one she had longed for much longer than she had even realized.