Chapter 12

A glory of purple heather covered the slope leading to the edge of the cliff overlooking the barrens.

Kate stared in wonder at the stunted growth that had been transformed from brown ugliness to a symphony of graceful lavender stalks.

"Beauty to feed the soul," she murmured. "I didn't believe it when you told me." She slipped down from Caird and ran up the slope. "It's…wonderful." She stood on the edge of the cliff and exultantly held out her arms and let the sun stream down on her, the scent of heather and sea surround her. "Dear God, I love this place."

"Well, don't love it so much you fall off the cliff. You look like you're going to take off and fly."

"I might. It's a day bright enough for miracles." She glanced back over her shoulder to find him still at the bottom of the hill quietly watching her. "Someday I might see if I can."

"It wouldn't surprise me if you could, if you willed it so."

"But isn't it wonderful, Robert?"

"Wonderful." He smiled indulgently as he took a blanket from his pack and then followed her up the slope. "But then you find everything about Craighdhu wonderful."

"It is. And if you don't see it, then you've become entirely too jaded and critical. It's fortunate I've come to show you Craighdhu's true worth."

"I'm humbly grateful for your condescension in doing so." He spread out the blanket, then sat down beside her and looped his arms around his bare knees.

He looked a barbaric, primitive figure, she thought contentedly, all gleaming bronze skin and tousled black hair. She loved him best like this, with no trace of the wary, cynical man she had first known. He had taken to wearing the kilt almost constantly during the two months since Gavin's wedding and had shed his shirt during the ride to the barrens. She felt a sudden urge to touch him, to reach out and stroke the tight, corded muscles of his abdomen, but she restrained the impulse. Not yet. That would only lead to passion, and she wanted to savor this special moment. "And you're never humble. I never saw a man with less doubt of his own self-worth."

"Your acquaintance with men has been very limited to date. I hardly think you'd say your Sebastian was lacking in self-esteem."

"True. But you Scots are far more arrogant. I've decided that it's the primary trait of your nationality."

"Then, as the daughter of the queen of all the Scots, you should have more than your share."

Two months ago the mention of her mother would have sent a faint uneasiness through her, but nothing could disturb the euphoric state she was in today. "Oh, I do have my share of arrogance. But we women have need of that quality when men are constantly trying to subdue us. It's our only way to survive."

"Your mother didn't survive."

His tone was still casual, but she could detect the slightest hint of grimness and quickly directed their badinage in a more cheerful direction. "But Elizabeth has survived for over thirty years, and you say she's the most arrogant woman on the face of the earth."

"Or in heaven or hell," he said grimly.

"Yet she tried to be kind to me."

"Not kind enough to make sure the guardian she chose was adequate for the task."

"You resent her still? I think you condemn her too harshly. She was only doing what she thought best for me."

"Elizabeth seldom considers the good of any individual when her own good or the good of her country is in the balance."

"Then you should approve of her. You said you would not follow my mother because she was a woman of impulse."

He scowled. "I do not approve of that red-haired bitch."

She had never seen him like this, she thought in amusement. He was like a sulky little boy. "Because she bested you and made you do her will." She grinned. "But would you follow her in battle?"

"I told you I fight only under Craighdhu's banner."

"But if you had a common purpose? Would you?" she persisted.

"Aye," he growled.

She clapped her hands in delight. "And you would not follow James, and he is a man. You see, arrogant women do have a place in the world."

"It's not her arrogance, it's her mind and will that have value."

"But how else could she prevail? Meekness does not serve a ruler well."

"I'm tired of this talk of Elizabeth."

Her lips twitched. "Because it reminds you of how she bested you?"

He was suddenly straddling her, looking down into her face. "You're right," he murmured silkily. "The thought of being bested arouses my temper and makes me want to dominate everything and everyone around me. Would you care to be dominated, Kate?"

She frowned. "I've never liked it before."

"But I'd do it quite differently from your Sebastian. Let me try."

"Oh, very well. If you think I'll enjoy it." He had never done anything she did not enjoy. It was all pleasure and joy. Her hands slipped under his kilt to cup his hard buttocks in her palms. "I've decided I like this garment. It's very convenient."

"I noticed you've found it so. I admit I've worn it more in the last month than ever in my life." His lids half closed as he smiled wickedly down at her. "But then I could scarcely do anything else. I wouldn't want your immodesty to go unmatched."

He meant the habit she had taken to of wearing a minimum of underclothing herself, as she wanted to make herself available to him at all times. She chuckled. "Well, you would not give me a kilt of my own."

"Because I didn't want to let my clansmen know what an eager wife I have. It would only have made them unsatisfied with their own lot." He leisurely unbuttoned her gown to the waist and then parted it to bare her breasts. "Aye, very eager."

Her breasts were beginning to tauten beneath his gaze. "Then do something about it," she demanded.

He shook his head. "I like to look at you."

From his position on top of her she was aware that he would like to do more than stare, but he sat there, unmoving, intent, watching her body ripen.

"Oh, I like that," he said softly. "What a woman you are. It takes only a look and you respond."

He swung off her and began to undress her, taking his time. She tried to help him, but he stopped her. "No, let me. I told you I was in the mood to dominate."

"How can you dominate, if you wait on me?" she scoffed.

"By controlling the speed of the play." He now had her naked except for her silk stockings and the leather garters that held them in place above the knee. He untied the garter on her right limb and began slowly to roll the stocking down her leg, his fingers trailing a feather-light path along the flesh of her thigh.

A shudder went through her, and muscles clenched beneath his touch.

"I'm glad you got rid of those woolen stockings," he murmured. "These are much more pleasant." He rubbed the sensitive spot behind her knee.

She arched upward off the blanket as the touch generated a flash of heat that seemed to strike directly into her womb.

"What a fascinating sensitivity you have there. I can't tell you how happy I am that I discovered it." He drew the stocking off and gently touched the sole of her foot. "And here."

The muscle of her calf spasmed as her foot arched. She drew a deep breath. It was all very well for him to play his games, but this was taking entirely too long. "That is not the sensitive place to which I wish you to apply yourself."

"Presently." He untied the other garter and put it aside. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps! If you think—" She stopped as she saw his mischievous grin. He looked wicked, reckless, and infinitely sensual. She had never seen him quite like this, and the sudden change intrigued her. His mood might be devilish, but she knew he would not be able to keep himself from giving her satisfaction or taking his own. But if she could restrain herself, perhaps he would grow impatient, and that end might come sooner. She met his gaze and then deliberately lay back on the blanket. "It's possible that I may grow bored with all this folderol."

"Ah, a challenge." He sat back on his heels and looked at her lying naked before him. "Now what can I do to meet it?' He reached down and picked up the two leather garters. "Shall I show you one of the things I learned in Spain?"

"You've already shown me any number of things."

"But this has to do with textures. You displayed an interest in them at one time, and I've always had a certain preoccupation with them." He took one of the garters and bent over her. "No, lie quite still. You know I wouldn't hurt you."

"What are you doing?" She watched as he encircled her left breast with the strip of leather and then slowly tightened the spiral until both the tip and an area about one inch in diameter were thrown upward in relief.

"How does it feel?"

"Strange. There's…pressure."

"But it doesn't hurt?"

"No." The butter-soft leather was smooth and warm against her flesh and the pressure slight. "I can barely feel it."

"You will." He was binding her right breast with the other garter. "Even this little stricture will cause the blood to rise to your nipples and make them very sensitive." He finished tying the leather and sat back and looked at her. "It's already starting," he said thickly. "Do you feel it?"

She was beginning to experience a faint tingling, and when she glanced down at the leather bonds against her flesh, the tingling deepened.

"Yes?" Robert asked.

She looked at him and realized at once that the act had excited him as much as it did her. Surely, he could not continue very much longer. "Perhaps a little." She feigned a yawn. "Though I think I'm growing sleepy."

"Then we must certainly wake you up." He sat down beside her and leisurely spread her legs and looked at her. "But I think this part of you needs little stirring." He reached behind her. "However, we will do it anyway."

Coolness against her hotness, a faint earthy roughness against the heart of her.

"What are you—"

He held it up to show her. He had plucked a stalk of heather and had been rubbing it against her. The stalk was fully twelve inches long, with a thick purple stem, close-leaved green shoots, and feathery spikes of bell-shaped flowers.

"I told you there were any number of uses for heather." He brushed the flower across her belly and watched the muscles contract "Textures, Kate. Wonderful, wonderful textures."

His blasted textures were driving her mad. The spike of petals trailing over her body was leaving paths of fire in its wake, bringing the blood to the surface until she felt as if her entire body were hot, touched, possessed.

"Still sleepy, lass?"

She couldn't answer.

The heather was brushing lightly against her distended nipples, and she bit her lip to stifle a groan. They were now as exquisitely sensitive as he had said they would be. Her breasts began to rise and fall with every breath.

"Somehow I don't think so." He stayed at her breasts a long time, circling the rosy globe the slight pressure had brought to the surface, then applying the plant to the nipples. His gaze was narrowed on her face. "If you ask me sweetly enough, I might be persuaded to put an end to this." He blew on one engorged nipple. "Tell me what you want."

She wanted his tongue on her; she wanted him to draw her into his mouth and relieve this fever of need he had ignited. But he had used the word "might," and she would not give the teasing devil the satisfaction of surrender unless she was sure it was over. Dear heavens, surely he could not continue this for much longer.

He trailed the heather over her rib cage and then down her abdomen. He toyed with the indentation of her belly button, watching as the muscles tensed. He moved the stalk farther, ruffling the curls surrounding her womanhood. "Now this is one of my favorite textures in all the world. Texture against texture. Don't you find the blend interesting?"

"No." Her voice sounded strangled even to herself.

"Ah, then perhaps I'd better do something to capture your attention." He parted her thighs even wider and began to run the heather up and down the most intimate part of her.

She wanted to scream. Her nails dug deep as her hands clenched on the blanket.

"Oh, you do find that interesting?" He used the stem to rotate the nub. "And this?"

She couldn't stand it any longer. "Yes," she said between set teeth.

"You're beautiful down here," he whispered. "Even more beautiful than the heather. You're opening and quivering like a flower at dawn."

He reversed the heather and moved it farther down. "It's a fine thick stalk," he said softly. He probed gently with the feathery spiky tip. "Would you like to feel it in you?"

The silken words flowed over her, inciting a forbidden excitement. She was panting, her head thrashing back and forth on the blanket. It had to stop. She needed—"Yes!"

"Not bloody likely." He threw the heather aside and was in her with one bold plunge. "I'm a jealous man, and I'll be damned if you know anyone or anything but me."

He suddenly was giving her everything he had denied her. While his hips moved strongly, frantically, he lifted her over his arm and began sucking strongly at her breast.

It was too much. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks as both her limbs curled around his hips, desperately holding him to her. The pleasure was so intense, she was mindless, moving to every command, taking until she could take no more.

The explosion that came a few minutes later left her limp and weak.

She was barely conscious when he roused himself, untied the leather garters from her breasts and threw them aside. He chuckled. "I believe you enjoyed being dominated. Perhaps you'll allow me to do it more often."

"I don't…think I could stand it," she gasped. She rolled over into his arms. "And, besides, it's only fair I have my turn with you. I know just the place I want that leather garter to be."

"What a bawdy wench you are."

She held him close. The pagans who had first come to Craighdhu must have felt as she did now. She could hear the soft grunt of the seals and the rush of the sea crashing on the rocks below. The sun was hot on her naked flesh, and the smell of earth, heather, and Robert was all around her. Every time with him grew sweeter, more passionate, more complete, and yet always different: bright jewels for her to polish and put away in her treasure chest. Surely it could not be that way for her and not for him. He had never said the words, but she could feel the bond strengthening between them with every day that passed. "My turn," she repeated. "And soon."

"Perhaps we'll forget about domination from now on," he said warily, then kissed her. "Besides, you didn't respond appropriately. Submission was required, not eagerness. You're clearly not suited for this particular kind of play. Or perhaps it was all that talk of Elizabeth and her queenly ways that influenced you to display more spirit than called for."

"Perhaps." She suddenly raised herself on her elbow and looked down at him. "But I shall also be a queen, you know. The best queen in all the world."

He stiffened as she had known he would, and his eyes narrowed. "Indeed?"

She laughed and threw herself back into his arms. "The queen of Craighdhu."

He relaxed. "Are you trying to depose me again?"

"Only in favor of your son or daughter."

His arms tightened around her. "No, Kate."

"Yes." She cuddled closer, her lips brushing the hollow of his throat. "Craighdhu's the only kingdom I'll ever want. Give it to me."

I've told you that's not possible."

Ordinarily, she would have dropped the subject, but she was too full of happiness and confidence not to make the attempt. "And I've told you that your reasons are foolish."

"Listen, Kate, you're the one who is blind." His hand gently stroked her hair. "So blind. Can't you understand—No, Sebastian did his work too well."

"What do you mean?"

"I used to wonder why you couldn't see the danger Elizabeth and I and the rest of the world could see for you. I thought at first you just didn't want to know, but then I realized it was Sebastian again. He told you what a danger you were, and you rejected that truth along with all the lies. Believe me, you are a danger, Kate. To yourself and to Craighdhu."

"And to you?" she teased.

He was silent a moment. "And to me."

He was so sober that for an instant a flicker of fear dimmed her happiness. "This is all nonsense. I would never hurt you. I only want to make you happy. Is it so bad to wish to give you a babe?"

"You're not with child?" he asked swiftly.

"You know I had my flux last month. It's not yet time." His apprehension hurt her even though she knew its source. "So you need not be concerned." She tried to smile. "Besides, you once said you had the remedy to the problem if I ever got with child."

"I do."

"And what is that?"

"We would go away from Craighdhu," he said simply. "Forever."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Exile?" she whispered. "You don't mean it. You love Craighdhu."

"Aye, I love Craighdhu."

"It would kill you to leave it."

"It would kill me to destroy it."

He meant it. She started to tremble uncontrollably as she saw the implacable resolution in his face. "You'd hate me."

He shook his head. "Why should I hate you? I had to have you. I knew the penalty. I made the choice."

She buried her head in his shoulder.

"Stop shaking," he said gently. His hands moved up and down her back, comforting her as if she were a small child. "It hasn't happened yet. We still have time."

And she must use that time to prove to him that he was wrong, that a child would not be the end of Craighdhu for him. "Can't you see what a mistake you'd be making?"

"Shh…Let's speak of something else."

"I would never hurt you." Her voice was unsteady. "Never. Not for Craighdhu. Not for anything. Do you believe me."

"I believe you."

But he also believed that she was destined to take him away from Craighdhu, and that would hurt him worse than the stab of an assassin's dagger.

Her arms tightened passionately around him.

Why else would God have brought them together if He hadn't meant them to be together here on Craighdhu? There was no order or reason in the world if He would let them be torn apart because of an accident of birth. Robert had to be wrong, and God had to give her the power to show him his error before it was too late.

Two evenings later Jock Candaron strode into the hall where Robert and Kate sat playing chess before the fire. "How blissfully serene you both look," he said tartly. "I regret to disturb you, Robert, but Malcolm is at the dock requesting an audience. What shall I tell him?"

Robert muttered a curse as he pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. "I thought he was being too quiet."

"What shall I tell him?" Jock repeated.

"Bring him here. I'll have to see him, of course."

"I wasn't sure." Jock's gaze went to Kate sitting by the fire. "Of late, you seem to have let other things distract you from your responsibilities." He turned on his heel and left the room.

"Why do you suppose he's here?" Kate whispered.

"I have no idea. It could mean anything with Alec."

"I didn't even know he had returned from Edinburgh."

"Six weeks ago."

Her eyes widened. "You didn't tell me."

"Why should I? There was no use worrying you until he made a move."

Her hands clenched on the arms of her chair. "He said he would pay a social visit. Could it be a peaceful—"

"Hardly," Robert cut through her sentence. "Not after we've aided the elopement of his daughter."

She had known her suggestion was foolish, but she had been clutching at straws. Malcolm's arrival cast a shadow blocking the sun, and she could not bear this happy time to come to an end. "No, I suppose not. He must be very angry."

Alec Malcolm did not appear angry when Jock ushered him into the room a few minutes later. His cheeks were flushed with high color, and he was smiling.

He smiles most sweetly when he's raping a child or cutting a throat .

Robert's words came back to her as Alec Malcolm crossed the room and bowed before her. "Ah, more enchanting than ever. How I regret not being able to come to you before this. I trust you're in good health?"

"Very good health."

"And how could you help being well in spirit as well as body with such joyous festivities going on? I hear there was a wedding at Craighdhu."

She looked him in the eyes. "A splendid wedding."

"But how unkind of you not to invite me when my Jean was one of the participants. She must have made a bonnie bride."

"Lovely." Robert moved across the room to stand beside Kate's chair. "Is that why you're here? I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Gavin and Jean are no longer on the island."

"Oh, I'm aware of that fact. Of course, it didn't surprise me that you sent them away. Craighdhu has always been the only thing that mattered to you. You'd never jeopardize it even to accommodate me." He grimaced. "Such a pity. I would have much preferred accomplishing my goal by killing you and taking Craighdhu than wasting my time chasing all over Ireland."

Jock straightened. "Ireland?"

"Oh, you hid them very well, Jock. It took great effort for me to find the happy couple." He smiled. "However, now I fear they are no longer quite so happy."

Kate stared at him in horror. The very casualness of his tone sent a shiver through her.

"Am I distressing you?" He turned back to Kate. "I see you've grown quite pale. Did you develop a fondness for that young scalawag?"

Her lips felt numb as she said, "Have you hurt him?"

"Not much…as yet." He glanced at Robert. "You look quite lethal. I don't have to tell you that I wouldn't be here if I wasn't in a bargaining position of some strength."

"If you already have Gavin and Jean, I have no bargaining position at all," Robert said coldly. "And when a desperate situation of that nature comes to pass, only violence remains."

"But you have an excellent bargaining position, and violence would do you no good now. Your kinsman and Jean are safely back at Kilgranne, and my captain of the guard has orders to cut Gavin Gordon's throat if I don't return by dawn."

"No!" Kate cried.

"Ah, you do have a fondness for the lad. Women are such sweet, gentle creatures. I'm sure you'd do anything to keep him from more harm."

"What are your terms?" Robert said curtly.

"Nothing outrageous. I'd not be such a fool to ask for Craighdhu or even retribution for the trade you inveigled away from me from those Irish merchants."

"The terms," Robert said between his teeth.

He gestured to Kate. "Only a woman."

Kate heard Jock inhale sharply, and she was too stunned to speak.

"Impossible," Robert said impassively. "The woman is my wife."

"But handfast marriages are so easy to dissolve."

"It was not handfast. We were wed in the church."

Malcolm shook his head. "Handfast. Oh, your clansman would not tell me, but my sweet Jean was quite informative."

Kate shook her head. "She wouldn't have told you anything."

"I admit she was under considerable stress." He turned back to Robert. "You were foolish not to wed this lovely lady in the eyes of the church. It would have made her acquisition by anyone else more difficult."

"A man usually doesn't have to do battle to keep his wife."

Alec smiled. "A man doesn't usually wed the daughter of a queen."

Robert's expression remained unrevealing. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You're beginning to make me a trifle impatient. We both know this enchanting lady is a rare prize for an ambitious man."

"And who do you believe she is?"

"Her guardian, Sebastian Landfield, proved quite upsetting to James. Fortunately, I was able to pacify his concern with a few well-chosen untruths."

"And I suppose you had a reason for that?"

"The best reason in the world. Why should I bother with Craighdhu if I can have a throne?"

"I'm not…I will have no throne," Kate said.

"Ah, but you will. It needs only the right man to pave the way to it." He turned and walked toward the door. "I'll return to Kilgranne and leave you to think about the matter, Robert. But don't ponder too long. I'm very angry with your kinsman, and I believe you'll be able to guess what task will be occupying me while I wait for your answer."

"I don't trade in human beings," Robert said.

"Let me clarify my position. If you don't give me the woman, Gavin will die, I'll return to Edinburgh and tell James the truth, and the woman will also die. It would not be my choice, but it would serve to increase my influence with him." He turned to Kate and said coaxingly, "Tell him to release you. Don't be frightened. Let me guide you, care for you. You're young and comely, and those are the only qualities I'll demand of you. I'll do the rest. You don't know what power awaits you. I'll make you ruler of both England and Scotland. You could be the most powerful queen the world has ever known. Why would you want to stay here with such a future on the horizon?"

Kate stared at the door as it closed behind him, too stunned to move.

Robert whirled on Jock. "Dammit, I told you to keep Gavin safe."

"I did what I could," Jock said. "We both knew there was a chance it wouldn't be enough. It's hard to hide a man like Gavin. He's rarely discreet."

No, discreet was not a word to describe Gavin, Kate thought dimly. Others suited him far better: rueful, funny, gentle, and loveable.…

"Alec will teach him discretion," Robert said. "You heard him, the bastard will be—" He broke off and drew a long breath. "Talk will do no good. We have to get Gavin away from Kilgranne."

"Alec will be expecting a move. He'll have a full complement of men at the castle."

"Then we'll have to send a large enough force to overcome them. Send out a call to every man on the island. I'll go to the mainland and see Robbie MacBrennon and Jamie Grant and try to persuade them to call their clans to ride with us. Meet me at sundown at Kilfirth Glen tomorrow with our own people, and we'll lay plans."

Plans for war, Kate thought, battle and blood and death. Her fault. All her fault.

Jock nodded and strode out of the room.

Robert turned back to Kate. "I'll leave a guard on the island in case this is one of Malcolm's tricks. Don't worry, you'll be safe here."

Safe. She would be safe, but Gavin and Robert and how many others might die? "No!" She jumped to her feet. "It will be too late. He'll kill Gavin. Let me go along. Maybe I can—"

"God's blood!" He whirled on her savagely. "Can't you see that's what he wants? He'd like nothing better than to lure you away from Craighdhu so that he can pluck you like a ripe plum."

"Then let him do it," she answered just as fiercely. "Gavin wouldn't be a prisoner except for me."

"No, he'd be dead. Alec would have no reason not to make Jean a widow unless he wanted something."

"It doesn't change the fact that Malcolm will—"

"Shut up!" His eyes were blazing down at her. "Didn't you hear what I told that bastard? I won't trade you for Gavin or anyone else."

He strode out of the room, and she followed him. "Listen to me, I couldn't bear to—"

The front door slammed behind him.

Fear and sickness made her dizzy, and she reached out a hand to steady herself against the wall. Robert had told her this might happen. Why had she not believed him when he told her she could destroy Craighdhu? She knew the answer. She had not wanted to believe it because it would rob her of both Robert and Craighdhu.

Her fault. All of it her fault. Perhaps Robert was right that Gavin's actions had been partially to blame this time, but what of next time? Even if they laid siege to Kilgranne and rescued Gavin, Malcolm would still crave the power she represented. It would go on forever. Craighdhu could be taken, men would die.

Robert might die.

Panic soared through her at the thought. Just like her mother. Everything Sebastian had called her had come true. She was a destroyer, just like her mother.

No! She would not be a destroyer. She would not be made into a mirror of her mother.

She would fight.

···

When Jock Candaron opened the door to his lodgings, he could not hide the flicker of surprise that crossed his usually impassive face. "You have need of me, my lady? I fear I have little time at the moment." He gestured to the two men standing behind him at the table on which a map was spread. "As you can see, I'm making—"

"I, too, have little time." She stepped around him into the room and pushed back the hood of her cloak. She nodded politely at the two men. The younger clansman she recognized as Jock's lieutenant, Ian Mactavish, but the other was unknown to her. "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse us?"

Jock's lips tightened with annoyance as he turned to his men. "Wait for me in the other room. I'm sure my lady will only be a moment."

A far from gentle hint that he would like to be rid of her as quickly as possible. She crossed to the window and looked down at the street below as Jock conversed with the men in a low voice. Then she heard the door close.

"You should not be here, you know," Jock said. "It's hardly proper for the laird's lady to—"

"Do you think I care!" She whirled to face him. "I wish you to take me to Kilgranne and trade me for Gavin."

He went still. "Indeed? I don't believe Robert will approve of such action."

"But you would," she said bitterly. "It would please you, wouldn't it? You and Craighdhu would be done with me."

"Not if Robert decided to ride after you." His eyes were glacier cool as he added, "We both know he's quite mad about you."

"Yes," she whispered. Mad enough to take the chance of losing Craighdhu. She had fostered and reinforced that sensual madness with every wile at her command. Of late, she had begun to think his hunger for her was not only of the flesh, that he was beginning to love her as she did him. Well, that was all gone. She would never know now. "We'll face that problem when we get Gavin safely away from Kilgranne. If Robert does decide to lay siege to Kilgranne to free me, at least Malcolm won't be holding a hostage he'd be willing to kill. How long will it take us to get there?"

"After we reach the mainland, it's a half day's ride to Kilgranne."

"That means, if we leave at once, we could be there by dawn?"

"Aye, but I'll not be the one to take you. Like Robert, I don't trade in human beings."

"Would you rather see Gavin tortured to death? Malcolm will not harm me—he wants only to use me. If you exchange me for Gavin, he will live, and so will I."

"As long as Alec deems you have value to him," he conceded. "But if he decides otherwise, he'll derive great pleasure in depriving Robert of you in the most painful way possible."

She motioned impatiently. "We're wasting time. If you don't take me, I'll go by myself. You're so fond of performing your precious duty. Do it now. In one stroke you can save Gavin and buy time for an attack on Kilgranne that will be of your choice, not Malcolm's. You know my plan is sound."

He studied her. "Aye, the plan has merit."

She whirled and strode toward the door. "Then let's go. Rachel is tied outside, and I've packed my satchel in readiness."

"You were so sure I'd take you?"

"I knew you'd welcome any chance to rid Craighdhu of my presence." She opened the door. "I'm aware you've always disliked me."

"I've never disliked you," he said quietly.

She looked at him in surprise.

"In truth, you have a boldness and honesty that I find pleasing. It's the threat you present I dislike." He turned and picked up his cloak. "Give me a moment to give instructions to Ian, and I'll join you downstairs."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jock ride out of the gates of Kilgranne and gallop up the hill where she waited.

"Gavin?"

"Malcolm assures me he's still alive, but the bastard won't let me see him."

"He agreed to the exchange?"

He nodded. "He wants you to come for Gavin yourself."

"Is that wise? If he's as treacherous as you say—"

"It isn't and he is."

"Then what other course is left open to us?"

"We could make a stand and wait and see if he's bluffing."

"No." She nibbled on her lower lip. Jock was supposed to meet Robert at sundown, and she did not want Robert here at Kilgranne. "I'll go." She nudged Rachel into a trot. "There's no use for you to go back. Stay here and wait for word."

Jock was immediately beside her, his horse's pace matching her own.

"I told you to stay here."

He didn't answer.

"Your duty is to Robert, not to me."

"True," he said calmly. "But Gavin is one of ours; therefore, if you commit this folly for his sake, it's my duty to support you in it."

"You define your duty on a very broad scale."

"It's only right to let a man interpret the light that guides his life as he sees fit." He did not look at her. "Alec is a clever man. I've seen him twist men's minds as well as their bodies. It's possible he wants to test your mettle for weaknesses."

"To see how easily the pawn can be fashioned for his purpose?"

"Perhaps." He smiled faintly. "He has seen little of you. He may think you're only what you seem."

Through the open gates she could see Alec Malcolm waiting in the courtyard and involuntarily tensed. "And what is that?" she asked.

"Robert's lady, good only for bed and childbearing."

A little of her tension ebbed as a smile tugged at her lips. "I hope Robert would vouch for the first, and I've been valiantly striving for the second." But that was over, she realized bleakly, even the brief amusement fading. No babe, no Robert, no Craighdhu lay in her future, only this task that must be performed to right the wrong she had done. "I won't let Malcolm twist my mind. The question is, how can I twist his?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "A man who cares only for his own well-being has few weaknesses. Your one method of defense is not to let him see yours."

She didn't want to defend but to attack. "That's not enough."

"No?" He smiled curiously. "It would be, for most women."

They were riding through the gate, and she braced herself. No weakness.

"Ah, I can't say how delighted I was when my friend Jock told me you were joining me." Alec Malcolm stepped forward and lifted her from the saddle. "I could see at once that you were an intelligent woman, but now I see you have a great heart. How kind to sacrifice yourself for that sweet lad Gavin."

"Where is he?"

"Right this way." He cast a glance at Jock. "You, too, my friend; I know that you can't wait to see your clansman." He led them across the courtyard toward the tower. "Jock tells me that Robert is not aware of your decision. How fortunate for Gavin that your heart is not as hard as your husband's." He nodded at the guard standing before the heavy door, and the man unlocked and opened it. "I regret making you go to him, but he's not able to come to you."

She felt a sudden sickness at his words and was glad that he was in front of her, negotiating the steep, curving stone steps leading down into the dungeon. No weakness.

She heard Jock following behind her.

Alec opened a door at the foot of the stairs and threw it wide. "My lady." He stepped aside to let her go first.

The foul smell of mold, decay, and feces assaulted her from the darkness.

"Be careful," Jock murmured in her ear.

He meant that whatever she saw, she was not to show that it affected her. She knew that, she thought impatiently. She had spent most of her life hiding pain from the enemy. She kept her face expressionless, but could not stifle a gasp of horror.

Gavin was hanging by his wrists four feet from the floor of the dungeon, his head slumped on his chest, his eyes closed in a faint. His ragged clothing hung in strips from his strained body, his legs looked limp and oddly crooked, and his face…Dear God, there was not an inch that was not bruised or bleeding.

"Was this necessary?" she asked unsteadily.

"Aye, I told him to speak," Alec said, "but he wouldn't obey. Obedience is very important to me."

This was why he had brought her here, she realized. It was to lesson her in her role in the future. She was to be intimidated and cowed at the result of disobedience to him.

"Cut him down." The whisper came from the darkness in the corner. "Please cut him down.… Pain…"

It was Jean, but a Jean Kate had never seen. She was huddled against the wall, her clothing as ragged as her husband's, her eyes haunted as she gazed at Gavin's hanging body.

"You'll have to forgive my daughter's dishevelment," Alec said. "Nothing would do her but that she stay with her beloved husband."

"Cut him down," Jean whispered.

"Yes, cut him down," Kate said briskly. "And send one of the guards for a wagon. You should have told us he would be unable to travel. This is most inconvenient."

She could see that her coolness had surprised him, but not to the extent of discomposure. "Not yet." He smiled. "I haven't decided what to do with him yet."

"Jock is going to take him to Craighdhu," she said firmly. "It's far the best move." She turned to Jock. "Cut him down, Jock."

Jock drew his sword and stepped toward Gavin.

"You forget where you are," Malcolm said softly. "I command here."

"He does not look well," Kate said coldly. "If you kill him, that will enrage Robert, and he will attack Kilgranne. That's not what we want now."

"No?" He looked intrigued. "And what do we want?"

"What you promised me. The crown. Why else do you think I'm here?" She met his gaze. She was acting purely on instinct. Was she striking the right note? "I don't deny I found the boy likable, but not enough to risk what I had at Craighdhu. You offered me something I wanted more, but don't mistake me. I'm no tender blossom to be nurtured and guided unless I so choose."

"You were contented enough at Craighdhu until I came."

"I wanted the island, but Robert will never give it to me. He even refused to marry me in any way but handfast." Her lips tightened scornfully. "He found me pleasant enough to bed but was afraid for his precious Craighdhu."

"You're very blunt."

"It's as well we understand each other at once. You wish to use me, and I wish to be used. You will find me a strong ally. Isn't that better than a weak puppet?"

"Landfield said you could be dangerous," he murmured.

"Not if we're striving for the same goal." She paused. "And we will not win the crown by dissipating our strength in battles over trifles." She nodded at Jock. "Take your man and get him out of here."

She held her breath, but this time Malcolm made no objection.

Jock fetched a stool from across the dungeon, stood on it, and holding Gavin around the middle with one arm, he cut the ropes binding his wrists.

"Be careful." Jean struggled to her feet and ran forward out of the darkness. "His legs are broken."

Jean's face was as bruised as Gavin's, and pity and rage brought bile to Kate's stomach. Jock placed Gavin carefully on the ground and knelt beside him, his hands running exploringly over the younger man's body.

"The wagon," Kate prompted Malcolm.

His musing gaze had never left Kate's face. "You may just be right in this."

"I am right. I've thought the matter over very carefully." She saw him hesitate and said fiercely, "We mustn't make blunders now. All my life I've been without importance to anyone. Now, I have a chance to be a queen. I won't let you spoil my prospects."

He threw back his head and laughed. "You may be a more exceptional queen than I anticipated." He turned and sauntered toward the door. "Very well, Your Imperial Majesty, I'll tell the guard to fetch the wagon."

As soon as the door shut behind him, she flew to Gavin and fell to her knees. "How bad?" she asked Jock.

"Not good. Both arms out of the sockets, right leg broken in two places, left in three, his back is lashed to ribbons." He glanced down. "Three fingers broken on the right hand."

"Will he live?"

He nodded. "I think so. He may even come out of this without being a cripple, if I can set those bones right away."

"Can you do that yourself?"

"It's a battlefield skill I would have been foolish not to have learned." He frowned. "I only hope there's no damage that I can't see on the surface."

"That's all," Jean said dully. "The whip and then the rack." She looked at Kate. "He made me watch. I told him about the handfast. I would have told him anything to make him stop."

"By the saints, do you think I don't understand? I would have done the same." She looked down at Gavin's poor bruised face and felt tears rise to her eyes. "It will be all right. Once you leave here, you'll be able to care for him and get him well."

"If my father lets me go with him," Jean said.

Another problem, Kate thought wearily. Now she had to think of a plausible reason why Malcolm should send Jean along with Gavin.

"What a tender picture," Alec said from the doorway. "You look quite the ministering angel, my lady."

The hint of suspicion threading his voice must be instantly banished. "I hear my mother was splendid in that same role while she nursed her husband Lord Darnley." She met his gaze. "Before she went off one night to a party, and gunpowder blew his house to shambles. Naturally, she claimed she knew nothing about it."

The suspicion in Alec's face disappeared in a roar of laughter. "I had forgotten that story."

"I have not. I've studied every strength and every weakness she possessed." She stood up and brushed the dirt from the skirt of her gown. "Jock will need a board or stretcher and another guard to help carry Gavin."

"I'm surprised you don't wish me to do it," he said mockingly.

"You've done enough for the moment." She moved toward the door, then turned as if a thought had just occurred to her. "Oh, the girl is to go with him."

"No!" Malcolm said sharply.

"If we don't kill Gavin Gordon, then we have no use for her. They were married in the church, and you can no longer negotiate an advantageous marriage for her. She was formally accepted by the clan, so there's even a possibility of them trying to take her back if you don't release her."

"Then perhaps I should rethink killing the lad," he said softly.

"Why? You don't need her now, and you can do it without cost to us after we have the throne."

"Very reasonable." His gaze narrowed on her face. "Perhaps you're a little too reasonable."

She had gone as far as she could. If she ventured more aggressively, it might destroy everything she had accomplished. She shrugged casually. "Do what you like. It's nothing to me. I only thought to save us trouble." Perhaps it would be wise to show a bit of womanly weakness. She opened the door. "Now I must get out of here before I faint from this stench. I'll wait for you in the courtyard."

When she reached the courtyard, she drew a deep breath of cool morning air. Had she overplayed her hand? She did not think so, but she didn't really know Malcolm. She could only wait and see. She began to pace to release the stored-up tension of the last minutes. Why did they not come?

The dungeon door was thrown open, and Jock and one of Malcolm's guards carried a stretcher bearing Gavin into the courtyard.

Jean?

Jean walked into the courtyard a moment later, and Kate breathed a sigh of relief. As Malcolm came out of the dungeon, she turned away so that he wouldn't see her expression. "I'll be with you in a moment. I must give Jock a message for Robert."

She walked across the courtyard, watching as Gavin was carefully slid onto the bed of the wagon. Jock covered him with his cloak and then moved around to the front of the wagon.

Gavin gave a low groan and opened his eyes, startlingly blue in his swollen, livid face.

She stepped closer, glancing eagerly down at him. "How do you feel?" she whispered.

"Terrible…" He shook his head. "Sorry…Didn't mean…"

"Shh…Just get well."

"Broken…"

"Jock says he knows about setting bones. I'm sure your legs will be fine."

"Not my legs." He attempted to smile but could only flinch with pain. "Fingers…Tell him to fix my fingers."

She didn't understand. "I'm certain he'll set everything that needs fixing."

"Important…How else…will I play the…bagpipes?"

She blinked back the tears. Those blasted bagpipes. "I'm not sure anyone in the clan would thank him for that."

He shook his head. "Important…" He fainted again.

Jean crawled into the wagon and cradled Gavin's head on her lap. In the strong light of day she appeared even more haggard than she had in the dungeon. It was as if every artifice she had cultivated had been burned away, leaving only a pale husk of the enchanting woman who had come to Craighdhu. Her expression was hard as she looked at her father, standing across the courtyard watching them. Her lips barely moved as she said softly to Kate, "I want him dead, Kate."

Kate looked down at Gavin and felt the same rage she knew Jean was feeling. "He will be." She turned and walked to the wagon seat where Jock was now sitting. "Try to delay Robert from coming here as long as you can."

"Why?"

"Just do as I say." She moistened her lips and smiled recklessly. "And give him a message for me. Tell him he wouldn't give me Craighdhu, so I decided to take Scotland instead."

"And I'm supposed to make him believe it?"

"Why not? He knows I'm not without ambition. Turn him against me. It's the opportunity you've been wanting since I came to Craighdhu. Isn't that true?"

"Aye, it's true enough," he said slowly.

"Then seize the opportunity."

"What opportunity?" Alec Malcolm was approaching the wagon.

"The opportunity to save his life by leaving me and getting this wagon out of here. You must have heard how loyal he is to my husband. He doesn't wish to relinquish what he perceives to belong to Craighdhu." She stepped back and motioned for Jock to go. He gazed at her with his usual impassiveness and then snapped the reins to start the wagon rolling.

"Ah, he may be loyal, but it appears he's not a fool, my lady," Alec said.

Kate watched the wagon roll away from her and for an instant felt very much alone. She might never see any of them again and would certainly never see Craighdhu. Then she squared her shoulders and turned to Malcolm. "My lady? But why are you so formal?" She gave him a brilliant smile. "I wish you to call me Kathryn."

···

A single tent occupied Kilfirth Glen when there should have been at least twenty.

Robbie MacBrennan reined in beside Robert on the hill overlooking the glen. "What is this? You told me your lads would be gathered here."

"They're supposed to be. I told Jock I wanted him here by sunset," Robert said grimly. That was Jock's horse grazing nearby, but there were also two workhorses and a wagon drawn close to the tent. "I don't like this. Wait here until I signal you to come ahead." He spurred ahead down the hill toward the tent.

Jock Candaron came out of the tent. Both his linen shirt and his fair hair were darkened by sweat. He wiped beads of perspiration from his forehead on his sleeve as his gaze went beyond Robert to the men on the hill. "You must have been very persuasive. How many?"

"Three hundred strong. Jamie Grant and his men will join us in an hour or so." Robert jumped down from his horse. "Where the hell are our own forces?"

"I told Ian I'd send for them if they were needed."

"What the devil are you talking about? We do need them. Now."

"Perhaps not. You may even decide to send Grant and MacBrennan back home." He nodded at the tent. "I have Gavin."

"What!" His gaze went to the tent. "How is he?"

"In a faint. A state for which I'm sure he's fervently grateful. All day I've been setting broken bones and repairing the damage Alec inflicted. That little fluff of a wife he chose has more backbone than I thought," he added. "She was a great deal of help to me, and it wasn't easy for her to see him in agony."

"Jean is here too?"

"Aye, don't you think that's a brilliant coup?"

"How the hell did you do it?"

"I traded Kate."

The words tore like a sword thrust through Robert. For a moment he couldn't even speak, and then shock was followed by rage. "You son of a bitch. I'm going to cut your heart out."

"I thought that would be your response." He shrugged. "That was the chance I took. Your lady-wife gave me little choice. She said I would either make sure the trade took place or she would see to it herself. I thought if it was to be done, it should be done right."

"And you could get rid of a threat to Craighdhu."

"Aye, I admit that part appealed to me." He paused. "She gave me a message for you. She said to tell you not to come after her. She said since you wouldn't give her Craighdhu, she would take Scotland instead."

Robert rejected the words immediately. Kate had a fine mind and a taste for power, but cold calculation would never be her way. "And I suppose you believe her."

Jock hesitated and then said quietly, "I believe Alec was right in one thing. She would make an exceptional queen." He shrugged. "But I think she lied. If she gets the throne, it won't be through Alec Malcolm. She has a softness toward you and Gavin and wishes to save you both."

"By sacrificing herself?" Robert asked thickly.

"I doubt if she has that in mind." Jock's smile had a curious element of pride. "She was no pale, trembling martyr at Kilgranne. She intends to best Alec Malcolm."

"And she has as little chance of that as Gavin of besting you in battle. Alec has years of experience on his side."

"You did not see her as I did." He paused. "But if you have doubts, perhaps you'd better help her."

"Indeed?" Robert's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "May I ask why this change of heart?"

"You will obviously not be content until you rescue her from Alec's clutches." He smiled. "And I'm not sure that it wouldn't be safer for Craighdhu to have her safely under our eye at the island than on the throne of Scotland. At least we'd have a measure of control over her there."

"You didn't exercise much control over her in this matter. You should have kept her at home." He should not be blaming Jock when the fault lay with himself. He had known how upset Kate was when he had left, but he had been too filled with worry and rage to think about anything but getting Gavin away from Alec. Christ, but he hadn't expected her to—but he should have expected it. Kate was capable of anything, of confronting any hazard if it meant enough to her. Well, he could not stand here thinking about the danger to her. He would go mad if he did not take action. He turned toward the tent. "I'll go in and see Gavin. Mount up. We'll ride for Kilgranne at once."

"If you like, but I'm not sure she'll be there."

"You believe that Alec will have secreted her somewhere?"

He shook his head. "She asked me to delay you. She clearly didn't want you to lay siege and will see that you don't."

The rage, fear, and frustration within him were mounting more by the second. "For God's sake, she can't manipulate Alec to suit herself. She's only a woman, scarcely more than a child."

"No? I saw her in a different light. The coup at Kilgranne was entirely Kate's, not mine. I believe you may change your mind."

Duncan rode out of the castle toward their forces before they reached the gates.

He was alone.

"They're not here," he said as he reined in before Robert. "She said to tell you they had gone to Edinburgh to join with Mary's sympathizers." He flushed as he glanced uneasily at the clansmen surrounding Robert before adding, "She said that since she has left you, the marriage is over, and you would be without pride to pursue her when she no longer wants you."

"You see?" Jock murmured. "Another coup. A public rejection to sting your pride before she flits out of reach. It's one thing to rally the clans to avenge an abducted wife—it's quite another to chase down a reluctant spouse." He lowered his voice still more. "And you cannot tell anyone the real reason Alec wants her, if your purpose is to get her back before he announces her claim to the throne."

Robert knew that was true, and he swore beneath his breath. It was not enough he would have to battle Malcolm; he had the damn woman herself with whom to contend. "When did they leave?"

"Before noon," Duncan said. "But you can't hope to catch up with them. My father was in a great hurry, and he planned to set sail from the harbor at Jacklowe by sunset."

It was now close to midnight. With the winter storms over, the northern route around Scotland was both safe and speedy. They would have nearly a two-day head start before Robert could get back to Craighdhu, ready his own ship, and set sail.

"Craighdhu?" Jock asked.

Robert nodded. "It's the quickest way."

"Robert…I'm sorry…Gavin…" Duncan shrugged helplessly. "You know my father. I could not stop him. No one could stop him."

"Aye, I know him." A sickening chill went through him at the memory of Gavin's broken body. Kate thought she could manipulate that bastard to her own designs, but it would take only one false step for Alec to try to subjugate her as he did everyone around him. He could merely hope she did not make that false step until he reached Edinburgh and could deal with Alec himself.

He turned and rode back toward Robbie MacBrennan and Jamie Grant to explain why he had brought them here for naught and tell them to go home.

Damn and blast the woman.