Chapter Four

Thane

Thane MacQuarie climbed up to the top of the cliff overlooking the sea. He loved to take in the fresh air, feel the biting wind against his face, even in winter. He stood on the highest point, his face lifted to the breeze as he turned toward the rolling waves. Being early summer, the air promised warm breezes at high sun, something he savored because this was his land, his cliff, his dirt beneath his boots. He'd worked hard to make it so.

How he wished that witch of a mother could see him now—chieftain of his own clan.

He'd show her how much he loved it here. He'd been forced to come here nearly eight years ago, a fact that had infuriated him many times but had also given him purpose. He would right the wrong done to him and his two siblings. His daily task was to arrange for a way to find the cruel woman and show her how wrong she had been, but he just hadn't contrived a way to do it yet. His brother had told him he was afraid to find her.

On the contrary, he would rejoice when he found the bitch. In a way, his brother was right because if he ever saw her again, he'd probably kill her and be convicted of murder, his neck in a noose. That he could accept. To never be able to find her would be the worst, but he would prevail.

That someday would be soon. He could feel it in his bones.

His gaze narrowed at the ship that came into his line of sight. It was a small birlinn, bearing a sail and several oarsmen. But in the middle of the birlinn lay a bright object—much like the gown of a woman—though it was not moving.

Could it be a woman? They were not often seen on those types of vessels.

The boat sliced through the waves, finally slowing as it headed toward an area he knew held hidden rocks in high tide, but this was low tide. The rocks were in clear view, yet the ship headed straight for the outcroppings. Why? There was nothing there but three rocks, one flat enough to stand on, the other two pointed and unfit to hold anyone or anything. The only purpose they served was as an impediment to seamen in the dark of night, when the surface would reflect the moon with shimmers across waves, hiding the obstacles that could sink a ship.

The vessel maneuvered to go around the rocks, so Thane turned to head back to his castle, but his peripheral view caught something he didn't like.

Something he could not ignore.

The ship stopped next to the rocks.

He'd gone partway down the hill toward MacQuarie Castle, but he couldn't discount the slim possibility of impending malice about to take place in front of him. There had to be a reason the ship halted at that spot, as if it were arriving at its destination. For what? Then a scenario popped into his mind that he refused to believe. The woman was not moving. Was this all part of a plan?

He shook his head, his imagination getting carried away. They couldn't be leaving a dead body on a rock in the middle of the sea, could they? He turned around to stare again, his mind reeling, but it always returned to the same thought.

They wouldn't do it, would they?

Or would they?

He sat on a rock, vowing to see exactly what the ship was about before leaving. After all, it could be someone meant to spy on his clan or someone looking for a way to mount an attack against him. As chieftain of Clan MacQuarie, it was paramount that he do what he could to determine if this ship was preparing for an invasion. From their position, the sailors could see his castle clearly, watch the movement, decide if it was worth the effort. His castle was a long way away from most activity on Mull. He'd not been attacked since becoming chieftain four years ago, but it could happen.

No way in hell would he allow anyone to take away what he'd worked so hard for. After several years of living off the land in the forest, surviving on fish and rabbit meat, he and his loyal followers had finally found a deserted castle on the western end of the Isle of Mull and made it their own. His sister had made it better with her warm touches and her fine cooking, and he'd decided long ago that he would never give it up.

He liked his life.

Once he accomplished the one driving need in his life to find his mother for revenge, he would relax and convince his brother and sister to find spouses, then he'd spend his days hunting, fishing, and sword-playing. He was too close to achieving his objectives to let anything slip through his fingers.

He moved back, hoping he wasn't noticed, and found a tree to stand near to draw attention away from his large frame. Damn the gods in heaven, but once the boat stopped, one of the occupants bent over, lifted up the colorful blob, then deposited it on the rock before turning away and climbing back into their ship.

Had they actually disposed of a person on that rock?

A person in the middle of a sea that would cover and hide that rock within a few hours when high tide rolled in?

He ran his hand down his face as if he could pull back time and erase what just happened, but alas, the body was still there. After observing and studying the object, he made his decision about what he'd just witnessed. The man had deposited a woman on the rock.

The man settled in the boat, but another man stepped from the vessel to the flat rock, pulling his fist back and punching whatever they'd tossed there.

That movement convinced him he was right. And the fool had just punched a woman, a woman already down and not moving. He couldn't stop himself from bellowing, "Stop yer brutality, you spineless bastard!"

The dark-haired man jerked his head toward Thane but said nothing, instead jumping back into the ship and waving his arms for the oarsmen to begin their voyage back to wherever they came from.

Thane wished to stay so he could determine the fool's destination. Mull? Arran? Ulva? Where did the scum live?

That much would have to wait. As much as he'd vowed to focus on one thing only, his conscience wouldn't allow him to ignore the fact that an innocent lass had been left on an outcropping to die after being beaten first.

He headed down the hill toward their castle and the keep, shouting at the guards on the curtain wall. "Where is Brian?" Brian, his only brother, was his second-in-command and was often running practice sessions in the lists. They looked nearly identical, except Brian's hair was nearly black while Thane's was brown. Both extremely tall, they prided themselves on their physiques, practicing their sword skills as frequently as possible.

"He's with your sister in the hall," Artan, one of their top guards, replied.

"Artan, ready our smaller boat."

"Aye, Chief."

Thane rushed inside the hall, interrupting his siblings' conversation. "Brian, we've got to get over to the outcroppings."

Their sister Mora scowled. "What is wrong? Has something happened? Please tell me, Thane. You never get upset about anything, except…well…never mind. You never get upset."

"Some fool dropped a lass on the outcroppings. My guess is he beat her and left her there to die." Thane was certain it was done with the intent of murder, the inkling radiating from deep in his bones.

"Another of your gut feelings, Thane?" Brian drawled.

"Join me or stay behind. If you are too busy, I'll find someone else."

Brian, two years younger than Thane and two years older than Mora, barked, "I'm coming!"

Brian grabbed his sword near the entrance and sheathed it, following his brother out the door and into the stone courtyard, Mora directly behind them.

"Shall I come along?" she called out as her boot falls echoed across the bailey. "Who do you think it is? Are you sure it's a lass? What if it's a bairn? I'm sure you would need me to come along with you."

A chorus of "Nay!" came from the brothers.

"But I could help," Mora cried, chestnut hair flying wild in the wind. "Surely, I could be of assistance. Could I hold her hand? Could I guide you when you get close to the rocks? Mayhap I should be the one to climb onto the rock?"

His sister definitely had the most pleasing looks of the three siblings, but she didn't care about her looks at all and refused to plait her hair. Perhaps that was why he adored her so much. She was not the typical lass found in the Highlands fussing over her gown and her ribbons, gushing over any man who was a possible suitor. He'd heard about those women, the kind who wouldn't attract him at all. Not that it mattered, as he'd vowed to never marry.

"Nay, Mora, I'm only taking the small boat, so there's not enough room for you," Thane said, stopping in his tracks. He knew how persistent she was. "There's only sufficient space for Artan, Brian, and me."

"Nay, it holds four or five. I can fit. I'll be quiet," she said, that look in her eyes he hated. "Can I sit in the middle? Or just in the back? Or anywhere else? Please, Thane?"

He did indeed have sympathy for his sister. Being the only female other than the housekeeper who visited daily was difficult for Mora, especially because he feared she had no role models. He did the best he could for her under the circumstances.

"Nay, we need room to fit another passenger, and I have no idea how large the person is. You will stay on the dock, Mora. Understood?" They made it to the place where the boats were hidden, various small vessels they had built and one large birlinn that could hold multiple oarsmen, kept locked not far from the coastline. Three other guards were already carrying the boat to the shoreline at Artan's instruction, something Thane was grateful to see. Artan anticipated Thane's every thought. An invaluable quality in the man in charge of the guards.

By family name, Brian was actually second-in-command to Thane, but Artan was more mature by ten years, so his insight was needed. Clan MacQuarie needed Artan.

Thane climbed into the boat, giving instructions as he readied the vessel. "Artan, you will lead us to that outcropping, the Trio of Fate as we've called it before." The group of rocks had been nicknamed such because their existence had ended the voyage of many boats while hidden during high tide. Those who sailed often knew every outcropping, but the younger seamen did not.

Mora stood on the dock, her hands on her slim hips. "May I come along? Please? I'm tiny, Thane. I can fit. Please allow me to feel a part of this rescue mission. You know I love to ride in any boat."

"Nay, not this voyage. Please make sure that Agnes is ready to care for someone, if I am correct. I believe it to be a lass who was beaten and left to die. We shall see. Be ready to help Agnes with her, Mora. Please do not disappoint me on this."

Mora stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "As you wish, brother dearest."

He hid his grin at the way his sister liked to pull on the end of her name for him for dramatic effect.

It would take a quarter hour to get to the outcropping, and high tide was yet a couple of hours away, but he did not wish to wait.

Brian climbed in, setting his weapon in the bottom of the boat. "Why are you suddenly so willing to help another, brother? It is not your nature and surely you know it." He arched a brow at him as he untied the rope that kept them from moving yet. "Shove off, Artan. Move along so I can be back for the midday meal."

"Do you ever think of anything but your belly, Brian?"

Brian spit over the edge of the ship as they pushed off.

"Disgusting!" Mora yelled, still tapping her foot on the dock as the boat slipped away from the coast. "I don't understand why I cannot go. How could you leave me here? Surely, there must be some way I can help. Come back, please?"

Brian spit again, landing in the water in front of her, a wide grin on his face. "Until later, Mora."

Thane couldn't help but wonder what the two of them would be like if they'd had their parents here to raise them. Would they have matured more? Matured quicker? He had to admit that they'd matured faster than many since he had served as both mother and father to them. Living in the wild for several years had made them grow up. Fortunately, they'd found a safe cave and made it their own. Three bairns alone in the wilderness.

Again, someday he would right that wrong.

He didn't have time to think on that at the moment. He would help guide the boat to the place where he had seen the girl deposited, then see if they could rescue the innocent woman. He prayed she was still alive.

But was she innocent? That he did not know.

Perhaps it was curiosity that drove him onward.

Brian reminded him, "You still have not told me why you care about this person. You know she's not a MacQuarie, so why the concern from someone who cares about naught but our clan?"

Thane couldn't argue that point. He shrugged. "I cannot answer for certain. I'll tell you when we get over there. I am driven to find out what happened. Call it curiosity from someone who stood on the point admiring the view before it was ruined."

Brian tipped his head as if confused by Thane's reply. "Or someone who was almost in the same situation eight years ago?"

Thane ignored his brother's comment. "It's my responsibility as clan chieftain to make sure that any ship in the area is not a threat. This clearly appeared to be an act of violence committed against an innocent person. It's my duty to find the truth of it."

Brian smirked.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means now I see the true motive of the journey. Not saving the person but wishing to find out who was behind the entire escapade. You have this voracious need to know everything and everyone around us. Let it go, Thane. The past doesn't matter."

It sure as hell mattered to him.