16
St. Mary’s Church near Barnard Castle, Durham, England, January 17, 1313
EOIN HADN’T expected her to faint. And he sure as hell hadn’t expected to be the only one with the presence of mind to catch her before she hit the ground.
But there he was holding his wife in his arms again, wondering why he hadn’t let her fall. It was no more than she deserved. And he wouldn’t be stuck with the scent of her in his nose, the weight of her breasts on the arm that had snaked around her waist, and the soft, erotically-curved body that had haunted his dreams for almost six years pressed snugly against him.
Nor would he be forced to gaze up close at the face he’d never quite been able to forget, though God knew he’d tried.
He was sorry to see that she was still beautiful, her features seemingly unmarred by the passage of time. Her lips were still the same vibrant crimson, her siren’s slanted eyes still framed with the long, dark lashes, her skin still a youthful powdery cream, and the hair peeking out from the sides of the veil still a bold and fiery red.
She didn’t look much older than the last time he’d seen her, almost six years ago, when he’d watched from the safety of the forest where Lamont had dragged him, after the blow to the back of the head that should have killed him, as she’d sunk to her knees in apparent regret before the fire that could have well been his funeral pyre.
Even from afar he could see her devastation, but it was too late. His heart had already hardened. He’d been glad she thought he was dead, for she was dead to him. He’d turned and never looked back.
Or tried not to. Sometimes late at night, in moments of weakness, he wondered what had become of the wife who’d nearly cost him everything. Where she was. Whom she was with.
Married, he thought bitterly. He was surprised she’d waited this long.
But maybe it was partly his fault. He should have dealt with his ill-advised marriage a long time ago. It was well past time to put Margaret MacDowell behind him for good.
But as his gaze lingered one more moment on the face he’d once thought to look at for the rest of his life, his jaw hardened at the injustice. Surely her countenance should show some of the blackness of her soul? She looked more like an angel than a treacherous bitch who’d betrayed him and sent so many men to their deaths.
Sure, Eoin knew what Lamont and the rest of his Highland Guard brethren said. That MacDowell had been prepared for them. That rumors of Bruce’s planned attack had already reached him. That the Galwegian chief’s garrisons had been packed and his men had been at the ready. That their own intelligence had been faulty. That Eoin’s mistake was not to blame for what had happened. That it wasn’t his fault.
When he could think rationally about it—which was rare—he probably even agreed with them, but it didn’t change what she’d done.
Or what he’d done. His weakness for his wife had cost him. She’ll hold you back. Fin and his father had been right. He’d lost his kinsman’s trust, and his place in the Guard for a short time—although Chief had made Bruce reconsider quickly.
Eoin would never have a place in Bruce’s government. No matter how many successful plans Eoin came up with, none could make up for the disaster at Loch Ryan. Eoin knew the king laid part of the blame for the deaths of his brothers at Eoin’s feet. He accepted that, but Dugald MacDowell would finally account for the rest.
Reminded of his purpose, Eoin turned his gaze from the woman in his arms to the men standing before the church door, who were still reeling from the shock of his announcement and had yet to move.
Which was exactly what Eoin had counted on. A quick scan around the yard told him his men were almost in position. A few more moments, and the churchyard would be surrounded.
He pictured how it would play out in his head, anticipating how MacDowell and the English would react and accounting for every possible move. He could have attempted the straightforward surprise “pirate” raid for which Bruce and his men had become known—riding in with swords drawn for the fierce attack—but that would have left too much to chance. MacDowell had proved as slippery as a snake. Relying on the disguises might be more risky if someone noticed them too early, but by surrounding the churchyard, MacDowell would have nowhere to go. A quick snatch and grab, and Eoin and his men would be on the way back to Scotland before the English—and the garrison at the castle—knew what had hit them.
Conyers and his men would have to be neutralized, but Eoin’s target was the MacDowell chief and his sons—as many of them as could be taken. Eoin recognized the eldest two standing beside Conyers and their father with a young lad. His gaze skimmed over the boy standing with his back to him, who was too young to be one of Margaret’s other brothers. The boy must be Dougal’s.
Margaret’s eldest brother had married an English heiress not long after Loch Ryan—one of the MacDowells’ rewards from Edward of England for the service they’d done that day in capturing Bruce’s brothers and crushing the southern attack. Fortunately for Bruce, the northern prong of the attack at Turnberry had proved more successful, and despite the loss of nearly two-thirds of his army at Loch Ryan, Bruce had defied the odds against him and risen from the ashes of defeat to establish a foothold in his kingdom. A foothold that in the last few years had become entrenched. MacDowell and his Gallovidians were the last of the significant Scottish resistance.
And Eoin would be the one to put an end to it by capturing him—as soon as he could unload the burden (literally and figuratively) in his arms. He started to push Margaret toward Conyers, who as the groom in this farce of a wedding was standing closest to him, when her eyes fluttered open.
Their gazes locked, and not even six years of bitterness and hatred could make him look away.
He hadn’t expected to be affected. He hadn’t expected to feel anything. He hadn’t expected the air to squeeze out of his lungs and his heart to feel as if it were burning a hole in his chest.
But it was as if he was on that battlefield all over again, listening to her brother taunt him with her betrayal, and it all came rushing back. All the anger, all the rage, all the heartbreak, and most of all, all the questions.
Why shouldn’t matter. Why was irrelevant. He’d trusted her, and she’d betrayed him. That should be enough. But damn it, how could she have told someone, when she must have known what it would mean? Did she wish to be rid of him so badly? Had the marriage that had started with such happiness become so unbearable? Had her love once tested proved no deeper than a young girl’s feckless fancy?
A wave of fury and rage rose up hot and heavy inside him. His blood boiled. His body shook. He wanted to lash out at the injustice. How could she have done this to them? Why couldn’t she have been more patient? Why couldn’t she have done her duty and tried to understand? Why couldn’t she have been like the other wives? Since Loch Ryan, seven of his brethren had married, and not one of their wives complained about what they did or how long they were gone.
Margaret read none of the storm of emotion taking place inside him. Her eyes softened. The lips that he could still taste in his dreams curved into a dreamy, delectable smile.
She reached up, the hand she placed on his face stopping his heart. “You came back! It wasn’t a dream. You’re alive. Thank God in heaven, you’re alive.”
Not even the most accomplished liar could have feigned that reaction. He could not doubt that she was happy to see him. It gave him pause, but a movement out of the corner of his eye stopped him cold.
The precious few seconds of inattention—the previous few seconds he’d spent locked in a fool’s trance with his wife—had cost him. Where in Hades was MacDowell?
Not again, damn it.
Margaret couldn’t believe it. It was really him. Eoin was standing before her alive, and by the looks of it, perfectly hale.
Perhaps more than hale. From the breadth of his shoulders and the size of the rock-hard arms around her, he was in fine form. A shudder of awareness ran through her as her swooning senses began to focus and sharpen. In very fine form indeed. Good gracious, he was built like a . . . built.
Six years of war had hardened him. He was bigger, fiercer, and scarier. He not only looked strong enough to take out an entire army, his eyes possessed the cold ruthlessness to do so. There was a hard glint to the midnight blue that had not been there before, and the lines etched in his face were deeper and angrier, and punctuated by a few more scars. No smile would erase the furrow between his brow now.
The serious young warrior she remembered had needed to be reminded to laugh; the grim, imposing, mail-clad brigand before her looked incapable of doing so.
But no matter how changed, she was so happy to see him, she couldn’t resist touching him. His jaw hardened under her hand, but the roughness of the stubble under her palm sent a shiver of remembrance shooting down her spine. She’d loved to feel the scrape of his beard on her skin when he’d kissed her.
But if the way he suddenly pushed her out of his arms toward Sir John was any indication, her husband did not share the same fond memories of her touch.
“Take her,” he said with a sneer of disgust.
Then she remembered what she’d done, and how he must despise her. Her chest stabbed with a knife wielded by her own hand.
“Are you all right?” Sir John asked, wiping her brow with a tender caress of his thumb.
It was a thoughtless gesture that she would not have noticed an hour ago, but that in the presence of her suddenly-risen-from-the-dead husband felt wrong.
She need not have worried though. A sidelong glance at Eoin told her that he’d forgotten all about her.
Mumbling assurances to Sir John, she quickly extracted herself from his arms where she’d been so unceremoniously tossed like an unwelcome sack of grain.
It wasn’t until Sir John drew his sword and pushed her behind him that she realized what was happening. The movement she’d sensed earlier was Eoin’s men—wearing the armor and surcoats of English knights—surrounding the churchyard.
How did he still have the power to hurt her after all these years? This wasn’t about her wedding, she realized. Eoin hadn’t come for her. It wasn’t about her at all. It was about her father and brothers. He must have discovered that they would be here and hoped to use her wedding as a trap by creating a diversion.
He’d done that all right. While everyone had been gaping at Eoin, stunned by his pronouncement, his men had quietly moved into position.
But the diversion was over, and all hell had broken loose. Perhaps he’d counted on that as well? Perhaps he’d hoped to nab her father and brothers quickly in the ensuing chaos?
If that had been the plan, it hadn’t worked. It was certainly chaotic—the wedding guests had slowly realized something wasn’t right and were fleeing in all directions—but like Sir John, her brothers had drawn their swords and were preparing to put up a fight.
This was madness. With all these people in this confined space innocent people would be . . .
Her heart dropped. Oh God, Eachann. Where was her son?
Her gaze shot to the last place she’d seen him. He’d been standing between her father and Dougal on the other side of the priest near the church door as she started to say her vows. She could see Dougal and Duncan with their swords drawn standing before the door, but neither the boy, the priest, nor her father were with them.
Eoin must have realized her father wasn’t there as well; she heard him shout an order to one of his men to find MacDowell. He likely would have done so himself, except that he was fending off a threat from Sir John.
“You should have stayed dead, MacLean,” Sir John said in a menacing voice she’d never heard before.
“And you should have found a bride who was not already married,” Eoin replied. “But I did not come here for you—or her,” he added with a scornful look in her direction. “None of your guests needs to be hurt. I want MacDowell. Do not interfere, and I’ll write to the pope myself. I’m sure my wife can think of dozens of reasons why our marriage could be dissolved.”
Margaret didn’t miss the dig about the conversation with Tristan that Eoin had overheard all those years ago, nor was his obvious eagerness to be rid of her not without a painful pinch or two (or handful) in her chest, but her focus was on her son.
Where was he?
She tried to peer over the crowd, but there were too many people in the way—including Sir John and Eoin. She had to get around them. Sir John had pushed her behind him against the church, thinking he was protecting her, but now she was stuck.
“Writing to the pope won’t be necessary,” Sir John said meaningfully. “Not when I’m done.”
He punctuated his words with a crushing swing of his sword, which Eoin deflected with his own. The clash of battle sent a wave of panic shooting through the crowd, and a woman screamed.
Sir John’s act had snapped the unspoken standoff and the clash of more swords followed.
Margaret cursed, knowing that spilling of blood was inevitable. But damned if she would allow her son to be caught up in the mess. This was everything she’d hoped to avoid. But her husband had brought the war to their doorstep. She would curse him—after she found Eachann.
Assuming Sir John didn’t kill Eoin first. Her erstwhile bridegroom was one of King Edward’s best swordsmen. But a quick glance at the men exchanging blows of the sword told her that Sir John was the one she should be worrying about.
She’d never seen Eoin fight before, and the primitive fierceness of it both shocked and unsettled her. She hadn’t expected him to be so skilled with a blade. He deflected the blows effortlessly—almost as if he were toying with the powerful knight. When Sir John grew impatient and moved in too close, Eoin didn’t just use his sword, he used his elbow to smash into Sir John’s nose and his foot to twist around behind the other man’s ankle and drop him to the ground.
He lay there so still Margaret prayed he was just knocked out.
She would have gone to him to make sure he was all right, but Eoin had given her an opening. She darted forward toward the church where her two eldest brothers had just defeated a few of Eoin’s men and were in the process of urging her younger brothers inside. Did they hope to take refuge in the church? For some reason, she doubted Eoin and his men would heed the laws of sanctuary.
Duncan had caught sight of her and motioned her forward. “Hurry, Maggie, there isn’t much time.”
“Where’s Eachann?”
“Safe,” Duncan said. “Father has him.”
Margaret let out a huge sigh of relief and muttered a prayer of thanks. Following her brother inside, she immediately realized it wasn’t sanctuary they were seeking. The church had a back door.
Always be prepared, Maggie. Always have a means of escape.
How many times had her father told her that over the years? He had avoided capture all these years by following those rules. Today was no different. The rear of the church was where they’d put the horses.
Her father had just mounted a horse and pulled Eachann up behind him when she and the rest of her brothers poured outside. There were only a handful of horses so a few of them would have to ride tandem.
“Father, wait!” she cried. She wanted her son with her.
He turned and met her gaze. “I have him. Go with Duncan. Hurry.”
He assumed she would leave with him. Is that what she would do? What about Eoin?
She didn’t have time to think about it. Her father’s gaze shifted behind her, and when his face darkened with anger, she knew it was too late for her.
In a panic she started to cry for her father to wait—to leave her son with her—but he’d already turned away. Gathering Eachann closer around his waist, her father snapped the reins, and clicked his heels. The horse shot off like an arrow, tearing across the yard toward the trees.
She heard Eoin’s voice shout from behind her. “Shoot him, now, damn it. He’s getting away.”
Margaret’s face drained in horror. She turned around and saw Eoin and another man a few feet away.
The other man was holding a bow, with an arrow pointed at . . .
She didn’t think before she reacted. “No!” she screamed and lurched forward, putting herself between the arrow and her father’s fleeing form.
The archer couldn’t have stopped the shot if he wanted to. Her movement had been well timed. He was already releasing his fingers as she lurched.
By all rights the arrow should have slammed into her chest an instant later. But with a vile curse, Eoin knocked the bow to the side, causing the arrow to skid off harmlessly to the ground.
He was on her a moment later, lifting her up by her arm to shout at her furiously. “You little fool! I should have let him kill you. What the hell did you think you were doing?” He turned back to the archer before she could respond. “Fire again. Don’t worry about the others, get MacDowell before he disappears.”
“No!” She’d never seen Eoin so angry—and given the circumstances she probably should have shown more sensitivity. But her heart was still hammering with panic, and she felt her own temper rise. Her gaze blared right back at him. “What was I doing? I was stopping you from possibly shooting your son, that’s what I was doing!”
As a member of the most elite group of warriors ever assembled in Christendom, handpicked by the Bruce for the most dangerous and difficult missions, Eoin had suffered his share of devastating blows that had left him stunned and reeling—most of them on the practice yard at the hands of Chief and Raider. But no knock in the head or slam across the chest had ever left him so completely poleaxed.
He felt as if the mucky ground had just been pulled out from under his feet, as if the world had tilted, as if everything he knew—or what he thought he knew—had changed in an instant.
Your son.
The boy was his? He tried to recall what he’d looked like, but the memory was a blur. Eoin hadn’t paid much attention, never considering . . .
He stared down into those flashing, golden eyes, saw the challenging tilt of her chin and furious purse of her mouth, and felt such a wave of fury rise inside him he had to fight to keep his fingers from clenching harder around her arm. “Say it again,” he gritted out slowly.
If he’d thought to intimidate her, he’d forgotten to whom he was talking. Margaret MacDowell didn’t get intimidated—even when she should. She thrust that chin up higher and narrowed her gaze right back at his. “The boy your archer could have killed is our son, Eachann.”
Eachann. The boy was named after one of the greatest warriors of all time, Hector of Troy, who was also known as a tamer of horses. The perfect ode to . . . them?
He hauled her up to him, their faces only inches apart. “If you are lying to me, Maggie, I swear by all that is holy, I’ll make you regret it.”
She pushed away from him with a hard shove. “Of course I’m not lying to you. Eachann turned five last November. I assume that brilliant mind of yours can count back easily enough, but your visit that night left me with more than a broken heart. Ironic, isn’t it? All that trouble to avoid a child and one lapse was all it took.” She made a sharp scoffing sound. “It’s no secret who his father is. Ask anyone.”
She looked around, obviously realizing what he already knew: her brothers were gone. They’d left without her.
A son? Devil take it, a son who was five years old? How could she have done this to him?
If he could think rationally, he might realize that this was not a sin he could lay at her feet, but he was too angry to be rational. “Your father used my son as a shield so that he could get away? I’m going to tear the bastard apart with my own hands.”
Margaret looked outraged. “He wasn’t using him as a shield, he just wanted him with him to keep him safe.”
Eoin was so furious he didn’t realize he was bellowing at her. “Safe? By putting him in the way of my archer? He was counting on the fact that I would not shoot with the boy behind him.”
She shook her head. “He wouldn’t do that. He loves Eachann. He is his only grandchild. He would never hurt him. I know you have cause to hate my father, but whatever else you may say of him, he is no coward, and he would die before letting anything happen to that boy. I was there, I saw what happened. He wanted him with him, nothing more.”
Eoin heard the conviction in her voice and gritted his teeth. Even if she was correct in the estimation of her father’s actions this time, they would never see eye to eye on the subject. There was little of which Dugald MacDowell wasn’t capable, and Eoin wouldn’t put anything past him.
But he was done arguing with her. He needed to focus on salvaging the mission. Not only had he let MacDowell slip through his net—how the hell had they missed the back door to the church when they’d scouted the area last night?—he had a son who’d been stolen from him for five years.
Failure wasn’t an option. He’d get them both back, damn it.
Forgetting about Margaret, he told Douglas’s archer to follow him, and they returned to the churchyard, where Hunter and the rest of the men had just finished subduing the English.
They’d already overstayed their welcome. Eoin kept one eye on the castle that he knew at any moment could open to release a flood of more soldiers.
“What happened?” Hunter said.
“I’ll explain later,” Eoin said. “We need to get to the horses. MacDowell and his sons”—and my son—“rode into the forest.”
“They’re headed for the castle?”
Eoin shook his head. He’d prepared for that, posting a few men on the road in case MacDowell had managed to slip away from the churchyard. But he hadn’t planned on that back door. Eoin didn’t make mistakes like that. At least he hadn’t in about six years. “I suspect he’s heading for the coast.”
Lamont swore, knowing as well as Eoin did that if MacDowell made it to a ship they wouldn’t be able to catch him. If they were in Scotland with Hawk, they might have a chance of slipping through the heart of the English naval forces, but without the famed seafarer it would be suicide.
“Don’t worry,” Lamont said. “We’ll get him.”
Eoin didn’t need to nod, his grim look said it all. Damn right, they would get him.
Lamont whistled and motioned for the men to follow.
He would have gone after them, but Margaret stopped him.
“Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm.
He looked down at it and told himself the coiling and twisting in his chest, the feeling that he was coming out of his own skin, was because he was angry. Her touch had lost the power to affect him years ago. But there was no denying the heavy drum of his heart.
Perhaps sensing the dangerous emotions boiling inside him, she dropped her hand. “I’m going with you.”
He almost laughed. Glancing over, he noticed Sir John starting to stir. “I don’t think your fiancé will like that very much. Besides, I lost the taste for treacherous redheads six years ago.”
She flushed angrily but refused to be baited. “This has nothing to do with you. My son needs me.”
His gaze turned as wintry as his blood. “My son will have his father.”
“He doesn’t know you, Eoin. He’ll be scared. I know you hate me, but don’t take your feelings for me out on our son. He’s only little boy. Please, he needs me. I swear I won’t get in the way.”
He gave a harsh laugh. As if that were possible. She’d been in his way since the first day he’d met her.
“You need not worry that I won’t be able to keep up,” she persisted. “I know how to ride.”
He gave her a long look. “I remember.”
And bloody hell, it infuriated him.
She flushed again, realizing to what he was alluding.
His jaw hardened, refusing to let her sway him. “The boy will be fine. Though the same cannot be said of your father when I catch up with him.”
“I can help you find him.”
Now that caught his attention. His eyes narrowed on her, assessing. If she was lying to him . . . “You know where he is going?”
“Not exactly, but—”
He cut her off with a harsh sound. “I didn’t think so. I don’t need your kind of help. I’ll find him on my own.”
Lamont was the best tracker in Scotland.
“And what if you don’t? Think about it, Eoin. If you want to catch my father, are you better off taking me with you or leaving me here? I have knowledge you may need.”
She was right. But that didn’t mean he thought she’d give it to him . . . willingly. Torture, now that was tempting. His mouth curled. “You offer to betray your father so easily? Why am I not surprised?”
Her cheeks went hot with anger, but she didn’t attempt to defend herself. How could she? They both knew what she’d done. She lifted her chin. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do to see my son safe—nothing.”
She might be a liar, but she wasn’t lying about that.
He might be able to use her. To hold over her father’s head if nothing else. Would MacDowell trade his foul life for that of his daughter’s? He should be so damned lucky.
He turned to one of his men. “Find the lady a horse. She may be of some use to us.” He turned back to his deceitful wife, making sure she understood the stakes. “But lie or do anything to make me regret this, Margaret, and I swear I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that you never see the boy again.”