Chapter Eighteen
Tor reached the top of the steps. “Mairi, go below.”
“What are ye even doing over here?” Cullen asked, his gaze taking in her clothes and Alec’s naked chest. “Damnation, MacNeil!” he yelled. “What are ye doing to Mairi?” He drew his sword, and for a moment Mairi thought he’d attack Alec from behind while Geoff threatened from the front.
She threw her arms wide, standing at Alec’s back. She brushed against him, fighting the pull to lean in to him. “He was loving me under the stars, Cullen Duffie, not that it’s any of your business.”
Her words stopped Cullen in mid stride, his lethal gaze dropping to her. “Tor?” he asked, one brow rising as he turned to look for her brother.
Tor stood beside Alec, looking out at Geoff’s ship. “Don’t ask her to divulge any details,” he said. “She’s liable to tell ye, and I’ll be too ill to defend this ship.”
Mairi smacked her brother’s arm. Alec’s voice boomed out into the night. “Sneaking up through the shadows to fire upon a vacant ship is cowardly, MacInnes. I already showed ye the power of the Sea Wolf and Sea Rose along South Uist. If ye wish to war against me, meet me on the ground with swords.”
“Alec,” Mairi said, grabbing his arm, but he didn’t budge.
“I will have my revenge, MacNeil,” Geoff called across. “First for my ship, and second for my woman.”
“God’s ballocks, Geoff. I’m second to your bloody ship?” Mairi yelled back. She rubbed a hand down the side of her face. Aye, she was out of her mind to have considered wedding him. She leaned forward over the rail. “And I’m not your woman.”
“Stand down, Geoff,” Tor called across. “MacNeil was tricked into thinking the MacInnes were responsible for his wife’s death. We discussed this at South Uist.”
“Ye discussed it!” Geoff yelled back. “I was busy salvaging my ship.”
A man from Geoff’s ship yelled from the other side, drawing everyone’s attention to the mountainous form of a second ship cutting through the water. “That would be Kenneth at the helm,” Alec said.
Tor cupped his hands around his mouth to call out. “If ye wish to bring war to Kilchoan, in your first months as chief, by firing upon the heads of clan Maclean and MacDonald, ye’re a bigger fool than Fergus MacInnes and his son combined. Especially when MacNeil’s other ship is bearing down on ye.”
In the spill of lantern light, Mairi could see Geoff’s lips move on a curse, and he gripped the rail with both hands. She’d thought him fairly handsome just a month ago, but now she saw only a bitter coward who hadn’t even disembarked on Barra to look for her. And the way he’d allowed his dogs to be treated was a good indication of his heart. Mairi reached around Alec to her brother, punching his arm. “How could ye let me almost marry him?”
Tor rubbed his abused bicep without taking his gaze off the other ship. “I believe,” he said through gritted teeth, “that I told ye I didn’t think it was a good idea, little sister. But ye are as stubborn as the winter is long.”
“Aye, MacNeil, ye’re going to have your hands full with that lass,” Cullen said with a side glance. “Maybe ye can teach her to obey that whistle ye use on the dogs.”
“If there weren’t cannons aimed at us right now, Cullen Duffie, I’d kick ye hard enough that Rose would have to wait at least three years to get with your child,” Mairi said.
“It looks like Geoff’s backing down,” Tor said. He finally looked away from the MacInnes vessel. “No death and dismemberment right before your wedding.” He nodded at them both.
“Actually,” Alec said, turning to take in both Tor and Cullen. “Mairi did not say aye.”
His words cut straight through Mairi, as if a cannon had indeed fired, splintering the world around them, sending a pointed spear straight through her. She almost doubled over without breath.
“What?” Tor asked, his arms dropping from their normal fold over his chest. “Mairi, ye’ve slept with the man. How could ye not take him as husband?”
“She is a widow, Tor,” Cullen said, though his face was just as hard as her brother’s. “We’ve known a number of merry widows who have not remarried.”
“My sister,” Tor snapped. “Will not be one of those merry widows.”
“That’s a bit hypocritical,” Cullen said.
“I don’t bloody care,” Tor volleyed back, staring at Mairi.
For several seconds, she couldn’t speak as she struggled for breath. The railing behind her kept her on her feet. “I…I didn’t say no, either.” She looked toward Alec, who had turned back to the bow, watching Geoff’s sails raise to catch the breeze in the bay.
“Leave her be,” Alec said without turning back. “I did not give her good reason to wed.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Tor asked. “She said ye loved her well.”
“He means,” Mairi said, her words low. “I will not live on Kisimul.” And he apparently wasn’t willing to abandon the castle for her. With a quivering sob that she kept inside, Mairi turned, and, dashing down the steps to the mid deck, she grabbed her robe and ran toward Broc near the rope ladder.
“Mairi?” he asked, his eyes taking in her attire.
“Can ye row me back to Kisimul?”
“Aye,” he said, looking past her. He shrugged. “Looks like we won’t be having another battle tonight.”
Then why did Mairi feel like she’d been shot through the most vital organ to life, her heart?
…
Alec strode across the bailey toward the soldiers’ barracks without talking to any of the warriors. Hands fisted, it took every ounce of discipline he possessed not to run into the keep where he guessed Mairi had returned, most likely to tell his children she’d be leaving with Tor. He glanced toward the upper windows where candles lit the paned glass. He could stride up there, haul her against him, swear to her that he would never let her go, and entrap her with him here on Kisimul forever.
His hand caught the edge of the doorframe, his fingers curling into a fist around the wood. Bloody damnation. He couldn’t force her to stay, imprisoning her just like she feared. Had his own mother left because she felt captive on Kisimul? Had Joyce? Was resentment the curse of Kisimul?
Curses are born of fear and discontent. Mairi’s words echoed in his head until it began to throb.
“Ballocks.” He pushed into the dark room where Ian rested, his broken leg lifted upon a short tower of pillows.
“I was wondering if ye were ever going to come in,” Ian said, his tone surly, probably from not being able to accompany the men out on the bay.
“MacInnes decided that he was still outgunned,” Alec said, throwing himself into a chair next to Ian before the hearth. Voices moved past the door outside in the courtyard, but no one entered.
“He’s a coward,” Ian said, pushing up higher into his seat. “But that’s not what ye’re in here for, is it?”
“How do ye—”
“Kenneth told me ye and Mairi were alone on the Sea Wolf, and now ye’re here frowning like someone’s slain your favorite dog.”
Alec slumped forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he hung his head. He gripped his skull, rubbing hard through his hair. “She won’t stay on Kisimul,” he said.
“Ye asked her to marry ye?” Ian asked.
Alec nodded without looking up. “She said aye to that, but nay to living at Kisimul.”
“And…?”
Alec raised his head to meet Ian’s dark gaze. “I am the Wolf of Barra, the chief of Clan MacNeil, and the seat of the chief is Kisimul Castle. She may have said aye to me but has refused my home and all that I have been raised to be.”
Ian rubbed his short beard and tipped his gaze to the dark rafters. He nodded as if churning Alec’s words in his mind. After a moment, Ian leveled his stare at him. “Ye were raised, watching your father leave often and finally not return. Ye were raised, watching your mother wave as she sailed away and then Millie when ye wed. It seems ye are familiar with people ye care about, leaving.” His one brow rose.
“That has nothing to do with my duty to keep Kisimul,” Alec said, rising to pace to the hearth where he kicked at a block of half burned peat in the grate.
“Are ye letting Mairi leave Kisimul before she can leave ye?” Ian asked.
“Bloody ridiculous, Ian,” Alec said, crossing his arms to stare down his best friend.
Ian shrugged. “Perhaps, but considering ye are the one in charge, as The MacNeil of Barra, I think ye can decide where ye live. Your people may like having their chief where they could stop in to strategize over a cup of ale. Cinnia and Weylyn would get to see the village children more than once or twice a year.”
Alec kept his solid stance. “And what would happen to Kisimul?”
“We would keep it up for times of war. Use it as a place for formal gatherings, meetings with other clans.”
Alec didn’t respond. He looked off into the dark shadows of the small barracks. Soon it would fill with men.
“Alec,” Ian said, bringing his gaze back to him. “Marry the lass.”
“Says the man who’s never deemed it necessary to stay with one lass for more than a month.”
“Aye, but I don’t look at those lasses the way I see ye look at Mairi Maclean. Bloody hell, Alec, I haven’t heard ye laugh like ye did when ye took her to the shore since ye were a lad, before your da died. Ye can spend your life rowing and riding back and forth from this fortress because ye think it’s your duty, or ye can choose something different. Maybe that will break the curse of Kisimul.”
“There is no curse,” Alec grumbled, but the words didn’t sound as solid as they had before.
Ian sucked in a large inhale and leaned back in his seat. “Think about it, but not too long. Else we’ll have to go all the way to the Isle of Mull to steal her again, when ye come to your bloody senses.”
Alec stared at his best friend who gave him a slow, knowing nod. Had he already decided that he must deal with the pain of losing someone again? He’d half expected Mairi to be gone when he’d returned from tracking down her brother. He’d been ready for the pain then, but being here to watch her sail away with her kin… He didn’t think he could do it.
“Thank ye,” he said, heading for the door.
Ian huffed loudly. “If I can’t help save the ships from the bloody MacInnes, at least I can help save us all from your grumpy rage if ye let her go.”
Alec strode into the bailey where Kenneth waved him over. Alec’s gaze circled the dark bailey, looking for Tor and Cullen. “Where are Maclean and Duffie?”
“Not sure,” Kenneth said.
“I think checking on the Maclean lass,” Daniel said from near the wall.
Damnation. Would they take her away tonight?
Alec turned toward the great hall where Father Lassiter stood, following him inside. “Now that the MacInnes have been scared off, since everyone is here, it seems we could have a celebration,” the priest said. “A wedding perhaps?” His eyebrows rose.
His words stopped Alec at the table. In his mind, he’d already wed Mairi. It needed to be officiated before the church. Then she couldn’t leave, and they’d figure out where they would live later. “Aye, Father, we should have a wedding tonight.”
Father Lassiter looked shocked, and blinked several times. “Why that’s bloody wonderful. I will tell Bessy right away.”
Could the priest be that dense? “I am not marrying Bessy Cameron.”
“But her brother wills it. He left a dowry with me for when ye came around. A chest of gold plates, rolls of rich fabric—”
“I’m wedding Mairi Maclean.”
“She doesn’t even have a dowry,” the middle-aged man said, his face growing tight with anger. “And she was betrothed to that MacInnes bastard. She’s spoken for. ’Twould be a sin to take another man’s wife.”
Had the priest taken payment from Angus to make sure Alec wed his sister? He knew many priests were corrupt, but the ones that ventured to the outer Scottish isles were usually more about gathering souls than gathering gold.
Alec took a step toward the man. “Mairi Maclean is my wife already, in the eyes of God. If ye have a problem with making it official with the church, ye may leave Barra, and we will find another priest to sign the book.”
Just as Alec turned, the blast of a cannon exploded, its impact on Kisimul’s outer wall sending a vibration through the keep. “What the hell,” Alec yelled, running out into the bailey.
“To arms,” Kenneth called and looked to Alec, who signaled for the beacons around the wall to be relit.
Bam! A cascade of rocks could be heard on the outer wall as another cannon slammed into it.
“Signal the men who stayed back on the ships to come around and engage,” Alec said as a bombardment of three cannonballs blasted into the wall.
“Fire!” the lookout on top of the wall yelled. Alec snapped his gaze up to see him pointing toward the village.
Tor and Cullen ran in the gate from the far outer wall. “Your village is on fire, MacNeil,” Cullen yelled. “Ye need men back there.”
“I have six men here who can row across,” Tor said.
“Daniel,” Alec called to his lead oarsman. “Kenneth is readying the ships to attack. Organize the rest of the men to row back to the village. Kisimul can withstand cannon.”
Daniel ran, waving his hands for attention. Ian hobbled out of the soldiers’ barracks with his leg wrapped tightly to the iron braces. Another cannon hit the back of Kisimul.
“MacInnes has a death wish,” Ian said. He had his sword strapped to his good leg.
“Ye should be resting,” Alec said, taking mental note of the men moving in their designated groupings.
“With cannons trying to blast into Kisimul? Not likely,” he said. “I can help put out fires in the village.”
“Find out who lit them,” Alec said as he turned back to the keep where Mairi and his children were.
Kisimul will hold. It’s held for centuries.
“Mairi!” he yelled as he tore into the keep.
He ran to the stairs and stopped at the bottom. Mairi stood at the top, looking every bit the angel in her white smock and robe. Her face looked pale, her eyes red. She’d been crying.
“Mairi.”
She held up a hand to stop him from approaching. “I’ll get the children,” she said, her voice strong. “And Millie. We’re safe here. Kisimul will never fall.”
“The village is on fire,” he said.
“Go,” she said, waving him toward the door.
“We will talk when I return,” he said, looking up at her, wanting to run up to touch her, hold her. “Don’t leave.”
She held the wooden railing at the top with both hands. “Make certain ye return,” she said. “I don’t want to add your boat to the line at the dock.”
Another cannon blast hit the outer wall. “It will hold,” Mairi said. “Go.”
With one last look, he turned, running out to join his men.