Part 24 (1/2)
”Sadly, nae.” The chief looked genuinely disappointed. ”Ye met my son Tristan in England, if ye recall.”
The king chuckled softly at what could have been construed as an insult. ”Knowing most of the n.o.bility in England and Scotland, I'd say you taught most of your sons well.”
”Aye,” Callum agreed. ”'Tis difficult when yer own nephew plots against ye.”
The king nodded, raising his cup to his lips. ”It is only a matter of time before Monmouth is caught, and Argyll as well.”
Rob made an impatient sound, pulling Davina's cautious gaze to him. He stood alone, so tall and strong, folding and then unfolding his arms over his chest, the lines of his jaw rigid. The solar suddenly seemed too small with him in it. She was surrounded on all sides by men of great power and skill, but none of them made her heart accelerate, her mouth go dry by the sheer force of Rob's indomitable strength. Like the mountains that rose up around his home, he was unbendable, unbeaten by the storms that raged around him. He'd protected her when he could have chosen not to, he'd promised to keep her safe, and he had. She felt treasured in his arms, untouchable by his side. If she lost him, she would cast her heart into the sea and never love another.
Rob ignored his father's warning glance with a black look of his own and asked boldly, ”And Admiral Gilles? What are yer men doin' aboot him?”
The king looked up at him without censure, but with refreshed curiosity. ”We will find him.”
”Before he finds her?” The flagrant challenge in Rob's voice was undeniable.
”He will never find her here, sire,” Callum interjected before his son spoke again. ”And if he does, as ye know now fer yerself, we will see him comin' long before he arrives.”
”Leave her here?” the king asked. For a moment he seemed to be considering it, but then his gaze s.h.i.+fted back to Rob. ”You have my deepest grat.i.tude for saving my daughter, but I am afraid I must decline.”
Instantly, Rob rushed forward. Just as quickly the two soldiers standing behind Davina drew their swords.
”Nae!” Callum shouted together with Davina and Kate, and flung himself in front of his son, s.h.i.+elding his arms around him. ”Stand doun, Robert, or would ye have yer mother see our blood spilled before her eyes?” He spoke quickly, quietly, his voice thick with emotion and restraint. ”M' lord,” he turned to look at the king. ”Let us discuss this further. Yer daughter's safety means much to my son. He-”
”And so does my daughter, obviously.” The king stood to his feet and tilted his head to stare hard into both their eyes. ”I suspected this. But she is my heir. Her future has already been decided.”
”But not by me.” All eyes turned to Davina rising slowly to her feet to face her father. She would not tremble. She would not falter, and she would not cry. Not now. If there was any way to stop this, to stop her father from taking her, or Rob from starting a war he would lose, she had to take it. ”Being your daughter has taken everything from me. I love it here, father. I love these people. I beg you, do not take them from me, as well.”
Her father's eyes softened on her. ”Davina, I give you my solemn oath that you will never want for anything again. I should not have left you to nuns. I have regretted it since the day I handed you over, but G.o.d spared you for a purpose, and someday you will fill it.”
”I know that I must, but it is not what I want,” Davina argued through her tears. ”I do not want anything your courts have to offer. Perhaps if I had been raised in them as my sisters were, I would feel differently.”
”You will come to feel differently,” he said tenderly, but when she shook her head, his voice took on a harsher tone. ”And him,” he said, turning to Rob. ”Do you love him also?”
Her eyes darted to Rob, remembering his words to his father. He would never deny her. She looked to Callum next, recalling all too clearly his warning, as well. ”I... I know my duty.”
Over the king's shoulder, Rob stared at her with a look of such replete sorrow she was certain it would haunt her until her dying day. She would have fallen into his arms had both their fathers not been standing between them.
”Gather our men,” King James commanded his guards over her head and s.n.a.t.c.hed her hand. ”We are leaving.”
Chapter Thirty-five.
Rage seared through Rob's blood and was finally unleashed with a groan that nearly brought him to his knees. As if in a dream from which he could not awaken, he watched the king pull Davina toward the door he'd been blocking only a few moments ago. She turned, tugging on the fingers that held her, and looked at him for the last time.
Rob woke, and with a roar that brought a dozen En-glish soldiers and Highlanders alike to the solar, he leaped for the king.
His father tried to stop him and both men nearly careened to the floor. Rob met Colin's horrified gaze as he bounded back to his feet, then followed it downward to the two gleaming swords pointed at his throat.
”Tell yer men to lower their weapons against my brother,” Colin shouted. ”Ye gave me yer word.”
Rob barely heard him and lifted his arm to swipe the swords out of his way. His wife's cry stopped him.
”Please, please, Rob. You cannot die.”
”I am dead if he takes ye from me,” Rob told her across the length of the blades, desperation hardening his face and softening his voice.
”MacGregor,” the king warned Rob on a low snarl. ”I could take your head right now for this.”
”Oh, Father, please, don't let this happen.” Davina closed her tearstained eyes and prayed from the depths of her soul.
”Daughter,” the king answered, thinking she was speaking to him. ”I understand that you feel indebted to this man for-”
”No, no,” she argued through her tears. ”It is more than that. Please, do not harm him. I forgave you for leaving me, but I will never forgive you if you kill him.”
Her father's stern expression collapsed at her vow and he looked, for a moment, like he might be ill. He raised his hand to her cheek and a small, sorrowful sound escaped him when she moved her face away. ”Give me a year. One year to know the daughter I've not known for over four and twenty. Let me give you all that I have never been able to give you before, and if after that time you are still unhappy, we will discuss a different path for you.”
When she nodded her agreement, Rob moved against the tips of the blades until two trickles of blood broke the surface. ”Davina, dinna' agree to this, ye are my-”
”Rob!” Davina held up her trembling hand to silence him before he sealed both their fates. ”I have decided. You will let me go.”
”Nae!” Rob's eyes darkened on the guards keeping him still. He was going to crack their skulls in half and then step over their dead bodies and kill anyone else who stood in his way. But the instant he moved, Jamie and his brothers threw their bodies into his and held him with the aid of his father.
”I let you live today, Robert MacGregor,” King James said, motioning for his guards to lower their weapons. ”My debt to you is paid. If you come after her, I will have no choice but to have you shot.”
”Please, don't,” Davina mouthed silently to her husband as the king hastened her away.
”Son, she does this fer ye,” Callum hushed, grasping Rob from behind. ”She wants ye to live.”
”Rob, fergive me,” Colin implored. ”I will make this-” His apology was cut short by Rob flinging them all off him.
They all rushed for the door to stop him from going after her. Angus slammed it shut and whirled on his heel to further block the exit, should Rob try to kick the wooden one down. But Rob did not bother. She left. Nae, she chose to leave, just as he had feared. In an instant he had been changed, defeated, broken in two. He turned his back on the men watching him, went to a chair, and fell into it without another word.
He didn't hear the door open again. He didn't care who came in or went out. She was gone. That was all he knew.
It wasn't until sometime later, when Maggie pushed open the door and told them that Colin had gone after the king, vowing to make things right, that Rob left the solar with his father, and a whole new fear descended on him.
”Ye lied to me.” Colin reined his frothing mount to a halt after stopping the king's troupe just beyond the braes of Bla Bheinn. It hadn't taken him long to catch up with them, for the king and his men had not pushed their mounts to their limits over the steep hills and muddy terrain as Colin had. He was angry and he wanted answers. If he had to ride all the way back to England to get them, he would. He was aware of the king's soldiers moving to surround him, quick to protect their liege lord. Colin gave them only half his attention. If they wanted a fight, he would give them one, but first he would have his say. ”Ye gave me yer word.”
James raised his hand, signaling his men to back down. ”And I have kept it. Your family remains unharmed.”
”Unharmed?” Colin seethed, glaring at the man he had begun to like, even respect. ”Ye might as well have cut oot my brother's heart!”
A sound, like a soft moan, drew his attention to Davina, saddled on a spotted gelding a few feet away. When he met her bloodshot gaze, he looked away. He should have known she loved Rob. He should have recognized it in the tender way she looked at his brother while they traveled back to Skye. The way she rested against his chest, a trace of pure contentment curling her mouth. h.e.l.l, what had he done?