Part 3 (1/2)

In the end, it was a rout. Many of Cromwell's great troops simply ran to the Lowlands, where the people were as varied in their beliefs as they were in their backgrounds. Others did not lay down their arms quickly enough, and were swept beneath the storm of cries and rage of MacNiall's Highlanders. The stream ran red. Dead men littered the beauty of the landscape.

When it was over, MacNiall received the hails of his men, and rode to the base of the hill where they had collected the remnants of the remaining army. There he was surprised to see that among the captured, his men had taken Grayson Davis--the man who had betrayed them, one of Cromwell's greatest leaders, sworn to break the back of the wild Highland resistance. Grayson Davis, who hailed from the village that bordered MacNiall's own, had seen the fall of the monarchy and traded in his loyalty and ethics for the riches that might be acquired from the deaths of other men.

The man was wounded. Blood had all but completely darkened the glitter of the chest armor he wore. His face was streaked with grimy sweat.

”MacNiall! Call off your dogs!” Davis roared to him.

”He loses his head!” roared Angus, the head of the Moray clan fighting there that day.

”Aye, well, and he should be executed as a traitor, as the lot of us would be,” MacNiall said without rancor. They all knew their punishment if they were taken alive. ”Still, for now he will be our captive, and we will try him in a court of his peers.”

”What court of jesters would that be? You should bargain with Lord Cromwell, use my life and perhaps save our own, for one day you will be slain or caught!” Davis told him furiously. And yet, no matter his brave words, there was fear in his eyes. There must be, for he stood in the midst of such hatred, that the most courageous of men would falter.

”If you're found guilty, we'll but take your head, Davis,” MacNiall said. ”We find no pleasure in the torture your kind would inflict upon us.”

Davis let out a sound of disgust. It was true, on both sides, the things done by man to his fellow man were surely horrendous in the eyes of G.o.d--any G.o.d.

”There will be a trial. All men must answer to their choices,” MacNiall said, and his words were actually sorrowful. ”Take him,” he told Angus quietly.

Davis wrenched free from the hold of his captors and turned on MacNiall. ”The great Laird MacNiall, creating havoc and travesty in the name of a misbegotten king! All hail the man on the battlefield! Yet what man rules in the great MacNiall's bedchamber? Did you think that you could leave your home to take to the hills, and that the woman you left behind would not consider the fact that one day you will fall? Aye, MacNiall, all men must deal with their choices! And yours has made you a cuckold!”

A sickness gripped him, hard, in the pit of his stomach. A blow, like none that could be delivered by a sword or bullet or battle-ax. He started to move his horse forward.

Grayson Davis began to laugh. ”Ah, there, the great man! The terror of the Highlands. The b.l.o.o.d.y MacNiall! She wasn't a victim of rape, MacNiall. Just of my sword. A different sword.”

Grayson Davis's laughter became silent as Angus brought the end of a poleax swinging hard against his head. The man fell flat, not dead--for he would stand trial--but certainly when he woke his head would be splitting.

Angus looked up at MacNiall.

”He's a liar,” Angus said. ”A b.l.o.o.d.y liar! Yer wife loves ye, man. No la.s.s is more honored among us. None more lovely. Or loyal.”

MacNiall nodded, giving away none of the emotion that tore through him so savagely. For there were but two pa.s.sions in his life--his love for king and country... And for his wife. Lithe, golden, beautiful, sensual, brave, eyes like the sea, the sky, ever direct upon his own, filled with laughter, excitement, gravity and love.

Annalise.

Annalise...who had begged him to set down his arms. To rectify his war with Cromwell. Who had warned him that.. .there could be but a very tragic ending to it all.

*2*

Gina caught up with Toni at the bottom of the stairs.

”What are you doing?” she asked in dismay.

”What am I doing?” Toni echoed. Now that she was away from him; from the way that he looked at her, the I trembling had stopped. The strange moment was gone. He was just a man. Tall, wired, muscled, imposing--and irate that they were in what he claimed to be his property.

”Gina!” she said, determined that they would not be groveling idiots, no matter what the situation turned out to be. ”Do you hear yourself? You're thanking him for throwing us out on Monday, after all this!”

”Shh!”

Gina pulled her along, anxious that Laird MacNiall not hear any more of her comments. They moved from the great hall, through a vast dining area and then through another door to the kitchen, a large area where a huge hearth with antique accoutrements still occupied most of the north wall.

There were concessions to the present, however, including the modern stove, freezer, refrigerator and microwave. The huge island counter in the center of the room, set beneath hanging pots and pans, was surely original, and at one time had certainly hosted huge sides of venison, boar and beef. Now cleaned and scrubbed, it was a dining table with a mult.i.tude of chairs around it.

The fact that MacNiall hadn't joined them had opened the floodgates of emotion. Thayer, Gina and Kevin all accosted Toni immediately.

”How the h.e.l.l did this happen?” Kevin demanded.

”We all saw the agreements! And signed them,” Toni reminded them. She looked around. These were her friends, her very best friends. Gina and Ryan, whom she'd met three years ago while working at a Florida tourist attraction. And David Fulton! Tall, dark and handsome, with the deepest dimples and warmest smile in both hemispheres, David had been Toni's friend in college. Brokenhearted by the loss of a lover, he'd quickly rallied when he and Toni had gone to a concert with Gina and Ryan, and he had met Kevin-- who had immediately fit in.

Toni had been the loner in their group, but in a strange way that had changed when they had come to Scotland together six months ago. They had visited a castle bought by some of its clan members, who had then opened the house to visitors for whatever money they could bring in, thus affording to restore the place. And their wild scheme had hatched. If others had done it, why couldn't they? It was possible if they pooled their resources.

And that was where Thayer had come into the picture to complete their group of six. Thayer was her cousin, a Fraser. A distant cousin, Toni a.s.sumed, since their respective grandfathers had been cousins, which made Thayer...exactly what, she wasn't sure. He was certainly intelligent and attractive, but he was something even more important to their enterprise--an authentic Scot. Not only was he fluent in Gaelic, he understood the customs and the nuances of doing business in the small community. He acted as their interpreter--in more ways than one.

Her friends and her kin stared at her, almost accusingly. She stared straight back.

”Think about it! Maybe he doesn't have a right to be here. We just don't really know, do we?”

”Well, not positively,” David murmured, but he spoke without conviction.

That MacNiall might be in the wrong, and they were the ones with the right to the place, was a nice hope. Unfortunately, none of them really seemed to believe it. Toni didn't even believe it herself.

”The constable said that MacNiall owned the place,” Thayer reminded her wearily.

”So? Constable Tavish is a local. He has loyalties to an old family name. We really don't know the truth. Our lawyer may be American, but he still knows the law. We need to get more serious legal advice, and get it fast.”

”Legal advice from the States may not help us now,” Kevin reminded her.

”Thayer?” Toni said.

He shrugged, shaking his head. ”I saw the ads for the place in Glasgow, and I saw the same thing on the Internet that you did. And yes, I read the rental agreements, just as we all did. Gina, can I see the papers?” he asked.

Gina set them down before him.

”Even Laird MacNiall said that they look real or proper or.. .whatever!” Toni murmured.

”Yeah, they look legal,” Ryan said bitterly. ”Tons of small print.”

”We actually rented from Uxbridge Corporation,” Thayer murmured. ”We're going to have to trace it down. When you sent the euro check, Toni, was there an exact address?”

She groaned, sinking into one of the chairs.

”What? What is that groan for?” Ryan demanded.

”The address was a post office box in Edinburgh,” she admitted.

”Okay!” Kevin said, reaching over to squeeze her hand and give her some support. ”That will give the police a trail to follow, at least.”

”It will help the police,” David said softly, offering Toni a half smile despite his words. ”But I'm not real sure what it will do for us.”

”Toni, why didn't you want the constable to take the papers tonight?” Gina asked, frowning. ”Wouldn't it have been better for him to have gotten started on this as quickly as possible?”