Twenty-Six
“Riders approaching from the hill, my laird,” Graham called out. Brodie had spotted them too. Whoever they were, they were galloping toward the Campbells and had clearly already caught sight of them from the higher elevation. It was too late for the Campbells to move off the road to avoid whoever approached. Instead, the men drew their weapons and prepared to stand their ground.
“Brodie! Brodie!”
Brodie heard the voice at the same moment he recognized the two heads of flame-orange hair racing toward him. He spurred his horse, sword still in hand. When he drew close enough to see Monty and Donnan’s smiles, he didn’t fear an attack. He sheathed his sword as his horse came abreast Monty’s. Laurel launched herself into his arms and nearly slipped between the horses. Brodie caught her, and Monty untangled her skirts. He crushed her against his chest, and she collapsed into his embrace.
“Laurie,” Brodie’s voice rasped. They turned their faces to one another, their elated expressions matching before they came together in a passionate kiss. The rest of the world—their witnesses and their woes—ceased to exist for the couple. Their lips mashed together as their tongues tangled. Need and fear melded into joy and relief. It made for a conflagration of emotions. Those who watched could never deny that the couple’s feelings were mutual, and there was no hesitation on either’s part.
As their kisses calmed and became shorter and less intense, Laurel allowed herself to believe she was truly reunited with her husband. Brodie had never experienced a feeling more consuming than the power of having Laurel in his arms once more. While he never could have imagined it, it surpassed even their most tender or their wildest lovemaking. They rested their foreheads together as Brodie stroked Laurel’s hair back from her face and shoulders. She wrapped one arm around his waist and the cool fingers of her other hand pressed against his neck.
“I will always come for you, thistle,” Brodie whispered.
“I ken, bear. I didn’t doubt that.”
“I can’t express how sorry I am that my men—that I—failed you.”
Laurel pulled back, her brow furrowed. She glanced at the Campbells; her face morphing into a visage of pure hatred as her gaze fell on Michael. “You are alive and breathe this very moment because my husband has me in his arms, you stinking pile of dung. If my husband doesn’t kill you, I will find you while you sleep. I will geld you and send your wee, shriveled bollocks to that MacDougall bitch you’ve been tupping for years. Then I will have you hanged from the gallows, so all may see how the Shrew of Stirling had you by the cods. Believe you me, my reputation doesn’t even touch on how merciless I can be. You’ve plotted against your laird, my husband. I will see you dead for that. You, I will never forgive.”
“What’re you talking aboot?” Brodie asked as he looked between Laurel and Michael. He’d been unable to reason why Michael betrayed him. Michael’s mutinous demeanor had gone far beyond claiming he’d led Laurel astray for Brodie’s or the clan’s sake.
“He’s in bed with the MacDougalls. Literally. He’s been bedding Nelson and Matthew’s cousin for years. He has two bastards with the woman. The MacDougalls don’t want an alliance between the Campbells and Rosses. With me out of the way, there would be no ties to bind you. How Michael came to be involved with the woman, I don’t ken. But he’s obviously been disloyal for years. Lord only knows what he’s told them during that time.”
Brodie signaled to the man riding beside Michael, who’d been tied to his saddle. The man removed Michael’s gag, and the traitor spat in Laurel and Brodie’s direction. Laurel cocked an eyebrow at him. With Brodie cocooning her, she didn’t fear Michael any longer. She wouldn’t cower as he returned her loathing. She hadn’t exaggerated the malice she felt toward the conniving guard.
“Have you aught to say?” Brodie demanded.
“Ye are a fool, and every mon here kens it. It’s nae ma bollocks that’ll go missing. Hellfire, she’s already taken yers. Ye’re weak. Ye’re nae fit to lead our clan. I’ve hated ye since I was auld enough to swing a sword. Smug bastard, just because ye were the laird’s son and tánaiste. Ye’ve always been a fool. Do ye ken how I know? Because ye never once figured out that I was the once who told the MacDougalls the route ye were taking with the MacMillan bitch. They told the Lamonts.”
“You caused the most recent raids,” Graham accused.
“Ye mean the ones that drew our laird away from his slut. But ye should ken that the most recent ones are happening while the great Laird Brodie Campbell chases after a quim.”
Laurel looked at Brodie, and everything fell into place. “While you were gone, Nelson was always watching me. He hoped to get me alone, either to kill me or abduct me. He knew you’d look for me as soon as you knew I was gone. It would have kept you away even longer. When he couldn’t do that, he had to get me away from you once we set off. This was all a distraction.”
“So were the wagers. I don’t doubt he hoped you would humiliate me, and that I would fail to earn your hand. When he realized that he would lose a small fortune, he couldn’t let it go.”
“He changed the wagers.” Laurel looked at Monty, then back to Brodie. “He wagered against how long we would remain married. You found us by accident. He likely intended to kill both of us, hoping it would cause conflict between the Campbells and Rosses. He couldn’t stand the idea that our clans would ally.
“He claimed that while the MacDougalls and Campbells might be feuding, he didn’t dislike you.” Andrew MacFarlane walked out of the trees, leading his horse’s bridle. “He claimed you would regret your decision, and that you deserved your freedom.”
“You were in on it!” Laurel pointed an accusing finger at Andrew. “You knew he intended to kill me.”
Campbells surrounded Andrew, but MacFarlane men and MacBains emerged from the woods. The MacFarlanes and MacBains rivaled the Campbells and Rosses in numbers.
“I bet far too much on your courtship failing and then your marriage being a disaster. I believed we were taking Lady Campbell back to court or Balnagown. It wasn’t until after we had her that I realized the MacDougalls wouldn’t settle for that. I should have known, and I’m a fool not to. You married, ending your handfast. There could be no repudiation or annulment. The only way to sever the Campbell and Ross alliance was to make Brodie a widower.”
“MacFarlane and I led our men from camp last night,” Stephen said as he stepped forward.
“Last night?” Laurel said in confusion. “You rode with us this morning. I’m sure of it.”
“Laurel, you slept through all of yesterday and half of today,” Monty said quietly. She turned a confused mien to Monty and Donnan, then Stephen and Andrew.
“Let me see what you gave me.” Laurel held out her hand, and Donnan maneuvered his horse closer. She opened the pouch and poured the remaining herbs into her hand. She poked it with her finger, spreading the tiny pieces before bringing it to her nose. She pinched a few, rolling them between her finger and thumb before bringing it back to her nose. “Catnip. No wonder I couldn’t stop sweating, and I couldn’t stay awake.”
“Catnip?” Brodie asked in confusion.
“Aye. It’s a remedy for the ague. It causes a person to sweat heavily, releasing whatever bad humors cause the illness. It helps the ailing person to sleep and recover. But I wasn’t sick, just sedated.”
