“Thank you.” Caitlyn relaxed at the sincerity in Robert’s voice.
“I would not have hosted Laird Scott had I known you and Alex married, or that his son was wreaking havoc.”
“I believe you. Though I think you could have extended the courtesy of warning me rather amusing yourself with my shock and anger.” Caitlyn looked pointedly at Robert, who regretted meeting her gaze.
“I suppose that didn’t set a very conciliatory tone.”
“It did not.” Caitlyn swallowed her wine. “Robert, I’m aware you hold the Hermitage in trust for the king, but it is still on Elliot land. They will come.”
“As they should. And I sent someone, my lady. Before we entered the Great Hall. You may not have seen it, but my second-in-command understood my silent order.”
Caitlyn opened her mouth to thank Robert again when a commotion stole her attention. The doors to the Great Hall swung open and Innes Kennedy stormed in. “Papa!”
Caitlyn dashed from the dais and flew into her father’s arms, finally feeling safe after days of terror. Innes clung to his daughter, relieved to watch her running and knowing she was unharmed. It had shocked everyone to find a wounded Grant charging into the bailey and calling out that Innes raise their standard. He’d tumbled from his horse and explained everything with halting words before passing out. Innes and his men set off that night. He would have set off that moment if it hadn’t taken nearly an hour to convince Collette that she couldn’t ride out with him. He’d never met a woman more fiercely protective of her children, though he assumed others existed.
“Caity.” Innes breathed a sigh of relief as the familiar scent of myrrh wafted to him, reminding him of when three women once filled his keep with the woodsy scent. With only Collette there to wear the perfume, it only permeated their chamber. “Caity, what happened? Grant said gallowglasses attacked you and Alex while you rode to Dunure. He said the men took Alex but left you.”
“Papa,” Caitlyn pulled back, “did Grant tell you Alex and I married? We were riding home to tell you andMaman.I’m sorry you found out that way.”
“He did. You know your mama and I would have liked to be at your wedding, but it relieved us you and Alex finally married. Tavin sent a missive aboot a moon ago, right after Alex left for court, explaining everything that happened. He warned Alex might never ask for your hand, but that it was Coira’s and his fervent prayer that Alex would. It became your mama’s and mine too. It would have shocked and pained us more if you hadn’t married.”
“When this is over, mayhap Alex and I can still come to Dunure. Or mayhap you andMamancan feast with us at Mangerton Tower.”
“There is naught we could want more.”
“There is one more thing. Do you think Cairren could come?”
“If Padraig can keep her from getting with child long enough to agree it’s safe for her and the weans to travel, then, aye. She will come.”
“Laird Kennedy, please join us for the rest of the midday meal. You must be famished.” Robert offered the pair seats and ordered more food served. Innes sat with his arm around his daughter’s shoulder, both as a comfort and as a warning to anyone who thought to endanger her. He trusted Robert Bruce and his clan, but he trusted few connected to the royal clan if they weren’t already acquainted. A threat to Robert could lurk within the walls, and that put Caitlyn at risk as well. It relieved him to discover Caitlyn was no longer on the road, but it made him uneasy that this was the keep where she found shelter.
“Caity, I sleep inside your door.” Innes whispered as he reached for a heel of bread.
“I understand, Papa,” Caitlyn murmured from behind her chalice. Collette, Cairren, and Caitlyn had always shared a chamber when they stayed at inns or with clans Innes didn’t entirely trust. He’d slept with his sword in his lap inside their chamber. Hosts always offered rooms to Collette and him, to which they retired and appeared to rise, but the family slept together. It was a silent admission that the ladies were different, and that posed an inherent danger.
Caitlyn looked up as the Great Hall’s doors opened once more and her father’s cousin, Daniel, and his son, Jamie, entered. Caitlyn beamed as she offered a small wave to her other family members. The men joined them on the dais since Daniel was Innes’s head of the guard, and Jamie—as the closest male relative of an ideal age to be an heir—was Innes’s tánaiste.
“Caity, are you well?” Jamie scanned the crowd as he kissed his cousin’s cheek. He and his father were among the men who traveled to Foulis after Cairren married. They’d delivered Cairren’s dowry and stayed on to visit. Alex had accompanied them, and it infuriated the men to discover how the Munros treated Cairren. Daniel and Jamie had always been protective of Caitlyn as family and as their duty, but they’d become more so after their visit to Foulis. They accepted the years had improved Cairren's situation, and they accepted she was happy with her husband and clan. But the two men were still wary for Caitlyn.
“I will be better when it’s my husband kissing my cheek and not your prickly whiskers.” Caitlyn half-jested.
Jamie ran his hand over his beard. “My Kayla likes my whiskers. She says they tickle.”
Daniel clapped his hand on his son’s shoulder and squeezed until the younger man nearly folded. Caitlyn giggled, surprised to hear the sound when the situation remained so grave. She winked at Jamie, understanding what she was certain Innes and Daniel hoped she didn’t. With another clap on the back that rattled his heart, Jamie sat beside his father.
The meal progressed with little more jocularity as the men planned with Robert. By morning, the only thing left was to wait for the Elliots to arrive. Caitlyn argued that she should not remain at the Hermitage. Either she rode with the men, or someone took her to Mangerton. She argued once the fight was through, they would take Alex home, in whatever state they found him. She would either ride back with him or be waiting at their home, not waiting for someone to retrieve her. The men relented and agreed she could ride with them, but they intended to keep her far from any battlefield. Caitlyn wished for them to ride up to Buccleuch, run Sully through, then ride out with no battle fought. She was aware there was little chance for it to be so simple. She prepared herself to witness her first battle.
Twenty-Two
Alex grunted once more as jarring pain shot through his arm into his shoulder, causing the knot in his belly to clench. He sat atop Strong as the horse trudged through the mud. It had rained incessantly for two days; fortunately, it hadn’t been a thunderstorm. Alex pushed his sopping hair from his eyes as he watched the road ahead, trying to steer Strong from any divots that might cause the horse to go lame. The inclement weather slowed their progress, which was the only blessing in Alex’s misery. He knew not if the rain spread as far southwest as Dunure or southeast to Mangerton. He was certain one of his men left Caitlyn’s side and rode for home. He loathed that Caitlyn was down two guards, since Grant couldn’t lend much help to another attack, but he knew his father and Brice needed informing.
“You seem to have God on your side.” Henry held back and allowed the other men to ride past as he moved beside Alex. “This weather will slow us long enough for your family to learn of your abduction. Mayhap they will arrive at Buccleuch in time to claim your body before the Scott puts your head on a pike.”
“He is an eejit, but not so foolish as to boast when he murders me. He may kill me, but he will claim I crossed onto his land and met with an accident. Aught else will bring the Kennedys, the Moffats, the Elliots, and the Croziers to his door. With the Kennedys will come the Bruces, especially once both Roberts learn of the Scotts’ further perfidy.”
“You are an arrogant mon for one who rides to his death.”
“Though you explained it already, I still say, if the Scotts wanted me dead, you would have killed me. Sully may be a sick bastard and may want me to die by his hand, but he knows he risks much by doing so. It benefits him if hired men killed me and then disappeared. There is something else he wants.”
