“MacFarlane!” The Black thundered. “Ye go too far.”
“Do I? Yer brother got ma wife and daughters raped and murdered. Just how far do ye think I might go?” Andrew drew a dirk from his waist and stared at the tip, as though the sun striking the blade fascinated him. “The lass had naught to do with that, so I willna hold her family against her. But the three of ye? Do ye ken why ye’re still breathing? Because ma niece and ma soon-to-be daughter-by-marriage can see us, even if ye canna see them. But this is hardly over. Go home, Douglases. There’s nay battle today. But gird yer loins because one way or another, one is coming. As much as I hunger to kill ye, Maxwell, it might satisfy me to tell ma tale of woe to the king’s ear directly.”
The Black exchanged a look with Nigel, who nodded. The eldest Douglas brother, the leader of the main branch of their clan and friend to the king, cast his stare at Maxwell. He flicked his hand, and four Douglas warriors came forward. Before Maxwell realized they encircled him, they stripped him of his weapons and pulled him from his horse.
“Consider this ma niece’s dowry,” the Black said before whirling his horse around. Maxwell spun around in confusion, then horror, as the Douglases rode away and left him with no weapons and no horse to faces three angry clans.
“Óg!” Andrew Mòr called to his son. “Bring rope!”
The younger Andrew met his father, confusion clear on his face until he looked at Maxwell. A malevolent gleam entered Óg’s eyes as he dismounted. He drove his fist into Maxwell’s nose, blood geysering from it. He bound the man’s wrists, then his ankles before binding them together.
“The only reason I’m nae going to drag ye all the way to Inveruglas then watch ye trail behind ma boat while ye try to stay afloat is because Cat is here. Thank God for small mercies. But once I have ye in our dungeon, far from where Cat can hear or see ye, I will make ye pay. I will make ye pay for what happened to ma mother, to ma sisters. I will make ye pay for every time ye tried to intimidate Cat, tried to manipulate her. Och, ye underestimated her far too many times. We spent far more time together than ye ken. I ken far more than ye can imagine. Dinna think Rab is the only mon who has a taste of the devil inside him for torture. Ye shall have yer turn.” Grasping a handful of Maxwell’s hair in one hand and leading his horse in the other, Andrew dragged Maxwell across the field before ordering two MacFarlanes to heave him over the back of a pack horse and tie him to it. He mounted Hercules, then raced along the rocky hillside with Rab. The kiss he shared with Catriona rivaled the one Rab and Catherine shared.
Chapter 19
“Rab,” Catherine exhaled as they drew apart.
“It’s over, Kitty.” Rab kissed her temple, inhaling her floral scent. “What could ye see?”
“All of it, even if we couldnae hear,” Catherine said as she looked at her friend and her cousin.
“Catherine, I am so sorry,” Catriona croaked as fresh tears tumbled down her cheeks. Andrew drew her back against his chest. She sobbed, “Óg.”
“Wheest, Cat. We ken ye had naught to do with it,” Andrew whispered. “Ye warned us once ye kenned.”
“How could I nae?” Catriona choked. “Ye’re ma friend, Catherine. And, Óg, ye’re…”
“I’m yer betrothed, Cat. Assuming ye will have me, I am marrying ye, lass.”
“But ma uncle? The Black expects me to marry…”
“Nay, he doesnae,” Andrew countered. “He already kenned how we feel. He may have to save face and make it appear as though he’s turned his back on ye, but he wouldnae leave ye to me if he didna trust that I’ll love ye and care for ye always. Yer father certainly wouldnae.”
Catriona pushed hair from her face as she swiped at her tears. “I was so scared. Nae of riding here. But that even if I chose ye, ye wouldnae choose me.”
“Cat, I would have been a fool a hundred times over to let ye go. But I would never have abandoned ye. It wasna even a choice. I’m always going to do whatever it takes to protect ye and make ye happy.”
“Does that mean ye’ll marry me?”
“Are ye the one doing the asking?” Andrew grinned. “Can ye nae be patient even for a moment?”
“Doubtful.” Catriona’s sparkling eyes alluded to what else might make her impatient.
“Aye, Catriona. I’ll marry ye. I already told ye I’m yer betrothed.”
“And I’ll marry ye,” Catriona echoed.
“Ye realize that with us here to witness, ye are married,” Catherine pointed out, her grin matching her cousin’s. Andrew and Catriona’s kiss drew out, leaving Catherine and Rab to look at the guards who’d accompanied the women into the rocks.
“Yer father is still likely to geld me,” Rab mused as Andrew and Catriona pulled apart. “I’d like to have done with this, so I can take ma wife home for a proper meal.”
“Ye and me both,” Andrew agreed as he pressed a kiss behind Catriona’s ear.
The two couples and the guards made their way back into the meadow. Catherine caught sight of Maxwell draped over a horse’s back, rage swelling in her chest. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she looked at the man responsible for taking so much from her family, the man who’d kept her from Rab for years. As the fury thrummed through her, she had a sudden understanding of how Rab could be so cruel to his cousins because it didn’t feel like cruelty. It felt like justice.
Catherine dismounted and walked to Maxwell. She grabbed a handful of hair and yanked his head up. Despite the awkward angle, his gaze met hers. “I pray the king leaves us to mete out yer punishment. Better yet, I pray ma uncle and cousin are as impatient as me. I pray they take a lesson from ma husband. Och, aye. I ken just like ye do. If Mòr and Óg canna come up with a fitting way for ye to die, I have plenty of suggestions.” Catherine leaned in, so only Maxwell could hear. “The first is being buggered with yer own cock. I’ll let them figure out the how, but mayhap I willna wait to see what they devise as yer torture. Mayhap I’ll suggest it anyhow.”
“Whore,” Maxwell swore.
