“That isnae a nay.”
“Ye are nae the woman’s husband. Ye have nay claim to her. She is still a Gunn, and she will return to her home. Her betrothed will nae take kindly to being kept waiting.”
“Ye were to receive the MacDonnell lass’s dowry. Now ye must pay one to them. How is that beneficial to ye?”
“The dowry was never consequential. Ye ken that as well as anyone. It’ll be a small price to pay for the alliance. One that even yer family canna defeat.”
Thor shook his head. “Daft as a spring lamb. Ye shall follow a wolf and call him Father. Then he’ll eat ye alive. Ye willna come out the winner with an alliance with the MacDonnells or MacDonalds. Ye shall give and get naught in return. The Macnaughtens arenae anyone ye should rely on either. Ye broke ties with them when Lady Greer’s mother died. Ye’d do well to keep the sniveling English bastards far from here. King David already doesnae like ye. He’ll brand ye traitors if Lady Greer marries a MacDougall. It’s nae like any of yer neighbors will come to yer aid. We shall all fiddle while ye burn.”
“Dinna ye worry aboot our relationship with the MacDonnells and how it serves us just fine.”
“Ye truly are daft. Ye should thank the Almighty that I married Lady Greer. Allowing her to marry Sir John Gallda MacDougall will ensure yer downfall, and nae a clan in Scotland other than the Macnaughtens will fight alongside ye. If she marries him, ye get nay alliance with the MacDonnells and MacDonalds. If ye force her to marry the MacDonnell, ye shall have the English so far up yer arses that it’s their tongue ye’re sticking out. They willna let it go that ye married her to a MacDonnell. The only people none of them will come near are ma family.”
Thor unfolded his arms and held up his hands, ticking off his fingers as he named his extensive family tree that was nearly impossible for anyone to remember if they weren’t one of the leaves.
“Ma grandda is the Earl of Caithness, which is the Earldom of Sinclairandthe Earldom of Orkney. Ma great-uncle is the Earl of Sutherland, and ma great-aunt-by-marriage is the Earl of Ross’s great-aunt. Between the Sinclairs and Sutherlands, we’ve married into all the most northern Highland clans but ye and the Oliphants. We have half the Lowlands too. We’re allied by marriage and blood to the MacLeods of Lewis and of Assynt, the Camerons, the Mackenzies, and the Mackays. Through the MacLeods of Lewis, we’re allied with the MacKinnons of Skye and the Grants. Through the MacLeods of Assynt, we’re allied to the Dunbars. Through the Rosses and the MacLeods of Assynt, we’re allied to the Campbells of Glenorchy. They alone will make the MacDonalds shite. In the Lowlands, Laird Innes Kennedy is ma uncle Tristan Mackay’s godfather. Laird Kennedy’s daughter Lady Cairren is married to Laird Padraig Munro. His other daughter, Lady Caitlyn, is married to a Lowlander, Alexander Armstrong. Ma father’s cousin, Lachlan Sutherland, is married to the Lowlander Laird Johnstone’s sister. And ma aunt Deirdre is Laird Fraser of Lovat’s cousin. And dinna forget ma grandda was friends with the Black Douglas, and ma da is friends with Andrew Murray. So please, tell me how I should fear the MacDonalds and MacDonnells.”
Thor crossed his arms once more and rested his weight back on his heels as though he were in no rush to end the conversation. He tilted his head to his left and raised both eyebrows. He knew he’d backed Matthew into a corner. The man wasn’t foolish enough to raise his sword to Thor if his men couldn’t help him, and Matthew knew the younger man spoke the truth when he rattled off the spider web the Sinclairs created when Laird Liam Sinclair married Lady Kyla Sutherland nearly five decades ago.
“I’ll be as wrinkled as ye if ye dinna explain soon,” Thor taunted. Blaine walked to Thor’s right and towered over Matthew just as Thor did. Even though he weighed a stone less than Thor, he was an imposing figure. Father Bennett remained a silent force not to be underestimated.
“Ye leave ma land now, and ye leave alive. Make me wait another minute, and ye are all dead men.” Blaine placed his hands on his hips, making him appear even broader. Matthew looked between the two young men and nodded. He retreated, and much like Sir Richard had, he signaled for his men to follow. The door slammed behind them, but no one moved until they were all certain none of the Gunns would return.
The moment Thor felt certain they were gone, he whirled on his heel, his plaid splaying out around him. “I want ma wife.”
CHAPTER9
Greer allowed Rose into Thor’s chamber only minutes after the disturbance in the passageway ended. She’d scrambled to move the barricades away from the door and admitted Rose. They worked together to put everything back. The women even considered an attempt to move the bed. Now Rose stood beside the window embrasure looking out as the sun finally dipped below the horizon, wondering how many men lurked beyond her home’s gates.
Before she started pacing, Greer told her that King Edward’s men had arrived. The minutes felt interminable as she waited for some sign that Thor was safe, and no one would force her to leave. She could hardly believe that it was still the same day. A snake bit her; she reconciled with Thor; her clansmen arrived; and now, the English forced their way into Ackergill.
“What’s taking so long?” Greer bit at her thumb’s cuticle as her right elbow rested on the back of her left hand. She walked around the room with her left arm across her middle as though she might protect the bairn she’d only made up. Fear that she would return to her hellacious existence at Gunn Castle made her heart race. Terror that some new form of torture awaited her with the English king made her worry that she would retch. Both made her protective of where she prayed one day Thor’s seed would take root again.
“I dinna ken.” Rose didn’t turn away from the window as she watched the royal guard prepare to leave in the waning light. She pointed outside, and Greer hurried to join her.
“They’re just leaving?”
“It looks that way. Why would they come, then leave so easily?”
“It makes nay sense to me, but it’s better than a battle.”
Rose turned her head toward Greer. “Do ye fear for Thor’s life?”
“Of course. But I fear more what will happen to him when he kills the English bastard’s men.” Greer stood beside Rose as they watched the men mount and ride away. They were tiny dots when they finally faded from view. A moment later, the Gunn contingency stormed out of the keep. She couldn’t hear Matthew, but she could guess the curses he spewed as he gestured toward the keep. “How could I have ever imagined remaining there? What possessed me to think that I could lead a clan with men like him and Samuel?”
“Ye wished life could finally be fair.”
“And it’s proven once more that it isnae.”
“Greer!” Thor pounded on the door as he called out to her again. “Greer!”
“Aye!” The two women darted to the door and began pulling things away.
“Greer!” Thor’s voice became more panicked each time he said her name.
“Thor! I’m here!” Greer pushed a chest away as Rose inched the bedside table far enough that Greer could unlock the door. “He canna hear me because he’s caterwauling so loudly.”
She lifted the bar and barely moved out of the way before Thor swung the door open with enough force for it to slam against the wall and bounce back toward him. He yanked the bar from Greer’s hands and tossed it aside as though it weighed nothing. He pulled Greer to his chest so hard that she stumbled.
