“Wheest, lass. I ken ye willna go to Varrich. I’d rather nae have to chase ye, which I ken is what will happen if I try to send ye there. Ma lads will take ye to Dunbeath once we cross these bogs. The rest of ma men and I will continue to Gunn Castle. I’ll send a mon to Ackergill to alert Blaine and Rose. God help them. I didna think of how Rose is going to react to this. Blaine may have to get her three sheets to the wind to keep her from storming the gates. She’s a right wee beastie when it comes to her twin. They can hiss at each other like cats in a sack one moment then be a bluidy two-headed monster the next if anyone comes too close.”
“The women in yer family—are—unusual,” Greer surmised.
“Ye canna be that different if Thor loves ye.” Alec grinned.
“Ye just got the highest praise from ma little brother, lass.” Wee Liam smirked at Alec since they could be a set of twins for how similar they were. It was a challenge to guess who was older just from their appearance. When she turned toward Hamish, who laughed, she decided they were more like triplets.
“Ye must all be vera close in age.”
“Alec is a year younger than me, and Hamish is three. We have a sister, Ainsley, who’s five years younger than me. If ye think we look like Da, ye should see how much Ainsley looks like Mama now. It’s bluidy uncanny because she can sound just like Mama. She scolds us from a distance, and we think it’s Mama. The little hellion thinks it’s hilarious to make us run to do her bidding.” Wee Liam grimaced, and Alec and Hamish matched his expression. Tristan merely laughed.
“We’ve waited long enough. Our men have likely caught up to the men who have Thor and Dominic. We keep our distance, but we follow.” Tristan led the group, riding directly in front of Greer. Alec maneuvered to be on her left while Hamish was on her right. Wee Liam followed behind her. The rest of the Sinclairs and Mackays fell into a formation that looked well-rehearsed despite the warriors being from two clans. Greer realized they must have trained and fought together many times for them to be so natural with one another.
“How long will it take for them to get to Gunn Castle?” Greer asked anyone who would answer.
“A day and a half like it did from Ackergill,” Tristan responded over his shoulder. “It’ll take ye at least two, mayhap three, to get to Dunbeath. Once we’re past the bogs, we can ride harder.”
Greer closed her eyes, careful not to lose her balance and fall from her horse while she prayed.
Holy Father, Mother Mary, shed Yer grace on Thor and protect him from the evil that threatens. He’s a good mon who should have so many more years to serve his family and his clan. I canna imagine how his mama and da or Rose and Shona or Laird Sinclair would survive losing him. I dinna ken that I can. Guide him, Lord. Hail Mary. Watch over him in this hour of need. Strengthen his resolve and give him peace to ken he isnae alone. His family and I will never forsake him. I willna make the same mistake twice.
I will fight till ma last breath for him, but I am nae Ye, Lord. I canna do what Ye can. I pray ma intercessions to Ye and Mary, Mother of God. I pray to anyone listening. Please send down the Holy Spirit as Yer divine messenger to shield Thor and to assure him that Ye hear ma prayers. I ask this for him and for me. I ask it for his mama and da and sisters. I ask it for his grandda. I ask this for his family. I ask it for his clansmen who depend on him and ken he will make as fine a laird as his grandda is now and his da will be. Please, Lord. Hear ma prayer. Amen.
Greer hastily made the sign of the cross before she opened her eyes. She knew others had noticed her praying, but no one appeared to pay her any attention, for which she was grateful. A more peaceful sense enveloped her, and she possessed more confidence than she had only minutes ago. That calm remained with her until it was time for her to turn southeast to Dunbeath. Dread and fear unlike anything she’d experienced even during the most horrific moments of her past sank their talons into her as her course no longer followed Thor’s.
CHAPTER20
Thor watched every man he could see, which was only a quarter of the ones who’d captured Dominic and him. His friend kept his head facing forward, but Thor he knew was scanning their surroundings too. The Gunns who pulled him from his horse took his sword and as many dirks as they could find. They’d even lifted his plaid to take the ones strapped to his thighs. MacDonnells did the same to Dominic. They’d bound their wrists and forced Thor and Dominic back onto their horses.
Scouts spotted the Mackays and Sinclairs riding toward them, so Wallace ordered several of his men to ride with Thor and Dominic, forcing them east. Matthew sent half a dozen Gunn warriors with them, and Thor learned they headed to Gunn Castle. It reassured him when the other Gunns, MacDonnells, and MacDonalds joined the advance party. He heard that his uncle and cousins learned of his predicament. It didn’t alarm him that none of his family went on a vengeful rampage to free him. He knew it wasn’t the right time, and he knew no one would kill him until they at least reached Castle Gunn.
The thing that terrified him the most was no one stated whether Greer rode with Tristan and the others. No one mentioned her when the groups joined. He told himself over and over that Wee Liam, Alec, and Hamish must be with her and were protecting her, not allowing her to get close enough for their enemy to grab her too. He had to repeat that to himself on a loop lest the fear consume him or turn him into a raving beast.
Their progress was slow until they reached the end of the bogland and could turn north. It didn’t take them long to change course toward the coastal road, but he wondered why they chose that path, knowing they would likely pass more Sinclairs and meet Keiths, too. They’d traveled for only five minutes when he understood why his captors believed they’d have safe passage. Ahead of them on the path were a dozen men in Keith plaids. Drew sat at the head of the party. The man’s smug expression told Thor everything. He’d been the one to point the Gunns and their allies in the right direction.
Marcus swore Drew would be loyal and the best scout for them if Thor had taken Greer to Dunbeath directly. Instead, Thor was certain Drew had tracked them on the Gunns’ behalf. The other Keiths were men Thor didn’t expect. It shocked him to see a few of the faces since they’d all appeared devoted to Blaine. Some were even men who’d traveled to Dunrobin with Blaine, then fought alongside the Sinclairs against the Gunns. It made no sense to Thor. From the way Dominic shifted in his saddle, Thor knew he thought the same thing: why would these men betray Blaine?
Thor could only assume Douglan had a larger following than Blaine knew, and they resented Rose marrying into the clan. It made him wonder if these men supported Marcus becoming the Keiths’ next laird rather than Blaine. It also made him wonder if Marcus aspired to become the next Laird Gunn. That was his father’s intention, but Marcus made it seem like he didn’t enjoy acting as Blaine’s tánaiste while Blaine stood in for his father as laird. Had he been duplicitous this entire time, fooling Blaine?
He didn’t like the way Marcus allowed his men to behave, and Thor’s current predicament spoke to that. But he’d concluded Marcus was thoroughly loyal to Blaine. The men who sat atop their mounts acted independently from Marcus.
“Where’s the whore?” Drew demanded as his gaze swept the approaching riders. “Ye promised me a turn before she married the auld bastard.”
Thor controlled his temper, not allowing it to get the better of him. An impulsive response allowed Keenan and Greer time to escape, but another one would get him killed. Wallace’s amputated arm still bled and would until they could make a campfire and someone cauterized it. One of the MacDonnells bound it tightly enough to staunch much of the blood, but the man now rode double with one of his warriors. They’d tied them to together to keep the slumped-over laird from falling from the animal.
“Ye said ye wanted a turn,” Matthew replied. “But we never agreed to it. Ye assumed that because I didna tell ye nay that I agreed. I did nae.”
“Ye lying—”
“I’ve lied aboot many things,lad, but nae that. Nay one touches her now that she belongs to Laird MacDonnell.”
Thor’s fingers flexed every time someone spoke about Greer as though she were an object to pass from one set of hands to another. While the Gunns and MacDonnells might agree that Greer belonged to Wallace now, Thor didn’t believe men in either clan believed she was off limits. He doubted the MacDonnells or MacDonalds knew even half of Greer’s torture, but they’d easily deduced plenty from the comments. He wondered what Dominic thought.
As if his friend could read his mind, Dominic spoke under his breath. “Aught I learn goes to the grave with me.”
“Thank ye.”
Drew wouldn’t be deterred and nudged his horse forward. “Where is she, anyway? Did ye lose the bluidy bitch?” He looked at Thor as he spoke, trying to antagonize him. Thor returned his stare until Drew blinked first.
