CHAPTER24
“Icanna believe ye would ask such a thing. I am bound by my word. Ye ken that well enough, aye?” Gray wouldn’t face Lilia. He stood beside the hearth, jaw locked and nostrils flared, staring down at the floor.
The air in the usually comfortable chieftain’s solar was stifling hot and it had nothing to do with the warmth of the late August day. Gray pounded his fist on the wooden beam running the width of the fireplace. With an agitated rake of his hand through his black shoulder-length hair, he finally turned and glared dead straight at Lilia. Teeth bared in a frustrated scowl; he jabbed a finger first at Trulie then swung his arm and aimed it at Granny. “I spoke Graham’s sentence in front of my kin. The scribe took it down in the hall ledger and affixed my seal to it. There is no going back. I canna break an oath.”
“There is always a loophole.” Granny took Lilia’s hand and squeezed it tight. “And besides—Graham is family now. I can’t believe you’re going to stand there and tell us that you’re going to allow yourkinto be tortured and murdered.” Granny’s eyes narrowed and she stepped toward Gray, pulling Lilia with her.
Oh, dear. Poor Gray. Granny was going in for the kill. Well . . . so be it.They needed less talk and more action. Time was slipping away. Lilia squeezed Granny’s hand, silently urging her on.
“Mother Sinclair makes a valid argument,” Colum said from the far corner of the room. He was slowly wrapping the handle of a wooden child-sized sword with a strip of leather. He looped the last of the strand around the haft then pulled it tight with his teeth. He placed the sword on the small table beside him, aligning it with an identical weapon he had already finished. Dull-bladed swords for his twin sons. “Mayhap now the lads will leave Chloe’s treasures alone.” He rose from the bench and turned to Gray. “Graham is kin now since he’s husband to our good sister here.”
“That doesna change the man’s sentence. I named the terms and they didna hinge on whether he married Mistress Lilia or not. He was not to return here under any circumstances.” Gray sadly shook his head, his voice growing softer. “I canna help ye, Lady Lilia. I am verra sorry.” He stepped forward and took her hand, ignoring Granny completely. “All I can do is demand that his remains be returned to Clan MacKenna. We will lay him to rest here.”
“Andthatis supposed to fucking console me?” Lilia yanked her hand away from Gray, ignoring Granny’s sharp intake of breath. Granny hated the f-word but this time Granny was just going to have to get over it. Lilia was well past nice, ladylike requesting level. She’d hit frustrated bitch overload and somebody was damn well going to do something. “If you don’t help me, I’ll just go by myself and then you can have them box up my remains along with Graham’s. A twofer. Will that make you feel better about keeping your precious word?”
Gray backed up as though she had just slapped him. “Lady Lilia—”
“Don’t take that placating tone with me.” She stomped to the far end of the room and yanked a shield off the wall. “I’m taking this. I need a sword, a bow, and some arrows. Is there anything else in your dumbass edict that says you can’t give your sister-in-law any weapons?”
“Lilia, don’t.” Trulie hurried over and pulled on the shield, frowning when Lilia yanked it back. “Let me have it. We’re going to figure something out. We’ll get Graham back.”
“Not according to your husband, we won’t.” Lilia tucked the shield under her arm and jerked her chin toward Colum. “You’re over the weapons. Where are they kept? I’ll just take what I need and thenGray”—she inflected his name with all the rage surging through her—“won’t be breaking his holier-than-thou word.”
“Enough, Lilia.” Granny stormed across the room, jerked the shield out of Lilia’s hold, and grabbed hold of her arm. Pulling her back to the ring of pillowed seats curled around the hearth, she stood Lilia in front of the small leather-covered chair that everyone knew asGranny’s seat. “You be quiet now and let me handle this.”
Lilia opened her mouth to argue but shut it again when Granny held up a finger and peered over the top of her spectacles with that no-nonsense look all the girls had come to know and fear at an early age. Granny had had enough. Good. So had Lilia. She locked her stance and glared at Gray.
Trulie had joined Gray in front of the fireplace, one arm looped through her husband’s and the other hand resting atop his forearm.
If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Lilia would’ve laughed. Gray was too naïve to realize that Trulie was holding him so he couldn’t get away from Granny.
Colum’s reddish-gold brows shot to his hairline. In one swoop, he scooped up the pair of play swords and strode to the door. Kenna had told her how Colum had tangled with Granny before—and lost. Wise man. He knew what was about to happen to Gray.
Pulling open the door, he paused and waved the swords at Lilia. “I’ll be taking these to my lads and giving Kenna a break from the wee beasties. With another bairn on the way, she tires easy. Whenever the lot of ye decide what is to be done, come and find me.”
“Thank you, Colum,” Lilia said. Twin two-year-olds and pregnant again. No wonder Kenna had dark circles under her eyes. A heartsick pang ached through Lilia’s core. She had to save Graham. She needed the happiness her sisters had found and she needed it with a vengeance.
Granny paced slowly up and down the length of the woven rug stretched in front of the hearth. Head bowed. A thoughtful scowl in place. She walked with hands clasped against the small of her back. She reminded Lilia of all those movies she’d seen where trial lawyers went in for the kill during their summation.
“You swore that if Graham ever returned that you’d turn him over to the Buchanans. No matter what. Right?” Granny ceased her pacing. She turned and glared at Gray.
Gray shifted to one side, casting a quick frowning look at Trulie when she yanked on his arm and kept him in place. He turned back to Granny and stubbornly lifted his chin. “Ye ken verra well that I did. Ye were there.”
Granny’s narrow-eyed gaze shifted back to the floor and she resumed her pacing. She reached the far end of the carpet, slowly turned, then stopped again. A victorious smile blossomed, brightening her expression like the rising of the sun. “But your edict said nothing of Angus. A true MacKenna—by blood. No ultimatum was made should he decide to return. True?”
A percolating silence filled the room as though everyone held their breath. Lilia’s heart hammered, its excited pounding echoing in her ears. She watched Gray closely, praying he would take Granny’s tempting cue and run with it.
The man’s demeanor visibly relaxed. Without looking at his wife, he gave the hand Trulie still clenched around his arm an affectionate pat. “’Tis true. And all know I willna tolerate an innocent kinsman to be taken prisoner and tortured by a neighboring clan.” He grinned at Lilia. “Angus is without sin against the Buchanans. Horse thievery is more of a pastime in the Highlands—not a crime.”
“So, you’re coming with me then? To rescue Graham?” Lilia scrubbed her palms, damp with nervous moisture, up and down her jean-covered thighs. Finally. Some action.
Gray shook his head. “Nay, lass. Ye’ll be staying here with yer family whilst I take a few chosen men to fetch Angus. And I promise ye, if Graham happens to leap onto one of our horses, we’ll not have the time to stop and take him back to the Buchanans. ’Tis harvest season. I’ve much to do and should be visiting my tenants—not returning prisoners to the Buchanans when they’ve not been skilled enough to keep them from escaping.”
“I’m going with you. I’m good with a sword and even better with a bow.” Lilia hurried to the door, yanked it open, and stepped out into the hall. She had to find Colum. Tell him exactly what she needed. Hand still holding the heavy latch of the oak door, she ignored Gray’s reddening face and nodded toward Trulie. “I don’t have time to argue with him. You and Granny fill him in. It’s time to lock and load.”
Then she pulled the door to and jogged down the hallway.I’m coming for you, Graham. Coming as fast as I can.
CHAPTER25
