“Send Jamie, Callum.” Kate offered him a wink that made his scowl deepen. “Please,” she begged with a slight kiss to his chin. “I will come to you soon,” she whispered along his jaw.
“Verra well,” he conceded, wondering when he had become such a soft pup of a man. “Wait here and I’ll find him.” He planted a kiss squarely on Kate’s mouth and whispered to her before he let her go. “Make haste back to bed.”
He met Angus in his search and inquired as to Jamie’s whereabouts.
“He’s likely off pickin’ daffodils fer yer sister. He’s been avoidin’ me company, and I’m beginnin’ to feel slighted by it.”
“Check the meadow, and if ye find him send him here.” Callum continued on his way up the stairs without turning. “And be quick aboot it, Angus.”
Thin beams of sunshine broke through the loose-paneled barn walls, creating a web of dancing, dust-infused light. Henry squealed with delight when Kate and Maggie entered and plodded toward them on his stubby legs. Matilda honked but was too busy nibbling on a string of corn that had fallen from the rafters to greet them properly.
“Bertrid, stop chasing that little mouse.” Maggie picked up her cat and nuzzled the feline beneath her chin. “Do ye think Jamie will come?”
“Of course he will,” Kate assured her. “But I think we should have remained in the castle. Callum is going to be angry with us.” When Maggie shrugged her concerns away, reminding Kate that the castle was but a stone’s throw away, Kate sighed and reached for a large bag of feed and began filling each animal’s bowl. Ahern pushed her arm with his nose, urging her to feed him first. “As soon as Jamie arrives, I will leave the two of you alone.”
When the barn door opened again a few moments later, Henry squealed and took off running. Matilda spread her wings, her corn string forgotten, and honked wildly, waddling toward the door as if someone had sounded a duck battle call.
Casting Maggie a knowing wink, Kate turned to greet the flaxen-haired warrior. The barn door swung closed slowly, but no one stood at its entrance.
“Jamie?” Kate called out. She strained to see into the shadowy corners. Her gaze darted to Maggie clutching Bertrid tightly to her chest. “The wind, mayhap,” she said and started for the door to close it. She had taken only a few steps past Maggie when the lass screeched her name.
Kate swung around and then staggered backward.
Her uncle stood behind Callum’s sister, stretching her spine straight as one arm looped around her throat and his other hand clutched a dagger pointed at her belly. “Hush, Katherine,” he said softly. His gaze narrowed on her across the filtered light. “You have settled in quite nicely here, I see.”
Terror gripped Kate’s muscles, paralyzing her. She almost retched with the force of stifling a scream. Her skin crawled just looking at him. He was filthy. Dark stains of dried blood crusted his hands and plaid. Dear God, whose blood was it?
“You do not look pleased to see me, niece.” He moved his blade upward toward Maggie’s throat.
Gathering every ounce of control she possessed, Kate inhaled, flaring her nostrils, and tilted her head belligerently. “What took you so long in finding me, Uncle? I was beginning to think you would never arrive.”
That seemed to mollify him, but only for a moment before he snarled at her again. “You look remarkably well, Katherine. Getting along with the savages, are you?”
“Och, come now.” She sighed as if he were too daft to understand. “What would you have me do? I stayed alive, as you did.” Her scornful smile told him she was remembering the fight in her father’s yard with the McColls. “Now, have you come to converse with me, or take me home?”
Maggie shook her head and began to cry. Bertrid slipped from her arms and fled into the shadows. “Do not go away, Kate.” Her plea was so stricken with sorrow, Kate almost ran to her. She stopped herself, swallowing back her fear and guilt. The sooner she convinced her uncle to take her home, the safer everyone would be. She would worry about returning later.
Duncan yanked Maggie’s neck to quiet her, and Kate took a step forward. “Uncle.” She tried to pull his attention away from her dearest friend.
“Where is the MacGregor?” he suddenly demanded.
Kate shrugged her shoulders and was about to tell him she did not know or care, when the barn door swung open again.
Jamie stood at the entrance, his arms cradling a dense spray of yellow daffodils. His smile faded almost instantly when he saw the Earl of Argyll. He reached for his sword, spilling the flowers around his feet. Before he had time to unsheathe his weapon, Duncan hurled his dagger at him.
Kate cried out, but Maggie only gaped, stricken with horror as her beloved gripped the hilt protruding from his belly and then collapsed to the ground. Duncan moved instantly, kicking the door closed and retrieving his blade from where it was lodged. Without pause, he cut across the barn and gripped Maggie by the hair, yanking her head back.
Kate hurled herself at him, ready to fight him to the death. He swung and sliced open her palm. Blood shot outward, splattering across Maggie’s face. Her blue eyes, already glazed with the haunting images from her past, went vacant and she opened her mouth to begin screaming.
Duncan silenced her with a blow to her head, using the hilt of his dagger. Kate went deathly still when he pointed the tip to Maggie’s neck, his eyes wild with what he meant to do.
“Uncle, nae!” Kate took a step forward, reaching out to him with her bloody hand. “I beg you. I beg you, nae.”
“You plead for the life of a MacGregor?” he accused, craning Maggie’s head farther back.
“Aye, I do. I will do whatever you ask of me.”
Duncan’s eyes shot to the door, then back to her. “Very well. We are leaving. If the guards call out, you will cast your lovely smile on them and convince them you are in no danger. It is clear these people are your friends. Make them believe you, Katherine, or I will cut her throat.”
