"I'll enjoy whatever you prepare, but even more important than the food is the company," he observed.
She grinned at him. "I could not agree more!"
He hoped that meant she'd be willing to share her bed again tonight. In a friendly way, no more, but holding her the night before had been as restful as it had been enchanting. With her, he knew he'd come home.
They were riding side by side up to the double doors of the Braewood stables when four horsemen abruptly swung around the corner of the building right in front of David and Caitlin.
And in the lead was Mr. Dawson.
7
Caitlin froze as panic blazed through her at the sight of her enemy. Beside Dawson was Mr. Phelps, the horrible drug expert, and two brutal looking armed guards.
Dawson said in a commanding voice, "Catherine, I'm so glad to see that you made it home safely! Remember Mr. Phelps? He's here to support my guardianship to ensure your safety. I have the legal documents right here." He pulled several folded papers from inside his coat.
She felt David's tension as he silently evaluated the danger. In a burst of mad inspiration, Caitlin reached over to catch David's left hand. "No need to concern yourself about me any longer, cousin," she said in a bright, cutting voice. "Captain Cameron and I are now married. If I need a guardian, which I don't, it would be him."
"Married? That's not possible!" Dawson stared in shock. "You only met him two days ago! There's been no time to read the banns, much less marry him!"
Recognizing why Caitlyn had claimed they were wed, David squeezed her hand. "We’re hand fasted, which is entirely legal in Scotland." He smiled dotingly at Caitlin.
She smiled back. "It was very simple, Cousin. We clasped hands like this and I said, 'I, Caitlin Jane Wallace, take thee, David Cameron, to be my wedded husband, forsaking all others until death do us part, and thereto I plight thee my troth.'" As she gazed into his eyes, she felt something deep and true blaze between them.
Holding her gaze, David said in a strong clear voice, "To which I replied 'I, David Lewis Cameron, take thee, Caitlin Jane Wallace, to be my wedded wife, forsaking all others until death do us part, and thereto I plight thee my troth.'"
"That's no wedding ceremony!" Dawson sputtered.
"In Scotland it is," Caitlin said crisply as she withdrew her hand from David's. "Those words change everything, soget off my land, Cousin!And keep far, far away from me in the future!"
Dawson's expression changed from confusion to furious determination. "Bedamned to your bloody sham Scottish marriage! It changes nothing!" he roared. "Shoot them both!"
Before Dawson had finished speaking, Sahib reared up with a fierce stallion trumpet of rage. The other horses squealed and jerked away, briefly unbalancing their riders.
As Sahib's forefeet struck the ground under his master's control, there was a lightning flurry of violence that happened too quickly for Caitlin to consciously follow.
The guards raised and cocked their pistols, aiming at David and Caitlin and they were so close that their shots couldn't miss.
David whipped his pistol from its holster and shot the right hand guard, his bullet blasting the pistol from the man's hand in a spatter of blood and screams. He instantly shifted his weapon and disarmed the other guard with equal efficiency.
A raging Dawson yanked his own pistol from his coat and aimed at David.
Caitlin's hand jerked from the recoil as she shot Dawson before he could fire his weapon.
Scarlet blossomed on Dawson's chest. Disbelieving, he gasped, "You littlebitch!"
He crumpled and slid to the ground as the acrid scent of gunpowder filled the air and echoes of the shots ricocheted from the stone farm buildings.
It was all over in a handful of heartbeats. Shaking, Caitlin lowered her pistol and steadied her horse, on the verge of fainting. She didn't even remember drawing her pistol. Surely she hadn’t just killed a man! But she couldn't deny the sight of Dawson's lifeless body sprawled on the icy cobblestones. Since David had used both barrels of his pistol and hadn't had time to reload, if she hadn't acted it might have been his body on the ground. The thought was gut wrenching.
The only unwounded visitor was Mr. Phelps, who was fighting for control of his frightened horse. "What are youdoing?" he cried in terror, "You really are mad! Both of you!"
David had already reloaded so he trained his weapon on Phelps, his hand steady. "Didn't you notice that Dawson ordered his thugs to shoot us? It was self defense." His hard gaze moved to the wounded guards. "Be grateful that I wasn't shooting to kill."
Swearing viciously, one of the men snarled, "You bloody ruined my hand!" as he tried to calm his horse, his right hand a scarlet mess.
"At least you're still alive," David said, still holding his pistol at the ready as he watched the guards. "Murdering innocent strangers is no way to earn a living."
Caitlin couldn't wrench her gaze from Dawson's body. "I didn't mean to kill him," she said in an agonized whisper. "But when I saw him aiming at you, it…it just happened."
