“You’re right. You are about the last man I’d wish to see my sister married to. But I’m not blind. I see how she feels about you, and I want her to be happy.”
Jamie nodded.So do I.He just didn’t know if he was the one to make her so. Because no matter what her brother said, it was Caitrina who needed to believe in him.
Chapter 24
It took Caitrina less than an hour to make up her mind. She would not sit back and allow her brother to be taken from her—not again. Not while it was in her power to do something. If Jamie wouldn’t listen to her, there was only one person left to whom she could appeal.
She gritted her teeth and fought back the wave of distaste.
“Are you sure about this, Caiti?” Mor met her gaze in the looking glass, putting the finishing touches on her hair.
Caitrina caught sight of her image in the mirror and started, shocked at the transformation wrought by a new gown and a few hairpins. For a moment, it was like looking into the past. But the girl who met her gaze in the gilded mirror was nothing like the one that day last spring who’d donned a beautiful gown and met a handsome knight in a magical kingdom. That kingdom was gone forever—if it had ever really existed. If you looked deeper, you could see the changes. The girl was now a woman who knew what it was like to lose everything and find the strength to live—and love—again.
She would give anything to have her father and brother back, but she didn’t want to be the naïve, cosseted girl she was before. Jamie had never withheld the truth from her but treated her as an equal. No longer blind to what was going on around her, she found that life was more complicated, but also richer and more meaningful. It was a strange realization.
Her hand slid over the plush silvery blue velvet of her bodice, and her mouth lifted in a small smile. One thing hadn’t changed: She still could appreciate a beautiful gown. Earlier, she’d sent Mor to the village with the bag of coin given to her by Jamie to purchase a new dress, if one could be found. Much to her surprise, Mor had returned with this fine court gown with its ivory satin underskirt and elaborately embroidered velvet bodice—only to discover that Jamie had sent for it some time ago. Her heart squeezed, realizing he must have meant to surprise her.
Her hair had been coiled into an elaborate arrangement and secured with a wreath of delicate seed pearls that Jamie had given her on their wedding day, along with a matching set of necklace and earrings. It was the first time she’d worn them. Ironic, perhaps, given the state of her marriage.
But she could not think of that now. The pain of losing him was too paralyzing; she had to concentrate on what she needed to do.
To that end, she stood up from the table and answered Mor. “Yes, very sure.” She was determined to do whatever it took to keep her home and family safe. She would beg or bargain with the devil himself if it meant keeping her brother alive. In this case, the devil was the Earl of Argyll.
Fortunately, Jamie had not left orders confining her to the castle, but the captain of his guardsmen had insisted on accompanying her himself with at least a dozen men. “I’ll leave as soon as my escort is ready and I’ve had a chance to check on Brian.”
“The laddie is doing much better,” Mor said.
It was a relief to hear so, but Caitrina needed to see for herself. A few minutes later, she opened the door to his chamber and was pleased to see her brother sitting upright in bed. He’d been cleaned up and a fresh bandage—thankfully absent of bloodstains—placed around his head. A healthy flush had returned to his cheeks.
“I’ve had enough broth,” he said, waving the bowl away. “I’m starving. Can’t you find just one wee piece of beef?” he pleaded, a plaintive expression on his face, trying to cajole the pretty maid at his bedside.
God, he looks like Malcolm.But if that roguish expression was any indication, he’d been around Niall too long. Her heart tugged, realizing how much Brian had aged in the months they’d been apart. He was three and ten now, but the passage of another birthday wasn’t the cause. Like her, he’d seen death and the destruction of their clan, not to mention living as an outlaw for months.
He caught sight of her in the doorway, and a wide smile spread across his boyish face. “Caiti!” He turned his efforts to her. “I’m so glad you’re here. Won’t you tell Mairi that I need beef if I’m to get back my strength?”
“ ’Twas Mor’s orders, my lady. She said the laddie was too weak to have anything other than broth.”
“Weak!” Brian protested indignantly. “Bah. I will be if I have nothing but boiled marrow and water.”
Caitrina bit back her smile at the look of outrage on his face. A young warrior did not appreciate being called weak no matter what the reference. She sat on the edge of his bed and gestured for the serving girl to leave. “I’ll talk to Mor and see what I can do about getting you something a bit more substantial,ifyou promise to stay in bed and rest until I get back.”
All at once, Brian’s expression changed to one of concern. “Back? Where are you going? And where’s Niall? Why hasn’t he come to see me? No one will tell me anything.”
Caitrina debated whether to tell him the truth. Though it might be difficult for him to hear, she knew from experience that a pat on the head and being kept in the dark would not protect him. And with what he’d been through the past few months, he’d earned the right to know. “Niall has been taken to Dunoon. I’m going after him.”
He paled at her disclosure but did not otherwise react. Her heart tugged again at the proof of how much the past few months had changed him. Her young brother was old beyond his years. But his controlled reaction also told her that she’d been right to tell him. She wanted to smooth her hand over his brow and assure him there was nothing to worry about, but Brian was no longer a little boy—and she didn’t want to give him false hope.
Instead she added, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I don’t understand how this happened. Niall was so certain we wouldn’t be discovered.”
Caitrina bit her lip. “You weren’t,” she admitted. “It was I who told Jamie where to find you.”
His eyes widened. “You told Argyll’s Henchman where to find us? But he’s a bloody Campbell. Our enemy.”
“He’s not like that.” The instinct to defend him was automatic. She hated the Henchman epithet. Jamie wasn’t a cold-blooded killer or a man who killed without thought on the orders of his chief. He was doing what he thought right. “He’s one of the most honorable men I know. He’s restored our home to our clan and treated them like his own even when our clan did not welcome him.”
Brian didn’t seem inclined to believe her, not that she expected him to. He had, after all, spent the last few months as an outlaw because of the Campbells. “But why now? Why did you think it necessary to tell him where we were?” He paled. “It wasn’t because of me?”
