After what they’d just shared, her scornful refusal stung. He’d thought she was softening toward him, thought that she, too, felt the passionate connection between them. Perhaps he’d erred in forcing her to confront her desire, but nothing could have felt more right. The feel of her coming apart in his arms would not be something he would soon forget.
He’d never felt like that before with a woman. Ever. The strength of his emotion and the force of his response had shocked him. It was the closest he’d come to losing control. The urge to take her, to slide into that delicious heat, had been unbearable. And when her release took hold, the surge of heat in his loins had turned excruciating. The pressure had been so intense, it had taken everything he had not to let go.
He shook his head, recalling her accusations. She thought he’d tricked her, but in fact it was the opposite. He wanted her for his wife, but he would not compel her.
He’d actually hoped she might come to him on her own. But it was clear that her prejudice against him ran too deep. She wouldn’t even try to see him as anything other than a monster—a figment of tales and exaggeration. And Jamie was done trying to explain himself. He’d not grovel to any woman—least of all a cosseted lass who had no conception of the danger surrounding her.
His thoughts returned to his mission—where they belonged. Despite spending the better part of a week searching the surrounding area and keeping his ears open for any talk, Jamie had not found the proof he sought to substantiate his suspicions. But it did not dissuade him from his belief that the MacGregors were availing themselves of the deep bond of hospitality forged with the Lamonts.
Jamie understood the Lamont’s quandary—and even sympathized with him. The bond of hospitality was considered a sacred obligation in the Highlands, and if the MacGregors had invoked the old obligation, Caitrina’s father would feel honor-bound to give them shelter. But honor would not change the fact that he was harboring outlaws and, in doing so, breaking the law and putting himself directly in the way of the king’s rage. King James wanted the MacGregors eradicated and would give no quarter to those who helped them. The Lamont would pay a price, though Jamie intended to do what he could to help him.
Jamie and his men left Ascog and traveled north to Rothesay harbor. If the Lamont was hiding something, he’d want to make sure Jamie and his men were long gone before revealing himself. So Jamie had taken the precaution of removing his warriors from the area, but they would circle back later. He didn’t think they were being followed, but he wouldn’t take any chances.
They crossed the Kyle of Bute, landing in Cowal just west of Toward point. He could just make out Toward Castle in the distance—the stronghold of Caitrina’s kin, the Lamont of Toward. From there, Jamie headed north up the Cowal Peninsula to Dunoon alone, instructing his men to wait until dark and then to return to Bute and Rothesay Castle. Rothesay had been taken by the Earl of Lennox over fifty years ago but had lapsed to the Crown on his death. From Rothesay, which was less than a dozen furlongs from Ascog, they would watch the area and wait. Jamie would rejoin his men as soon as he’d reported back to his cousin.
Night was falling, and mist off the Firth of Clyde had begun to thicken as he wound up the hill to the castle gate. It was said that a keep had been on this point for over a thousand years. Dunoon, orDun-nain,meaning “Green Hill,” was located strategically on the western shore of the Clyde on a small promontory, providing an excellent vantage from which to repel attackers—except on murky nights like tonight, where it was difficult to see his hand in front of his face. Jamie’s approach, however, had been noticed.
He expected that Argyll, anxious for news of his search, would find him soon. But it wasn’t his cousin who greeted him. It was his brother. Argyll was the keeper of the royal castle of Dunoon, but Jamie’s brother Colin—as chieftain of Campbell of Auchinbreck—was its captain. Jamie had barely finished tending to his horse before his brother intercepted him as he crossed the yard to the keep.
Colin’s sudden appearance surprised him. To his regret, they had never been close. When Jamie was young, before the death of their father, it had been Duncan he’d always looked up to.Duncan.He stiffened. Even after all these years, the bitterness of Duncan’s betrayal was still raw. After Duncan fled Scotland, it had been Argyll—or Archie, as Jamie had called him then—who had taken his place. Jamie was as close to Argyll as any man could be to someone in his position, but power and authority were a lonely companion. Something that Jamie had learned only too well.
As Jamie’s role as Argyll’s second in command had grown, creating a barrier between him and his childhood companions, it would have been nice to have a brother to rely upon—to trust. But he and Colin, it seemed, had always been at odds. Part resentment, Jamie suspected, and partly because of his brother’s character. Colin wasn’t close with anyone.
“I heard you arrived,” Colin said. “Seems your gut was wrong this time, little brother.”
Though there was some similarity in their features and coloring, Jamie refrained from pointing out that at nearly four inches taller and at least two stone worth of muscle, “little brother” sounded ridiculous. But the quick-to-take-umbrage Colin was unlikely to see the irony.
Jamie hadn’t missed the slight smugness in his brother’s voice. “I’m in no mood for your guessing games, Colin. If you’ve something to say, say it. Either that or get out of my way so I can find the earl.”
“He’s not here. He’s been delayed at Inveraray, though he is expected soon.”
Jamie frowned. “Nothing is wrong?”
Argyll had lost his countess last year following the difficult birth of his heir and had taken it hard. The troubles with the MacGregors hadn’t helped matters any. The king held him to blame for their continued disobedience.
Colin shook his head. “The nursemaid hired to care for young Archie ran off, so he had to find another.”
Jamie paused at the top of the tower stairs and looked at his brother. “So what is it that you are obviously so eager to tell me?”
Colin smiled. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard by now,” he said nonchalantly. “It seems Alasdair MacGregor isn’t anywhere near the Isle of Bute. He’s been spotted near Loch Lomond.”
Jamie frowned. “How can you be sure it’s him?”
“The MacLaren chief wrote Argyll and asked for help in defending his lands against repeated assaults—he swears it is none other than Alasdair MacGregor who has been attacking his people. There have been numerous incidents on the road near Stirling, and ’tis rumored MacGregor has returned to the Braes of Balquhidder.”
It would make sense, Jamie thought. It wasn’t the first time MacGregor had sought to make his home on the MacLaren’s lands. But it had seemed too obvious. Jamie had been sure MacGregor had gone to Bute, but he felt a surge of relief. For Caitrina and her family’s sake, he was glad to be wrong.
He wasn’t the only one. Colin took obvious delight in having Jamie proved in error. His brother resented Jamie’s place at Argyll’s side, a place that he believed belonged to him by birthright.
“So it seems your journey to Ascog was a waste of time,” Colin added, conveniently forgetting that it was he who’d urged Argyll to send troops to Ascog without waiting for proof of Lamont’s complicity. Having crossed thebarmkin,they walked up the forestairs to the keep. “How did you find the Lamont’s daughter? As beautiful as they say?”
Jamie stiffened, knowing what delight his brother would take in knowing the truth—that he’d asked the lass to marry him and been harshly refused. “Fair enough,” he said, and then, switching the subject, “I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t want to wait for our cousin to arrive?”
Jamie shook his head. “Not while the trail is hot. I’ll leave him a note.”
As they entered the tower and passed through into the great hall, Jamie looked around, right away noticing the subdued atmosphere. Ever since Colin’s wife had died a few years ago in childbirth, the place had felt like a tomb. Though Jamie could smell the peat, the air was cold and damp. Only a few candelabras had been lit, and there was little sign of life about the place. With Lizzie’s arrival, he’d expected to see her feminine touches livening up the place a bit. He frowned, noticing something else. Lizzie was usually the first person to greet him. “Where’s Lizzie?”
