As if the man knew she was staring at him, he gazed in her direction for a long moment.
The crowd enthusiastically chanted. “More. More. More.”
But Duncan had suffered enough, he could barely hold himself up.
“Release the prisoner,” Alex commanded.
Two guards freed his hands, and Duncan sank to his knees, a look of pain etched his face.
“Do ye have any words for me, or the victim of yer deceptive tongue?” Alex asked.
Duncan raised his head, staring at Alex. “H-how,” he stuttered. “How am I to ride a horse now?”
The question earned him the loudest laughter Helen had ever heard. He’d been disciplined like a wayward child, not a man. And there were hundreds of witnesses. People who would never let him forget. Helen was sure word would spread quickly throughout the Highlands that the heir to Clan Munroe’s lairdship had suffered the worst humiliation at the hands of Clan MacKay. And in Alba, that kind of transgression wouldna go unpunished, even if it took generations to avenge.
Chapter Twelve
Satisfaction overtook Jamielike ahaboobin the desert. He watched as the crowd dispersed, focusing on the lovely Lady Helen, wishing he could reveal himself to her. He’d once again disobeyed his laird and cousin. Not that he’d intended to at first. Just as Alex had commanded, he left the MacKay keep with both of his personal guards and Kuresh, his best friend and advisor, to ride north to his home. Already drunk and cold, he decided to drink more ale from his wineskin. Unable to stay atop his horse comfortably afterward, he ordered his men to make camp.
Before the white winter sun peeked over the horizon, he awoke with a solid plan in his head. Why should anyone else get the privilege of whipping that son-of-a-bastard Munroe? Jamie hungered to continue the beating he’d only started to give Duncan last eve. Jamie knew the risks of insubordination. He was a soldier above all things, raised to follow orders from his superiors and laird. And until now, he’d never broken trust.
But Duncan’s hawkish face and obscene behavior haunted him. Something needed to be done to bring that overconfident blaffard to heel. Kuresh begged him to reconsider. Jamie dismissed his friend’s concern, even excused his guards from riding back to the MacKay keep with him. Of course, Kuresh wouldna leave his side.
Once he arrived, it took little to convince the soldier tasked with whipping Duncan to let Jamie secretly take his place. Though Alex had won the loyalty of all MacKays, the soldiers still trusted and followed Jamie. He’d been their leader for so long, especially while Laird John still lived, before Alex returned to the Highlands to pick up the pieces of the nearly broken clan.
If it hadn’t been for Jamie…
“What is it ye want?” Alex growled behind him.
“Milord.” Jamie bowed, hoping to keep his identity concealed from the onlookers.
“Shall I command ye to remove the executioner’s hood?”
Jamie shook his head. “And break a centuries’ old tradition? The punisher canna be condemned, for he is the hand of the laird, acting on holy orders to bring sinners to justice.”
Alex scoffed. “Ye are as guilty as the sinner ye punished.”
Jamie smiled to himself. Deep inside he intended for Alex to know it was him, but neither would admit it openly.
“Lady Helen recognized ye. And I am sure Duncan Munroe knows.”
Jamie swelled with pride as he opened and closed his hands, imagining them wrapped around Duncan’s throat. “Did ye enjoy it, milord?”
“Perhaps,” Alex admitted. “But I doona like being ignored. My orders defied.”
“Duncan Munroe has no honor. He deserved what he received.”
They both watched as two guards dragged Duncan from the platform.
“And ye set a bad example for my men who rely on yer ability to show them what being a good soldier means. It requires unshakeable loyalty.”
“For that I am sorry.”
“Are ye?”
“I canna explain right now,” Jamie said, keeping Helen and her maid in his line of vision. Something about the lady rendered him defenseless, made him incapable of thinking of anything else but keeping her safe and close to him.
“Laird Munroe is a formidable man.”
