Clyde rose just after dawn the following morning, washed quickly, and threw some clothes on before dashing downstairs, hoping to leave before Minetta woke, but he was too late. She was waiting for him in the entrance hall and looked as if she was spoiling for a fight. “Leaving so soon?” she asked archly, raising her eyebrows.
“You forget I have known you since you were born, Minetta,” he replied. “I can read your—”
He did not get the chance to finish. Just then, a maidservant rushed up to them, looking extremely agitated. “M’Laird!” she said anxiously as she curtsied. “M’Laird, I have news for ye.” Her voice was breathless. “My son is a guard at Baron Sutherland’s castle. He heard that ye were a’ lookin’ for Milady Henderson, an’ he rode over tae tell ye that she is there.”
“Thank you, Molly!” he cried. He rushed out to the courtyard, where a man in the Sutherland livery was drinking a cup of hot ale. He was soaked from head to foot and looked as if he had taken a bath in a bog, but when he saw Clyde, he smiled wearily.
“Catch your breath, man.” Clyde’s voice was kind as he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Tell me what is happening.”
“Milady Cora is at the baron’s castle, M’Laird,” the man gasped. “They are marryin’ this mornin’.”
“What?” Clyde’s deep voice was high with astonishment. “How did she get there?”
“The baron found her shelterin’ in the woods the night before last,” the man replied. “He took her back there. She had nowhere else tae go. He asked her tae marry him. We thought he was bein’ kind, but I suspected somethin’ was wrong. I dinnae know any more, but I know the baron is a bad man. I was about tae leave his service.”
“And you rode all night to tell me this?” Clyde was astonished and grateful. “Molly, get this man a hot meal, a bath, and a warm bed.” He mustered a dozen of his men to go with him, and turned to Minetta. “Stay here, Minetta, or I will have one of the guards lock you in your room.”
Minetta knew better than to argue with her brother when he was in a mood like this, so she nodded and slowly walked towards the chapel, prostrated herself before the altar, and prayed with all her heart.
A moment later, Clyde and his men were flying across the drawbridge and out into the soggy day. Fortunately, the rain had eased off, so the ride to Castle Dunwell took less time than it normally would have, but Clyde urged his horse into a fast canter the whole way. Fortunately, they had left early, but it was all of three miles to the baron’s castle, and Clyde had no idea when the wedding would start. He would challenge the baron to a duel if he got there too late to stop the ceremony, but he was more worried about the consummation. If the baron wanted to lie with Cora, even if it were against her will, there would be nothing he could do about it, since by then, she would be his legal wife. Damn. His heart was racing, but his mind was focused on only one thing: Cora. He would rather stop living than go on without her.
Cora looked at herself in the mirror and saw the sadness that she felt reflected in her eyes. She had always thought of this day as being the happiest of her life, but here she was, standing in a borrowed dress—worse still, one of Loraine’s that had been hastily altered for her—and marrying a man she did not love. Oh, she had no doubt that the baron would treat her well, but when she thought of Clyde’s wedding night with Loraine, she felt a stab in the heart that was almost physical in its intensity.
Her dress was a pale, washed-out gray color that did nothing for her wan complexion. She was without ornament except for a little silver crucifix on a chain that the baron had given her, and Cora decided that her first act after she was married would be to consign the offending garment to the fire and use the ashes to sprinkle on the kitchen garden. Perhaps the dress would be of some use as a fertilizer!
She sighed angrily and submitted to the ministrations of the maid who was pinning more of Loraine’s borrowed pins into her hair. Cora’s abundant blue-black hair was pinned into a loose coil at the nape of her neck, and there was an ornamental ivory comb—another present from the baron—to hold it in place. The whole look was acceptable, if not remarkable, but not at all like the princess Cora had imagined she would resemble on her wedding day.
She sighed and picked up her bouquet of wildflowers, then made her way to the church. She had no family or friends to accompany her, but the church was full of people, many of whom she knew from this or that ceilidh or celebration. It seemed that the whole Highland aristocracy had turned out to greet them.
The baron was smiling in a smug, satisfied fashion as he saw her walking slowly into the church to greet him. She had not made much of an effort, he thought, but then she was not Loraine; she did not have the kind of stylish, showy beauty that his former betrothed had. However, he would have to put up with her in the meantime, but he was dismayed by the downcast expression on her face. She did not look like a woman who was about to enter into holy matrimony with a rich, attractive man, and that was important to him.
Cora could not even summon up a smile; she felt utterly miserable. She kept her eyes on the floor as she approached the baron, only looking up when she reached him. But when she gazed up into his face, she realized that she could not go on with the wedding. His eyes were dark and penetrating, without love; just the triumph of finally achieving his revenge on his enemy. She could feel only one emotion—loathing. Cora hoped that if she screamed into the crowd at least one person would take pity on her, see her desperation, and release her. She was about to do just that when there was an almighty commotion at the doors, which crashed open with a sudden, ear-shattering bang.
The baron’s castle was heavily guarded,but the drawbridge was down to allow the wedding guests to enter and leave. Clyde could see that fighting on foot with a dozen armed men would take too much time, so he urged his horse on to greater speed, and saw the guards scatter out of his way to avoid being ridden over. The chapel was directly in front of them, but Clyde held his men back and charged in alone. The double doors of the chapel parted before his horse as he surged through them, and before anyone had a chance to react, he called: “Cora! Come with me!” He reached down, grabbed her arm, and hauled her onto his horse. They backed out of the chapel and bolted out of the courtyard and the castle without looking back. “Hold on to me!” he called over his shoulder.
For a moment, Cora was too shocked to realize what was going on. Then, with a rush of sheer joy, she tightened her arms around him and laughed. She knew that they were not safe—in fact, they would be fighting for their lives—but even if she only had these few moments of freedom left, she was with the man she loved, and they would die together.
The baron was purple with fury as he saw his bride being quite literally snatched away from him while half the lairds and barons in the Highlands looked on. The look in Clyde Munro’s eyes had been as feral as a wolf’s, and the hate directed in his direction made the baron quail, but not for long. He roared with rage and barged his way through the throng of panic-stricken guests who were streaming out of the church, then ran out into the courtyard. He was just in time to see the rump and tail of Clyde’s massive gray stallion as he disappeared over the drawbridge to freedom.
He shouted for his garrison to follow them and capture both Cora and Clyde, then bring them back for questioning and punishment. No one would humiliate him this way, especially not Clyde Munro, who had every woman in the Highlands falling at his feet! They would not be so eager to wed when Andrew Sutherland had finished with him. The baron was not much of a warrior but he decided to follow his troops so that he could enjoy the capture of Clyde Munro, and the recapturing of his bride.By God, she will be mine in every way by tonight!he thought grimly.In every way!
He watched his men galloping away, then started off behind them at a much more leisurely pace. After all, there was no point in putting himself in danger. The wedding was off for today, but a wedding there would be. All he needed were two witnesses and a priest...and a bride.
Cora had to almost shout the words she wanted to say in Clyde’s ear, since they were competing with the noise of wind in their faces and the drumming of the horse’s hoofbeats. “I love you, Clyde!” she called.
He turned his head slightly, and she could see that he was smiling. “I love you too, my Cora,” he replied. “I will show you how much when we are home.”
Home. He was taking her back to Rosnablane Castle, and he had called it her home. Cora leaned her head on his back and thought that if those were the last words they ever said, she would be content.
Presently, she heard the sound of swords clashing and looked back to see that one horseman from each side had been knocked off his horse and was fighting hand to hand. Cora turned away before any blood was spilled, but she realized that such duels were happening all around them, and that Clyde’s men were outnumbered.
Clyde tried to see where the baron was, but he was nowhere in sight, and he began to wonder if the cowardly swine had come to support his troops at all. Surely he could not have left his men leaderless? Clyde swerved his horse around to see that every one of his men was engaged in a battle with another enemy guard, either on horseback or on the ground. He felt completely helpless; he could not engage another rider in battle without endangering Cora, and he would rather die than lose her. Yet he could not abandon his men to their fate; what was he to do?
Seeing his dilemma, Cora had no hesitation in saying: “Help them, Clyde.”
So without further delay, Clyde wheeled around and began to ride towards one of his men, who was on the wrong side of an unequal duel. He had been unhorsed while his enemy was still mounted, and he was fighting desperately for his life. Clyde rode straight at Sutherland’s soldier and pierced him through the heart, then swerved away as his lifeless body landed on the muddy ground.
As he took a quick glance around the battlefield, he was heartened to see that his own men were getting the better of their enemies, since there seemed to be fewer of Sutherland’s men now than when they had started, even though he could see no corpses on the ground. Clyde took a deep breath, hoping that the worst was over. He was about to engage another one of the enemy riders when disaster struck.
