Page 63 of The Cursed Highland Bride

“Aye,” Tor agreed.

“And yet, we have nae been attacked,” Ewan pointed out.

Dunn shook his head. “There is nae need tae attack when he can hide behind his walls.”

“He is waiting for us,” Tor predicted.

“What is the plan tae get past the battlements?” Andrew asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

Tor laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We will get yer brother back.”

Andrew nodded soberly. “He kenned what he was doing when he volunteered tae go. We have nae family left tae us but this clan. There is nae anything that he would nae do for our people. He will protect Her Ladyship, even with his own life.”

“Her Ladyship can protect herself,” Ian chimed in reassuringly. “I have never seen such a lass as she.” There was admiration in his tone. The men gathered around them nodded. Katarina had made an impression upon them all.

“Aye,” Dunn smiled. “Aye, she can.” He appreciated their well wishes for his wife. It pleased him to see that his men had formed an attachment to her. Some of them knew the truth about her, but most did not. He was not certain how they would react to it, but he felt that they should know it before they went into battle. If Morgan revealed the truth before Dunn had done so, it could turn his own men against him. “Gather the men,” he instructed Tor. “It is time that they kenned the truth.”

“Aye.” Nodding, Tor did as bid.

Tor gathered the men to within hearing distance of Dunn’s voice. “I must speak tae ye now o’ my wife.” Some of the men who had been present for the Romani attack knew what he was about to say and nodded their encouragement. “As ye all are aware, the crown ordered me tae wed the Lady Katherine Morgan, daughter o’ the Laird Alistair Morgan.”

At this all of the men nodded in answer. A few answered with, “Aye.”

“Morgan did nae wish for his daughter tae wed me any more than I wished tae wed her.” At this, a ripple of laughter went through the men. They had all been present the day that he had been delivered the news. Dunn had not taken it well. “Upon my wedding day, Morgan deceived me.” The smiles faded from his men’s faces. “A month before, he had attacked a Romani family encamped along the shores o’ Loch Naver. He killed the parents and grandparents, raped the women, and imprisoned the young virgin lassies.”

A low rumble passed among the men. “Bastard.” Ian spat upon the ground in disgust.

“On our wedding day, Morgan replaced his daughter, the Lady Katherine, with one o’ the Romani lassies. Her name was Katarina Buckland.”

The men shifted uneasily and looked at each other. Those that already knew the truth simply nodded.

“Our Lady Katarina is o’ the Romani?” one of the men asked in confusion.

“That explains much,” Ian muttered under his breath.

“Katarina is nae tae blame for this. Alistair Morgan and his men had killed her entire family but for her two younger sisters. He told her that if she did nae pretend tae be his daughter that he would rape and murder her sisters before her very eyes.”

Anger swept over the men, and several hands went to the hilts of their swords. Had Alistair Morgan been present, he would have been slaughtered within mere moments. Understanding dawned on Ian’s face, and he turned to Dunn. “The bastard has her now and has nae reason tae keep her alive.”

“Nae reason other than tae draw us intae a trap,” Andrew corrected.

“I ken now what awaits us across the River Naver, but ye men who fight with me should ken what it is that we are fighting for. This is nae just a battle o’ retaliation for the attack on Orkney. This is about saving my wife, our lady, and her only remaining family from the hands o’ a murdering savage beast. Our clansman Bran volunteered tae protect our people, my wife, and her sisters by walking intae the lions’ den, giving us the time we needed tae return tae Orkney. We owe him a great debt, and if God wills it, we will save him as well.” Dunn paused and met each man’s eyes in return. “My wife, the Lady Katarina, risked her own sisters’ lives tae save mine and many among ye here this day.”

“Aye,” the men who had been present at the time of Katarina’s confession nodded.

“Now, I call upon ye, my kinsmen, tae aid me in saving the woman that I love.”

A roar went up among the men. It was clear from their reactions that Katarina had made an impression upon them. Each one had had a hand in training her to fight in spite of Dunn’s orders to the contrary. Each one had seen her spirit and had felt her kindness. The fact that she was not truly a Morgan only appeared to make them like her more.

“Are ye with me?”

“Aye!” they cried as one, lifting their swords into the air.

Dunn raised his own sword. “For the Lady Katarina!”

“For the Lady Katarina!”

Tor grinned at his brother. “Do ye have a plan?”