Chapter Twenty-Five

Katie opened her mouth to scream, but a large, sweaty hand covered the bottom half of her face as her head was slammed against a broad chest. Her eyes grew wide as Evan lurched for her.

The man backed up, dragging her with him. “Stop! Or I’ll kill the lass.” The deep voice brought Evan to a stop. He pressed the point of the knife deeper, and a trickle of blood ran down her neck.

Evan’s mouth dried up, and his heart pounded at the sight of his wife in the man’s arms. “Dinnae hurt the lass.”

“Not my decision,” the brute said. “But we will all take a walk to the cottage and let Armstrong decide.” He pushed Katie forward. “Move.” He looked at Evan and jerked his head in the direction of the cottage. “You go ahead of me. It might not be my decision on whether the lass dies or not, but I’ll slice her throat if ye give me any trouble.”

The three of them made their way through the thicket to the cottage. The man holding Katie used one hand to open the cottage door, then gestured for Evan to enter. Once he was past the doorway, he shoved Katie forward. She fell on her knees. Right in front of the table where Armstrong sat.

Any shock he felt at seeing them was quickly hidden as he looked down at Katie. “Well, well. It appears we have visitors. I assume ye kneel before me to beg forgiveness? And to tell me ye will honor the contract yer da signed and marry me?” His wicked, evil smile turned Evan’s stomach.

Before she could say anything, Evan moved toward her and helped her to her feet. “The lass will not be honoring any fake contract. She is married to me.”

“No matter.” Armstrong waved his hand in dismissal. “’Tis not the lass I want, anyway.”

Evan snorted. “We ken that. Yer an evil mon, and ye won’t get away with this.”

Armstrong motioned to the man who’d brought them to the cottage. With one quick fist to Evan’s middle, Evan doubled over. “I would be careful what I say, laird, since I can have my friend here take ye for a walk from which ye would never return.” Armstrong gulped the last of the whisky in his glass.

Evan had been taken by surprise by the blow to his stomach, but that wouldn’t happen again, and it wasn’t important. Now that they were all here together, he had to figure out how to end this so Katie and Gavin were not hurt. He could take down the giant who’d dragged Katie in, but the gun laying on the table next to Armstrong’s deck of cards made that idea unwise.

“So ye didn’t believe I headed back to Stirling with the lad?” Armstrong continued to play with his cards as he spoke. “Ye are more clever than I gave ye credit for.” He looked up at Evan. “Now we must decide what to do with the two of ye.”

“Everyone in the castle kens Gavin is missing and who took him. If anything happens to us, the entire clan will be after ye.”

Armstrong waved his hand again as if bored with the conversation. “No need for drama, I assure you. Despite what you think of me, I don’t want two deaths on my conscience.” He smiled in Gavin’s direction. “I only want the lad.”

“Over my dead body,” Katie snapped.

“Tsk, tsk. Such fury. Did I not just say I prefer to have no one die?” He placed the cards on the table and straightened the deck until each card was perfectly aligned. Then he looked up at Katie. “Ye could have had anything ye wanted, ye ken. I would have showered ye with fancy clothes, jewels, and trips, but nay, ye had to run off to this godforsaken place.”

Katie moved over to where Gavin sat and placed her hand on his head. “Not at the price ye asked.”

“Ah, a minor thing.”

“Not so minor that ye traveled all the way here to demand my wife marry ye so ye could take her and her brother back with ye to Stirling.” Evan was growing frustrated with the chatter. He wanted both of these vile men out of Fife and he, Katie, and Gavin on their way to Argyll. From the confused looks Gavin had been casting in the adults’ direction, he had no idea what Armstrong wanted with him. For that, Evan was grateful. There was no need for the lad to discover the seedier parts of life at his young age.

“Tie them up,” Armstrong said as he resumed his card play.

The huge man who had been guarding the door moved toward Katie. Evan could not allow that. Their only chance of bringing this entire matter to an end was now, before they were tied up. Surprise was his only weapon.

He edged closer to Gavin as the brute wrestled with Katie—who was making enough noise to reach the castle—while Armstrong continued to play cards and sip his whisky. Katie kicked, bit, plunged her elbow into the mon’s middle, and just as she was about to knee him in his more tender parts, Armstrong looked up and within an instant had the gun pointed at Evan’s heart. “Whatever it is yer planning, ye can forget it.”

It was now or never.

With a bellow that his ancestors would have been proud of, Evan leaped across the small space, directly at Armstrong. Taken by surprise, the mon fired a shot that went wild, hitting the ceiling. Evan landed on him, both of them tumbling to the floor. He pulled the dirk from his boot and pressed it against Armstrong’s throat. “Call yer man off.”

Evan turned to see Gavin had jumped on the other man’s back and was hitting him with his fists as Katie continued to stomp on his foot and was trying her best to kick his delicate parts.

When Armstrong only stared at Evan wide-eyed, Evan pressed the dirk just enough to cause a bit of pain and a stream of blood. “Call him off.”

“Rory, stop. Drop the rope.” Armstrong spoke carefully, apparently not wanting the dirk to plunge farther into his neck.

With a growl, the man pushed Katie away.

“That’s good,” Evan said. He looked over at Katie. “Pick up the gun and hold it on the mon, and let Gavin tie his hands behind his back.”

Evan pushed the point of the dirk he held in just a wee bit more and grinned at Armstrong. “Tell yer friend to sit still while the lad ties his hands.”

“Let him tie ye,” Armstrong gasped.

Once Gavin finished, Evan turned his attention to getting the matter settled. “Now, lad, yer horse is tied up outside. Go ride to the castle and bring back some help.”

“He can’t go by himself!” Katie cried.

Gavin watched his sister carefully, then turned his regard to Evan. “I can do it, my laird.”

“Aye, lad. I ken ye can. Go on now.”

Gavin was out the door in a flash. Evan glared at Armstrong. “Now, ye will get up and slowly walk to where yer mon sits. My wife is a bit shaky with a gun, so I wouldn’t make any sudden moves, or she’s liable to shoot ye. Ye ken?”

“Aye.” Armstrong climbed to his feet with the knife still at his throat while Katie held the gun on the other mon.

Less than fifteen minutes had gone by when the door burst open and Alasdair, Ian, MacDuff the stable master, and Gavin raced through.

“It looks like ye have everything under control, brother.” Alasdair slapped him on the back.

“Aye. We need to transport these two to the castle. We’ll lock them in the basement and bring them to the magistrate in the morning.” Evan tossed the words over his shoulder to Alasdair as he headed over to Gavin.

He got down on one knee and looked the lad in the eye. “Ye did well, lad. I’m verra proud of ye. How ye kept calm when the trouble started, tried to help yer sister, and how ye got away and found the others and brought them here.” He gripped his shoulders. “Yer gonna be a fine mon some day.”

…

Katie wiped the tears from her eyes at Evan’s words. With Evan’s guidance and attention, her brother would be a fine man some day.

But, being the sister and only parent the lad had known, she had to have her word, also. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her brother. “Gavin, ye lied to Alasdair and got yerself into trouble.”

Gavin hung his head, a bright red hue covering his face. Evan climbed to his feet and placed his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “Yer sister is right. Ye shouldn’t have lied to Alasdair. An honorable mon does not lie. Ye see all the trouble ye caused by going off on yer own when ye were told not to do that?”

“Aye,” the lad mumbled to his feet.

“’Tis time to head home. I believe everyone needs a good night’s rest.” Evan shooed Gavin out of the cottage and took Katie’s arm. “We need to have a serious conversation when we return to the castle.”

“Aye.” She was still torn on what to do about their marriage. She had no choice but to go to Argyll with Evan, however, right now she had no hopes that her marriage would be a happy one. She loved the arrogant man and would soon learn to handle him, but love and respect on only one side would make for a miserable life.

Once they all arrived at the castle, Evan gave orders to have Armstrong and his accomplice held in the basement. Gavin climbed the stairs, weariness in his steps, and headed to bed.

As Katie began her trek upstairs, Evan put his hand out to stop her. “I have a few things to discuss with Alasdair about our trip. I would like to start out tomorrow.”

Katie nodded, weary from their ordeal and from thoughts of her future. “Aye.”

Evan leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. “Wait up for me. I won’t be long.”

Katie had enough time to take a bath and help Meggie finish packing her things. She stood for a while by the window, watching the stars as they popped out, filling the sky with magic. She sighed and settled in the chair next to the fireplace, brushing her damp hair.

The door opened and Evan stepped into the room. It appeared that in addition to making plans with his brother, he’d also had time for a bath. Damp curls covered his forehead, and he wore well-fitting clean trews and a linen shirt stretched across his massive chest.

She tried very hard not to admire her husband or the way he walked across the room with the grace and confidence of a man who kenned his place in the world. He smiled at her as he approached. Her stomach knotted and her heart pounded.

How she loved him. Yet, at the same time, she didn’t have a lot of hope for their future together.

He knelt at her feet and took her small hands in his large ones. “I am verra sorry for the way I treated ye. I should not have ignored yer wishes and ideas. Ye are a smart lass, and I promise to try my best to listen to ye.”

“I appreciate that, but what about the paper ye so blithely burned? Ye ken I had hoped to find a way to have something for my brother, since my da left nothing but a crumbled castle and infertile fields.”

“Aye, I ken.” He rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles. “But ye also ken that the paper was not proof of anything.”

She shook her head, fighting back the tears. It had been such a long day and nothing seemed to be better now, either. “I would like to go to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

Evan stood and took her hand, leading her to the bed. She climbed up and settled in, her heart heavy. He sat alongside her and reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper. “I love ye, Katie, with my whole heart, and I cannot start off our marriage with this heaviness between us.”

He took her hand and placed the paper into it.

“What is this?”

He continued to hold her hand and search her face. “I signed these papers leaving the MacDuff lands, castle, and clan to Gavin when he comes of age.”

Katie’s mouth dropped open, and she shifted on the bed, sitting cross-legged. “Can ye do that?”

Evan shrugged. “Who will stop me? They had to dig long and hard to find me to take over the place, and by right, any sons we have will be next in line to inherit. Since I plan to have plenty of land and opportunities for our lads, I see no reason not to hand this one over to yer brother.”

Katie threw her arms around his neck and cried.

He patted her back, then pulled back to look at her face. “Ach, lass. I thought ye would be happy about this.”

She took in a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. “I am. I am verra happy.”

“Why is it women cry when they’re sad and when they’re happy?” His frown almost made her laugh.

“Thank ye for this, Evan. I didna want to start off our marriage with this between us because I love ye too.”

His brows rose, a crooked smile lifting his lips. “Aye. Because I’m so braw and handsome?”

“Nay. Ye are passable, of course—”

He grabbed her and pushed her back, then leaned over her. “Passable?”

“Well, maybe a bit more than passable.”

“And a great lover?”

“Aye. Passable.”

“Lass, if I hear that word from ye again, I will keep ye here in bed for days to prove to ye how much more than passable I can love ye.”

It didn’t take days for him to remind her of his prowess, but Katie did admit to a bit of soreness from his multiple displays of expertise when she mounted her horse the next day for the trip to Argyll. As she settled into the saddle and adjusted her skirts, she smiled at the memory of when she’d surprised her husband and climbed over him and took control. At first he was reluctant, but her enthusiasm soon convinced him, and he’d become quite eager to indulge her. She grinned. It seemed there was more than one way to be in charge. As they made their way over the hill, she looked back at the castle and thought of her life when she’d first laid eyes on the place, with the faded piece of paper clutched in her hand in a broken-down wagon. She had been expecting a much different life to unfold than the one she was now headed toward.

She turned her back on the castle and the life that was not to be. With a satisfied smile, she caught Gavin and Evan deep in conversation as they rode ahead of her. Meggie and Alasdair chatted amiably, and the few others who’d decided to come with them formed the rest of their group. She inhaled deeply when the sun broke through the clouds as they moved forward.

To Argyll.

To the MacNeil clan.

To her new life.

With a husband who was much more than passable.