Page 72 of The Highlander's Dangerous Bride

“Aye, Raven, ye must never blame yersel’ fer any of it, nae fer one moment. Ye’re the one that’s suffered most because of this mess,” Maxwell told her, patting her hand.

“Thank ye, that’s very comfortin’,” she told them, her heart warmed by their words. “It just feels like this has been goin’ on fer a lifetime, and it’ll never end until he’s ruined me life completely. Years ago, when I was first wed tae Struan, I quickly found out what a cruel man he is. I wrote letters, lots of letters, tae Faither and ye boys, tellin’ the truth about me miserable life on Barra as Lady MacDonald, askin’ ye tae come and get me.

“But Struan confiscated them all and read them. He’d go into a rage, seein’ what I’d written, and force me tae write letters sayin’ how happy I was with him. He read the letters ye sent tae me as well, only the ones he thought were safe fer me tae read.

“Faither never wrote tae me. And Struan never let me come home fer a visit either. He always found some excuse as tae why we couldnae travel. If I argued with him, which was almost all the time, he locked me in me chambers fer days on end. It was easy fer him cover things up,” Raven finished explaining.

“The bastard. That’s how he strung us along fer so many years, although Faither would nae have taken any notice of yer letters anyway, Raven. He had what he wanted and didnae care about anythin’ else,” Maxwell said bitterly. Sad though the thought made her, she knew he was right. A quick glance at Arne’s face on hearing how Straun had treated her told her how angry it made him.

“D’ye have any thoughts on how tae free Raven from his hold permanently?” he asked.

While the three men discussed the possibilities of an attack or of making some kind of agreement to force Struan to release her from his hold, Raven listened quietly. Then she voiced the thought that had occurred to her more and more lately, which she had been keeping to herself for the time being. “He’ll never agree tae that, and I dinnae want any bloodshed on me behalf. Nay, there’s only one way that he’ll ever give up, and that’s if he thinks I’m dead.”

They all three looked at her as if mystified. She nodded vigorously. “’Tis the only way, I tell ye. I have tae go back tae Barra, and then I must escape again, but this time, I’ll make it look as if I died in the attempt. That’s the only thing that will free me from his grasp once and fer all.”

Arne shook his head immediately. “That’s nae happenin’,” he told her firmly. “’Tis far too dangerous fer ye tae go back there. He could kill ye. Nay, we have tae come up with a better plan than that.”

“Arne’s right. We’ve only just got ye back safe, Raven, we’ll nae put ye right back intae his hands again,” Everard said.

“I agree, ’tis far too dangerous,” Maxwell put in. “The best way tae free ye would be if he dies.”

Knowing she was right, she tried to argue with them, to convince them that it was worth her braving the dangers of giving herself up to her husband in the short-tern for the long-term gain of her liberty. But however hard she tried, they refused to listen and went on with discussing their own ideas.

Then something happened that instilled fresh terror in her. The dinner was nearing its end when several guards suddenly came rushing in and headed to the laird’s stable, alarm clearly visible on their faces.

“What is it?” Everard asked, wiping his mouth on his napkin, looking up at the men. One of them whispered in his ear. “All right, we’ll be there directly. Go and inform the captain what’s happened and tell him tae lock down the castle tae search fer the culprit,” he ordered, getting up from the table.

“What’s goin’ on?” Maxwell asked, also rising, his tone reflecting the misgivings Raven was already feeling.

“A guard on patrol’s been found killed, with an arrow tae his chest. And there’s a note. Come on, let’s go see.”

The four of them rose, but Arne pushed Raven back down. “Stay here. It may be dangerous, and ye willnae wish tae see the dead man’s body,” he told her.

But she insisted. “I’m comin’ with ye whether ye like it or nae!”

He either decided it was no time to argue or that it was better to keep her in his sight because he said no more to stop her as she followed him and her brothers outside the keep, to where a few soldiers were standing around a figure slumped on the ground near the guardhouse.

She gasped to see the man was dead, an arrow sticking out from his chest. It had pierced right through his mail coat. One of the men standing over the body handed Everard a rolled parchment. “It was stuck on the arrow, melaird,” he explained.

Everard unrolled the parchment and read it before handing it to Maxwell to look at.

“’Tis from MacDonald,” he told Raven and Arne, his jaw tightening. “He says he kens Raven is here, and that if we dinnae hand her over, he’s gonnae destroy us.”

Raven took in the words, her stomach tying itself in knots. She was terrified by the threat and how fast Struan’s men had learned she was there. Clearly, he had spies and people to do his bidding everywhere! He could even be lurking somewhere near himself. Any feeling of security she’d had at being at her brother’s castle fled.

Naturally, the incident overshadowed the rest of the evening. The men’s talk was all of when they might expect an attack by Struan and how best to defend against it. Weary of it and nursing her fears, she left them and restored to her room to think.

She was lying alone in her bed, thinking how she wished Arne was beside her so she could discuss with him her feelings about the new and horrifying development, when she heard the door of her chamber open and close softly. She knew instantly from the large shape outlined against the faint lamplight coming from the hallway that it was him. Relief flooded through her.

“Hello, I’ve been waitin’ fer ye. What took ye so long?” she whispered as he came over to the bed. She sat up and drew back the covers as he took off his robe and climbed in next to her, immediately enfolding her in her arms.

“I thought I’d better wait a while before sneakin’ over here, but I missed ye too much tae be without ye, and I ken ye’d want tae ken what we’ve been talkin’ about,” he told.

They kissed tenderly and snuggled up close. “I’m so scared, Arne. With all this talk of attacks, I dread tae think what ’tis all goin’ tae mean in the end. People are gonnae die if it comes tae that. I’m so scared I’ll never be free of him if I cannae convince him I’m dead,” Raven told him, clinging to him, glad of his reassuring presence.

Arne stroked her had soothingly as she lay against his chest. “Ye’re nae the only one that’s scared,” he admitted. “But trust me, me and yer braithers will find a way tae free ye without ye puttin’ yersel’ in such danger. I’ll nae let him hurt ye again, I swear.”

Deeply moved by his attempt to comfort her but still fearful, Raven looked into his silvery-blue eyes and stroked his face lovingly. “Thank ye, me darlin’, ’tis very comfortin’,” she whispered, her lips finding his.

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