Page 41 of Highlander's Caged Rose
Finn was fully armed, and was about to run up and challenge them, then he saw that the man assisting Moira had a large dagger in his hand. It would take him only a fraction of a second to strike a lethal blow, and Moira would be no more.
If this young woman was killed because of them, there would be hell to pay—Niall would never forgive him. Finn was never usually an indecisive man: he was a leader, and could not afford to be, but now he was helpless.
Presently, the man holding Moira saw him and gave him a savage grin. “Do not follow us, or try to rescue her,” he threatened. “One stroke of this dagger will finish her.”
Finn was about to answer with a foul insult, but stopped himself at the last second. He could take no chances with Moira’s life. As he looked at the thug, he realised who he was, he must be Moira’s foul brother-in-law, the one looking for her.
Moira glanced back at him, and the look in her eyes was one of pure terror, but Finn stood immobile and impotent, keeping his fury inside while all his instincts were telling him to chase after the kidnappers.
However, he knew that Niall would be back in a short while, then Finn could lay the burden on his shoulders. Yet, that was small comfort now; now he was frustrated and tortured by guilt.
18
Niall felt that something was wrong as soon as he got to the castle and looked around himself. Finn strode up to him and said, “I have somethin’ tae tell ye, Niall.”
Niall, looking at the expression on his friend’s face, felt that he knew what was coming. “You’ve done the job?” he asked.
“Aye,” Finn replied. “But I need tae talk tae ye in private—it’s very important.”
Niall looked at the expression on his face and realised that something was desperately wrong. “My study,” he said firmly.
They sat down and Finn launched into an explanation of what had happened. He took a deep breath and started, “I found out that Moira’s name isnae Jamieson. It is McDonnell. She was married tae a merchant called Roy McDonnell, a man that was much older an’ a cruel drunkard. He was found dead on the floor o’ his house by his brother Brody. They think Moira did it, an’ they were lookin’ for her.” He paused, then looked Niall straight in the eye. “Moira is no’ the woman we thought she was, Niall. She has deceived ye.”
The news that Moira had lied to him caused Niall’s heart to ache. He was deeply hurt that she had been dishonest with himsince the first moment she had met him. He had lost count of all the times she had refused to tell him the name of the man to whom she had been betrothed, but now it appeared that she had not been betrothed, but married, all the time he had known her. Why had she lied to him?
Yet, he could not believe she was a killer. He felt that he would have known if she was, for he had met murderers before, and had always sensed the violence and hatred that they hid inside them. Niall had killed before, but only in the heat of battle or in self-defence, and it had scarred him deeply, but he had never carried violence off the battlefield into his daily life.
Nevertheless, someone had murdered Moira’s husband, and if she had not done it herself, then who could have committed the crime? Roy McDonnell sounded like the kind of man who would have collected many enemies in his life, so it could have been one of many people who wanted revenge on him, or repayment, or both.
Niall’s mind wandered back to his and Moira’s last encounter—was it only that morning? It seemed like a lifetime ago that they had teased each other on her bed. Their lovemaking the previous night had been one of the most sublime experiences of his life, and now he was determined that it would not be the last time they were together. By hook or by crook he would have the woman he loved in his arms, in his bed, in his life.
“I cannot believe Moira is a killer,” he said to Finn. “You and I are warriors, Finn. We know how killers behave, and Moira is not like that. She may be stubborn and angry sometimes, but there is no badness in her.”
Finn was reluctant to venture an opinion, since he could see that Niall was completely besotted with Moira, but as far as he could tell, the matter of her guilt was still an open question. Niall was biased and blind to her faults; he could see no evil in her at all, but Finn still had his doubts. Moira seemed like a goodperson, but he had no idea how she behaved when no one was watching.
“I want you to do something else for me, Finn,” Niall said as he poured them both a large measure of whisky. He felt he needed something stronger than ale. “I want you to ask some more questions for me, and use some of your other trusted men if you have to.
I need to find out who killed McDonnell. You said he was a gambler. It might be someone he owes a great deal of money to. If he left someone poverty-stricken, that person might want revenge, and what better revenge than ending his life once and for all?”
The moment Finn had been dreading had arrived. He stood up and took a deep breath, then watched as he saw Niall’s whole body tense as though he were expecting a blow. He received one, although not of the physical kind.
“I have somethin’ else tae tell ye, Niall,” he said heavily. “Some men came here an’ took Moira away at knife point. There was nothin’ we could dae. They threatened my men they would kill her if we tried tae stop them. One move fae any o’ us an’ they would have slit her throat.”
Niall was so stunned, there was all he could do was stare at Finn for a second before he exploded. He thumped the flat of his hand on the desk and glared at him, his eyes blazing. “Nothing?” His voice was a roar of rage. “There are eighty men here. You must have been able to dosomething!”
Finn dropped his gaze to his hands, which were resting on top of the desk. “If I could have stopped them, dae ye no’ think I would have done it?” he asked.
He felt deeply ashamed, but at the same time angry that Niall had not recognised how impotent he and his men had been.
“They even locked up a’ the stable hands. I told ye already there was naethin’ we could have done. We were helpless!” Hewas beginning to get angry, and his face flushed as he stared at Niall.
Niall felt shame wash over him, and he shook his head, sighing. “I am sorry, Finn. I’m so furious. Now we have to figure out where she is and how to get her back.” He stood up and paced agitatedly across the room to the window.
Why did I have to fall in love with you, Moira?he asked himself. However, he already knew the answer to his own question. It was because it was his destiny because they were meant to be together.
Niall was beginning to feel quite desperate. Where was Moira now? Why had her kidnappers taken her? There could be only one reason: to extort a ransom from him. He could afford to pay a ransom, of course, he would pay anything to have Moira safe and sound in his arms again, and once she was under his protection she would never have to worry about her safety again.
“I know who the swine is who took her,” Finn said grimly. “It is Brody McDonnell, the one who has been lookin’ for her a’ this time. I have seen him in the village when I dropped intae the tavern, an’ he is a nasty piece o’ work.”
