Page 26 of The Plight of a Scottish Lass
Thane laughed at this boast because he knew it wasn’t true, but the man was full of lies. Evil ran thick in his veins.
Brian and Artan both stood in front of Garvie’s men with their weapons drawn to keep them from interfering.
Thane continued, “Get off my land. Take yer arse back to Ulva and keep it there or I’ll slice your neck right now.”
He pushed the point in, drawing blood, but not too much. Garvie paled.
“I’ll go with him!” Tamsin’s voice carried from the bridge, if he were to guess. “Do not kill him, my lord. I will return. I’ve caused you enough trouble.”
Thane pulled his weapon back and Garvie rubbed his neck, wiping the blood on his tunic. Garvie shouted, “Answer me this first, wife. Did you whore for him?”
Another fist shot out so fast, Garvie never saw it coming. Thane couldn’t help himself. How could he treat a lass as beautiful as Tamsin the way he was? Burning his dinner was hardly a crime punishable by death.
“I did not touch your wife except to get her to a healer.” Then he turned to Tamsin and said, “I would advise against going with him. You know he’ll beat you again.”
Garvie looked at his wife, the hatred for her evident in his face. “If you wish to see Alana again, wife, get your arse in the boat. Otherwise, I’ll send her bones to you.”
Tamsin ran down the bank toward the boat. Before climbing in, she turned back to Thane and gave him a small bow of thanks.
Thane wished to beat the smug look from Garvie’s face, but he kept his hands to his side as the fool turned around and headed back to the vessel.
He was nearly at the ship when Thane couldn’t stop himself from calling out, “You have not seen the last of me, Garvie.”
Garvie retorted, “Oh, you can count on seeing me again, and next time I’ll be in control, not you. I’ll have you drawn and quartered on Ulva if you dare to come for her.”
Thane had the odd feeling he’d just been given a dare he had to meet. But another part of him knew the truth of the situationand hoped Tamsin would survive long enough to locate her daughter.
The birlinn left shore, and Thane turned around, knowing it would be best if he didn’t watch Tamsin.
Instead, he headed back across the bridge, just now noticing that every person in his clan stood outside the curtain wall or on it, watching the show. A small round of applause started. It was something he’d never heard before.
Mora ran at him, launching herself and throwing her arms around her big brother. “Thane, you were wonderful. Thank you for trying to protect her, but she must do what her heart tells her. Even if she is foolish.”
He gave his sister a squeeze and then set her down, striding through the gates and into the courtyard while the others all returned to their work. He’d never felt so powerless.
That was untrue. The time he’d felt the worst in his life was when his own mother had instructed a man to throw the three of them on a ship and leave them on an island somewhere far away.
And he had naught but a dagger to take care of himself and his brother and sister. When they stood on the rocky coastline with one sack of belongings as they watched the birlinn depart, then he’d felt powerless.
The surprise was that he and his siblings were stronger than he would have ever guessed. How he wished their mother could see them now. Someday, he’d show her. He’d prove to her how wrong she was to leave them to die.
But it had been a challenge, something that had humbled and given Thane the drive to be the best he could be.
Brian, Mora, and Artan followed him inside the keep, straight into his solar. “What are you going to do about it, Thane?” Brian asked.
“I’ve got to think on it.”
Artan said, “May I offer a suggestion?”
Once they were seated in the solar, the door closed, Thane nodded to the leader of his guard. “Go ahead, Artan.” He trusted the man because he used common sense and strategy instead of emotion, which Brian used too often. Artan also knew the isle much better than Thane did.
“Since you are no longer interested in capturing Duart Castle …”
“Because we couldn’t. It’s an impossibility in view of the new inhabitants. According to Tamsin, another dozen people have arrived to fill their chambers. Finish your thought, please. Forgive my interruption.”
“Then may I suggest taking over Garvie’s castle on Ulva? He claims to own the isle, which I don’t believe, but how many inhabit the isle? It is so close to us, yet we know naught about it.”
Thane leaned back and steepled his fingers in front of him, his elbows resting on the arms of his chair. Artan had made a good suggestion, and Thane would give him credit for it, even though he’d been considering the same objective. If he wished to build Clan MacQuarie, he needed to take on land somewhere, and Ulva was one of the closest isles.
