She closed her eyes so that she would not see his expression. It did little good. She still felt the force of his will touching her, stroking her like a silken whip. She was acutely aware of the aching emptiness between her thighs. She wanted to go back into his arms and unbutton her dress and—
Gavin cleared his throat. “I think I should inform you that I’m awake.”
“Then go back to sleep,” Robert said curtly.
“It’s difficult to do when the conversation is so interesting. And, incidentally, you were wrong. I felt obligated to warn you that you had a listener in case Kate might suffer some later embarrassment.”
Kate kept her eyes shut and made no answer. Her emotions were in too much tumult for her to feel shame that Gavin had been witness to their intimacy.
She heard Robert’s annoyed exclamation and then the sound of motion. She realized to her relief that he must be turning his back to her. If she opened her eyes now, she would not see that compelling stare holding her own, drawing her toward him.
It was the right thing to do, she told herself desperately. No matter how much her body denied the fact, her rejection was the right thing to do.
Now, it was truly over.
“Should I have kept my mouth shut and pretended not to hear last night?” Gavin asked, his gaze on Robert, who was riding ahead along the shore. “I thought it for the best. At times my humor is a trifle twisted, but I would not purposely cause you pain.”
“You didn’t cause me pain.”
His lips tightened. “But Robert did.” He was silent a moment before asking awkwardly, “In the cave … did he force you?”
“No.”
Relief lightened his expression. “I didn’t think he would, but I wasn’t sure. I’ve never seen him as he is with you.” He paused. “At first, I thought it might be better if you did couple with him, but you’re right to refuse him. He will only hurt you.”
He had already hurt her, she thought dully. Just being near him hurt her.
Gavin went on haltingly, “It is Craighdhu, you see. He’s a fair man, and he would not mean to cause you unhappiness, but Craighdhu is everything.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
“Perhaps not everything. Did he tell you of his time in Spain?”
“Yes.”
“Not much, I’ll wager. He doesn’t talk of that time.”
“He told me how he got the scars on his back.” Her lips tightened. “Perhaps I’m fortunate not to have known my mother.”
“Mothers can be amazing and wonderful creatures. Mine was.” He wrinkled his nose. “Doña Marguerita was amazing but never wonderful. I was only a lad of four years when she took Robert away, but my memories of her were not pleasant.”
“Robert said she was beautiful.”
“Quite perfect, but so hard and stern, she reminded me of the barrens. If she was warm, it was only to her God. Robert wasn’t at all like her. He was wild and full of mischief, and he laughed—except when he was with her. He was different when he came back.”
“He was older.”
Gavin shook his head. “They changed him. Not the way they wanted to, but he wasn’t the same. For a while he was like a wild animal, not trusting any of us, watching the horizon for anyone who might come to take him away.” He turned to look at her. “Most of his wariness is gone now, but I believe his vigilance will last forever. No one will ever again be allowed to take him from Craighdhu or Craighdhu from him.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I love him,” he said simply. “And I like you. I want you to understand why you must never come too close to him. I would not have you hurt.”
“You need not worry. What was between us is over.”
He shook his head. “It did not seem so last night.”
“It is over,” she said determinedly. “And will stay so. I cannot—”
“By all that’s holy!” Gavin’s exclamation brought her gaze flying to his face, but he was no longer looking at her.
Her gaze followed his, and her eyes widened in surprise.
A troop of horsemen were riding toward them along the shore. There were ten or twelve in the party, and they were coming fast.
“You know them?”
“My dear cousin Alec,” Robert said grimly as he rode back toward them. “Be ready, Gavin.” He turned to Kate and said rapidly, “If there’s trouble, any trouble, run. Don’t stop for that damn horse, don’t stop for anything. You’ll come to a MacDarren croft a day’s ride north from here. Tell them who you are, and they’ll give you protection.” He turned his horse and galloped forward to meet the oncoming band of men.
Alec. Sir Alec Malcolm of Kilgranne. As she and Gavin moved more slowly after Robert, Kate tried to remember what she had heard about the man who was causing this sudden bristling tension. Something about greed and danger …
The man who reined up before Robert was tall, well muscled, with a fine figure, and looked to be in his early forties. His hair might once have been blond, but was now a pale brown streaked liberally with gray. She could not tell the color of his eyes from this distance, but they were pale beneath well-shaped brows. His features could not have been described as comely, but they were very strong, and his cheeks were ruddy.
He smiled. “Good day, Robert. I heard rumors you’d been taken by the English.”
“You were devastated, I’m sure.” Robert smiled with equal politeness. “Were you coming to rescue me? This troop is a trifle small to take on Her Majesty.”
Alec laughed. “Very funny.” He genuinely seemed to think the idea amusing. “I believe your Jock may be planning to do that very thing. I thought such action a bit absurd when we didn’t even know whether your capture was truth or rumor. You know what a peace-loving man I am.”
“Of course I do. And I know how fond you are of me.”
“Are we not kin? And see, I was right, the story that you’d been taken to the Tower was pure fabrication.”
“So you traveled all this way to welcome, not to rescue me? I’m truly touched.”
“I would have been delighted to welcome you, but this is purely an accidental meeting. I’m on my way to Edinburgh. James has sent for me on some trifling matter or other.”
“I know how he values your opinion.”
He made a face. “Too much at times. I do not look forward to this trip through the mountains in winter.” His gaze went beyond Robert to Gavin and Kate. “Good day, Gavin. It’s been a long time.”
Gavin nodded. “How is Duncan?”
“Well.”
Gavin hesitated, then asked, “And Jean?”
“As bonnie as ever. I took her to Edinburgh last year, and she was very well received. I’ve had a dozen offers for her.” His glance wandered to Kate. “And here’s another bonnie lady. Yours, Gavin?”
“Mine,” Robert said. “My wife, Kate.”
Alec Malcolm’s gaze immediately shifted back to Kate with new interest. “And you weren’t going to introduce me? How rude, Robert. You must tell me all about the match. Where did you find this treasure?”
“England.”
“So you were in England. You see how these rumors start?” He chuckled as he snapped his fingers. “Bridal bower. Tower. They sound alike, but one signifies a beginning and the other an end.” He rode forward and stopped before Kate. “Permit me to introduce myself, since Robert has forgotten his manners. I’m Sir Alec Malcolm.” He took Kate’s hand and lifted it to his lips. “We’re neighbors, and I’m sure we will be very close friends.” He met her gaze. “Extremely close.”
Kate was vaguely aware of Gavin moving protectively nearer but was too occupied in absorbing impressions of Alec Malcolm to grasp the significance. His eyes were a cool blue, she saw now, his manner forceful but not unpleasant. He exuded vigor, dominance, and a cheerful charm. “I’ve heard Robert speak of you,” she said noncommittally.
He laughed. “I’m sure you have. I’ve always endeavored to
be interesting enough to be the subject of conversation.”
He was still holding her hand, and she withdrew it. “I assure you I found it very interesting.”
“But I know nothing about you. When I return, I will pay Craighdhu a visit, and you must prove equally informative. I have an uncommon thirst for knowledge.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Robert will tell you.”
“You have an uncommon thirst for many things,” Robert said without expression. “And we’re keeping you from one of them. I know how impatient James will be to see you. We’ll bid you good day.”
Alec nodded cheerfully. “You’re right, I mustn’t tarry even in such engaging company.” He bowed to Kate. “I can’t tell you of my delight that Robert has taken a wife. I’ll look forward to seeing more of you.”
“How kind of you,” she said quietly.
Alec nodded at Robert and Gavin, then raised his gloved hand and motioned his men forward. A few minutes later they were a quarter of a mile down the trail.
Gavin expelled his breath in explosive relief.
“He’s not what I expected.” Kate’s gaze followed them. “He was actually quite pleasant.”
“Oh, he can be very pleasant,” Robert said. “His smile is sweetest when he’s cutting a throat or raping a child.”
She turned to look at him. “He’s that evil?”
“He doesn’t think it’s evil. He has no concept of right or wrong. If he wants to do it, he does it. That makes it right.”
“And James likes him?”
Robert shrugged. “James is not without vices of his own, and Alec panders to them. He’s clever enough to mask his more heinous villainies before the court. I understand he’s thought to be very charming.” Robert looked at her. “But I’d advise you not to become better acquainted with my cousin.”
She shivered. “I have no intention of doing so. Will he truly come to Craighdhu?”
“If it suits his mood.” He turned his horse. “But you have nothing to worry about. You’ll be safe. No one can breach Craighdhu’s defenses.” He gave her a level glance over his shoulder. “You may not even see him. I intend to keep you too busy in the bedchamber to entertain guests in the hall.”
Anger flared through her. It was an unnecessarily intimate remark in front of Gavin. However, when she shot Gavin a glance, she found him gazing with a frown after Alec Malcolm.
“No,” Robert said firmly, turning to Gavin. “Don’t even think about it, Gavin.”
Kate suddenly realized that Robert’s intimate remark had been spoken absentmindedly, and his impatience and intensity were directed entirely toward Gavin at this moment.
Gavin didn’t look at him. “I know your views on the subject.”
“But I notice you don’t promise to adhere to them.”
“I … can’t, Robert,” Gavin said, troubled.
“You’ll get yourself gutted,” Robert said with more violence than she had ever heard from him. “And, by God, you’ll deserve it.”
Gavin shook his head as he watched Malcolm disappear from view. Then he turned his horse and kicked him into a headlong gallop.
“What’s wrong?” Kate asked as she watched him fly ahead of them down the trail.
“Damn him.”
“Tell me why he’s upset.”
“Ask him yourself. I can’t even talk about his madness without blaspheming.” He put spurs to his horse and rode after Gavin. “The damn lunatic.”
She had no opportunity to ask Gavin anything for the rest of the day Instead of staying by her side as he usually did when on the trail, he led the pace. It was not until they were making camp that evening that she was able to speak to him.
She knelt beside him as he was laying wood for the fire. “May I help?”
“To lay the fire? Or,” he added ruefully as he glanced at Robert, who was watering the horses several yards away, “to save me from Robert’s wrath?”
“Either.” She began to encircle the wood with the stones he had gathered. In the past weeks she had become closer to Gavin than anyone in her life except Robert, and yet it was still difficult for her to intrude on his privacy in an intimate manner. It was an indication of how much she had changed that she could do it at all. She kept her gaze on her work as she said awkwardly, “I’ve never had any friends but Carolyn, but I have a true fondness for you, Gavin. It makes me … I do not like to see you unhappy.”
“I don’t like being unhappy. It’s not my nature. It shouldn’t be anyone’s nature,” he said wistfully. “Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if we just let everyone find their own happiness, without interference or censure?”
“A fine world,” she agreed gently.
“But it doesn’t happen that way.” He struck flint to the kindling. “So we must attempt to find our way around the obstacles.”
“What obstacles?” She added quickly, “If you wish to tell me. This isn’t curiosity, Gavin. I truly wish to help.”
“I know.” The kindling caught, and he fanned it to life. “It’s Jean, Alec’s daughter. I’m going to wed her.”
She tried to remember Malcolm’s reference to his daughter. “And Malcolm does not know this?”
He made a face. “Alec would string me on the rack in his dungeon and break every bone in my body if he even suspected I was going to take Jeanie. He has plans for her that don’t include a landless henchman who serves his enemy.”
She was beginning to understand Robert’s frustration and concern. If Malcolm was as ruthless as she had been told, this involvement could be deadly for Gavin. “You’ve been away. You could not have seen her for a long time,” she said gently. “Perhaps your feelings have changed.”
“Some things don’t change. I knew the first time I saw her at the gathering at Kilfirth. I was only a lad of fifteen and she was four years younger, but it made no difference. We belonged.” He added more wood to the fire. “We still belong.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Take her from Malcolm. Wed her. Love her.” He smiled. “It’s very simple, really.”
“If you aren’t killed while doing it.”
“Oh, yes, there’s always that problem. That was one of the reasons I went to sea with Robert. I’m not a great warrior, you see. I thought there were things I should learn to protect my Jeanie.” He added, “And I’ll need my share of the booty when I have to leave Craighdhu.”
She looked at him in bewilderment. She knew he loved Craighdhu almost as much as Robert did. “Why would you leave Craighdhu?”
“Jeanie. I couldn’t expect Robert to harbor her when Alec comes after her. It would give Malcolm the excuse he’s been seeking to try to take Craighdhu.”
And Craighdhu must always come first with Robert, she thought sadly. “Have you talked to Robert?”
He nodded. “He says I’m a madman to give up everything for a woman.” He straightened his shoulders as if shrugging off a burden. “But maybe madmen are more content than sane ones. What do you think, Kate?”
She thought she was frightened and sad and a little angry at this woman who would cause Gavin to risk so much. “I think you should ponder this decision very carefully.”
“I have no intention of running straight to Jeanie the minute Alec’s back is turned.” His face lit with an impish smile. “I’ll wait, at least until he’s in Edinburgh and harder to reach by messenger.” His smile faded as he reached out and gently touched her cheek. “Stop frowning. All will be well.”
“When you have to leave the home you love?”
He shrugged and got to his feet. “It’s a choice I had to make. I can do nothing else.”
Craighdhu.
The island lay fifteen miles from shore, looming ghostlike in the gray-green sea, its mountains wreathed with swirling mists and clouds. The castle on the north side of Craighdhu looked as wild and dark as the mountains themselves, as if it had been hammered by the winds and sea until it seemed to have been wrought not by man but by Nature.
; “Merciful God, no!” murmured Kate, stricken.
“I told you it wasn’t pretty.” Robert’s tone was sharp as he saw her expression. “But I didn’t expect you to hate it this much.”
“No, it’s not pretty,” she said dully.
“Well, you’ll have to put up with it for only a year.” He got down from his horse and moved to the large raft tied to the pier. “Help her dismount, Gavin.”
She was barely aware of Gavin lifting her to the ground.
Some things are meant to be, Gavin had said, but surely this cruel jest was not fashioned by the hand of God. She had accepted that she was not to have Robert because of his idiotic misconception of her importance, but this new loss was too much to bear.
Craighdhu. Her own special place. Home.
“Jock’s not going to be pleased with either of us,” Gavin said as he dipped his pole into the water. “What do you say we go back to Edinburgh, Robert?”
Robert grinned and shook his head. “Better to face him now than give him a chance to brood about it.”
Jock. Kate vaguely remembered Gavin talking about a Jock Candaron, who seemed to occupy a position of some authority on Craighdhu, but surely his consequence was minimal in comparison to Robert’s. This sudden concern from both the laird of Craighdhu and his henchman was puzzling.
“Why should you have to worry about his displeasure?”
Robert and Gavin exchanged glances, and they both grimaced.
“Jock makes sure he’s the subject of concern of everyone around him,” Robert said. His gaze shifted to the shore. “I think I see him on the dock.”
“We can still turn around,” Gavin suggested gloomily.
Kate could see three ships anchored at the dock, one galley and two large caravels, but the figures on the dock were indistinguishable to her from this distance. “How did he know we were coming?” she asked.
“Edinburgh can be very pleasant this time of year,” Gavin said.
Robert answered Kate. “There’s always a watch on the harbor. The word would have gone to the castle the moment we stepped on the raft.”
“I believe Angus urgently needs my company. Would you not like to go reiving, Robert?” Gavin asked wistfully.