Page 90 of A Highland Bride Taken
He barely waited for the horse to stop before dismounting, not waiting for Magnus and his warriors to arrive, even though they were hot on his heels. When he got to the gates, the guards there stopped him from entering.
“Who are ye?” one of them asked.
Campbell’s irritation flared at the questions. He had to remind himself that these guards were just doing their duty.
“Tell yer Laird that his grandson is here to see him,” he gritted out, holding onto the thin thread of his patience.
“Grandson?” The other guard let out a derisive laugh. “If ye are his grandson, then I am the King of Scotland.”
“The Laird had only one grandson, and he is dead. I dinnae ken who ye are, but I suggest ye return home.”
“Tell him that the Laird of Muir is here,” Campbell tried again.
“Muir,” the first guard echoed with a derisive chuckle. “I have never heard of the place. Are ye sure it exists at all? Perhaps ye are making it up.” He turned his back on him.
That last gesture, in combination with their mockery, was the last straw in Campbell’s thin patience. In the blink of an eye, he pulled back his arm and drove his elbow into the man’s temple, sending him to the ground. He advanced on the other guards, incapacitating anyone who stood in his way, until finally he and his men were standing in the courtyard in front of the castle. He gestured for the soldiers to wait outside while he went into the hall.
The hall was busy, just like every castle was, but he spotted his grandfather at the head of the table, enjoying his meal as if he had no care in the world, as if he was not holding some little lads hostage to further his selfish purposes.
The years had not been kind to Laird McCormick. His once brown hair was now completely white, his mustache was the same, and he had deep grooves in his forehead and lines around his mouth that spoke of years of pressing his lips into a stern line.
All in all, even with age, the man still commanded attention like royalty, and it was that bearing of his that annoyed Campbell to no end. He could have used his authority to protect his family. Instead, he was happier tormenting them and separating them for his own purposes.
The man was pure evil, and Campbell was going to make sure that he put an end to his evil as soon as he retrieved the boys.
“Laird McCormick,” he boomed, enjoying the hush that fell over the table. “May I have a word?”
Darragh took his time studying him, squinting his eyes as if he could not quite make out his features, before his eyes widened in surprise.
“Campbell, what are ye doing here?” he asked, his lips thinning. “I warned ye never to come here. Who let ye in?” He looked around at the guards in the hall, fixing them with accusatory looks.
“It isnae the guards’ fault, dinnae blame them. I let meself in. The guards at the gate were… otherwise occupied,” Campbell drawled. “Nay need to replace them. I dinnae plan to stay long. I just came to retrieve something important. I will be on me way soon.”
“What could ye possibly have here?” Darragh asked, his lids lowering as he took a sip from his mug like they were having a tea party instead of an interrogation with an abundance of spectators.
“Darragh,” Campbell growled, bracing his arms on the table. Perhaps the menace in his voice caught his grandfather’s attention because he looked up. “I came for me sons. Release the lads to me.”
“Last I heard, Campbell, ye just got married—hardly enough time for ye to have bairns that are grown enough to be lads.”
“Aiden’s twins, release them to me now,” Campbell gritted out, the wooden table creaking beneath the pressure of his arms.
“I have nay use for Aiden’s bastards. There is nay reason why I would want to have them under me roof,” Darragh answered, doing his best to appear the innocent elderly man who was being accused of a preposterous crime.
Campbell might have believed him if he did not know him well and was not aware of what he was capable of.
“There is nay need to play dumb, Durragh,” he growled. “The game is up. Yer little spy Talia has already told me everything. I ken ye kidnapped the twins and ye are holding them captive.”
“Ye will believe the words of a flighty lass over that of a respected laird?” Durragh scoffed, trying to play the aggrieved party.
“Ye are nay respected laird, Darragh, and I would believe anyone over ye. I ken what ye are capable of.”
“That is why ye are a fool. One who can be easily deceived by a pretty face. Just like yer braither and yer weakling of a faither. Yer faither allowed his infatuation with his wife to distract him from his duties to his clan, which was why it was easy to intimidate him. I had thought to protect Aiden from the same fate, but the fool didnae understand. He ran away from home to marry that witch, who had nothing except a pretty face. When I heard of his marriage, I was furious. It was even more annoying when she gave birth to twins. That vermin wasnae supposed to contaminate our pristine bloodline. That was why I sent for her to come here with the bairns for me blessing.
“The lowborn wench had nay brains. She agreed to come, and I sent bandits to attack her. I did not anticipate that Aiden would join her, and the mercenaries I hired werenae thorough enough to check. Bunch of incompetent fellows.”
Campbell felt the color drain from his face as he listened to his grandfather spill his venom very casually, as if he was not confessing to killing his own grandson and his wife.
It was only his grip on the wooden table that prevented him from collapsing to the ground. He had known that his grandfather was a cruel man, but he had not thought him a murderer, one who could kill his own flesh and blood with no ounce of remorse.
