Page 72 of Married to the Highland Devil
“Matthew!” he yelled when the guards stopped in front of him.
“My Laird, this man was caught tryin’ to sneak into the castle through the moors.”
Duncan could not tell if it was the man he was after, but he stared hard at their prisoner and saw fear embedded in the man’s gaze.
“I have done naething, My Laird,” the older man pleaded. “I just wanted to steal… I have done naething… I am beggin’ ye, My Laird. I have a daughter… I am beggin’ ye.”
The man’s pleading did nothing to soften Duncan’s heart at that moment. He cared more for the assailant that had tried to kill Amelia.
“He isnae the one I am after,” Duncan said to his guards. “Lock him up; I will deal with him later.”
Matthew rushed out of the keep at that moment, and Duncan turned towards him. “Gather all the guards in the courtyard. I must find the one who did this.”
“Ye think it is one of us?”
“He cannae escape the castle after it has been sealed, so he had to blend in with the rest of the guards. I shall figure out who it is.”
His sister and mother had come out of their chambers now, and Yvaine adjusted her nightdress as she came up to him. “What has happened, Brother?” she asked, her eyes insistent as they searched his.
The ache in Duncan’s heart spread further as he told her, “Someone took Amelia to the top of the stairs and pushed her down. She is unconscious… The healer is tryin’ to treat her.”
His jaw hardened as he explained what had happened to his sister and mother. Duncan did not want to think of his pain right now. He wanted the rage. He had to find the one responsible for this.
In minutes, the guards were gathered in the courtyard, and Duncan took his time to walk through the crowd. He stared into the eyes of every man in the queue and stopped when he reached a dark-haired man standing at the far end.
Duncan met the man’s intense gaze as he stopped in front of him. “Ye…” he said as his gaze flickered over the man’s face and rested on his eyes again. He spotted the black cloth hiding inside the leine the guard was wearing, and he stretched out a hand.
The man instantly drew his sword as Duncan pulled out the mask he had failed to bury properly inside his leine.
“Who do ye work for?” Duncan asked, his voice steady as his muscles tightened. “Who?” he yelled.
“Forgive me, Laird McLennan, I shall die before tellin’ ye that.”
“Then so be it!”
Duncan moved swiftly in the next second. He drew out his sword, stuck the pointy end into the man’s gut, and twisted it till blood spluttered out of his mouth.
“Traitor,” Duncan growled as he watched the guard’s face pale. His eyes slackened, and his mouth parted as he coughed. He croaked as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out before he dropped to his knees on the ground.
Duncan drew out his sword and wiped it clean with a cloth attached to the waist of his kilt. “Send the body to Laird MacGregor. I’m sendin’ him a message. This is no longer a game I want to play. I will kill any of his men who cross my path or try to hurt anyone I care about again.”
“Aye, My Laird,” Matthew answered then Duncan stormed out of the courtyard and headed to the chamber to check on Amelia.
Elijah was about to leave when Duncan walked in there, and Duncan stopped him at the doorway after he bowed.
“How is she?” Duncan queried. He could hear his mother and Yvaine inside the chamber, and he tried to control his dizziness and weakness.
Amelia had to live. He could not live without her, and he had not even told her yet.
“I have done all I can, My Laird,” Elijah replied in a remorseful tone. “Now, we wait. We wait and pray that she regains consciousness. She must have hit her head hard, and her arm is broken. There are bruises all over her body, and it will all take time to heal.”
Duncan tried to process the man’s words slowly, but the pain in his chest and the sense of impending doom that seemed to overshadow every other feeling was too intense.
The pounding in his ears intensified, and his temples started to hurt. Duncan blew air through his lips to control himself, and he watched the healer walk away before he went into the chamber to meet his mother and sister.
He paced around for a long time, unable to sit still or get rid of the tightness in his muscles.
“She will be all right,” his mother told him after some time. “I ken she will be, Duncan.”
