Hoel shook his head, his eyes bulging.
"You are no' a strong fighter, so back then, you might no' have killed anyone, but you were there."
"Landon was supposed to watch over Alana," Hoel growled. "She could have died when she ran away and hid."
"You killed Landon."
"I didna say that."
"You didna have to."
"We leave in peace," MacDonald shouted. "Let my son live and we leave in peace."
Cameron said, "Let him go. This is done. Take your wounded and leave, MacDonald. This is over between us."
Mayhap it was over between them today, but they would fight again, Dougald was certain.
Chapter 30
Angus stiffened as he watched the fighting from the stable. Alana didn't hear as many swords striking each other now. And horses were riding off.
"Are they leaving?" Alana asked, hating that they would not let her see what was happening.
"Aye," Angus said. "Dougald is headed this way."
"Let me see," Alana said, but none of the lads or Angus would move out of her way.
"Angus," Dougald said in greeting, and only then did the lads step back to let him in to see her. "Alana, lass, some of the injured men need your help."
"They are gone, the MacDonald men?" she asked, as Dougald escorted her out of the stable, the lads racing to help move men inside who had not been injured too severely.
"Aye, they have admitted defeat."
"And the man who went with us, Gair?"
"He wouldna fight us. He tried to convince his kin to leave well enough alone."
"Laird MacDonald?" she asked.
"If he could have killed me, he would have. And Hoel. He wanted you, you know," Dougald said.
"Hmph, 'tis trouble enough keeping after one husband."
Dougald smiled down at her. "Did I tell you how much I love you, lass?"
"Aye, and I, you." Then she saw her uncle, his arm dripping with blood, and she rushed toward him. "Uncle, you are hurt."
"Naught but a scratch, Alana. See to the other men." Her uncle motioned to Turi. "A word with you, now. You sent Lady Alana away…" His words trailed off as he stalked with Turi toward the keep.
"My daughter…"
"She is here."
"You may see to the other men," Alana said to Dougald as a maid dashed to bring Alana her bag of herbs and strips of clothing and sewing materials.
Dougald crouched down in front of the man, one of the Cameron men—the one who looked like he had Norse blood, Kvist—and helped tear his tunic sleeve so Alana could take care of the cut on his arm.
"If you are to see to these men, I will stay with you and remind them that you do this only to keep them alive, naught more," Dougald said.
She knew her husband was referring to Gilleasbuig.
The injured man grinned at Dougald. "I dare say no one will fight you for the lass. Several of us had stopped—no' only our men and yours, but the MacDonald men as well—to watch you fight Laird MacDonald and then when he could fight no more, Hoel MacDonald. Everyone realized at once what a worthy adversary you are."
"I keep telling Lady Alana 'tis tough to kill me."
She hmpfed again.
The two men laughed.
***
At a feast that night, where the deer meat and wild boar the men had caught on the hunt were served, Laird Cameron said to Dougald and Alana, "Duff was killed in the fighting. Had he lived, he would have been hanged for murdering Ward and his wife, for hiring Ward to kill my nephew, and for his involvement in the battle that ended my brother's and several other clansmen's lives."
"And his sons?" Dougald asked.
"Ran off. They didna even stop to fight. As soon as Duff released them from the dungeon, they tore off," Cameron said. "If they show themselves around here, they will know the price they will pay."
"You are no' going to punish Turi for sending Alana away, are you?" Dougald asked. He had nothing but respect for the man.
Cameron snorted. "He is one of the most loyal men I have. If I punished Turi, I would have to punish half of my clansmen and lasses who were involved in the plan."
"Half?" Dougald asked.
"Aye. Odara admitted that Bran had talked to her about sending Alana to see Rob MacNeill, and then Bran and a dozen men were waiting for her in the forest, quiet, watching her every move. Had she had any trouble, they would have taken care of it. When they were assured that you had taken the lass in hand, they followed from a safe distance, then returned home once you reached Craigly Castle."
Dougald was glad to know the lass had never been in harm's way. "MacDonald said MacIverson sent some men to kill your brother, and that some of his own men might have been there, too."
"I suspect it is so. I could never get the full truth from either man," Cameron said.
"Then later, MacIverson had an unfortunate accident."
"Aye," Cameron said. "Most unfortunate."
Dougald suspected Cameron had something to do with the "accident."
"As long as the men who were traitor to our kin are no longer able to do anything further, I am satisfied," Cameron said.
Dougald nodded, then glanced at Alana who was picking at her meat, but not eating it. She was watching one of the lower tables.
"Is there something wrong, Alana?" he asked, taking her hand in his and kissing it.
She looked up and smiled at Dougald with tears in her eyes. "My brother just proposed to Seana on one knee, and she smiled at him and said she would marry him."
Laird Cameron leaned around Dougald and said to Alana, "Connell did?"
Alana wiped away tears dribbling down her cheeks and nodded with a smile. "He did, Uncle. He did."
To Dougald's surprise, Cameron lifted his tankard and said "To the end of strife for our clans. To Connell and Seana's happiness. To a new beginning between the MacNeill and the Cameron clans."
"Thank you, Uncle," Alana said. "Connell is beaming and saluted you back, though he did so with his sword. It appears he canna locate a ghostly tankard." Alana squeezed Dougald's hand. "I am tired and no' hungry. With my uncle's permission, I wish to retire to bed."
"Aye, lass. I will join you in a wee…"
She raised her brows.
Dougald smiled. "It seems I am tired also." He grinned down at his bonny lass. And she couldn't have offered him a brighter or more wicked smile in return. "With all due respect, Laird Cameron, I am taking my wife to her chamber."
"When you return…," Laird Cameron said.
"Aye, mayhap in the morn to break our fast."
Laird Cameron smiled. "You will do fine, Dougald MacNeill. I will have a hard time remaining laird of this clan for too many more years. The men are all talking about the way you fought out there today, and the way you led them—despite their telling you that you were no' their laird."
"That will be many years to come," Dougald said. "I still have much to learn from you." Then without another word, Dougald helped Alana from her seat and wrapped his arm around her waist as he walked her across the great hall.
The room grew silent as he knew it would. He glanced down to see how she was taking it. She was blushing furiously.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "We could have waited until the meal was done."
"Nay, we couldna. What if I retired to bed and you stayed to talk to my uncle, and he locked you in the dungeon again?"
"I have it on good authority, my bonny wife would rescue me."
"Aye, but I would rather have you in my bed tonight."
And with that, he scooped her up in his arms, cheers went up in the great hall, and Dougald carried his wife off to another night of wedded bliss. He knew they wouldn't break their fast the next morning but rather much later that day. Mayhap not until later that eve.
###
The Highlanders Series
Winning the Highlander's Heart, Book 1
The Accidental Highland Hero, Book 2
Highland Rake, Book 3
 
; About the Author
USA Today bestselling and an award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She's a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, that are personalized that have found homes all over the world. When she's not writing or making bears, she's teaching online writing courses or gardening. Her family has roots in the Highlands of Scotland where her love of all things Scottish came into being. Originally from California, she's lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of the Heart of the Wolf series and the Heart of the Jaguar series, plus numerous other paranormal romance and historical romance novels. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear .
Terry Spear, Highland Rake
(Series: The Highlanders # 3)
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