A Forbidden Night with a Scot (Sins in a Kilt #1)

Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

S amuel opened his eyes only to find himself in a small, dark room, illuminated by nothing but a few torches on the walls. There were no windows there, and no light came in through any cracks in the walls, so he could only assume he was underground, in an entirely unfamiliar place.

He couldn’t remember what, precisely, had happened. The last thing he could recall was his decision to go after Alicia once Gavin had taken her and her sisters away. The more he tried to remember, the more difficult the task seemed, as his head throbbed with pain, the headache spreading from the top all the way to his neck. When he tried to move, he found that his limbs felt heavy, almost immovable, but then he glanced down and saw that he was tied to a chair with a rope, the bindings so tight that they scraped against his skin, eating into his flesh.

Something was tapping against his feet. It was what had woken him, he realized, and he lifted his gaze to see none other than Colm MacLaine there, kicking at him rhythmically. The man only stopped when he saw Samuel was awake and gave him a wicked smile, one that emphasized his large, sharp incisors.

He had always reminded Samuel of a beast. He was only a few years older than Samuel and he gave off an air of savagery.

“Finally,” said MacLaine, his pale blue eyes sparkling with satisfaction in the half-light. “Yer awake.”

“I should have kent ye would try somethin’ like this,” Samuel said, his voice raw from how dry his throat was. “Ye wouldnae dare attack me castle, so ye did what a coward would dae.”

MacLaine’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Samuel, his former mirth now replaced with displeasure. If Samuel was going to die in that room, he would first make sure to anger MacLaine as much as he could, just so his death wouldn’t be a complete waste.

“Well, I have ye here either way,” said MacLaine as he took a deep, steeling breath.

“Ach, I suppose that is true,” said Samuel. “An’ why, precisely, am I here?”

He had a vague idea why, of course. MacLaine hated him, and he had hated him for a long time, but Samuel’s death would not bring him any real reward. There would be another Laird MacLachlan before MacLaine could attack, and even if there wasn’t, Nerian and his council would know what to do to fend him off.

The only thing he could gain was a personal sense of satisfaction.

“Dae ye truly nae ken?” MacLaine asked, as he dragged another wooden chair from the far corner of the room closer to Samuel and sat down across from him, steeling his fingers under his chin. He looked put together as always, his black hair shining under the incandescence of the torches, but under his facade, Samuel could see the weariness of many sleepless nights, as though MacLaine had been agonizing over this very moment for days. “Ye took Thomasina from me.”

Samuel couldn’t help the bitter laugh that escaped him. MacLaine’s claim was simply so ridiculous that he didn’t know what else to do. “Ye took Thomasina from me,” he pointed out, looking him straight in the eyes. “She was me wife an’ ye killed her. Ye took her from me an’ ye took me son from me.”

“It wouldnae have happened if ye had let me marry her, as I was supposed tae dae in the first place,” said MacLaine, a low growl brewing in his chest. “She was supposed tae be me wife. Mine!”

“She didnae want ye.”

It was the simple truth. Thomasina had never wanted MacLaine, and when she was faced with the choice of marrying him or marrying Samuel, she had picked Samuel. She had loved neither of them and Samuel’s offer for her hand had not been quite as good as MacLaine’s, but she had always known which of the two would give her a good life. She chose a gentler man over a better dowry, and MacLaine had never recovered from the blow on his pride.

“Who kens what poison ye whispered intae her ear.” MacLaine gave a humorless chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. “It was all yer fault. Had it nae been fer ye, she would have never died like that!”

“Ye’re the one who murdered her!” Samuel roared, his rage suddenly bubbling over. He couldn’t keep listening to MacLaine. He had loved Thomasina dearly, if not passionately, and he adored their son. All he had ever wanted was to see the two of them happy, even if their marriage was nothing but a convenience.

But MacLaine had stolen all that from him. He had stolen everything from Thomasina, too, who never got to see her son grow up and become a man. She never even got to live her life, she had died so young.

“She was never meant tae die!”

Samuel blinked, uncomprehending. So did MacLaine, seemingly surprised by his own admission.

“She was never meant tae die,” he repeated, this time quietly. “Yer son was the target, ye fool. I wanted Thomasina fer meself an’ I was goin’ tae make her me wife after yer son was gone. But nay, nay, she was desperate tae save him. She jumped intae the water even when she kent there was naething she could dae an’ she…”

MacLaine didn’t finish his sentence. None of it changed how Samuel felt, though. If anything, it only enraged him further to learn of MacLaine’s real plan, disgust creeping to the back of his throat and choking him.

How could a man be so cruel? How could he care about no one but himself?

“After her death, I needed time tae make a better plan tae avenge her,” MacLaine said, as though he still believed it was all Samuel’s fault. “An’ so I toiled an’ toiled an’ in the end, ye gave me the solution.”

Samuel said nothing. He only stared at MacLaine, knowing that he would simply keep talking the more Samuel remained silent, and at the same time, he twisted his hands behind his back, hoping that he could get the rope loose around his wrists. It was difficult to keep his expression from showing any signs of distress; the rope cut into his skin and the burn of it was incessant, but not entirely unbearable. He simply clenched his jaw, hoping it would seem as though he was simply furious with MacLaine.

“I’ve been watchin’ ye fer months,” MacLaine said, leaning a little closer. “I’ve been trackin’ all yer movements, everythin’ ye’ve been doin’. Imagine me surprise when ye handed me the plan on a silver platter.”

Samuel couldn’t imagine how he could have possibly done such a thing, but once again, he didn’t speak. Instead, he waited stubbornly for MacLaine to keep talking, but the man only stood and moved to the door, opening it.

Another man walked in and he was not alone. There, in his vicious grip, was Alicia, who had been gagged and could do nothing but grumble around the cloth in her mouth as she was dragged inside, restrained by the man’s arms. Once she was within reach, though, she stopped struggling as MacLaine swiftly pressed a blade to her throat, completely immobilizing her.

Samuel’s heart gave a lurch, dropping to his stomach at the sight of her in danger. One wrong move could cost Alicia her life, and so he, too, remained utterly still, reluctant to do anything that could push MacLaine over the edge.

Though her eyes were wide with fear, Alicia’s expression was stony, giving nothing of her inner unrest away. She was calmer than some soldiers Samuel had seen in battle, and he couldn’t help but be proud of her for it, but at the same time, he didn’t want her to fear, nor did he want any harm to come to her. He had to act fast. He had to find a way to save her, even if it meant losing his own life.

“When me men saw ye at the loch, it confirmed all me suspicions,” MacLaine said as he leaned terribly close to Alicia, his nose brushing against her cheek. “She truly is lovely, Samuel… too lovely a lass fer ye. Quite unfortunate that she must suffer fer what ye have done.”

“Dinnae touch her.”

It was the first thing to come out of Samuel’s lips in a long time, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stay silent anymore, not when MacLaine was threatening the woman he loved. MacLaine had already taken too much away from him. He wouldn’t let him take Alicia, too.

“It’s a pity she must die,” MacLaine continued, as though he hadn’t even heard Samuel. He was taunting him, of course, and Samuel was well aware of that, but knowing it didn’t mean he didn’t fall for it. His blood boiled in his veins and his rage was palpable, almost a physical thing in the air around him. All he needed was one chance; one chance to kill MacLaine and rid the world of him for good.

No matter how much Samuel tried, though, the ropes around his wrists would not budge. The only thing he managed to do was injure himself further, his skin turning raw and bloody against the rope.

Was anyone coming for them? Did anyone know where they were?

Before Samuel could even begin to formulate a proper plan, though, a cry echoed in the room and Samuel looked up to see Alicia holding the handle of a blade. It was now lodged in MacLaine’s stomach, much to everyone’s surprise.

Even Alicia herself seemed surprised by her actions, for a moment freezing in place as she watched the blood seep around her fingers. Once she came to her senses, though, she pulled the knife out and rushed to Samuel, using the same blade to swiftly cut his bonds, letting the rope fall down to the floor just as the guard who had brought her into the room lunged at her, pinning her to the ground.

The knife fell from her hand, clattering against the floor as she writhed under the guard, trying to kick him off her. Samuel made to grab the man, but before he could, MacLaine reached for his sword and swung it wildly at him, forcing him to step back just in time to save his neck.

Samuel had no weapon, and even if he managed to grab the blade, it would be no match for MacLaine’s sword.

Perhaps if I manage tae get the guard’s…

But before anything else, he needed to pull that man off Alicia and somehow get her to safety. Samuel didn’t have many options. All he could do was try to grab the man, but as MacLaine continued to attack him even as he held a hand pressed tightly to the wound in his stomach, he had little room to maneuver.

Just as Samuel was beginning to lose hope, shouts rang right outside the room. Within moments, the door was kicked open and Samuel saw Nerian and Gavin there, armed and fighting MacLaine’s men, who were trying to hold them and their party of soldiers back with no success.

A desperate growl escaped MacLaine. Samuel watched him as though time had slowed down as he kicked his own guard aside and raised his sword in the air, the glinting tip hovering above Alicia. Everything else faded away in his mind—the shouts of the men, the clanging of swords, the footsteps of the stomping soldiers were silenced by his terror. All that remained was Alicia and that sword that was about to take her life.

Before he could even think, Samuel threw himself in front of Alicia, using his body as a shield as he draped himself over her. His hand reached for the blade she had dropped, grasping tightly just as he felt MacLaine’s sword pierce through his gut, the pain tearing a gasp out of him. It was all the sound he could make—nothing else came past his lips, as his lungs felt devoid of all air, entirely empty.

He was in a terrible state. Not only did the wound send ripple after ripple of stinging pain through him, but every other injury he had sustained in the past few days seemed amplified now, his body quickly reaching its limits. Already, his vision was blurring at the edges, partly from the blood loss and partly from the pain, and he knew he had but moments to do what needed to be done.

With a cry, Samuel twisted his body and plunged his blade straight through MacLaine’s chest with all the force he could muster. The blade pierced through him, the man’s own momentum pushing it deeper than Samuel ever could on his own and stabbing him in the heart. Samuel watched, heaving, as MacLaine stumbled backwards, his eyes wide in shock, his hands reaching up to press around the knife, even though he must have known there was no saving himself.

After a few steps, MacLaine collapsed onto the floor, his body falling with a thud. Samuel let out a sigh of relief, though it was a labored, rattling sound, wounded and exhausted. He didn’t know if the fight outside was still raging. All he knew was that the fight was over for him.

“Alicia,” he said as he rolled off her as best he could, another wave of relief washing over him as she came to kneel next to him, her cool hands grabbing his face and making him look at her. Even as she came in and out of focus, he could see the tears in her eyes. “There ye are, are ye hurt?”

“Nay,” Alicia assured him. “Nay, Samuel. Dinnae close yer eyes. Stay with me.”

“I’ll try,” Samuel promised, but the next moment, everything went dark.