Page 57 of Highland Fire

“I fear ye dinnae see exactly what is standing between ye and Mungan Coll. ’Tisnae me. ’Tis that thrice-cursed tower house.”

“Ah, but I have a solution to that problem. If ye give me the tower house, then Mungan will seek to marry me and leave ye alone. Is that not simple?”

Moira raised herself up on her forearms to stare at Una in disbelief. “Una, listen verra carefully. I have lived under your father’s fist for ten long years. More than anyone else, ye must understand what that life was like. I endured it because I thought I had no choice, that I was dependent upon his charity. Now I discover I do have a choice. Worse, I discovered that I have always had it, but your father concealed it from me. Do ye have any idea how angry that makes me?” She could tell by the wide-eyed look on Una’s face that it was going to be difficult to make Una understand even part of what she was feeling.

“Weel, I suppose ye have a right to be angry. But what does all that have to do with the tower house?”

“’Tis mine. I may ne’er get back the coin that was left to me and which your father stole, but he cannae slip that pile of stone into his purse and slink away. That lump of rock is my freedom. I cannae and I willnae just hand it o’er to ye so that ye can get Mungan Coll to wed you.”

“Oh.” Una jumped up. “Ye are so selfish. All this talk about freedom is just nonsense. Ye want my mon.”

Moira sagged back down onto the bed. “I dinnae want your mon. In truth, I cannae understand why ye would want him if ye must bribe him with that tower house to get him to marry you. Where is your pride?”

“I could ask ye the same thing. Ye have been whoring your way across Scotland with a murderer.”

“Tavig didnae murder anyone,” Moira snapped, but Una was already striding out the door. She winced as her cousin slammed the door after her. “Give me the tower house, she says. As if it were some child’s toy she covets.”

Everything Tavig had tried to warn her about was coming true. Mungan had only made his first try at wooing her, but she was sure the man would keep after her. Now Una was angry and jealous. That, too, would only get worse, increasing with every attempt Mungan made at wooing her. Una and she were not friends, and Moira was not sure they would ever be, but she certainly did not want them to be enemies, either. She did feel a bond of sorts with Una since they had both suffered beneath Sir Bearnard’s cruel guardianship.

The more she thought about the uncomfortable position she found herself in, the more she realized that Tavig was right. There was one quick, simple, but sure way to put an end to all the nonsense. She had scolded Una for her willingness to bribe a man to wed her yet she was considering marrying a man so that she did not have to put up with any more of Mungan’s or Una’s foolishness. She had only had a brief taste of that foolishness, but that had proven more than enough.

As she sat up, rested enough to find Adair despite Una’s visit, Moira could almost believe Tavig’s talk of their being destined. It certainly seemed as if some unseen hand were pushing them along. No matter how hard she tried to cling to her decision not to marry Tavig for his own safety, things kept happening that forced her to remain close to Tavig. Now it seemed as if fate had set her down in the midst of a multitude of reasons why marrying Tavig suddenly appeared to be the safest and the wisest thing to do.

Moira left her room in search of Adair. There was still time to consider more carefully what few choices she had and pick the one that offered the most complete solution to her problems. As she entered the nursery one of the maids had directed her to, she spotted Adair right away. Moira laughed, moving quickly to pick him up as he smiled and crawled toward her. She nuzzled his thick black curls and realized that, despite her best intentions, Adair would be one strong reason why she might make the risky choice of marriage to Tavig MacAlpin.

Tavig scowled at Mungan, who sprawled in his large ornately carved chair, sipping ale and surveying the others gathered in the great hall as if all were right in the world. Grabbing the jug off the table, Tavig filled his tankard with the hearty ale and took several long drinks in a vain attempt to cool his rising temper. He wanted to make plans to go after Iver and he wanted to convince Mungan to give up his plan to marry Moira. The day was almost at an end, and he had accomplished very little.

“Curse ye, Mungan,” he finally snapped. “Are we to play the idle courtiers until Iver sends an army to your walls?”

Mungan looked at Tavig, in feigned surprise. “Ye are a wee bit short of temper today, Tavig, m’boy.”

“Ye have a great skill at sorely trying a mon’s patience. I thought ye were as eager as I to make Iver pay for the murder of our friends.”

“I am and I already prepare to go after that foul kinsmon of ours. There was no need to trouble ye with such preparation. Ye ken what must be done to ready oneself for such a battle, but so do I. Why waste our time discussing such unimportant things?”

“Fine, I could agree with that if we were taking that extra time to discuss something else. I thought the information I got from Iver’s mon would help us plot some battle plan. I would have preferred to have gotten my hands on that murdering swine Andrew, but this mon was useful.”

“It did help us. Did we not already decide how many men we will need? Ye ken that I dinnae like to make my plans too exact, as matters can change rapidly between the time ye make the plan and when ye must carry it out. Soon the men I sent to gather more information on our traitorous cousin will return. Once we have their reports to add to what Iver’s mon said, we can discuss our fight with Iver in more detail. Aye and we hold the added advantage of kenning Drumdearg as weel, as thoroughly, as Iver.”

Tavig relaxed a little, annoyed that Mungan was the one to see that and not him. He had become so intensely determined to make Iver pay for his crimes and to get Drumdearg back that he had become somewhat blinded. It would not be easy, but he would have to try to concentrate on his battle with Iver as if it were just another battle and not such a deeply personal one.

“We have another advantage,” Tavig said. “Many of the people of Drumdearg will come to our side. Iver surrounds himself with hard men whose loyalty is bought, not given, because he kens he cannae depend on the loyalty of the people he tries to rule. I think he kens they will desert him, turn against him, the moment the chance arises.”

“Aye, and my men will be seeing just how much of an advantage that will give us. He will be testing the people’s loyalty to you and warning those who can be trusted to be prepared for our arrival.” Mungan smiled toward the doors of the great hall. “Ah, the ladies arrive.”

Inwardly cursing because he knew that would end any further talk about how they would take back Drumdearg, Tavig turned to look at Moira. Una was several paces in front of Moira, and it was clear to even the most casual observer that there was far more than a physical separation between the pair. He had had little chance to speak to Moira today, but it was clear that she was already suffering some of the troubles he had foreseen. Although he felt bad for her, he could not completely repress a surge of hope and delight over her predicament. Such turmoil would serve to push her where he wanted her—standing in front of a priest saying her marriage vows. He stood up, brushing a kiss over her cheek as she moved to sit next to him.

Una kissed Mungan’s cheek as she sat down next to him. “Ye look verra pleased to see me.”

“Aye,” Mungan agreed. “Now we may eat our meal.”

Moira winced, then sighed when Una glared at her. “As if I am responsible for the mon’s boorish behavior.”

“What did ye say, lass?” Tavig asked, leaning closer to her so that he could speak softly without a scowling Mungan overhearing him.

“Nothing of any importance.” She forced a smile. “How has your day passed? Ye have been verra busy.”

“Aye. Iver’s hired dog was slow to talk, but when he did he was verra helpful. Mungan has sent a few of his men to Drumdearg to gather even more information. When they return, we will finalize our plans.”