"Where is everyone? Were all the men killed?" Lachlan leapt down and helped Angelique dismount.
"I don't know," Rebbie said. "We took a dozen to Burnglen with us."
Since the secret passageways had been breached, Lachlan didn't know what to expect. Drawing his sword, he ran up the steps and yanked open the door to the crowded great hall.
Kormad and Girard jerked around to face him, their eyes bulging.
"What the hell are you two doing here?" Lachlan's first instinct was to gut Girard, then Kormad. But caution froze him to the spot. "Who allowed them entrance?" This was his and Angelique's home, and these knaves stood here as if they owned the place.
"Get Lady Angelique out of here!" one of his guards yelled. "They have turned everyone against you." He sat in the corner, his face bloody, hands behind his back.
Kormad smashed the man in the jaw with his fist, and he keeled over. "Well, that's one of your last loyal men, MacGrath. I'll let you guess who the other one is." Kormad chuckled.
Another guard in the room, apparently unharmed and free, averted his gaze. What about the guard at the gate outside…also a traitor? Or loyal? Several Drummagan clansmen, guards, and those holding other positions, stared at him with hard, accusing eyes. Where was Bryson, his sword bearer and war leader? And Heckie? How many had turned traitor?
Lachlan glanced behind himself to find Angelique standing before Rebbie and Dirk, safe for now, but wide-eyed and pale.
"You will leave now!" Lachlan commanded his enemies.
Kormad laughed. "The Drummagan clan kens of your misdeeds, MacGrath. 'Haps your wife doesn't know the whole of it yet. Murder. Rape."
"You thrice cursed whoreson!" Lachlan forced himself not to act on his impulses. He wanted to launch himself at Kormad, sword slicing. But they were greatly outnumbered. He backed toward Angelique.
"MacGrath raped these two women." Kormad indicated Fingall's wife, mock weeping, and Neilina, who glared.
"You are insane!" Lachlan said. "I did not touch either of them."
"We have witnesses. Several, in fact. We know you killed the French lad, Philippe. We have proof."
Behind him, Angelique gasped. "Philippe is dead?"
"Aye, ask your husband about it."
"I know naught of it," Lachlan said.
"We found your dagger in his back," Kormad said.
"You took my weapons when you knocked me on the head and captured me."
"Angelique murdered a man in France last year," Girard said.
"More lies," Lachlan seethed, his hatred of Girard raged. It took all his strength not to lop the man's head from his body. "You are the rapist and I intend to see you pay."
"Not to worry, my friends." Kormad addressed the Drummagan clan. "I have sent one of my men to report their crimes to the constable and magistrate. Seize them!"
Lachlan stepped back, shielding Angelique. "Protect her."
Dirk and Rebbie raised their swords. Standing back to back, the three of them formed a triangle with Angelique at the center. Lachlan held her hand in his left.
"You wish to kill more innocent people, I see," Kormad said. "Things will go easier if you give yourselves up and admit to your crimes."
"We have committed no crimes. You and this damned Frenchman are the criminals—rapist, murderer and thief."
"'Twill do you no good to fight. I have already shown the clan the legal papers," Kormad said. "The former chief, John Drummagan, married my sister in secret and they had a son. Timothy, as the sole legitimate male heir of John Drummagan, is the rightful earl. I am his guardian and therefore will serve as chief until he comes of age."
"'Tis lunacy! Are you telling me you believe this man's lies?" Lachlan asked the Drummagan clan, men he thought loyal. Men he trusted. "You swore your allegiance to me. And yet you believe this outlaw's lies over your own chief?"
Several men of the clan dropped their gazes. Others glared at him, eye to eye.
"False papers are easy to draw up. False witnesses are easy to find if you pay them enough, aye, Kormad? I wager constructing this web of lies has cost you a large sum."
"It has cost naught, because 'tis all true."
"Oui, and I come to take this murderess back to France. She will have a trial." Girard's gaze on Angelique held an unholy gleam. Lust combined with deep hatred. Lachlan could not allow Angelique to fall into his hands at all costs. She would suffer more than death. The three of them could not fight Kormad, Girard, their men, and the whole Drummagan clan—not and keep Angelique safe. He should've kept the king's retainers a few more weeks. Now, aside from his two good friends, he had no men to help him fight.
"Rebbie, Dirk, we are going out the way we came in," Lachlan said.
"Stand aside!" Dirk yelled.
Slowly, they retreated through the front door. Lachlan and Dirk barricaded the castle door from the outside with several large stones they rolled from the side. "Hurry! To the stables. They'll follow."
Two of Kormad's warriors on foot rushed them, swords drawn—the men who'd chased them on the road. Rebbie engaged one; swords clanged. Dirk ran the other through on the second strike, then helped Rebbie.
"After you kill him, make sure the gates are open," Lachlan yelled. Angelique in his arms, he carried her toward the stables.
"I cannot believe how my kin has betrayed us," she said. "What must we do?"
"Angelique!" Camille trotted from the kitchen garden. "Grâce à Dieu!"
"Where have you been?"
"Hiding. Girard would see me dead."
"Saddle five fresh horses," Lachlan ordered the stable lad and set Angelique on her feet.
"I already have, m'laird." He led one from a stall. "I knew you'd be needing them when you arrived."
"Where will we go?" Angelique asked. She looked so small and pale, her big green eyes trusting, depending on him to keep her safe. Lachlan had failed so miserably, he didn't deserve her trust anymore, but he was glad for it nonetheless.
Determined to make up for his faults, he set about testing the saddles and strength of the girth straps. He would save her life if he did naught else.
"I wouldn't sabotage your saddles, m'laird. I ken Kormad is the biggest liar in all of Scotland. I shall be your eyes and ears whilst you are gone."
"I thank you. Stay safe." Lachlan turned to Angelique. "Can you ride alone?"
"Oui."
He helped the two women mount, then did so himself. Once Rebbie and Dirk took to their horses in the bailey, they all galloped through the gates. He glanced back to see the clan pouring from the doors.
***
"Where are we going?" Angelique asked Lachlan two hours later when they stopped, dismounted and allowed the horses to drink at a stream. Rolling fields and a few bushes surrounded them. All she knew was they were riding north toward the Highlands, toward the brown, rounded peaks of the Cairngorms she could see in the distance.
"MacGrath holdings. Kintalon Castle," he said. "The clan of my birth won't turn on us so quickly." Dried blood and golden brown stubble covered Lachlan's jaw. Dirt and blood smeared his shirt and plaid. But his expression bothered her most; the playful charmer had vanished, and in his place was this frowning warrior with a hard mouth and fierce eyes.
"Why did you not ask the nearby clans we have alliances with for their help?"
"If the Drummagan clan can turn on us so easily, so can any of the other clans if they believe Kormad's lies and false papers. But I trust my brother with my life and yours. 'Tis the only place I know with certainty you'll be safe."