Page 12 of Lady and the Scot

He pulled away and looked down into Breena's face. "You will learn to enjoy pain with me. Soon you will not be able to enjoy being fucked unless it hurts."

Bile came up her throat. Breena got to her feet, and pulled her bodice closed not daring to move away.

"Tonight you will not have any enjoyment. You will only hurt. Your punishment for attempting to escape." His hand yanked her against him and pulled her face back until she was forced to look up at him. "We will finish this later." He kissed her hard until the pain from the cut to her lip made her whimper. Robertson looked to the guard. "Unfortunately, we cannot finish this today. The damn laird's wife is serving the evening meal too early." He stalked from the room.

The guard and Ita escorted her back to the small room near the courtyard. Once alone, she paced the small space, not able to stand still. What awaited her angered more than scared Breena. She vowed the bastard would die for what he did to her. She wasn't sure how, but one day she'd find a way to kill him.

Her life with Robertson would be hell. If he took over the region there, it was too far to send word to her family. Not that they would do much to help her. Disheartened, she allowed tears to slide down her face. If only Aiden would come to her. If only she could get word to him about the betrayal, it was possible he'd take her to safety. Yes, even a loveless relationship, as a laird's mistress was far better than what awaited her with Robertson.

Chapter Six

Aiden couldn't forget the look of anger and on Breena's face when she'd been escorted out of the cottage. She believed he'd been the one to tell of her whereabouts. Truthfully, he was surprised she'd not been discovered sooner. In hindsight, he should have carried her back to camp and kept her safe. Leaving her alone was a stupid mistake.

The large camp they'd set up went almost completely around the village. They erected tents and most of the men patrolled. The younger ones enjoying the attention of the village lasses, who brought food and water to them.

Most of the local families were relocated to inside the village. As many as possible of their animals were corralled and settled into the Campbell and McNeil courtyards.

Aiden's own keep was too far to be of use. Although worried about the intruders destroying his home, he took his small staff to remain at the Gordon's until after it was deemed safe to return.

A horn sounded and he went to see what happened. A young man came running to him. "Laird McNeil requests your presence immediately."

Once he arrived at the McNeil's tent, he met Declan just outside. Both looked at each other with the same question. Obviously whatever happened was new. Inside, the Campbell was already in residence, the older man sat with his dog at his feet.

The McNeil called to one of his guardsmen. "Ensure no one is within earshot. Walk all the way around the tent, and if it's clear let me know." They sat in silence until the man stuck his head in.

"It's clear. I will continue to go around."

"Repeat your message." The McNeil motioned for a man who stood in the center of the room to speak.

"Lady Grisella sent me with a message that she received from Lady Breena." Aiden's breath halted for a moment at the mention of the name. The man continued. "According to Lady Breena. She overheard warriors speaking when she ran off into the forest. The man in charge of the group who attacked the village was one of Robertson's men. He also ordered that no one be left alive, but to be struck dead if they could not mount." The man let out a breath. "I warned our guardsmen before leaving to keep vigil, but to not speak of it."

Everyone looked around at each other. Finally Aiden spoke. "’Tis true. I saw one of the warriors strike his own dead before riding off."

"As did I," Declan added. "What could Robertson hope to gain from attacking us?"

Anger tensed the McNeil's jaw. "Robertson is a power hungry man who no doubt expected this region to be easy to overtake. He has land in the lowlands, but not much as it is hard to gain power over the large clans there. I suspect his plan was to bring this region under attack and then find a way to drive us out."

Declan spit on the ground. "He didn't think we'd unite. Figured we would not come together."

The Campbell got to his feet. "Our wives and families are in danger."

Aiden looked to the worried man. "He doesn't suspect we know. If they are planning an attack I believe his men who are here with us are on orders to strike and kill from within. We must gather them immediately. After, we should send a group to deal with Robertson."

"They will attack today. I am sure of it." Declan Gordon let out a long aggravated breath. "We'll be prepared. They have no idea how many men we have now. I say keep two hundred here and send one hundred back to the McNeil keep."

"He may have sent a spy. Someone could have told him how many we number by now."

The laughter from Declan was without humor. "He will not be able to match our numbers. Whether he sends an attack tonight or not, he will meet his end tonight. He killed many of my people. For that he will pay."

"Aye!" all the lairds cried out.

Robertson's men were brought to the tent and confronted. Not one put up much resistance at the lairds' requests to lay down their swords. Most it seemed were not loyal to Robertson, but forced by circumstance. Soon they learned of the man's cruelty and abuse of the men and their families. Robertson took everything from his people and the only way they could provide for their families was to work for Robertson.

The men were eager to rid themselves of the man, but were reluctant when faced with the possibility of their loved ones suffering the consequences.

"Side with us," Aiden told their leader. "You will see we are large in numbers and strong in strength."

Robertson’s ten men rode along with the lairds to a hilltop. From there the view of over three hundred was astounding. "You see, we will not have a problem defeating your laird. However I ask that you remain behind with some of our guards to protect the village." They agreed understanding they were not to be fully trusted. The men thanked the lairds before riding back with double the number of local men to guard the village.