quickness with which she fell asleep momentarily surprised Parlan out of his reaction to the name of her betrothed. He nudged her but got no reaction. She lay sprawled on her back much as if she had been felled by a blow. Shaking his head and grinning, he lay back down to think about her betrothal for a moment, the feelings his surprise had briefly quelled rushing to the fore.
If there was one man in the world he could truly say he hated, it was Rory Fergueson. The man had no redeeming qualities at all. He had no proof but he was sure that Rory was responsible for the brutal way Parlan’s cousin Morna, had died. Rory Fergueson was vicious, sly, a liar, and a cheat. Each time the MacGuins had raided the Ferguesons, Parlan had hoped to find Rory within his sword’s reach, but the man had always eluded him. Fondling the lush hair tangled around Aimil’s face, Parlan knew he could not let her fall into that man’s hands. Getting up, he donned his robe and strode off to Leith Mengue’s chambers.
Leith glared at the man who had awakened him and had just come from taking Aimil’s virtue. “What do ye want?”
“Is Aimil betrothed to Rory Fergueson?”
“Aye, since the cradle,” Leith answered, curious over the agitation he sensed in the larger man, “though I had forgotten the matter until the day we were captured. The wedding plans were being set and that caused me to recall the arrangement.”
“Doesnae Lachlan ken the sort of man Rory Fergueson is?”
“I cannae think he hasnae heard the rumors. ’Tis an old arrangement that cannae be broken because of rumor. Of course,” he added coldly, “Rory might weel break the betrothal now that ye have stolen Aimil’s honor. Few men want to wed another’s leavings.”
“Stolen her honor I may have, laddie, but I havenae hurt her in the doing of it. Rory Fergueson will kill her.”
The charge was made with such conviction that all of Leith’s thoughts of Parlan’s crimes fled. “Do ye have proof to back your charge?”
“Nay, curse it. Five years back he and my cousin Morna, were lovers. She thought he would wed her, told me of her hopes, for she had been a virgin when he had taken her. Then her hopes changed. She became afeard of the man though she wouldnae tell me why. When she told me she was ending the affair, I was pleased for I had never liked it, but she wasnae a verra comely lass and I felt she ought to have her moment.”
“What happened?” Leith prodded when Parlan fell into a brooding silence.
“The next morn she was found dead. If it wasnae for the ring and dress she wore, we wouldnae have kenned who she was she was beaten so badly. She had been used so harshly the women who treated her said she was torn up inside. I have no proof but each thing I have learned of the man since then tells me t’was him, and I have studied him verra closely. The man has left a long, bloodied trail of women who are too afraid to speak against him or who are dead, leaving no proof ’tis Rory doing the killing. The beast covers his tracks weel. I must have proof and then I can cut him down wherever and whenever I find him.”
Leith did not question Parlan’s conviction of Rory’s guilt. “All I can do is speak to my father. He is the law.”
“It isnae enough.”
“What ye have done this night just might be.” Leith did not really want to think that Parlan might have done Aimil a favor.
“Nay. T’will depend upon how badly Rory wants her or what is to be gained through the marriage.”
“I cannae give ye an answer to either of those.”
Parlan swore and ran his hand through his hair, unable to conceal his agitation. “I cannae allow this marriage.”
“Ye cannae allow it?” Leith glared at the man. “Ye are a MacGuin nae a Mengue. ’Tisnae your place to allow or to disallow.”
“Aye, but ’tis I who hold her now.”
“She is to be ransomed. T’was said ye would send word to my father on the morrow.”
“Ransoming can be a difficult business,” Parlan drawled, quickly putting together a plan. “A lot of haggling may need doing. Could take a verra long time.”
“Rory may wait.” Leith found himself uncomfortably allied with Parlan to stop Aimil’s marriage to Rory.
“Aye, and he might weel expose himself as the depraved bastard he is. Surely your father would stop the marriage then?”
“I cannae say,” Leith reluctantly admitted. “Since she first showed signs of womanhood, he has been blind to her existence. I was meaning to speak to him on the marriage, but your brother captured Aimil and me. Rory’s uncle, James, and my father were like brothers. They both wanted the families joined in marriage. James died twa years back naming Rory as his heir. That could make my father all the firmer in his decision.”
“God, a promise to a dear friend now dead. They are the hardest to change. Does Aimil favor Rory?” Parlan asked.
“Nay, she says she doesnae even like him. T’was why I meant to speak to my father. The way things stand between Aimil and my father, however, it could make him push all the harder for the marriage.” Leith spoke with weariness weighting his voice for he did not have the strength to wrestle with such problems.
“Why? What did the girl do to turn Lachlan against her?”
“She grew up. Aye, ye may weel look puzzled but there isnae any other explanation. She was his favorite. He took the pair of us everywhere. Then, one night she wore a new gown that revealed her budding woman’s figure and he has turned a cold side to her ever since. None of us kens why, and my father offers no answers.”
“There must be a way,” Parlan growled as he started toward the door.
“Weel, I will be verra glad to hear of it if ye find it.”
“If there isnae another way, I will wed the cursed wench myself,” he snapped, and left abruptly, leaving Leith staring after him in stunned surprise.
Chapter Five
Lagan entered Parlan’s chambers after a terse “Enter” had answered his knock. He shut the door and looked at the bed with raised brows for Aimil still slept there. It was rare that a woman was in Parlan’s bed come the morning. Parlan would take his fill of the woman and then sleep alone. It was a habit Lagan could not recall the man breaking before without having had too much drink. Lagan leaned against the bed post and eyed Parlan who was shaving.
“Shouldnae ye at least give the poor lass a pillow for her head?”
Drying off his face, Parlan strode to the side of the bed. “I have put her head on a pillow three times, but she moves off it.”
“Strange she didnae wake when ye did so.”
“I think the bed could collapse about her and she would sleep through it. I even put her shirt on after I awoke and she never even blinked.”
“Sure she still lives?” Lagan teased.
Parlan grinned. “Aye, though I did wonder at first. Never seen a person sleep so sound. Only able to rouse her once
