Page 15 of To Charm a Highlander

Gerard threw his head back and laughed.“Aye, Callum, ye got yerself an spunky one here.Surely, someone as cowardly as yerself couldna handle such a woman.”He reached out for Donella who pulled her arm away from his grip.

He grinned and looked back over at the table of men with him.“Ach, look who he has with him, trying to tup?The crazy Sutherland lass.I thought they locked her away years ago.”

Donella sucked in a deep breath at the same time that Callum pushed his chair back so far, it slid halfway across the room.Before speaking a word, he grabbed Gerard around the throat and squeezed.

A trained warrior also, Gerard reached for his sword, which he dropped as Callum drew him away from the table so as not to injure Donella.Her screams in the background reached his ears as he and Gerard landed on the floor and continued to pummel each other.

“Stop!”From the side, he saw her grab a chair, swinging it in their direction when one of the men with Gunn yanked the chair off her and wrapped his arm around her waist from behind.

Enraged further with Donella entrapped in the mon’s arms, Callum pulled the dirk from his side and plunged it into Gerard’s chest.It dinna stop the mon from his attack, but it slowed him down.Enough that Callum wrenched himself free from Gerard’s grip, stood and kicked the mon in the head, knocking him out.

Without taking a breath, he swung at the mon holding Donella, knocking him to the ground.

The sound of a string of curse words sure to get the mon straight into hell, an awakened Gerard climbed back up to his feet and swung at Callum, his dirk in his hand.

A sting in his arm told Callum kenned he’d been stabbed, but in the middle of the brawl, he dinna even stop to consider it.He shook his head, grateful when another Sutherland joined the fray.Soon it appeared the entire room was filled with men rolling on the floor, blood, grunts, and shouting.

The ale house owner and two of his sons threw buckets of ice cold water from the nearby creek over the men rolling on the floor, which stopped the battle almost as fast as it had started.

Alehouse owner, Henry Sutherland, somewhere in his fiftieth years stood with his hands on his hips, breathing heavy as his two sons pulled the brawlers from the floor and shoved them toward the door.

Callum stumbled over to Donella.“Are ye well, lass?Did anyone hurt ye?”All he could think was Haydon was going to strip him of his skin.

Wide-eyed, she stared at his arm.“Nay, but it appears ye dinna miss getting yerself sliced up.”

‘Twas then that Callum felt the throb in his arm where Gerard’s dirk had sliced him.It appeared he’d lost some blood, based on the rivulet running down his arm and pooling at his feet.

“I think ‘tis best to get ye back to the Keep, Callum.”Donella wrapped her arm around his waist to steady him.‘Twas ridiculous that he couldna fell the Gunn without getting hurt himself.A poor showing for a warrior, but since he wasna prepared to do battle while quietly sitting with Donella and even less wanting to kill the mon and start a war between the Gunns and the Sutherlands, ‘twas for the best that it had ended as it had.

Although he continued to hush Donella from fussing at him all the way back to the keep, as she continued to attempt to secure a wagon to get them back, he had to admit he was feeling weaker with each step.

‘Twould be humiliating enough to face her brothers after becoming injured while trying to defend their sister, but worse than that would be to collapse at their feet when they arrived.

“Someone help Cullum to a bedchamber upstairs and find Dorathia,” Donella shouted as they reached the outer bailey.

“Lass, stop, please.I doona want the entire castle to learn of my disgrace.And I doona belong upstairs.”

Just then one of the vassals hurried over.“What is the problem, Lady Donella?”

“Mr.Gunn has been injured.”She looked over at Callum whose head was drooping.“He will need care after the injury is taken care of.He canna go to the warriors quarters.”

Not having the strength to fight her again on where they were to lay his broken body, he dinna object.They summoned a mon passing by with a bundle over his shoulders and with the three of them, they got Callum upstairs to the bedchamber closest to the stairs.

She continued to assist holding him up.As much as he wanted to push away from her, he was fairly certain he would indeed suffer the ultimate humiliation and collapse.

He was dragged up the stairs and then deposited onto a soft bed right before everything went black.

* * *

Donella breatheda sigh of relief when Dorathia rushed into the room.“Is this one of the warriors, my lady?”

“Aye.Thank ye for coming so quickly.”

The healer looked down at Callum.“Is this the Gunn warrior?”

“Aye.We were visiting the village and one of the Gunn warriors said something about me Callum took objection to, and a fight began.”

Dorathia glanced in her direction as she removed items from her basket.“Ye went to the village?”