Page 69 of His Secret Highland Bride

“You are the mistress of the castle now, but Tory can see to things here while you see to the villagers and whatever else needs doing to prepare them. I will send a guard with ye, and if ye get word of trouble, you will come directly back to the castle.”

“And bring as many of the villagers with me as I can,” she said.

He nodded. “Have them ready to move. It will be safer here in the castle. We hope to head them off in the field to the south, but there’s still a chance we could be overrun, and if that happens…” He didn’t need to go into detail. Everyone would be better protected behind the high walls.

“I have heard tales about the MacColls. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose sire threatened to ship them off to the MacColl clan if they didn’t obey as a child.” It must’ve been a common threat among the Highlands. She only hoped they weren’t as bad as the tales said them to be.

But Shane was no fool. He knew standing against the MacColls alone was dangerous, and that was why he’d sent messengers in the hope of getting other clans to join them. He’d not been too proud to ask for help to ensure a victory. Even her help.

“I will do what I can to defend the castle and the people inside,” she said.

“Thank you.” He nodded before leaving.

Lindsay didn’t get much sleep that night. She lay in her strange new bed, thinking of the night before, when she’d been so angry she’d wanted to run from the castle and not stop until she found a new home. But now she was preparing to protect this home. And her husband was depending on her for more than making his table lively.

He’d been prepared to leave her, but perhaps he did see her as a capable person, someone he could count on and trust. When he’d been telling her what had happened and his plans, it had felt like before.

When the sky lightened with the coming dawn, she went downstairs to help Tory feed the warriors who would go to fight this day. She knew not all of them would come back. Her gaze caught on the man at the high table, who nodded to her in what she guessed was approval. Lindsay went to him as he and her father were planning.

“We’ll be in position when they arrive. We’ll wait on high ground to fight them off. And thanks to Lindsay and the villagers, we have a brace of weapons to ensure victory.” Shane smiled as her father disregarded his mention of her efforts.

Shane made the whole business sound far too easy. She didn’t think it would be. The men moved to the bailey, and she paused, unsure of what she should say. Things were strained between them. But if this were the last time she saw him… She swallowed back the tears that pricked her stinging eyes. “Please take care,” she managed, though her voice came out hoarse.

“I shall return soon enough.” He turned his horse and left, leading the men to battle as their leader.

Lindsay needed to busy herself with the tasks of the day so she wouldn’t worry. With her faithful four-legged friend at her side, Lindsay went into the village to gather some last-minute supplies. Everyone was hurrying about, making final preparations as well. Children and animals alike were loaded into wagons to make the journey to the castle.

She stopped at person after person, offering them an invitation to come to the castle for protection. Some were reluctant, but a little before noon, a messenger arrived.

“Scouts have reported the MacColls have entered our borders. They should be upon us in a few hours. Please return to the castle straightaway. The gates will be shut and not opened again until the MacColls are defeated.”

“And what of our warriors? Are they ready to protect us?” a man asked from the other side of the gathering.

A rumble went through the crowd, and the messenger looked uneasy. Lindsay moved toward the front of the group.

“Aye!” she shouted. “I spoke to my husband this morning. They are ready. Thanks to your hard work, the warriors are fitted with proper weapons that should see them safely through the battle. On behalf of my husband and his men, I thank every one of ye.”

“It’s true it has been many years since these twisted fingers have held a sword in defense of the MacPherson crest, but I hope ye don’t think to keep those of us who can fight from standing beside our men on the battlefield.”

Lindsay stood on tiptoe to see the older man who spoke. He was one of the men who’d helped shave down the arrow shafts. She looked to Doran and thought of the people here who wanted to help, and how it felt to be passed over as too weak to be useful.

“I’m sure they’ll welcome anyone who wishes to join them.” She pointed to Doran. “See my cousin, Doran, and he will lead ye to the other men. But please be safe and come back to us.”

Doran grinned as he beckoned the men forward. “Come see me if you want to be certain you won’t miss the fun.”

“Fun,” Lindsay muttered before pulling the lad closer. “Ye will stay out of the fighting and do what the other men tell ye to do. They shall need runners and the like. A person need not carry a sword to be a hero. Remember that.”

The boy nodded and trudged off with a few of the men following along, including Hal, the butcher.

His wife, Jenny, came to stand next to Lindsay. “I have never understood why the Lord saw to make the dumbest of his creatures so brawny.”

While she didn’t think a battle with the MacColls would be fun, she was glad to see the men’s spirits so high. And every man who stood next to her husband offered a greater chance he might come home. She may not be ready to forgive him for casting her aside and agreeing to end their marriage so he could marry another (her in the end), but she didn’t want him harmed.

That thought made Lindsay lean over to the other woman. “I must gather supplies for the healing of wounds.”

Jenny bit her bottom lip but nodded, and the two of them skirted around the other villagers to find a healer named Bess who seemed to recognize her even though Lindsay had never seen her before.

“Last I saw ye, you were sleeping off the damage caused by your uncle.”