Page 99 of Her Reluctant Highlander Husband

Bryce turned to her with a grin. “Love, this is my sire, Thomas Campbell. Father, this is my wife, Dorie, and her father, Lord Dorien Sutherland, Viscount—”

“Dorien is fine,” the viscount interrupted. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“And you.” Thomas turned back to Bryce with a wide smile. “So you went to get her after all? Good for you, lad. I can tell already you made the right choice. She’s lovely.”

The way the man looked her over made her cheeks heat. Bryce had mentioned how fond his father was of women. Apparently Thomas had no preference as to the age of the woman when it came to flirting, or if she was married to his son.

They all spoke for a few moments, but Bryce was pulled away to take care of the men and horses. Her own father went to help him. Dorie then led her father-in-law inside to see that his men were fed.

“Will ye sit with me for a moment? I’d like to get to know you.”

She looked over her shoulder, wanting to go help Kenna and Mari ready available rooms for guests. The hall would be filled with sleeping soldiers tonight. But she couldn’t be rude to Bryce’s father. She sat next to him and waved over a maid to bring him food and drink.

“My boy seems happy. Far happier than he was when he visited me last.” He scratched her dog who had come to sit between them.

“Bryce told me he came straight to England after he left you,” Dorie said.

“Ah. Good.” The man nodded. His early humor and teasing were gone now. The seriousness on his face didn’t sit well, as if he were hardly ever sincere. “Bryce has been haunted by his late wife and child for far too long. It’s time he moved on.”

“He loved them dearly,” she said, defending her husband. She knew Bryce would always love his first wife and their child. Dorie would never begrudge him his happy memories of his previous family. She was only grateful he’d found enough love for her, too.

“True, true. But it’s not for a man among the living to send his heart ahead of him into death. I’m glad he figured it out. As soon as you give him a bairn you’ll win his heart forever.”

The man chatted on and on about his current wife and all his children from his former wives—of which there were many. When he was drawn into conversation with one of the soldiers who had traveled with her father, she took the opportunity to escape.

She spent the rest of the afternoon making beds and setting up pallets for their guests. And occasionally—thanks to the conversation with her father-in-law—she worried about what might happen if she wasn’t able to give Bryce a babe.

…

Around a wagon in the bailey, Bryce stood with Lach, Cam, Dorien, and Thomas, planning the attack on the McCurdy fortress. It was determined they would launch their assault at dawn rather than try to keep this many men housed at Dunardry for any length of time.

Most of the lower-ranking men would sleep in the fields beyond the curtain walls, but they would need food, and that would require fires. With the frequency of McCurdy scouts crossing the MacKinlay borders it would only take one of them to see so many men encamped and the MacKinlays would lose the element of surprise.

“If we get all the men settled before nightfall, we can have them rested and ready to leave before dawn,” Dorien said. Having been a captain in His Majesty’s army, he was skilled in the art of strategy. “Half can circle to the south. From there they can break again and come in from two sides, while the other half comes in from the north and east. The McCurdys will have no choice but to face us or run into the sea.”

They had just finished drawing out the plans when the guard on the gate yelled down for the third time that day, announcing riders inbound to the castle. It was a border guard who rode in this time to announce the Stewarts had arrived.

“For the love of all that’s holy,” Lach muttered, making Cam and Bryce chuckle.

“You said you would not launch an attack until you were certain you would win,” Bryce reminded his laird as they looked around the bailey that was still full of horses and men.

The Stewart laird himself rode in with an unhappy Liam riding next to him. They dismounted and joined the other men. “We’ve come to join forces to take down the mangy McCurdy filth.” The laird looked around. “It appears we’re not needed.”

Dorien came forward and shook the Stewart’s hand. “I can assure you, we welcome your swords. Can you be ready to ride at dawn?”

The Stewart laird’s smile turned evil. “To draw the last drop of blood from the McCurdys, I would ride tonight.” The laird’s daughter, Evelyn, had been brutally attacked and held captive by McCurdys.

Both the Stewart and the viscount wanted revenge for the way the McCurdys had treated their daughters. Their swords would be drawn with the might of vengeance.

The McCurdy didn’t stand a chance.

…

When a maid came into the hall to announce the Stewarts had arrived, Dorie wanted to weep. There was no more room. Surely by the next day they would run out of food.

Kenna and Mari had joined her in fretting over what to do when Lach came in and drew Kenna into a kiss. “We leave within the hour.”

The three women gasped in unison and Mari and Dorie made haste toward the door. Cam met them there and smiled down at Mari. Dorie only heard the rumble of his voice as she passed, knowing the words were for his wife only.