“Over my dead body,” Katie snapped.
“Tsk, tsk. Such fury. Did I not just say I prefer to have no one die?” He placed the cards on the table and straightened the deck until each card was perfectly aligned. Then he looked up at Katie. “Ye could have had anything ye wanted, ye ken. I would have showered ye with fancy clothes, jewels, and trips, but nay, ye had to run off to this godforsaken place.”
Katie moved over to where Gavin sat and placed her hand on his head. “Not at the price ye asked.”
“Ah, a minor thing.”
“Not so minor that ye traveled all the way here to demand my wife marry ye so ye could take her and her brother back with ye to Stirling.” Evan was growing frustrated with the chatter. He wanted both of these vile men out of Fife and he, Katie, and Gavin on their way to Argyll. From the confused looks Gavin had been casting in the adults’ direction, he had no idea what Armstrong wanted with him. For that, Evan was grateful. There was no need for the lad to discover the seedier parts of life at his young age.
“Tie them up,” Armstrong said as he resumed his card play.
The huge man who had been guarding the door moved toward Katie. Evan could not allow that. Their only chance of bringing this entire matter to an end was now, before they were tied up. Surprise was his only weapon.
He edged closer to Gavin as the brute wrestled with Katie—who was making enough noise to reach the castle—while Armstrong continued to play cards and sip his whisky. Katie kicked, bit, plunged her elbow into the mon’s middle, and just as she was about to knee him in his more tender parts, Armstrong looked up and within an instant had the gun pointed at Evan’s heart. “Whatever it is yer planning, ye can forget it.”
It was now or never.
With a bellow that his ancestors would have been proud of, Evan leaped across the small space, directly at Armstrong. Taken by surprise, the mon fired a shot that went wild, hitting the ceiling. Evan landed on him, both of them tumbling to the floor. He pulled the dirk from his boot and pressed it against Armstrong’s throat. “Call yer man off.”
Evan turned to see Gavin had jumped on the other man’s back and was hitting him with his fists as Katie continued to stomp on his foot and was trying her best to kick his delicate parts.
When Armstrong only stared at Evan wide-eyed, Evan pressed the dirk just enough to cause a bit of pain and a stream of blood. “Call him off.”
“Rory, stop. Drop the rope.” Armstrong spoke carefully, apparently not wanting the dirk to plunge farther into his neck.
With a growl, the man pushed Katie away.
“That’s good,” Evan said. He looked over at Katie. “Pick up the gun and hold it on the mon, and let Gavin tie his hands behind his back.”
Evan pushed the point of the dirk he held in just a wee bit more and grinned at Armstrong. “Tell yer friend to sit still while the lad ties his hands.”
“Let him tie ye,” Armstrong gasped.
Once Gavin finished, Evan turned his attention to getting the matter settled. “Now, lad, yer horse is tied up outside. Go ride to the castle and bring back some help.”
“He can’t go by himself!” Katie cried.
Gavin watched his sister carefully, then turned his regard to Evan. “I can do it, my laird.”
“Aye, lad. I ken ye can. Go on now.”
Gavin was out the door in a flash. Evan glared at Armstrong. “Now, ye will get up and slowly walk to where yer mon sits. My wife is a bit shaky with a gun, so I wouldn’t make any sudden moves, or she’s liable to shoot ye. Ye ken?”
“Aye.” Armstrong climbed to his feet with the knife still at his throat while Katie held the gun on the other mon.
Less than fifteen minutes had gone by when the door burst open and Alasdair, Ian, MacDuff the stable master, and Gavin raced through.
“It looks like ye have everything under control, brother.” Alasdair slapped him on the back.
“Aye. We need to transport these two to the castle. We’ll lock them in the basement and bring them to the magistrate in the morning.” Evan tossed the words over his shoulder to Alasdair as he headed over to Gavin.
He got down on one knee and looked the lad in the eye. “Ye did well, lad. I’m verra proud of ye. How ye kept calm when the trouble started, tried to help yer sister, and how ye got away and found the others and brought them here.” He gripped his shoulders. “Yer gonna be a fine mon some day.”
…
Katie wiped the tears from her eyes at Evan’s words. With Evan’s guidance and attention, her brother would be a fine man some day.
But, being the sister and only parent the lad had known, she had to have her word, also. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her brother. “Gavin, ye lied to Alasdair and got yerself into trouble.”
Gavin hung his head, a bright red hue covering his face. Evan climbed to his feet and placed his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “Yer sister is right. Ye shouldn’t have lied to Alasdair. An honorable mon does not lie. Ye see all the trouble ye caused by going off on yer own when ye were told not to do that?”
“Aye,” the lad mumbled to his feet.
“’Tis time to head home. I believe everyone needs a good night’s rest.” Evan shooed Gavin out of the cottage and took Katie’s arm. “We need to have a serious conversation when we return to the castle.”
“Aye.” She was still torn on what to do about their marriage. She had no choice but to go to Argyll with Evan, however, right now she had no hopes that her
