Highlander’s Winter Rose by Fiona Faris

Chapter Nineteen

Meeting with the Laird of the MacMillan clan was more draining than Maximus thought it would be. The Macmillan clan was self-sufficient, and they rarely involved outsiders in their matters. The Laird also did not come out for many events. Even when most Lairds were there, they would find him absent. He had always been curious as to what kind of man Damien MacMillan was. His right-hand man, Kurt Donnaben, was the one who attended all events in his place, and the man was polite to a fault, always proper in a way that was not normal for Highlanders.

They could not pick out any information on Damien from Kurt either. The man was a steel cage when it came to information on his Laird and his clan. He would politely converse, but once the conversation began to head in a direction he did not appreciate, he would move away immediately. Maximus was already tired after they were kept at the gates for almost half an hour. The guards were thorough with them as outsiders, and it was not until several minutes had passed that they were finally allowed in. Elaise looked just ready to snap at that point.

From the moment he stepped onto the castle grounds, Maximus knew that something was different. There were flowers growing everywhere, and beautiful butterflies flitted all over the place. It was very picturesque, but Elaise looked ready to murder when a few butterflies found a nice perch in her blonde hair. He slapped his hand over his mouth so that he would not laugh. It was quite the sight. She was taking deeper breaths in an effort to calm herself, and he pretended to look elsewhere.

After leaving her outside the castle for so long, insects were in her hair now. There was no way she would not be furious. She smacked the butterflies off her head once they entered the castle and Maximus dodged as they flew past him, heading back outside. The interior of the castle was strange as well. Many plants grew in pots indoors, but what was strange was the fact that there were so many paintings lining the walls, paintings of different things, from flowers, to butterflies, to faceless people. He could not help his surprise.

Just who was the Laird of clan MacMillan, and what was with his strange tastes? All that was known about them was that the Laird had died rather early, along with his wife in an unfortunate accident at sea. They left their son, who was a teenager at the time and their only relation, the responsibility of the Lairdship. Maximus had been a teenager himself when this news was the talk of the Highlands, and everyone believed then that the MacMillan clan was finished. What could a teenager possibly do, after all? However, by some miracle, while the MacMillan clan went silent, it continued to prosper.

Kurt was standing in the drawing room when the guard led them in and then bowed before leaving. Elaise already had a tic in her jaw from irritation when Kurt gave them his usual polite smile and opened his mouth to speak. She cut him off before he could speak.

“Nay, I didnae come all this way to see yer ceramic face again, Kurt Donnaben. I came here to see yer Laird! I thought that I had made it clear in my letter that this was an emergency!” she snapped, causing Kurt to raise one brow.

“If ye had been patient enough to allow him to speak, ye would have found that he was only offerin’ ye a seat while ye wait for me to get here,” a deep voice said.

Maximus turned his head so fast that his neck nearly snapped. The voice was deep enough that it rumbled in his chest, yet there was a rich and sultry quality to it. Maximus had never expected that he would use the word sultry to describe anything about a man, but that was exactly what Damien MacMillan sounded like. He had a voice that gave one the impression that he ate women’s broken hearts for dinner, and as he came into view Maximus mentally agreed that he looked the part.

Damien MacMillan, who had stayed out of the eye of the public for over a decade now, to the point where people actually started rumors that he was as ugly as an ogre, was the most handsome man that Maximus had ever set eyes on. He was tall, several inches taller than Maximus, and he was broad as well, built with rippling muscles that said that he did not just lie in bed all day. In fact, it looked like he had lived in the harsh mountains with the powerful black bears that made their home in the caves.

How was this the man who had made his entire castle look daintier than any Englishwoman could boast of? There were butterflies outside, for the love of God! Rich brown eyes glanced down at him as Damien passed him, and Maximus felt his own eyes widen at the feeling of being appraised by such a man. Damien looked like a lion, with the way that his brown hair made a mane around his head. For someone with such a presence, he sure was sloppy. His kilt was on, thankfully, but his shirt was open, revealing the well-tanned skin of his smooth chest and toned abdominal muscles. All Maximus could think was that he was a beast.

Seeming to find nothing out of place with Maximus, his eyes wandered over to Elaise. He looked her over, spotting the tic in her jaw, and an amused expression came over his face. He raised a brow at her, but said nothing. Something about the action reminded Maximus of the way that Kurt had reacted to Elaise’s outburst. The two were similar in an eerie way, considering that they were the exact opposites of each other. Kurt despite being older than them all with at least ten years, was on the short side, as Maximus was at least a head taller than him, and he was slight, blonde-haired, and had a diminutive aura. He did not let himself stand out too much, like a butler.

Once Damien stepped into the room, however; it was as though he stole all the air for himself. He leisurely made his way to the seat opposite them and sat down. As though this were normal, Kurt made himself comfortable standing behind his Laird’s seat. Maximus and Elaise were still standing, looking at the two with unhidden surprise.

“Dae by all means sit, or would ye prefer to stand?” Damien spoke again. Maximus snapped out of his surprise and sat. Elaise sat as well, although he could hear her grumble something under her breath.

“So, what is the urgent news that ye bring me?” Damien said to Elaise, but right before she spoke, he raised his hand to silence her. “Ah, my apologies, before that. I should give ye my condolences, Maximus Mackay. I heard of what befell yer clan and yer family. It is good to see that ye are alive, and I am guessin’ that ye are makin’ plans to take yer clan back?”

Maximus felt his eyes widen again, and he glanced nervously at Elaise who looked ready to beat Damien to death with the book she held in her hands.

“Ah, aye, thank ye,” Maximus said. Was Damien trying to get Elaise upset? Did he know the consequences of an annoyed Elaise? They had just begun, and the tension had already tired Maximus out.

“Ye may continue now,” Damien said to Elaise. Maximus was on the verge of eating his nails from nerves. He continued to imagine Elaise suddenly springing from her seat and gouging the eyes out from Damien’s head.

“Right… as I was goin’ to say before I was interrupted…” Elaise almost growled. Yes, she was definitely angry, and somehow, Damien looked severely amused.

“As ye ken, Donald Ross of the Ross clan recently murdered my betrothed, Alexander Mackay, and his faither, as well as half of the Mackay clan council. He took control of the clan with the help of some of the clan officials that he had secretly bribed, taking the clan down from the inside when there was no way he could have succeeded in an outright war,” Elaise began. “He was able to dae this because he recently came into possession of a certain mine in the lowlands where his father had been helpin an English man smuggle gold. After the murder of the English man, he took over, beginning his conquest. This might nae seem important, but it turns out that Donald Ross doesnae plan on stoppin’ at Mackay. He plans to unify all the clans surroundin’ his own beneath his tyrannous rule and has already begun his process, to our shock.”

At this point Elaise opened the book to the page where all the MacMillan traitors were listed and handed it to Damien who looked over it with curiosity.

“We were horrified to find that he plans to repeat what he did with Mackay with all of these clans and has already begun the process. MacMillan seems to be the next clan on his list to attack,” she said. Damien looked over the list, but his expression did not hold surprise.

“Ah, Kurt, are ye gettin’ on in age? It seems ye missed ten,” Damien said suddenly. Elaise froze, as did Maximus. Kurt seemed upset as he leaned down over his Laird’s shoulder and looked at the book. His lip curled back in displeasure; the first true emotion that Elaise or Maximus had ever seen on the man’s face. It completely changed him, his blue eyes flashing with a fearsome light.

“Pity… It seems I have failed ye, my Laird,” he said. “I will rectify this promptly.”

Maximus felt his jaw drop. The voice was completely different from what he usually used when he attended functions in Damien’s place. So, this was the true Kurt. He was not a butler. He was an assassin. Damien patted the older man’s shoulder fondly, a softness in his eyes that was not there before.

“Aye… I ken that ye will,” he said.

“What?” Elaise breathed, more in surprise than out of confusion. Damien glanced back at her and let Kurt go, the warmth which had appeared in his eyes vanishing. The older man returned to his standing position with his hands behind his back, and all of the danger Maximus had sensed from him disappeared again. Damien handed the book back to Elaise.

“Thank ye for that… Out of all the names on that list, only ten have nae… quietly found their way to our ancestors,” he said. “We needed that information to find the last few, and so we are thankful.”

Maximus could only blink in shock. He had angrily told Elaise that those men deserved to be executed and not imprisoned, but somehow facing Damien, who had assassinated them all, terrified him. How did he even find out that they were traitors? Maximus had a feeling that it had to do with Kurt. He swallowed with some difficulty as he rubbed his neck. Looking at Kurt now, he could see all the different ways that the smallish man could kill. It would be quick and over in a flash.

For some reason, he imagined that it was a knife that was the man’s weapon of choice. A small, curved blade just sharp enough to tear a clean line through any throat, leaving the victim to suffocate in their own blood. Noticing him staring, Kurt gave him a slight smile, and Maximus suddenly wanted to leave. He was right; this place was strange, and no, not in the eccentric way, in the way that was terrifying.

“I am guessin’ that ye didnae come here only to warn us out of the good of yer hearts. Ye probably want to use our clan as the battle front to avoid the fight takin’ place in either of yer clans. I agree with yer logic. Since Ross has already taken Mackay, it must be difficult to take the fight to him there, and it is nae wise to wait for him to reach Kellgan. Considering that he would need to fight a battle against me, it is wise to make use of me fight to join our forces and defeat him. I am nae against it. I approve. We will help ye in this war as thanks,” Damien said.

Maximus saw Elaise startled as the mysterious Laird broke down her entire plan in a matter of seconds. Seeing her surprise, Damien gave her a smile.

“Ah, dinnae look so shocked. I am many things, Miss Kellgan: an artist, a scholar, a warrior, a strategist, and even a good lover.” He had been serious at first, but his expression switched to a sultry smirk when he spoke the last words. Maximus was extremely uncomfortable, and Elaise’s face was red as a cherry. Her hand had gone to her sword, and in an instant, Kurt had revealed a blade from his sleeve.

It was all Maximus could do not to yelp. What had just happened? In only a moment the atmosphere had changed so much.

“Elaise…” Maximus said, putting his hand over her own to calm her down. Her pulse was racing. He felt bad for her. It was probably the first time a man had flirted with her like this, as most men were too terrified to take on such a direct tone with her. He doubted that even Alexander spoke to her like that, but then remembering the way that he had caught them at their betrothal feast, he decided that it was best not to assume since he did not know everything about his brother. The smart types always had completely different personalities in the bedroom.

Damien laughed heartily, breaking the tension in the air. Elaise removed her hand from her sword, and Kurt followed, the blade disappearing into his sleeve again. Maximus watched as he flicked Damien’s ear, causing the large man to flinch in pain.

“Ow! I ken that was inappropriate,” Damien said, looking up at Kurt who only sniffed and shunned him, looking away.

“And yet ye did it,” he said.

Maximus could not keep up at all. This was yet another side of Kurt that he was seeing, and he was not sure what to make of it.

“I am sorry, Kurt… Forgive me, Kurt… Come on, Kurt…” he whined.

What was going on?!

“Fine, apologize to the lass,” Kurt said.

“I am sorry. I shouldnae have teased ye like that. Ye just lost yer betrothed. I should have been more sensitive,” Damien said to Elaise. She grudgingly nodded.

“If ye want, ye can attempt to take me life under the guise of a spar later… I would very much like to see ye fight,” he added.

Elaise glared at him. “Ye will see me fight on the battlefield. I am nae interested in sparrin’,” she said.

Damien threw his hands up in surrender as Elaise’s eyes flashed. Maximus was not sure what to make of the man at all. He was too much of a mystery; and quite frankly, he was not the kind of mystery that Maximus was interested in befriending and trying to unravel. Was he curious? Sure. He had many questions, like why did Damien avoid the public eye? Although it seemed as though he were just too lazy and did not care to show up. How did Damien take care of his clan when he was so young? Why were there so many butterflies, and what was with the paintings?

Despite having so many questions, Maximus was not ready to ask any of them. He did not want to get involved. Seeming to know what he was thinking, Damien gave him a grin as he met his eyes.

“Ye ken, just for free, I am goin’ to give ye both some information. I heard from me spies that there is a young woman currently held prisoner in Mackay because she allowed Maximus into her bed. I am guessin’ that she is yer lover, given that ye went to see her even in these circumstances,” Damien said.

Rosallyn…

He nodded his head to affirm Damien’s speculation.

“Well, this is being rushed so that nay one could interfere, but she is goin’ to be executed tomorrow at noon,” Damien finished.

Maximus felt his blood run cold at the thought. Rosallyn being executed? He knew that Donald was a snake and would probably imprison her and try something funny like that, but to do so this quickly… He took deep breaths so that he would not panic. Where were they? They were all the way in Macmillan which was the opposite way from Kellgan. To reach Macmillan they had needed to cut around both the Mackay and Ross clans. It was quite the long journey. Would they be able to make it back to Mackay before noon the next day to stop the execution?

Elaise placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, drawing him from his troubled thoughts. He turned to look at her, and she gave him a confident nod. They could do it, her eyes seemed to say.

Yes, Elaise was right. He could do this. It did not matter the difficulty or how much distance was between them. Maximus had lost too much already, and he was not going to lose Rosallyn too.