When she spoke, her words emerged with a certainty that even an hour ago she hadn’t felt. "I ken exactly who I am. I’ve always been proud to be William Drummond's daughter. But I'm also Callum Mackinnon's wife, and I'm nae less proud of that."
Her father's lips drew back from his teeth in a snarl. "You'll soon forget this miserable worm when he’s planted ten feet deep in the ground."
"Never!" she said.
"We'll see about that," her father said, lurching toward Callum.
"Mackinnon, watch out!" one of the Mackinnon men cried, as Callum jumped to the side and grabbed up a tall candlestick to defend himself. The rest of the Drummonds stepped back to give their chieftain room.
"Have a thought to what you’re doing, man," he said, still sounding calm. "Ye break every rule of chivalry if you kill me."
"I don’t give a rat’s arse for chivalry," her father said, lunging after his enemy once more. This time, the blade barely missed its target. "Ye stole my bairn away. Now you’ll pay."
On a jagged scream, Mhairi flung herself between the two men. "Da, dinnae hurt him. I beg ye. He came here tonight in good faith."
"God’s wounds, Mhairi, get out of the blasted way," her father growled. "You'll get hurt."
She stood her ground, shaking but immovable. "If ye want to stab him, you'll have to stab me first."
Callum's hand fell on her shoulder. "Step aside, mo chridhe. I willnae have ye injured."
She turned her desperate gaze up to him, standing just behind her. Only at that moment did she realize that her face was drenched in tears. "Dinnae be a fool, Callum. If I shift, he’ll kill ye."
Callum looked across at her father. "Send my men home safely."
"Ye have my word, Mackinnon."
"Your word is worth nothing," Mhairi snapped. "I’m fair shamed to call myself a Drummond."
"Whisht, girl," her father hissed.
“I willnae be quiet!”
Her father ignored her. "Your men can carry your body back, Mackinnon."
"No! Dinnae kill him, Da." Mhairi backed closer to Callum. Her belligerence drained away, and her voice emerged cracked with anguish. "If ye kill him, I cannae go on. I love him. I love him, Da. If ye kill him, you may as well kill me as well."
"Mhairi, ye…" Callum no longer sounded composed and prepared for his fate. He sounded stricken and at a loss, although surely he must already know she loved him.
She couldn't risk shifting her gaze from her father. The power of her eyes alone stopped him from slaughtering her husband.
A thorny silence crashed down, and her father lowered his sword as he turned to her. "How can ye love this bastard?"
He sounded baffled rather than angry. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her kinsmen regarding her in disbelieving horror.
"How could I no’? If ye knew him, you'd understand." She raised a shaking hand to wipe her tears away. Her voice turned pleading. "Da, I beg of ye, if you love me at all, dinnae kill the man I chose as my husband, the man I hope will be the father of my children. Please, Da. You've always been so good to me. Will ye break my heart now?"
"I'm here to rescue ye, child," he said, still sounding bewildered.
A choked laugh escaped her. "I dinnae need rescuing, Da. Instead, I need the two men I love to make friends."
At last she turned away from her father. Unable to bear standing so close to Callum without touching him, she threw her arms around him and clutched him close. When his arm curled around her, strong and reassuring, she buried her head in his side and sobbed like the world was ending.
Chapter 27
Callum tenderly embraced the woman who risked so much for his sake and settled an unwavering stare on the Drummond. As he watched his distraught daughter in the arms of his enemy, the old man look tired and drawn and devastated.
Every Drummond eye in the tent focused on Mhairi with a mixture of amazement and disapproval. The only sound was the patter of rain on the canvas and Mhairi's desperate w