He had to find out for certain.

***

Haldane MacKay rode north across the moor as if the devil himself chased him. Although Dirk MacKay was not half as fearsome as a devil, he had a large force of men with him. More than Haldane had. That was why he hadn’t succeeded in his mission.

He hungered for revenge so badly he could hardly sleep at night. That bastard, Dirk, had murdered his mother, and then taken the castle and chiefdom from his brother. Aiden no longer wanted to be chief, so Haldane would take the responsibility off his hands. ’Twas what his mother and father would’ve wanted.

He would not rest until Dirk was dead.

Glancing back through the dawn light, Haldane saw only six of his men following. Donald McMurdo was right behind him. Gil and Finlay followed, along with the others. Two were missing. They must have been injured badly or killed.

Haldane paused, allowing the others to catch up.

“Where are MacLeod and Quinn?” he asked McMurdo.

“Nolan MacLeod got into the tent while I was trying to kill Dirk. When he noticed Nolan making off with his woman, he chased after him. That gave me a chance to get the hell out of there.”

“You didn’t kill Dirk. Furthermore, you ran instead of helping MacLeod. I thought you were an assassin.”

McMurdo spat on the ground and narrowed his dark eyes, looking as mean as ever. But Haldane was less than impressed with him at the moment.

“That bastard Dirk is big and a fearsome fighter. I doubt you could take him down, laddie,” McMurdo said with a smirk. “I’d wager Nolan MacLeod is a dead man about now. Dirk didn’t want his woman messed with. If you think I’m risking my life for that MacLeod whoreson, you’re wrong.”

“Never mind him,” Haldane snapped. He was no closer to achieving his objective than he had been yesterday, and now he was minus two men. “What about Dirk? ’Tis your job to kill him if you want payment.”

“Aye. I’ll kill him.” McMurdo nodded confidently. “We’ll catch up to them afore long. They’ll be out in the open and exposed for many more miles now.”

“I don’t want to follow too closely,” Haldane muttered, still annoyed that McMurdo hadn’t done what he’d promised. But Haldane couldn’t kick McMurdo out of the group. He was more experienced than any of them. He’d taught them things over the past few months. And he was the one who could most easily kill Dirk, given his experience. “I’ve lost two more men. Only seven of us left now. Dirk has almost two dozen.”

“Aye, but we ken well how to be canny and wily. Nobody said we had to fight fair.”

Haldane nodded. “I like it.” He couldn’t wait to see what kind of crafty ideas McMurdo had in mind. The old highwayman had lived this long somehow, despite a life of crime. Haldane wanted to be like him, wanted to learn everything he could from him.

“I say we head south again,” McMurdo said. “Once the sun burns off the fog, one of the lads can climb the hill just north of their camp to see if the MacKay party has packed up and left. I’m thinking they’ll head out with all haste because of the ladies.”

The ladies. Aye. Haldane pictured Lady Seona and her lovely dark blue eyes. If only he could’ve lopped off Keegan’s head, he would’ve had Seona. She’d make a fine wife and lady of Dunnakeil.

Nolan had told him ’twas a long way to Teasairg Castle, where the MacKay party was likely headed. Lady Isobel had grown up there. Haldane and his men would have plenty of opportunities to attack them again. Next time, they’d use a different, more successful strategy.

“I agree. We head south.” Haldane glanced at the six men waiting around him, then kicked his horse into a trot.

Something jangled behind him as it fell to the ground. Sounded like a purse of coins. He stopped and turned to see McMurdo dismounting. He grabbed a leather purse from the ground and shoved it into his ragged doublet.

“What is that?” Haldane demanded, riding back.

McMurdo’s eyes narrowed and, for a second, he looked ready to run Haldane through. The man was intimidating, but Haldane held the upper hand; he possessed the thing McMurdo wanted most, including gold. The burial tomb in the church.

“Is that gold coins?” Haldane asked.

McMurdo let out a resigned breath. “Gold and silver,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Where did you get it?”

“I found it in Dirk MacKay’s tent after he followed MacLeod.”

“Let me see.” Haldane held out his hand. “Any MacKay money is my money, in truth, for I’m the rightful heir to the chiefdom and barony.”

McMurdo glared, his lip twitching in a near snarl, but he handed over the leather pouch. ’Twas heavy and it filled Haldane’s palm. He pulled open the drawstring to find it full of gold and silver coins. “Saints! ’Tis a fortune.”

McMurdo nodded. “Just a little more than I paid for my burial place in the church.”

“Since you turned this over to me, you will still have your beloved tomb. We can use this to hire mercenaries. With more men, we’ll be able to take down Dirk and anyone else who gets in our way.”

“’Tis a brilliant plan. If you can find skilled mercenaries. Not too many of them in the wilds of the Highlands,” McMurdo muttered.

“I’ll find men desperate for work. Have no worries.”

McMurdo shrugged and mounted.

Haldane was well aware McMurdo would’ve kept the money a secret, but he had to admit the old man was incredibly lucky and canny to have found it. Now, they but had to catch up to Dirk and his party again. A new plan was forming in his mind.

Chapter Seven

The MacKay party moved south as quickly as they could without overtiring the horses. Although Keegan was tired and his arse numb, Seona had to be feeling a hundred times worse from the effects of their long journey. They needed to put a lot of ground between themselves and the outlaws and arrive at Teasairg Castle as soon as possible. The only problem was few castles existed in the many miles between Munrick and Teasairg. The MacLeods and the MacKenzies each held substantial amounts of land.

Midafternoon, ominous black clouds crept over the mountains from the west and the breeze picked up.

Dirk glanced back at Keegan. “The sky is looking a wee unfriendly, cousin.”

“Aye. ’Haps we can make it to those cliffs ahead before the worst of it hits. That might block most of the wind.”

Dirk nodded and called out, “Quicken your pace! Gale storm coming.”

The riders kicked their horses into faster trots and gallops. The cliffs looked deceptively close because of their massive size. By the time they neared the cliffs, the sky overhead was black. The fierce wind flung a few raindrops sideways and almost pushed their mounts off the narrow trail. Thankfully, the horses were accustomed to unexpected gales and didn’t get overly spooked by the storm.

The drops stung Keegan’s face but he ignored them, trying to ride closer to Seona where she was hunched in the saddle, the wind whipping her plaid wool arisaid. He’d noticed before ’twas a high quality tight weave that would keep most of the moisture out.

One of the lead horses reared, drawing Keegan’s attention to the herd of red deer that tore out and fled by the cliffs.

Within moments, the deer had disappeared from sight. Keegan turned his attention back to Seona, but her black mare had become unruly, tossing her head about, then she bolted off the trail and across the moor.

“Saints,” Keegan hissed, kicking his horse into a gallop and following her over the uneven terrain. He prayed she would hold on. After a shouted command at the horse, she hadn’t uttered another sound that he could hear above the brutal wind. He was proud to see she leaned low over the horse’s neck and held the reins tight.