The Ranger (Time Masters Book 5), page 37
“I wasn’t teasing Maida. I was teasing both of ‘em!”
Pa looked at Grandpa and shook his head. Everyone in town knew Wilfred was a hopeless romantic. “Checkers?” Pa asked Grandpa. “This might take a while.”
Maida smiled at him then went to the rack of ready-made clothes. The wedding dress was still there, and that’s when she realized, Markhel shouldn’t see it. Oh no!
“Go outside,” she blurted, blocking his view of the dress with her body.
He cocked his head.
“It’s customary for the groom, that’s you,” she pointed at him. “Not to see my dress or me in it, until the wedding.”
Markhel smiled. “I understand.” He gave her a small bow. “I will wait outside.”
“You can do me a favor then,” Mrs. Dunnigan said. “I’ve got a couple of cakes that need to go out to the ranch, and Mary’s got seven, no, wait, make that a half a dozen pies baked for tonight. If she and Paddy are going to ride out with us, that’s too much food to have to wrangle in the buggy. Can you take the cakes and pies home with you?”
Grandpa waved at her from the checker table. “Sure, Irene.”
“Good.” She picked up her trusty cast iron ladle and pointed it at Markhel. “Don’t just stand there, go fetch them pies. Take Duncan with you.”
“What?” Duncan looked around then sighed. “Fine, I’ll help.” He headed for the mercantile doors.
Maida giggled. She hadn’t seen Mrs. Dunnigan brandish her ladle at anyone for some time.
“Take your time, in case Maida needs to try something on.” Mrs. Dunnigan said.
“Maybe we all ought to go,” Pa suggested.
“What about our game?” Grandpa complained.
“I’ll take his place.” Wilfred came around the counter and shooed Pa from his chair.
“You don’t all have to go,” Maida said.
“That’s all right, darlin’,” Pa said. “There’s a few things I’d like to talk about with Markhel here.” He smiled at him. “Shall we?” Pa motioned Markhel toward the door.
He looked at Maida. “We will not be long.”
“That’s okay, I can try on more than one dress.”
He smiled, then left the mercantile with Pa and Duncan.
“Get to it, sweet pea,” Grandpa said. “It doesn’t take long for me to whip Wilfred.”
“Hey!” Wilfred looked at the board and jumped two of Grandpa’s pieces.
“What the bloody…? Gah!”
Maida laughed, pulled the wedding gown from the rack, then headed for the storeroom in the back where there was a changing screen. She couldn’t wait for Markhel to see her in her dress. On their wedding day. Whenever that was.
“You came for me pies?” Mary Mulligan clapped her hands and smiled. “That’s mighty kind of you. And saves me a heap of trouble. For one, it’s all I can do to keep Paddy away from them.”
Paddy, who was sitting in a chair by a window, lowered the book in his hands. “I’ll have ye know I’ve practiced great restraint!”
“Ye ate a whole pie last night!” she shot back.
“I meant for today.” He got back to his book.
Duncan laughed, and so did his father.
Markhel smiled. Major hadn’t said anything to him yet, but he could guess what he wanted to talk about. Maida, and how often would they get to see her? It was a good question, but until they were joined, and he spoke to the king, he didn’t have enough information to give Major a satisfactory answer.
Mary disappeared into the Mulligans’ small kitchen. She brought two pies out, set them on the dining table, then retreated to the kitchen to get more.
“I’ll help,” Duncan said and followed.
Markhel noticed Major seemed to be looking at anything but him.
“Feeling better, Markhel?” Paddy asked, his nose still in his book.
“I am.”
“And how long will that last?” Major asked. “What happens when this is over?”
He straightened to his full height. “I will take Maida to the Muiraran palace, and we will be presented to the king and queen as a newly joined couple.”
“And?” Major prompted.
Duncan emerged from the kitchen with two pies. He took one look at his father’s stern expression and headed straight for the door. “I’ll take these to the wagon then come back for the rest. I’m not getting in the middle of the two of you.” He balanced a pie on his arm next to the one in his hand, opened the door and left.
“Major, go easy on the lad,” Paddy said. “He’s going to be yer son-in-law whether ye like it or not.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it,” Major said. “It’s…” He heaved a sigh. “Not exactly what I envisioned for Maida.”
Markhel took in the man’s frustrated expression. “You crave stability.”
He turned to him. “Who doesn’t?”
“She will be well taken care of.”
“But will we see her?” Major eyes were intense, but Markhel could feel his growing grief. “I will do what I can.”
“I hope so.”
Mary brought the last two pies out. “Here you go.”
Major took them from her. “Thank you, Mary.” He turned to Paddy as Markhel picked up the two remaining pies. “We’ll see you tonight.”
“Oh, aye.” Paddy turned a page. “And see that ye keep Harrison and Colin away from those pies until then.”
Major smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.” He looked at Markhel and his smile faded.
Markhel fought a sigh. He couldn’t expect Maida’s family to warm up to him all at once. It was going to take some time.
They carried the pies downstairs and up the hall when Markhel stopped up short.
Major almost bumped into him. “What is it?” he asked, not hiding the annoyance in his voice.
He stepped aside, so he could see what was before them.
“Duncan!”
Duncan stood, a man on each side of him with a gun to his temple. There was no sign of the pies he carried. Someone must have taken them.
The distinct sound of a gun being cocked behind him made his heart skip.
“Put down the pies,” came a gruff voice.
Markhel recognized the men holding Duncan, not to mention the voice behind him. They were the six cowhands that rode into the canyon. The same six that, in their own way, tried to console him with whiskey a few nights ago. “What do you want?”
John Bolger walked past Major, his pies in his hands, and tossed his head at Duncan. “Him.” He nodded to the men on either side of Major’s son. One of them pistol whipped the lad, who dropped like a stone. The two dragged him outside.
“Now I know what you’re thinkin’,” John drawled. He sniffed at a pie, then passed them off to one of his brothers. “The sheriff, he’ll save him!” He waved both hands for effect. “But your sheriff and deputies are busy collecting prizes for your little town dance. I hear tell there’s a cake walk. So, if you don’t make a fuss, we’re gonna borrow this boy, and if all goes well, return him to you in plenty of time for your party.”
Markhel frowned. “Borrow?”
John smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”
A man Markhel did not recognize, ran into the saloon. “We took care of the other one.” He rubbed the back of his head. “That old man in the mercantile gave us a lot of trouble, but since there’s so many of us, we managed to lock him and his wife in the storeroom.”
Major seethed. “What are you doing? Release my boy!”
Another gun was pointed at his head.
John tsked, tsked. “We said we’d return him.”
The man that locked the Dunnigans in their storeroom gave John a funny look. “Time to get out of here.” He sneered at Markhel and Major. “Cause a lick of trouble, and they won’t be coming back. Understand?”
“They?” Markhel ground out. His heart searched, but his hunger was overriding his ability to sense if Maida was okay. They weren’t joined yet and hadn’t established a good connection from his heart to hers.
This made him seethe.
“Ah, ah, ah…” John waved a finger at him. “Don’t try to interfere big man.”
“Yeah, don’t interfere!” one of his brothers spat. It was the man Markhel had punched in the face. He sported a black eye.
“Move away from each other.” John ordered. “And hand my brother those pies.”
Markhel did as he said, his eyes flicking to the window. They already had Duncan slung over a horse. The street was filling with men, and his heart began to pound erratically. His inner heart. What if they had Maida?
He growled low in his throat. If he attacked, they’d shoot Major, plain and simple. If he himself were shot, he could recover in time. But not Maida’s father.
The men backed out of the saloon; guns still pointed at them. “Don’t follow us,” John said. “If you do, we can’t guarantee they’ll be brought back in once piece, if brought back at all.” He ran outside as two of them rode off with Duncan, while someone else began to bark orders at John and his cohorts.
Markhel headed for the doors. Major followed. There was a commotion as two men fought to get Maida on a horse. Markhel was about to lunge when Major grabbed him by the arm. “Don’t! They’ve got Harrison!”
Across the street, two men had guns pointed at Harrison’s head.
Markhel cursed in Muiraran.
“I don’t think they want to harm her,” Major said. “But they will harm Harrison.”
Markhel studied the men, noting where each horse and rider were, and the ones that hadn’t mounted their horses yet. The men holding Maida managed to get her on the horse. One tied her hands to the saddle horn while another mounted up behind her.
She looked in horror at Harrison. “Grandpa!” She then spotted them. “Markhel!”
For a moment his heart stopped at the sound of her voice. “Maida…”
She pulled at her bonds as her captor kicked his horse and headed their way. “Make sure none of these gentlemen follow us,” he shouted.
Maida cried out, probably realizing the gravity of the situation. Her captor clamped a hand over her mouth. She bit him, hard.
“Ouch!” He tried again as he carried her off. And that’s when she looked at Markhel, bit her captor again, and yelled, “Feed!”
He knew he had only minutes to work with. He turned to what men remained. The surly group looked like they’d like nothing more than to make sport of Harrison and Major. And of course, him. Especially him.
“I’m looking forward to this!” Mick, the one with the black eye said. He pushed up his sleeves.
“Now see here!” Harrison protested. “There’s more than twenty of you and only three of us! Those are not very sporting odds.”
“At least we ain’t gonna shoot ya!” one of them chortled.
They shoved Harrison into the street. It wasn’t long before Paddy came running out of the salon—right into several gun barrels. He put his hands up, looked at Markhel, and sighed in relief. “Well, lad, seems like you’re in luck.”
Markhel growled, bared his teeth, then hissed like panther.
“That’s a good lad. Up for a scrape?”
“Paddy, what are you doing?” Harrison screeched from the street.
Paddy smiled. “Ye’ll see.” He grinned like a loon. “Markhel, lad. Are ye hungry?”
Markhel reached for the nearest thing, one of the saloon’s porch posts. He pulled it free with a single yank then gave it a twirl.
Those closest to him, blanched. Every eye was on him now. Half the men backed up. This put two of the Bolger brothers at the forefront of the group. Alone.
“Uh, John?” Mick said.
John gulped. “Yeah?”
Mick hunched his shoulders and cringed. “Maybe we shoulda thought this through.”
John gave him the side-eye. “I think it’s a little late for that Mick.”
Major was still gawking at Markhel as Paddy laughed. “Ye got that right!” He narrowed his eyes at the large group as Harrison wisely slipped into the sheriff’s office. “Go ahead Markhel,” Paddy called. “Enjoy yer meal.”
Markhel roared, and lunged.
34
Maida should have been scared but she wasn’t. Instead, she was angry.
She pulled at her bonds, trying to free herself, but they were too tight. She kept looking around as the horse cantered across the prairie. There were several other riders flanking her captor’s horse. She didn’t know who they were, what they wanted, or why there were so many of them. At least ten men filed into the mercantile, pointed guns at everyone, then proceeded to shove the Dunnigans into the back room. They locked them in the small storeroom Mrs. Dunnigan used as a fitting room, then took Grandpa and her outside. They said if she did anything stupid, they’d shoot him. The Wallers were at the ranch, as were the Van Cleets. She had no idea if the Drakes were in town; they might be out checking on folks. If Sheriff Tom was on rounds or out collecting prizes for the calk walk, then they were doomed. It was one of the problems with living in such a small town. There might not be anyone around when you needed them.
They approached the tree line and no sign of anyone coming after them. By the time Sheriff Tom got back into town and formed a posse, would it be too late? But Markhel would come for her. She knew it. But first he’d have to feed. She knew that too, and considering the situation, she didn’t mind one bit. But how long would it take him to find her?
The riders reached the tree line and rode into the woods. She tried twisting in the saddle to look behind them, but her captor pinned her against him. “You’ll stay quiet if you know what’s good for you,” he warned.
She gulped as the first trickle of fear returned. She’d been afraid when they took her, then angry that they were taking her from Markhel. But now... she wasn’t sure what to think or feel.
Then she sensed something. “What is that?”
Her captor clapped a hand over her mouth. “I said be quiet.”
She nodded and shut up. A chill went up her spine, and she began to scan the woods surrounding them. There were no sounds of birds or other wildlife. How strange.
They rode for several more minutes until they reached a small clearing. Maida’s jaw dropped despite the hand over her mouth. Seated at a table covered with a white linen tablecloth was a well-dressed man and woman. The latter was a blue-eyed blonde, beautiful, and was sipping from a gold rimmed teacup. The man was also well-dressed and handsome. He had dark eyes, dark blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He put down his teacup and got to his feet.
“Ah, our other guest has arrived. Lissa, will you join me in greeting her?”
The woman nodded as the man went to the back of her chair, and as any gentleman would, helped her from it.
They were a handsome couple, regal in bearing, and judging from their actions, well versed in the social graces. But there was something about the man that made her back go stiff and her insides quiver.
“Untie her,” he ordered.
Her captor dismounted and cut her bonds. That done he pulled off the saddle and pushed her at two men who, quick to take hold of her, stood her before the couple.
The man looked her over. “Lissa?”
Maida caught his accent. “You’re British,” she said without thinking.
One of the men holding her put a hand over her mouth. This again? She tried not to roll her eyes and fought the urge to bite him.
The woman looked her over, closed her eyes a moment, then tilted her head. “She is Muiraran.”
Maida’s eyes widened. “They knew about Muirarans?!”
“Is she a pure blood?”
Lissa—or whatever her name was—opened her eyes. “I do not think so. Best to test her.”
The Englishman pursed his lips. “Hmmm, she doesn’t look like either of us. But she does look like him.” He tossed his head at something behind them. Maida looked, saw Duncan bound hand and foot on the ground, and screamed into the man’s hand. “Duncan!”
“Your brother, I presume?” the Englishman asked.
She bit the hand of the man holding her.
“OW!” He shook his hand out. “Why you little...”
The Englishman moved so fast Maida didn’t have time to blink. He grabbed the man by the arm and forced him to the ground. “Do not touch what it mine. Is that understood?”
The man cringed. “Yes, sir, Mr. Brennan.”
“Philip, release him. He is ignorant.”
Maida’s eyes widened at the sound of the woman’s voice. It was beautiful. “Who are you?”
The Englishman, or Mr. Brennan, smiled. “That depends on who you are.” He grabbed her by the arm and roughly pulled her to the table. He then shoved her into a chair and pushed her face to the table.
Maida let out a yelp of protest as he fiddled with something behind her, then placed a rectangular object to the back of her neck. It jabbed her, and she let out another yelp.
“Philip,” Lissa said. “You can be gentle.”
“We’ve no time, my love.” He held Maida down, the thing on her neck beeping twice, then once.
“Hmmm, most interesting.” He pulled the rectangular object from her neck but kept her pinned. She sensed he was incredibly strong and didn’t want to anger him, so she went perfectly still.
“I’m afraid, my love, that she is not ours.”
“Nor is the young man. Pity.”
Maida heard the sadness in her voice.
“The boy doesn’t register much Muiraran blood. But this one,” he pressed a little harder on her back. “She’s very different. It must have skipped a generation. She’s half at least, but a powerful half.”
“Mm,” was all the woman said.
Brennan, or whatever his name was, yanked Maida to a sitting position, then pulled her out of the chair. “Who are you?”
Her eyes flicked between them a few times. If she stalled long enough, it would give Markhel and any help he rounded up, more time to get there. “M-Maida Comfort.”
Brennan looked her over, then closed his eyes. He breathed in a lungful of air, his head tilted to the side as she’d seen the woman do earlier. “You are... sweet. Gentle. Hmmm, a tasty morsel if I ever saw one.” His eyes opened. “But what to do with you?”
