Octavian groaned, for Syd had reached her breaking point and was going to get them back in serious trouble if she did not walk away now. But now the MacGregors and the Armstrongs blocked their way when he attempted to escort her back inside the inn.
He really did not want to start throwing punches, for the odds were now even more against him. Since these Scots would not allow them to leave, Octavian saw no other alternative to mitigate the situation. “Syd, will you marry me again?”
“What?”
He took both of her hands in his. “MacGregor did not have a bad idea. Our ceremony was nothing you had ever dreamed of or deserve. So, marry me again.”
“A second ceremony? But that will not change anything.”
“I’ve told you before, I would marry you a thousand times over. I mean to prove it.”
She sank against his chest and burst into tears.
That sobered all the men fast.
Apparently, he was not the only one left helpless by a woman’s tears.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Oh, Syd. I’m sorry I left you even for a moment.”
“It wasn’t your fault. But I didn’t know what else to do when I saw them grabbing that young girl and she cried out for help, but no one else stopped to help her. I could not just leave her to their mercy.”
“Hush, love.” When he turned again, he realized the crowd had doubled. There were now a dozen women gathered around them. “She’s the one who saved me,” an equally tearful, young woman said, pointing to Syd. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back to ye, but the oafs drinking at the inn would no’ listen to me or lift a finger to come to yer rescue when I turned to them for help.”
“Shameful,” an older woman beside her said.
“And then I tried to find my grandmother.” She motioned to the woman beside her. “Did they harm ye, missus? We’ll see them hanged if they did.”
None of the men were laughing now.
An older gentleman pushed his way through the crowd. Octavian realized this was the MacGregor laird.TheMacGregor, for there was no denying his commanding air of authority. He turned in anger toward the two men Syd had managed to injure. “What is going on here? Was this more than having a little sport with a Sassenach lass? Did ye assault the Campbell girl?”
The two men cast their eyes down.
MacGregor began to pace in front of his men. “Of all the stupid, reckless, idiotic…I have no’ the words to sufficiently describe how disappointing and reprehensible yer behavior…dear heaven, aCampbelllass? Have I raised two idiot sons? A plague on both of ye!” He looked up at the sky. “Take me now! Strike me down with a lightning bolt so I need no longer endure this shame!”
Of course, the skies were clear and no bolt was going to come down out of the blue and roast him. After a moment, the MacGregor laird sighed in dismay and turned to the elegant woman who had to be the Campbell girl’s grandmother. In truth, she appeared to be the respected matriarch of the entire Campbell clan. “I shall make this right, Lady Campbell. What will ye ask of us?”
The matriarch came over to Syd and lovingly stroked her hair. “Tell me what happened to ye after ye saved my granddaughter.”
Syd wiped her tears and turned to the woman. “I hit them, and was berating them when the other MacGregors arrived. Then a moment later my husband arrived to save me. Then the Armstrongs arrived to savehimbecause they saw he was outnumbered.”
“So, these MacGregor lads did not manage to lay a hand on you?”
“No, ma’am, but it wasn’t from want of trying.”
The old woman sighed, and then turned to the MacGregor laird. “Yer sons are fortunate the girl was able to fight back. But for this egregious misdeed, I’ll take ten of yer merino sheep.”
Syd’s eyes widened. “You have–”
Octavian tightened his arms around her. “Hush, Syd. Let’s see how this plays out.”
He felt her excitement as he held her against his chest, the quickening beat of her heart because of those blasted sheep. Never mind that two oafs attempted to accost her and might have hurt her when she ran to the rescue of the Campbell girl.
MacGregor let out a howl. “Och, no! Not my blessed sheep! Ask anything else of me. Ye have enough of yer own merino sheep. Ye dinna need mine.”
“Will ye already go back on yer word?” the old woman remarked. “I see now where yer sons learned their reprehensible–”
“Och, dinna start on me. Ye’ll get them, Lady Campbell. Ye know I am a man of my word.” The concession obviously pained MacGregor. It was obvious to Octavian that the laird would have preferred to give up a limb rather than those precious animals. It seemed the crusty, old farmer in Greenock was not the only Scot who had stolen them out of Spain.
