Free Devil in a Kilt by Devil in a Kilt

clansmen would have dared.
    She'd
brought the lad before him, into his hall, and chosen a time when he could do
naught about it. Not with the priest sitting to his right and his men watching
his every move.
    ‘Twas
no secret what they thought of his behavior toward the child, scarce little
they cared his heart had been wrenched from his chest and trod upon, ground
into the dirt.
    Duncan's
blood ran hot and cold as he searched the shadows, trying hard to catch a
glimpse of his bride and the lad he'd once thought his son.
    Dread
filled him as he anticipated the moment his gaze would fall upon them. Yet deep
inside, anticipation made his heart pump ever faster whilst anger at his own
weakness pulled his brows together in a fierce grimace.
    His
new wife best be thankful for her sex. Were she a man, he'd flay her within an
inch of her life for such flagrant disregard of his orders. Not a soul under
his roof would've attempted such an affront.
    He
felt Marmaduke grip his arm and heard him speaking to him, but he couldn't make
sense of the words. His head pounded, and the blood rushing through his veins
turned all sound into an unintelligible buzz.
    All
except the one word that caused him so much pain and cut straight through his
defenses as if they were naught but butter.
    Robbie,
Robbie, Robbie ... the name echoed around the cavernous hall,
bouncing off the stone walls, reverberating in his ears until he feared his
head would burst asunder.
    If
only he could see better, but the haze from the hearth fires and wall torches
filled the vaulted chamber, blurring his vision, making it hard for him to spot
them.
    Not
that he wanted to.
    Still,
may God have mercy on him, his traitorous gaze searched the darkness. It'd been
nigh onto two years since he'd closely looked upon the boy, truly seen him.
    Breaking
away from Marmaduke's iron grasp, Duncan pushed back from the table and stood.
He leaned forward, planting his hands firmly on the table to keep from sinking
back into his chair... a humbling possibility considering the way his knees
threatened to buckle on him.
    With
the last reserves of his willpower, he forced his legs to cease trembling while
he scanned the crowded hall.
    Then,
of a sudden, the murky air seemed to clear, and he located his wife almost
immediately. Her unbound hair, shining brighter than the most brilliant flame,
gave her away. His first squire stood next to her, and he, too, resembled a
flame, but ‘twas his face what glowed, not his hair.
    Aye,
Lachlan knew well his master would be mightily displeased.
    And
his contrition was well justified. But Lachlan's punishment would be dealt
later. At the moment, he cared naught about his squire and less about his new
lady wife.
    His
entire attention focused on the small boy she held by the hand.
    Taller
and sturdier than the chubby bairn Duncan used to bounce on his knee, Robbie'd
grown into a handsome lad. Someone had draped a child-sized plaid in the
green-and-blue MacKenzie colors over his left shoulder, tucking it in place
under a finely tooled and obviously new leather belt.
    A
belt he should have fashioned.
    Duncan
blinked back the stinging sensation in his eyes as he stared at the beautifully
crafted belt. The last thing he'd made for Robbie was a toy sword he'd carved
from wood for the lad's fourth birthday.
    He
could still recall the look of wonder on Robbie's face when he'd given it to
him.
    It
seemed like a hundred years had passed since then.
    Without
warning, a red-hot throbbing started in the back of Duncan's neck then spread
lower to grip his chest in a stranglehold that fair squeezed the breath out of
his lungs.
    The
longer he stared at the boy, the more painful the tightness became, but he
couldn't tear his gaze away.
    At
six, Robbie looked every bit a miniature version of a fine MacKenzie warrior.
‘Twas no denying the clansblood ran thick and proud through his veins. Even
from across the hall, it was plain to see the lad bore a sharp likeness