the chieftains curse by frances housden - chapter sampler

7/22/2019 The Chieftains Curse by Frances Housden - Chapter Sampler

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2/18

THE

CHIEFTAINS

Curse

FRANCES HOUSDEN


3/18

DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?If you did, you should be aware it is stolen propertyas it was

reported unsold and destroyed by a retailer.Neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment

for this book.

First Published 2013First Australian Paperback Edition 2013ISBN 978 174356482 0

THE CHIEFTAINS CURSE 2013 by Frances HousdenPhilippine Copyright 2013

Australian Copyright 2013New Zealand Copyright 2013

Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in wholeor in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now knownor hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or inany information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permissionof the publisher, Harlequin Mira, Locked Bag 7002, Chatswood D.C. N.S.W.,Australia 2067.

This book is sold subject to the condition that shall not, by way of trade orotherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the priorconsent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in whichit is published and without a similar condition including this condition beingimposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in anyform. This edition is published in arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A..

This is a work of ction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either theproduct of the authors imagination or are used ctitiously, and any resemblance

to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales isentirely coincidental.

Published byHarlequin MiraAn imprint of Harlequin Enterprises (Aust) Pty Ltd.Level 4, 132 Arthur StreetNORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060AUSTRALIA

and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its corporateafliates. Trademarks indicated with are registered in Australia, New Zealand,the United States Patent & Trademark Ofce and in other countries.

Printed and bound in Australia by Grifn Press


4/18

PROLOGUE

Yearof ourLord 1069

The Abbot as rvr lling Mrg didin dugrwuld g ll. H rg ll r ll ly nly w

mil rm r r ll, nd r w in middl i,

wi dir ling drd wiing in r lly.

Sy r run?

T l w vr, y, u n wr i pc.

Arund r, ld rm dd nd dying pd in

muddy, curnd r, giving cn lik irn. I rmindd

r mr-clurd wr in urn wr likd

. S wuld nvr l g r nw wiu rmm-

ring i crng.

Trug glming, ul rnk wi dpir id lik

wri, iln, lily mng driu wr. Onc

cvngr d fnid ir grum dnc, r wuld ncvr l r lin, nug u rud wily gring

drkn n dg Nrumrin r.

Tn i wuld wlv urn. Rl liv wlv, unlik

r r mn--rm, w ug undr nm

i i wr in ru they w wr Brn Frqur Wldl


5/18

12 THE CHIEFTAINS CURSE

Taking shallow breaths to damp the stench o blood and other

scents invading her throat, Morag bent to roll another inert war-

rior onto his back. Still no sign o her brother Gavyn.

The Black Wol s eldest whelp had allen.Morag had watched him rom behind the shelter o clumped

bracken nearby. Her limbs trembling, shed hidden, earul o

discovery. Biting her lower lip till it bled had helped stie her

scream as she lost sight o him. The melee o struggling warriors

had made it dicult to keep his colours in view. She studied her

present surroundings, certain her last glimpse o Gavyn had beennear this spot by the willow grove.

One body then another, on and on, Morag lost count o the

dead aces she studied, eatures o both riend and oe, none o

them her brother.

Many o the Scots who had ooded across the Northumbrian

border at King Malcolm Canmores behest would remain wherethey had allen. The dead around her lay spattered with grey vel-

vet catkins slashed rom the branches.

More waste, but not o her making.

The gloaming deepened around her. A warning that she had

little time let. Danger lurked in this place, oating above the

dead and scavengers, a greed-flled miasma more terriying than

any ferce predator.

The instant she decided to leave, she ound her glance snagged

by a large-boned rame, as large as that o the heir to the Baron

o Wolsdale. With no thought or the mud and gore, Morag

dropped to her knees.

In death, the ringmail-covered body sprawled ace down, spill-

ing over the muddy bank o a brook winding through a old inthe hills. Like so many warriors, this one had been hit by a cross-

bow bolt, the type used by her athers French mercenaries. This

one protruded rom below the shoulder o his muddied mail shirt.

Gavyn had worn such a one as that.

Fearul o what she might fnd Morag swallowed her breath


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FRANCES HOUSDEN 13

her heart with it. Gingerly, she placed both hands on the helm

in an eort to turn the warriors head, yet earing to look. She

neednt have worried, the ailing light made it impossible to dis-

tinguish the eatures behind the nose-guard.With both hands, she tugged the cold, mud-smeared metal

ree o his damp hair, almost glad when a glimmer o colour, a

plaid oating in the water, solved her lack o resolution. She no

longer needed to look at the warriors ace to know it wasnt

Gavyn.

She let the helm slip rom her fngers, watched it roll downthe bank into the water. What did it matter? The man wouldnt

need its weighty protection anymore.

A rush o regret replaced the ear shed elt when she believed

he was Gavyn. The Scots raider had the body o a man, but the

ace o a boy, probably only a ew years older than hersel. So

handsome, even in deathjust to look at him made her chesttighten.

With the dying o the light, her last chance o fnding Gavyn

disappeared. Her heart elt leaden as she realised the time had

come to escape the battles atermath while she was still able.

Gathering up her skirts, Morag grasped the linen in small tight

fsts, raising the bloodied hem out o the dirt to make walking

easier as she stepped away rom the corpse.

Tears o ailure streamed down her cheeks as she turned to

search out a sae path.

A gurgle o ear spilled rom her lips as, thwarted, she looked

down upon the long fngers encircling one o her ankles. Fall-

ing to her knees her hands scrabbled in the dirt, seeking a mud-

died weapon she had glimpsed earlier, desperate to wrest it romthe ground beore the approaching murk o night dimmed her

vision. Blood rushing in her ears, she doggedly sought the weap-

ons help in the fght or her lie.

Then she heard a rough Scots voice, jagged with atigue,

begging Help me


7/18

CHAPTER ONE

TweLveYearsLaTer

Months eeksall g-fd dy d prudgig wrd C Crgw wr vr. S wid r jy

f r u, wid i vi. Ay, d rcd c bu

d y gi ry.

Brig rud r, i rm w ru.

Mrg i p r rgy r f mmd mr c-

ig bw gi rmu wd dr. S bbd ud,

cvicd wud r, v i gv wy cri

rg rug r midcri drd giv vic .

Help, cry rg i r d.

Help us.

Fr up, pryr d c r br,

rv m Rb. T d d cm rug ug wi-

u piig mr wrri ppri w ic.

Kpig im d b r i wr.

Hr rd rd dr, vy ri pudig, p-

ig rug wv r d pid, ig r ir,

wig r i S wry cr i r i rm


8/18


spine like the cold sweat o earsomething she should have

been used to. Aye, Morag was aware the trembles that shook her

werent wrought rom the chill in the air or the sudden eruption

o thunderheads surging skyward to swallow the noonday sun.Nay, it was trepidation. Terror that ater all she had put both

her and Rob through, she had ailed utterly.

Thoughts tumbled through her head, doubts she dared not

share with Rob, dread o being denied entry no matter how

hard her fsts pounded the huge iron-banded doors barring the

entrance to Castle Cragenlaw.Shuddering with exhaustion and breathing hard, she raised

her orehead rom the narrow split in the wood that marked

the edge o a lesser gate set into the main portal. She needed a

moment, just onenay, two, i she were honesttime to gar-

ner enough energy to wring a quivering plea rom her throat,

Let us in...She banged, she begged in vainher words snaed by the

ferce swell o wind almost as soon as they were uttered.

Close by, flling his usual space beside her shoulder, she elt

Rob arrive, heard the rasp o his breath rom the climb and his

burden. Their remaining possessions were in the sacks he dropped

near their eet. Together they made the best o what little protec-

tion the stone arch provided.

The silence between them stretched, elt worse than i hed

let out a curse. They had always been close. Always. She would

hate to think he sensed her despair and resisted oering comort

as he attened his weight on the gate next to her. Rob wouldnt

thank her or treating him like a child. Young as Rob was, he had

still been her strength, her good right arm on a journey wheredanger dogged their heels and their destination held no certain

promise saety.

Behind them lay the long, steep sweep o the causeway. They

had barely set oot upon it when the storm had broke over them,

turning noon into midnight Thunderbolts split the clouds


9/18

FRANCES HOUSDEN 17

devils work. Or Gods, punishing her or daring to escape her

sinners ate.

Her strength was puny compared to that o the storm. How

could anyone hear her fsts on the door? The thumps wouldnever measure up.

Never, she thought as a terriying bolt o lightning split

heaven and its report shook both the castle and the cobbles under

their eet.

I think the causeway has gone, Rob croaked as they both

twisted round to look back down at the path they had takenbut minutes beore. At the oot o the raised jut o land that

attached Cragenlaw to the Scottish mainland, a soughing and

groaning ailed the air. They stared, dumbounded, as a huge

tree growing on the low cli above the sea was wrenched rom

the soil. Branches screeched in agony against the rocks as the

giant toppled, blocking the causeway, trapping them.Morag grabbed Robs arm as another ash exposed the trees

earth-clogged roots. Black fngers reached skyward in a defant

gesture, much like the one that had brought her here.

There was now no turning back.

She had come seeking saety or hersel and Rob. Now

chances were theyd die where they stood. The thought had

scarcely ormed when the gate behind them abruptly swung

open. Morag tumbled through the gap, heart racing, and a stied

scream stuttered in her throat as muscular arms opened to break

her all. The man put her away rom him, held her arms by two

age-worn fsts. Lord save us, woman, where have you been?

For all the erocity o the booming voice, Morag caught a

glimpse o relie in the bright blue eyes as another ash lit hisbeard-grizzled ace.

The castle has been in an uproar. Its over three days since the

messenger was sent. More than enough time, one would imagine,

or you to have arrived days ago.

Bewildered Morags heartbeat altered The messenger she


10/18


the gate was opena circumstance she clung to with what little

remained o the optimism she had started out with. They had

survived their horrendous journey. She elt Rob tug on her plaid.

It took all her strength to resist clutching his fst in hers, but resistshe did. No matter the cost, Morag intended that she and Rob

would pass through the opening. Would step inside the solid

granite walls encircling Cragenlaw at last.

Aye, the McArthur sent his man o himsel. Im Callum o

Stonehaven, and I mind the gate. I see them all. Fetch me the

midwie, he shouted as soon as Lady Astrids birth pains began,and he roared those very words as the messenger rode through

this gate like a man with the devil on his heels. But never mind

that, where is he now?

Morag ignored the questioninstead she said, Three days and

she still hasnt given birth? She prayed the horror twisting her

innards didnt show overmuch. There would be no midwie arriv-ing that day, or any day soon. The castle was impregnable. With

waves licking halway up the castles sides there was no way in

but the causeway; but frst, one would have to climb over the tree.

She took a deep breath. You had better take me to her, she

said, trying to ignore Robs gasp o surprise, as he nudged her leg

with one o the sacks. Rob was as aware as she that i the birth

went wrong at this late stage, the blame might all on her head.

Shed take that chance willingly i it meant Rob would be sae.

Safely hidden behind the thick granite walls of Castle Cragenlaw.

Callum was mumbling into his beard, but she was interested

only in asking, Was there no one else to help the poor lady? Id

have thought in a castle this size there would be plenty o women

with experience o birthing.She couldnt very well admit to having more experience with

mares than mothers. Her personal experience o child-bearing had

gone dreadully wrong and had shaped her lie rom that day to this.

Ach, they all claim ignorance when it comes to a happening

that should be natural he said not bothering to hide his scepticism


11/18

FRANCES HOUSDEN 19

Shocked, Morag ormed a sharp edge around her next question.

And why would that be? I should think womanly compassion

would wring their hearts to see another in need. She knew how

deep that need could run.Oh, they cant see her, but there is no escaping her screams

no matter where you hide in the castle.

HeartheirLady screaming ... Had nobody thought to give her

some wood to bite on? Morag knew to her cost that although

the practice didnt stop the screams it did dull the roar. She would

admit she had tasted wood at the back o her throat or weeksaterward. Even now, memory coated her tongue with the tang

o resin. It shocks me that people can be so cruel, she spat out

in disgust.

Lady Astrid is ar rom alone. Theres old Mhairi and the

McArthur himsel. He hasnt let his wies side since she began

to labour.There ... it was confrmed. Euan had a wie. What else had she

expected?

She watched Callums shoulders lit and all, heard him sigh,

and knew he was building up to justiy the women o Crag-

enlaws reasons or ailing their mistress. Even beore he spoke,

memories o suering hardened her heart against any excuse he

could make. She elt it sit like a stone locked in her chest.

Its the curse, you see. Aye, ew women living at Cragenlaw

have had babies, and the childless lasses have gotten it into their

heads that the curse is catching. Its a sorrowul state o aairs, and

all because the McArthur needs an heir. Though it has to be said

in his avour that he hasnt been backward in the attempt. Three

wives hes taken to his bed, but this ones likely to go the way othe others. Havent you heard, lass? His frst two wives died in

childbirth.

Stunned, Morag shook her head, but Callum wasnt done.

What could she say that wouldnt give lie to his assumption that

she was the midwie? Three wives and two dead in childbirth


12/18


Aye, and the McArthurs sons along with them, he con-

tinued. Thats why the castle lasses wont go near Lady Astrid.

Once they knew she was carrying, they gave her a wide berth.

Very ew women dinnae want babies at some stage or another,as no doubt because o your calling youd be aware. A trident o

light splashed the sky with cold fre, as i his words had dragged

it down on thema fne reason or Morag to let her shocked

expression show.

Around them, the dark grey walls sparkled like gemstones as

light splashed across them. She latched on to the sight, used itas an aid to bring her down to earth and dampen her tumbling

thoughts while she ollowed Callum through the bailey. On

another day, the stone walls might have intrigued her. Shed spent

most o her lie behind wooden palisades. Tonight, she was blind

to it, numb to all thoughts but one. Euan might be about to lose

another wie.A third.

However much she had once loved him, her pity was all or

his wie. It seems I got here just in time. Show me the way, then

make sure my brother Rob gets some oodit has been a long

journey, and ourteen-year-olds are always starving. Every time

she spoke the lie, her insides curled, as i she had somehow dis-

owned him, though Rob didnt seem at all bothered.

The storm chased her indoors on the heels o a turbulence

that invaded her heart and her head while she ollowed Callums

directions to the keep and the cries o pain. Swirling draughts

on the stairs o the tower set her shadow swaying back and orth

as she passed beneath the pitch-coated torches clutched in iron

brackets round the curved stone walls.

She hadnt climbed even halway up the winding stone stairsthat led to the Chietains apartments, when the screaming

stopped and she was struck a sense o inevitability. With knees

turned to liquid, she braced her weight against the rough stone

wall, steadying her balance, her emotions.

The lengthening silence shortened the cords at the back o her


13/18

FRANCES HOUSDEN 21

a dp bra, knadd mall r back a rag-

nd r pn br cnnng clmb.

With sot, quiet p Mrag crd mpy lar. On dg r vn, ncd a ap rag pld n

crnr. Hmm, r lp wd. Wa ad appnd cz-

nng yng man ad knwn cldn carm a mad

vnr ar? Srly a cal z ad mr an n

ld wman brav ng lp wanr black mark

agan n n carg.A apry blckd r vw bdcambr bynd. I ld

md vc, b cldn prvn m ldng arnd

dg. Hr ar ba rapdly. Takng ranc rgan n r and

g pa wg apry, pp rg

pnng n McArr cambr. Hr y wdnd and

l a g rl. A wman lay ap bd n a pl can-dllg. Hr xprn wa rd, b bvly wr wa vr.

S ankd Gd a y ad managd w r aanc.

Ean w wa a bay, dfrn. Hr rd-gld ar ac-

nad Mrag. Invably, a pang nvy wad vr r. S dd

n nd a lkng gla knw a r wn dll ar frd

badly by cmparn. A g can wa rad xpc

b, and Ean, md, ad ccdd.

H w brg gld r wd acr ranlcn

w cvrng r ldr and plld vr d

bd. Nwly brn, baby prawld acr mr blly

blw r bra. Tg rm ad dmmd lg n

crnr rm, by candl glw Mrag cag a glam

rd n damp ar cvrng baby calp.T rl n r bra pkd r l an a arba n

r jaw drppd. Opn-md w anmn, rald

nr baby nr mr ad mvd, n a n ndrawn bra.

Cag n a rag lnc, a nwldy a apry ld

back Mrag l ad l r arng a mvd


14/18


sotened his eatures. She saw his emotions, his ailures, stripped

bare like a man who has given up his control to drink, except not

a whi o whisky assailed the air.

Her presence was an imposition on an occasion that shouldhave been private. The McArthur lited his head and trapped her

within a narrow gaze silvered with tears or, worse, the icy sheen

o anger.

She wanted to bolt, needed to escape that room where the

atmosphere had grown thick enough to slice with a knie. Then,

it was too late. A roar o pain, a keening agony, unexpected andshocking, slapped at her, backhanded her. Shocking, because

Morag recognised the agony o eeling that let one oblivious

and unashamed o reactions normally kept hidden.

Euan turned away, as though unaware he was observed, while

his ace twisted with pain. She had aced danger many times

beore. Lie was flled with risk. Few people in these times couldclaim never to have experienced an icy shiver like the one sliding

down Morags already cold spine. Not or the frst time, her lie

teetered on a daggers edge. She had entered Castle Cragenlaw

under alse pretences as the midwie whose delay had killed both

Euans wie and baby.

A deep-throated groan drew her nervous gaze.

Beore they had reached Cragenlaw, shed been earul o dis-

covering the damage time and war had done to the handsome

Scottish youth. The knowledge that Euan was unarmed should

have conquered her ears. Not so. Muscles encased his tall, long-

legged rame as a Norman might wear golden armour. Euan was

completely naked and, to her mind, presented a bigger danger.

Head ung back, his long hair ayed about his shoulders as heshook his blood-stained fsts at the heavens and roared, Will this

bluidy curse never end?

Tears welled in Morags eyes as his pain enveloped her in

a rush o unwanted memories. She didnt want to eel this

way didnt want to empathise with a man who had betrayed


15/18

FRANCES HOUSDEN 23

enough to remind her she hadnt come to Cragenlaw or the

McArthurs sake. He was nothing to her now. Rob was the only

one she cared or, and i necessary, she was certain Euan could be

persuaded to help him, to keep him sae. A hard heart was vitalto their survival.

Her only recourse was to retreat into the saety o the solar,

then Morag heard, Aye, thats it, back away aore he catches sight

o you. As you can see, were well past needing a midwie.

Despite warning her of, the crone grabbed her wrist and

pushed her ace close to Morags, hissing like a cat. Only thetruth, or at least a measure o honesty, could save her now.

Im not the midwie, and sorry I am or it, but when I heard

o the poor ladys plight I ... I wanted to ofer m-my help, she

stammered, caught of guard, without thinking to mention the

allen tree blocking the causeway.

Euan turned his back to them as i they were invisible, but hewasnt. From where she stood, Morag could see the scar on his

shoulder let by the crossbow bolt. He never turned his head to

look. Not even a strangers voice could interrupt his grie. For

him, no one else in the room existed.

Morag was glad o it.

In a voice drawn thin with age and cracked with emotion the

crone told her, Take your sel of. We have no need o your help.

The crone released her wrist, pushed her away until Morag

was on the other side o the tapestry, trying to catch her breath.

From the ar corner, the rags unolded and spoke. Dont let

her abruptness trouble you, lass.

She clenched her hands over her breasts, holding them tight

as i her heart might leap rom her chest. Good heavens, youstartled me.

The little man rose to his eet. The ace, creased rom where it

had rested on his olded arms, was streaked with tears and crum-

pled by a melancholy that was ofset by the tinkle o bells on its

sleeves and cap A Fool was the last thing Morag had expected to


16/18


Knuckling the tears away rom his eyes, he said, Im Nhai-

meth, Lady Astrids Fool, though old Mhairi likes to pretend I

dont exist. Im air used to being ignored but inexperienced at

making her excuses. To be truthul, shes been worried rom theday she knew Lady Astrid was carrying.

The words were hardly out o his mouth when another rage-

flled roar rent the air. The little man cringed and turned away,

revealing the misshapen curve in his spine. Morag schooled her

ace not to show pity, saying only, Im a stranger to the castle,

but I thought to help and oered my assistance as soon as Callumtold me the sorry tale. I wish I could have done more. Curious,

she asked, Is Mhairi Lady Astrids maid?

His ull lips curled in a sneer. Och. Mhairis anxiety is not or

Astrid. Euan was her baby. She ears or his heir.

The crone is Euansthe McArthursmother? Morag

clapped a hand over her mouth or ear they might hear in thenext room.

Hah! Im the one whos supposed to make jest. The crone

was his nurse. Her ears are all or Euan. Euan the Cursed.

Callum told me as much, but ... cursed? How? When... she

let her demand dwindle. Too much interest might give her away.

She must not dare show too much interest or arouse the slight-

est skerrick o curiosity about her secret. That didnt prevent her

saying, Callum said Lady Astrid was the McArthurs third wie,

and prodding or more inormation.

Keeping his eyes downcast, Nhaimeth studied the oor as i he

saw something o more interest than her worn boots. The droop-

ing corners o his mouth told another tale. The others both died

in childbirth. He wants an heir. Everyone knows the truth o thecurse, but not even this Fool can fnd a particle o optimism that

it will ever come to pass. My Lady should never have wed him.

The little mans fnger curled in a childlike fst that pounded

the granite wall in anger, ignoring the blood the pounding drew.

It was all her athers doing The hunger or power drives him


17/18

FRANCES HOUSDEN 25

Who is the Lady Astrids ather?

He lited an eyebrow that remarked on her ignorance. Have

you ever heard o Erik the Bear?

Aye, many a tale, and been scared out o my wits by threatsthat he might get me i I didnt behave. Is it true he can break a

man in two with his bare arms?

Once maybe, aye. Erik Comlyns well named, but think on,

the whole clan have a reputation or being throng. That said,

Nhaimeth rubbed his palms over his old-young ace and turned

away, arm braced against the wall, making a rest or a head thatlooked too big or its body.

Morag had learned more than she wanted to know. While her

body was merely tired rom her travels, her spirits had sunk as

low as on the day her ather was brought home slung across his

mounts neck. She could envisage no quick, easy end to the day

or Euan, nor or hersel.The gods were probably laughing up their sleeves that she

had thought to ignore the dire portents thrown at her. A warn-

ing no man could oreend. She couldnt shake of the memory

o a sky wiped clean o light, wrapping Cragenlaw in a heavy

blanket designed to depress hope. Or the screams o a woman,

bloodcurdling and so loud it was a wonder the castle walls didnt

topple. Fall. Destroyed in the way they said Joshuas trumpets had

brought down those o Jericho.


18/18

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