My Brave Highlander(76)

McMurdo sat quietly, glaring at each of them in turn. Midway of the cave, he leaned back and kicked toward Aiden. His booted foot stuck the lad solidly in the shoulder and he toppled from the boat and into the water.

"You bastard!" Dirk yelled and shoved McMurdo face down in the boat. "Sit on him, Keegan!"

"Help!" Aiden thrashed about in the water, his arms flailing. His head went under, then rose to the surface again. He gasped for breath.

"Damnation, Aiden. Calm yourself! Row the boat closer to him," he instructed Erskine.

Aiden sank. Hell, the lad couldn't swim.

Dirk pulled off his cloak and scabbard but didn't have time to remove anything else. He feared Aiden would drown in a matter of seconds. He jumped into the water. The icy cold was a shock to his body. He swam to the spot where Aiden had gone down. Where the hell was the lad now? He ducked beneath the surface, but could see naught in this midnight, peat-tinged water. Kicking to the surface again, he heard someone yell.

"Help!"

Flinging the water from his eyes, he found Aiden a short distance away. Dirk swam toward him then grabbed him so he wouldn't sink again. "Hold on. We'll get you back to the boat."

Aiden clung around Dirk's neck. A ruckus broke out on the boat. Keegan swung an oar at McMurdo, who had somehow managed to free his hands. The bastard grabbed the oar and fell backward onto Erskine, dragging Keegan with him.

"Damnation!"

Keegan hung onto the oar with one hand and slugged McMurdo with his other fist. Erskine slid his arm around McMurdo's throat from behind, choking off his air. McMurdo kicked Keegan in the groin and sent him groaning onto the other end of the boat. "Bastard!"

McMurdo pushed the oar behind him, jabbing it at Erskine's head.

Dirk swam with Aiden toward the boat. "Hold onto the side."

Dirk grabbed for the oar but McMurdo yanked it beyond his reach at the last second, then struck him with it. Dirk couldn't dodge in time and the thwack on the forehead sent pain ratcheting through his skull.

Knife in hand, Keegan launched himself at the highwayman. "Cease! I'll slit your throat, old man!"

Eying how close Keegan's sgian dubh was to his throat, McMurdo froze and dropped the oar. "Very well, you got me, you shite."

"I should finish you off right here. Then you can put that expensive tomb to good use."

He held up his hands in surrender.

"Tie his hands and his feet this time," Dirk said. Once they had, he and Aiden climbed aboard, shivering in their wet clothes. They placed their prisoner face down this time and watched his hands closely.

Keegan rowed and they quickly arrived at the boat landing. Once in the outer cave, Dirk guided Aiden, quaking with cold, toward the small fire at the back of the cave. The men had built it up and added more dried driftwood.

"What the hell happened? You took a swim?" Rebbie asked.

"Aye, that bastard knocked Aiden overboard and I went in to help him."

"He's a good brother," Aiden said, his teeth chattering.

Rebbie nodded. "You two best get dried off before we head outside into the wind."

The cave was in a protected location, tucked between two cliff walls. And the heat of the fire had warmed the walls of rock here in the back of the cave. It would take some time to dry all their clothes. The lick on the head smarted and Dirk felt somewhat dizzy. Everything grew black and he felt himself falling over but could do naught about it.

"Dirk?" Someone pried his eye open. He frowned, focusing on Rebbie's blurry face above him.

"You had a serious injury, my friend. That gash on your head is bleeding badly."

"We have to get him to the castle where the healer is," Keegan said. At least Dirk thought it was Keegan. His thinking wasn't too clear at the moment.

"His clothes are still too wet to leave the cave," Rebbie said. "And so are yours, Aiden."

"Nay, my plaid is always wet in winter. The wool is warmer when wet."

"I'm thinking his trews are not wool, but a thick linen instead."

"We'll pull them off him then."

"No one is touching my trews," Dirk growled. "I'm well." He shoved to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain in his head and fighting the dizziness. He refused to show weakness before the men. What kind of chief would he be if he was so easily brought to his knees? He'd fought in far more grisly battles. Rebbie and someone else caught him before he realized he'd staggered.

"McMurdo?" he asked.

"Tied up," Keegan said.

"What are we waiting for?" Dirk demanded. "Let's get him to the dungeon."

"We're waiting for your trews to dry, brother," Aiden said.

"My trews are fine just as they are." He headed toward the cave opening, pretending to ignore how the cold air chilled his wet hair and scalp. He pulled his wool mantle's cowl over his head. That was much warmer, but he was still dizzy and his head ached so strongly he couldn't think clearly. He hoped he could make it up the narrow path that led to the top of the cliffs.