by Meara Platt
“No harm?” Her hands were still curled into fists and she was furious. That John managed to remain calm only brought her anger to a boil. “They need to be taught a lesson.”
She reached for the window again, but John held her back. “Enough, Nicola. We need them on our side, not turning us over to Somersby.”
“But they’re your friends. They wouldn’t dare… would they?”
He finally released her and ran a hand through his hair in obvious consternation. “Red Sammy’s an odd duck. No telling what he might do if you insult his boys, even if they are misbehaving.”
“Well, they’re not going to gawk at me all night.” She hung her shawl over the window like a curtain and heard their grumbles. “I’m going to bed.”
She stalked back to their bedchamber—oh, goodness! Had she just thought of it as that? Their bedchamber?
John cleared his throat. “I’ll join you shortly.”
She sank onto the straw mattress and tugged off her boots. “What are you going to do in the meanwhile?”
“Decipher Somersby’s book, especially the ledger entries.”
“Me, too!” She forgot her anger and her eyes widened in anticipation. “Bring it here. We can look at it together.”
“No.”
At times, John could be as infuriating as Sammy’s wayward boys. “No?” She rose and came to his side as he dug through his saddle pouch to retrieve the book. “How can you deny me? It’s my book, since I’m the one who found it.”
He arched an eyebrow, looking quite wickedly handsome as he smiled at her in wry amusement. “You’re the one who stole it, to be precise. So let me do my duty and memorize as much of it as I can as long as we have it.”
“As long as we have it? What do you mean? Don’t we need those ledger entries as proof?”
He nodded. “I’m trying to get it safely to London, but if Somersby catches us, I plan to trade your life for this book.”
Warmth flowed through her in a slow, soothing wave. This was John being protective again. Saving her life was foremost on his mind. Oh, how she wished that little ceremony he’d performed in front of Sammy and his family had been real. She would have been so proud to be John’s wife. “All the more reason why I should be the one to read it and memorize what it contains. If you’re going to sacrifice your life to save mine, then I’m the one who ought to have the knowledge, not you.”
John rolled his eyes and groaned. “Very well, brat. I suppose you’re right. We’ll work on it together in bed. Bollocks, your brother is going to string me up by my short hairs. You can’t tell him any of this. Not before I have the chance to speak to him in private.”
“Fine. You’ll see him before I do, anyway.” He was going to deposit her in Edinburgh and then take off for London. He might not make it there alive. Even if he did, she might not be alive by the time he returned to fetch her. Somersby had planned to use her to hurt someone dear to her. That wretched ledger wasn’t the only reason he was desperate to find her.
Whom did he wish to hurt?
John stretched his big frame beside her. She curled up against him, resting her head against his shoulder, but otherwise leaving him free to turn the pages. Unfortunately, those rows of ciphers meant nothing to her. She tried to concentrate, but felt herself nodding off a time or two.
She must have fallen into a sound asleep, for she awoke shortly before dawn to the soft neigh of a horse passing close to Maeve’s cottage. She tried to sit up, but realized she was turned on her side, facing the wall, and John’s big body was half atop her, gently pinning her between the wall and mattress. One of his arms rested on her body, the weight of that muscled limb falling across her chest as she turned to face him. “John,” she whispered, not certain whether he was awake and doubting that he was, for his breaths were calm and even. “I think—”
“Quiet, Nicola. Somersby’s men are here. Damn it, I don’t know how they found us.” He rolled off the bed and grabbed his rifle in one smooth, silent motion. He tugged on his boots. “Stay here. Don’t move. Let me take care of them.”
“What if Sammy decides to betray us?”
“He won’t. He and his boys may not know Somersby, but they’ve met men like him before. They understand what such a man will do to them if he finds out they’ve been harboring us. They know he won’t spare Maeve either.”
“What of Valor? He’s in the stable and will give us away the moment they spot him.”
John caressed her cheek. “He’s hidden in the forest. I wouldn’t dare leave him in the village stables for any passerby to see.” He handed her one of his pistols. “Stay here. Don’t poke your head out the window. Latch the door and don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe. And don’t shoot that weapon until you’re sure it isn’t me you’re aiming at.” He paused a moment to stare at her, then leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Not a quick peck, either.
It was a soft, lingering kiss. “Behave, brat. Don’t shoot me.”
Then he was off, somehow crossing to the door and removing the table that had blocked it without making a sound. If she hadn’t been looking straight at him, she would not have known that he was moving about, or that he’d just opened the door and stolen out of it into the gray mist of morning.
She shoved on her boots and hurried to the door to latch it, then she crouched behind Maeve’s rocking chair with John’s pistol in hand and waited. And waited some more. And finally crept to the window when she could bear the suspense no longer. She heard Somersby’s men haul Sammy out of his cottage and shove him toward the stable. “I told ye, no one’s come by here all week. But ye’re welcome to search the village if ye dinna believe me. Search the barn. Search the stables. Ye’ll not find what ye’re looking for.”
“Shut up,” one of Somersby’s men ordered with a snarl. “If they aren’t here, then you’ve hidden them.”
“Hidden who? Ye aren’t tax collectors, are ye?”
There were only three of Somersby’s men that she could see. She doubted there were more, for Somersby would have needed a small army to patrol the vast area and still have men enough to send to Edinburgh and London. But those three were indeed ugly, scarred creatures whose faces were distorted with malice.
Sammy cast them a defiant look. “Who sent ye here?”
The biggest man slammed his fist into Sammy’s face. “I told you to shut up. Open your foul Scottish mouth again and I’ll kill you.”
Nicola held tight to her pistol, wishing she had the ability to get off more than one shot. No wonder there was still tension between their two countries. Even English vermin such as these men believed themselves to be above any law-abiding Scot. Not that Sammy was law abiding by any stretch of reason, but he certainly wasn’t bothering anyone now.
A fourth man suddenly came out of Sammy’s cottage dragging a barely clad Maeve by her hair. “Tell us the truth, you lying scum or I’ll slit your harlot’s throat.”
Nicola began to shake.
How long was John going to remain silent and allow these men to brutalize Maeve and Sammy? And where were Sammy’s sons?
She closed her eyes and rested her head against the rough stone wall. “Keep out of this, Nicola,” she whispered to herself. “John knows what he’s doing.”
But what if they’d caught John?
And Sammy’s sons?
What if there were more than these four villains?
Her eyes were closed no longer than the equivalent of a few heartbeats, but she had yet to open them before she heard a pounding at the latched door. Startled, she almost fired her weapon in surprise. “Open the door, Nicola.”
She recognized John’s voice and hastened to obey.
He took the pistol out of her hand, grabbed the pouch he must have tucked under Maeve’s bed last night, then gave a quick look around to make certain he’d left nothing behind. “We have to go.”
“What happened? Where are Somersby’s men?” Then she saw them, all four of the
m sprawled lifeless on the ground atop a widening pool of blood. “John?”
“They were about to slit Maeve’s throat.”
Sammy came in, nursing the bruise to his jaw from the punch he’d just received. “They would have slit mine next. Villainous scum. Thank ye, m’lord. Seems ye saved m’life again. I’m indebted to ye.”
Sammy’s sons, who had come in behind him, nodded in agreement.
“Not this time, Sammy. I led them straight here. I owed you no less than to keep all of you safe.”
Nicola felt a loud hum between her ears.
She felt dizzy.
Somersby’s men were evil, but to hear them growling one moment and then know they were dead in the next, was too much for her. And yet, she would have shot the man who intended to slit Maeve’s throat. She would have fired at his head and prayed that she’d hit him between the eyes.
She took a step and swayed.
John wrapped his arm around her waist. “Nicola! Are you all right?”
“No.”
“Bollocks.” He led her, half walking beside her and half carrying her, away from the village toward a nearby stream. “Here, sit down.”
He helped her onto a fallen birch. After making certain she was not going to tumble off it, he knelt along the stream’s bank to dip his neckcloth in the rushing water. Nicola watched him wring it out. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said, gently running the cloth across her forehead, then her cheeks, lips, and neck. He dipped it again and dabbed it against her lips, which felt as dry and cracked as her throat. “Any better?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I still feel ill.”
“Is she carrying yer child?” Angus asked, he and his brothers having followed them out from the village, gawking at her all the while.
“No!” Nicola shot back. “I’m just ill. I’ve never seen dead men before. Did you kill them all, John?”
He ignored the question, for he appeared to understand that she wasn’t asking out of pride in his accomplishment, but out of horror. Angus wasn’t nearly as insightful. “He killed the one threatening Maeve, then started on the other three who were holding Sammy. We helped. Couldn’t let those beasts kill our own kin.” His chest puffed out with pride. “He deserves it sometimes, but he’s our pa. No one threatens him and lives.”
It was a simple code of honor.
Protect your family.
Steal from everyone else.
John was still gazing at her with concern. “Can you walk now? We have to go.”
She nodded. “I’ll be all right in a moment. How did they find us?”
“I don’t know. They may have put dogs on our scent, although I saw none with these men. Perhaps they noticed our shadows as we crossed the open meadow last night.”
John took her hands in his to help her up.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “This is real,” she said in a tremulous whisper and swallowed hard. “People die. I saw how they treated Maeve, dragging her by the hair and giving her no time to wrap so much as a shawl about her shoulders for modesty. They held a knife to her throat. They would have done the same to me, assuming they did not have orders to simply slit my throat.”
“I wasn’t going to let it happen.”
“I know. But those men looked so cruel. I can’t stop thinking about what they would have done if they’d found me. I think they would have hurt and humiliated me first.”
“They can’t do anything to you now.” John’s voice was exquisitely gentle.
Sammy brought Valor to the stream. He did not look happy. John took the reins from his hands, his expression as grim as Sammy’s. “How is Maeve?”
“Shaken to the core, but unharmed. I’ll tell her ye asked after her. But go now, m’lord. Look after yer lovely wife. My boys will escort ye to Loch Avon. It isn’t far to Braemar from there.”
Nicola gave Sammy a heartfelt hug. “Thank you sincerely, Mr. Fraser.”
His anger seemed to dissipate and he cast her a lopsided smile. “Och, lassie. Ye take care of yerself. Listen to yer husband. He’s a good man and will protect ye and that unborn babe ye’re carrying.”
Why did they all believe she was carrying John’s child? “I’m not…”
Sammy patted her cheek. “If ye say so, but I’ve never seen a hungrier look in a man’s eyes,” he said, glancing at John. “If ye aren’t carryin’ yet, then ye soon will be.”
John grinned.
Her cheeks caught flame.
She opened her mouth to respond, realized she had no words, and snapped it shut again.
John’s child?
They’d have to marry first… well, unless she wished scandal to follow her for the rest of her days.
She felt a dull ache in her heart.
John was so close, looking gruff and divinely rugged with his days’ growth of beard and his slightly too long hair curling about the nape of his neck. She probably looked like a cat just struck by lightning, her hair sticking out in every which way, an unholy, matted mess.
“You look beautiful, brat,” John said, easily reading her mind as he led her to Valor and lifted her onto the saddle. He climbed up behind her and drew her against him.
“We have horses,” she said, realizing Somersby’s men would have no use for their mounts now. “I can ride one of those.”
John growled. “The hell you will. I’ll not have you anywhere near their beasts.”
“Sammy will sell them at market,” Angus said.
And keep the proceeds, Nicola realized. Well, that rascal had earned it. She leaned her head against John’s shoulder as they rode off with Sammy’s boys, needing the heat and muscled strength of him to soothe her.
She felt the cool wind on her cheeks and its sting against her eyes.
Her eyes began to water.
John kissed her on the forehead. “It’ll be all right, brat. We had a close call, nothing more.”
She inhaled sharply. “Nothing more? They would have killed Maeve and Sammy, and then killed us.”
“Nicola, why are you falling apart now? We’ve been on the run from them since the night of Somersby’s party.”
“I know. I’m so sorry, John. I’ll try to do better. I think it’s all catching up to me this morning. And now Sammy’s nitwit sons think I’m carrying your child and won’t stop staring at me.” Suddenly, she understood the reason for her tears.
It wasn’t the close call with Somersby’s men that had her so overset. It was the fact that she wasn’t carrying John’s child. That she wasn’t married to John. That he would leave her once this assignment was over.
She would never again feel the heat of his body against hers or the delicious warmth of his arms protectively circled around her, hugging her tightly to him.
How soon before this was over?
How soon before they encountered more of Somersby’s men?
And where was Somersby?
CHAPTER 9
JOHN KNEW HE had to tell Nicola what that ceremonial declaration performed in front of Sammy and his boys had meant. It was a handfasting and they were now considered husband and wife under Scottish law. Within the year, they had to decide whether to consummate the marriage and be permanently bound, or do nothing and quietly go their separate ways.
He wasn’t proud of deceiving Nicola, but he’d had no choice. The gleam in Sammy’s eyes and those of his boys signified that one of those rascals meant to take Nicola as his wife. John had to claim her first, for merely giving assurance that they were married hadn’t been enough. He’d had to prove it, and this was the only way he knew how to accomplish it without spilling blood.
Nicola would understand, wouldn’t she?
Hell, no.
She would come after him with the closest weapon at hand, for he’d stolen her dreams with that one action.
Since Sammy’s boys were still riding with them until Loch Avon, John knew he’d have to wait until they had safely crossed the loch and were settled for the night in the vill
age of Braemar before he dared confess his deed to her.
“How do you feel, Nicola? Any better?” he asked as the day wore on and the sun now shone directly above them. It was midday and he expected that she would be quite hungry since they hadn’t eaten since last night.
She nodded. “Much. I’m so sorry that—”
“Don’t be. You don’t owe me any apology. I should have realized those men had picked up our trail and done more to keep you safe.” He gave her hand a little squeeze, for he’d been holding onto it for much of this day’s journey. One hand on Valor’s reins, and one arm wrapped around Nicola with his hand resting over hers. “We’ll reach Loch Avon soon. That’s where we’ll part ways with Sammy’s boys.”
He felt the rise and fall of her bosom in silent laughter. “My flock of admirers? I think I shall miss them, but I dare not tell them that or we might never be rid of them.”
He gave a mock shudder. “Don’t you dare give them any encouragement. They aren’t above stealing a man’s wife if they have a mind to do so. They won’t care that you’re married, carrying my child, or that we love each other.”
Nicola immediately tensed at the mention of love.
He was a fool to even bring it up.
He felt the moment she turned within herself, for he’d robbed her of all her romantic dreams. She glanced up at him with sad eyes. “Perhaps they sense this is all a sham, that we aren’t married, that I’m not with child, and… that you don’t love me.”
Fortunately, he had not the chance to respond before Archie, who had taken the lead on the narrow mountain trail, rode back to them. “Loch Avon is just around the next bend.”
John allowed the Fraser boys to scout ahead while he remained behind with Nicola. They were so close to parting ways with these reivers, he dared not let Nicola out of his clutches for a moment. Angus was in lust with her, probably in love with her, and it showed. The boy wanted Nicola for his own. Would he attempt to claim her now?
John couldn’t blame him if he did try. Nicola was beautiful, even more so because she had no notion of just how beautiful she was.
