Jep blushed and stared at his hands.
Kyla looked between the two of them with interest, then said, “I may be venturing into something I shouldn’t, but your eyes are the most magnificent color of the forest, Branwen. Your sire’s eyes are brown. What color were your mother’s eyes?”
“My mother’s eyes were blue. I kept hoping mine would change, but they never did. My mother loved my green eyes, but my sire would have preferred for them to be blue. ’Tis why I wished they would change. I thought he might love me more.”
“We have a verra large clan, especially when we add Clan Ramsay to it. They have a predominance of green eyes while we have blue and gray. All babies have blue eyes when they’re born, but then they change, usually to the eye color of one of the parents. So your mother’s were blue and your father’s are brown. We’ve never seen a green-eyed bairn without one green-eyed parent. Mayhap I would think nothing of it, but your sire is so hateful toward you. Pardon me if I’m overstepping, but you are now my family, Branwen, and I’m quite protective of my kin.”
Branwen had no idea what Kyla was implying, so she said nothing, waiting to see if she would explain herself. Instead, Kyla shifted her gaze to Jep.
“Branwen, your eye color is exactly the same as Jep’s. Such a beautiful shade.”
Jep shot to his feet, looking extremely uncomfortable.
“He put Branwen in the dungeon twice, Jep,” Kyla said. “Why not tell her the truth now? Your eye color is quite distinctive.”
Branwen just stared at Jep. “What truth?”
“Her mother is dead,” Kyla whispered. “She deserves the truth.”
Jep fidgeted as if he wished to jump out of his skin. “I promised. I’ll be banished and…” He stammered something nonsensical, but then he shook his head and said, “Mayhap you are correct. Branwen, I am your true father.”
Branwen froze, then stood up. She didn’t comprehend what was happening. Jep was her father? How could that be?
Jep said, “I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you, but your father threatened to have me sent away if I didn’t keep quiet, and I wanted to watch you grow up. I loved your mother, and I promised her I’d always watch over you.”
Branwen slid back down the wood and stared at Jep.
Kyla clasped her shoulder and said, “I know ’tis a shock to you, but once you think on it, you’ll see ’tis for the best. You finally understand why your father has treated you so poorly over the years.”
Jep sat down again and said, “Aye, he found out the truth two years ago.”
Everything in her world had changed.
She didn’t know what to say.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I hear hoofbeats,” Alick said, straightening. “Who is it, Dyna?” He needed her seer abilities now more than ever.
Dyna stepped out of the brush as if it gave her a clearer view. After a short pause, she said, “They’re from Thane Castle, but the captives aren’t with them.”
“How many?” Cailean asked.
Dyna stared off into the distance, then spun around and said, “About ten. The first group is meant to take out any reivers. Mostly English. Kyla, Branwen, and her father are in the next group.”
Derric scoffed. “You refused to answer my question about how you know things, and now I’m supposed to believe you not only know warriors are coming but also how many there will be?”
“What?”
“Easy enough to see if she’s right,” Cailean said. “I still can’t hear anything, and I’ve always been an able tracker. If she’s correct, I’ll always believe her.” Then he glanced at Derric and grinned. “Some people are fools, though.”
Dyna, who’d steadfastly ignored their exchange, said, “Sorcha, come this way. These trees are the easiest to climb.”
They took their bows and arranged themselves in the trees while Alick told Cailean and Derric where to position themselves. “Less than ten we should be able to take out. Five of us to ten of them.”
“If your mother isn’t with them, why bother?” Sorcha asked. “Shall we not just allow them to pass?”
All the others turned to stare at her as if she’d said something sacrilegious.
“Sorcha, they’re English,” Alick said as if it were answer enough—and truly it was.
Derric said, “Kill them before they kill you.”
“They may slow down or plan to drop back to protect the next group,” Cailean added.
Dyna said, “These men are part of the group that intends to face our clan at Lorn. If we can handle them, we’re helping our family. The first group was too large for us.”
Cailean grinned. “I love those numbers.”
The three large Highlanders mounted and hid their horses in the trees. Alick waited on one side of the path while Derric and Cailean took the opposite side. A few minutes later, the group arrived. None of the guards were wearing Thane plaids, but Alick was disappointed to see Dyna was correct.
There were no prisoners, just ten warriors, all swordsmen.
He bellowed his war cry and charged out of the trees to attack. Three men went down with arrows in their chests before he reached the closest warrior. Shadow was already in battle mode, his powerful legs pawing in his eagerness to join the attack, but Alick held him back. He had to take out two of the closest enemies first.
His side arc sliced open the belly of the first warrior, and the man fell off his horse. He noticed Cailean took two out in the time it took him to go after his second target, connecting with the man’s sword and forcing him off his horse. Once he hit the ground, an arrow pierced his neck. Derric battled another warrior and finished him in short order.
That left four men, which meant Dyna had been off by two warriors. He went after one of them, deciding to let Shadow have his fun. On his signal, the great beast rose up on his hind legs, and his paws came down on the other warrior’s mount, knocking the man off.
That’s when chaos unleashed. The horse stood up and ran wild, frantically trying to escape. The other two men struggled to control their mounts, which made it easy for Cailean to finish one while Derric took the other. Another arrow hit the man still on the ground.
Then ten horses began to stampede, acting daft. Had circumstances been different, they could have let the beasts run free, but the terrified beasts might run back toward the castle, informing the next group that an ambush lay ahead.
A whistle came from Derric, a sound unlike anything Alick had ever heard, but most of the horses gave him their attention. He jumped off his mount and strode into the middle of the wild beasts, talking calmly, pulling on reins and murmuring to the animals.
Alick pulled Shadow away from the group, allowing Derric the space to do what was needed. Alasdair would love to have the ten beasts left behind by the English.
It took him about a quarter hour, but then he finally had the herd all calm. He led them into the forest to the burn, each of them drinking as if they’d been heavily worked for days.
Alick stayed near Shadow to keep him in line, afraid he may upset the others. Dyna jumped out of her tree and whistled. “Nice job, Corbett. I didn’t know you could be useful.”
Derric waggled his brow at her. “Aye, I’ve a talent for charming others. See how they love me? Mayhap you can learn from them.”
She rolled her eyes.
“’Tis a fine talent to bring that many beasts to you,” Alick said. “I suspect Alasdair would love a few of them if you have no use for all of them.”
“I don’t have use for any of them, but we can bring them along, if you like.”
Cailean joined them after checking the dead. “Alick, will you help me clear the main path?” Then he looked at Dyna and asked, “How long before the next group arrives?”
“About half an hour.”
Derric chortled and said, “I don’t know why you’d ask Diamond.”
“And why not?” Sorcha said. “She was correct on the number and the arrival time.”
“Nay, she wasn’t,” he said.
Sorcha, Alick, Cailean, and Dyna all stared at him, although Dyna’s look was more accurately a glare.
“She said ten,” Derric said. “There were a dozen.”
Cailean laughed, and Alick waved a hand to dismiss him.
But Derric moved over to Dyna’s side and leaned down. “Off by two, Diamond,” he said in an undertone. “You’re losing it.”
“And if you don’t behave yourself, you’ll be missing two of your own soon enough,” she responded.
***
Arnald Denton opened the door to the stall and said, “’Tis time to leave this place. Branwen, you and Jep will ride in front. The Grant woman will be last. If the Grants are lying in wait for us, they’ll fire at you first, revealing their location to my warriors. Though they’re probably already dead. I sent a dozen men ahead to take care of any stragglers or reivers lying in wait. We should have clear travels to Lorn.”
Branwen blurted out, “You’re not my father. Why did you not tell me?”
Denton pulled his hand back to slap her, but Jep stopped him. “No more, Denton. She knows.”
Her father, or Arnald Denton as she should call him, gave her a sick grin. “You finally found out the truth about your mother. She was a whore, and I’m certain you’ll be the same. I’m pleased to be rid of you. Every day since she died I’ve had to live with the reminder that my wife cuckolded me. No more.” Then he turned to Jep and said, “You’ll ride first so you can die first. Bastard.”
He spun on his heel and left, but Kyla called out after him. “You don’t know the Grants verra well, do you?” He immediately returned and grabbed her by the elbow, dragging her toward the back of the line of horses.
Branwen and Jep mounted up, and as Jep brought his horse next to hers, he said in an undertone, “Do not worry, lass. Alick Grant will come for you and for his mother. I have faith in them. I hope you do, too.”
She nodded, not knowing what else to say. Staring off into the distance, she let her mind wander over everything that had happened and everything that was still happening.
A familiar voice carried to her. “Branwen, my apologies for having lied all these years. Mayhap I should have told you after your mother died. I promised her I’d keep my silence and watch over you, but I should have told you after we lost her. I did my best to help you, but I didn’t want Denton to send either of us away, so I stayed silent. But I’ve hurt you terribly. I’m sorry.”
Branwen didn’t know what to say. “I’m not angry with you, Jep, or should I call you Papa?”
“Call me whatever you wish,” he said, his tone sad and resigned.
“I guess I don’t know what sounds right yet. Much has happened, and I’m overtired. I must admit it doesn’t displease me. It does explain why my father…er, Denton hated me. Why he favored the lads.” She shifted to look at him again, a question on the tip of her tongue, but how did she ask such a thing…
He shook his head as if he knew her thoughts. “Nay, just you. I loved your mother, but she chose to stay with Arnald. He threatened to hurt you if she left him.”
Oh, how she wished she could see Alick—tell him what she’d learned and take comfort from him.
Soon, she promised herself. Soon.
They were surrounded by guards until they left, so they didn’t get the chance to talk again. They started moving along the path, two warriors in front of Branwen, to her surprise, and Jep in front of her. She noticed the men had both swords and bows hanging on the side of their mounts.
Apparently, they were indeed expecting trouble. She said a silent prayer that Alick would not be hurt.
They rode for about an hour, without anything remarkable happening, but the horses started moving differently, as if agitated by something. Whatever they were reacting to was not audible to human ears. The riders did their best to rein them in, but it did little to calm them.
Then she understood why.
They rode into a clearing, and the Grant war cry carried over to her with a warning. “Branwen, get down and run!”
Alick’s voice. She didn’t wait, instead hopping off her horse and launching into action. Her first impulse was to run, but instead she grabbed the bow off the horse of the guard in front of her and ran off to the side, running toward the arrows cutting through the clearing.
Dyna had to be here somewhere. When she approached the trees, she heard Dyna’s whistle, telling her exactly where to go, so she headed in that direction. She caught sight of her in the trees, along with Sorcha, who tossed several arrows down to her.
Branwen found a bush to hide behind and arranged her arrows before she started firing. Alick, Els, Cailean, and another fair-haired man she didn’t know had ridden in to attack the guards so she would need to shoot carefully to avoid hitting any of them.
Nocking an arrow, she took out one of the middle riders. Her gaze shot to the back of the group, but she didn’t see Kyla or her father.
If she had, she would have put an arrow in her father’s…nay, Denton’s black heart. Her name was no longer Denton. So what was it?
MacNicol. She was a member of Clan Grant and she would fight like a Grant.
She noticed Jep grab a sword from a fallen man and swing at one of Thane’s guards, but he took a blow to his shoulder, forcing him off the field. She nearly bit her lip bloody for worry.
Branwen was able to hit one more man, but then she missed with her last three arrows. Her hands were shaking too badly. The numbers had improved, but they weren’t in their favor, and Denton was getting away with Kyla.
Just as that thought passed through her head, three newcomers rode up through the trees. Els and Joya, and a third figure, a young lass with dark hair.
Could that be Chrissa?
Branwen felt like the air had all gone out of her.
What the hell was happening?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that couldn’t have shocked him more. Three people had joined them, and one of them was his sister.
Chrissa dismounted from the horse she’d rode in on and, calm as could be, climbed a tree. Joya hung back in the trees, but Els joined the fight.
“Chrissa? What the hell?” Alick bellowed.
Els said, “She followed the guards when they left Grant Castle. Been hiding behind them ever since. Looks like you could use our help.”
“They have Mama,” Chrissa shouted back. “And that man right there tried to hurt me, so he’ll pay.” She pointed to one of the warriors even as she let her arrow fly. When she hit her mark, she bellowed, “Take that, you bastard!”
Hellfire if she didn’t hit the man square in his belly, causing him to grip the arrow and fall from his mount.
“Chrissa?” He wanted to shout at her, but this was not the time. He had to stay focused. He was lucky to have Els’s help.
At least he’d seen Branwen slip into the copse of trees near Dyna. She was safe in the trees, and so was his sister. Indeed, it seemed she was more of a danger to others than she was in danger from others. He was less sure about his mother. He’d seen her at the beginning, way at the back, but he didn’t see her now.
Fear threaded through his veins as he searched the group for his mother again, but she was nowhere to be seen, and their numbers weren’t as strong as before. Even with the addition of Els, who’d joined as soon as he heard the plans, and Chrissa, the numbers were still two-to-one, and three of the Grant fighters were archers. On the ground, it was five and ten to four, not the best odds. Some of them wore Thane plaids, and they proved to be the stronger warriors. He’d either counted wrong at the outset, or more people had joined the fight.
He bellowed at his cousin, “Dyna! Try the spectral swords.”
He saw her lift her bow from the tree, but nothing happened, and she leaped down moments later, charging toward the clearing. Except Derric jumped off his horse and went after her, pushing her behind him. “You daft lass, you’re m
aking yourself an open target.”
Dyna shoved at him, doing her best to get past him, but he blocked her from passing him. “Shoot your arrows. ’Tis the best way you can help.”
She shoved him back and said, “Nay, I can help in other ways. You’ll see, you stubborn lummox. But you must let me through.”
Alick continued to fight off the enemy guards while the two argued.
“Get back. You cannot leave yourself unguarded.” Derric was relentless in his protection of Dyna, something Alick hadn’t expected but wasn’t displeased to see. Of course, it wasn’t ideal in their current situation.
“I can handle myself.” Dyna tried to push past him, but she couldn’t, which only made her increasingly frustrated with the man. “I don’t need your protection, fool.”
“Watch out!” Alick called out as two guards headed straight for them.
Dyna did something he’d have never guessed. She climbed onto Derric’s back and fired an arrow, striking the first between the eyes. She fired another and hit the second in the chest.
“God’s teeth, could you not just nock your arrows and stay hidden?” Derric shouted across the terrain. “Anyone who shoots like that should have the bow tied to her arm.”
“I like your back better,” she said, firing another arrow that just missed a guard. “I’m climbing on your shoulders.”
“Nay, you’ll be wide open then.” He yanked on her leg, trying to keep her in her current position, legs wrapped around his waist, but she kicked and squirmed, doing her best to right herself. “Let me be. I need to do something. This is out of control. We’re losing.”
Derric did all he could to keep his grip on both his weapon and Dyna without hurting her.
Alick glanced at the others, and he had to agree with her assessment. They were losing. Cailean was winded, Derric couldn’t fight because of Dyna, and Els looked as if he’d taken a hit, though he didn’t see any blood. Chrissa? He tried not to think about the possibility that she might come to harm. At least she was perched in a tree, away from the thick of battle, and the enemy had no archers. But the worst part was that some of the men who’d gone down were back on their feet.
The Scot's Pursuit (Highland Swords Book 3) Page 18
