Highland Defender

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “And I’ve missed ye, too,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry I hit ye. Will ye live?”

  “Barely.”

  “Good. Then ye can help me pick up these flowers. They’re for Lady Currie.”

  Bane did as he was told, picking up the flowers, which had fortunately missed the sewage-filled gutter. Everything ended up back in Lucia’s basket, and he took her by the hand.

  “Let’s leave this place,” he said quietly. “Come with me.”

  She did.

  * * *

  Bane’s destination was a loch south of Edinburgh, a surprising oasis in the midst of the filth of the town. It was just a small body of water, with waterfowl swimming beneath the branches of big willow trees, but it was quiet and seemingly a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The moment they reached the banks, Bane pulled Lucia into a crushing embrace and kissed her deeply.

  The basket fell to the ground again.

  His kisses were fierce and passionate, a testament to his longing for her over the past few days. He pulled her down onto the ground with him, his hands in her hair as he moved from her lips to her cheek, her ear. He kissed her gently, inhaling deeply of her scent once again, until he suddenly came to a halt.

  He was fingering a greenish mark on her forehead.

  “What is this?” he asked huskily.

  Lucia, dazed and breathless from his attention, had no idea what he was talking about until she put her hand to the spot and realized that was where she’d hit her head when Colly had pushed her down the stairs.

  “I fell and hit my head,” she said. “It will heal.”

  “How did ye fall?”

  She wasn’t going to lie to him. Not only had she always been a forthright person, but she felt something for Bane and she wasn’t in the habit of lying to people she cared about. Faintly, she sighed.

  “Do ye remember the woman who found us in the stable yard?” she asked.

  He nodded, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “I do. The entire reason I was forced tae leave Meadowbank.”

  Lucia nodded. “She and I have a…history,” she said. “Her name is Colly and she was Lady Currie’s nurse. She’s a vile, terrible woman. She beats the servants and tells Lady Currie that they’re lying when they complain. She has a particular hatred for me because Lady Currie likes me and she’s jealous of anyone Lady Currie likes. That is why I told ye tae leave—she has a grudge against me and I was afraid she would take it out on ye.”

  “That still doesna tell me why ye have a bruise on yer head.”

  “Because she pushed me down the stairs,” she said quietly. “I fear her grudge against me has taken a nasty turn. I’m the only servant of Lady Currie’s who fights back, and she doesna like that.”

  He frowned. “She pushed ye down the stairs?” he repeated, aghast. “She could have killed ye.”

  “But she dinna,” Lucia said quickly. “The old hag canna get the better of me, but she’ll try. ’Tis a daily battle with that one.”

  Bane didn’t say anything, but it was clear that he wasn’t pleased. He sat back on the grassy bank, his brow furrowed as he thought of the old cow harassing Lucia.

  Nay, he didn’t like that one bit.

  “Ye might not be so lucky if she does it again,” he said. “Have ye told Lady Currie?”

  Lucia nodded. “She knows that Colly fights with me.”

  “And what does she say?”

  “She asks me tae not fight with her. I believe she knows that Colly is wicked, but she tolerates it because the woman raised her. She willna send her away.”

  Bane’s lips pressed into a flat, unhappy line. “So she lets the woman do as she pleases?”

  “Aye.”

  He grunted and looked away, his gaze moving out over the loch. “Ye canna remain there, Lucia,” he said. “That old woman will kill ye if given the chance.”

  Lucia knew that but she didn’t like to think about it. She believed she was strong enough to protect herself, but incidents like the one on the stairs concerned her. Colly could easily catch her off guard and do some damage.

  “I have no choice,” she said quietly.

  Bane lay back on the grass, pulling Lucia down with him. He found himself looking up at the sky as she nestled against him, her head on his shoulder and his big arm around her. It seemed like the most natural position in the world.

  “I told ye I want tae marry ye,” he said, his lips against her forehead. “But I willna wait, not if this woman is on the prowl tae kill ye. I must get ye out of there.”

  Lucia was deeply contented, curled up against him. She closed her eyes, feeling his warmth against her and letting the sound of his voice flow through her.

  “Not until my da’s debt is paid, Bane,” she said. “I willna change my mind about that. I willna simply leave.”

  “I am going tae pay it. I told ye I would find a job and make enough money.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment. He’d said the same thing before, but she didn’t feel comfortable for the man to pay a debt that wasn’t his. That was the truth. But given how badly she wanted to be with him, and truly not knowing how long Lady Currie might try to keep her, perhaps paying off the debt was the only way she and Bane could be together while they were still young.

  If he was serious.

  “If ye mean it, then ye’d have tae speak tae Laird Currie,” she said. “’Tis a debt owed tae him and he will tell ye how much.”

  “Do ye not think I mean it?”

  She opened her eyes and sat up, looking down at him as he lay there in the damp grass. “I’ve known ye less than two weeks,” she said honestly. “I dunna know all about ye, Bane. I know ye come from Clan Morgan, and I know ye fled from the Highlands and ye’ve been living in the streets of Edinburgh. But beyond that…I know nothing about ye. Ye could make me promises and then disappear. How do I know ye willna?”

  Bane folded a big arm behind his head, lying on it as he looked at her. She had a point; he’d seen plenty of men make promises they never intended to keep, but he wasn’t one of them.

  But she was right.

  She didn’t know that.

  “Because I am a man of honor,” he said quietly. “At least, I used tae be.”

  “Then why did ye flee the Highlands?” She jumped on his comment because it was one he’d made before. She wanted to know why this kind, handsome, and clearly capable man had been living in such self-imposed hardship. “Ye told me ye were a great warrior once, so great that they called ye the Highland Defender. What happened, Bane?”

  “Before the screeching hag found us in the hay, I was going tae tell ye,” he said. “Do ye know anything about the wars against the Sassenachs?”

  She shook her head. “Not much,” she said. “My da never fought, and I dunna have any brothers or menfolk that have.”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “Then ye’re fortunate,” he said. “Three years ago, the call went out tae fight for Berwick because the English had overrun it. They brought mercenaries with them by the thousands and launched a campaign along the border that destroyed many villages. My da took me, my cousins, and fifty of our best lads and we joined up with Clan Munro. We went south tae the borders but by the time we got there, many villages were in ruins. It was war like I’d never seen before.”

  Lucia was listening intently. “But why did the English attack?”

  “Because the Scots held the city of Berwick and the English wanted it back,” he said frankly. “The Duke of Gloucester led the charge. Once we reached Jedburgh, we settled in with Clan Kerr, whose numbers were decimated. They told us that they heard tell of a group of Sassenach knights heading for a stronghold known as Wolfe’s Lair. It’s near the border, a great English fortress that has belonged tae the Norman de Wolfe family for two hundred years. The Kerr wanted tae inter
cept the knights, but they were too few, so I told my da we needed tae go in their stead.”

  “What did he say?”

  His somber expression foreshadowed his response. “He told me not tae go because the English would overwhelm us. But I went anyway. Being foolish and believing that no Sassenach could defeat me, I went and took about thirty lads with me.”

  An ominous feeling crept over Lucia. “What happened?” she asked.

  Bane gazed up at the sky, remembering that horrible day, the one that had changed everything. Now Lucia was going to know the truth about him. Part of him had hoped to preserve her opinion about him, that he was a man who had saved her from the assault in the alley. But he couldn’t hold back the truth; if he wanted to marry her, to share his life with her, then she had to know everything.

  He wasn’t so heroic, after all.

  “It was a trap,” he said after a moment. “There was no lone group of Sassenach knights, but an army lying in wait. The day was bright, with clouds scattered about, and the smell of pines was strong. We used the trees for cover until we neared Wolfe’s Lair. Then they struck. Arrows were flying and my men were falling. The English backed us against a loch not unlike this one, attacking us from all sides. I was able tae swim across it, but some of my lads couldna swim. Those who werena killed by the sword drowned in the loch. I made it back tae my da, but out of the thirty lads I took with me, only six returned.”

  Six out of thirty. That was a horrible loss and Lucia could see how badly it pained him. There were lines on his face that hadn’t been there before, a hard set of his jaw that conveyed devastation.

  “I’m sorry, Bane,” she said softly. “But ye canna blame yerself for it. Blame the Sassenachs for setting the trap.”

  He looked at her. “They set the trap and I fell for it,” he said. “My cousins were with me, lads I grew up with. I watched Doogie take a sword tae the gut, and Cauley couldna swim. He held on tae me as we fled across the water, but he panicked. I tried tae drag him along, God knows I did. But in the end, he swallowed too much water and he went down for the last time. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he did… He knew he was going tae die and I couldna help him. Not if I wanted tae live.”

  Lucia’s hand was over her mouth in horror. “Oh…Bane,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry for ye. Ye did all ye could.”

  Bane sat up. “Aye, I did,” he said. “But I disobeyed my da by going. He warned me not tae go but I dinna listen. When I returned tae him and told him what I’d done…he sent me away. But I dinna go home.”

  “Where did ye go?”

  He shrugged. “I couldna tell my clan what I’d done. I’d killed their sons and fathers and husbands. So…I came tae Edinburgh.”

  “And ye’ve been here ever since.”

  “Aye.”

  “Then yer da doesna know where ye are?”

  He lifted his big shoulders. “Probably not,” he said. “I havena seen him since I left him in Jedburgh. I hope he’s told everyone that I died in the ambush. I’m sure that’s what he would prefer.”

  Now Lucia understood why the man had such defeat in his eyes the day she’d met him. She remembered thinking how utterly crushed he looked. By life, she presumed, but now she knew the truth behind it. Bane was a man with a horrible burden to carry.

  An arrogant mistake that had cost him everything.

  “I canna imagine a father would wish his son dead,” she said. “Mayhap someday ye’ll find the desire tae return home and see him. Mayhap time will heal the wounds of the past.”

  Bane’s gaze drifted over her and a warm glimmer returned to his eyes. “Mayhap,” he said. “But until that time ever comes, if it comes, I need tae find my own way in life. I hadna done a very good job of it until I met ye. Ye give me hope, Lucia. Hope that life can be good again.”

  She smiled. “And ye give me hope that I’ll not be serving Lady Currie forever,” she said. “At least, I’ll have something tae look forward tae when it’s all over. I can look forward tae ye.”

  He nodded, stroking her cheek sweetly. “Ye will, indeed,” he said. “But first, I need tae find a way tae make enough money tae pay yer father’s debt.”

  They were back on the subject of buying her freedom, and she put a hand on his arm. “Ye dunna need tae pay the debt of a man ye dunna even know,” she said. “I’ll work it off, eventually. I think ye have enough on yer mind without having tae worry over me, too.”

  “But this is something I want tae do,” he insisted. “With Colly out tae kill ye, it’s more important than ever. I’m not sure how I can explain this, but I couldna protect my men in that ambush. I felt so…helpless. Mayhap that is why I want tae protect ye at all costs. I canna stomach the idea of ye remaining where an old woman stalks ye.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “Nor can I,” she said. “But until the debt is repaid, I have little choice but tae remain and be cautious of her. In fact, I should leave now. Lady Currie wishes tae go tae the Ludus Caledonia again tonight so I must hurry back and prepare. I told her I was going tae pick flowers, so she doesna expect me tae be gone so very long.”

  She stood up and he followed, helping her brush the grass off her skirt. “The Ludus Caledonia again, is it?” he said.

  There was something in his voice that sounded displeased. “Ye know I have no choice,” she said, putting a hand to his cheek. “Ye needna worry, though. I may have tae watch those brutes, but I only have eyes for ye.”

  He smiled weakly. “Swear it.”

  “I do.”

  “I wish ye dinna have tae go at all.”

  “As do I. But that is the way of things. They have a new group of recruits and Lady Currie is eager tae look them all over, one at a time.”

  He knew what she meant and unhappily so. He hated the thought of Lucia being around men and women who viewed intimacy, among other things, so loosely. More than that, he simply didn’t like the thought of her around other men. The woman didn’t even officially belong to him, he knew that, but they had an understanding. She only had eyes for him, and he for her. Surely she knew how he felt even if he couldn’t exactly tell her yet.

  But he would as soon as he could figure it out for himself.

  They started to walk away from the loch, hand in hand. He took her basket from her and carried it.

  “Yer Lady Currie visits so frequently,” he said. “One would think her husband would realize what she was doing.”

  Lucia lifted her skirt as they walked through the wet grass so it wouldn’t drag in the water. “If he does, he doesna stop her. I dunna think he is a very happy man.”

  “Ye have tae feel pity for a man whose wife does as she pleases with everyone but him.”

  Lucia couldn’t disagree. “We were at the Cal last night,” she said. “There were several fights and the winner of the very last fight of the evening was awarded a very big purse, but there was a laird from Saxony who wanted tae purchase his services. The man who runs the Ludus Caledonia let the warrior pick between serving the Saxony laird or keeping his big winnings. Usually, the men have no choice, but this warrior seemed tae be very popular. I’ve seen him before. They call him the Eagle.”

  Bane was mostly stewing on the fact that she seemed to be a fixture at the Ludus Caledonia but something in what she said caught his attention.

  “Big winnings?” he said. “How big?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure, but the purse they gave him was heavy. Many coins, at least.”

  That had him thinking. “Men fight for purses?”

  “Aye.”

  He came to a halt and looked at her. “I can fight,” he said. When she cocked her head curiously, he explained. “I want tae pay off yer debt quickly, but any job I find will be whatever I can get. It could take me years tae save up enough money. But if I can fight for a big purse…”

  Now she knew what h
e meant and her eyes widened. “But these men beat each other tae a pulp, Bane,” she said. “Ye’d have tae fight for blood.”

  “I’ve fought the English,” he said as he resumed walking. “I can fight anyone for blood. But I’ve never been paid for it.”

  Lucia was both shocked by what he was considering and curious. “Ye should go tae the Cal before ye contemplate such a thing and see what it is about. ’Tis a place like nothing ye’ve ever seen before.”

  He nodded, thinking he was on to a potentially great idea. “I will,” he said. “How do ye get there?”

  She shook her head. “I dunna know,” she said. “The driver from Meadowbank goes intae Edinburgh tae a tavern, and then a man from the tavern drives the carriage from there. He makes us stay inside with the shades drawn so we canna see where we’re going.”

  “What tavern?”

  “That I do know. It’s called the Sticky Wick.”

  He looked at her in shock. “That place?” he hissed. “I’ve been there a hundred times and I’ve never seen Lady Currie’s carriage.”

  “She goes tae the alley behind it.”

  Now Bane understood, and of all the good ideas he’d had in his lifetime, this was one of the best. He wanted to go to the mysterious fight guild and find out what he could about joining, or volunteering, or doing whatever it took to fight for money. A few good purses and he could buy Lucia’s freedom.

  They could start a new life.

  But he didn’t say anything more about it, mostly because she seemed opposed to it, so he didn’t want to upset her. But he was confident she wouldn’t be upset when she saw how much money he could earn.

  The Highland Defender would make a return.

  “Mayhap I will be at the Sticky Wick tonight tae catch a glimpse of ye,” he said as they reached the path that would take them back into Edinburgh. “Any opportunity for a peek at ye and I’m a contented man until the next time we can be together. Will ye come tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “If I can,” she said. “I’ll have tae think of another excuse tae leave Meadowbank. I’ll find ye in the same alley.”

  “I’ll be there.”