A Bridge Through The Mist

by Denise A. Agnew

  He’d found himself returning to those words over and over again. When she’d come to his door, bruised and needing his help, he discovered he could not refuse her anything.

  Tonight the baron was vigilant. Tynan saw the way he looked at Alenna. The idea of Alenna being forced … of being trapped under that man’s body as he rutted over her, made Tynan’s stomach churn. Alenna deserved to be held. Kissed. Introduced to love making so she knew great pleasure.

  Tynan turned away his morose thoughts and noted Baron Carruthers sat at the head table, close to Caithleen. The man had a wife, but he’d left her at his castle, and his lascivious glance landed first on Caithleen, then Alenna.

  "Humph," Tynan said to no one in particular.

  Dougald slapped him on the back. "What ails ye? Are ye still pinin’ for the lass?"

  Tynan grunted. "I dinna ken what lass ye speak of."

  Dougald laughed loud enough that the other knights at that end of the table looked his direction. "Why Alenna, of course."

  "If ye ken what’s good for ye, ye’ll keep yer mouth shut," Tynan growled.

  "Och! The man’s fair in his cups over her."

  The men at their side of the table laughed.

  "Ye are no exactly sober," Tynan said, wondering how much ale Dougald had actually consumed.

  "Aye." He lowered his voice so only Tynan could hear. "But this is my last sip. I want to be able to do my duty tonight."

  Tynan had no illusions about what the other man meant. Too much drink meant he wouldn’t be able to service whatever wench he chose for the game.

  "Now ye are another matter," Dougald said as he slapped his friend on the back again. "If ye keep drinkin’, ye’ll no be able to—"

  "I told ye to shut yer trap."

  Dougald laughed. His glanced flickered to Caithleen and his eyes grew warm, then he whispered, "I’m takin’ Caithleen for the game."

  "What?"

  "I’m choosin’ her tonight. I think she likes me."

  "I have it on guid authority she likes ye very well."

  Leaning forward, Dougald once again stared at Caithleen. This time they made eye contact. "Eh? What authority is this?"

  "A secret source."

  "Now ye sound like a damned bluidy spy."

  Tynan kicked him under the table.

  "Ow! What—"

  "Keep yer mouth shut. Do ye want someone to think we’re plottin’ against his lordship?"

  Dougald winced. "Yer in a right nasty mood. Are ye no goin’ to do the game?"

  Tynan didn’t answer. Shoving aside the rest of his wine, his gaze went once more to Alenna. He gritted his teeth. What choice did he have? He couldn’t let the baron, or any other man, trap Alenna in his clutches.

  He turned to Dougald. "I need to speak with ye outside before the games start."

  * * *

  "I’m so glad the baron let ye talk with us," Elizabet said. She smiled at Alenna and moved to give her room in the circle of women that included Caithleen, Johanna, and another woman Alenna hadn’t seen before.

  Surprised that Elizabet had come to the event, she asked, "I thought you weren’t coming?"

  Elizabet gazed about the room as if she expected someone to jump up and bite her. "Aye, but Johanna convinced me she would ignore any man who wished to dance tonight. She is here merely to watch others." Taking a deep breath she continued. "You escaped the baron’s clutches, I see."

  "I told him I was tired of dancing." Alenna spoke the truth. Her feet were tired, and she wanted out of the baron’s grasp.

  The unidentified woman grinned at her. She looked to be about forty, with a kind expression and mischief in her eyes. Almost as tall as Alenna, her long hair fell down her back in a length of grey. Braided with brilliant cords of green and blue to match her luxurious blue attire, her hair was obviously her crowning glory.

  "This is Marie," Elizabet said. "Her guidman is Steward to Baron Carruther’s estate. He wasna able to make the journey to MacAulay Castle."

  Alenna curtsied. "How do you do?"

  The woman curtsied as well. "I have heard from Elizabet that ye are but new arrived here. You are Tynan of MacBrahin’s cousin."

  "Aye," Alenna said.

  Marie leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Is it true what they say of him? I hope he picks me tonight."

  Alenna darted a glance in Elizabet’s direction, but Elizabet did nothing but smile.

  "What is it they say about him?" Alenna asked.

  "Pish. How is it that ye havena heard?" The older woman lowered her voice even more. "He can satisfy a woman until she’s screamin’ for him to stop."

  Alenna felt a blush spread across her cheeks like a heat wave. Admittedly, the woman’s question didn’t embarrass her as much as the image forming in her mind of Tynan making love.

  "He can ride a woman all night before he satisfies himself," Marie said as if she already knew the answer to her first question.

  Before Alenna could formulate a coherent answer, the baron clapped his hands together and thus silenced the room. With the quiet came dread. No doubt he meant to start the games.

  The baron lifted his goblet to the crowd. "Honorable ladies and gentlemen. I am glad you are able to attend tonight, and that you will be able to stay with us here at the castle for a fortnight. It gives me great pleasure to join with you in this special game. You all know how it commences. A man will choose his lady for the next dance. And during that dance, he will declare his intentions toward the lady. If she accepts his terms for the fortnight, he will shout to the room that she has accepted. The first man to receive agreement of his terms is the winner. And the man receives more than just the beautiful lady."

  The baron lifted a small, black box from the table. "Inside this box is a precious item, that no one but myself has seen. ‘Tis the man’s payment, to do with as he chooses." The baron slapped his hands together again. "Start the games!"

  The baron turned his gaze directly onto Alenna, and she shivered. What was she going to do?

  As the minstrels played a new song, her throat tightened, and the bruises on her neck throbbed with the memory of the baron’s cruelty.

  She knew what she must do.

  She would go to Tynan and ask him to choose her for the fortnight. Of course she would make it clear he couldn’t take her in the carnal sense. Would he accept her terms?

  Elizabet grabbed Alenna’s arm and said unnecessarily, "The games have begun."

  Alenna looked around the room, her pulse leaping. She shouldn’t feel this way. Her heart pounded, and any minute she knew the baron would pick her. Images of what deeds the baron might have in mind made her skin crawl with revulsion.

  Dougald advanced toward the group of women. His boyish, flirtatious smile landed squarely upon Caithleen.

  "He’s comin’ for me," Caithleen said, her voice a soft whisper.

  "He’s a braw one," Marie admitted, her hands on her hips, her stare assessing Dougald like a piece of livestock.

  Dougald stopped in front of Caithleen, bowed, and held out his hand. "If ye were to dance with me, I wad be most honored."

  As Caithleen nodded and put her hand into his, Alenna looked about the room for the baron. Seated at his dais table, he observed the group without a hint of malice.

  Relieved, she watched as Dougald led Caithleen to the dance floor.

  Mission accomplished.

  She saw the baron stand and start toward her. Fear battered her chest, cutting off her breath. Elizabet clasped her arm again.

  "The baron comes this way," she said, her voice an urgent whisper.

  "Aye," Marie answered. "And he’s not a bad one either."

  Little did the dimwitted woman know.

  Alenna held her breath. Soon he’d reach for her hand, and he’d lead her to the dance floor. She had to get to Tynan now.

  When Tynan’s big form appeared in front of her, his hand outstretched to her, she started in surprise.

  "Tynan." Her voice sounded brea
thless to her own ears.

  He bowed, his gaze sweeping over her in an unmistakable ravening assessment. Flustered, she forgot to curtsy. When Tynan moved slightly, she saw the baron come to a dead halt in the middle of the room, his face flushed, his jaw tight.

  "Dance with me, Alenna," Tynan said softly.

  Music faded into the background. The sound of ribald laughter and hale talk vanished. She could only see the man in front of her, and the possibilities in his words. When had he last looked at her that way? Something had altered within him. How she knew she couldn’t be certain, but every centimeter within her detected the transformation. Maybe it was in the way his dark gaze never left her, or the way he touched her.

  Alenna knew he would defy anyone to come between them.

  Tonight he wore a black shirt covered by a plaid he had secured at his shoulder with a brooch. He wore a kilt and she surreptitiously admired his strong legs. Everything about him spoke of primitive needs, and he didn’t look as if he planned to take prisoners.

  Dazed, she didn’t take time to look at Elizabet or at Marie.

  Alenna put her hand in his, and he led her to the dance floor without another word. Whispers of speculation echoed around them, but she couldn’t have cared less.

  As they danced his gaze caught hers and held, while they moved through the steps Caithleen had taught her earlier in the day. Each precise and gentle movement of their bodies as they came closer and paced away resembled a mating dance. Within her imagination erotic scenes flowed and brought a flair of heat to every inch of her body. The music seemed to talk to her and draw her closer to him. The lute and cymbalum hummed in an oddly carnal tune, when she never would have expected such simple sounds to be so thrilling. As the music drew them together yet again, they stayed close for several moments longer than they should.

  "This ornament," he said, staring at the necklace. "The baron gave it to ye?"

  "Yes," she said, mortification rising within her. "He wanted me to wear it tonight."

  Tynan nodded. Alenna couldn’t tell if he disapproved of her wearing it, and she wished she didn’t care whether he approved or not.

  "‘Tis a mark of ownership, this necklace," he said.

  Ownership.

  The word stung. Suddenly the heavy jewelry felt like a dog’s collar. She wished she could take it off. Here. Now.

  "He can’t buy me."

  "Nay. He willna buy yer soul, but he will try."

  That the baron would be certain of her total acquiescence frightened her.

  "I won’t let him," she promised him.

  This seemed to pacify Tynan somehow and his eyes grew warm.

  "Ye were surprised," he said in her ear, then gently pushed her away so she could twirl.

  When she came back to him and clasped his warm hands Alenna asked, "By what?"

  "That I chose ye. Ye dinna expect it."

  "No," she said softly.

  His fingers laced through hers, and he drew her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. The warmth of it tingled up her arm.

  "And ye dinna want it."

  He said it like a fact, but it sounded like a question on her ears. "No," she said unwilling to tell him the truth.

  "Would ye have the baron? Would ye have his dirty hands and body upon ye, before ye would have me?"

  The question shook her. "No."

  Alenna knew her monosyllabic answers enticed him to go deeper with his questions, but she couldn’t say more. He would have to get the truth out of her inch by inch, like a psychoanalyst extracting answers from a patient. Agonizing footfall by footfall. She knew what paralyzed her. The fear that if Tynan wanted her she wouldn’t be able to resist him, and another piece of her heart would fall to him.

  As the music increased in tempo, his gaze grew hotter and hotter upon her. "Then ye do want me?"

  "I was going to ask you to dance, and then you came to me before the baron could offer—"

  "Do ye want me?"

  She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t.

  "Go with me now. I’ll no take ye unless ye tell me ye want me. Whatever ye choose, ye will be safe with me."

  He offered her shelter in the Black Tower. He offered her his body. He didn’t offer her his heart.

  Perhaps, if he had given his heart …

  "Will ye come with me?" he asked again.

  "Yes."

  He stopped immediately and held her hand aloft in his, so all could see their connection. "She has accepted my terms!"

  Loud and deep, his voice boomed so no one could fail to hear him. All around them people began to clap and smile.

  All except the baron.

  He stood behind the table at the dais, his eyes dark with something Alenna thought might be anger, or even jealousy. But, no. The man had no heart. The only feeling he could have would be animosity, because he’d been thwarted in his goal to have her.

  "Silence!" The baron roared. Every noise came to an abrupt halt. For a terrifying second she thought the baron would say their choice was not acceptable. The baron cleared his throat and picked up his goblet. "To Tynan of MacBrahin and the lovely Alenna."

  All around them people held up their goblets in a toast and took a drink.

  The baron set down his goblet and retrieved the small black box. He came around the table, down the steps of the dais and straight toward them. As he approached, Alenna stood still, fear pumping through her veins harder than water bursting a damn.

  Everything seemed to slow to a crawl. No doubt when she drew a deep breath, everyone in the hall would hear her. Her heart started a fearful tattoo, and her palms grew sweaty. Tynan gripped her hand tightly until it almost hurt, as if he feared she’d get away. Indeed, something could happen. Something appalling and horrible, and she’d be torn from him forever.

  Struggling to control this ridiculous fear she thought of how well she had done up until now in this alien world. She’d faced far worse conditions here than in her own world and had come through relatively unscathed. But maybe nothing was scarier than the truth. She’d admitted to Tynan of MacBrahin she would accept his offer, and instead of taking advantage he’d said he offered her shelter.

  Not love.

  Not a few minutes of wild distraction.

  Protection without any strings or obligations.

  Whether Alenna wanted it to or not, another modicum of her heart that had dangled free, waiting for Tynan to claim it, fell to him anyway.

  She had to do this for Tynan. She couldn’t lose control and go screaming from the room like a ninny. As her breaths pushed in and out she concentrated on slowing them down, on bringing her muscles back into command. Loosening and relaxing, she gentled her death grip on Tynan’s hand and dared to look at him. Full of serious reassurance, his gaze said everything would be all right.

  The baron stood in front of them, his eyes glassy and arrogant on the edge of drunkenness. Perhaps he would have challenged Tynan if he’d been sober, but even this seemed doubtful. He’d look like a fool in front of these people, and she guessed he wouldn’t enjoy the embarrassment.

  The baron nodded to them and bowed. He handed Tynan the box. "Take this with my compliments, Tynan. You have won a lady of great virtue."

  "Thank you, my lord."

  A challenge formed in the older man’s expression, as if the game was not concluded and yet another prize waited to be won.

  "Open it and show all what you have won."

  Tynan opened the box and revealed a garnet ring that matched the necklace Alenna wore around her neck.

  Alenna gasped.

  Her ring.

  The baron had her ring from the dig. How and where had he acquired it?

  Tynan took the ring out of the velvet interior and solemnly lifted her left hand. Alenna’s heart picked up tempo as he slipped the heavy ring onto her ring finger, then looked at her. His gaze was hot, intent, and full of a million promises she feared and wanted all at the same time.

  The baron cleared his t
hroat. "Would that I had been more swift of foot, Tynan."

  Tynan kept his hold on her hand and nodded. "Had I seen ye were so intent, my lord, I would have yielded."

  Alenna knew his assertion meant nothing. Tynan made small talk to appease the nobleman’s ego.

  "Go in peace," the baron intoned gravely, and backed away from them. Then he turned from them and clapped his hands. "Start the music."

  Tynan didn’t wait, didn’t try to engage her in another dance. He led Alenna through the crowd, accepting with good grace the slaps on the back from his friends, and the knowing gazes of women.

  Dougald and Caithleen blocked their path. As Caithleen approached, a sweet, delighted smile on her face, Alenna felt tears form. Caithleen hugged Alenna, and whispered in her ear.

  "Thank ye. Thank ye for helpin’ me. I didn’t think Dougald wad come for me."

  Alenna drew back. "Be happy."

  After Tynan shook hands with Dougald, he clasped Alenna’s hand and pulled her through the remainder of the crowd. She hung back a little, dazed by everything that had happened, and by a strange anticipation. Tynan had won her. As a woman of the twentieth century, the idea of a man winning her should have rankled. Instead, sweet longing tugged at her heart.

  At the doorway a cold, driving wind screamed like a hundred banshees and blew rain into their faces, lashing at their clothes.

  Once outside the donjon, she disengaged her hand from his. "Wait."

  "Nay. There is no time to wait." He grabbed her hand again and walked with her toward the tower.

  "But—"

  Before she could say another word, he turned her about and yanked her against his chest. And then his lips came down hard on hers.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 17

  Startled by the suddenness of Tynan’s embrace, Alenna didn’t move for several seconds. As he kissed her with almost frantic intensity, she subsided against him in pleasure.

  Despite the rain soaking her, warmth flooded her entire body. He didn’t cajole her, he devoured, using his tongue to arouse her. It was hot, wild, and burning.

  Suddenly he drew back, putting her away from him. He grasped her arm and tugged her onward. She trotted alongside of him, her breath coming in gasps.