Return of the Warrior

by Kinley MacGregor

  While Christian and Dagger settled Agbert, Adara returned to the inn to pack their things so that the army could march as soon as they were all ready.

  She left out Christian’s armor, assuming he would want to wear it beneath his monk’s robe as he always did.

  After Phantom and Lutian came to get her coffer and take it to the wagons to be loaded, she went below to buy bread, milk, and cheese to break her fast. She smiled at the inn’s owner as soon as she saw him and asked for enough that she could share with Christian when he returned.

  The short older man walked off, leaving her alone. While she waited, a strange sensation came over her. The hair on the back of her neck rose as if she were being watched and her senses were trying to warn her.

  Still fearing that they were being followed by their enemies, she cast her gaze around the room until she found two unknown men in one corner who were glaring in her direction. Nay, on second thought, they were glaring straight at her and no one else.

  The unfounded hatred in their eyes was extremely disconcerting. She looked about the inn at the other men who belonged to their group. Some were laughing. Some making ready to leave. Some were lounging on their benches, while others ate. None of them seemed to notice the suspicious-looking two men at all.

  She hadn’t seen either one before. Perhaps they were townsmen or travelers who were new to Calais. But that still didn’t explain why they hated her.

  Did she perchance remind them of someone?

  She was relieved a few minutes later when the owner brought her the foodstuffs and she paid him for them. Wanting to get away from the men, who were still staring at her, she made her way back to her room, where she set the items down.

  She had just poured herself a goblet of milk when someone knocked on her door. Assuming it was one of their party, she opened it to find the two men from below.

  Her blood went cold, but she refused to let them see her panic. “Can I help you?”

  They shoved her back into the room, then slammed the door shut.

  Christian felt awful as he climbed the stairs to his room. Poor Agbert. He’d had a horrendous time in prison, but then, they all had. The worst part about being in the Brotherhood was facing others who were just coming out of their nightmare. There were times such as this when he wondered what it would be like to put the whole of it behind him and carry on free of the responsibility.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t. This was his lot in life.

  But at least he now had Adara. The thought of her waiting in his room had somehow made the past hour more bearable.

  “The men are ready to ride,” Ioan said as he came up the stairs behind him.

  Christian nodded. “Knowing Adara, I’m sure we’re already packed as well. I just need to don my armor and I, too, will be ready.”

  Ioan was about to leave him when they heard something shatter inside Christian’s room. A heartbeat later, Adara screamed.

  Terror, panic, and anger descended on Christian as he swung open the door to find her in the room with two other men who were trying to hold her down.

  “I’ll make you pay for that, bitch,” the one holding her said as he tore open her gown.

  Christian flew across the room, ready to kill them both. He grabbed the one holding his wife and knocked him against the wall, then turned to knock the other one back.

  But when the one who had touched her came back to swing at him, he lost all control. All he could see was the man ripping Adara’s gown, the terror on her face.

  He slugged her assailant repeatedly, then grabbed his head and banged it against the floor until he felt Ioan pulling him back.

  “Christian, stop! You’re going to kill him.”

  Enraged beyond reason, he slammed the man’s head against the floor one last time, then turned on the other, who was pushing himself up from the floor. His lip was busted as he stared at Christian in disbelief.

  “Go see to Adara,” Ioan snapped, pulling him away from the other attacker.

  Needing to make sure she was all right, Christian went to her. She was huddled on the floor, weeping.

  “Shhh,” he said soothingly as he pulled her into his arms. She looked up at him, her lips quivering, to show him her battered face.

  It was more than he could stand. Rising, he went after her attackers again, only to find Ioan blocking his way.

  “Get out of my way, Ioan, or I’ll thrash you, too. I mean it.”

  Ioan refused to budge. “Let the sheriff handle this.”

  “Why are you so angry?” the taller attacker asked. “You are one of us. ’Tis only fair we take a Saracen whore—”

  Christian shoved Ioan away from him as he lunged for the man and cut his words off with a vicious backhand. “That is my wife you speak of, you bastard. My wife you attacked.”

  The color faded from the man’s face.

  Suddenly Phantom was there, pulling him back as Ioan came forward.

  “Let go of me!” Christian shouted. “I want justice.”

  “I can’t let you hurt them, Christian,” Ioan said apologetically. “They are the ones who have just come back with Agbert and Dagger. They spent the past seven years in a Saracen prison.”

  Still, he fought against Phantom’s hold. “It doesn’t give them the right to attack an innocent woman, and most especially not mine.”

  “Nay, it doesn’t,” Ioan agreed. “I will see them into the sheriff’s custody.”

  Far from appeased, Christian finally succeeded in shoving Phantom away from him to return to Adara’s side. Her tears were quiet and dignified and they tore through him like shards of glass, shredding his heart.

  “I am so sorry, Adara,” he said, his eyes tearing up for the pain she’d suffered as he took her into his arms again. “I should have been here to protect you.”

  “I’m just glad you came when you did,” she said, sniffling as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. Christian rose with her in his arms and carried her to the bed.

  Phantom came forward with a wet cloth. “I should have been watching her, too. I knew Dagger had sent them ahead, I just thought they were at another inn. I had no idea they were here. Forgive me, Christian. I never meant to endanger her.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive, Phantom. I am far more guilty of neglect than you are.”

  Christian handed his purse to Phantom. “Go find her a new gown.”

  Nodding, Phantom took the purse and handed him the cloth. “I’ll return as quickly as possible.”

  “My thanks.”

  Once he was alone with Adara, Christian laid her back on the bed so that he could examine her. Her cheek was swelling and her lip was split. There was also a clear outline of a man’s handprint against her throat where they had held her down.

  He fought against the rage that demanded he go kill the men. “Did they rape you?”

  “Nay,” she whispered. “You came in time.”

  Relief poured through him as he wiped the blood from her lips, then pressed the cloth against her right eye, which was starting to swell. “I should have killed them.”

  She covered his hand with hers. Her eyes were dark and filled with a forgiveness neither he nor her attackers deserved. “Nay, I wouldn’t see you arrested for such a crime. No real harm was done.”

  Adara reached up to touch Christian’s face while he tended her. Tenderness swept through her. She was so grateful that he’d found her in time. She’d been terrified when they started insulting and hitting her.

  Even though she had done her best to fend them off, she’d been powerless to stop them. It made her wonder how many times her husband had experienced that awful feeling of helplessness as a boy. How many times had he suffered wounds much worse than hers and had no one there to ease them?

  “I brought you bread to break your fast,” she said quietly.

  “I will eat it shortly.”

  She nodded. “How is Agbert doing?”

  He gave her a
stern glower. “You would ask after him while you are injured?”

  “Aye, as would you in my place. I hope you gave him some serenity.”

  He let out a tired breath as he turned the cloth over to let the cool side soothe her throbbing cheek. “He will be fine eventually.”

  “Are there any who don’t heal?”

  Christian’s throat tightened at her question—that she would be so compassionate, when any other lady of her stature would be demanding the lives of the men who had assaulted her.

  It was something his mother would have done.

  “Unfortunately, aye. There are always some who can’t adjust. Some kill themselves once they arrive home. A few have gone mad, and some, such as the Scot, live in perpetual torment and seclusion from the world.”

  She reached up to place her fingertips to his lips as she stared up at him with a warm, tender expression. “I wish you had come home to me so that I could have helped you.”

  He pulled the cloth away from her face and stared at her for a hard second. “Had I known what was waiting for me, my lady, I would have.”

  Adara’s heart soared at his words. It wasn’t an avowal of love, but it was enough to fill her with warmth.

  Christian leaned forward and brushed a tender kiss across her brow. “If you like, I can tell Ioan to ride on ahead with the men.”

  “Nay. I’m fit to ride.”

  “Are you certain?”

  She nodded.

  Christian got up first, then helped her to her feet. As she set about straightening her mussed hair, he paced the floor, still struggling with his raw emotions.

  He had actually attacked two men who had been through hell. Would have killed them had Ioan not been there.

  Christian should be horrified over his actions. He wasn’t. In truth, all he felt was the rage inside that still wanted to cleave the men’s hearts from their bodies for touching Adara.

  He was growing too attached to her. In spite of his efforts to keep himself immune to her wiles, it wasn’t working. Slowly, bit by bit, she was weaving her way into his heart.

  What was he going to do?

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “Enter,” he called.

  Corryn rushed in. “I just heard what happened. Is Adara all right?”

  He nodded as Corryn saw her and went to inspect her. “Did Christian arrive in time?”

  “Aye,” Adara said quietly. “I suffered nothing more than a few blows. I shall be fine.”

  Corryn shook her head. “Ioan should have let Christian have their heads. I would have.”

  “Where did Ioan take them?” Christian asked.

  “They were arrested for the deed.”

  In truth, that was probably a worse punishment than any he could have meted out. After being locked up for so long, a stint in the sheriff’s cell would be debilitating to them.

  A few minutes later, Phantom returned with a gown. “’Tis not fancy, but it will suffice.”

  They left Adara alone to dress. Corryn ran off to wait with the men downstairs while Phantom and Christian waited in the hallway.

  “If you want, I will go to the jail and kill them before we leave,” Phantom offered.

  It was tempting, but not realistic. Not even Phantom was that talented. “You can’t do that.”

  Phantom laughed evilly. “Trust me, I could get into their cell and have their throats slit and be out again before even they knew it.”

  There were times when Phantom almost scared him. He didn’t know what disturbed him more, the fact that Phantom offered or the fact that he seemed so willing to spill their blood.

  “Adara says to leave them be.”

  Phantom shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what Christian had said. “She’s an incredible lady, isn’t she?”

  Christian nodded. “Her strength amazes me.”

  “Aye. She was always something to behold.”

  There was a note in his tone that gave Christian pause. “You speak as if you knew her before.”

  Phantom’s eyes turned dull. “I shall wait outside with the others.”

  “Phantom?” Christian said as the man ran off.

  Phantom didn’t pause.

  Christian frowned after him. He would go and pursue this conversation, but didn’t want to leave Adara unguarded again.

  There would be more time later to interrogate Phantom about this.

  Irritated, he returned to the room where Adara was trying to tie the laces at her back. She was twisting and turning, like a squirrel trying to scratch an itch.

  He smiled gently at the sight of her.

  “You ever have trouble with this, don’t you?” he asked.

  She straightened and shrugged nonchalantly. “’Tis why I have maidservants.”

  After closing the distance between them, Christian laced the gown shut, then placed his chin on the top of her head. He inhaled her sweet scent as he pulled her back into his arms. Warmth and serenity crept through him, making him hard and aching to possess her.

  She awakened something inside him. Something fierce and wild. Something that, in truth, scared him.

  “You need to dress in your armor, my lord,” she said as she ran her hand down his forearm.

  “I will.”

  Adara pulled away reluctantly. “I’ll wait—”

  “You will go nowhere alone.”

  The anger in his tone was almost enough to irritate her, but she understood his alarm. Inclining her head to him, she helped him dress.

  The mail was heavy, but as always, she helped him suit up, then tied the laces for him.

  Christian paused as he saw her tiny hand on his chain mantle while she smoothed it down. How precious that hand had become to him.

  Turning around, he cupped her face and offered her a gentle smile.

  The smile she returned to him made his stomach flutter, his groin tight. He growled at the sight of her and wished that they had more time.

  Taking her hand into his, he led it to his swollen shaft and pressed her open palm to him. “How I wish they weren’t waiting on us.”

  Adara shivered at his needful tone and the feel of him in her hand. Her own body heated up, wanting to feel him skin to skin with her. “Aye, my lord. Would that we had more time.” She squeezed him playfully, causing him to let out an anguished moan.

  He ground himself against her palm, letting her feel exactly how much he wanted to be with her.

  “We’d best go,” he said, his voice ragged. “Otherwise they will be waiting an hour or more and, knowing Ioan, I am sure he would come to investigate, thereby causing his own murder when I kill him for interrupting.”

  She laughed at that. “Aye. He hates to be kept waiting.”

  But before she pulled her hand away, she ran it up to caress the patch of hair below his navel to his groin.

  Whimpering from his need, Christian finally forced himself to pull away.

  He led her below to join the others. As they walked, Christian wasn’t sure what would be waiting for him in the future. In truth, he could very well die on this journey or during the battle that awaited him.

  For the first time in his life, he realized that he had someone who would grieve for him. Someone who would make sure his body was dutifully prepared and that a marker was there to say that he had lived in this world.

  It was a strange realization, and he couldn’t decide if it made him happy or not.

  Lutian met them by the horses. His expression was hell-born as he saw her face.

  “I am well, Lutian,” she said charitably.

  “And I am angry, my queen.”

  Christian met his enraged glare without flinching. “No more so than I am, Lutian, I assure you.”

  Christian picked her up and set her on her horse before he mounted his own.

  Adara didn’t speak as she rode between Christian and Lutian. Both men seemed reluctant to let her out of their sight, and truthfully, she was grateful for their care.

  Al
l of their company was somber and grave as they rode in virtual silence. It was as if something had placed a pall over the entire morning.

  About an hour outside of Calais, their spirits seemed to improve. Adara could hear some of the men laughing and boasting as they marched their way through the beautiful French countryside.

  A tall, well-muscled blond man drew alongside Christian. He inclined his head to them. “Abbot,” he said to Christian in greeting.

  Christian seemed pleased to see him. “Falcon. It’s been a long time.”

  “Aye. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to greet you yester eve when you arrived.”

  Christian offered him a lopsided grin. “’Tis well understood. I heard about your escapade with the butcher’s daughter and your near miss with her father’s cleaver.”

  Falcon laughed. “Lies all. ’Twas the tanner’s daughter and her father’s ax.”

  Christian joined his laughter. “One day, my friend, you will meet the one father who can run faster than you.”

  “’Tis why God gave us horses.” He winked at Christian, then tilted his head so that he could see Adara. “’Tis a pleasure to meet you, Queen Adara. I am Lord Quentin of Adelsbury and my sword is ever at your disposal.”

  Christian gave him a meaningful stare. “And your sword had best stay sheathed, Falcon, until you’re on the battlefield.”

  “Your warning is well taken into consideration, Abbot, along with your sword skill and horsemanship. Have no fear of me. Your wife is ever safe from my designs. But no woman is safe from my charm.”

  Adara couldn’t help teasing the man who seemed of remarkable good spirit and cheer. “However some women might find themselves immune from it, my Lord Falcon.”

  “What, ho?” he said with a laugh. “Congratulations, Christian. You have found a woman as intelligent as she is beautiful. Tell me, Your Majesty, have you a sister who is fashioned in your image?”

  “Nay, my lord. I fear I am one of a kind.”

  He looked sincerely despondent at the news. “’Tis a pity, then. I shall just have to pray for Christian to lay aside his duties and become a monk in earnest.”

  Christian snorted at that prospect. “You would have a better chance courting my horse.”

  “Then I shall take my charm and work it on a woman who isn’t immune to it. Good day to you both.”