Glyniss let out a very unladylike snort. “Have ye he will, lass, for though ye be imposter, he would have fought Mackay, Kincaid, and verily the King himself to keep ye. He be a good mon for the clan, and he has my fealty which be no small feat, so if ye hurt him again, I’ll beat ye myself!”
Cat chuckled softly. “I am certain you would, Glyniss. Maybe you would relish the deed. My husband inspires loyalty in those around him. But, we must see him alone, Sir Raven and I. He must know who the traitor is, so that we may set a trap for him. Only then can he be prepared to fight him.”
“Best ye be quick, lady.”
Glyniss picked up her heavy cloak. “I’ll do as ye bid, and bring him back alone.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
~Song of Solomon 1:2
Roderic was annoyed as Glyniss beckoned him to follow her to the buttery behind the kitchens, but he tolerated her insistence.
“Your wife has returned, Sir Roderic. She awaits at my cottage,” she whispered fervently.
Roderic clutched her forearms, lifting her as he studied the sober expression in her gray eyes. “She is alive?” His heart surged with joy and hope.
Glyniss nodded. “Please, she trusts no one, and bids ye come to her alone. She knows the mon that attacked ye both in your bed, and wants to warn ye.”
Roderic thrust away from her without an answer, making his way to run through the trees. He teemed with desire to see Catherine, touch her, secure his own belief that she was truly unharmed. But his ardent longing was coupled with rage for both the man that hurt her, and the one that had taken her away.
Roderic burst into the cottage, and drank in the wondrous sight of his wife sitting by the hearth. Shutting the door and approaching her in a rush, he pulled her up from the stool with such violence it tipped over. He held her in a fierce grip bringing his mouth down on hers. Cat held his cheek, wincing.
“Mind ye her injury!”
Roderic immediately stilled, gently caressing her bandage as he turned to the older man.
“Sir Raven.” A virulent anger flared in his eyes before he let out a roar and attacked, grasping the man’s throat.
“You! You took her from me!”
“No! Roderic, stop! He helped me!”
Roderic felt Catherine holding him, pressing herself to his back.
“Aye, I took her, puppy. Do not raise your hand to me! I fear not your rage!” Sir Raven’s eyes were a piercing blue, his outrage evident.
“You best do so, old man. Did I not owe you my life, you would feel the very blade of my sword. You come into my life as you please! You take my wife!”
“As I give her to you! She would not be yours at all were it not for me!”
Roderic sucked in his breath in shock. “What say you?”
“Roderic, please, it’s true. Sir Raven sent me to take Brianna’s place and be your bride. Don’t be angry.”
Roderic dropped his hand, but continued to stare into the older man’s blue eyes. “Then why did you take her from me?”
“To save her life from your enemy!”
“Who?” He turned to face her. “Give me the name of the one that hurt you!”
“Roderic, I will tell you soon. We can set a trap of our own. But please, you must not despise Sir Raven.”
“Hush! I need no mediator when I am the reason this one lives!” The older man faced Roderic. “Seek not your own haughty squabble with me, when there be vipers in your own keep! My loyalty need never be in question! I have fought for your shelter and peace — then, and now!”
Roderic’s brown eyes were piercing, those of a warrior. “Then never take her from me! I want your vow on all you deem holy! Now and forever!”
Sir Raven, Merlin, the man of enigmatic power to travel over time, did not answer at once. He glanced at Cat. She nodded.
His blue eyes twinkled. “Aye, ye have it. If you gift this lady with respect for her strength and courage. Ye fathom not what she has given up for you. All she loves she has put aside and her spirit has no joy without you. Best you know this in grateful supplication.”
Roderic circled Cat. “I thought I would never again hear you speak those words. You love me, then, little warrior?”
Cat smiled at his salutation. They made no move to stop Sir Raven when he slipped away, going outside and closing the door.
“Aye, my lord, I love you. You are my breath, my light …” Her voice broke and she got no further.
Roderic kissed her with an ardent aggression, his tongue plunging into her mouth. Lifting her, he pushed her up against the wall.
Cat put her arms around his neck and met his desire with the heat of her own. He pulled at her gown, moving it up, and she wrapped her hands in his long hair and whimpered when she felt the warmth of his hands on her bare thighs.
Roderic kissed her breasts and teased the sensitive tips; the cloth of her gown became wet as he suckled. His tender thoroughness sent a flick of sensation from her belly to the wet heat between her legs, and Roderic stroked her there, then reached down to adjust his clothing only enough to free his erection.
“I want to be inside you,” he said hoarsely.
She lifted her legs, and held onto his shoulders. He teased her, entering her only an inch, then licked her bottom lip slowly as if she were not desperate for him.
“Roderic, please,” she gasped.
He slipped in another inch. “Is this what you want?”
She squirmed like a fish on a hook, her back moving on the wall behind her. Reaching down to grasp his hips in an attempt to pull him forward, her nails scratched his skin.
“Aye, scratch me, Catherine. It will gain you naught in spite of your begging. Tell me you will never leave me!”
She understood then the depth of his longing, his vulnerability. He was angry still for her leaving. Her body was on fire for him, but the affection she felt was stronger than her body’s need. Cat would do anything to appease him.
“Forgive me,” she whispered. “I never meant to hurt you. I’ll never leave you.” She caressed his face, his hair. “Never.”
Staring deeply into her eyes, he plunged inside her. Then he was still, buried to the hilt.
“Oh, God, you feel so good inside me,” she moaned.
He kept her impaled a long moment. His eyes narrowed as he breathed deeply and rapidly.
“I wish I could beat you!”
“I know,” she said.
He began to move then, no longer able to deny them both the paradise within their reach, and Cat welcomed his every thrust. She was soon plunged into a lake of fire, a physical boon to the senses that touched her soul. Her love was stronger than time, than death.
Roderic found his own release with a loud groan of possession, and he rested his forehead on the wall, his cheek next to hers.
When she had recovered enough to speak, he felt her smile. “I think you have gotten your wish to beat me, my lord. Next time, love, can you take the time to remove your breastplate?”
Roderic burst out in a rumble of laughter that shook them both.
God above, how I love her.
Chapter Twenty-nine
For the Lord loveth judgement, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved forever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
~Psalms 37:28
Roderic made his way back to the castle alone. He longed to bring his wife back with him, but agreed with Sir Raven’s plan to trap the traitor. The man Roderic thought to be friend, ally, and loyal to the King had betrayed them all.
Roderic was flayed by his conscience, he felt in a large way at fault for the attack on Catherine. Had Sir Raven not stolen her away, she would have been killed. Still, there were questions in his mind.
If the traitor was who Sir Raven had said, why was Catherine his prey instead of Roderic himself? Roderic would be loath to see and face the betrayer when he longed to kill him. But he
agreed with Sir Raven’s decree that to expose him now would be folly. He had to deal with Kincaid, and his charges, and must confront the threat in a way that would quell the possibility of war until the King arrived. Catherine had given him her pledge of love, and he was now infused with a new purpose. No longer apprehensive of Alexander’s view of his marriage, he would take her away from Scotland if he must; she was truly his mate, his destiny. They would be together in spite of all hardship, for Sir Raven had chosen well.
The old time traveler paced outside the tiny cottage, unable to abide the confinement of the dwelling. Cat fretted inwardly about Glyniss, she should have returned from the keep. Roderic had been gone for over an hour. Sir Raven suddenly entered the cottage, and spoke rapidly to Cat.
“There is an army moving in the distance. ’Tis large. I must go and assess the threat. Stay inside and open this door to no one save your husband.”
With that he was gone, briskly and silently. Cat barred the door in the cottage, and picked up her sword. Long minutes passed while she paced back and forth. The waiting was maddening, yet she knew she must stay. Roderic would come to her when he could.
With no warning she saw a broadax burst through the door. It plunged down again and again. Cat gripped her sword more tightly. The enemy made a hole in the heavy door, and splintered through. She watched with dread as someone reached in to lift the bar from the door.
There was no other way out of the cottage. The door opened with a loud crash and Cameron stood before her but a second before he attacked.
Cat tried to duck the blow, and though his fist missed her cheek, it landed heavily on her shoulder. Falling down to her knees, she scrambled away, and he clutched her skirt to pull her toward him. She kicked his chest, and struck him on the temple with the flat of her sword, and Cameron lunged up to grip the handle, pulling it away. Cat felt as if he had torn her arm from its socket. He wrapped his fist in her hair, dragging her closer.
Cat’s mind raced as she planned a defensive move at his groin, aimed her foot, and kicked out. Cameron moved quickly, and the blow fell on his thigh instead. Suddenly, she saw Glyniss, charging Cameron like a lion, snatching his hair to rear him back. He reached behind him, grabbed her gown and shoved her to the floor.
“Sir Roderic will kill ye for this, ye viper,” Glyniss hissed. Like an angry cat, she spit in his face while he lay his entire weight on her body to hold her down. He grabbed two rawhide strips hanging from his belt and tied her hands together. She tried to bite him.
Cat saw her chance and attacked from behind. She kicked him hard near his kidneys, and he groaned, but did not release Glyniss. Turning, he held Glyniss before him, her face white, his hand clutching her throat. She struggled, yanking at his meaty wrist, trying to break his hold to breathe.
“Leave her be! It’s me you want, isn’t it? You can’t face Roderic, so you seek to hurt his woman!”
“Aye,” he shouted. Standing, he threw Glyniss to the floor the way a child would throw a rag doll, then stepped over her.
Glyniss groaned when her head hit the stone. Her body went limp and very still. Cat hoped it was an effort to trick Cameron, rather than a true injury.
“Why? Why do you want to kill me?”
“Not only kill, but savor it, make it slow, watch ye suffer, all the more will he feel it! Because he loves ye, lass. And I dinnae seek merely to kill him, I want to destroy him. He cares for ye, so that be his failing; no wise mon will show his weakness to an enemy! And, aye, despise him I do. Alexander would put him above us! Above me!” He slashed his arm to his chest.
Cat backed away, trying to circle him, holding her gown out of her way with one hand. He picked up his sword, and she took a defensive stance.
“You’re like a spoiled little boy! You hate him because he’s everything you’re not!”
Amused by her efforts to keep him at bay, he smiled. “Ah, so now ye fear me. ‘Twas not so long ago ye begged so prettily to save me a beating. Ye pleaded with him, your lovely eyes full of compassion for his mercy. Yet ye see, lass, he has none.”
“He does! He lessened the punishment!”
“Aye, and is thought benevolent by all these Scots who serve him. The renegades who seek a pat on the head from the King who put an English traitor above us. I prefer Mackay, one who kills or pillages with no self righteous cloak of integrity!”
He brought down his heavy sword, and Cat dodged it gracefully, turning a full circle around the small table. Then Cameron lunged, and she ducked under his arm. He knocked her to her knees, and she saw a chance to do him damage. She doubled up the fist of her right hand and hit him in the crotch with all her strength.
The big man roared in rage, and buckled, falling down hard, clutching his genitals. Cat scrambled to get away from him, but he reached out and grabbed a handful of her long hair. She screamed when he slammed her face down on the floor. Wrapping his hand tightly in her hair, he pulled her head back and rested all his weight on her.
“Get off me, you bastard!” Cat reached behind her with one hand, and grabbed for his face. She raked her nails down his forehead, and aimed for his eyes.
Panting, he strove to catch his breath, and caught her hand. He grunted when she elbowed him. “Ah, what a fighter ye be!”
He rolled off Cat when her movement again punished his groin, and she scrambled up. Using several self-defense moves, she kicked him in the leg and chest, and pushed a wooden chair on top of him, then ran for the door.
“I’ll kill her!”
As she turned to look at him, she stilled completely, for he stood over Glyniss, his sword to her throat. She lay silent, her eyes closed, yet Cat could see she was still breathing.
“Don’t run, or I will kill her!”
“No! I will do as you say! Just leave her be!”
Holding the sword in place, he smiled, and beckoned Cat with a brief gesture of his free hand.
“Come to me!”
Roderic spoke to Gavin as soon as he arrived at the keep. “Bring Cameron to me. I must speak with him.”
Gavin left to do as Roderic bid. The King’s messenger, a warrior named Robert had arrived, and arranged to speak with Roderic alone. They talked at length about the meeting with Kincaid.
“King Alexander knows of the threat ye face. He sends his greetings, Sir Roderic.”
“When shall he and his men arrive?”
“Soon, but he has been delayed. He must travel first to Melrose Abbey. Sir Alec was murdered weeks ago.”
“I feared as much. I sent him to the King, and had no word.”
“King Alexander bid me say little of the matter. He wants to inform ye himself, and share his proof. I fear there is more amiss. The colors I wear gave me quarter as I rode through the armies of Mackay and Kincaid, but there is another army moving strong to the west.”
“Did you see the colors?”
“Nay, I saw no one, but I have been in many battles. I know the sounds of many warriors when they move in a distance.”
Roderic once again wrestled with an abiding fear for Catherine’s safety. Sir Raven waited at the cottage with her. He had proven well his skill at taking her from harm’s way and had promised fervently to move them to a safer position if anyone approached the cottage. Even so, it was with foreboding Roderic viewed the coming confrontation. Kincaid was not one to attack without proof of the wrong. But Mackay had a powerful ally in the traitor in Roderic’s own camp.
“The Kincaid Laird has the respect of the King. Alexander bids you hold fast and do naught until he arrives,” Robert said.
“Aye. I will do as he commands. But, there may be no time. If the armies of Mackay and Kincaid attack, will you see to the safety of the women here?”
“Sir Roderic, I fear not the wrath of these men. Kincaid is an honorable mon, a Laird well known for his integrity in matters of war. Though he is blinded by grief and Mackay’s lies, he willnae be a part of a slaughter of women and children. Mayhap he will render Mackay bound until th
e King arrives. ’Tis his own army, his warriors that pose the threat.
They have no allegiance to Mackay. They ken the King is eager for peace with England, as his own wife is the sister of Henry. Alexander knows well the hatred many Scots bear him for that alone. He took you as his own, Sir Roderic. That, I fear, bred a hatred that has festered until the King wants an end to it.”
“As do I,” Roderic said.
“As do we all!” It was a gruff shout.
Roderic looked up, the sound of Cameron’s voice had come from the ceiling. There, on the landing stood Cameron, Catherine at his side.
“Did ye ken to keep her from me?”
His wife was gagged, and he saw evidence of their struggle. His little warrior had fought. There was a purple bruise above her eye. Cameron held her tightly by her braid, his dagger at her throat, forcing her to walk along the landing, then down the stairs to the great hall. The King’s emissary drew his sword.
“Nay, he is mine!” Roderic turned to Cameron. “I will send you to purgatory this day.” His rage erupted in a hot mist before his eyes. The man in whom he had placed his trust stood before him, once again trying to hurt his wife.
“Coward!”
Cameron pushed Catherine to the floor and faced Roderic, sword drawn.
Roderic stared at the bloody scratches on Cameron’s face and glared at his enemy with burning, reproachful eyes. “So, you did not take her with ease, and she a mere lass.”
Cameron advanced toward him, stepping over Catherine.
“The bitch will pay for that slight. Alas, though, that pleasure will have to wait. I have longed for this day, English dog.”
The man’s eyes were a reflection of his hatred, stripped bare, no cloak of deceit to hide it.
“ ’Tis the way of one lacking courage to nip at the heels of an enemy rather than challenge, as men of honor favor,” Roderic said.
Their heavy swords came together as they circled each other. The serenity Roderic displayed while he fought for his life incensed Cameron, for he himself had never mastered the warrior’s calm in the face of death.
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