“Does your garron respond when ye talk to the likes of him?” a soft voice said.
Tugging at Balfour’s reins, Rae glanced around. Beneath a gnarled apple tree stood a small young woman. Her rosy cheeks and wide smile were welcoming, but the tilt of her hip was provocative. She rested a basket on that cocked hip. Apples filled the basket, and she raised a round fruit to her pink lips, and bit into the fruit’s crisp flesh. She looked familiar.
“Such a handsome warrior. Did I not see ye with Lord Mackenzie?”
“Aye,” Rae said, wary.
“At the festival, outside Castle Ruadh. Have ye been traveling?” She stepped closer, and set her basket on the ground. Lifting her delicate arm, she patted Balfour’s neck, as her long, golden braid hung down her back. She sighed, and glanced up at him. When a shadow rolled across her face, her eyes were dark and unreadable, and he realized the sun was nearly gone.
“Ye work for Lord Mackenzie. Ye serve meals.”
“Aye, but we should get inside. Night arrives early, this time of year. Castle Ruadh is over that rise,” she said, pointing east.
A wolf howled, then the voices of three hungry beasts said, in his head, that they planned to attack the girl, once he and Balfour departed. “Gather yer bounty, I will take ye to the castle.”
Her smile did not reach her eyes. Wariness made him glance at the basket. Tampered fruit poisoned Dorcas Swann, so he would remain vigilant.
“Pass me yer basket.”
She did, then grabbed his empty hand, and swung up behind him. Before he could hand her the basket, the tip of a small dagger pressed against the side of his neck.
“What is this?” He grabbed her wrist, and the basket tumbled to the ground. Cursing him, she lashed out, but he grabbed her hand. Pushing the weapon away from his skin, he winced as it sliced his neck.
“Nay! I canno’ let ye help him!”
“Cinnie! Stop!” Jaden-Tog said.
Balfour reared, and Rae and Cinnie tumbled to the ground. Jenny was by his side a moment later, and Jaden-Tog was on top of the woman Rae now recognized as Cinnie.
“She cut you. Why?” Jenny ripped the hem of her undergarment and pressed the white linen to his neck.
“I have no idea. She said I must not help him, though I doono’ understand.”
“Lie still, until the bleeding stops. Keep pressure on the wound so I can help the brownie.”
He did as she ordered, wincing at the pain. The wench meant to kill him! As he lay on his back, bleeding, the voices of the wolves grew louder in his head. They were close, and smelled blood.
My blood.
***
Gavin managed to calm Falcon, and climbed into the saddle. When he had awoken, alone except for his beast, his heart stilled. The loss of his captive was a momentary irritation, but when there was no sign of Jenny, all his breath left his bruised and aching body.
“My sire has escaped once more, and I shall deal with him, later. I must find Jenny. If she is hurt, or my father has taken her prisoner, speed is important. “Falcon, we ride!”
As they galloped away from the setting sun, he called out her name. When another sound ripped the sky, he yanked Falcon’s reins
“I heard a woman’s scream, and those howls belong to wolves.” Terror gripped him, and he followed the sounds, until he came upon an unusual scene in an apple orchard. Three large wolves circled a brownie, sitting upon a screaming young woman. Rae lay on the ground, holding a bloody piece of linen to his neck. Balfour whinnied in terror, as Jenny waved a dirk.
Numerous thoughts raced through his head, but when the largest wolf lunged at Jenny, his war cry split the night. Raising his sword, he kneed Falcon, and galloped toward the endangered group, without thinking of his own safety.
Before he entered the circle of deadly hunters, they scattered. Drawing his beast to a stop, he jumped from the saddle, shoved Jenny behind him, and raised his sword. The predators fled.
“It’s okay, Gavin. I think they’re gone,” Jenny said, and dropped her weapon to the grass. When he pulled her into his chest, tears sprung from her eyes. “I was so scared.”
“But ye stood up to them like a Highland warrior, love. I am sorry we were separated--”
Rae struggled unsteadily to his feet. “Those wolves left, because I told them the lass would slit their throats.”
Jenny struggled from Gavin’s embrace, and ran to Rae. He assumed her concern was for Rae’s injury, yet jealousy rose unbidden, stealing his breath. His fist tightened on the hilt of his sword, and he joined the brownie. Curiosity was an emotion he could handle.
“What is this? Have ye found a new wench to warm yer bed? ‘Tis better to wait until we are safe behind the walls of Castle Ruadh.”
“This is Cinnie, and she tried to kill Rae.”
Gavin glanced from the brownie to Rae, and glimpsed the neck wound Jenny had just uncovered.
“Why did she attack him? Did he deserve it?”
“Aye!” Cinnie screamed.
“Nay, child. He is not a threat to anyone. Who told ye to kill him?”
Cinnie quieted, and Jaden-Tog slipped off her. Gavin leaned down, hauling the small woman to her feet. She shrugged from his hold, and glared at them. “I have sworn my fealty to The Sinclair Laird. The rightful laird.”
Gavin glared at her. “Ye be the spy my sire used to follow me back…to Lady Morgan’s residence.” Unaware if she knew of time travel, he grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward Jenny and Rae. Before they joined the others, the brownie touched his forearm.
“Young laird, remember yer promise.”
As a memory surfaced, Gavin’s steps faltered. Jaden-Tog had said, ‘If a person I know is discovered to have… committed a crime…will ye assist in her release?’ The brownie had helped him and he had agreed, mainly because he asked him to help a woman, and not his evil sire.
“This is she?” Gavin whispered.
Jaden-Tog nodded, dropped his hand, and sighed.
“She tried to kill Dorcas Swann with poisoned apples. She just stabbed a man. Ye expect me to set her free after that?”
“Ye promised,” Jaden-Tog whispered.
Growling and muttering curses, he released Cinnie. She stared at them, picked up her basket and gathered the fallen apples. Turning toward a path through the orchard, she ran east.
“Hey! You let her go?” Jenny ran to their side, and tugged on Gavin’s shirt.
“Aye lass. She is no threat. She is a serving wench who thought Rae meant to harm her, and lashed out in fear.” Gavin caught Rae’s eye, and hoped he understood the need to stay silent.
“Rae wouldn’t hurt a living soul.”
“Women of this time fear many things. Those wolves are one of them. Come. We must get to safety.”
“You need to explain why you brought me--”
“We need to get behind the castle’s walls. Rae needs healing, aye?”
Jenny nodded.
He returned his sword to the sheath attached to Falcon’s saddle, then mounted. Rae mounted Balfour, and helped the brownie up behind him, and Gavin lowered his hand to Jenny. She stared at the empty area in front of his saddle, and her eyes grew wide, then filled with rage, not terror.
“Where is…”
“I doono’ know, lass. He and Falcon were gone when I awoke after our trip. I found Falcon, but…”
Jenny muttered several Sassenach curses, as she accepted his hand. He pulled her up in front of him, surprising her. Her eyes met his, but she stayed quiet, then threw her arms around his neck to keep from falling.
“I am not happy. We’d better have our talk as soon as we get to where we’re going.”
When she settled into his chest, Gavin relaxed. When a wolf howled in the distance, she tensed. He circled her waist with one arm, as he guided Falcon toward the east.
“I am sorry if yer unhappiness was caused by anything I did. I had my reasons to bring ye here, and once ye be safe, we shall talk.”
Jenny r
elaxed against his chest. Her gown and shirt were dry, for which he was grateful, but as the night descended and the air around them cooled, her held her closer to share his body heat. When soft snores told him she had fallen asleep, he relaxed.
Sea air filled his nostrils, and a stiff ocean breeze brushed his hair off his face, reminding him of his obligation concerning Niall. With his hands wrapped around the soft curves of the woman he had come to love, an idea rose. He must interview his brother’s lover. Was she the witch who had aided his sire?
“I must find my brother, and I must see Lana.”
Jenny jerked in his arms, as if his words caused her pain, but she did not open her eyes. Was she reliving the brutal attack beneath Faerie Falls? He had thanked the brownie for his help by setting Cinnie free. There was a story there, as well. What did Jaden-Tog and the little serving wench have to do with one another?
The torch-lined outer walls of Castle Ruadh came into view. The gate was open, and he saw Cinnie run inside, carrying her basket. Voices on the walls raised an alarm, and the portcullis lowered.
“What are they doing?” Rae asked.
“The wench must have warned them against us. She needs to learn her place.”
“I do hope ye explain to me why ye let her go,” Rae said, still clutching the bloody rag to his neck.
“Yes. Please explain that, before you leave to visit your…”
“My what?” Gavin searched the shadows of her face. Light from torches flickered in a sprinkling of tears.
“Your girlfriend, or whatever they call the women you men sleep with.”
Before he could question her, someone shouted from the battlements, above. “State yer business!”
“We seek safety, as well as food and drink. I be Gavin Sinclair.”
“Sinclair? The young laird?”
“Aye. I have a wounded man, here, and seek a healer.”
“A moment.” The voice grew silent, and then the gate rose.
“This looks promising,” Jenny said.
Laird Marcus Mackenzie strode forth, with his sword raised.
“Ye spoke too soon, love,” Gavin whispered.
“We have a problem, Laird Sinclair,” Marcus said. “My servant has shocked us with a tale I cannot fathom has involved ye. What say ye?”
“A misunderstanding, Laird Mackenzie,” Gavin said, using his friend’s title, as he had. “If ye allow us to enter, all shall be explained.”
“Fine.” Marcus lowered his sword, turned on his heel, and entered the bailey. Gavin and his group followed, dismounting. Several warriors stood behind Marcus, and archers aimed their weapons at them from the upper walls.
“I am afraid this is all my fault,” Jaden-Tog said.
“Yer fault?” Crossing his arms over his chest, Marcus glared down at the imp.
“Cinnie is in league with Angus Sinclair. Since she is my daughter, I must apologize for her actions. I only learned of our relationship days earlier,” the brownie whispered, then lowered his head, “and it was she who attacked Rae Wilson without reason.”
“Liar!” Cinnie flew down the steps and raced across the bailey.
When Marcus nodded to one of his men, the warrior grabbed her around the waist, and raised her until her feet lifted off the ground.
“The Sinclair will kill ye all!”
Jaden-Tog’s head fell forward, and Jenny gasped at the threat. Gavin hugged her to his chest.
“Place her in a cell. I shall interview her later,” Marcus ordered. “This is unseemly, but if she is a danger to ye, or to my household, she will be dealt with. My apologies, Jaden-Tog.”
When the guard hauled Cinnie back inside the castle, he passed three women standing at the top of the stairs. Lifting his head, the imp bowed slightly, then headed after the guard. Marcus’ wife, Lady Fia, held hands with Izzy, and Lady Skye. Gavin’s mouth went dry at the sight of his former fiancé. Izzy no longer belonged to him. He had never felt for her, the love in his heart that he felt for Jenny.
“Rae needs tending to, lass, and ye need yer rest.”
“Fine. Marcus?” Jenny pushed his arm away, and walked over to the laird. “Is there someone here that can look at Rae’s neck wound?”
Before he could answer, Izzy ran toward them. “What happened?”
Rae removed the linen, so his cousin could inspect the small wound. “I be fine. No time for nonsense, so stop yer havering, and find me a healer, or I’ll be wearing a scar that might frighten away the lasses.”
Izzy smiled, grabbed Rae’s hand, pulling him toward the castle steps. “Skye! Time to earn your keep!” Rae and the women disappeared into the dark bowels of the castle, as darkness fell over the bailey.
Wolves howled outside the walls. The portcullis gate lowered, and their steeds were placed into the care of two stable boys. Jenny headed toward the castle steps, and Gavin fell into step beside her. She looked sideways at him, but said nothing.
The hall torches shimmered, casting an ethereal glow across Jenny’s face. Her eyes sparkled, and he felt her rage. Was she truly unhappy that he had brought her here? Could she not understand his need to protect her?
“Ye shall be safe here, love, until my sire is overpowered, and his coconspirators are unmasked.”
She paused near the great hall’s fireplace, and opened her palms to the flames. When she shivered, he called to a serving wench. “Fetch Lady Morgan a cloak.”
“Ha! Lady Morgan? Do you believe your lies? I’m no lady. I am a veterinarian, and I want to go home. You should let me go, so you can visit your lover.”
Gavin winced.
Jenny must have heard the rumors during her last visit. He was no saint, but he had kept no lover for some time. He had set his sights on Isobel…Izzy…for years, but Izzy had chosen Bull. He wanted Jenny, so he would find a way to convince her to stay.
Somehow. This I swear.
CHAPTER 28
Gavin stood so close to Jenny, that the heat pulsing off him was warmer than the crackling flames in the great hall’s massive fireplace. When she mentioned his lover, Lana, he had gone quiet. A servant returned with a long woolen cloak, and Gavin wrapped it around her shoulders. She fought the urge to throw it in his face.
After a swim in an icy stream, and a gallop through the brisk Scottish dusk, her bones ached. Her heart ached for a different reason. Even sitting in Gavin’s lap while Falcon galloped toward Castle Ruadh hadn’t kept her warm.
“Please excuse me,” Gavin said. He bowed, then climbed the dais and sat beside Marcus.
Why did I tell him to go visit that woman?
If he turned on his heel and headed for Lana’s bed, it was her own fault. She was angry that he had grabbed her hand, tearing her from her time, and her home. She had visited 1603 Scotland for a short time, but she wasn’t meant to live here, especially not alone.
If there’s a way to go home, I’ll find it.
“Long time no see,” Jake said. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed her forehead.
Jenny glanced at Gavin. The fierceness in his gaze, and the hand gripping the hilt of his dirk, amused her. He had no right to act the jealous lover. “I am happy to see you, though I have some bad news.”
“Balfour?”
“No, he’s fine. He’s here, in the stable. The barn, back home, is fine, too. Our apartments? Angus Sinclair blew them up.”
“What? Was anyone hurt?”
A tear dripped down her cheek. Jake, sensing the worst, tugged her into his chest, causing the cloak to fall to their feet. In his arms, she laid her head on his shoulder, and sighed.
Gavin growled, and vaulted over the chieftain’s table, landing beside her. “Release her, blacksmith, or ye shall lose an appendage.”
“Dear Lord!” She pulled one arm from around Jake’s waist, and pointed a finger at Gavin’s nose. “You have no right to order him around. He’s my friend, and I just told him our home blew up, and was about to tell him about…” She swallowed the lump in her throa
t. “Randy.”
“Randy who? Not that ornery cowboy from that farm near Conway.”
She nodded.
“What has he done now? Is he in cahoots with that bastard Sinclair?”
“No! Randy was caught inside. He died,” she answered, her voice trailing off into a whisper.
Gavin gently pulled her out of Jake’s arms. His heated gaze traveled over her face, and his thumb wiped the tears from her cheek.
Without facing Jake, he said, “Randy Hay wanted Jenny, and had already accosted her. She was not at home. Randy was killed when my sire destroyed her house, using magic he could no’ control. We captured him, but he escaped after Jenny sent us back here.”
“Jenny did?” Jake asked, then stared at her.
“I did not! I don’t do magic. I read auras. That’s it.” Both men raised their eyebrows, as if they didn’t believe her. “Dorcas told me to look for that tree’s aura, then throw the magical stones. That’s it. I didn’t want to come here!”
Turning from the fireplace and the wide-eyed men, she stumbled over the forgotten cloak, and headed toward the stairs. After a servant directed her to an empty bedroom, she stripped, laying the soiled clothing and ripped chemise on a small wood bench. A fire blazed in a small hearth, and she drank warm wine from a tankard she found on the small side table. Finally warm, but dusty, she poured water from a pitcher into a bowl. Dampening a cloth, she washed what she could reach.
“I wish I’d ordered a hot bath.”
***
Gavin described their ordeal to Jake, Marcus, and Bull, then gulped from a tankard of honey ale. The heady brew reminded him of the casks he had discovered in the cellar of Izzy’s barn. He had shared several drinks with Jenny, then they had kissed until dawn.
“Gavin, with all you’ve experienced, why are you smiling?” Jake asked.
“A wayward thought, ‘tis all. I am worried about Dorcas. Someone poisoned the old witch. I believe the servant, Cinnie, had much to do with it. She is under Angus Sinclair’s spell, and he might be in league with others. ‘Tis why I brought Jenny here.”
My Dark Highlander Page 26
