Frazer's laughter rang through the chamber. "The old fool doesn't know. Elspeth's mother never told him she was with child. She died in childbirth, confessing her child's true heritage to Fenella on her deathbed. The little bitch didn't know until just now," he scoffed.
Everything in her dream turned to slow motion. Elspeth jumping towards Frazer, the fists, the knife….
Devon shrieked in horror and flung back the covers in a sweat. The cold air woke her, jolting her senses, but not freeing her from the nightmare inside her head. She was on fire, her hair, her clothes—there were no clothes. Where were they? Her hands raced to her neck, her hair—no fire—but she could feel it burning her.
In terror, she flew to the window and shoved it open, thrusting her naked torso out into the icy winter air and gulping for breath.
***
Liam couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Devon's beautiful form in the moonlight. She was struggling to breathe—sobbing as she stood bare-breasted in the chill wind. Her hair blew in a shimmering cloud around her head. The thick, auburn strands decorated the perfection of her body. Dear God, what abuse had she suffered at Bryce's hand? Was she planning to jump? Memories of Sarah assailed him.
"Devon," he called softly. She ignored him.
Was she alone or was Bryce lying a few feet away as she anguished over his abuse of her? Liam's stomach knotted in cold dread. He told himself he could live with whatever had happened to her as long as she was safe. While he watched, she made no move to come away from the window.
In silent determination, Liam got a handhold and began climbing up the rock wall toward the window. It was slow going, but her glimmering image drove him up the slippery wall with superhuman tenacity. One more foot and he was there. His hand closed around the window sill and he pulled with all his might to lift himself closer to her.
"Devon," he whispered, still not sure if Bryce waited inside the room. She glanced down with the barest flicker of recognition. "Devon," he repeated. "Are you alone?"
She stared at him blankly, and then nodded in the affirmative. Liam struggled until he found a foothold and was able to boost himself through the open window. She stepped back and let him fall to the floor inside her room.
By the dim light from the fading hearth, Liam could see she was alone. He straightened slowly, listening intently for some response to the noise he had made.
Off in the distance he thought he could hear voices. Snatching Devon's nightgown off the floor, Liam forced it over her head. She stood in mute acceptance of his ministration.
"Devon darling," he whispered. "Don't you know me?"
There was no time. He could hear rapid footfalls coming toward the door. Picking Devon up, he put her back in the bed and covered her. He had just enough time to slip behind the heavy draperies when Bryce burst through the door.
"What the hell?" Bryce cursed, moving over and shutting the window. His attention focused on the soft form in the bed. "Did you do this?" he screamed.
Nigel appeared in the open doorway. "It probably blew open in the wind," he snapped. He walked over and stood by the bed with a candle. "Look, her eyes are open. What the hell did you do to her to make her like this?"
Bryce shot his cousin an agitated leer. "I made her talk about what happened the night Frazer was murdered."
"She confessed?"
"She never got that far, she turned into this." He motioned to the bed. "If I'd been smart, I'd have taken her first, and then tried for a confession. I'll know better if she snaps out of it."
"You're a sick bastard, you and Frazer both were." Nigel took hold of Bryce's arm. "Come back to bed, maybe by morning she'll be better."
Reluctantly Bryce let Nigel lead him away from his prize.
As the door closed behind them and locked into place, Liam moved to the bed and lay down beside his wife. "Come back to me, Devon," he pleaded, silent tears streaking his rugged face. "I cannot live without you."
There was no reaction from her. He couldn't possibly get her out the window and off to the horses in this condition. Carefully he rose from the bed and went over to test the lock. He picked up a heavy chair, placing against the inside of the door.
Moving to the hearth, he examined his crossbow and dirk. There was nothing to do but wait for morning. When Bryce came back, he'd end this once and for all.
Weary from days with no sleep, he walked back over to the bed and lay down beside Devon. Softly he caressed her forehead, and then pulled her into his arms. She lay motionless against his chest.
"I'll save you, Devon," he whispered. "Come back to me and I'll save you."
Exhausted, Liam drifted off into a light sleep, his dreams tortured with images of Sarah's funeral. The empty look in his wife's face was the same distant expression Sarah had in the days just before she took her own life. He knew God had intervened and sent him to Devon for the explicit purpose of healing her and himself. He struggled with how he could achieve this monumental task and no idea took form. There was only a terrible dread of failure and its consequences.
Dawn came and the sun flooded the chamber with light as it peeped over the distant horizon. Liam stirred, smiling when he saw Devon no longer stared with unseeing eyes. Instead she snuggled to him, her eyes closed in sleep. Dare he try to wake her?
His lips moved to find hers in a soft kiss. She moaned and her eyes flickered open, staring at him as if from a great distance.
"Devon," he whispered. "It's Liam." Her vacant stare continued. "Darling, I'm your husband."
"You're not Frazer," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. Suddenly she jerked away, jumping from the bed and casting a wild glance around the room. "Who are you? Are you the one he wanted to watch me with?" Not waiting for his answer, she began to scream. Liam sprang off the bed and tried to grab her. "No! Stay away from me!"
Devon backed toward the window. She held her hand up in front of her for him to stop. "I'll jump. I swear I'll jump if you come one step closer!"
Liam could hear Bryce and Nigel rushing for the door. Grabbing his crossbow, he turned and braced for their attack. The chair went flying when the cousins broke into the room. They gaped in disbelief at Liam MacLean.
"Stop right there!" Liam ordered.
The cousins stopped and raised their hands in the air. "I told you he'd come," Nigel complained.
Devon began a low moaning sound and Liam reached behind him trying to grab her wrist. He heard the window opening. Panic filled his heart. She was going to jump. He wheeled around and caught her just before she rushed out the window, but Bryce was on both of them. Liam lost his balance and tumbled them both to the floor.
Liam tried to protect Devon as Bryce began pummeling him with hard blows. Desperate to stop the assault, he shoved Devon under the bed and turned to face his attacker.
"Help me!" Bryce screamed to Nigel.
Nigel stood watching while Devon struggled from beneath the bed and went for the window again. Liam was powerless to help her. Bryce locked him in a stranglehold in the corner.
With a quick jump forward, Nigel grabbed hold of Devon and jerked her into the opposite corner of the room.
Liam was getting the upper hand now, punishing Bryce with blow after blow to his midsection.
Suddenly he heard her voice. "Liam!" she screamed. His eyes flashed around the room looking for Devon. She was in the corner with Nigel, but his momentary lapse of attention gave Bryce the opportunity to shove him backwards into the hearth.
Fire shot across the room. Liam's shirt was catching on fire. Devon broke free of Nigel's grip and ran to smother it with a blanket from the bed. Bryce jerked her away as Liam recovered his balance.
Throwing off the singed blanket, he ran at Bryce who backed toward the window clutching Devon.
"I'll toss her out!" Bryce shouted, dangling Devon over the window ledge. Liam stopped his action. "Nigel, get his crossbow," Bryce ordered.
"If you drop her you're a dead man." Liam's voice became dark with the ce
rtainty of his promise.
"Idiot, what's keeping you? I said get his crossbow." Bryce shot Nigel a look of consternation.
Devon seized his momentary inattention to grab hold of the window ledge and catapult back in the room. With a roar, Bryce jumped after her, but Liam ran at him head down, hitting Bryce squarely in the stomach and sending him tumbling backward out the window. His scream echoed back up as his body hit the ground and continued a rolling descent until it came to rest in a twisted pile of misshapen flesh.
Devon flew to Liam's side as he gazed down on the lifeless body. Her hand touched him and he drew her into his arms, looking back at Nigel.
"Thank you for saving Devon," Liam said.
"Bryce deserved to die," Nigel said softly. "If it's all right with you, I'll be leaving now."
"Nigel, as Bryce's heir this property is yours. It's Devon and I who will be leaving, but I would hear it from your lips. Did Bryce kill Fenella and try to poison Malcolm and me?"
"He did many terrible things, including killing Wycliff, but he didn't do that. It was a mystery to him as well. He had me trying to help him figure it out."
"If Bryce is truly innocent, I think I know who the culprit is," Liam said wearily.
"She's a victim herself," Nigel said.
"I know."
***
In a matter of hours, Liam got things ready for their trip home. His back had escaped any real injury due to Devon's quick action. The fire did little damage and Devon became more herself when she dressed in her own clothes.
Nigel stood looking up at Devon as she perched on her horse. "I'm sorry, Lady Devon, for all the suffering my family has caused you."
"Thank you, Nigel."
Liam shook Nigel's hand and mounted up. The sun was providing a warming trend. They should have no trouble reaching home by late evening. He glanced over at Devon and she gave him a weak smile. She wasn't herself yet and it worried him. There was a tentative quality about her every move, but he hesitated to point it out, suspecting the memories Bryce had forced to the surface were the source of her pain. At least she knew him now. He'd fix the rest no matter how long it took.
They had been riding for several hours when Liam decided Devon needed a break. Leading her to shelter in a shallow cave, he spoke to her twice to get her attention.
"Devon, are you hungry?"
She shrugged, and then took note of his sour expression. "I could eat."
"Good," he replied, giving her a warm smile.
Dismounting, he came over and lifted her to the ground. She looked up at him with a frown. "You said you knew who killed Fenella," she whispered. "Who was it?"
"Devon, I don't think we should discuss this now."
"Why? Is my mind so fragile you cannot trust me with the truth?" She began to cry, but pushed him away when he tried to comfort her. "It's me, isn't it," she sobbed. "I'm so crazy I didn't know what I did. It was probably me who stabbed you too, is that what you think?"
"Devon, no, it's not you. I swear I don't think it's you." He forced her into his arms, soothing her sobs as he crushed her to his chest.
She finally stopped crying and lifted her head to look in his face. "You must tell me."
"Elspeth, I think it was Elspeth."
Devon rolled her eyes and took two steps backward. "My sister," she said brokenly.
"You're what?"
"Elspeth is my sister," she murmured. Liam stared at her in stunned disbelief.
"But how?"
"Father and a servant girl after mother died." She noted Liam's incredulous look. "Father doesn't know. I only found out myself the night Frazer died, but the horror of that night hid it from my conscious mind." She stopped and met Liam's eyes. "Elspeth probably thinks I remembered and never told father."
"And Fenella knew this?"
"Frazer said she did."
"Dear Lord, it all fits. This would give her reason to hate all of you."
***
Malcolm couldn't stand the pain racing through his leg. He smiled when Elspeth walked in with the wine he had requested.
"About time, girl." He motioned her to a chair near his. "Rest a minute," he directed. "You know, you remind me so much of a woman I… never mind an old man's blubbering."
"No, please tell me," Elspeth said, leaning forward in her chair and placing the glass in his hand.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Liam and Devon met the contingent of men Malcolm had sent shortly after their stop. They rode back to Dunsmore Heath with a full escort, not arriving until late in the evening.
Devon pushed open the door to the great hall and ran to her father. He lay slumped in his chair, an empty wine bottle on the table beside him. Liam came up behind her as she shook his shoulder.
Malcolm groaned and opened his eyes. "Devon," he breathed, clutching his daughter to his chest.
Garyth came in and walked up beside Liam while he stood watching the warm reunion. "Glad to see you made it," he said.
Liam turned and took Garyth's arm, leading him out of earshot of Malcolm. "I have an important job for you."
"Anything, Laird."
"I need you to find Elspeth and stay with her until morning."
Garyth grinned, "Doesn't sound too difficult." He saw the frown on Liam's face and gave him an uncertain stare. "What is it?"
"I have reason to believe Elspeth killed Fenella and probably tried to poison Malcolm as well."
"You can't be serious."
"Look, I need to get Devon to bed. In her condition, I'm not inclined to leave her by herself. Just do as I ask. Be wary, my fears are not unfounded."
"All right," Garyth agreed, reluctantly setting off on his task. It wouldn't be hard. He knew exactly where Elspeth was.
He walked down the long corridor until he came to his room and pushed open the door. Elspeth sat up in bed.
"I'm glad you're back," she said sleepily. "Come to bed and let me pleasure you again."
Garyth stiffened, Liam's words ringing through his head. Liam had to be wrong. His poor Elspeth was the victim, not the criminal.
Elspeth slipped naked from the bed and came close to him, running her small hands down his chest until they came to rest on his hips. She was beautiful in the dim firelight, her black hair gleaming. "What's wrong?" she pouted. "Have you tired of me already?"
"Liam and Devon are back."
Her head came up with a start. "He saved her?"
"Aye," Garyth said quietly. He grasped her shoulders and planted a kiss on her ruby lips. "Elspeth, Liam wants me to hold you for questioning."
"Then hold me," she taunted. She pulled away teasingly and dropped to her knees, running her hands up under his kilt.
"Elspeth, stop it!" he said sharply.
He felt one of her hands grasp him while the other ran down his leg. He moaned, remembering too late the dirk strapped to his knee. The blade pierced his chest in sudden rapid-fire motions, and then jerked across his throat to cut off his cry for help.
Elspeth caught him when he fell and eased his heavy body to the floor, her naked body covered by his blood.
***
Liam closed the door to the old master's chamber and came over behind his wife while she stood gazing into the fire. He placed his hands on her small shoulders. She reached her fingers up and squeezed his hand. Brushing her hair aside, he planted a row of soft kisses down her neck.
Pausing in his tender assault, he whispered in her ear. "Are you all right, love?"
She didn't answer, but took his hand and led it down the front bodice of her dress. He could feel his breath quickening. Her fingers were unbuttoning her gown, giving his hand the freedom of movement to stroke her full breasts. "Oh Devon," he murmured. "I'm so hungry for you.”
"Heal me," Devon pleaded. "Wipe away all the pain with pleasure."
Both of his hands clung to her ripe fruit as his mouth trailed heated kisses across her neck and shoulders. The dress was free, then the undergarments. He peeled them off her shoul
ders, kissing her back while he let them drop to the floor. She leaned back against him, giving his hands the freedom to begin their magic stroke between her thighs.
"Liam," she breathed. "I love you."
Turning to him, she ripped his shirt open and ran her hands over his muscular chest. She was fumbling with his kilt. It dropped away and he stood naked and bronzed before her. Leaning forward, she teased his nipple with her teeth.
"You are the most beautiful woman in the world," he whispered. "And I love you more than life itself."
She smiled invitingly and danced away from his grasp. Snatching a thick blanket from the bed, she bent to arrange it by the fire. Liam dropped to his knees behind her, pulling her to him in restless anticipation.
Not sated by his lingering manipulations, she squirmed anxiously under each caress.
"Now," she pleaded.
She was leaning with her back against his chest while his hands made free with her, but she was trembling, almost frantic in her insistence on a quick conclusion to their lovemaking. He wondered what dark memory she sought to quell with his body.
Sparked by her urgency, he pushed her forward and entered her. She whimpered and pushed him deeper, but he could tell she wasn't ready. He felt like he was impaling her, punishing her somehow for whatever anguish flooded her mind. Fighting for control of his own raging desires, he withdrew.
"Easy Devon," he whispered. He rolled her under him and held himself over her with his elbows while he settled his hips between her legs.
Her eyes glazed and her body trembled. "You hate me because of what Frazer did to me," she cried.
"No Devon, I love you." Liam kissed the glistening droplets from her eyes. "I love you," he repeated. "Nothing that came before matters, only here and now."
"You love me," she said shakily.
"Aye, now and forever."
He could feel her start to relax beneath him, but he waited patiently for her to make the next move. Devon reached her hands up and ran them through his thick, dark hair, running them along his jaw line, and then over his rugged features.
"What would I do without you?" she said.
Connie C. Scharon - Highland Legends 02 Page 25
