The Battle Lord's Lady

by Linda Mooney

  “Are we going to take all three days to get home?” she asked, reluctantly pulling on her pants.

  “I might speed up the pace a bit,” he smiled, pausing. “Atty? Do me a favor and wear your hair down today?”

  She glanced up at him, her eyes wide. Standing there, clad in just her pants and boots, her hair flowed over her naked shoulders to drape and curl just under her breasts. To Yulen, she resembled an untamed forest nymph.

  “Are you nuts?” she asked. “On the trail? With the wind blowing and the dust flying? What if I compromise and just pull it back instead of braiding it?”

  An untamed forest nymph with an attitude, he quickly corrected himself with a smile. Shrugging, he belted on his sword. “It was just an idea,” he echoed, grinning. He walked over to give her a soft kiss. “I’ll be outside waiting for you,” he said, then disappeared under the door flaps, leaving her alone to finish dressing.

  Mastin was first to see the Battle Lord striding over toward his campfire in the early morning sunshine, and went over to relay the information he’d just received from Karv at the compound.

  “It looks like your hunch played out,” the Second informed him. “The large majority of inhabitants of Bearinger had no love for Collaunt, other than the expected handful who’d profited with the man during his reign. There shouldn’t be too much trouble having them swear their allegiance to Alta Novis, especially in light of what your lady did yesterday.”

  Yulen stopped in his tracks to give Mastin a questioning look. Mastin nodded. “They want to know who she is. And if she’s really...well...”

  “They want to know if she’s Mutah,” Yulen finished for him.

  “Well...yes, sir.”

  “Tell them the truth, Cole. I’ve nothing to hide.”

  The Second nodded and watched as Yulen proceeded to his campfire.

  As expected, the Battle Lord found MaGrath already eating breakfast before the fire. The physician cast him a wary eye before handing him a mug of hot coffee. Yulen stared at the beverage, then at the man.

  “A couple of the soldiers discovered several bags of it in the kitchen while they were doing inventory last night,” MaGrath commented. “Apparently Collaunt had it shipped up from the Louisy Provinces. Drink up. I’d forgotten how much I’d missed it.”

  Yulen took a sip, feeling the stimulant giving him a better hold on his senses as it drifted into his empty stomach. He’d need all the help he could to keep his wits about him today. Taking a seat, he accepted the plate handed him.

  “Will Madigan be joining us soon?” he asked almost casually.

  “Ah. A son’s way of asking ‘Where is my mother?’. Yes, she’ll be along shortly. She said she had something to do. Something to make. I don’t know the specifics and I didn’t ask.”

  MaGrath glanced back up at Yulen, and the Battle Lord instantly knew the man had something to divulge. “Spill it, Liam, before you bust a gut.” The physician let out a sigh and put down his plate. Yulen made a dramatic face at the gesture. “Oh, good God, it’s something earth-shattering. Shall I seek shelter now? Is it too late for last rites?”

  “Just shut up and listen to me for a minute,” the man said firmly but in a low voice.

  “Okay. You have my undivided attention.”

  “Your mother and I...” He stopped, searching for the right words.

  Yulen chuckled and went back to his breakfast. “It’s about damn time.”

  MaGrath’s eyes flew open. “You knew?”

  “I’ve been watching you two dancing around each other for I don’t know how long,” Yulen grinned. “I’ve always known how you felt about her. And, let me tell you, there were many a time I almost dragged you both into a bedroom and bolted the door, and not let you out until I was certain you’d had a meeting of the minds...or something more profound.”

  “Yulen!”

  The Battle Lord laughed aloud. “You’re such a paradox, Liam! For a man with the wisdom of Solomon, you can be incredibly stupid.”

  “Fine words coming from you.”

  “Okay, I admit it. I have my moments as well,” Yulen admitted, smiling. “So, did you and Madigan share a blanket last night?”

  “Fine crude words,” MaGrath amended.

  “And the pot is calling this kettle black. You probably know more about my love life than I do. Pour me another cup of that coffee before I get up and ask Mother myself.”

  “Stay seated and eat your breakfast. Speaking of love life, how is Atty this morning?” He refilled the man’s cup before going back to his own breakfast.

  “Atty is doing fine,” a voice behind him stated, and the physician felt a kiss on top of his head.

  MaGrath watched the warrior girl—wait, not any more, he told himself—warrior woman walk around the fire to drop a similar kiss on Yulen’s head.

  “All right. I’m up. I’m dressed. And I’m packed and ready to go. Satisfied now?” she asked him in a halfway teasing tone of voice. She snatched a piece of meat from his plate and began to nibble on it.

  “You’re also hungry,” Yulen told her. “Sit down and have a plate.”

  “God, you’ve gotten so bossy,” she snickered, parking herself on the fallen log next to him. “By the way, good morning, Liam.”

  “Good morning. Sleep well?” MaGrath grinned, avoiding Yulen’s cautioning look.

  “Yeah, when we slept,” she mentioned nonchalantly as she started on her own breakfast. MaGrath choked on his coffee, trying to keep from bursting out laughing.

  Atty looked around as she stuffed another piece of meat into her mouth. Glancing at Yulen, she finally asked, “Where’s Madigan?”

  He shrugged. “She’ll be along shortly. Why do you ask? I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her again, not after last night.” He watched her lean over to see what he was drinking. “It’s coffee. Ever had any?”

  “Real coffee?”

  “The real stuff,” MaGrath confirmed. “Want some?”

  Atty took Yulen’s mug from his hand and took a tentative sip. Her face showed her displeasure. “Ugh! It’s bitter!”

  “Try it next time with a little sweetener, like honey,” Yulen advised, smiling. “Trust me. It’ll perk you up when you haven’t had enough sleep.”

  She looked up to catch his wink, then accepted his quick kiss before he left them to check on the progress of the caravan. Sighing, she got a drink from his water bag instead. Lowering the skin, she noticed MaGrath’s eyes were still on her.

  “What, Liam? Did I grow an extra arm or something overnight?”

  “Are you really all right, Atty?”

  “You mean other than being sore as the dickens?”

  This time he didn’t try to hide his smile. “Will you be able to make it through today?”

  “Speak your mind, Liam,” she said flatly. “I’m still a bit woozy-headed. And, contrary to popular myth, all caste hunters are not necessarily early risers or morning people.”

  “Never mind. Just remember I have some powders you can take if your face gives you any problems, or you get to feeling any undue discomfort or...cramping.”

  Atty narrowed her eyes at him. “Uh-huh. I see. Okay. Thanks for the offer.”

  She watched him leave and hurried to finish her meal. The camp was breaking down quicker than usual, and she’d just managed to wash up afterward in the little stream when Yulen brought her the mare. Together they mounted their horses, when Atty paused, pulling back on the reins. Yulen turned around to see what was keeping her.

  “Atty?”

  “Yulen...”

  He grew concerned over her hesitancy. It wasn’t like her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I...I don’t think I’m going to be able to withstand this all day,” she admitted softly. There was a definite paleness around the edges of her mouth that hadn’t been there earlier.

  Moving his horse closer, he leaned over her. “Atrilan?” he whispered. He glanced over her, trying to figure out what had stopped her cold, wh
en it suddenly became evident to him.

  “Yul?”

  They hadn’t seen Madigan come up beside the horses until she’d spoken. Now her presence was an unexpected and unwanted interruption.

  Madigan saw the angry expression on her son’s face, and hurried to avoid the command she knew was coming. “May I speak to Atty? Alone? Please? It’ll only take a minute, I promise.” She looked at the warrior woman, hoping to relay the urgency of her request. To her relief, Atty gave Yulen a nod of acceptance, and he backed up his horse to wait and watch from a few feet away.

  She went over to address the woman on the saddle. “What I want to say to you is private, but I promise it’s sincere,” she whispered.

  “What’s so private you can’t mention it in front of Yulen?” Atty asked her.

  Reaching inside the pocket of her gown, the older woman pulled out a small, wrapped package and pressed it into the palm of the warrior woman’s hand. Atty stared at it blankly.

  “I remember my first time,” Madigan told her softly. “I also remember the discomfort afterward. But fortunately I had someone who helped me through those rough first few days. Take this poultice and place it inside you where the pain is the greatest. It’ll give you comfort for most of the day. Then, tonight, I’ll tell you how to make it yourself, case you ever need another one.”

  She patted Atty on the knee, then turned and went to gather her horse. Yulen watched her leave, and when he turned back around, Atty was standing behind her horse. A moment later, she swung back into the saddle and settled in, pausing to adjust how she sat.

  “What was that Madigan gave you?” he asked, pulling up next to her.

  “A poultice of some kind. It’s supposed to help.” Atty managed a small grin. “So far, so good. Let’s hope it works.” Kneeing her horse, she hurried off, leaving him confused but willing to be satisfied with her answer.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Clearing

  The caravan made good time, and had traveled quite a distance before Yulen called for the midday halt. At one point during their ride, Atty had suddenly thrown the reins of her horse at Mastin and jumped out the saddle, dashing for the trees lining the edge of the road. Liam and Madigan glanced at Yulen, who shrugged.

  A short distance down the road they found her sitting, waiting for them, a big grin on her face, and a brace of wild turkeys slung over her shoulder. Yulen started to ask her how she’d managed to kill them, considering she didn’t have her bow with her, when he saw her casually tossing a dagger into the air and catching it by the blade. Her Ballock dagger. He’d completely forgotten about having it. A quick look down at his belt proved him right.

  “And how, pray tell, do you plan on cooking those?” he asked as he watched her climb back aboard her horse. It was enough meat for the entire company.

  “Oh, these are for supper,” she called over her shoulder at him as she settled the birds over the back of his saddlebags, then got back to her place in line.

  He realized she kept the dagger, tucking it into the front waistband of her pants sans sheath. A dangerous move if she’d been a man, he thought with a grin.

  “I brought the Ballock’s scabbard, if you want it. It’s in the saddlebag.”

  “No, thanks. I’m good.”

  For most of the trip MaGrath and Madigan rode together, separated from the rest of the line. Yulen pointed them out to Atty. “They’ve been lovers in every sense of the word, except the physical one. I think that’s come to an end.”

  “You hope?” she asked him, smiling.

  “Mother loved my father passionately, but I think she’s grieved too long. She’s still young. She needs some light in her life. Some love. If it had been anyone else, I would have objected strongly. But she and Liam grew up together. To be honest, I’ve always thought that if Liam hadn’t gone to Far Troit to become a physician, he would have fathered me.”

  Atty’s eyes studied his face. An infinite sadness began to descend over her, and Yulen realized there was still so much about her past that he didn’t know about.

  “Atty, I think now’s the time we start to get to know one another better,” he suggested in a softer tone.

  “I thought we’ve already done that pretty thoroughly,” she smiled, teasing.

  “You know what I mean. I want to know about your life before I found you. What kind of child were you? Who taught you to hunt and cook? Didn’t you do the things the other little girls did? Tell me about your family, your mother, your father. Do you have siblings?”

  He watched as two tears dripped in succession from the corner of one eye.

  “When you’re ready,” he amended gently. “There’s no rush. After all, we have plans to make once we return to Alta Novis.”

  Atty sniffed. “What kind of plans?”

  “Well, if I’m not mistaken, I thought you agreed to marry me.”

  The look on her face was priceless. “You meant it? You still do?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” He frowned. “What? Did you think it was just pillow talk?”

  “I don’t know what to think, Yulen D’Jacques.”

  “Well, I distinctly recall another one of your conditions was that I not put you in the same position as any of my past mistresses. That was a fortunate call on your part, coincidentally.”

  “Oh? How?”

  “I’ve never loved any of my mistresses.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye to see the flood of emotion filling her face.

  “Okay. Spit it out, Yulen. Quit toying with me.”

  He could tell she was on the verge of tears. “All I really want to know is, will you wear a gown at our wedding, so I can at least know what you look like in a dress?”

  “A gown?” she whispered.

  “I think you still deserve to wear a white one,” he grinned. “If Madigan cracks her whip, we might even have everything prepared in two days’ time.”

  This time when he looked over at her, her head was bowed and tears were freely falling. Leaning over in his saddle, he reached over to cup her chin with his fingers, careful of her still-healing face. “Why the tears, my Atrilan?” he tenderly asked. “Please tell me they’re happy ones.”

  She made a small sound in her throat, gave him another undecipherable look, then wheeled her horse around and made for the back of the line. Suddenly, she jerked so hard on the reins, the mare reared on its hind legs.

  Yulen started, prepared to follow her, when she turned back around and began galloping at full speed toward him. She passed everyone at a breakneck pace, bent low over the neck of her mount, and continued down the road, disappearing around the next bend in a cloud of dust.

  MaGrath and Madigan hurried to join him. “What’s wrong, Yulen?” the physician demanded in a stern voice.

  Shaking his head, Yulen replied, “All I did was remind her we had a wedding to plan when we got back to Alta Novis.”

  “What did she say?” Madigan asked.

  “Not much. In fact, very little. I think she thought I was playing a cruel trick on her at first.”

  “She didn’t take you seriously?” his mother said.

  Yulen looked at her. “I don’t think she believes me.”

  The caravan continued at a brisk pace. When they rounded the bend, the road extended before then for a good distance, but Atty was nowhere in sight. Another mile went by, and still there was no sign of her.

  “Maybe she’s in the woods,” MaGrath suggested.

  “As long as she’s okay, I don’t care if she’s in Far Troit by now,” Yulen stated.

  “She’s wanting some time alone,” Madigan spoke up. “Let her think about it. Remember what you told me, Yul? That she had been pre-ordained never to be wed? That she was never to allow a man to have her, or have control of her, or be able to dominate her? Well, she’s having to face the fact now that all of that no longer pertains to her. She’s allowed you to take her and dominate her because of your love for one another. Maybe she’s having a difficult time comi
ng to grips with how much her life has changed, and the fact that something she’d thought she’d never be able to have is now possible.”

  Yulen leaned over in his saddle and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek. “Spoken like a mother who never had a daughter of her own.”

  Madigan’s cheeks turned rosy. “You may have to spend the next few days telling her over and over that, yes, there’s going to be a wedding. And, yes, you are taking her to wife. You have met her terms, and now it’s time she met yours. And, yes, it is going to happen, and very soon. Oh!” She perked up as a thought came to her. “Should I have her fitted for a gown? Or do you think she’ll insist on wearing pants to her own ceremony?”

  Yulen burst out laughing. “I asked her the same thing.”

  “What did she say?”

  He shook his head. “She didn’t. That’s when she took off. But, Mother, when you do call in the tailors, don’t go for anything elaborate. This is Atty we’re talking about.”

  “Right,” Madigan nodded, and a little smile curled in the corner of her mouth. “I’ll see if he can fit a weapons belt onto it.”

  Even MaGrath had to laugh at the suggestion.

  By Yulen’s estimation, they’d advanced another forty miles before he called a halt for the evening and ordered camp to be set up. There had still been no sight of Atty or her horse, and although Yulen was beginning to get worried, MaGrath assured him that she was the one person who could take care of herself.

  Madigan took possession of the brace of turkeys, and the birds were cooked for the benefit of the soldiers.

  Darkness fell, and for once the entire fragmented moon was visible in the sky, shining like a broken lantern light. Yulen stood watching the road for some sign of her to come into view, when he felt a hand on his arm.

  “Would you like to use my tent again tonight?” his mother inquired.