by Terry Spear
“Dinna fret, lass. I willna die. I just needed a rest.” Lendon never needed a rest.
“Who shall lead the clan?” she asked, helping Lendon to his feet, and wrapping her arm around him. He leaned on her strength, and she hoped they didn’t both fall. But she kept her pace slow and steady. Even so, she was afraid he’d collapse at any moment. Then she saw Quinn behind Lendon, motioning to her that he could carry him if she needed his help. She shook her head. Quinn had to be crazy if he thought her people wouldn’t end his life, just because he aided one of their men.
But when Lendon stumbled, she couldn’t stop their downward fall. Lendon cried out and grew silent, lying on the ground. “Nay, Lendon!” She tried to wake him, but Quinn was at her side in an instant. He lifted Lendon off the ground and carried him to his croft. “Is he…is he—”
“He passed out. His heart is beating strong, lass. Dinna worry.”
Grateful for Quinn being there after all, she finally reached the croft, and Quinn laid Lendon on his pallet.
“I’ll fetch some water. I have bread and cheese for him. When I return to the keep, I’ll send someone to bring him there, if he is well enough to go to the celebration.” She reconsidered the notion. “Mayhap I can have Judith look in on him.”
“He needs rest and food,” Quinn said.
“I agree.” Then Avelina grabbed a bucket to fetch water from the river and headed out.
Quinn took the bucket from her. “You canna leave now.”
“If my da has a contract for my marriage to someone, then aye, I will be leaving,” she said, her voice just as hushed as his, in case Lendon came to and wondered whom she could be speaking with. “Dinna think you can help my people, and they will spare your life. I will tell my da later that I’ve married you and live with you wherever we end up.”
“You needed my help.”
“Aye, and they will want your head.”
Quinn let out his breath. “I’m sorry to hear about your uncle, and your da. Lendon didna say who would lead.”
“My da would have been the natural choice. But if he’s too injured…”
“Others will vie to take over.”
“Hamish, mayhap.”
“Will you want to stay here for your cousin?” Quinn sounded genuinely concerned that she might leave him to stay with Fenella.
“We will be separated before long, no matter what.”
“Now that her da is dead, will any marriage contract stand?”
“If my da is in charge, then yes, because she’ll be his ward. But if someone else is in charge, mayhap no.” She frowned at Quinn. “Dinna think that means any marriage contract for me will be negated if my da should lose his position. Though if my da should lose the backing of his men, whoever would wish to marry me, may no longer want to, and mayhap my da willna be as angry that I married you.” She sighed.
“While you’re taking care of Lendon, I could see if Judith could come to stay with him for a while.”
“Aye, that would be good. No one should be at her croft but her. You could stay there or at the abandoned croft until we can make new plans. If I learn that one of our fishermen has died in battle, we can use his boat. Someone will be coming for it, but mayhap not right away.”
“Aye.” Quinn set the bucket of water down outside Lendon’s croft, then took Avelina in his arms and kissed her mouth. “I have never met a woman so lovely, both inside and out.”
Tears filling her eyes again, she hugged him warmly, wishing life’s choices were easier ones than these.
He smiled down at her and held her for a moment more before they heard Lendon shout. “Avelina!”
“Coming!” Avelina called out to him, her heart racing.
“I will be at Judith’s or the abandoned croft. Dinna worry about me, and see to Fenella and your da. I will wait to hear word from you before I do anything else,” Quinn whispered to her.
“Aye,” she said, everything so up in the air, she wanted to rush back to ensure Quinn didn’t leave before she could tell him the news. She just worried about his safety. Then she kissed him again, feeling as though her heart would break in two if he left without her. “We are married now,” she told him, “you dinna leave without me.”
“Aye, lass. I willna leave without you.” He released her and took off for Judith’s croft.
Avelina said to Wolf, “Go, follow him.” Then she headed inside with the bucket of water and saw Lendon resettling on his pallet. She frowned at him. “You should’ve been lying down.” She prayed Lendon hadn’t seen her kissing Quinn, or overheard any of their conversation.
Lendon snorted and reclined on the pallet. She poured the water into a pot and began heating it over the fire. “Who is taking over the clan?” she asked again.
“That remains to be seen. Several are vying for the position.”
She began to remove Lendon’s trewes, and when she’d pulled them off, she saw that the leg wound would need stitching. “Do you have a needle and thread, so that I can sew up your wounds?”
“Aye, in the box over there.”
She washed the wound, and then grabbed his flask and handed it to him. “Drink.” She retrieved the needle and thread and sat down next to him to begin stitching it. “My da’s men are still following him, are they no’?”
“Aye.”
“Gwyneth told Fenella and me that our das were making marriage contracts, so our clans would have more alliances. Do you know anything about that?” She finished stitching Lendon up.
“She is right, lass. One is Ewen, who would wed you, and the other, Cormac… and he has pledged his support with a marriage to Fenella.”
“Cormac? Nay! He tried to have Fenella stolen away.”
“His brother, Quinn, did, we were told.”
“Nay! His brother tried to have him murdered on several different occasions. Cormac isna to be trusted. Fenella canna marry the swine. Cormac told Quinn that Fenella wanted to leave to join him. He lied to him. Fenella didna even know the brigand.”
Lendon frowned at her. “How do you know so much about this Quinn? Has he told you these things?” Then his eyes widened. “You are protecting him. He isna the one you killed. As to Fenella, things will change now that her da is dead.”
Avelina thought her cousin would be glad that she wasn’t marrying the man, but then she worried that Fenella would be upset that she might never find a suitable husband. Fenella had always lived at the keep. Avelina had always been sure to embrace her other roots—where her mother had come from, farmers, like both their parents before them. That’s why she always helped them out as much as she could.
“I thought you might be more concerned about the man you are to marry. You havena met him before,” Lendon said.
She helped Lendon on with his trewes, and then proceeded to remove his shirt. His arm had a bad laceration also, and she would need to sew it up. Then she had to leave for the keep. She cleaned the wound, then began to sew it. All she could think of was going away with Quinn.
“You wouldna be thinking of marrying some other man, would you?” Lendon was studying her like a man who had seen more than he ought to.
Her gaze shot to his face. Had he seen Quinn?
“You have always been a willful lass.”
“Who would I be thinking of marrying, pray tell?”
“You tell me. He looked like he could be a warrior, handy with a sword, and he was armed with one. He was wearing a sgian dubh in his boot. Hamish told us the story about how you killed the man who had accosted you. But I’m wondering if this man was the one who did the killing. I know you’re capable. But when I saw the one you were kissing, of your own free will, I doubted you had killed the other man. And I suspect he is Cormac’s brother, Quinn, since you are defending him.”
She finished sewing Lendon up. “They will kill him if they discover him on the island.” Not to mention Lendon was sure to tell on her because he’d want to protect her and be loyal to her da. He’d pledged his allegianc
e to him.
“We have lost twenty men. If he is handy with a sword, your da may make allowances. Especially if your da learns he saved your life.”
“But I would still have to wed Ewen.” Not that she would, or could, but her da would not see the situation as she did.
“Aye. To gain an alliance, it would be necessary. I know your mother said you could decide this for yourself, like she did. But she didna have a position in the clan like you hold. Your da will listen to you—to an extent—but in the end, his own position could hang in the balance. Our people count on the alliances we make.”
She didna want to hear it, though she knew how important it could be to her people. The more men they had fighting on their own side, the better. Though even with marriages and alliances, allegiances were known to shift. And she was already handfasted to Quinn, though she worried someone might try to kill him, so she would be free to marry Ewen.
10
Quinn had made his way in the world for so long, despite his brother’s repeated attempts on his life, because he was always one step ahead of the game. He knew he should steal a boat and make his way to the mainland. Attempting to stay here would surely get him killed.
As much as he knew all these things, he stayed. He was a fool to remain there. But he wasn’t about to give Avelina up. No matter how much he told himself her da may never accept his marrying her, and that taking her on the run with him, until they could reach Malcolm’s castle, was dangerous for her and for him, he couldn’t give up the notion of wanting her.
He found Judith corralling her sheep when he arrived at her croft, and she hurried over to give him a hug and a smile. That cheered him. “You are like the son I lost a few moons ago, Quinn. Thank you for the kindness you have done for me.”
He gave her a hug back, afraid if he said she was like his great aunt, she might be offended. “I would finish repairing your byre if I could, but I’ve come with news. Lendon has been wounded and is at his croft. Avelina asked me to fetch you to see if you could care for him for a few days.”
“Aye, of course. No’ that he will want my assistance. He will bristle all the while, mark my words. Is he all right?”
“I had to carry him into the croft. He’d passed out from the pain, so I’m no’ sure how bad off he is.”
“Oh, oh, all right.” Judith grabbed a satchel and filled it with herbs and a few other things, then hurried out of her croft. But then she paused. “Where are you going to be? If the men have returned from battle, will it be safe for you here?”
“For now, I await word from Avelina. Rather than get you into trouble, I’ll stay at the abandoned croft.”
“The one that is haunted? Och, no one goes there.” Judith hurried off to see to Lendon.
Quinn gathered the bundles Avelina had left behind and headed for the abandoned croft. Wolf circled around him. “Stay with me, Wolf.” And then they walked toward the croft. He’d been in so much pain when he’d gone to that croft in the beginning, he would be so much better off this time. He didn’t think the ghosts would keep others away for long though, if the word got out that he was very much alive and living there.
Avelina helped Lendon on with his shirt, and plaid, then heard someone coming. Her heart started racing.
“’Tis me, Judith. I received word Lendon might need my help for a time.”
“No’ me, woman. I’ll be fine on my own,” Lendon grouched.
Judith entered the croft and frowned at him. “See to your da, Avelina. I’ll take care of this crusty, old fool.”
Avelina nodded and said to Lendon, “I beg of you, dinna say anything about him to anyone.”
Lendon snorted. “About who?”
Avelina breathed a sigh of relief and told Judith, “Thank you.”
“May no’ be my pleasure, but sometimes we’ve got to do what we have to do in this life.” Judith smiled at her.
Avelina nodded, and then hurried out of the croft. Though she meant to go straight away to the keep, she detoured out of her way to go to Judith’s croft. She had to warn Quinn that Lendon knew she’d been kissing him, and that he knew he was Quinn and a warrior also. When she reached Judith’s place, she saw no sign of Quinn. Maybe he had decided it would be safer to stay at the abandoned croft instead.
Too far to backtrack to the abandoned croft, Avelina finally made her way to the gates of the keep and saw men coming and going, several wearing bandages, some greeting her, others lost in their own thoughts. She hurried to the keep to see to her da and saw Fenella taking care of some of the wounded in the outer bailey. Avelina detoured to give her a hug.
“Oh, Avelina, I canna believe he is dead.” Tears streaked Fenella’s face, and she brushed away the new ones falling down her cheeks.
“I was taking care of Lendon’s wounds. He told me what had happened. I’m so sorry. I adored my uncle, and we will all feel his loss.” Avelina hugged her tight.
“What of Quinn?” Fenella whispered.
“He is at the abandoned croft. Lendon saw him. Quinn carried him to his pallet when he passed out.”
“Och, will he tell?”
“I dinna think so. Lendon said you were to wed Cormac, the beast.”
“Aye, but the contract willna go through any longer, your da said. But your da is angry with you.”
Avelina frowned at her cousin.
“You are now to wed Cormac and your da believes you have killed his brother.”
“I’ve made a contract with Quinn to marry him. ‘Tis done.”
Fenella’s mouth hung agape. “You and he…on the island…were…were…together as man and wife?”
“Aye. We consummated the marriage, though we need no’ have to make it binding.”
“Och, Avelina, your da will be more than furious.”
“Most likely.” If he thought to have an alliance with another clan. “What about the contract with Ewen?”
“Apparently, he isna as powerful as Cormac, and if your da leads, you will be married to the most powerful man.”
“Unless da doesna lead the clan.”
“Aye, and if he doesna, and his loyal men continue to be loyal to him, you will wed Cormac, unless whoever takes over the clan has a daughter eligible to wed him. Except I guess you willna be able to with this business of handfasting with his brother.”
“Avelina!” Hamish called out to her from the entryway to the keep.
Avelina gave Fenella another heartfelt hug. “I will see you as soon as I can. I’m so sorry about your da.”
“Aye.” Fenella sniffled. “I know you loved him as much as I did. I’ll pray for you, Cousin.”
“I fear I may very well need your prayers.” Then Avelina hurried off to the keep and joined Hamish. “How is my da?”
“Furious with you, I’m afraid, lass. We thought it was a good thing that you killed Quinn when he attacked you. But now that you are supposed to wed his brother, we may never speak of how Quinn died. He drowned at sea. That will be the end of the matter.”
As much as she respected and liked Hamish, she bit her tongue, so wanting to tell Hamish that she wouldn’t and couldn’t wed Cormac, and that he’d tried to murder his brother Quinn. The man had no morals. But she had to tell her da first.
“How is my da? Besides being angry with me.” Though she supposed he would be glad she hadn’t killed Quinn, he wouldn’t be happy to learn she’d fallen in love with him. Or agreed to marry him.
“He was injured. But according to him, not badly. See to him and we’ll speak later.”
“Aye.” Now she was truly worried about her da. Had he been injured worse than he’d let on, concerned that the council would want to replace him? That his own men would find someone else to lead them?
She hurried up the stone stairs to her da’s chamber, expecting a servant to be tending to him, and was surprised to see Gwyneth was in his chamber, nursing her da like she should have been doing.
“Gwyneth,” Avelina said in greeting to her, a chill in her voi
ce. If Gwyneth wanted to comfort Avelina’s da, she was fine with that, glad even that he was not alone. Gwyneth might even be good for him. But Avelina didn’t want her here, listening in on what she had to say to her da. “Da, I’m so sorry about Uncle.”
“He died a warrior, which is all we can hope for—fighting our enemy until we draw our last breath.”
She reached over and took his hand and squeezed, glad when he squeezed back, his grip strong, not weak, like she worried it might be. “I was taking care of Lendon’s wounds, when he told me you had been wounded.”
Gwyneth was tenderly wiping her da’s brow, and Avelina wanted to dismiss her, but it was her da’s place to do so, and he didn’t seem to want to, or he would have already.
“How badly injured are you?” Avelina frowned at her da, telling him she wanted to know the truth and not some made-up tale he might have given to Hamish and the other men.
“Not as badly as some, who would like to replace me, would hope.”
She took a relieved breath. But she knew that even a wound that seemed inconsequential could become infected and the death of the warrior could soon follow.
“It would seem I have a daughter and a niece to marry off now.”
“Lendon told me about Cormac and Ewen.” She waited for her da to tell her what he had planned, just in case it was different from what Lendon had told her. She cast Gwyneth an irritated look, wishing the woman would get the notion she wanted to be alone with her da.
“If I lead the clan, you will wed Cormac. If I continue to lead my men, you will wed Ewen.”
“I willna wed Cormac.” Avelina hadn’t meant to say it quite in that manner. Certainly not in front of Gwyneth, who was smiling a little at Avelina’s impudence.
Her da raised both his brows, surprised, Avelina was certain, to hear her defiance. She normally did everything she was told to do, because she knew it was right. And, yes, if her marrying someone else made for an alliance with a powerful clan that could help them fight in battles and win, that was the right thing to do. Except, not when the man was so dishonorable in attempting to kill his brother, the man whom she’d fallen in love with.
