She tapped his blade along the ground as she went and he bit back the urge to scold her. He’d have to sharpen the steel before he left. Ceana led him to the front of the keep where a narrow ditch ran around the base.
“Open,” she commanded at the top of her voice.
The sudden noise from her surprised him and he peered up at the ramparts to see if he could spot any defenders with their arrows aimed at him. But, nay, the castle still had the appearance of being deserted.
A small wooden drawbridge lowered across the ditch and the door opened. Ceana motioned for him to go in front, and he paused. Was he being lured to his doom by a beautiful woman? He wouldn’t be the first to succumb to beauty. But if that was so, she wouldn’t have been so reluctant to grant him entry.
Blane ducked into the curved entrance way and found himself confronted by a petite figure in a cloak. He noted the blade in her hand. Hell fire, mayhap she did intend him harm after all.
“Let him enter, Kate.”
The cloaked lass backed up and flicked down her hood. Damnation, two feisty lasses to deal with.
She motioned with her knife. “Enter.”
“I mean ye no harm,” he reminded Ceana, aware she had his blade and could likely run him through or at least cause some damage.
“We’ll see,” said Kate.
Her sister or close relative, he surmised. She had the same dark hair, brown and glossy, though hers didn’t have a wild curl to it. Her eyes weren’t the shame shade of blue either or at least he didn’t think so in the dim candlelight. But they were similar in height and build with that same narrow chin. This girl was younger, though. No more than six and ten summers.
Blane eyed his surroundings. They were in a narrow entrance hall with tall curved ceilings. An iron chandelier hung low and benches lined either side. A gallery spanned one side by the arrow loops. Defensively, it was a fine design. Should any enemy enter, they would be able to fire arrows upon them and create a killing field before they were able to gain further access.
But there were no defenders here. No arrow tips pointed his way. The only occupants appeared to be Ceana and her relative.
He ignored Kate and turned his attention back to Ceana. She did indeed have his blade pointed at him. “Yer alone here?”
“Nay!”
“Where is yer chief? Yer defenders?”
“I’m the defender,” Kate said and Blane had to resist the desire to laugh.
“No enemy would fear that small blade,” he said over his shoulder.
“Ye should fear me. My father trained me well with a sword.”
He tilted his head to eye Ceana’s stance and how she gripped the weapon. Indeed, she was no stranger to a sword, he could see that much, but he also knew he could take it off her with ease and likely swipe down Kate before she even took a step.
Hands lifted in surrender, he stepped back so he could swing his gaze between them both. “I cannae blame ye for yer caution, but I swear to ye, I have no intention of harming ye. I’ve travelled long and hard and ask only for a place to rest. If ye can direct me to a stable, I’ll gladly take that for the night though I’d ask for some broth at least and water and oats for the horse.”
Ceana lifted the blade a little higher, closer to his throat. He shook his head. What would it take for these women to trust him? And who in the devil had left them alone?
“We should send him away,” Kate said. “He’ll only bring trouble.”
“We have trouble enough,” Ceana hissed.
“He looks like a savage.”
“I’m no savage,” he protested.
“Mayhap we should kill him. What if he brings friends back with him for revenge?” the younger lass said.
Blane shook his head. That would be just his luck. Killed by two wee lasses.
“We cannae just kill him,” Ceana protested. “We dinnae know if he’s important. Someone might want our heads if he is.”
Kate shook her head. “He’s no’ important or else he wouldn’t be alone. He’s a thief or an outlaw.”
The eldest released a noise of disgust. “Aye, and ye’d know of outlaws, wouldn’t ye? Yer meant to remain within the castle but I know ye’ve been sneaking out to see that Fraser again, have ye not? He’s as close to an outlaw as there is.”
So there was at least a man around. Where was he and why did she consider him an outlaw?
“My ladies—” he tried, but the women ignored him.
Kate’s eyes flared. “He is no’ an outlaw. He only stole a chicken and ye cannae blame him. His mother and brothers were starving.”
Ceana waved his blade at her. “Ye willnae see him again. I’m telling ye—”
Blane drew in a breath. “That’s enough.” He took a swift step forward and snatched the sword from her with ease.
Kate gasped and lunged his way but he knocked the dagger from her with a well-placed jab of his fingers to her wrist. She clutched her arm and darted back while he kicked aside the little weapon. Slipping his sword into his belt, he lifted his palms once more as Ceana snatched Kate and pressed her behind her.
“If I was an outlaw or intended ye harm, I could have done it as soon as ye granted me entry, as ye can see. Now that we’ve established that I could cut ye down in but a moment but have chosen not to, will ye be so good as to prepare me some food and explain to me why yer defending this castle alone? A man is not to be trifled with when he is hungry.”
The curly-haired lass nodded slowly and eased Kate out from behind her. “Go to the kitchens and bring up some ale and bread. He can have the pork too.”
“The pork? But I thought—”
“The pork, Kate.”
The young girl’s shoulders dropped and she nodded before hurrying into the depths of the castle.
“If ye dinnae mind, I’ll ask ye to stow yer blade in our armoury. We dinnae allow weapons in the Great Hall.”
“Of course.” He followed her through a dim corridor and into a small room. Where swords and shields should have been were empty spaces. He placed down his sword and motioned to the empty spaces. “Ye are alone are ye not?”
She pressed a hand to the wall next to her and turned. “Aye. With the exception of the servants, ‘tis just myself and my sister.” He heard her sigh echo through the room. “If ye’ll come with me, we’ll get ye fed and rested.”
Blane saw the brief slump of her shoulders before she lifted them again and took him into the Great Hall. She motioned to the long table in the centre of the room. “Will ye no’ have a seat? Kate shall bring up the food in but a moment.”
He sank onto the bench, feeling too large and intimidating to be alone in what was a fairly small hall with this woman. She stood to one side as he sat and looked straight on. A few more candles were lit here and a fire in the hearth warmed the room. Tendrils of heat reached him and he began to feel a little like a block of ice placed in front of the flames—slowly softening and melting. His stiff muscles eased.
“I thank ye for taking me in.”
Her face turned in his direction as though surprised he was in her hall. He scowled. She was an odd sort of a woman. There was something ethereal and strange about her, particularly with those eyes. It wasn’t the way she looked so much—her dark hair and figure didn’t say otherworldly to him—but there was an air to her and the slow, careful way she moved made him feel heavy and clumsy in comparison.
“So will ye tell me how it is yer all alone here?”
Chapter Two
Ceana eyed the shape that was the stranger. She couldn’t see him well in this light, if at all. She moved so that the glow from one of the candles was directly behind him and she was better able to make out the width of his broad shoulders. Mayhap she should have kept him outside. In the daylight, she was less vulnerable. There she could make out colours and definite shapes but in the gloomy confines of her father’s castle, she used memory and touch to guide her.
She could hardly touch him. Or admit her troubles to hi
m. Who knew if he might try to use her secret against her.
Where was Kate? Ceana didn’t think this man had bad intentions toward them but being in close confines with him made her throat constrict. She wasn’t entirely sure why. If she’d established he wouldn’t harm her, why did the air stifle about her?
Swallowing, she clasped her hands in front of her. The great weight of the burden she’d been bearing the past two months felt like a huge boulder pushing down on her shoulders. This man could remove that weight, she suspected. Tall, strong, skilled with a blade. The more she thought on it, the more she considered he might be the answer to her prayers.
Ceana inched forward, feeling for the tell-tale line of the uneven floorboard with her foot. Her shin touched the bench and she sat opposite him. Now he was only a dark mass with a faint glow about him but there was no doubting that a warrior sat opposite her. She heard his steady breaths and the rasp of his plaid as he made himself more comfortable on the bench and leaned in toward her. She tried not to back away from the dark shape of him as it filled what little vision she had.
“Ceana?”
Her name in such deep, dark tones sent a shudder through her—one that ran down her spine and around into her belly, burrowing low down.
“My father—the chief—and the rest of the men have joined the fight against the English. We are too close to the king’s army. They feared our castle would be sacked if the battle was lost.”
“Ah. But they left you with no protection?”
“We had several but fever took its toll. It killed near twenty of us, including the few men remaining.”
“I’m sorry.”
She lifted a shoulder. “My cousin is to join us by the end of the sennight with some of his men who have not yet joined the fight. ‘Till then ‘tis just us womenfolk and a few lads.”
“I’ll pray for their safe arrival.”
“I thank ye.”
Silence washed over them. Where was her sister? An idea was coming to fruition as she sat opposite this highlander. They needed protection and he needed rest and food. Mayhap she could persuade him to delay his journey until her cousin Bram arrived.
“Kate!” she called after several quiet moments.
“Yer sister?”
“Aye.”
“Yer very alike.”
Ceana laughed at this. For years, they’d been told they looked alike though there was near ten years between them. She didn’t know if their features were similar. Her eyesight meant she’d never seen either of their faces properly. In the daylight, she could make out their dark hair and the shape of their lips. Kate used to let her touch her face to feel the contours, but since she’d grown older, the closeness they’d once shared had trickled away.
Now, even if they were alike in looks, their temperaments couldn’t be more different. Kate thought of little but herself and was rash and wild. Ceana didn’t understand why she couldn’t take the time to think things through a little more.
“Where are yer servants?”
“Oh.” She rose and nearly stumbled over the bench. “I’ve not given the signal.”
“The signal?”
She hurried to the stairs and, in her haste, tripped over her skirts. Her knees hit the floor, taking the brunt of the fall and sending a bone-jarring pain through her. Ceana pressed up with stinging palms. Warm hands wrapped about her arms and dragged her up. The disorientation made her head spin. She’d lost her bearings in the room and panic threatened to engulf her.
“Are ye harmed?” came an urgent rasp.
She lifted her gaze to his face to see the dark shape of his hair and the pink of his skin. Mutely shaking her head, she tried to press away but his grip was too strong.
“Did ye hit yer head?”
“Nay!”
“Ye look addled.”
Before she could protest, an arm came about under her knees and her blurry world tilted. She found herself flattened against a solid chest, the metal of a broach pressing into her shoulder. Instinctively, she put her hand to his chest to feel carved muscles and the fabric of his plaid. It was finely woven, not rough. Expensive.
Of course, she couldn’t tell him that she was not addled. The only people who knew of the troubles with her eyesight were her closest family members and the villagers. Long ago, a healer had declared her an abomination, a devil child, when her family had sought help. She knew full well others would see the same. As the current leader of their small clan, she couldn’t afford to let any outsiders know of her weakness.
“I am well,” she insisted, breathlessly.
Again, her world moved and she felt the wood of the bench beneath her. Ceana splayed her hands across the wood to feel for the familiar notches. He had put her about halfway along. She jolted when palms upon her shoulders urged her around. Rough hands took hers in his. There were calluses on them and little bumps where leather reins had rubbed. They felt a little dirty too.
“No harm here.” She squeaked and tried to push him away when she felt him fumble with her skirts. When she forced herself to focus, she realised he was kneeling in front of her. “Ye landed hard on yer knees,” he murmured, inching up her skirts.
“Get yer hands off my sister!”
A blur of blue flew across the room and she heard the rattle of a dish crashing to the floor and an oof from Blane.
“Kate, he was doing no harm!”
She longed to stand and drag her sister back but to do so would put herself at risk again, particularly if her sister was battling the large warrior. Shaking her head to herself, she was half-tempted to turn away and burrow her face in her hands. Her sister would never learn to think and ask questions first.
“Kate!” she tried again and both figures split apart, her sister in her blue gown on the left and the dark shadow of Blane on the right. “Go sound the signal. All is well here. The servants need releasing from the cellar.” She glanced at where she’d heard the food spill on the ground. “And have more food sent up.”
Kate huffed. “Yer a fool, Ceana.”
Ceana pinched the bridge of her nose and waved her sister away. Her footsteps thumped across the floor as she stomped off. Before long, the sound of a horn rang out and the villagers would come out from their homes now they knew they were safe.
But for how long?
“Yer sister is protective,” Blane commented.
She watched his form move across the room then duck down. The rattling told her he was picking up the mess her sister had made.
“Aye, and a lot of work.”
“Och, a protective sibling is no bad thing, though I’d expect it to be the other way around.”
“I am protective of her. She just forgets that sometimes.”
The tray rattled on the table and the bench creaked. She felt the warmth of him nearby and swung her gaze his way. He seemed too close but she didn’t know for certain.
“Did ye hurt yerself?”
She smiled. “Only my pride.”
“Aye, that can be painful indeed.”
Surely this man had never suffered wounded pride? From what she could tell he was everything a Highland warrior ought to be, and chivalrous too. She doubted he knew what it was like to feel weak and useless.
“Why is it ye locked up the servants but not yer sister and yerself?”
“I was in the village when ye were spotted. Kate was meant to take shelter with the servants but she is not so easily commanded. While my father is gone, the people look to me. I couldnae hide behind the strong castle walls while the villagers are at the mercy of strangers.”
“Ye need not have hidden from me.”
“I couldnae know if ye meant danger or no’.”
“I am alone.”
“And we are but women and children. Alone or no’, I wouldnae risk their lives on an assumption.”
He gave a low chuckle. “Then ye are wiser than half the men I know.”
She tilted her head to try to get a better view of him. He didn’t
move, simply remained confidently close to her, as if he’d always occupied this spot in her father’s hall. If she shifted marginally, the firelight cast a glow over one side of his face and brought out more than a dark blur of features.
“How is it ye are travelling alone?” she asked.
Even though she couldn’t see him properly, she sensed him stiffen. “Where is yer sister? I am starved.”
Ceana scowled. Why would he not answer the question? She hoped she hadn’t been wrong about this man. If he had secrets, he could bring trouble with him. However, she wouldn’t press him. If she was to ask for his help, she needed to charm the stranger.
Not an easy feat with her sister trying to attack him and her own limited charms.
“I’ll check on the food,” she muttered before easing away from the table. Careful to hitch up her skirt, she took a quick moment to establish where the light from the windows was and a few more paces told her how close to the kitchen steps she was.
Feeling assured of her surroundings once more, she walked confidently into the winding stairs and took them down to the kitchen, skimming her hand along the cool stone wall.
“Ye need to send him out on his arse, Ceana,” Kate declared.
Ceana seldom came into the kitchen. No windows lit the room and servants often moved the things she could use as points to guide her. She had the entire castle mapped out in her mind but the kitchens were too dangerous. Too many knives and sharp objects. As a girl, she’d learned the hard way to have more care.
But caution could only take her so far. She needed aid and Blane could provide it.
She pressed against the wall, aware of the noise of Kate chopping some meat. “We need him, Kate.”
“Why? We’ve done fine on our own.”
“Fever killed all our men. I dinnae call that fine.”
“’Twas no’ yer fault they fell ill.”
Ceana shook her head. The fever had swept through the men like wildfire. The healer suggested they had contracted it when out on a patrol of the area.
I Left My Heart in Scotland Page 19
