Enticing the Weary Warrior

by Tammy Jo Burns

  What will become of all those men when they come back home to England. Many of them have only ever known how to fight. What will they do to support themselves and their current and future families? How will England support all the current workers and those that are added to their number? What will happen to those that return, unable to work? Are they not still an important part of our country?

  Friends, if you have not been thinking about this situation, I suggest you begin now. These men are our heroes who saved us from a tyrant. What are we going to do to show them our thanks?

  The author went on discussing the need of several different programs. Liam set the paper aside once he had finished reading the article. Jones was correct. No one knew what to do with a soldier, or a spy, for that matter, when they returned from war. Let alone the soldiers themselves. The waiter brought Liam another steaming cup of coffee. He had been so intent on the article, he had not realized he finished his first cup. Liam leaned his chair back on its two rear legs and stared at the ceiling, contemplating what he was going to do next.

  He longed for the Highlands, the place he had called home for so long, but he couldn’t take away what his brother had more than likely worked for these last years. His brother would make an excellent laird. Liam wanted somewhere to call home. He just wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. One thing was certain, he had to speak with someone about allowing his brother to keep the title. Liam knew it wasn’t the typical thing to do, but it had to be done. Long shadows overtook the sunshine, naturally dimming the room. He watched the waiter approach.

  “Pardon me, sir, but we will be closing soon.”

  “Yes.” Liam settled up his bill and left. He hailed a hack and gave the driver the address he had been given earlier.

  The hack stopped in front of a large townhouse in a nice, but not too upscale neighborhood in London. Liam pulled back the curtain and looked out the window. Several houses had lights blazing in the windows. Liam opened the hack door and eased himself out, leaning heavily on his cane. He heard the clattering of horses’ hooves and wheels on the cobblestones. He turned around to see a well-polished, unmarked carriage pull to a stop behind the rented hack. The door opened and Mack stepped out.

  “Which one is yours?” Liam asked.

  “The corner one here,” Mack said, moving forward. He tossed some coins up to the jarvie then clapped Liam on the back. “Come along.”

  Mack led the way up to the house. A man dressed in a sedate black suit opened the door.

  “Welcome home, sir.”

  “Thank you. Did my message arrive?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Excellent. Where is Mrs. McKenzie?”

  “In the study.”

  “Come with me, Liam. I want you to meet my wife.”

  Liam followed Mack down the hall into a room on the right. It was a wood-covered study filled with books. Sitting at a desk, scribbling, was a beautiful blonde woman. She was not the kind of woman Liam would have imagined the Director marrying, but then he had never thought the man would marry.

  “Cassie, darlin’,” Mack said as he crossed the room. The woman looked towards him and her eyes lit up. She lifted her lips to Mack’s and Liam felt like an intruder as the two shared a passionate kiss. “How’re you feelin’?”

  “Fine.”

  “Good. And the twins?”

  “Refusing to stay in the nursery.” She gave a husky laugh and nodded toward the fireplace where a boy and girl lay asleep on a quilt.

  “That means they’re on the mend,” he kissed her again, this time quick and chaste, before turning to Liam. “Cassie, this is Liam McTavish, he’s one of my agents.”

  “Former agent,” Liam corrected.

  “That has yet to be determined. Liam, this is my wife, Cassie.”

  “It’s a pleasure,” Liam bowed to Cassie.

  “Mr. McTavish.”

  “Please, call me Liam.”

  “Excuse my saying so, but you seem to be in some pain.”

  “My leg bothers me on occasion, and the cool English weather is not helping.”

  “Excuse me,” she stood with Mack’s assistance, revealing that she was enceinte and left the room.

  “This was a bad idea,” Liam said. “I will leave immediately.”

  “You will do no such thing,” Cassie said from the doorway, having returned quickly with an older, Oriental woman in tow. “This is Mingzhu. She’s a healer in her country. She uses very thin needles, herbal teas, and other things to treat ailments and injuries.”

  Mack spoke up at the look of skepticism on Liam’s face. “It’s true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. She takes care of the twins and Cassie. I’ve even relented to allow her to stick me with her pins on occasion.”

  “Thank you, but no,” Liam said.

  The woman began chattering to a man in a strange language he had never heard before. The little man began to talk, “Mingzhu says she can help with pain. We give you moves that help damaged area. You get better.”

  “And who are you?” Liam asked skeptically, raising a brow at the little man.

  “This is Chang,” Cassie introduced. “He is like an uncle to me. He can help you to regain your strength,” Cassie said.

  “There’s no need,” Liam insisted.

  “How long have you been injured, Mr. McTavish?” Cassie asked, crossing her arms so that they rested between her bosom and protruding stomach.

  “Years. I only recently re-injured my hip.”

  “Then tell me, what would it hurt to try? Surely it would be better than walking around with a constant grimace on your face,” Cassie argued.

  “I suppose I could try.”

  “Excellent,” Cassie said clapping her hands. “We start with the best meal you’ve ever had.”

  “I’ll take the twins upstairs and meet you in the dining room in a moment,” Mack said as he crossed the room and bent to scoop up his sleeping children.

  Cassie nodded, looped her arm through Liam’s like he was her long-lost brother, and led him out of the room.

  The trio ate together with Cassie chattering away throughout the entire meal. Liam studied the couple, watching how they looked at each other across the table. He noticed how they touched one another when they believed no one was looking. Mack lit up when his wife talked. Liam couldn’t help himself and started chuckling.

  “What do you find to be so funny?” Mack queried.

  “You. If I didn’t see it for myself, I wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Believe what?”

  “You, a doting husband and father,” Liam added.

  “We all change when we have the right enticement to do so,” Cassie said.

  “Isn’t it a woman’s lot in life to marry and have children?” Liam challenged the blonde.

  “Mr. McTavish, before I met Mack, I had no desire to marry, nor have children. So, no, your thoughts are erroneous, but thank goodness he did come into my life. Now, I cannot imagine my life without him or our children.”

  “Forgive my presumptuousness then, Mrs. McKenzie. If you’ll excuse me, I believe I will retire for the evening.”

  “Mr. McTavish, I apologize. Quite often I speak before thinking through what I should say first.”

  “No, Mrs. McKenzie. Everything you said was true, and I find I am exhausted.”

  “Please stay the night. Allow Chang to make you some of his tea, it will help you sleep. Mingzhu can give you a treatment. Please, Mr. McTavish.”

  “She very rarely begs, Liam. This means a lot to her.”

  “Very well.”

  “Excellent. I had a room readied for you.”

  “Confident, were you?” Liam asked Cassie.

  “She can be quite persuasive,” Mack said. “By the way, here you go.” Mack reached into an inner pocket of his superfine coat and pulled free a bank book.

  Liam took it, opened it, and read the balance. “This is too much.”

  “No, it’s not. I discussed the matter with Lord Liv
erpool, and he agreed, as did Bathurst. It’s the least we can do for you after what you’ve done for our country. Now, I’ll show you where your room is.” Mack stood and led Liam out of the room. “You’ll find that Cassie is very outspoken.”

  “Please don’t apologize.”

  “I have no intention of apologizing for Cassie. I just thought perhaps I should warn you as to the uniqueness that is my wife. She’ll speak her mind regardless of who you are or your beliefs, and I found out long ago that, more often than not, she’s right. You see, my wife is a novelist and a journalist and she’s good at what she does. She can often see things about people that others can’t.”

  “She seems very interesting,” Liam said at a loss for a description of the woman he met.

  “Oh, I know she can be overwhelming, but she’ll grow on you.”

  “Mack, do you…”

  “Yes?”

  “Nothing. Thank you for your hospitality. It’s good to be around people I know once again.”

  “It’s the least I could do after all you have been through.”

  “It was my choice to join in the fight.”

  “Aye, but it was not your choice to suffer at the hands of the enemy.” The two men walked on down the hall. “This is your room,” Mack said.

  Liam stepped and took a look around. “This is too grand.”

  “That’s exactly what I thought when this house was gifted to me by my grandmother. I must say that I have come to enjoy the finer things. Good night, friend.”

  Liam shut the door and leaned heavily against it. Beads of sweat broke out on his upper lip. “I can’t do this,” he announced to the empty room. A knock sounded at the door at just that minute causing him to jump and twist his bad hip. “Bloody hell,” he managed to lean heavily against the low dresser. He took several deep breaths as he tried to manage the pain. In his peripheral vision he saw Chang enter the room. The man quickly sat down a tray then rushed to Liam’s side.

  “You hurt. I help.”

  “Appreciated,” Liam ground out. The man helped Liam cross the room to the large bed then helped him remove his boots. Beads of sweat popped up on his brow.

  “Undress,” Chang ordered. “I bring Mingzhu. She help.”

  Liam hurt too much to argue. He had walked too much today in the cold London air and was now paying the price. He would do anything to go just a few hours without pain being his constant companion. The fire burned cheerily in the hearth, and he had just managed to crawl beneath the covers of the bed when the door opened. His body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

  “Here Mingzhu,” the little Oriental man announced.

  Liam opened his eyes to see a tiny slip of a woman moving his direction with a wooden case in her hands. She sat it down and started jabbering in her native tongue. The little man quickly complied with her orders and took something to the fire. Liam watched him light it then just as quickly blow it out. He then walked around the room waving it about, which left behind a pleasant scent. Next, Chang poured something into a cup and brought it over to Liam.

  “Drink.”

  Liam tossed back the hot liquid in one gulp then collapsed against the bed, not caring that it burned his mouth and throat.

  “Relax. Close eyes.”

  Liam followed the little man’s instructions. He couldn’t help but wince when he felt the first little prick, but after that he knew what to expect and accepted each little invasion into his skin. Before long, he felt sleep tugging at him and he willingly went.

  Chapter 2

  London, a month later

  “You can’t continue to hide here away from the world. All you do is skulk about the office or go to your rented rooms. You’ve even stopped coming to my house. The twins miss you.”

  “Not true, I still see Mingzhu and Chang regularly, and that isn’t fair to use your children to try and manipulate me.”

  “Fine, but coming for your treatments doesn’t count,” Mack argued. “You’ve become a hermit and that isn’t good for you. Besides, you have to see your family at some point.”

  “Stay out of this.”

  “You’re hiding from the world, Liam. You can’t continue to do this. It isn’t healthy.”

  “Stop preaching to me what I should or should not do,” Liam said from his place behind the desk.

  “You’re being a stubborn fool.”

  “He’s good at that.” A familiar voice filled the room. Liam looked up to see a man leaning negligently against the door frame. “It’s good to see you, old man.”

  “Wulfe,” Liam stood and walked around the desk, his limp almost non-existent now. The two men met and grasped one another in welcome. “You’re looking well. How’s the Lady Luck?”

  “I wouldn’t know. I gave that life up. I’m now a happily married man, with two wards and two children of my own.”

  “Never say it’s true,” Liam said, shocked.

  “Oh, it’s true,” Wulfe replied.

  Mack slipped quietly out of the office, leaving the two men to speak privately.

  “Sit,” Liam indicated a chair on the other side of the desk. “What brings you to London?”

  “You. Mack wrote me that you had shown up at his doorstep, a little worse for the wear, but alive nonetheless. What happened to you?”

  “Things better left in the past. Tell me about yourself. You’ve left the Lady Luck behind for a wife and children?”

  “Yes, my wards are my brother’s twins. We lost both him and his wife within a few years of each other.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I remember how much you cared about him. Who is the woman that swept you away from all this?” Liam asked, circling his hands to indicate the office.

  “Rebekah.”

  “I’m sorry, but I must have misunderstood. Did you say Rebekah?”

  “Yes.”

  “The woman that you swore despised you, yet you never understood the reason why.”

  “Yes.”

  “Unbelievable,” Liam said, leaning back in his chair.

  “Let’s just say that we had a past I was unaware of and once I found out all she’d been through, I really couldn’t blame her reaction.”

  “And now?”

  “Oh, she’s still fiery, strong-willed, and not afraid to put me in my place when she believes I need it, but that’s why I love her.”

  “You love her?”

  “I know it isn’t manly to admit, but it’s the truth. And what of you? Have you let your woman know that you’re hale and hearty?”

  “She’s not my woman and hasn’t been for a long while.”

  “You can remedy that.” Silence. “Do you not—”

  “I’d rather not talk about her.”

  “All right. So what do you plan to do with the rest of your life?”

  “Take one day at a time. I’m currently assisting Mack on some projects.”

  “I see.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means…nothing,” Wulfe denied.

  “No, go on. Please share your wisdom,” Liam taunted.

  “I’m not spoiling for a fight with a friend freshly back from the dead,” Wulfe said, shaking his head. “I must be returning home. I don’t like being gone from my family.”

  “I never thought to hear Thorn Wulfe, one of London’s most scandalous and sought after bachelors, ever say those words.”

  “People change.” Wulfe stood and looked at Liam. “You should reconsider seeing Megan.”

  “I’ll continue on as I am.”

  “I’d like for you to meet my family.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “You can’t become a damn recluse,” Wulfe argued.

  “It was good to see you, Wulfe,” Liam stood and shook his former partner’s hand. He waited until the other man left the office before sitting back down in his chair. His hands shook. Liam had managed to push thoughts of Megan and the past from his mind since arriving back in London, but Wulfe had shown up and ruined that. />
  Megan had been all he had thought of when he had been imprisoned by the French. He couldn't wait to be free and find her and be with her. He had spent hours talking to her in an attempt to keep himself from going insane. Then the beatings had begun to take their toll on his body. Parts of him that had reacted at just the thought of Megan, no longer even twitched at the thought of any woman, let alone her. Then he had gone to America and seen things that no man could unsee. He feared himself a broken man, both physically and mentally.

  “Come in,” he called, grateful for the interruption of his thoughts when a knock sounded on his door.

  “Is Wulfe already gone?” Mack asked.

  “You just missed him.”

  “Damn,” Mack said and started to leave Liam’s office.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” Liam asked, wanting to do whatever he could to take his mind off his thoughts of things that could not be.

  “We have a training facility outside of London. I have some information I need to pass along to the man in charge.”

  “A training facility? Did you not receive word that the wars are over?”

  “Aye, but you never know when another will begin and spies are always needed to keep a finger on the pulse of what is going on around the world, especially since it’s growing larger everyday. We train both men and women on everything they need to know about being an agent, from fighting and protecting themselves to moving about in society.”

  “Amazing,” Liam said, truly in awe. “Perhaps that would have helped me.”

  “Yes, well, I was hoping that Wulfe would carry the information as far as his house and then send it on by one of his footmen.”

  “I’ll take it,” Liam said impulsively.

  “I couldn’t ask that of you,” Mack denied. “You’re still recuperating.”