He left them alone for only a short time before the squealing began. Daniel waited until the nuns came out screaming and headed down the passageway before he swung the stairwell door open. “’Tis clear.”
The nuns were far down the passageway still yelling when Roddy ushered Constance into the infirmary. They found Rose, who’d already left her room to explore the noise, apparently, as she was standing in the middle of the corridor, looking lost.
Roddy felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck him in the chest. He’d always remember this moment as being the one when he realized this lass meant more to him than any other, that there would be no forgetting Rose MacDole.
Rose stood in the middle of the corridor in her night rail, billowing in the breeze from the doorway behind him, which brought his attention to her every curve. Her dark hair fell almost to her hips in a sensuality that caught him by surprise. Her violet gaze caught his and the uncertainty and fear in them made him wish to wrap his arms around her and take all the pain away from her, protect her from the cruelty of the world.
More than anything, he wanted to make her his.
Forever. They’d be joined forever.
Another thought suddenly came to him. The ghost he and Connor had seen had looked almost exactly like Rose did in this moment. The only difference was in their hair color.
Constance grabbed Rose’s hands and whispered, “Go. They did this for you. I’m going to sleep in your bed to cover for you.” She gave her a quick squeeze and slipped into the chamber.
Roddy held his hand out, and Rose put hers in it without hesitation. He smiled and gave her a wee tug toward the door, pausing to peek out into the hall. Daniel yanked on it and said, “Go. They’re getting assistance. I’ll try to catch the wee rascal in case I’m in need of it again.”
Roddy and Rose sailed down the stairway and out into the inky darkness of night, following the path through the trees and to the farthest edge of the property. When he finally stopped, he was panting and grinning. He spun on his heel to face her and wrapped his arms around her, sweeping her up off her feet.
He set her down and cupped her face. “You are hale?” he whispered.
She nodded, then tugged him down for a kiss. He growled with delight when his lips met hers. She parted for him and he slanted his head so he could devour her, stroking her tongue with a need he hadn’t know was there until a few moments ago. Hellfire, their time together was short, so he needed to let her know how much it meant to him. He ran his hands down her sides, across the soft curves of her hips to her backside, caressing her until he could no longer stand to be apart from her. Then he molded her curves against him, their tongues dueling until they were both panting. He pulled back, his breaths raspy from their interlude, but something caught his eye on her tender skin.
When Roddy noticed the raw marks on his wrist, he dropped his hands from her face and reached for her hand.
She held both wrists up for him to see. They were raw from the rope, but his finger grazed a spot on one wrist because he thought he saw something else there.
He was right. There was a fresh wound, aye, but there was also a scar from a previous wound. Her mother had mistreated her grievously. A fury built inside his belly that fought to be released, but he tamped it down, reminding himself that losing his temper would not help her now. Reaching into his boot, he pulled out a dagger and held it up for her to see. “Constance told me you wish to learn how to protect yourself. I will teach you how to use this so you won’t be taken advantage of again.”
She nodded vigorously and ran her fingers down the side of his face. A noise came from behind him and he jumped up, spinning around with his dagger in his hand, but it was just an owl. It swooped down too close, closer than a normal bird would fly at night. He didn’t try to hurt it, instead waiting to see what the creature would do next.
He tucked Rose behind him to protect her, and the bird responded with a loud hoot before settling on a low branch not far away. “What the hell?” he whispered.
Rose grabbed his wrist that held the knife, shaking her head as she stepped next to him. She mouthed the word, “Friend,” and reached for the bird as if to pet it.
“He’s your friend?” He glanced at her to make sure he’d understood her correctly, then stared at the bird of prey again, well-known for the power in its fierce talons.
She nodded and tried to explain more, but he only took away a few words. From what he could discern, she was telling him the bird was her protector. He stood and faced the feathered creature, its gold eyes eerily locked on his. “So you are the lass’s protector, my friend?”
There was no denying he’d heard of stranger things.
The owl edged down the branch and then back again. It lifted his chin and said, “Hoo.”
“Are you trying to tell me what to do? You wish for me to teach your lass how to protect herself?”
The owl repeated, “Hoo.”
Rose reached for Roddy’s chin to force him to look at her. She pointed to him, then her, and placed her hands on either side of her head, tipping it back and forth.
“Daft? You think I would consider you daft because you befriended an owl?” He couldn’t help but grin. “Nay, lass, you are far from daft. Animals befriend people all the time. My cousin’s lad has a pony who uses his hind legs against anyone who’d try to hurt him. The lad thinks he’s his best friend. I don’t come between them.”
Rose had a way of shaping her hand just so whenever she meant to say “good” or “aye.” She had a way of making herself understood. The way she’d overcome the difficulties she faced moved him, and a surge of protectiveness almost choked him. He reached for her and clasped her hand. “Come. Let’s make your friend happy.”
He opened her hand and placed the hilt of a dagger on her palm, closing her fingertips around it. “If you wish to kill a person, the best place to strike is right across the vessel in their neck. The blood comes out fast and powerful and they’ll die in minutes.” He demonstrated how she could make the slash.
“But you may not wish to kill your attacker, especially if ’tis a lass from the abbey, but there are many other places you can attack them. If someone is on top of you, you can stab them right here in their lower back.” Giving her his back, he demonstrated exactly where she should aim her weapon.
He continued his lesson, showing her how to put her body behind a swing to give herself more force. He also gave her a brief lesson on how to hurt a man by kicking him in the bollocks.
The owl squawked and lifted his wings as if in approval. The bird’s behavior was uncanny, intelligent—and he seemed desperately concerned for Rose’s well-being. He remembered hearing one of his aunts speak about owls and their unique connection to the spiritual world…
Roddy looked at her and said, “You lost your father, did you not?”
She nodded her head in agreement, her eyes filled with sadness.
“Rose,” he said softly, “I think he may have sent this owl to look after you.” He strode over to the owl in the upper branches of the tree and motioned for the bird to come closer. To his surprise, it dropped to the branch directly in front of him.
The memory of the ghost he and Connor had seen at the guest house in the abbey flashed through his mind again, reminding him that at least one spirit was interested in protecting her. He glanced over his shoulder at the innocent lass standing behind him.
Had Rose been so mistreated that the powers above had sent a ghost to help her, and now an owl? A shiver ran down his spine, but he knew enough not to ignore these types of signs.
He stared into the golden eyes as a memory stirred him. “’Twas you, was it not? You were the owl who flew in my path when I left the abbey before. Never mind. You need not answer. You were trying to get my attention, give me a message that I was needed here. I’ve heard your message, friend of Rose. I’ll not ignore you again.”
No. He would heed the messages he’d received, both from the owl and the appariti
on. Roddy said, “I’ll protect Rose as much as I can, but you need to keep watch over her for a wee bit longer, until I can return with more warriors. Agreed?”
The bird unfolded his wide wings before tucking them back into his sides. It uttered a soft, “Hoo.”
“Good.” He returned to Rose and said, “You must find a way to hide the dagger. You can sew a pocket into your gown or find boots you can tuck it into.”
She nodded, indicating she understood.
“I have a few questions for you, then I must go.” He led her back to the bench, underneath the owl’s perch. When she sat down, he lifted her and settled her onto his lap.
The owl moved two steps closer.
Roddy lifted his gaze to the golden eyes and said, “Don’t worry. I respect her.”
Rose giggled and leaned her head against Roddy’s chest.
He settled one hand on her hip and the other behind her neck, massaging her lightly. “When I was here before, you tried to tell me something about your mother and the boat. Could it have been carrying people? Young people? Lassies?”
She nodded vehemently, but then thought for a moment before she started silently babbling, mouthing words to explain what she saw.
It struck him, not for the first time, that she didn’t act like a lass who’d never spoken before. Something about her past didn’t seem to fit. “Rose, did you speak when you were young?
She gave him a strange look as if she didn’t understand, or did she? Was she trying to hide something? Was she ashamed of something in her past?
He gripped her chin softly and said, “Will you show me your tongue?”
She did. He was stunned, but he’d been correct in what he thought he’d seen.
And what he thought he’d felt earlier.
“Rose,” he whispered, “What happened to the tip of your tongue?”
Chapter Fifteen
Rose reacted so strongly she didn’t know what to make of her own actions. She bolted from Roddy’s lap, swinging her arms as if she wished for him to leave her alone. To go far, far away.
What was he talking about? What was wrong with the tip of her tongue?
Visions of someone screaming and hollering filled her head—her, it had been her—and the pain…oh, the pain. She had no idea how to stop the memories from cascading through her. Spinning in a circle, she clutched her hands to her head, wishing to stop her brain’s spinning.
“Rose! Rose!” Roddy cried, wrapping his arms around her from behind, whispering in her ear. “Rose, come back to me, please?”
His voice centered her. She grabbed his hands as if they would anchor her to the present. She gasped for breath, her entire body convulsing with a fear unlike any she’d ever experienced. “Rose, I’m here. I’ll not leave you like this.”
His sincerity, his honesty, it soothed her soul. Tears covered her cheeks and she let herself collapse against this man who held her, who promised to help her.
As soon as she gave up fighting, he said, “I don’t know what happened, but whatever it is, I’ll help you.” He sat on the bench and settled her on his lap again. The owl was pacing its branch, making anxious sounds, but Roddy had eyes only for her. “Did you have an accident when you were younger? Or…Rose, did your mother do this to you?”
She shook her head in disbelief, quite simply because she couldn’t remember any such thing. She didn’t understand all the flashes of memories that had erupted within her, as destructive and burning as flames peeling her skin.
She wept against Roddy’s chest, and he simply held her, his arms sure and strong. She hadn’t felt so comforted, so heard, in a long time.
Stroking her hair, he said, “Do you remember what I told you about my fear of death? I just found out something happened to me when I was young—something I don’t remember at all. The nightmares I’ve had of late…they all end with drowning. I’d wake up covered in sweat, gasping for air, fighting to breathe. I had no idea why.
“Then I spoke of the dreams with my uncle and my sire, and they told me I’d nearly drowned when I was younger. I jumped into the loch after my sister, and we were both caught in an old fishing net. My sire had to cut us both out. I still don’t recall the incident, but somehow it’s been playing over and over again in my sleep. Mayhap ‘tis something like that.”
She calmed, considering his words, wondering if there could be truth to his tale. Could something have happened to her when she was younger? Something so awful she’d forgotten it? She glanced at the owl, meeting its golden gaze. What did it mean?
A voice she recognized but could not place carried to them from over the wall.
“We need to move. There are horses headed this way.”
Roddy glanced at the wall. “I’ll be right back, Connor,” he said. “Going to get her inside.” Then he shifted his gaze to her and planted a kiss on her forehead. “My cousin has been watching the periphery. Come, we must return. I promise I’ll come back for you. We must find Daniel.”
She took the dagger and clutched it close to her chest as she followed him. Her mind was still full of disjointed thoughts and memories, so she sucked in a breath and forced herself to instead focus on Roddy, how it felt to be close to him, to take in his scent of the woods and the outdoors. She did her best to lock them in her memory so she could return to them when she needed it most.
Roddy knocked on the door close to the stairwell, and Daniel swung it open at once. “Hurry. I found another critter, but this is one is a rabbit. They may not be as quick to run from something so cute.”
A few moments later, she was back in the infirmary, Daniel hurrying Constance away to her room. Roddy gave her one final kiss on the lips, a soft sensual kiss that nearly left her breathless. “You believe me?” he asked, whispering carefully, desperate to be certain she understood him. “I’ll be back with others. We’ll find out what is happening here. Use your knife if you must.”
She nodded, wanting to hold on to him forever.
Roddy was everything to her.
***
The group reconvened at Muir Castle. They gathered around one of the trestle tables while Roddy shared what he’d learned from Rose. It wasn’t much, but his questions had upset her, and he’d needed to teach her how to protect herself.
Maggie patted his shoulder. “Don’t trouble yourself. We can sneak in to speak with her if need be. You did what was necessary.”
Roddy added, “Since most of you believe in Paddy the Pony, Steenie’s friend, I’ll share with you that Rose seems to have an owl that has become her protector. I know it sounds unusual, but try looking a golden-eyed owl in the face and arguing with it while its talons move back and forth across a thick branch. It made a believer of me. Rose says it’s her friend.”
Maggie said, “I believe every bit of that.”
“I’ll not argue with you,” Gregor said.
Braden snorted. “Anyone who doesn’t believe it could happen, go try talking to Paddy the Pony.”
Connor asked, “What did the rest of you find?”
Maggie said, “Will and I searched out the Abbey of Angels and we found it without any difficulty. I’d say there were less than ten living or working there this day. There’s still evidence of carpentry there. What bothers me most is that no one outside of Sona Abbey seems to have heard of an abbey in that area. I doubt Abbey of Angels, if that’s the true name, has any connection to the church.”
“We found the dock at the sea loch,” Gavin said, “There’s a clearing nearby that looks as if it’s been used for tents before. No evidence of recent usage. There could be something coming soon.”
Maggie put a hand to her head, as if struck by a sudden pain, then rested her head down on her arms. The motions reminded him of the headaches her sister suffered whenever she had one of her visions. Added to the other strange things he’d experienced of late, the spirits and the owl, it made him uneasy.
Roddy turned to Will, arching his brow as if to ask, “Is she hale?”
&nbs
p; Will sighed. “Ever since we moved higher into the Highlands, Maggie has had a headache and it continues to worsen.”
Roddy glanced at her. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Gavin, Maggie, and I will return to the Abbey of Angels on the morrow, and you, Connor, and Daniel will return to Sona Abbey. We need to find out who’s in charge. And we need to know who, specifically, travels between the abbeys. I hate to send you on patrol again, but until the day comes when they move, that’s the best we can do.”
“Is Maggie well enough to go along?” Connor asked.
Gavin joined them. “Maggie’s never had Molly’s ability as a seer before, so we don’t know what to expect.”
“Something powerful must be at work here,” Will said.
The group stood silent for a moment.
“Ready yourselves,” Will said. “We’ll leave tomorrow eve so we arrive when the abbeys are a bit quieter. I’ll do my best to help Maggie in the meantime. Get some rest. One of these nights, we’ll be up for the duration after they make their move. Braden has said he’ll join us if Maggie is not hale enough.”
Will moved over to his wife. “I need to get Maggie back to our chamber.” He swept her up in his arms and climbed the stairs, ignoring her weak protests, and Gavin trailed along behind them.
When the others were out of hearing, Roddy turned to Connor. “Come to the stables with me?”
The suggestion seemed to confuse him, but he nodded and followed Roddy outside.
“What’s at the stables?”
“I’ll explain as soon as we’re inside.”
No one looked to be around, but when they moved toward the stable, a wee lad flew by them, wide-eyed and frantic.
“Steenie?” Roddy yelled. “Is something wrong?”
The laddie stopped to answer him. “Nay, but Mama said I must feed my pony before I can eat.”
On a whim, he asked, “Is Paddy acting normally?”
Steenie had already taken off at a run toward the keep, but he slowed enough to explain what he’d seen. “Nay, he’s daft today. ’Tis why I’m leaving. He kept nudging me, and then he shook his whole mane and pushed me against the wall. He’s never done that before. I think he wanted me to leave. He scared me.”
Highland Lies (The Band of Cousins Book 4) Page 13
