Highland Avenger

by Hannah Howell

  “Someone who could make certain the marriage of Claud and Marie Anne stood firm.”

  “Exactly. When I start wandering down that path I dinnae find so many answers but I do find more reasons for this hunt, e’en for the alliance between Amiel and the DeVeaux. Lord Ignace is no minor DeVeau lordling yet he also hunts the boys. At least the one I fear may be here isnae. There is something behind his presence here that I just cannae see, but ken ’tis important. If we could learn what that was then all our questions would be answered.”

  “And that would be good but, in the end, it still doesnae matter.” Brian put his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close to his side.

  “Nay, ye are right. In the end it doesnae matter at all. All that truly matters is that Michel and Adelar are nay hurt.” She rested her head against his shoulder and stared up at the night sky. “They deserve a life in which they are nay surrounded by scorn or in constant danger. It was why I was taking them home with me. I kenned that they could find that with my kin.”

  “Ye will be able to give them that soon,” said Brian, hoping his reluctance to grant her wish to go home did not reveal itself in his voice.

  Arianna forced herself not to wince. It hurt to hear him speak of sending her home once the threat from Amiel and the DeVeaux was gone. She had hoped he had begun to change his mind about that. Although she had little confidence in her judgments about people, especially considering what the man she had thought would make a good husband turned out to be, she had thought Brian showed a caring for her that went beyond that of just a satisfied lover. Now she was not so certain. If he did care for her as more than a woman who gave him pleasure, surely he would have begun to hint at some change in his original plan to send her home. She was not sure what else she could do to make him want to keep her.

  “Did ye love him?” Brian nearly cursed as he heard himself ask the question, if only because he really did not wish to hear her talk about that thrice-cursed Claud.

  “Love Claud? Nay, although I thought our marriage could become one of love.” She sighed and shook her head. “I was such a young, blind lass. Claud was handsome, charming, and always dressed so prettily. I thought he was treating me with great respect when he did nay more than gently kiss me from time to time. Now I see that what I thought was a gentlemon’s respect for a maid was really just distaste. He was doing what he had to, nay what he wanted to.”

  “So when he courted ye he was weel spoken and ye thought ye could make a good marriage with him.”

  “Aye. My kin tend to marry for love, ye ken. I wished to, too, but it was verra clear that many of my clan wanted there to be a marriage between Claud and me. They wanted to strengthen the old bonds between the two families. I could have refused for they ne’er would have forced me to do it, but I didnae. None of my kin who have a gift for seeing the truth of a mon were there at that time so I got no warnings to make me look closer at the mon I was to marry. I e’en saw it all as an adventure.

  “It wasnae until we were wed and the marriage duly consummated that Claud began to shed his disguise. At first I tried verra hard to please him, thinking that he was but trying to turn me into a good wife. ’Twas the same with his parents. When they revealed their scorn, I tried harder to win their approval. I am nay quite certain when I ceased to try, when I began to think myself too full of faults to e’er be able to succeed in pleasing any of them.”

  “Ye were nay full of faults.”

  “Weel, I wouldnae be so vain as to say I had none.” She chuckled and patted his thigh, deeply touched by how angry her tale was making him. “Howbeit, I had begun to think that I was just a miserable failure, ne’er meant to be a wife any mon wanted, but I kenned that I was a verra good mother to Michel and Adelar. I kenned that deep in my heart and none could tell me different. I had also begun to think that I wasnae as bad at the running of the keep as they all implied for, if I was so abysmal a chatelaine, why did they keep giving me e’en more to do? It wasnae easy, either, for many of their people followed the lead of Claud and his family, treating me nay better than they would some unwanted guest.”

  She quickly covered a yawn with her hand and cuddled closer to Brian. “When I was held by Amiel and he began to hit me, I kenned that I would ne’er have accepted such treatment from Claud, from anyone in that family. One strike and I would have left. In a strange way, I found that knowledge a comfort. I e’en wondered where that cursed spine of mine had been when accepting all those cruel words, all that utter disdain.”

  “Ye were just a young lass.”

  “True, but I think it was more than youth. What Claud and his kin did was, weel, insidious, subtle ...”

  “Sneaky.”

  “Aye. I obviously wasnae as sure of myself as I thought I was. Claud found that wee weakness and fed it until it grew strong enough to conquer me. A part of me truly believed that I was an utter failure as a wife and a woman as he so often claimed I was. Believing my kin didnae care, or didnae see what I suffered was wrong or a problem, I felt I had nowhere else to go, either. So, I stayed far, far longer than I e’er would have if Claud had just once hit me or slapped me or kicked me as Amiel did. And every day I was there Claud, his family, and e’en many of the people on their lands kept picking away at whatever pride, vanity, or confidence I had. Ye hear something said often enough and ye believe it. I should have seen what he was doing to me.”

  “Love, ye were so young ...”

  “Old enough to be a wife.”

  “But still young and ye came from a loving family, aye?” She nodded and he continued, “Then why should ye have questioned anything the mon ye believed was your husband said to ye? And, as ye said, your family had seen naught wrong with the mon when he courted ye. As far as ye kenned, they also didnae think your complaints about what was happening to ye were even worth replying to.”

  “I should have left when I thought he had a mistress.”

  “Ye probably kenned that few would think that a good reason to leave your husband.”

  “Aye, true enough, though I did think it verra strange that there was no outrage from my family when I wrote them about that. Of course, they didnae get that missive, did they? I ken that now.” She hastily covered her mouth as another yawn overtook her.

  “Time to rest, love. We have a long day ahead of us on the morrow.”

  Brian took her by the hand, stood up, and tugged her to her feet. She blushed faintly and disappeared into the shadows of the trees to tend to her personal needs. He spread out the blankets for the bed as he waited for her. It made him think of making love to her but he tamped down the desire rising inside him. She had endured the journey with far more ease than he had anticipated, but he knew she was exhausted and undoubtedly ached all over. Sleep was what she needed.

  The moment she returned, he strode away to tend to his own needs. By the time he returned, Arianna was sound asleep. Brian doubted she had been prone for a moment or two before exhaustion had claimed her.

  He sat down and removed his boots. There would be little sleep for him tonight. Brian trusted Sigimor’s men to keep Lucette and his men too busy to bother hunting for him and Arianna, but the memory of how badly she had been beaten by Lucette was still a stark, taunting scar on his mind. He could not leave her unguarded. There would be no sleep for him until he had her tucked safely behind the high walls of Scarglas.

  Sigimor sipped his ale and studied his brothers Tait and Ranulph. “Ye didnae kill Lucette, did ye?”

  “Nay, just relieved him of the burden of two more men,” said Tait. “Followed him for a wee while and he is headed to Scarglas. Nay doubt about it.”

  “Also heard that a certain Lord Ignace is gathering himself an army about a day’s ride from Scarglas,” said Ranulph.

  “Is he now. A big one?” asked Sigimor.

  “Could be. Talk of coin being tossed about freely is drawing the attention of a lot of men who havenae seen much coin for a while.”

  “We left Brice and Bro
nan, as weel as two other lads, to follow them just to make certain they didnae try to find Brian and the lass,” said Tait.

  “Good. I am thinking I might wander to Scarglas myself with a few of ye lads for company,” said Sigimor.

  “There are already six of ours following Brian and the lass.”

  “Aye, but it ne’er hurts to have more. Be ready to ride in the morning.”

  “Do ye really think those Frenchmen will be mad enough to try and attack Scarglas?”

  “They have hunted the lass and those lads of hers since she took them from her fool husband’s keep, e’en sank a ship to try and kill them. Aye, I think they just might be mad enough.” He grinned. “We will do our old ally France a fine favor and make certain that insanity gets buried deep here.”

  Chapter 16

  Intimidating. Formidable. Threatening. Arianna stared at Scarglas as those words rolled through her mind. She desperately tried to think of a flattering word for the dark keep they were about to enter. Not one came to mind. Scarglas was built for defense, for keeping the people within it safe and making it easier to slaughter any enemy that approached its walls. It did not say welcome to any traveler brave enough to approach. It said beware. Brian’s soft laughter distracted her and she looked at him, a little afraid that the expression on her face might have revealed her less than flattering thoughts about his home.

  “Ye seem much akin to the others who catch their first look at this place,” he said. “It isnae pretty.”

  “Nay, it isnae.” She glanced to either side of them as they rode through an opening in a berm that rose as high as their horses. “I was just thinking that it doesnae appear to offer shelter as much as it offers a tomb for anyone foolish enough to attack it.”

  Brian nodded. “’Twas just that message that my fither wished to send. I am thinking the mon who left it to him had a verra similar plan in mind but ne’er finished it. Your lads are safe in there.”

  She looked at the keep, which grew even more imposing as they drew nearer, and then smiled. “Oh, aye, I am sure they are.” She glanced at him. “As were ye and all your brothers.”

  “True enough, although, if my fither hadnae been so skilled at making enemies, it all wouldnae have been so dearly needed. But Ewan has been the laird now for o’er a dozen years and we arenae surrounded by enemies any longer. I willnae call them all friends or true allies, but they dinnae wish to see us all dead and this place razed to the ground any longer.”

  “Ah, weel, that is certainly a good thing.”

  The dry tone to her voice made him laugh. “Aye, a verra good thing indeed. I warn ye that ’tis a strange lot ye are about to meet. My fither has calmed some since he wed Mab, but only in that he doesnae try to lift the skirts of every female twixt here and Berwick. He is also verra fond of arguing.”

  “Oh, I have kenned a few men like that. A few women, too. Dinnae worry, Brian. I am certain I shall like your family.”

  Brian was not as certain of that but said nothing. The one thing he was most concerned about was how sharp his father’s tongue could be. He could all too easily recall some of the things his father had said to Fiona, but she was a strong, confident woman. He was sure that Arianna would be, too, once she had shed the rest of old Claud’s poison, but for now she was still bleeding a little from the wounds he had inflicted.

  He shook aside his concern as they rode through the gates of Scarglas. All he could do was make certain that his father did not verbally bludgeon Arianna. Aside from that, she would have to stand on her own. He inwardly grimaced, doubting he could hold fast to that decision. He was more likely to lurk around her like some fretful nursemaid, ready to shield her from any harsh words.

  Arianna edged her mount a little closer to Brian’s as they entered the bailey. It was crowded with a lot of tall, dark-haired men. A closer look revealed that many of those men bore a strong resemblance to Brian. She had heard all the tales of how old Fingal had been trying to breed his own army. Brian made no attempt to hide the truth about his father’s profligacy. To see so many gathering in the bailey and knowing with but a look that most were Brian’s bastard brothers drove that truth home with a vengeance.

  Then she caught sight of Ned and Simon nudging their way through the growing crowd. The moment they made an opening in the large group of men, Michel and Adelar rushed through, stumbling to a halt mere feet from her mount. Their smiles were bright and wide, the smiles of boys who felt they were safe. Arianna dismounted with more speed than grace and rushed to embrace them, falling to her knees in the dirt to hug them tightly to her.

  When the boys began to squirm in her arms, she eased her hold on them and leaned back a little. “Ye both look verra hale, my bonnie lads. No hurts, aye?”

  “Nay, we are hale,” said Adelar, still clutching her braid with one hand. “It was a verra hard ride, though.”

  “I am sure it was, but ye are safe now.”

  “Aye, we are,” said Michel, resting his cheek against her arm. “Ned and Simon are stout warriors.”

  Arianna hid a grin by pressing a kiss to his dark curls. “I could see that when I first looked at them, which is why I was able to leave ye in their care.”

  “Ned’s père says that his laddies can steal the coins off a dead mon’s eyes e’en as the widow is crying o’er the corpse. So, that is why they could bring two wee laddies safely here with ease.”

  Sensing someone by her side, she looked up in time to see Brian grimace at Michel’s words. It was not easy to hide her shock over a man saying such a thing to a small boy, but she did so. Brian did not choose his father, and her clan was hardly free of the sort of men and women others found shocking. Sir Fingal might have mightily sinned but she glanced around at the vast number of his progeny, who all looked hale, well fed, and happy, and could see that he took care of what children he bred. It was a strong point in the man’s favor for too few men supported their bastard children. He had also taken in her boys despite the trouble nipping at their heels. For that she would always be grateful.

  “Best we go and greet the boastful old fool,” Brian said as he grasped Arianna by the arm and helped her to her feet. “He would have been here to greet us but one of the lads told me he turned his ankle last eve.”

  “Aye,” said Adelar as he pushed himself between Brian and Arianna to take her by the arm. “He was practicing his dancing for the next full moon.”

  Arianna thought that sounded like very odd behavior, but not odd enough to make Brian blush as fiercely as he was doing now. She was just about to ask him what dancing his father needed to practice when they stopped before a tall, dark man standing in front of the doors leading into the keep. The man was scarred, his harsh features made all the harsher because of the deeply serious look he wore. But the ice in his blue-gray eyes softened briefly when he looked at Brian and his thumb brushed lightly over the knuckles of the hand of the woman at his side, a hand he made no move to release.

  One look at the woman stirred a lot of memories for Arianna. It had been almost ten years but she recognized that face, despite the small scars now decorating each delicate cheek. Those violet eyes were hard to forget. There had been several times when she and Fiona had shared in learning the lessons of healing from her grandmother, Maldie Murray.

  “M’lady, this is my brother, laird of Scarglas, Sir Ewan MacFingal,” Brian said. “Ewan, this is the Lady Arianna Murray.” Since Arianna had seen fit to drop her false husband’s name when she had reached Dubheidland, Brian was more than willing to do so as well.

  Arianna curtsied to the man despite the difficulty in doing so with Michel and Adelar pressing so close to her. “I thank ye for helping us, sir.”

  “No thanks are needed. This is my wife, Lady Fiona MacFingal,” Sir Ewan said in a deep gruff voice.

  “I recognize ye,” said Fiona, moving to kiss Arianna on the cheek.

  Returning the kiss, Arianna smiled. “I just recalled ye as weel. We shared a few rounds of my grandmother’s
teachings. Ye were so verra much better at it than I was.”

  “Come in,” said Ewan. “I am certain ye wish to wash up and then we can talk o’er some drink and food.” He looked at Brian and cocked one dark brow, then looked at his wife when Brian responded to the silent question with a curt nod. “Fiona, can ye get one of the lassies to show them to a room?”

  A room? Arianna opened her mouth to ask what that meant, and then shut it again. She did not wish to discuss sleeping arrangements before such a huge crowd of men, all of whom seemed to be eyeing her and Brian with undisguised curiosity. When the maids arrived, Arianna reluctantly let go of Michel and Adelar. The way the two boys hurried off, filled with boyish excitement to rejoin their companions, eased the last of her worries about them.

  Her hand held firmly in Brian’s, Arianna allowed him to lead her up the stairs as he followed two plump maids. “We didnae greet your father yet,” she said.

  “We can do that once we have washed away the dust of our journey,” he said. “He will be waiting for us in the great hall when we go down there to eat.”

  She said nothing else as the maids led them into a large bedchamber. Arianna watched Brian talk to the maids and realized that this was not his bedchamber. Either he did not live at Scarglas as she had thought or his sleeping quarters were not suitable for sharing with a woman. Considering how many brothers and half-brothers the man had, she suspected all the unmarried men who slept within the keep shared quarters.

  Hot water was brought in and Arianna turned her attention to cleaning up. She was a little uneasy about meeting Brian’s father and wanted to look her best. After washing up and brushing out her hair, she was studying two of the gowns Jolene had given her and trying to decide which to wear when Brian stepped up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her neck, sending a tickle of interest winding its way through her exhausted body. She was astonished that she could feel anything aside from the urge to fill her belly and then collapse on a bed.