He charged at the man, going for his hand first. The man jabbed at Naomhan with the knife but Naomhan’s hands closed around his wrist quickly. Both men struggled against each other’s strength. The man raised his head to look at Naomhan and the revelation unsettled Naomhan a little enough for his grip to weaken slightly. The knife was pushed into his rib side.
“Donald, why would ye?” Naomhan asked the man who sought to kill him. Donald had been one of Stephen’s friends. He and Naomhan had never gotten along. There had been an obvious bloodlust about the man that had irked Naomhan, but he was always around since he was loyal to Stephen.
Naomhan had hesitated, a decision that had come to regret, as he wondered if Stephen had sent Donald to kill him or if Donald had decided on his own accord. Naomhan had mostly just ignored Donald for years and had no grudge. Donald was a staunch Scot and would do anything for his Queen. A bounty, he had mentioned earlier.
“Stephen took ye as a brother and this is how ye repay his kindness, me kindness,” Naomhan spat in anger, as he pulled the knife out of his body and turned it on Donald. The shorter man’s eyes were bewildered as he fought against Naomhan’s unreal strength.
“I cannae die, not here,” Naomhan grunted, as he twisted the knife in Donald’s hands and pushed it into Donald’s chest. Donald’s eyes were apologetic as he came to understand his looming death.
“I cannae die,” Naomhan yelled, as he held the knife still in Donald’s chest before stepping backwards.
He rushed to the door and tried it again. It was still locked. He moved backwards and threw his full weight at it, leaning with his left shoulder. The door bulged at the cost of a sharp pain in his shoulder. He knew he might break his bones with the next hit but he knew he had to get out. Theodora could be in danger, as he was. If someone had come to know of his presence in Scotland, then they could also have known about Theodora as well.
Taking a deep breath, he launched himself at the door again and it gave way, accepting his weight roughly as he fell with it. His horse neighed at the sudden clatter against the ground. He got onto his steed, sending it into motion before he could steady himself. He kicked his steed to gallop faster as the estate began to wake.
The young guard was gone as Naomhan came to the gate. He rode fast into the night, away from the home that he had dreamt of coming to for years. Naomhan held the reins of his horse in his left arm despite his aching shoulder and pressed his wounded right hand against his soaked side. He was bleeding again and fast.
The night was so dark that he could barely make out anything. He fought the faintness that was slowly coming over him as he forced his eyes conscious till he could find Theodora and make certain that she was safe.
His eyes were closed for a moment before he was awoken by the slip of his hand off his bleeding side. His brows furrowed in willed focus but it got harder to fight the longer they rode.
“Theodora,” he muttered under his breath, hoping his promise to her would lend him strength but he was losing blood faster than he had strength to prevail over.
Suddenly, he slipped off his steed and came crashing down hard onto the ground below. His trusty steed stayed still after being initially frightened by his awkward descent off its back. Naomhan’s eyes searched the road path they had swayed off but there wasn’t a soul in sight. He was alone, he realized. He crawled on his belly towards the hill close by and propped himself into a sitting position.
Mother, forgive me. Logan, forgive me for not being there to protect you, and Theodora, my love, forgive me for lying to you. Forgive me for making you love me only to betray you, Naomhan thought as tears welled in his eyes. Stephen, you were right. I am one dumb man.
Naomhan looked up at the stars above and he wondered if he could ever be like them, so far away that they could not be hurt, but his wish was too late. He shifted uneasily as he felt the dark of the night embracing him. His eyes closed as his face warmed up for one last time. He had been luckier than most men before him that had died from a fight. He had found love before his demise, he thought, as he awaited the peace of his end.
At least, I made it home.
31
She sat by his side crying. She could not stop herself. It wasn’t the first time that she had seen him almost lifeless. It was the second time that she had held him in her hands praying that it would not be the last time that she would hold him.
Why, Naomhan, why do you fight alone when you have me? Theodora wanted to ask him but he was unconscious, had been for hours, and morning was slowly creeping on them. The innkeeper had a physician called the night she had come in with the bleeding Naomhan.
It had been worse the night before, her tears. She had been riding, down a path that had seemed endless under dim moonlight, without encountering anyone. She had feared that perhaps she was lost before she had heard the horse neigh at her as though to call her. Her heart had skipped when she had seen the horse without its rider, pawing at the ground. It had not been running, which meant that Naomhan was near, she thought. She feared to think what condition he was in before she spotted him.
She had rushed to his side. He was still and unmoving with his shirt soaked in a deep crimson hue. She had called his name but his ears had been lost to her. Grabbing him by both shoulders, she shook him as much as her slimmer arms could allow her. His apparent state had weakened her greatly. It was unusual for her to see Naomhan without will in his grey eyes. She sank onto her legs when he had opened his eyes, if only for a second.
“Theodora,” her name escaped his lips as a coarse and strained whisper. It was all she had needed to jerk into action. She doubted he could remember but he had helped her help him onto his feet, even though his feet were unsteady and arms numb. It took them a long moment to get him onto the back of one of the horses and she joined him, riding back the way they had come.
All the way back, she wondered who had hurt Naomhan. Would they return?
The physician had advised that she get some sleep also but she could not dare close her eyes. She blamed herself for letting Naomhan go off on his own. She took no liking to the masculine need for bravado. It was a crude way to live to her. It never impressed her. She would have preferred if he had taken her with him. She could have quelled his impulse to jump headfirst into a fight.
“Why do you need them so much? They did not fight for you. You could have been safe with me in England,” she said to him, but he was asleep still.
She lay down next to him and put her head on his chest, holding him to herself. He always made her safe, because she knew he would protect her as much as she would him. The soft and gentle beating of his heart sang her to sleep eventually.
Logan stood next to his mother as the dead man was laid out before them. Stephen approached but wasn’t let through until Logan waved him through. He came to stand next to his cousin. He covered his mouth with his hands as he came to see the corpse. Donald lay down lifeless with a knife in his chest.
“What was Donald doin’ here?” Isla asked Stephen accusingly.
“How am I supposed to know, milady? I wasn’t at the castle last night. I have people who can bear witness to this. I am as ignorant as ye are about this,” Stephen replied. His eyes never left Donald’s. Donald had been one of his closest friends, which played a role in his suspicion in the murder. He knelt down by Donald’s body and said a prayer.
Isla was unmoved by Stephen’s theatrics. Only she knew who should have been in the room the night before. No one had known about her meeting with Naomhan and yet Donald was found dead in the room and there was a blood trail to indicate that someone else had been there in the room with Donald, the man who had killed Donald. She could only hope and pray that Naomhan was still alive.
“Ye should have some of the men seek out the second man in the room. He is wounded and could nae have gone far. He might be the answer to this mystery,” Isla whispered to Logan.
Logan stood for a moment staring at Stephen, who knelt next to his bosom friend, tr
ying to be as composed as he could be, given the circumstance. Stephen stood up from his dead friend’s side and looked to Logan, who nodded his approval. Stephen turned to the guards who were gathered there.
“Somebody must pay for this. Someone came into our castle grounds and murdered one of our own without a thought. Donald was me best friend and now, he is gone. I ken that he fought until his last breath and I shall nae let his death be in vain. Blood must be paid,” Stephen said, rallying the men’s support as they nodded accordingly. Stephen turned to the young Laird, who would have the final say.
“We need to ken what happened first,” Isla whispered to Logan. She could not risk the wrath of the men who were ready to fight for their kin.
Logan stepped forward, away from his mother and into the middle of the gathered.
“Me decree is that we find the man who slew one of our men and show him the same mercy that he showed Donald. We cannae give his family the peace they deserve but we can give them the revenge they deserve. Search every inch of the town. Our killer could nae have gone very far. He is wounded. Find him and bring his head on a pike,” Logan ordered his men, much to Isla’s disapproval. She stretched her hand to tug at her son but Logan walked back to the castle.
“Did ye ken?” Isla asked Stephen, as the men began to disperse.
“Ken what, milady? All I ken is that I have lost a friend,” Stephen said, looking back to Donald, whose body was being covered by two of the guards. “I lost Naomhan me brother and now me best friend. The world hates me.”
Isla was not moved by his theatrics. She suspected him of foul play even though he had done nothing to make her suspicious, yet she could not shake off the way she always felt around him.
“Daenae speak of Naomhan as though ye cared for him. Ye brought those men to the castle bearing false accusations against my son, including yer loyal man Donald,” Isla reminded him.
Stephen sighed before he spoke, “I brought them to the castle so that we could all think of a way to save Naomhan. If I had nae done that, Naomhan would have been beheaded as a traitor to Scotland. If I had wanted him dead, he would have been. He was me brother.”
“Ye ken who was in here with Donald last night,” Isla walked up to him, staying in his face confrontationally. She hoped that he would smile, give anything away but Stephen only looked at her with sadness in his eyes. It was hard for her to believe it was real.
Stephen leaned towards her but she didn’t back away from him. Her eyes glared up at him and urged him to make a move to hurt her but he had never wished her an enemy.
“If ye ken who was in there with Donald, the man who killed me friend, ye need to tell me. Ye need to tell Logan or else we will find the man and ye might be roped in with him,” Stephen whispered in her ears without raising his voice.
Isla could not be sure about Stephen’s words. He had not denied if Naomhan had been in there with Donald the night before or if he hadn’t been, or perhaps he had known nothing of it.
“Please, do what is right, milady,” Stephen spoke out loud as he backed away from her to join Logan, who headed back for the castle.
Isla Grant watched Stephen walk away with the same gait that his father Huisdean had also. They were the same, she wanted to believe. She looked back at the trail of blood on the ground and hoped that her Naomhan was alive and well.
When she awoke, Theodora was alarmed to find that Naomhan wasn’t by her side. He was by the window staring out at the day. She got up to her feet and came up behind him. She rubbed his right arm gently and he looked at her. His face was paler but he was still handsome to her. He would always be like that to her and his grey eyes would always regard her with admiration.
His eyes were thinner that morning with fatigue but he smiled at her and put his arm around her. She leaned into him as she looked up, searching for his eyes. His eyes gazed outside again at the expanse ahead of them.
“Let us return to England. We will be safe in England. Colt is not after us anymore and my parents would give their blessings. They would come to love you as I love you. Mother would understand. She would see that there is no other man that I would rather be with,” she assured him. She had expected a smile from Naomhan or talk of disbelief but he said nothing.
“Naomhan, talk to me. What is on your mind?” she tugged at him.
“Yesterday, I almost died, Theodora. I feared that I would break my promise to you, that I would not get to see you again,” he said.
“But I saved you like I always do,” Theodora said with childish glee. Seeing her that way made Naomhan smile for a moment.
“I went to meet my mother but instead, I was attacked by a man I had known since I was but a wee lad. We grew up together, ran these fields together, and played in the hills. But yesterday, he tried to kill me. It made no sense to me.” He turned to Theodora with eyes glistering with withheld tears. “A lot of things have changed since I was last here. Men were loyal to one another. We were brothers,” Naomhan lamented.
“Time changes people,” Theodora knew this. For years, she had dreamt of the man she would fall in love with. It had been a smooth and painless fairytale with a prince wherein they did nothing but ride and sing. She had not pictured herself running for her life and tending to the wounds of another. She realized that she would not trade any moment with Naomhan for her childish fairytale.
She pulled his face to look at her.
“England, come away with me to England. I cannot bear to see you hurt like this again,” she told him.
“But—” He wanted to speak but she put her hand over his mouth.
“I love you, Naomhan Grant, and I cannot lose you. I spent last night till the morn thinking the worst. I dislike thinking bad things. What if you did not make it? How would I live with myself? Did you think about it?” Tears swam down her face. Naomhan pulled her against him despite the pains from his shoulders and squeezed her against himself.
“You make me happy every day, Theodora. The thought of you was the strength that kept my eyes open and my heart beating still. I love you.” He raised her chin so she could look at him. “I need to see my family. They need me but this time, this time it will be the two of us, I promise. I will never leave you behind anymore, I promise,” he assured her.
He craned his neck to kiss Theodora and she let him. She walked backwards towards the bed and with his lips still locked with hers in hungry passion, he followed her. She fell onto the bed, bouncing off it with her hair as wild as her eyes were as they stared back at him.
Naomhan could not get off her fast enough before the door was thrown open.
“Dae they nae knock in Scotland nay more?” Theodora asked, mad at the innkeeper, who walked in with a bowl of soup for the both of them. Naomhan allowed himself a hidden smile. He could not let the innkeeper see it lest it would water down Theodora’s rightful anger and turn it on him. He made a mental note to tell her how beautiful her face was whenever she was angry.
“I can do as I well please around here. Besides, the both of ye should have a bit more self-control. He is still wounded and cannae dae what ye need him to dae, lass,” the innkeeper replied as she set their warm soup down by the side of the bed before she turned to Naomhan.
“I daenae whatever happened last night and I would nae ask any question but ye had the lass worried. She cried all night, rode out in the dead of night to drag ye here all by her lonesome. Ye are lucky to have a woman who loves ye so much, so daenae make her regret it. Stop being a dobber.”
“Men die a lot around here because they have this odd sense of bravery. I see it every day. The only thing that really matters is that lass next to ye. Ye cannae find another that will be loyal as she is. I cannae be loyal to a dobber like ye,” the innkeeper said, before she headed out and closed the door behind her.
“My mother can be like that sometimes,” Theodora commented after the woman left.
“My mother is definitely that way,” Naomhan said. “She would kill me if I die.”
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There was silence between them as they thought on the woman’s words. Naomhan had his fists clenched in anger. He hated the idea that the woman had been right. He turned to speak to Theodora but she raised her hand to shush him. She wanted to speak first. After what she had gone through the night before, Naomhan did not fight her over it.
“I understand what you are going through, the conflict in your heart, because I feel it too. I wish to see my parents again but I want to be with you more. My parents will be worried senseless despite my letter, my father especially, but I cannot let you go this journey alone. If something bad happened to you and I was not there to protect you, I do not—”
“It is my responsibility to protect you, Theodora and I have made terrible work of that up until now. I promise no harm will come to you ever again. Come with me. Meet my little brother and mother before we head back. I care not for clearing my name. If you think it is still too dangerous, we shall return to England. I just need to see them and pay my respects to my father,” Naomhan told her.
Under a Highlander's Spell: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 20