She made no response, and Malcolm knew a storm brewed beside him. He shored up his resolve and all the wiles he possessed to weather the squall.
Their path led them to the same spot where he’d held her against the sorrow of homesickness. This place was theirs, and each new memory they created together made it more so. He took a seat on the same boulder and waited patiently as True paced back and forth in front of him. Best to let her begin, so he kept quiet and let his mind drift to the day he’d found her. He smiled at the picture of defiance she’d presented and at the vision she’d made walking out of the forest with her glorious hair falling about her shoulders. He was a man besotted, and happily so.
True stopped in front of him with her hands folded in front of her, and her chin lifted. “There are a few things we need to discuss.”
“Aye?”
“Yes. What happened at the spring, for one thing.” Her voice faltered.
“What happened at the spring—”
“Cannot happen again,” she interrupted. “We were playing with fire, Malcolm. I’m not blaming you.” Her words came out in a rush. “I’m equally responsible. Surely you agree we can’t let things go so far again.”
“Nay, I dinna agree.” She was within reach. “’Tis certain to happen again.” Malcolm placed his hands around her tiny waist and brought her to sit next to him. “Often, if I have my way.”
“But you apologized.” Her eyes were wide. “I thought you regretted—”
“I apologized, aye. Not for what happened between us, lass, only for having to leave things…unfinished.”
She blushed and covered her embarrassment with her hands. “We can’t do that. You know what could happen,” she muttered between her fingers.
Best to let the matter rest. He put his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “You said a few things. What else must we discuss?”
“You’re going to retake Meikle Geddes?”
“Of course. Uncle Robert and Aunt Rosemary would be most displeased with me should they return from London to find their home in the hands of our enemies.” He could see her working herself up to respond. “Give me a kiss before we discuss the matter further.”
“Didn’t I just say we can’t go down that road again?”
“I am not asking you to disrobe, woman. I seek only a kiss.” He feigned injured pride and gave her a crestfallen look, gratified by her smile.
“I know how that works.” She shook her head, even as she grinned. “Only a kiss, only a taste, just a touch you promise, and poof, before you know it, I’m beneath you, sans clothing, and you’re muttering something about spring.”
His laughter filled the air as he lifted her onto his lap. “Och, ’tis no easy task seducing a truth-sayer.” He cradled her face in his hands and took her mouth with his. Several minutes of blissful silence ensued as he feasted on her sweetness, reveling in the soft noises she made in response. Her small hands pushed at his chest, and he lifted his head to gaze into her eyes, losing himself in their depths.
“When do we leave?” she asked.
“There is no we in this matter, Alethia. You will remain here within the safety of the curtain wall while I am away.”
“Don’t be stubborn about this, Malcolm. I have to be with you if I’m to save your life. I can’t bear the thought of not being there when you need me the most.” She’d worked her fingers into the wool of his plaid, twisting the fabric in her distress as she stared at his chest.
“Alethia.” He raised her chin with a finger until she met his eyes. “Dinna worry so. I promise no harm shall come to me. I know why you were sent, and the warning alone is enough. You will no’ leave this island in my absence.”
“Greater men than you have said the same, with disastrous results. I’m going with you. I’m supposed to save your life.” She lifted her chin and met his eyes. “I mean to do so.”
She scowled most fiercely, and he fought the smile threatening to ruin his stern countenance.
“Don’t bother,” she snapped.
“What?”
“Don’t bother trying to hide what you feel. I can sense your amusement. It’s condescending and extremely irritating.” She stood up. “This is serious. I’m serious. At least promise me you’ll think about it?”
“Aye, I promise to consider your words most carefully.”
“And we’ll discuss it again before you leave?”
He rose from his place and encircled her waist with his hands. Bringing her snug against him, he kissed her, ravishing her mouth with his tongue, caressing her with his hands.
Pushing him away, she whispered, “We’ll talk about this again tomorrow.”
Alethia woke with a start. Disoriented, she sat up and looked toward the window. Not yet dawn, the sky gave no hint of light. Her pounding heart set off alarms in every cell. Dread premonition, an oppressive force, swept the cobwebs of slumber away as she sought its source. With a gasp, sudden insight propelled her out of bed. Careful not to wake Elaine and Hunter, she groped her way around the dark room in search of clothes.
“True?”
“Go back to sleep, Elaine. I just have to use the garderobe.” Finding her garments—or were they Elaine’s?—she tugged them on as she went. Slipping out of the room, she ran down the shadowed corridor and down the stairs to the great hall.
Remnants of a hasty meal were strewn over the trestle table. Candles still burned in their holders in the midst of emptied dishes and pewter mugs. Embers glowed red in the hearth. Those who had shared the meal were long gone. She came to a dead stop at the sight. Disbelief, rage and fear held her fast as the truth crashed over her in waves. He’d left without her. He’d left her without a word.
Frantic, she ran out of the hall to the ferry landing. If she hurried, maybe she could catch him. Maybe they still loaded the ferry with supplies and hadn’t yet crossed the lake. Not a soul stirred in the darkness of the bailey, dampening her hopes. She ran through the portcullis toward the landing.
In dismay, she stared at the spot where the ferry should be. She’d missed them. Grief and a piercing fear tore her heart in two. He’d deceived her, led her to believe they’d talk again before he left. Fury welled, choking out rational thought like a pernicious weed.
At that moment, when she thought all was lost, Alethia noticed the boats—fishing boats from the mainland, six in a row, pulled onto the shore and turned upside down. She’d borrow one, get to the mainland, take her mare and follow their trail. Then she’d force Malcolm to see reason, and he’d have to take her with him.
She took a step toward the boats, and someone grasped her arm.
“Dinna even think it, lass.”
Startled, she jerked as she turned to see who held her. “Liam.”
The compassion radiating from him was her unraveling. A horrible keening sound escaped through her lips. Liam drew her under his arm, just as the dam gave way to the flood of tears.
“Dinna worry, True. Malcolm will return to us unharmed.”
“No, Liam.” She turned anguished eyes to his. “No. He won’t.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alethia knew by the set of Liam’s jaw she’d have no chance of leaving the island. Keeping a firm grip on her upper arm, he led her back to the keep. “Liam, Malcolm told you why I was sent here, didn’t he?”
“He did.” He gave her a grim look. “Robley and Galen will protect Malcolm, and I will see to it you remain safe.”
“How can I convince you to take me to him?”
“You canna. I would do exactly as Malcolm has done. A battleground is no place for a lass, and your presence would only make him more vulnerable.” His tone softened. “I know what you are going through. Rest easy. The men with Malcolm are all seasoned warriors, and they have fought together many times. Robley and Galen will guard him well.”
“How long will they be gone?”
“A month, mayhap longer. Malcolm will want to set things aright at Meikle Geddes before returning.”
<
br /> They’d reached the keep, and utter defeat swamped her. Her plans thwarted, she wanted nothing more than to get back into bed and pull the covers over her head. Maybe she’d stay there until Malcolm returned.
If he returned.
Without a backward glance, she left Liam in the great hall and dragged herself up the stairs and back to Elaine’s chamber. She crept back to the bed they shared, slipped out of her gown and slipped between the sheets.
“Are you ill?” Elaine whispered.
“No.”
“You were a long time in the garderobe.” Alethia felt the mattress shift as Elaine raised herself to study her in the half-light of dawn. “What is it, True?”
“Malcolm is gone. He and the men left before dawn.” Alethia turned her back to Elaine and curled up into a fetal position, pulling the covers over her head.
The feeling of dread and premonition hadn’t left her since she’d awakened. Defenseless against such an onslaught, sleep seemed her only escape. It had been her refuge against the agony of losing her parents so many years ago. She’d slept months of her life away until the pain of loss became a dull, bearable ache.
Fear, and the wrenching pain the thought of losing Malcolm caused, stirred up the hurt she’d suffered when her parents died. The faces of her uncles, cousins and aunts passed through her mind, and finally, her grandmother’s image. They were lost to her. Somehow, deep in her heart, she knew the rest of her days would be spent in fifteenth-century Scotland. So much loss. Alethia closed her eyes and willed herself away.
She would have been better off keeping her heart to herself. It was time she started thinking about her future and finding a way to make her own way. She had skills, and she had no doubts she could be a productive, contributing member of this community. She had her music, rudimentary healing skills and twenty-first-century knowledge. Yep. She could carve out a life for herself, but not today.
“My dear, ’tis time you left this chamber.” Lydia reached out to give Alethia a shake. “Are you ill, child?”
She tried to turn away from the voice disturbing her, but it wouldn’t let her be. She tried to cover her head with the blankets, only to have Lydia tug them out of her hands and away from her face. “Leave me alone,” she muttered.
“Nay. ’Tis not fitting. You dishonor Malcolm.”
Alethia scowled.
“Aye, ’tis a dishonor to the MacKintosh clan to show such a lack of confidence in our ability to protect our own. You have been in this bed for two days,” Lydia scolded. “Hunter is beside himself with worry. Enough. Get up.”
She sat up.
“Your time would be much better spent preparing for their return. Mayhap there will be wounded to care for.”
“Wounded?” Alethia saw Hunter hovering uncertainly by the door. His worry caused a wrenching sensation in her chest. She held her arms out to him. Relief danced across his face as he bounded across the room to climb up onto the bed. He settled himself on her lap, took her face in his small hands and studied her intently. She knew he looked for fever. His whole world had shattered when his mother and grandmother died. Guilt swamped her. “I’m fine, Hunter. Not sick, only sad.”
He nodded, his far-too-old eyes reflecting complete understanding. She pulled him into a tight hug, resting her cheek on the top of his head. He smelled like the outdoors, little boy and peat smoke. His warmth gave her comfort and drew her back from the black void.
“A bath awaits, True.” Lydia patted her knee. “Then you will eat something and join us in my solar.”
“Lydia.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Malcolm left without saying good-bye.”
“Of course he did. He knew you would try to follow. If his attention were divided between keeping you safe and fighting, he’d be more likely to come to harm. MacKintosh men protect their women.”
“Something bad is going to happen to him because I’m not there to prevent it,” Alethia sobbed.
“Is this something you have seen in a vision?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve never had a vision. It’s just something I feel.”
“Mayhap what you feel comes from words said to you by the woman who sent you to us, and no’ from premonition at all.” Lydia reached over to clasp her hand. “My dear, I dinna doubt the reasons you came to be here. I only question your conviction, and Malcolm’s as well, that the deed has aught to do with warfare and bloodshed. A life can be in peril for many reasons, aye?” With a final pat to her hand, Lydia rose to leave.
“Thank you, Lydia. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” Hadn’t she said the very same thing to Malcolm herself? It could be that she’d nurse him back to health, or prevent some catastrophe. She hoped to God that was the case. Throwing the blankets off, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and set Hunter on the floor. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dishonor the MacKintosh.”
“I ken our ways are foreign to you, True. There is naught to apologize for.”
A week had gone by without any news from Malcolm and his men. Alethia had joined the other women as they prepared clean linen strips for bandages. She’d sterilized her needles, threaded them with strands of silk she’d teased from skeins of embroidery thread, and packed it all away for use when the time came.
It had been tricky finding time alone to transfer Neosporin from her emergency kit to the basket holding her supplies. She’d tucked the tube under the linen bandages in her basket. In the great hall, men prepared plank-and-barrel tables for the wounded. She scrubbed down all the surfaces with vinegar every night, just in case.
“Beth, is there something to drink stronger than wine or ale?” Alethia fixed breakfast for Hunter and herself and took her usual place at the trestle table.
“Och, aye. Uisge beatha. What would ye be wantin’ it for?”
“For the men who will return from Meikle Geddes.”
“Mean ye to give it to the wounded to dull the pain?”
“Yes, and to bathe their wounds. It drives out the spirits that cause fever.”
“I’ll get some for ye anon, though I dinna think they’re likely to return for another fortnight at the very least.” She rose from the table. “And ye ken there might no’ be any wounded at all. This is Malcolm and our own MacKintosh warriors we speak of.”
“I know.” Alethia smiled at Beth’s faith in her clan and Malcolm’s prowess. “I just want everything ready and in one place. There’s something else I need to talk to you about. I have to get to the mainland. There are plants I want to gather for medicines.”
Red willow grew on the mainland near the shore. She’d seen the bright crimson stems standing out against the brown and tan. The spongy inner bark made a good anti-inflammatory and pain reliever when brewed into a tea. She’d spent countless hours with her aunts, peeling the crimson outer bark to get to the soft, light-green inner bark. She’d also been studying her herbal book for plants that aided healing or acted as antibiotics and antiseptics.
The time had come for her to stop being a guest and to start taking steps toward providing for herself and Hunter. Plump from a long season of feasting on nature’s rich bounty, animals would be wearing their thickest furs. She intended to hunt and snare. “Liam won’t let me leave the island.”
“Aye, so I’ve heard.”
“Any suggestions?”
Beth gave her a suspicious look. “Do ye intend to set out after Malcolm?”
“No. I wouldn’t know where to go, and I don’t have the supplies needed for such an undertaking.” Her frustration boiled over. “I want to gather some plants for medicinal purposes and do a little hunting. That’s all.”
“I’ll speak with Ian. He has a boat. Ye must avoid the ferry and the landing. Liam will be watching.”
She thanked her and went in search of Elaine, the only other person with whom she’d share her plans and her whereabouts. The room they shared stood empty, so she set out for the solar. Elaine sat with her mother by the peat fire burning in the hearth. She worked wit
h a spindle to turn the wool in her lap into yarn. “Elaine, come out to the bailey for a walk with me.”
“Nay. The day is cold and damp, True,” she said without taking her eyes from her task.
“Elaine.” Alethia shifted from foot to foot, willing her friend to look at her. Oblivious, Elaine’s focus remained on the yarn she twisted, but Lydia noticed and took the cue.
“I’ve been meaning to speak with the cook,” Lydia said, rising from her place. “If you two will excuse me.”
Finally Elaine looked her way. “Oh.” She looked from her mother to Alethia. “What is it?”
Taking the place Lydia had vacated, Alethia thought about how best to broach what weighed on her mind. “I need your help. I want to get some things to set up a hunting camp. Beth is going to borrow Ian’s boat for me. I need a kettle, and a half-barrel from the cooper.”
“Malcolm said he would—”
“He’s not here, Elaine.”
“I’ll take you to the tanner, and Malcolm will cover the cost when he returns.”
“No.” She let her breath out slowly. “I can’t go on like this forever.”
“Like what, True?” Elaine put her wool down.
The concern in her friend’s eyes made it hard to continue. “Elaine, I think…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I think it’s time I thought about my future. I can’t be a guest forever. I need to start making a living for myself and Hunter. I want to be useful to the clan.”
“Malcolm—”
“Malcolm has been very generous, and I’m grateful. But if he does not return, whose guest will I be then?”
“Mine.” Elaine reached for her hands.
“And when you marry, will you take me with you to your husband’s keep?” Alethia shook her head. “I need to find a way to take care of myself. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Maybe in the spring I can hook up with other musicians, become part of a traveling minstrels’ group. Or something.”
“Oh no, True. Dinna even think such a thing. Malcolm will return soon. You’ll see.”
True to the Highlander (The Novels of Loch Moigh) Page 16