Knight's Legacy

by Trenae Sumter

  Kenneth reacted as if he understood every word uttered by the old time traveler. Traipsing away to stand over Cat’s kill, he picked up the bird and began plucking off the feathers. Cat kept him in sight.

  “You have come to take me back, have you not?” A bit of frightened anticipation touched the tone of her voice.

  “You must make a judgment as to your path, Catherine. I will come for you in three days. Forever gone, or forever stay; you must ponder and declare your resolve.” He turned strode away from her.

  “Why only three days’ time?” Frantically, she tried to keep up with his swift pace. “Surely it can be postponed for a bit?”

  He stopped with a flourish, and the color of his blue eyes turned a deep sapphire in anger. “You would bargain with me, lady?” he said in an outraged roar.

  “Nay. Forgive me, Sir Raven. I did not mean to make you angry. But, it will be so hard to …”

  “Leave forever the man that holds your heart?” His blue eyes were penetrating as they stared into hers.

  “Maybe that’s true. Still, I wish to be no man’s property! My time gave validation to women. They were not treated as silly pets. They were listened to, valued.”

  “You speak, and he does not listen?”

  “Nay, he does listen to me. But if he chooses not to, I have no recourse, no choice! I am only what he allows me to be in this time!”

  “Bah! Did he ignore your love for the Gordon babe? Did he beat you when you disobeyed him to cross another clan’s border?”

  Folding her arms about her defensively, she huffed. “You know he did not! He made a pretense of it for the others, but he has never hurt me. Roderic is … very tender with me.” She spoke the last in a breathless whisper as if the thought were a sudden one.

  “Aye, and this tenderness is a precious gift. Most women would thank God, fasting, for such a man.” He pulled out a small scrap of paper from his belt. “May this lend a help in your decision, lady, and your arrow be straight and true, as always.”

  Putting the piece of paper in her hand, he continued as he walked away from her, “Be at the east landing of the castle at sunset in three days time. If ye judge to stay here, know ye never to plead to go back, for this will be your home!”

  Watching him disappear through the trees, Cat felt suddenly cold. She looked down at the paper in her hand. It was a newspaper clipping from Houston, Texas. The date was only six months from the date she worked in Scotland. Merlin had gone into the future! The article documented the tragic loss of Howard Terril after a long battle with cancer.

  Her father was dying.

  Cameron was vexed at the fey young boy. Kenneth had taken hold of his arm and dragged him to Lady Montwain. The urgency with which he conveyed his need of help was merited when Cameron observed her condition.

  Her skin was cold and clammy. Tears streamed unheeded from her eyes as she sat rocking back and forth on the ground under the trees. He wrapped her into his arms and took her to Roderic.

  Roderic sat in the great hall at the long table sipping ale.

  “Sir Roderic!” Cameron shouted.

  Roderic rose and moved swiftly when he saw his wife’s condition. He ran to take her from Cameron.

  “What has happened? Is she injured?”

  “Nay! I found no wound. She is pale, and cold, and wouldnae answer,” Cameron said.

  Roderic shouted, “Edna!”

  The woman appeared at once.

  “Fetch Glyniss. Your lady is ill,” he said.

  “Aye, Sir Roderic,” Edna replied. She went to do his bidding.

  Roderic held Catherine tenderly and carried her to their chamber, placing her in their bed. Her skin was like ice, and she tossed about on the bed, crying.

  Crooning to her, he tried to take her in his arms and give her comfort. He begged her to tell him what troubled her so he could make it right.

  Glyniss came to see to her and pronounced her illness not one of body, but of spirit. She was inconsolable. Another mystery flogged his brain as he viewed his wife. She lay on the bed and cried as if her heart had been rent in two. He made small attempts to give her comfort and affection, but she would not be consoled.

  Roderic sat with her throughout the night, wrapping her in blankets hoping to warm her. Wanting no further outcry of her madness, he allowed no one else near, explaining only that she was ill. Her constant tears wrenched his heart, she whimpered, cried, and continued to speak two words again and again as if they beset her with a quandary.

  “Three days.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

  ~Proverbs 14:15

  Cat roused herself from her grief after the long night of tears and depression. Roderic demanded the reason for her collapse.

  “I’ve had some grave news. My father is … dying.”

  “Dispense with this mystery, Catherine. Tell me the way to your home, and I shall take you to your father at once!”

  “No, Roderic. You cannot. If I leave, and it will be soon … I can never return,” she said.

  His expression clouded in anger. “You will not leave me! Let your clan come for you! Lay siege if they must, but take you they will not. You stood before the priest with me and took vows, in spite of your lies! You could carry my child even now. King Alexander will understand Mackay’s trickery. When I speak to him of this, he will sanction our union. If your family has cast you out, how did you know of your father’s sickness?”

  Cat sighed, shook her head, and was silent. She was weak and tired in spirit from her night of grief. Her father’s illness had been an almighty blow. Howard must have been ill long before she went to work on the film in Scotland; he said nothing.

  She felt not only profound grief, but despair born of betrayal. The decision to stay or leave Roderic was made more difficult in the knowledge that she could never say good-bye to her father, though he was ill. Her mind was tired from the frantic thoughts that plagued her. Merlin was adamant in his command, and there would be no changing her mind once the decision was made.

  Roderic walked to her and with a graceful movement took her in his arms to sit on the bed. The lethargy she felt, coupled with her depression, made her numb. Sitting in his arms like a broken doll, she pressed her cheek to his collar bone, and sank gratefully into his warmth, his embrace.

  “My love. You will not leave me. My life, my heart will be barren without you. You are tired and overwrought. Do not be afraid of the future with the loss of your loved one. I took you as my wife for all time, and honor has this pledge from me to care for you in your father’s place from the day we wed. Don’t cry, for I will be your shield and shelter.”

  Embracing him, she kissed his cheek, and sighed. “Roderic. Let’s not speak of the future, and enjoy our time together.”

  He kissed her passionately, his tongue sweeping past her lips to caress the inside of her mouth.

  Cat wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her fingers in his hair, determined to enjoy every precious second she had left with Roderic, her husband, her heart. She only hoped she would have the strength to leave him.

  The next two days were a trial for Cat. She tried to be with Roderic and Hope every second, knowing she would return to her time when Merlin came. Roderic continued to have her guarded, but she knew Cameron would be no match for Merlin’s powers.

  She found herself hoping that she would have a child for her comfort. She wanted to stay with Roderic. She wanted to go home. Determined to stand by one decision, only hours later she would relent and change her mind.

  On the third day she dressed in the green gown in which she was married. Cat felt an unbridled anxiety when Roderic watched her intently at the evening meal. She ate little, far too emotional to feel any real hunger. There was to be a minstrel to entertain them all at the close of the meal, but she rose to leave after the first song.

  “You wish to beg my leave, lady?” Roderic said
.

  Through the riot of emotions Cat was suddenly exasperated. “Nay! It is not my custom to beg permission, yours or anyone else’s, to come or go!”

  “Catherine.” The word was spoken as if his sword was drawn in challenge, and it was a clear warning. “Tread lightly.”

  Gazing into his warm brown eyes, she thought of their countless nights of pleasure, then glanced up to see the evening sunlight low on the walls of the castle. This would be their last few moments together, and she did not want this memory marred by a careless word.

  “Forgive me. May I take my leave, sir?”

  “Aye,” he said.

  Cat turned and made her way quickly to the east landing of the castle. Cameron, of course, followed. She turned to him when she began to see the lavender mist through the door by the landing.

  “You mustn’t come any closer, Cameron.”

  “Catherine! Wait!”

  The hoarse shout was Roderic’s. He moved around Cameron to stand before her, tall and angry. Kenneth drew him forward by the hand. The lad was frightened as he ran to her, sliding to Cat’s feet and wrapping his arms tightly around her legs. Whimpering and moaning, Kenneth shook his head despairingly.

  “Kenneth, what have you done to me?” she whispered to the boy as she looked into the angry face of her husband.

  Kenneth stood and tugged at her arms, trying to pull her away from the mist. How did the boy know she was leaving? Embracing him, she kissed his forehead and tried to calm him. Cat had been unable to bear saying goodbye to the baby girl. Was she leaving her family forever? Who would care for Hope in her absence? Would Roderic one day take another woman as his wife? The very thought battered her with an envious wrath.

  “What is this fog, Catherine? Come away from here,” Roderic ordered.

  Cameron drew his sword. “Think ye the fog is of this world, Roderic?” It was a frightened rasp of a whisper.

  “There is nothing to fear. It is just that I must go now,” she said.

  “Kenneth, come here!” Roderic barked, his tone commanding.

  The boy tore himself from her arms in tears and ran past Cameron.

  “Take him away, and leave us,” Roderic said.

  Cameron backed away slowly, sword drawn, staring at the mist. Extremely pale, he trotted away from them in an attempt to catch up with Kenneth.

  “Tell me now you are no witch!”

  “I am not, Roderic. I love God just as you do! I serve no evil entity, but I must go back where I belong. It is best this way.”

  “No!” Catching her in an embrace, he moved much more quickly than she could have ever imagined possible. “Stay with me! I will protect you from this evil!”

  “There is no evil! Please believe me! Roderic, don’t make it harder. I don’t wish to leave you, but you don’t know what you ask of me.” She made a futile attempt to push his arms from around her waist. They felt as bands of steel, and she fought to break away.

  “I ask that you honor the vow taken in truth and trust. A pledge before God! Was it meaningless? Was it all born of deception? Are these senseless tales more of your lies?” He spoke harshly.

  “I never meant to hurt or deceive you!” Cat blurted, knowing full well how weak it sounded.

  Roderic went on, his eyes conveying the fury within him. “I ask no more from you than you promised to do! I ask that you stay my wife, be a mother to my children, forsaking all others for all time!”

  “For all time. Your time, not mine,” she said.

  He kissed her then, and their passion flared between them, born of desperation and fear. His mouth slanted over hers again and again.

  Cat pulled away to frantically whisper, “I can’t do this! I can’t stand this pain! I must go!”

  Bending down, he threw her over his shoulder, and she fought him, kicking and squirming.

  Cat was horribly afraid. Her last chance to see home, her father, her time, was disappearing before her eyes. “No, Roderic! Put me down!”

  Turning her in his arms, he cradled her there. Holding her with a possessive determination, he nuzzled her cheek to his and spoke hoarsely. “I need you.”

  Cat suddenly felt the comforting touch of her mother’s hands long ago. In the caress was tenderness and reassurance, but she also felt the plea of his spirit. The child abandoned, the man never truly accepted by other Scotsmen, reached out to her for solace, for love.

  Feeling the tension drain from her body, she knew in that second she could never leave him. Roderic set Cat on her feet. Whirling to look for the mist, he saw it was no longer there. The sun had set, and the decision had been made.

  “I told you I would not allow you to leave me,” he said.

  “Roderic!” Cameron shouted as he ran to them.

  “Arm yourself! Gavin has returned with our sentinel guard, and the two clans have circled the perimeter beyond the castle. He was near captured, and has seen the enemy!”

  “The enemy?” Roderic demanded.

  “Aye!” Cameron said.

  “ ’Tis the Kincaid Laird with his warriors. They are seven-hundred strong, and have joined the Mackay rogues. Gavin has seen them! The warriors be near to our gates, and we are under siege!”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The desire of the righteous is only good; But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

  ~Proverbs 11:23

  Roderic found Gavin stretched out on the long table in the great hall. Stripped to the waist with a bloody wound under his left arm, he grimaced while Glyniss stood over him washing the blood away. Edna stood by to help, and there were several men clustered around the table. Roderic shouldered through them, and placed his hand on his friend’s heart.

  Gavin’s eyes opened to peer intently, sharp and alert. “Nay, ye blackguard, no need to dig a hole, for ’Tis a wee nuisance, no more!”

  “Thank all that is holy, my friend,” Roderic said, tugging mightily on Gavin’s long hair.

  “Be still!” Glyniss barked at them both. “Nuisance or not it could become full of infection! I’ll cover it with salve if ye stop thrashin’ about.”

  “How did you escape through them? How many do they number?” Roderic questioned.

  “I ken they were to capture me, so I couldnae warn ye. ’Tis Kincaid, and he has seven-hundred men with him, but that is not the worst of it! Mackay has joined them. I saw one of his men. But, ’Tis Kincaid we need to fear. Why would the Laird want ye dead? It must be more than the fact ye be a bloody Englishmon,” Gavin said.

  “Aye. It seems the woman I married is not the real Brianna Mackay. She escaped to marry Kincaid’s brother. Angus captured this lady, and forced the deception so the clemency wouldn’t be lost.”

  Gavin looked at Roderic’s wife with a spark of humorous admiration in his eyes. Gavin looked at all women with a bold lustiness. Roderic was accustomed to it, still it rankled.

  “So, lass, ye fooled us one and all,” Gavin said.

  “She had no choice; Mackay forced her! Still, if his daughter is now the wife of a Kincaid, maybe loyalty for the marriage has brought them together to seek the return of Mackay’s holding,” Roderic said.

  “Best ye speak to Kincaid through a courier. His men ready themselves for war, though they are encamped. Why would they wait? When I passed through, they were not on the offense. It was an afterthought to capture me, but I was more determined to escape. We must wait for news from Kincaid. Tell me, ye mean to keep this red-headed wench as your own?”

  “Aye,” Roderic said. His brown eyes rested on her, then winked at Cat in amusement. Smiling back at him, she spoke to Glyniss. “Can I help?”

  “Nay. This will be enough if he will lay still,” she said. Glyniss had finished with the salve and pulled Gavin’s arm down to lie on the table. Paling visibly, he appeared to fall asleep.

  “He will awaken soon. ’Tis best to leave him be for now.”

  “Cameron,” Roderic said.

  “Aye, Sir Roderic.”

  “Invite the wom
en with no one to defend them to bring their children, leave their cottages and come to the safety of the castle. How far is the enemy camp?”

  “Gavin said they were only a mile from our gates. Gavin is right, the enemy has made no move to attack.”

  “Be that I could speak with Kincaid alone, I could undo the lies of Mackay. However, I will not risk death by trusting a man bent on vengeance. We will prepare for battle and wait,” Roderic said.

  “This keep will be impregnable. Mackay’s own defenses were many. We can stand off a long siege. I vow they will tire of it before we are in danger of starving,” Cameron said.

  Calum Mackay challenged Roderic daily. On the fifth day, Cat walked to the tower to be with her husband. Roderic watched the burly Scot vent his rage. Calum cursed not only Roderic but every Englishman ever born. The vitriolic speeches were meant to spur a man’s temper to lose his head. Cat felt a surge of respect for Roderic when she viewed how little emotion he invested in the whole affair.

  “He should be with a troubadour in a play, the way he loves to hear himself shout,” she said.

  “Aye. Courtly love and devotions to women are the virtues those men speak of. Their songs and poetry readings are full of such. Mackay has no regard for women other than to abuse them. He could not properly cloak his brutality to agree with them, I fear,” Roderic said.

  “Very true. Roderic, will they cease … blustering, and attack us soon?”

  “I will hope they do not until I can scheme to speak to Kincaid alone. I would defuse a fight if possible, until the King reaches our borders,” he said.

  “He comes? It is a certainty?”

  “Aye. Though once it was a thought that brought only peace, I am now far from at ease with his visit. I may be facing a fight to keep you at my side, wife.”

  “He will put an end to our marriage?”

  “He can. ’Tis in his power,” Roderic said.

  Gasping at the thought, a troubled frown worried her brow. He took her in his arms and Cat rested her head on his chest. Roderic took her chin to look into her eyes.