The Angel and the Highlander

by Donna Fletcher

  The wind whipped Alyce’s wool cloak around her, and she was glad for its protection. She made it unnoticed to the stable, everyone much too busy to pay heed to her actions and she wished to keep it that way, though it would not be easy. If she could reach Septimus and talk with him she knew she could have this misunderstanding settled before any blood was shed.

  Men were much too quick to raise a sword, and though Cavan sent a messenger to Septimus, she knew full well it would read more like a demand and that would not set well with the mercenaries.

  And selfishly she had another reason. Septimus would have news of home, and she wanted desperately to hear about her sisters and Everagis.

  After her mare was saddled and she had a chance to consider her actions, she realized that if Cavan or her husband did not want her to leave the keep, they would make certain she was unable to. Therefore, Cavan had purposely let her go and there was no reason for her to hide her departure. But why argue over it with her?

  She had no time to give it thought, wanting more than anything to see Septimus and hear of home. She rode through the village and out of the open gate assuring those who called frantically to her that she was going to help as many to get to safety as possible.

  They certainly would report her departure to Cavan, but then he already knew where she went.

  Alyce knew from what Piper had taught about Septimus’s scouting tactics that while he led the troop, he would have men scouting a few miles ahead and also along the perimeters. They would know of the messenger’s approach long before he arrived, and they were probably also aware of the exact positions of the sentries Cavan had posted. One thing she had learned about the mercenary group was that they were no ordinary ragtag band of men, and she couldn’t help but wonder again over their origins.

  Once she left the moors, and reached the woods she kept to the edge of the forest knowing Septimus’s men would spot her and take her to him and sure enough that was what happened. Two of his men she was familiar with, Dale and Hagen, approached.

  She had to smile for they were night and day in appearance, Dale short and stout and Hagen simply large.

  Hagen was grinning. Surprisingly, he possessed all his teeth and not a one was yellow or rotted. His diction marked him more an educated man than a mercenary.

  “Septimus advised you would arrive before we reached Caithness. It is good to see you again,” Hagen said

  Alyce grinned from ear to ear; she was happy to see them. “How is everyone at home?”

  “Septimus warned us you would ask at once about Everagis, but he asked that we should get you to camp before we answered any questions or we might never make it there.”

  She laughed. “He is wise.”

  “He says it’s because he understands women,” Dale said, motioning her to follow him, Hagen taking up the trail behind her. “And strangely enough, I bloody well think he does.”

  Alyce had a string of endless questions to ask, but she knew it was best that she waited and though the ride wasn’t long, it seemed like it took forever. Finally, they arrived at the camp and after greeting her, Septimus walked her to a more secluded location at the bank of a creek and sat with her a few feet from the water’s edge.

  “My sentries are posted well. No one spies on us here,” he said.

  “Why are you here?” she asked eagerly.

  “Why, to rescue you, of course.”

  “I’m going after her,” Lachlan said as soon as he received word that his brave wife rode off to help bring the farmers to safety. He turned to leave the solar and found Artair blocking the door.

  Lachlan turned and pounded Cavan’s desk. “You knew she’d go to him, and you let her.” He shook his head. “If it were your intention all along, why didn’t you just let her go from the beginning?”

  “I wished to see what she would do,” Cavan said calmly.

  “You mean you wanted to know if she would obey your orders,” Lachlan said.

  Cavan nodded. “She impressed me with her many skills, but her one fault is…”

  “Obedience to authority,” Lachlan finished.

  Cavan nodded. “She is too accustomed to leading and has no patience for anyone’s dictates but her own, though I have seen her acquiesce to you on occasion.”

  “Not this time,” Lachlan admitted reluctantly.

  “It was to be expected; she looks on Septimus as a friend,” Artair said, having left his post at the door to join his brothers.

  “But I am her husband,” Lachlan emphasized.

  “You’ll find that while that holds importance, it also gets in the way,” Artair said.

  Lachlan shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re thinking like a husband,” Cavan said, “while your wife thought like a warrior.”

  “She was wise and courageous in bargaining with the mercenaries,” Artair said.

  “She could have told me,” Lachlan said, still feeling the bite of mistrust.

  “That would have meant a betrayal to the mercenaries and they would have retaliated, not only against Alyce and her village, but you as well,” Cavan said. “As Artair commented, she made a wise and also necessary choice.”

  “She refused to tell you everything concerning the mercenaries when you asked,” Lachlan reminded.

  “But she freely told us about Ronan,” Artair said. “And she was blunt that she gave her word so therefore was bound to it.” He snickered. “You’re just angry that she took off to meet a man handsomer than you.”

  Fury engulfed Lachlan and he raised a threatening fist to Artair. “You’re damn right I am. And when I see him I’m going to beat the hell out of him.”

  “Rescue me from what?” Alyce asked Septimus.

  “From an unwanted marriage.”

  “I appreciate the offer but it isn’t necessary,” she said, wondering who precisely had sent him. Her sisters had known all too clearly the situation and the repercussions of sending Septimus to Caithness.

  “You don’t want to give it some thought?” he asked.

  While she missed everyone and her life at Everagis, and it still continued to prove a challenge in adjusting to life at Caithness, lately she had come to the realization that she would find it impossible to live without Lachlan. She loved him more than she thought possible and she looked forward to raising their child, and hopefully more together.

  “You’re thinking about it,” Septimus said.

  She shook her head and smiled. “No, I’m thinking about why I would never leave him.”

  “Tell me, so that I can return with your words and let your friends, who worry about you, know you are happy.”

  She thought of what to share with him and the others, but how did she put into words what she truly felt when she was still realizing it herself? Of course, she could say that she loved him, but the women knew she did. Whatever could she say that would convince them and perhaps even make her fully accept why she truly chose to remain with Lachlan?

  “I will tell you before you return home,” she said.

  “I return now if you are certain about your decision.”

  “You cannot leave yet,” she said, grabbing hold of his arm. “You must stay for a few days at least and meet my new family.”

  “That’s not a good idea,” he said.

  “You must,” she urged. “Cavan, the laird of the clan Sinclare, must know that you did not come here to attack his home.”

  “I do not care what the laird of the clan Sinclare thinks.”

  “There will be no bloodshed,” she ordered sternly.

  “You should be laird. You give orders easily enough.”

  “Then obey them and meet with Cavan and his brothers.”

  Septimus stood and held his hand out to help her up. Once she was on her feet he said, “We will camp here. If the Sinclare men wish to meet with me and see that I am no threat to them then let them come here to my camp tonight.”

  “To expect the laird of the clan Sinclare to co
me to you would be considered an insult and reason for battle. I will not be part of such nonsense.”

  “No faith in your new family?” Septimus asked.

  “Respect for my new family,” she confirmed with a quick nod. “You either do what is right or suffer the consequences.”

  “You threaten me?”

  “I am truthful with you and I expect the same in return,” she said. “You either present yourself at the Sinclare keep tonight or tuck tail and run.”

  “Now that’s a challenge that could have serious repercussions.”

  “No,” she snapped, “it is the right thing to do and if you can’t see that then turn around and go home without a word from me.”

  “Not much of a bargain.”

  “Who said anything of this being a bargain?” she gloated. “You do as I say or go home.”

  “If you were a man—”

  Alyce took a challenging step toward him, “You’d what?”

  “My leader was right,” he admitted. “You are a woman to respect, but not one to underestimate.”

  “Wise observation,” she said. “I’ll expect you at the keep at sunset.”

  “I don’t seem to have a choice.”

  “I gave you one,” she insisted. “Go home or come to the keep.”

  “The keep it is,” he said reluctantly.

  Alyce bid him farewell until later, and while Hagen and Dale followed her back to where they had met her, she couldn’t help but fret. It wasn’t over the meeting tonight, though she knew it would probably prove difficult. It was something Septimus had said.

  Tell me so that I can return with your words and let your friends, who worry about you, know that you are happy.

  He didn’t say your friends who sent me.

  Who then had sent him?

  Chapter 32

  Lachlan sat alone at the table in the great hall. Cavan had the children moved to a safer section of the keep and so the hall was empty, not a person or a sound stirring but him. After Cavan had received word that Alyce had been met and safely escorted to the mercenary camp, and with plans for a surprise attack completed, only to be used if necessary, there was nothing left to do but to wait.

  Normally, his patience could handle most any wait, but this wait was proving much more difficult. He understood that Cavan would have never allowed Alyce to ride off without being protected. Lachlan knew his brother would have their best scouts following her, but with Alyce having learned from Piper, Lachlan worried that Alyce could easily outwit them.

  However, he trusted his wife’s word. Her only intentions were to go and speak with Septimus and once done, she would return. She wanted no bloodshed and neither did Cavan, so this particular matter could be resolved easily enough, or so he hoped. He still felt an itch to punch this Septimus, though knew it would serve no purpose other than to make him feel better.

  He saw his mother approach and he honestly was pleased to see her. He had always found it easy to speak with her. She was never one to berate or judge, instead she talked, asked questions and made suggestions, and you suddenly realized a solution to your problem.

  “May I join you?” Addie requested with a smile, though she didn’t wait for an answer. She sat beside her son.

  “Are you here to lecture me?” he asked teasingly.

  “Do you need one?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought I was doing well, being a good husband.” He shook his head again. “But Artair suggests that being a husband can sometimes get in the way.”

  “While there is logic to Artair’s observation, it is being a husband himself that allowed him to learn that.”

  “So he didn’t really become the all-wise-one until he got married?”

  Addie laughed. “Your ability to see humor in life is what makes you so special.”

  “I always thought I was special,” Lachlan grinned proudly.

  Addie rested her hand on his arm. “Your uniqueness serves you well. While Cavan concerned himself with everything and everyone, and Artair sought logical solutions, and Ronan tried to be as brave and wise as his older brothers, you stood apart.”

  “How so?” he asked, touched that his mother thought of him that way.

  “You always smiled and always had a good word for someone, always treated others with respect and you were always confident in your decisions.” She smiled. “Cavan came to me once when he was about ten and you just six. He wanted to know why everyone liked you better.”

  “Truly, he did?” Lachlan asked, stunned.

  Addie nodded. “He did, and I tried to explain to him that it was your nature and you would always be that way and that he shouldn’t fret over it, for he had his own good nature.”

  “So you told him that I was always going to be liked more than he,” Lachlan said with a laugh.

  Addie laughed along with him. “I suppose that is the truth of it.”

  “Cavan is a great leader and respected. I much admire his strength and courage.”

  “And a leader needs both,” Addie said, “for he must make decisions that are not always easy and will not always please everyone and at times may cause him to be disliked.”

  Lachlan had to grin. “So this is a lecture.”

  “Nonsense,” Addie said grinning. “I wouldn’t lecture my grown son, though I will leave you with a reminder.”

  “Which is?”

  “You knew who your wife was when you married her.”

  “Not so,” he said. “I first thought her a nun, then a woman named Terese, and then I finally learned she was Alyce all along.”

  “Precisely,” Addie said, her smile spreading wide. “I must go. I will see you later.”

  “Damn,” he mumbled after his mother left. Alyce was who she always was no matter what name she went by. He had been privy to her biting nature on occasion, and though it had seemed foreign to him, it was a part of her.

  And the woman he had known and come to love was the true Alyce Bunnock. And why was that? It was simply because she was allowed to be who she always was. Her father never truly made her who she was; she was who she was all along, just as he was. And while his family accepted his nature, Alyce’s father made her suffer for hers, but regardless, she continually struggled to remain true to herself.

  Lachlan felt pride swell near to bursting in his chest that he should have a wife who was a true warrior.

  The doors to the great hall burst open and along with the wind Alyce entered. She shut them tight and hesitated where she stood. He couldn’t blame her for being cautious, though he was relieved they would get to speak with one another alone before his brothers descended on her.

  He started toward her, ready to wrap her in his arms and kiss her until they were both mindless. He cringed and turned when he heard his brother’s voice ring out.

  “Good, you’ve returned,” Cavan said, entering the great hall with Artair not far behind. Honora was close on her husband’s heels, and Lachlan wasn’t surprised to see Zia follow. The only one missing was his mother.

  Lachlan shook his head when he saw her hurrying in a few feet behind Zia.

  Zia went to Alyce’s side. “You are feeling well?”

  “I feel wonderful,” Alyce said with a hesitant smile at first. “The ride in the autumn chill exhilarated me.”

  “You look great,” Honora said. “And I’m envious how the babe has not prevented you from doing anything.”

  “Yours did?” Alyce asked with interest.

  “Enough female chatter!” Cavan ordered and had the women shooting heated glares his way. “We have a serious matter to discuss.”

  “We’ll talk later,” Honora said with a pat to Alyce’s arm.

  They began taking their usual seats at the table in front of the hearth and pitchers of hot cider were soon placed in front of them along with a light fare.

  Lachlan stood at the end of the bench waiting for his wife to slide in first, his mother already seated at the other end. Alyce acknowledged hi
s gallantry with a simple nod, though her blue eyes told him much more, and he knew his brother was about to deal with not the shrewish Alyce Bunnock, but the imposing Alyce Sinclare.

  “Tell me,” Cavan said to Alyce, filling her tankard with hot cider.

  Alyce didn’t hesitate. “You will receive Septimus and a few of his men tonight just before sunset.”

  “For what reason?” Cavan asked.

  “He is a friend of mine and I expect my family to accept him as such.”

  “He is a mercenary,” Artair said as a statement of fact.

  “And that should matter why?” she asked.

  “They are not known for being trustworthy,” Cavan said.

  “I say he is,” Alyce argued.

  Lachlan remained silent, watching the exchange, enthralled by the liveliness in her eyes. Her resolute nature was one of the things he loved about her.

  “There it is,” Lachlan said to Cavan. “You have her word on it; that’s good enough.”

  Cavan nodded and before he looked to his mother, she stood.

  “I’ll see that food is prepared,” Addie said and hurried to the kitchen.

  “So this Septimus came all this way just to visit with you?” Artair asked.

  “No,” Alyce said and tore off a piece of black bread. “He came to rescue me.”

  “What?” Lachlan said, swerving around to stare at her.

  Alyce patted his arm. “Don’t fret. I told him I didn’t need rescuing.”

  “That he should even think that you do—”

  “You did snap me away from my home,” Alyce said matter-of-factly.

  “You’re defending his actions?” Lachlan asked, shaking his head. “I don’t believe it.”

  “You’re making something out of nothing,” Alyce said.

  “A man arrives at my home and claims he’s there to rescue my wife and I should think nothing of it?” He shook his head so hard that his long hair whipped him in the face. “No!”