by Kara Griffin
She gasped when the man returned and strolled into the chamber. “You do what?”
“Know how to care for a bairn.” He was as tall as Brodin and as handsome. The man was also as intimidating and formidable.
Why in God’s name did she notice such trivial things when her life was in such disarray? “Why did you come back?” Dallis backed a step when Liam approached.
“Do you think me unchivalrous? I’ve sent my comrades on their way. Brodin is too broken to dally and needs a healer. But James and his barbarians will help protect us until I can get you to safety.” He reached out to her, but she shimmied backward.
Dallis’ shoulders slumped at hearing how bad off Brodin was. Percy’s soldiers must’ve tortured him. A shudder racked her insides and tensed her heart. “Why do you help me? And who is James?”
“Because Brodin asked it of me. And James is a comrade. He’s already dug a grave for the lass.” He pointed to the bedding. “Come, we’ll get her out of here and then we can be on our way.”
“What about Gilroy? I’m sorry to say Sir Percy killed him. The poor lad died because of me. I didn’t know Percy would kill him like that …” Dallis didn’t have the strength to stand. Her legs shook and all she’d endured hit her as if she was crushed by a boulder. How she wished she was home. If only her brothers hadn’t gone off to support their king, they would’ve taken her gran to England. She could’ve scoffed at her thought because her brothers would never have agreed. Such ruminations wouldn’t change what had happened.
“Aye, we found Gilroy. He goes with us. We won’t leave him behind. There’s no reason to be frightened. We mean you no harm.”
Dallis nodded, unable to reproach him for not burying the lad. Gilroy meant a good deal to him otherwise he would’ve left him at Alnwick.
“Come, we will find the bairn nourishment and better cloth to wrap him.” He threw his hand down and gently pulled her to stand.
She retrieved the bairn, and they meekly followed Liam from the chamber. For the next few hours, all was taken care of. Flora was laid to rest and unfortunately left at Alnwick. Dallis spoke a prayer over her grave. Gilroy was wrapped in what Liam called a special tartan and secured to a horse for his delivery home.
Liam even managed to find a woman to suckle the bairn. Dallis took the babe from the woman and thanked her. As night crept away numbness overtook her. She was exhausted, emotionally, physically, and in every sense she could be. Dallis wanted to curl up in a warm bed and close her eyes and forget all that happened in the six years since she’d stepped from Buchanan land. That wouldn’t be. They needed to flee, she reminded herself.
“We need to leave posthaste. Dawn approaches. Come, your grandmother is already atop a horse and waiting. We will travel at a fast pace.”
“What about the babe? I can’t leave him here. Flora would never forgive me.”
Liam took the bairn from her and motioned her forward. “You will see to him. Worry not.”
Dallis knew next to nothing about caring for a babe. There weren’t many children near her home except for her siblings who were all older than her. The only other woman she spent time with was her gran. Sheltered from most of their clan, Dallis was practically cloistered within the small fief her da built. Children and bairns were a perplexity.
She turned when a tall man approached.
“James Douglas, mistress, at your service.”
She stepped back. The man was fearsome with his thick dark beard and even darker eyes. He had a harsh gaze which sent a chill down her spine. Liam was right, James was a barbarian and resembled one from the looks of him. He was of warfare, she sensed it right off. At least she might be safe from Sir Percy. She suspected James could take on a legion of men and somehow come out the victor.
“You have nothing to fear from me, mistress. Come, let me help you.” He helped her onto the horse and Liam handed her the bairn. The man wasn’t too gentle when he practically threw her on to the horse’s back.
“I can see why Brodin insisted we bring you. You’re a bonny lass. What clan do you belong to? Might I ken your family?”
She scrunched her eyes at the man’s audacity but decided to answer his brash question. “The Buchanans.”
James bellowed and the sound reverberated from the heavy stone of Alnwick’s thick walls. They passed the gatehouse and he sidled next to her. “Damned me, mistress, Brodin is going to have his hands full of temperamental Buchanans when they come to reclaim you.”
Liam laughed. “Brodin always appreciates a challenge.”
She kept silent. They didn’t understand why he wanted her. It wasn’t at all what they alluded to. If only Brodin Grant longed to have her for his own. A wish such as that held no reasoning. The man detested her. Brodin Grant wanted nothing but retribution. And she couldn’t blame him. Her deceit cost him a great deal. Her chest bore the heaviness of her perfidy.
There was no way for her to make amends and no way to repay him.
Chapter Seven
The first thing to come to mind when Brodin awoke was payment. Somehow he would make Dallis Buchanan pay for her deceit. Intense urges for retribution tensed his muscles. He hadn’t experienced such disgust since his doings with the Sweeten lass. Were all women murderous charlatans? She’d easily ensnared his protective nature with her false story of needing aid. He was foolish for believing her.
Brodin opened his eyes and peered above at the rafter. He recognized the wooden beams stretched across the ceiling. Sweetheart Abbey. Being there comforted him. The abbey’s peacefulness solaced him and he was safe. A slow drawn-in breath came at his relief. The abbey was like a second home to him, at least until the English came. If he reached the abbey that meant the English must’ve left. How was it he’d come there? The last he recalled, his comrades infiltrated Alnwick and rescued him. He remembered his pleas for them to apprehend Dallis and hoped they’d taken her.
“Ah, there ye be. Right as rain. About time ye joined the living.”
He pressed his eyes and looked again, disbelieving he saw her. “I’m happy to see you, Gwenol. That means I’m not dead.”
Her light laughter filled the small chamber. “Nay not even close, sweet lad. I had to patch up your chest, but it wasn’t deep enough for the stitch. Fortunately for you. Don’t mind saying I might’ve lingered a wee bit longer than necessary.” She winked. “That lump on your head was a wallop and did ye slumber. I worried ye wouldn’t wake, but now that you’ve come to …”
Brodin grinned. The old healer always made brash comments. Some that even made James Douglas blush akin to a lassie. “I feel … remarkably well.”
“Och, laddie, that’s the medicinals speaking. For I had no choice but to give ye a wee bit of dram with hemlock. Just a pinch, mind ye, to take away the pain whilst I tended your back. Graeme scoffed at me for an hour.” She chuckled.
“Only an hour? Graeme detests the use of medicinals, always has.”
“Don’t I ken it. I’ve had to force broth down your gullet whilst ye were under the power of the medicinals and head wound. The salve has done well to heal your back. Only a few places are tender, where the skin broke. Och, ye should heal well.”
Brodin sat up and didn’t sense any pain from the beating he’d taken. It was odd because he recalled being injured, felt the intense agony. Yet his body appeared to be sound. After taking a moment to assess his body, he grunted in approval.
“You’re remarkable, Gwenol. How long have I been here?”
Gwenol tisked and waggled a finger at him. “Best ye lie back, my handsome lad. The medicinals are still at work.” She purposely turned and tinkered with her jars and avoided his question.
“How long, Gwenol?”
“Only a fortnight.”
He threw his legs over the edge of the bed pallet intent to leave at once and find her. Before he could set his feet on the stone flooring the door opened.
Graeme and Liam entered.
“I told you he’d be surly when he
awoke,” Liam jested. “I would’ve won the coin had I had it to wager.”
“He’s always surly so the wager would’ve been pointless. Why should now be any different?” Graeme yanked a chair and turned it. He sat astride and grinned. “How are you? On the mend? Still groggy?” He gave a sharp glance at Gwenol. “I told her you didn’t need medicinals, but she insisted.”
Brodin sat back upon the bedding and groaned. “I’m gladdened for the medicinals, unlike you. I thought I was clear-headed, but it appears I am not.”
“Kerrigan, Makenna, and Lillia insist we bring you home.” Liam snickered. “But if I were you, I’d stay here and rest as long as possible. It’s much more peaceful here.”
Brodin listened to their banter. He couldn’t cease thinking about Dallis. “Did you bring the maiden? Dallis?”
Liam nudged his foot and got him to scoot aside and sat on the edge of the bed. “Aye. I retrieved her.”
“Good. The woman must pay for what she’s done.” His harsh tone was warranted, and yet he wondered why his friends raised their brows at his words.
All eyes shot to him.
Liam grimaced. “What are you saying? I thought you wanted her because she’s bonny. She’s incredibly sweet. The woman doesn’t have a malicious bone in her body.”
“Aye, and she’s almost as beautiful and mild tempered as my Kerrigan,” Graeme said without a hint of jest.
“The woman deceived me.” Brodin rambled off his encounter with Dallis and by the time he finished the explanation, he fell back, woeful at his words. He wasn’t sure why his comrades wore confused expressions. “She deliberately entrapped me and got Gilroy killed.”
Graeme took hold of the chair back and gave a quick glance at Liam before returning his gaze to him. “That’s not what Liam encountered.”
“Nay,” Liam said and rubbed his face. “When I found her, she was distraught. She just helped to deliver her maid’s bairn. The maid perished during the birthing. Dallis wouldn’t leave until we laid the lass to rest.”
Brodin shook his head. “She never mentioned her maid having a bairn. What about her grandmother? Is there even a grandmother?”
Liam nodded. “There surely is. She’s a force to be reckoned with and made us travel a slow pace on the journey to the caves. She and Annag are quite friendly even though Lady Buchanan can’t hear a lick of word Annag’s saying.”
Annag, the old woman who took care of them had come with Kerrigan when they’d taken refuge in the caves. Annag’s kindheartedness aided many within their small clan. He sure as hell hoped the sweet woman wasn’t taken in by Dallis Buchanan and her grandmother the way he’d been.
Graeme groaned. “Our caves are a mite crowded now with Dallis, her gran, and the bairn.”
“What bairn?”
“I insisted she bring the babe, her maid’s bairn. There was nowhere to leave it and we were sure the English were soon to return. It was best we make haste and get back to Scotland. The lass doesn’t ken a thing about babes though, but she wouldn’t leave it to succumb either. She’s worried herself sick over you, too, and insisted she come and see you. Been here at least four times since we got back to Dumfries.” Liam tilted his head and waited for him to speak. “She has a caring heart.”
Brodin smirked and scowled at his friend’s obvious admiration of the woman. He was astounded by their conversation. “Because of her, Gilroy was killed. Caring heart, my arse. Lest we forget that. She misled me into going with her to Alnwick so the lord could kill me and send my head to his king. He wanted us all. I will not forgive her for that.”
Graeme scoffed. “Forgive or not, she now is our responsibility until we can get her back to the Buchanans. I asked James to find them and he’s set out. What was she to do? Gilroy told her to come to us, what to say to get you to come. She was desperate for aid and had no one to turn to. You should’ve waited for us.”
“Aye,” Liam said, “Gilroy caused his own peril. He fell into the English’s trap. The lord would’ve killed him regardless of Dallis’ involvement once he got the information he sought.”
“But …” Brodin didn’t have a retort to that.
Graeme rose and set the chair next to the wall. “But nothing. You need to mend so we can get back to the caves. James will speak with Robert and gain his accord for a meeting. We await his return. We put Gilroy in the ossuary and will bury him when you return to the caves.”
“Aye, I wish to be there for his burial.” Brodin rubbed his face and realized again that he arrived at the abbey. “How did I come here? What of the English? I thought the abbey besieged by the English soldiers?”
Graeme nodded. “Aye, it was until we arrived with James’ men. It was a sight to behold actually. His men moved in without the enemy knowing and one by one they were subdued. The remaining ran off. Friar Hemm is grateful and has already dispatched his emissaries to gain the latest news.”
“I imagine he is well pleased. I’m gladdened to know the abbey is once again ours.” Brodin nodded. “I will leave with you now. I want to be the one to meet with the king.”
“You will heal first,” Graeme said, shaking his head.
Gwenol shrieked. “You shan’t move from that bed and undo my tender care.”
“How much longer do I have to stay here?” Brodin wanted to leave, but there was no arguing with Gwenol when she healed. They’d bore witness to her ministrations before.
“At least another few days. Be gone, sirs, I shall see to him.” She waved a hand at his company. Before Brodin could voice any further remarks, she shuffled Graeme and Liam from the chamber. She handed him a dram. “Drink this.”
He peered into the cup but did as she commanded, happy to give his aching head something to dull it. The liquid tasted sweet with a just a wee bit of sour to it. He wasn’t about to ask what it was for he knew well she wouldn’t divulge her secret formulas.
Gwenol leaned close. “Ah, that’s it, my sweet lad. Rest easy. This woman … she is the one you’ve been seeking. Don’t fight it. Best you accept what will eventually be. Aren’t ye blessed for she’s just as stubborn as you are.”
Brodin tried to shake the grogginess from his mind. He didn’t understand what Gwenol spoke of. The last thing he envisioned before he gave in to the lure of the medicinal was Dallis’ bonny face. Was he wrong about her?
Chapter Eight
There was always more than one path over a mountain. Dallis fondly remembered her mother telling that when she was wee. The path she climbed would lead her to Brodin’s forgiveness. That was if she might find a way into his shielded heart.
As the morning trekked by in its agonizing slow pace, Dallis worried what he would say when he returned. The men left earlier to retrieve Brodin from the abbey. Would he return with angst toward her? Her uneasiness rattled her. She wanted more than anything his forgiveness. It wasn’t going to be easy to obtain.
Dallis went over in her head many times of what she’d say to explain her treachery. Each time, she changed her words and now any explanation got caught in her mind and on her tongue. Dumbfounded, she would eventually face him and struggle in reasoning why she’d done what she had. Not that he would accept any reasonable excuse.
Gran approached and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You worry.”
She nodded but didn’t retort. Everyone within the cave remarked on her edginess. She’d paced the cave for two whole days in anticipation of his homecoming. Now with his imminent arrival, Dallis chewed on her longest fingernail.
“Come, they’ve returned,” Makenna said, and bustled the children through the vines that protected the cave entrance from harsh weather. She held the bairn in her arms and had taken a liking to the babe.
Dallis waited until all vacated before she moved forward. She exited and stood behind the women and children, cowardly unwilling to face Brodin. The men stopped at the other cave and within minutes made their way to the crowd gathered.
Brodin and Liam were the last to arrive. B
y the time they reached the clearing in front of the cave, and after rounds of greetings, all the others retreated through the vines.
Liam met his wife with a welcoming kiss. Before they departed, Makenna handed the bairn to her gran. The babe wailed uncontrollably for a moment before gran soothed him. They took their daughters to the path that led to the cave they occupied nearby.
Dallis stood by and watched Brodin. He appeared recovered and gave no indication that he suffered any permanent injury from the beating he’d taken. Brodin waved to his comrade before turning to her.
They were alone. Nerves got the better of her, but she had to say something before he too retreated inside and she missed the opportunity to make amends. She rushed forward and threw herself into his body. With her arms around his waist, she felt his body stiffen. He didn’t return the embrace. His hands fisted by his sides and he kept his gaze on the cave entrance.
Dallis sighed wearily, knowing his acceptance would be difficult. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along until he reached the nearby pines. The scent heavy from recent rains infiltrated her nose and she sneezed. Their location was private and the surrounding land hilly. She understood why they resided in the caves and had heard mention of their hiding from the king. Although, she was hesitant to ask too many questions what they’d done to warrant their banishment.
Dallis had to defuse the situation. He was angry. There’d be no forgiveness from him if he stayed ireful. She did the only thing she could think of to mollify the situation. She kissed him.
Her lips touched his and she pressed against his hard body, hoping to allay him. With all her heart, she hoped he’d respond. At the slightest movement of his lips, she moaned in joy. She pulled back and took a breath. The kiss was that of a modest nature and not at all sensual. Yet, the thought of kissing him brought forth a rush of delight and assuredly a brush of crimson to her cheeks.
He didn’t give her time to collect herself before he yanked her hard against him and took possession of her mouth. Dallis hadn’t expected such a show of passion, but when his tongue lashed at hers, the kiss became more than tumultuous. She tensed at his forthright manner and her insides fluttered madly. Fear forced her to draw away.