by Terry Spear
“You dinna think Cormac would want to take Fenella as a bride to make an alliance between our clans, do you?” Though her uncle had said nothing of the sort, and if there had been some such agreement, he would have told Fenella, she would think. But maybe Hamish knew more.
Hamish folded his arms. “You believe these men had come here intentionally, but were shipwrecked before they could make it to shore, and what? Take Fenella from here to wed Cormac? Why would you come up with such a notion?”
Avelina felt her face heat from embarrassment. She wasn’t good at this secretive business. But she was afraid not to say something in case these men got loose and somehow managed to grab her cousin.
“I know it is foolish to suggest such a thing, but I overheard them saying that they had come for Fenella. You spoke to her in front of them, using her name when you did, she said, and she felt uncomfortable afterward because of the way they shared glances. I tried to overhear any conversation they were having among themselves and that’s when I heard them mention her name. I could be wrong, and I hope that I am, but I worried that if I’m right…” She shrugged again, figuring Hamish would deal with the men as he saw fit.
She knew he’d question them severely, but if they’d planned to steal Fenella away against her will, and they’d attempted to murder Quinn, this was on their heads, not hers.
“You are certain that’s what they said?”
“Aye. If you had someone attempt to overhear their conversation, mayhap they’d give themselves away.”
“I must speak with Fenella.”
Och, Avelina could imagine her cousin falling to pieces without knowing what Avelina had told Hamish first. “I’ll send her down.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Relieved beyond measure that Avelina could speak to Fenella beforehand, she hurried off to Fenella’s chamber. When she finally reached it, she knocked. “’Tis me, Avelina.”
Fenella hurried to cross the floor and opened the door for her. “You’re as white as a ghost. What did Hamish say?”
“I’m afraid ‘tis what I said that is the problem.” Avelina quickly gave her a rundown on what she told him. “He wants you to speak with him.”
“I didn’t hear anything from the two mercenaries, except for two of the men’s names.”
“And that when they heard your name mentioned, they exchanged glances. That’s all you have to say. I made up the other part to implicate them, not you.”
Fenella wrung her hands. “I canna believe you said that to Hamish.”
“I decided we had to stop them if they still intended to steal you away.”
“They’ll torture them.”
“They tried to murder Quinn for no reason. He was trying to fight off five of them on the ship during the storm. One man against five?”
“We only have his word for it.”
“You told me that they said they had to kill him. You heard that too.”
“True. But that part I canna mention to Hamish, unless you want to reveal the truth about Quinn.”
“Nay. I dinna know what to do about him. For now, he should be safe enough at the haunted croft. Hopefully, he’ll be fine at Judith’s croft when I move him. I canna make excuses to see him every day until his injuries have mended, or Hamish and the others will grow suspicious. And he needs someone to help look after him until then. Beyond that, I dinna know. Come, Hamish is waiting for you to speak with him.”
“Dinna fault me if I make a mistake in what I say.”
They left her chamber.
“Just dinna mention Quinn or that these men intend to murder him.” Avelina frowned at her as they descended the stairs. “Quit looking so nervous and wringing your hands.”
They finally reached the main hall and found Hamish with three more of the guards waiting for them. Avelina was afraid Fenella was going to melt into the rushes on the floor.
When they joined the men, Fenella repeated what she had told Avelina she’d overheard, leaving Quinn out of it.
The men were frowning at them, looking menacing, and Avelina knew they would get the truth out of the men. She just hoped they didn’t say Quinn was the cause of them being there, and not Cormac. She realized afterward, they might not use Cormac’s name, but Quinn’s, as a way to hurt him should anyone discover him alive. She was wondering now if there was any way she could aid him to leave the island, if nothing more than moving him to one of the other islands. One that was uninhabited. At least until he could heal from his injuries.
5
Wolf stirred, raising his head, and Quinn was instantly alert, listening. It was too dark for anyone to be roaming through the area at this time of night. Unless it was just a ghost wandering around.
Wolf listened for a long time, so did Quinn, but all he heard were the sounds of bugs, a frog, and the wind. Then he fell fast asleep and only woke when he realized Wolf had left. He wondered if he’d gone looking for Avelina. Quinn hoped she’d gotten home all right last night after seeing to the widowed woman.
Quinn had a terrible time getting to his feet, his head, arm, and ribs still throbbing with pain. He felt sticky and caked in salt from the swim in the sea. He needed to wash in the nearby river, or the inland loch he’d seen when they’d made their way here. He was grateful to Avelina for mentioning all the landmarks on their way to the croft. He ate the rest of the bread, fish, and cheese that he had left over from last eve. Just in case any of Avelina’s people came to the abandoned croft while he was gone, he took the bundle of his clothes with him.
The air was cool and damp this morning as he slowly made his way to the loch, hoping he could swim a little and didn’t drown himself. He was a good swimmer, but he still hurt all over. He would be glad when he was feeling more like himself.
When he reached the loch, he stripped off his belt, boots, plaid, and shirt, then took his own plaid and walked slowly into the water. Once he was waist deep, he washed his plaid in the water, then returned it to the shore, laying it out to dry. Then he returned to the water and when he was in deep enough, he dove in and began to slowly dog paddle. As sore as he was, he didn’t feel as bad as when he’d been walking here.
He swam for a little bit, feeling cleaner, and loosening his muscles up. He was about to head back into shore, when he saw movement in the brush. Heart pounding, he eyed the bushes. Wolf’s head popped up, and Quinn took a relieved breath. Then Quinn swam toward shore. He reached the shallower area and began to walk out, glad to see Wolf. But then Wolf turned his head, listening to something only he could hear.
If some of Avelina’s kin had shown up, he couldn’t fight them. Not if he wanted to live. Nor did he want to kill any of her people if Cormac had lied to him about Fenella wanting to marry him.
He tried to reach the shirt first, thinking the person approaching might be Avelina, and he didn’t want to alarm her with his state of undress. He grabbed the shirt off the ground. He was yanking it over his head and down, when he saw Avelina, her mouth agape, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.
“I worried when I couldna find you at the croft.” She looked down at his wet plaid spread out on the grasses.
“I washed and removed the brine from my plaid.” He began wrapping her brother’s plaid around him, groaning with the movement.
“You worried someone would find my things at the croft.” She hurried forth when he sat down to pull on her brother’s spare boots. Crouching, she brushed off the dirt from his feet before she helped him with one of the boots. “’Tis haunted. No one comes near it.” She looked up at him. “Did…did you have any visitors?”
“Nay, though I worried at one point because Wolf lifted his head, waking me. He must have heard something. Just a critter that hunts at night, I’m certain.”
Quinn glanced around for the wolf, but he’d run off again, exploring, doing wolfish things.
“I may have done the wrong thing and said what I ought not to,” she warned Quinn.
As worried as she appeared, he was
afraid she’d told her people the reason the other men were there—to abscond with Fenella. He knew they’d torture them for all the details, and the men would quickly tell them about him.
“You have to do whatever you feel is right. Even if it means telling your people about me.”
She shook her head. “I didna, but it doesna mean they willna discover you, and if they do, you will suffer the fate of the other men. I told Hamish, the man left in charge while the others are off fighting, why the mercenaries were there. Fenella knows naught about this Cormac. Mayhap your brother sent you so that you’d die in an attempt to steal her away. Mayhap he thought, if you managed to do so, he could return her and turn you over to her da, so he could deal with you. Whatever the reason, she doesna know him and never agreed to wed him. She was horrified to learn of your brother’s plan. Hamish did say that your brother has met him before, which might be why he even knows about my cousin. She is beautiful.”
“You are beautiful.”
Avelina blushed again.
“What of the other men?” Quinn asked.
“They will be tortured until they tell the truth.”
He assumed as much.
“I fear I made a mistake. What if they say you were the one who put them up to it? They dinna know that you’re alive, but if they think you are hard to kill, they may believe you could still live and put the blame on you. You wanted to steal Fenella away. You wanted to make her your wife. Then Cormac would appear innocent of any wrongdoing, once again.”
He couldn’t let his brother get away with it this time. Attempting to murder him was one thing. Blaming Quinn for stealing a woman so she could be his bride was quite another.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“You need no’ be, Avelina. You are caught between. None of this is your doing.”
“How are you feeling this morn?”
“Better. Much better.”
“Och, tell me the truth. As much as you were groaning when you were dressing, I dinna believe you are feeling much better.”
He smiled at her. “Just seeing you here makes me feel much better.”
She frowned at him. “I could have just gotten you killed. If they find you, they will torture you just the same. It matters no’ if you are innocent, and that your brother is the guilty party. I’ve thought about borrowing a boat to take you over to one of the uninhabited islands. But you would have to fend for yourself once you are there. I’m no’ sure you could survive. I couldna see you for days. I could gather as much as I can to help you make it through until I could return to see you again, but I might get caught doing so. If I could manage, I would send Wolf with you. He can fish, though he might no’ share with you.”
“If we get caught, I wouldna want you to be in trouble for assisting me.”
Ignoring what he said, Avelina added, “I told Judith I was bringing you to her croft, and she was eager to see you. But I’m afraid that once the other men are made to speak, and if they mention you and your ability to stay alive, our men will rally to search for you. They will see you as the man in charge, no matter if they say Cormac told you to do it. You were the one responsible for these men when you made your way here to fulfill your brother’s request. It would be your word against theirs that they tried to murder you.”
“To keep you from getting into trouble over this, I should steal the coracle. Then your people will know I did it, if they should catch me, and that you didna aid me.”
“Nay. I must return the boat. They would search all the islands otherwise, looking for it, if anyone found it to be missing.”
“You dinna think they will search them anyway, looking for me in case I made it to one of them?”
“Nay. They are located much too far from where the ship sank. The currents and waves would have beached you on our shores.” She took a breath and appeared to be considering their alternatives. “All right, we will do this. I’ll collect extra supplies from Judith and replenish hers as soon as I can. I’ll gather as much as I’m able to from the keep, and bring the boat up the river near here. It leads back to the sea on the leeward side of the island, and that will put us at the closest point to reach the next island. But you should go to the island beyond that, just to be sure no one would find you. ‘Tis early, and if we are to do this today, I will need to hurry back and fetch what I can.”
“What can I do to help?” Quinn knew this could be a disaster for both of them. But if she were caught, he hoped they would consider that she was just a woman, who thought to save an injured man. Nothing more.
“Gather your things.” She gave him a new bundle of items. “Stay at the croft for a couple of hours and then head directly in that direction.” She pointed the way. “You will come to a river. If you walk along it that way”—she again motioned in the direction she meant—“you will meet me somewhere along the river, and we’ll head out to sea.”
“In the same direction I’ll be walking to join up with you?”
“Aye.”
“Then I’ll walk as far as I can go until I see you. You willna have to paddle as far in the wrong direction.”
“You wait, first. It will take me time to borrow a coracle and gather more food and such. We have very few men right now, while the majority are off fighting. Even so, some will surely be out looking for more survivors, and I dinna want you to get caught roaming about.”
“Aye, thank you, Avelina. Someday, I hope to repay you.”
“Just keep yourself safe until we can decide what to do with you later.” She stood and helped him up, and he was trying his darnedest not to groan, but he couldn’t help it.
“You are no’ much better,” she accused.
He took her frowning face in his hands and kissed her forehead. “Seeing you makes me feel much better.”
And then he kissed her mouth, knowing he shouldn’t. But what if he didn’t make it out of this alive? What if he wasn’t ever able to see her again? He couldn’t quit thinking about her lovely mouth, her devastatingly soulful blue eyes, her red-gold curls, and her soft, womanly curves, but most of all? The way she genuinely cared about his welfare, despite that he’d intended to steal her cousin away before he was shipwrecked on her island.
She leaned against him lightly, and he wanted to pull her tight against his body, to feel her soft body, but just the slightest bit of pressure against his ribs hurt. Yet his mouth on hers stole his attention, the warm, sweet taste of her, and his body reacted, his staff stirring to life. He was afraid she’d pull away, but the vixen stayed where she was, kissing him back, and she had to feel his growing arousal.
She finally broke free of his kiss, as if she recalled her mission. “I…I must get the coracle. I must hurry.” Tears glistened in her eyes, her hand holding his.
“You dinna have to do this for me—”
“Nay, do as I say. I will return as soon as I can.”
“Be safe,” he said, and she pulled away, wishing him to do the same.
She hurried off, but when Wolf followed her, she turned to him. “Stay and guard the prisoner.”
Quinn smiled, and Wolf stood still while she continued on her way. Wolf’s tail relaxed, his ears perked. Quinn knew Wolf wanted to follow her in the worst way, and he wished he could see her safely off also, but he was certain that would be the death of him.
He gathered his wet plaid and the other items, including the new bundle she’d brought him. He wished he could at least see Judith and help her with anything he could before he had to leave here, but he didn’t know his way to her croft. Would Wolf?
Avelina suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. Enraged and worried for her safety, Quinn dropped the bundles and tore off to reach her.
6
The grizzly-faced, blond-haired man grabbed Avelina around the waist, his hand clapped over her mouth, and he whispered in her ear, “Dinna make another squeak, lass, or it will be your last one.”
Avelina didn’t doubt he meant to do her harm. He had his ar
m around her arms, pinning her to his damp body, smelling of the sea, and she couldn’t reach her sword or sgian dubh. She was afraid Quinn would try to save her and get himself killed. The same with Wolf as she saw both of them racing toward her. Yet they gave her a sense of hope, and she was grateful to see them, despite worrying about their safety.
Quinn’s face was dark with rage, and she thought as angry as he looked, the man holding her should have released her and fled. She had hoped he was just one of the sailors, but he was wearing a sword, and he’d leaped out of the brush at her when she’d tried to pass. She’d been so concerned about reaching Judith’s croft and doing what she could for Quinn, she hadn’t been watching for any signs that someone else from the ship could be lurking about.
“My, my, what they say is true. Quinn has the Gods watching over him.” He glanced down at her. “And…you?”
Wolf was nearly to them, and the brigand pulled out his sword.
“No, Wolf, stop!” she shrieked.
“Wolf!” Quinn commanded, and the wolf stopped and looked back at Quinn, as if expecting him to do something about this. “Let the woman go, and fight me, you bastard.”
The man sneered at him. “You are unarmed?”
“And he’s been badly injured,” Avelina said, hoping the man would let her go, thinking Quinn couldn’t fight him, and he would be an easy kill. She hadn’t seen Quinn put the sgian dubh in his boot. She hoped he, at least, had that weapon on him. Now she regretted that she hadn’t returned his sword to him. She wished she could toss her own shorter sword to him, so he’d have a fighting chance. Though this man, who seemed uninjured and was carrying a much larger sword, would be hard to beat.
“They say the lasses always love him. You too? Do you know what he planned to do? Steal Fenella away to be his bride.”
“Good. The woman is a menace and sharp of tongue. He can have her. Let me go, and the two of you can be on your way,” Avelina said, her voice angry.
“Do you hear that Quinn? We can both be on our way, and the lass willna tell her kin about us. I think no’.” The man moved his sword to cut her. Suddenly, he was falling backwards and her with him. When she felt his grip loosen on her, she quickly rolled away and stared at the dead man, his mouth gaping, his eyes staring heavenward, Quinn’s sgian dubh centered in the middle of the man’s forehead.