Katerina nodded and started out of her room. If Lucas came to see the truth and displayed an appropriate remorse, she would allow him to become her lover. She hesitated in her walk to the hall long enough to silence that fearful voice in her head that whispered that Lucas might no longer desire her. There was a year’s worth of unsatisfied hunger in her and she wanted it fed. Katerina also knew that she still wanted Lucas to be so much more than her lover. It would just take time to see if she could trust in him again, in his passion, and in all his soft words of desire. It would also take time to trust in her own judgment again and to forgive him, she decided as she entered the hall and met his narrowed gaze.
The man was too handsome for any woman’s peace of mind, she decided crossly as she approached the hearth and sat down next to William. A faintly ragged scar ran over his right cheek but it only added a touch of danger to his looks. He was still tall, lean, and strong despite the stiffness in his left leg that she had fleetingly noticed during the escape from Ranald and his men. The only real difference she could see at the moment was that there was no warmth in his silvery-blue eyes as he looked at her and no beguiling smile curved his sensuous mouth. When she realized she was staring at his slightly full bottom lip, thinking of how she would like to nibble on it, she gave herself a mental slap and scowled at him.
“Why are ye still here?” she demanded, accepting the bowl of rabbit stew William served her and refusing to acknowledge, even to herself, that she would have been devastated if Lucas had left while she had been indulging in self-pity and grief.
Lucas scowled right back at her and helped himself to a bowl of stew. It annoyed him that upon seeing the faint evidence that Katerina had been crying, he had immediately wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her. If her guilt and shame troubled her it was none of his concern.
“It appears that ye and I have the same goal this time,” he replied. “We both want Ranald dead.”
Katerina inwardly winced at that blunt truth. She loathed the fact that she wanted a man dead, but could not deny that, in many ways, she did. The only way to be safe from Ranald was to bury the man. Ranald was not the sort of man to meekly accept any loss and, when she won the battle against Agnes, Ranald lost. The man liked the power he now wielded far too much to give it up without at least seeking revenge upon the ones who took that power away from him.
True. If there is to be peace in Dunlochan again then Ranald must be slain.”
“Because he betrayed you? Who does he obey now?”
The same one he has always obeyed—Agnes. ’Tis because of her and all of her plots that Dunlochan is now under siege and we must hide inside this hill.”
“Ye expect me to believe that Agnes has kept ye and your men running and hiding for a year? That lass hasnae the wit to do that. The only thing that lass can think about is men and gowns.”
“Agnes rules Ranald and the two of them are cunning and cruel.” Katerina shook her head. “I suspect my father thought as ye do, that Agnes was naught more than a witless girl whose only thoughts were for teasing and luring men and spending too much of his coin on gowns. To be certain, Agnes does spend far too much of her time pondering such useless things, but she is also cold and cruel. There is a hard, cold viciousness in Agnes that she hides weel from the men she seeks to enthrall. Her husband was bewitched for a while but he finally saw her for what she truly is. Sadly, it took the death of a maid he had flirted with to open his eyes.”
“He saw Agnes kill a maid?”
“Nay, but he had nay doubt it was her doing. He hadnae e’en been unfaithful, had just exchanged a few smiles with the maid and a jest or two, but it cost the poor lass her life. I think Agnes had Ranald do it, that she and Ranald were already lovers. So did her husband Robbie. Robbie left soon after and hasnae been back since. Agnes has been hunting him, but I dinnae think it is for a loving reunion. Nay, she wants Robbie dead.”
“Because the men your father chose as advisors dinnae approve of him?”
“Ye and William had a nice wee talk whilst I was gone, didnae ye.”
Lucas found himself almost smiling at the look Katerina gave William, a look that cried the man a traitor. He quickly pushed aside that feeling. Katerina had always been able to make him smile, but Lucas now felt that was one reason he had never seen a hint of warning concerning her betrayal of him.
“He told me what he believes, aye,” Lucas drawled.
That hurt, but Katerina just turned her scowl back on him. “Nay, they dinnae approve of Robbie. My father didnae, either. Robbie isnae a bad mon, but he isnae exactly what a father would want for his daughter. He is poor, a wee bit feckless, and a mon who would much rather talk or buy himself out of trouble than pick up a sword. I think their judgment harsh. There is good in Robbie and I believe he would have made Agnes a verra good husband if she had actually been interested in having one.”
“Aye,” agreed William, “but, mayhap, nay such a good laird for Dunlochan. Robbie didnae really want to be one, either. Far too much work for the lad.”
True.” Katerina smiled briefly. “Far too much work. Unfortunately Robbie’s lack of ambition is one reason Agnes now wants to be a widow. I e’en think she might be considering making Ranald her next husband.”
“And the council would approve of such a mon?” Lucas asked in surprise.
“They might,” replied Katerina, “but I am nay sure why. Fear, mayhap. They have to ken that Ranald would nay hesitate to kill them or their families if they tried to stop him from grasping the laird’s seat. ’Tis easy to say aye or nay to a lass’s choice of husband when the mon is no true threat to ye, isnae it.”
“True. So why doesnae Agnes just claim that her husband is dead?”
“Because the council would require proof of it, if only the word of someone they dinnae recognize as one of Agnes’s minions. The fact that Ranald hasnae been able to rid the area of those treacherous masked reivers,” Katerina exchanged a fleeting grin with William, “has also made Agnes hesitate, I think. Ranald hasnae really proved his worth to her yet.”
“Except in her bedchamber,” William muttered.
“From what little I ken of it all, Robbie also proved his worth there but it didnae keep Agnes faithful to him nor has it made her hesitate in wanting him dead now.” Katerina frowned as she thought over the whole situation with Agnes and Ranald for a moment. “I think Agnes is hoping she can wed with Ranald and grab hold of Dunlochan ere the council can make its objections heard.”
“Then silence them so that their objections can ne’er be heard?” Lucas asked.
“Something like that. Although it wouldnae be easy, for they are weel born men and have important friends and kinsmen.”
It was almost impossible for Lucas to believe the fair-haired, giggling Agnes could be capable of such cold cunning. He had not spent much time with the woman, had actually done his best to avoid her, but he had seen no hint of such a cold, vicious nature. Then again, he had never suspected such a nature in Katerina and that blindness had nearly cost him his life. Or, he was utterly wrong in what he thought had happened that long ago day by the loch, a soft, coaxing voice whispered in his mind. Lucas ruthlessly silenced that voice. No one had yet shown him any reason to believe Katerina was innocent, that she was, perhaps, as much a victim as he had been.
“Are the others coming here tonight, William?” Katerina asked her cousin.
“Nay, not until much later,” William replied. “Ranald is taking longer and longer to give up the hunt when he pursues us and we dinnae want him finding our bolt-hole.”
Katerina nodded, grateful for such caution, yet deeply disturbed by the need for it. Ranald was becoming far more tenacious than he had ever been in the beginning of this battle. The man’s determination to put an end to their forays against him had grown with each defeat he had suffered at their hands. Katerina did not need to hear the man’s threats and curses to know that Ranald wanted them all dead. Agnes undoubtedly had the same desire. The danger for he
r and her men, even their allies, grew each time they rode out yet Katerina knew there was no choice. The battle for Dunlochan had not been won yet. Katerina was growing fearful that it could never be won.
As she took the men’s now empty bowls to clean them, Katerina thought about the last year. It had been one long, hard, continuous battle, first to survive Ranald’s attempt to murder her, and then to try and regain all that had been stolen from her by the endlessly greedy Agnes. An anger born of the grief she had felt over Lucas had sustained her, but now she knew Lucas had not died and she felt weary of it all.
“If everyone thinks ye are dead, why hasnae Agnes just grabbed hold of Dunlochan?” asked Lucas when Katerina returned to the hearth bringing a full wineskin with her.
“She has,” Katerina replied. “She and Ranald. Only the council my father chose ere he died stops Agnes from openly declaring herself laird of it all and doing everything a laird can. The council uses the fact that our father didnae approve of Robbie as the reason they cannae declare her the laird. A woman cannae truly be a laird, can she, not in the eyes of most men, and they rule the world. Agnes needs the mon, a husband, to help her hold fast to her inheritance and wield the power she hungers for. E’en the king wouldnae take her side in this. So, a lot of power still rests in the council’s hands, although they dinnae really seem to use it to rid us of Ranald.”
“Mayhap they ken that, if they push too hard, they will sign their own death warrants.”
“I suspicion that is just what they think.”
“Then I think ye must needs do more than just irritate the mon as ye have been doing.”
“Ye dinnae ken anything about what we have been doing here.”
“Ye ride out to stop the mon from killing someone and to harass him and Agnes with thieving, aye?”
Katerina had the strong urge to hit Lucas with something very heavy. He had just reduced all their efforts to what sounded like a child’s game. She knew they were simply holding steady, simply staying alive and saving a few people here and there, but there was little else they could do until she got proof of Agnes and Ranald’s crimes.
“I need to prove that Agnes and Ranald are guilty of more than simply making life miserable for everyone. I need to prove they have blood on their hands. ’Tis no easy thing to do. At best I may yet catch them at something that will bestir the council to act.”
“Ye need to push harder. Ye strike and run and he chases. Ye need to make the mon bleed.”
Out of the corner of her eye she could see William nodding in agreement. “He could easily make us bleed,” she said. “’Tis something I must consider every step of the way.”
“There is that risk. Howbeit, unless ye push him hard and unrelentingly, he willnae make that mistake ye are waiting for. Ye need to lessen the number of men he has at his command and in a way that makes fewer and fewer men want to stand with him. Ye need to set him and Agnes against each other, e’en if it is only by making her openly question his competency. Ye need to corner the beast. Ye need to push his back hard against a wall and keep a blade at his throat.”
“Until he impales himself on it?”
“Aye.”
“How clever of ye. Weel, while ye make your fine plans, I believe I will make up a list of the supplies we need and go fetch them.”
“From where?”
“Why, straight from the lair of the beast. Where else?”
Lucas heard the word fool as clearly as if Katerina shouted it.
Chapter Four
“I dinnae believe I asked ye to accompany me.”
Lucas lifted his gaze from watching Katerina’s hips sway as she walked and almost smiled. The lad’s clothes she wore could not disguise her almost voluptuous curves. She might be small in stature, almost a foot shorter than his six feet plus, but she was all woman. He had resented the desire he still felt for her at first but no longer. Any man would desire Katerina. It was only a man’s natural inclination he suffered from, he told himself firmly. Perhaps if he ceased accusing her of trying to kill him, they could revisit that passion they had shared for far too brief a time. He would, of course, make sure she was not armed when they indulged themselves.
“Ye cannae go into the lion’s den alone,” he said, “and William has to wait for the others to return.” He thought about how Ranald was searching for the reivers, searching hard enough to keep the rest of Katerina’s men from seeking the shelter of the caves. “Are ye sure this is a good time to go into the keep and steal some food?”
“Ranald would ne’er think to look for us right inside the keep.”
“But if someone sees—” He barely stopped himself from walking into her when she abruptly stopped and whirled around to glare at him.
“Listen, Sir Murray, I and my men have done fine without your aid for a year.” Katerina knew she was spitting her words out from between tightly gritted teeth, but there was no chance that she could conceal her anger from him this time. “We thank ye for deciding to join with us, to contribute your great strength and fighting skills, but I dinnae believe any of us declared ye the leader of us all. So, mayhap ye could keep your opinions to yourself.”
Lucas had the inane thought that Katerina was lovely when she was angry, and then quickly shook it out of his head. “Ye havenae won, have ye?”
“We havenae lost, either.”
“And ye are content to let this battle continue to drag on like this? To continue to nip at Ranald and flee his retribution until ye destroy Dunlochan?”
Katerina desperately wanted to hit him—repeatedly. Instead of her anger causing the man to back down, he pummeled her with hard questions. Worse, his questions revealed that he could clearly see all that was wrong with the fight she was locked into. It was destroying Dunlochan. A quick, decisive win was desperately needed, but she could not see any way to get one, not without causing far more bloodshed than she could stomach. She ruefully admitted to herself that, if Lucas gave her that much-needed decisive victory, a part of her would be eternally grateful. Another part of her, one ruled quite firmly by her pride, would undoubtedly want to inflict some severe, painful injury upon him.
“We are doing our best to stop Ranald from destroying Dunlochan and benefiting from it.” She turned away from him and started on her way again. “When this fight is over he and Agnes will have nothing, mayhap not e’en their lives, but I will hold Dunlochan and my men will still be alive.”
“’Tis admirable that ye dinnae wish the men who fight with ye to suffer or die, but no battle can be completely bloodless. Nay, not if it is to be won.”
That was a hard cold truth she had no wish to study too closely. The men who rode with her were her people, her kinsmen, and her friends. Several times, as she had tended to wounds received during a raid, she had seriously considered giving it all up. The burden of keeping her men alive and trying to rid Dunlochan of men like Ranald often grew so heavy Katerina felt crushed by it. The only thing that kept her struggling onward was the certainty that Agnes and Ranald would never let her rest. They would never trust her to simply accept her meager inheritance, accept all her losses, or accept their attempt to kill her. They would never believe that she would simply live peacefully on the little piece of land and the small cottage her father had left to the loser in the battle for the rule over Dunlochan. They would kill her and anyone foolish enough to stand with her.
And why that thought should suddenly make her so afraid for Lucas, Katerina did not know. The man did not deserve her concern. He was obviously one of those men who believed that, if anything went wrong in his life, it had to be the fault of some woman. She was surprised she had not seen that in him until now, but suspected his fine looks and her desire for him had hidden a lot of his faults from her.
“I fully intend to win this battle, Sir Murray, and without turning the land red with the blood of my kinsmen or friends,” she said, once she was sure he would not hear any of her own lack of confidence in her voice. “Mayhap we have just b
een testing Ranald’s strengths and the skill of his hirelings ere we make our final strike against him.”
Lucas snorted, his disbelief clear to hear in the rude sound. He could tell by the way Katerina clenched her small hands into tight, white-knuckled fists dial she was furious, but when she just continued to walk, he decided it was safe to ignore her anger. It was undoubtedly foolish of him to join Katerina’s small army, but since he was now part of it, he was eager for the battle to be won. Katerina was very skilled at slapping Ranald swiftly and sharply, but she had yet to succeed in knocking the man down. Her men had to be as eager to put an end to the battle as he was, yet Lucas suspected few complained openly, so the plans never changed. It was past time they did so.
What angered him at the moment was what fed his eagerness to get Katerina to heed him and start fighting Ranald, really fighting the man. Lucas’s own deep need to make Ranald pay for beating him and trying to kill him was definitely part of his eagerness, but not all of it. He had to face the fact that he did not like Katerina constantly putting her life at risk, and that angered him. Part of his reason for returning to Dunlochan was to make her suffer for her part in what had happened to him. It hardly made sense to then start worrying that she might get hurt. A desire for her that he could not kill had obviously rattled his wits.
“Where does Ranald hide when he isnae chasing ye or grinding the people of Dunlochan under his boot?” he asked even as he noticed that the passage they traveled in was beginning to slowly wind upward. He struggled not to think too much on how deep in the earth they were.
“With Agnes, of course,” Katerina replied after sternly telling herself it would be childish to ignore the man when he had asked a very reasonable question.
“They openly commit adultery?”
“Weel, they arenae rolling about in the heather for all to see, but they arenae really secretive. Agnes declares herself a widow e’en though near everyone about here kens verra weel that her husband fled her side. They also ken that no one has actually brought word that the mon is dead.”
Highland Savage Page 4