Highland Avenger

by Hannah Howell

  Still trembling from the force of the passion they had shared, Arianna opened her eyes and looked at the man sleeping so soundly in her arms. She thought of how often he had spilled his seed inside her and that tiny flicker of hope in her heart grew a little bigger. If there was the slightest chance that she was not barren, then passion as hot and wild as what she shared with Brian had to leave her with child. It would cause a lot of trouble if she ended up back with her clan, with child and no husband, but she did not care. If Brian sent her away, did not wish to keep her, at least she would have a piece of him to cherish. Arianna just hoped that was good enough for, with each moment spent in his arms, she knew she never wanted to let him go.

  Chapter 11

  “I think ye ought to let me send some men with you.”

  Brian sipped his ale and looked at his cousin Sigimor, who was sprawled in his huge chair at the head of the table and rapidly emptying a bowl of sliced apples. “Nay, I told ye last night that isnae necessary. The men were routed, their numbers culled, and some even wounded. If they were still close at hand your men would have found them by now. Arianna and I can slip round them if our trails cross before we get to Scarglas.”

  “Wheesht, ye could probably slip right through the midst of their camp while they dine. But, if ye had a few men with ye, ye could at least stop to cut a few throats ere ye flee. Reduce the number of men hunting the lass even more than we did when we chased them out of here. That would be a good thing to do.”

  “A fine plan,” Brian said, and shared a grin with his cousin, “but I believe I will hold fast to my own. Every instinct I have says they are all gathering to try and grab those boys. There is also a chance her family may have already arrived there to look for her. We have to get to Scarglas to see what is happening there. Aye, and Arianna needs to be at Scarglas, needs to be back with the lads so that she cannae be taken and used against the boys.”

  “I have nay kenned the lass for long but I do ken that she would ne’er betray those lads to save her own life.”

  “Nay, she wouldnae, which is a thought that chills me to the bone. Howbeit, if she was held as hostage to get those boys, I think those lads would quickly try to trade themselves for her and naught short of chaining them up would stop them. ’Tis true that I only saw them together for a short time, but e’en though they call her Anna and they have no blood ties, she is their mother.”

  He repeated what he had told Sigimor about how he had found her upon the beach, the boys guarding her, and even how they had acted when parted, but this time he stressed how the boys and Arianna had acted toward each other. Then he explained more fully how the Lucettes had treated the boys and Arianna. Brian made no attempt to hide his anger over that, either, and could see that his cousin shared it.

  Sigimor nodded. “Aye, ye are correct. In their eyes, she is their mother. ’Tis no surprise. The lads were nay cared for by their true parents nor by those blood-proud fools they should have been able to call family. Only to be expected that the three who were so scorned by all who should have cared for them would join together, make their own wee family. They were all each other had whilst trapped in that keep where no one was kind to them.”

  Tapping his knuckles on the table as he frowned in thought, Sigimor continued, “I am also verra surprised that the lass’s kin didnae come to fetch her and break a few heads in the doing of it. E’en if they all still believed the marriage was a true one, that clan wouldnae abide one of their own being treated as poorly as Lady Arianna was. I ne’er asked, but did the lass ne’er send them word?”

  “She did but I believe every missive she wrote was read by that fool she thought she had wed or his parents. If they didnae like what was said, they destroyed it. We also think they read all that was sent to her, may even have destroyed a few of those. It would explain how Amiel and the DeVeaux discovered who had taken the boys and where we were all apt to go to find some shelter.”

  “Of course. They gathered information on the ones they wished to be more closely allied with. Many would do the same although, kenning how they treated a daughter of the clan, one has to wonder on their motives. They also couldnae risk the Murrays kenning how the lass was being treated. Kenning what I do about that clan, and the women bred of it, I do have to wonder why Lady Arianna didnae ken the truth sooner or why she didnae just leave the mon when he showed himself to be a cold bastard.”

  Brian looked around to make sure that they were still alone for, while he knew he could trust Arianna’s secrets to Sigimor, he did not want others to hear too much. “She was but newly turned seventeen when she married him and was determined to make it a good marriage, one as good as the others in her clan. But, from the moment she was his wife, fully separated from her kin, Claud began to break her pride and her spirit.”

  “Are ye sure he didnae beat her?”

  “Nay. I believe she would ne’er have stood for that. That would have been an abuse she would have easily recognized. One blow from his hand and the mon wouldnae have seen her save for the dust behind her mount. Aye, and he would probably have been kept busy pulling a knife or two out of his body.”

  Sigimor nodded. “That sounds much akin to the Murray lasses we have kenned and heard of.”

  “Aye, she would have quickly acted against any physical brutality. He crushed her with words. Constant criticisms, insults, and unkindnesses. Young, innocent, and unaccustomed to such subtle cruelties, she was easy prey. She told me she could still hear him, that she still winces at the sharp cut of his words. He cut away at her pride in herself, at all that makes her a woman.”

  “A slow poison so that he could keep her completely under his boot.”

  “Aye, and so instead of wondering why he was such a poor husband, she was soon thinking herself a poor wife. He made certain that she ne’er looked too closely at him and I wonder if that is one reason he gave the care of his children into her hands, kenning that they would hold her interest and attention. I think he kenned she had the wit to uncover all of his lies. And in the end, she did, was e’en planning how to leave him and that cold place when he and his true wife were murdered.”

  “And all the time planning to take those two lads with her, I wager.”

  “Of course. ’Twas plotting how to do that without causing an uproar, which held her there even after she learned the truth about Claud.” Brian shook his head. “She was hoping that she could find a way to save the boys from the shame and humiliation that would come when the truth was revealed. Aye, even thinking on how to protect the very family that had scorned her. She kens how she will be marked if the truth comes out but she thought only of the boys and the families, hers and his. All that only to discover that bastard of a husband had left a confession for his parents, one to be read if he died, one they quickly acted upon without much thought to how it could hurt her.”

  Sigimor cursed. “I thought the Lucettes were allies and kinsmen to the Murrays.”

  “Ach, weel, every family has its rotten apples.”

  “Aye. We always thought ours were those cursed MacFingals.”

  Brian laughed and tossed an uncut apple at his cousin’s head. There were times when one wanted to beat Sigimor with a thick stick, but Brian had liked the man from the first moment he had met him. He had easily seen beneath that stern-faced exterior to the man who had, at a very young age, become the laird to a large number of siblings, widows, and orphans, and done his best to protect them all. The man was rough and appeared hard but just as with his own brother Ewan, Brian knew there was a big heart beneath that broad chest.

  “Throwing food about?”

  “Sigimor was just being his usual irritating self,” Brian said as he and his cousin stood to greet Arianna and Jolene. “Are ye ready to leave?” he asked Arianna as he directed her to the seat on his left.

  “Aye, as soon as I have eaten,” Arianna said. “I am verra eager to see my lads again. I ken that your kin will protect them and have gotten them to Scarglas unharmed, but I nee
d to see with my own eyes that Michel and Adelar are safe.” She shrugged. “I need to hold them again.”

  “Of course you do,” said Jolene as she helped herself to a large bowl of porridge. “You accepted the responsibility of their care and, no matter how much you trust in the ones who now shelter them, ’tis impossible not to fret.” She exchanged an understanding smile with Arianna and then looked at her husband. “Where are our children?”

  “The bairns have filled their bellies, which appear to be bottomless, and gone out to thump with their wooden swords anything that will stand still long enough. Fergus is with them.”

  “Your daughters are supposed to be learning how to ply their needles.”

  “Ye can remind them of that chore when ye are done eating. They will probably tend to their lessons a bit better after they have had a wee bit of fun thumping things.”

  “Ladies should not take joy in thumping things.”

  Arianna ate, doing her best to fill her stomach as full as she could before her journey began, and listened to Jolene and Sigimor as the pair talked about their beautiful, black-haired daughters. To some it might sound as if they argued with each other but there was no taint of anger in their words. There was, however, a great deal of teasing, and she could not help but laugh at times.

  A sudden attack of envy, laden with sadness, overtook her. Here was what she had been looking for, what she had wanted to share with Claud. It was what she had seen so often among the married couples in her clan. To her it had been the normal way a marriage should be and she had been naive to think she could have one like it simply because she exchanged a few vows with a man.

  She was almost relieved when Brian announced that they had to leave. Guilt pinched her heart as she truly enjoyed Jolene’s company and envy was such a pitiful emotion. It was just going to take her a while to endure watching people who had what she craved, she decided as she followed Brian and Sigimor out into the bailey where the horses waited. Arianna said her good-byes to Jolene as Brian checked the packs on their horses and talked to Sigimor. From what little she overheard of the men’s conversation, it was evident that Sigimor’s men had been hunting for Amiel and his surviving men, reporting back only an hour ago that they had seen no sign of them. Some of the tension that had begun to tighten in her body at the prospect of more running from the enemy eased and Arianna mounted her waiting horse with no hesitation.

  It was barely midday when Brian had them stop. Arianna wanted to continue and would have made no complaint if they had, but she was also pleased to dismount for a while. Aches she had thought healed by the short rest at Dubheidland were already making their lingering presence known.

  “I but need to look about a wee bit,” Brian said, and brushed a kiss across her mouth.

  “I thought Sigimor said his men had nay found Amiel,” she said, resisting the sudden urge to look around.

  He smiled and tucked a strand of hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear. “He did, but it cannae hurt to see if I can find a sign that they are headed toward Scarglas. It would be good to ken if they are ahead of us.”

  “Ah, of course. We wouldnae want to ride into their hands.”

  “Nay, we wouldnae. Will ye be all right here?”

  “Aye. Go. I will be fine. I will just rest here beneath the tree.”

  Brian hesitated and then gave her another kiss before leaving. Arianna smiled faintly as she watched him go. It was time to sit and wait again, but this time she did not mind. He needed to assure himself they were not riding into a trap and she needed to rest. It was also the middle of the day, the land around her bathed in sun, a cool, light breeze blowing, and she wanted to enjoy that for a while.

  She settled herself beneath the tree. Within a short time her eyes grew heavy but she tried to fight the urge to sleep. It was not wise to sleep as if there was no danger, she sternly told herself, but her body was obviously not concerned. Just as she began to slide into a doze a faint noise snapped her awake.

  Arianna slowly stood up and looked around. It was light where she stood, the trees thinner than ones surrounding her. She realized that made her very easy to see and cursed her own foolishness. She should have moved into the shadows. The faint snap of a twig drew her gaze toward where the trees thickened, the shadows they cast heavier and harder to see through. That was where she should have hidden herself. Instead, it now gave shelter to a threat. Her whole body tense as she fought a blinding panic, Arianna backed toward her horse.

  Fear making her heart pound, she turned to run to her mount only to find a man between her and the horse. Now she knew why the animal had not become restless, warning her. Men did not trouble it. She spun around thinking to run in another direction only to find another man behind her. What terrified her the most, however, was the man who stepped out from behind a large tree and gave her a smile that chilled her blood.

  “Greetings, sister,” the man drawled in French.

  “Amiel, how nice for ye to slither up out of the muck to greet me,” she replied in English, and briefly wondered if it was wise to be so insulting only to decide it did not matter. The man would do his best to hurt her even if she was as sweet as honey.

  “I see you have sunk back into the barbaric ways of this country again, although I am rather pleased that you no longer even attempt to speak French though you still appear to understand it reasonably well.” He shuddered. “It is difficult to listen to you speak it.”

  Did the idiot think she could forget such a skill in mere days? “Then ye will be pleased to ken that I have nay intention of ever speaking it to ye again. I shall take my barbaric ways and leave now.”

  Even as she bolted she knew she had little chance of avoiding capture. Amiel and his men had quietly surrounded her while she had been napping in the sun like an overfed cat. They easily kept her from getting to her horse, blocking her path no matter which direction she tried to run in. When one of the men reached for her, she kicked him in the groin and tried to run past him as he fell to his knees. A hand grabbing her braid and yanking hard sent her stumbling back into another man.

  Arianna turned and pummeled him with her fists and feet in a desperate attempt to break free. She did not hesitate to use her nails and teeth as well. A punch to his nose loosened his grip and she had a brief flare of hope as she tried to run again. That hope was abruptly ended with a hard blow to the back of her head. As Arianna fell to her knees, fighting vainly against the blackness sweeping over her mind, she saw Amiel looking down at her, a thick stick in his hand and a smile on his face.

  “He will rip ye into wee pieces and leave them for the carrion,” she said as the blackness closed in on her, and then she fell face-first into the dirt.

  “My, such a vicious little bitch,” Amiel murmured as he tossed aside the stick he held and brushed off his hands.

  “Should we look for the man?” asked Sir Anton as he handed the man Arianna had punched a scrap of linen to stop the blood flowing from his nose.

  “No need. We have what we want. Take her up with you.” He turned to the man Arianna had kicked, who was just stumbling back up on his feet. “You bring her horse.”

  “We are taking her to this Scarglas then?”

  “Yes, but with a little stop on the way. There is no gain in trying to ride through the night. I believe we shall spend some of the evening having a conversation with this little savage.”

  “I doubt she was out here alone. Someone will come hunting for her.”

  “They cannot hunt in the dark.”

  Brian frowned as he reined in and looked around. He was certain this was where he had left Arianna. The fear that gripped him by the throat told him he was not wrong, that he was never wrong about such things. His sense of direction was legendary amongst his kin.

  Flinging himself out of his saddle, he searched the grounds for some sign that would tell him why she was not where he had left her. Brian was just praying that she had simply wandered off even though he knew she would not b
e so foolish when he found the signs that told him she had been taken. Forcing himself to be calm, he carefully studied all the ground told him, moving outward from where she had so clearly tried to escape the ones who encircled her. Several yards into the shadowy area of the forest, he found the signs of several men on horseback having paused and dismounted. They had made no attempt to hide the direction they rode off in, either.

  Cursing continuously under his breath, he returned to the place where Arianna had been captured. He took a deep breath and finally looked closely at the one place on the ground he had noted but fought to ignore. There was blood there and he could see that someone had fallen. He tried to comfort himself with the fact that there was not much blood but his fear for Arianna did not wish to be appeased. Brian knew he was looking at the place where she had fallen, which meant she had already been hurt.

  His first instinct was to hunt her down immediately but he fought against it. That would be a mistake and he had already made one by leaving her alone and unprotected. One man against six was not good odds. And there could be more than that now if Amiel had found some more hirelings. He needed enough men to encircle Amiel and his men as they had obviously encircled Arianna. Overwhelming the men was the only way to get Arianna back alive.

  Brian leapt on his horse and raced back to Dubheidland. He tried not to think of what could be happening to Arianna as the time slipped away for he knew that would drive him mad, force him into doing something reckless that could get them both killed. The certainty that Amiel did not want her dead until he had the boys in his grasp was the only thing that helped.