by Barbara Bard
“Are ye all right, me love?” she said, pressing a hand tenderly to his face.
He shook his head. “Something is wrong.”
“Shall I fetch assistance?”
He squeezed her hand. “It is nae me wounds, me love. There is something else that burdens me.”
“What? Tell me, me love.”
Finlay sighed. “I fear fer Gavina.”
“As dae I. But she is strong. She is mair than capable. Ye and I—”
Finlay held up his hand. “That is nae what I mean.”
“What dae ye speak of? Ye are being quite cryptic.”
Finlay rested his head back, his wounds healing well but still offering him a significant amount of pain. “I hae a bad feeling,” he said. “It came tae me in a dream?”
Isla squinted. “What dae ye mean?”
He closed his eyes. “I dinnae. It is hard tae explain. I am nae much for omens, but the dream that I experienced was quite potent in nature.”
Isla waited for the rest.
“I hae a dream,” Finlay said, “that Sir Jessup betrayed the truce. I fear…” he choked on his words, “I fear that ill-intentions hae befallen her.”
Isla shook her head. “Ye cannae think such things. I ken it is hard. I myself hae tae prevent me mind from being occupied by such dire thoughts.”
“It is nae just dire thoughts, me love. It felt…it felt so real, like a prophecy.” He glanced out the window, his eyes fixated on the horizon and praying that Gavina and the Bairdsmen would appear at any moment. “I ken that something has happened. I just ken…”
Isla planted a kiss on Finlay’s forehead, his fever still present but somewhat subsiding. “Just rest, me love,” she said. “That is all ye can do.”
Finlay gripped his wife’s hand lovingly and firmly. “We must prepare,” he said. “We must prepare fer the worst. We must—”
“Father?” young Eamon called from the other side of the room.
Isla leaned into Finlay’s ear. “Dinnae distress them,” she said. “They require only their father’s love right noo.”
Finlay smiled and looked at his son. “Come here, lad…”
Eamon approached Finlay’s side with a timid expression on his face. “Ye look sad, father.”
Finlay shook his head. “All is well, me son. All is well. I am merely feeling a tad ill is all.”
Eamon hugged his father. “Will ye survive?”
“But of course!” Finlay said. “Nothing can keep a Baird down, as ye ken.”
Eamon smiled. “I ken. Ye just looked worried.”
Finlay shook his head. “Dinnae fret, me son. All will be well in due time.”
“Where is Gavina? Will she return soon?”
Finlay tossed a concerned look in Isla’s direction. “Aye, me boy,” he said to his son. “She shall return soon.”
Eamon buried his face into his father’s chest as Gavina and Finlay held hands and bid a silent prayer to God to return Gavina and the Bairdsmen to their village safely.
Chapter 11
Christian’s teeth were chattering, his skin taking on a pale shade as Gavina placed him gently on the barren earth nestled far away from the village and—hopefully—any of Sir Jessup’s men.
“It is cold…” Christian barely managed to mumble.
Gavina grabbed to Lachlan. “Start a fire. Noo.”
Lachlan furled his brow. “What fer?” he gestured to Christian. “Why dae we bother with this man? He’s a Sassenach knight!”
“I told ye tae start a fire.”
“He’s dead either way!”
Gavina grabbed his arm. “I told ye tae dae something—noo dae it.”
Lachlan saw the fury in his leader’s eyes and didn’t dare question her any further. He gathered wood, Gavina fetching supplies from her satchel.
Tessa nestled up alongside her. “Gavina,” she whispered. “Are ye sure this is wise?”
“Aye.”
Tessa tossed a nervous look in Christian’s direction, Christian slowly curling up as blood seeped from his wound. But Gavina knew what to do with wounds like that—Finlay had taught her.
“He is a Sassenach knight, Gavina.”
“I dae hae eyes.”
“I just dinnae ken how wise this is.”
“Well, it is nae yer place tae question me.” Gavina fetched everything she needed and came to Christian’s side as Lachlan struck up a fire.
“Hold still,” Gavina said as she began warming the poker that she was going to use to cauterize the wound. “This will hurt…”
Gavina, pulling the red-hot poker from the fire, pressed it into Christian’s wound. He howled, nearly passing out from the pain as he ground his teeth and looked into Gavina’s eyes for comfort. She then used ointments and other supplies in her satchel that would assist in healing the wound. The whole process took ten minutes before Christian began to settle and Gavina fetched him some water.
“Rest now,” Gavina said. “Just try tae sleep as best ye can.”
Christian nodded his weary head. “Will I be all right?”
She nodded in reply. “Aye. Aye, ye will be fine.”
Christian mumbled something before his eyes rolled back and he fell into a slumber, his breathing heavy as he snored.
“Gavina?” Tessa said, standing next to Ava. “Can I speak with ye a moment?”
Gavina stood off to the side with Tessa. “I ken what ye are gonnae say.”
Tessa gesture to Christian. “He is a risk.”
“I ken that.”
“Then why dae we keep him with us? His people will be looking fer him.”
Gavina shook her head. “They will nae.”
“How dae ye ken?”
“Because I saw how he was treated by Sir Jessup—he is an outcast. He goes against the fundamentals of who they are as people.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Gavina, ye barely ken the man.”
“I am certain in me thinking. I am.”
“Ye cannae say fer certain if ye can trust him. We hae all been down this road with these people before.”
“I understand. But this is me decision. Besides, he potential kens of the location of where Glenn was taken. He can serve as an advantage.”
Tessa sighed. “It will be a burden tae take him with us in his state. He requires rest.”
“Then rest is what he shall hae.” Gavina gestured around her. “We are far enough fae Sir Jessup and his forces. We hae one day, perhaps two tae rest while we think of a plan.”
Tessa lowered her voice further. “And how will Isla and Finlay take this? What will they say when we bring this man back tae our village?”
Gavina thought on it for a moment but did not have a definitive answer. “We shall cross that bridge when we get tae it.”
Moments later, they gathered around the fire. Gavina checked in on Christian every few moments on his condition, Christian still slumbering perhaps more deeply than he ever had before in his life.
“So,” Lachlan said, stoking the fire. “What be our plan?”
Gavina sighed as she took out the meat preserves that she had stowed away and passed them over to Lachlan so they could be cooked. “We maist find Glenn,” she said. “A member of our clan has been taken. This is unacceptable.”
Lachlan laughed. “So, what, we just march right on up tae Sir Jessup’s location and beg that he gives him back.”
Gavina shot him a look. “That will nae work, obviously.”
“We need reinforcements,” Ava contributed. “We cannae gae with just the four of us.”
“Perhaps Sir Jessup will indulge in a trade?” Lachlan said.
“Dinnae be a fool,” Ava said. “Naw such thing is possible.”
“What then? What dae we dae?”
Gavina thought for a moment as Lachlan cooked the meat over the fire, sizzling and crackling as the spices invaded everyone’s nostrils. “When Christian awakens,” she said, “we will see what he kens. We will see if he kens of Sir Jessu
p’s location.”
“Again,” Lachlan said, “we cannae gae there in our current state.”
“I understand that.”
“So then what dae we dae?”
“We return tae the village. We inform Isla and Finlay as tae what has transpired. From there, we will formulate a proper plan.”
“Time is of the essence. Glenn might be dead by that time.”
Gavina nodded. Shrugged. “I cannae control the factors of this situation. We hae tae operate with the elements we hae in front of us. We maist work this one step at a time. There is nae much mair we can dae than that…”
The group conversed for several more minutes before the day’s events caught up with them. They were tired, ready to call it a night as Gavina offered to take the first watch.
Gavina cozied alongside the sleeping Christian, watching him as the color slowly returned to his face. She felt mesmerized by him still, even when he was reeling from his injuries. As she took a glance around the fire to make sure all of her men were sleeping, she leaned in close to his face, smiled, and combed a loose strand of hair out of his face.
“Rest,” she whispered in his ear before sitting up and keeping a close eye on the terrain around her.
Day had broken. The Bairdsmen were scattered along different parts of the surrounding area of their encampment, Lachlan holding down the camp next to an awake and mending Christian as Ava, Tessa, and Gavina sought to hunt for supplies for the next few days of their journey—adding one more member to their entourage had forced that play.
Christian, bobbing his head and sitting up, took a moment to acclimate to his surroundings as Lachlan said to him: “Still alive, eh?”
Christian, nervous at the presence of the large Highlander, said nothing in reply for a few moments. “Where is Gavina?” he finally asked.
Lachlan motioned to the forested area not far from their location. “They seek tae resupply the rations ye hae consumed. A wounded man like ye can be quite a burden…”
Christian felt the jab but didn’t give into it as he tried to stand.
“Dinnae,” Lachlan said, holding up his hand. “Ye should nae move just yet.”
“I feel well.”
“Ye will tear the wound—sit.”
Christian complied. The two then said nothing for several minutes as Lachlan kept his gaze fixated on the surrounding greenery. “She likes ye,” he said.
Christian shot him a look. “What do you mean?”
Lachlan laughed. “Dinnae act as if ye dinnae ken. Gavina likes ye.”
Christian shrugged. Looked at his wound. “She is only being friendly. Besides, I am certain that she also intends to seek what I know about Sir Jessup and his army.”
“This is true. But so is the other thing.”
Christian shook his head. “She does not fancy me.”
“Then ye maist hae been born yesterday, because she does.” Lachlan shook his head. “Me only fear is that silly notion will endanger us all.”
Christian sat fully erect. “And is Gavina aware that her own man acts with such insubordination?”
Lachlan flashed a smile. “Come again?”
“You heard me, Highlander. You follow Gavina, do you not?”
“Aye. I dae.”
“Then perhaps you should not question her leadership. God knows I would be mad to my wits end to hear that one of my most brutish and inquisitive men was questioning my authority.”
The two connected gazes, both of them fueled with a significant amount of fire—but then they couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh, Lord,” Lachlan said. “I think I like ye, ye Sassenach bastard…”
Gavina, Tessa, and Ava returned with several slain rabbits in hand. When Gavina arrived, her and Christian couldn’t help but exchanged quick glances with one another, something that Lachlan picked up on immediately.
“We hae resupplied,” Ava said as she tossed the rabbits down in front of Lachlan. “It should hold us over fer a few mair days.”
Lachlan picked up the animals in preparation for skinning them. “How far is the ride back tae the village?”
“A day and a half,” Gavina said. “We should ride out tonight under the cover of darkness, unless any of ye hae any objections.”
There were none. For the next few hours, the group proceeded to eat and scout the surrounding location to make sure that no one else was on the cusp of crossing paths with them.
Evening came quicker than anticipated, mostly due to the frantic and on-edge nature that possessed every one of the Bairdsmen. “Lachlan,” Gavina said. “Prepare one mair meal. We shall move out as soon as it is consumed.”
“Aye,” Lachlan said as he set about cooking to meat on one of the rabbits.
“Christian,” Gavina said, Christian perking up as soon as she called his name. “Let me examine yer wound…”
She came over and looked at the work she had done on his injuries the night prior—it was healing well, and fast.
“You worked magic,” Christian said. “The pain is slowly subsiding.”
She nodded. “Then ye shall be well enough tae ride this evening.”
A pause. “I…” the words evaded him.
“Speak,” Gavina said.
Christian shrugged. “What is your plan, Gavina?” he asked.
“My plan?”
“Yes.”
She shrugged. “We will return tae our village. I maist converse with me people tae figure out how we will gae about rescuing our man Glenn.”
Christian shook his head. “He is most likely with Sir Jessup at his castle. But it is too strong a fortress with too many men to take on your own.”
“I figured as much.”
“You will need many more men…though I fear it may be too late by then. Sir Jessup is no doubt interrogating your man Glenn as we speak, him and Lord Torstein.”
“Ye believe that ill will has befallen them?”
A nod. “Sir Jessup despises Lord Torstein.” A sigh. “God, we should have seen this coming. We should have never believed that Sir Jessup was trying to establish a truce.”
Gavina sighed as well. “Aye,” she said. “I feel that a part of me always ken that this was gonnae happen the way that it did.” She jutted her chin. “But I nonetheless am responsible fer me people. We will find Glenn, dead or alive. And Sir Jessup will pay for what he has done dearly…”
Christian felt it was possibly a fruitless effort, but he admired Gavina, nonetheless. She was strong and strong-willed, perhaps more than anyone he had ever met before.
“I am sorry,” he said.
“Fer what?” she asked.
“For everything. All of it. My people, my countrymen are the reason that you are in this predicament.”
They connected eyes, the two of them feeling that yearning that had started to become kindled the moment they meant growing more furious and potent as the seconds dragged on. In that moment—they both wanted to kiss one another. But both of them put their feelings aside as Lachlan began passing around the cooked rabbit’s meat.
“Eat quickly,” Gavina said, diverting her attention from Christian and back to her meal. “We shall ride as soon as we hae finished.”
The group ate in silence, ready to set about their journey. Once or twice during the meal—Gavina and Christian occasionally gave each other a sideline glance.
Chapter 12
Lord Torstein felt the dull ache in his skull turn into a full-on throbbing as he lifted up his head and took a weary look around the room. To the left of him, Glenn was still perched forward on his knees, his hands chained above his head and apparently passed out from all the exertion.
“Lad,” Lord Torstein called out quietly, both guards that Sir Jessup had stationed in the room still posted up outside the door, voice just above a whisper.
But Glenn didn’t stir. Didn’t twitch. It was only after Lord Torstein called out “Highlander” twice over that Glenn finally stirred from his slumber.
G
lenn looked at Lord Torstein with a disdainful glint in his eyes. “What the hell dae ye want?”
“We cannot stay here,” Lord Torstein said. “I fear our lives may be in danger if we do not attempt an escape.”