Highland Legend

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Diantha’s last vision of him was with a redhead’s mouth affixed to his.

  That’s all she needed to see.

  Blinded by tears, she turned away and was immediately swallowed up by the crowd.

  “Diantha!” Isabail cried. “Diantha, wait!”

  She started to run after her, but there were too many people blocking her path. Being pregnant gave her pause when she thought about pushing through the crowd. She didn’t want to injure herself or her baby. Beside her, Lucia grasped at her.

  “Nay, Issie,” she said. “Tell Magnus. If he wants tae go after her, let him. I fear we may only do more damage.”

  Isabail was miserable. “I couldna lie tae her,” she said. “She asked me a question and I had tae answer.”

  Lucia nodded. “I know,” she said. “’Tis not yer fault. But Magnus…damnation, this is his fault.”

  Over by the gate, Magnus had managed to disengage the women who were grabbing at him, including the one who had laid a big fat kiss right on his lips. He pushed through them, but it was difficult. Everyone was grabbing at him, trying to hand him money. One woman even ripped her bodice, exposing her breasts to him. But he didn’t look; the only thing he saw was Isabail, waving her long arms at him.

  “Where is Diantha?” he asked, prying some woman’s hand out of his hair. “I saw her heading in this direction. Where is she?”

  He was trying to get away from a mob of women who just wouldn’t let him go, and Isabail and Lucia ran to his aid. They began slapping hands away and shoving women aside, pulling Magnus free of his adoring throng. Wisely, they pulled him into the crowd of men who were waiting for their payoffs, blocking the women who were following.

  “She knows, Magnus,” Isabail said as she dragged Magnus through the crowd. “She wanted tae see ye as ye came out of the staging area, but she saw all of those women waiting for ye and she heard some speaking about sharing yer bed.”

  They were nearly through the crowd at that point, but Magnus came to a halt. He had an expression on his face that Isabail had never seen before, something between horror and dismay. The supremely confident and arrogant warrior wasn’t at all himself.

  The arrogance was gone.

  “She…” he began, stopped, and started again. “She heard them speaking of me?”

  Both Isabail and Lucia nodded. “It wasna very nice what they said,” Isabail said. “They said ye were a rutting bull in bed, hung like a stallion. She heard it all.”

  Magnus stared at her, the impact of those words hitting hard. At any other time, he would have been proud to know how women spoke of him, but now…

  Now, he wasn’t so proud.

  It certainly wasn’t anything he wanted Diantha to hear.

  He started to look around frantically. “Where did she go?”

  “She ran off,” Lucia said. She put her hand on him, forcing him to look at her. “Magnus, I’ve spent the past two days with Diantha, and I believe the lass feels something for ye. She looks at ye as some kind of hero, a savior, and it never occurred tae her that ye have all the failings of a mortal man. I’m not judging ye for what ye do with yer life because it’s yer life, but Diantha dinna know ye had that side tae ye. I believe she thought ye tae be perfect and chaste, and when she heard those women, she was hurt. She ran off in tears.”

  “Christ,” he hissed, closing his eyes briefly. “I must find her. I must explain.”

  “Explain what?” Isabail wanted to know. “Magnus, dunna just explain tae her. Be honest with her. If ye want tae keep on with the parades of women in yer bed, then ye need tae tell her so she doesna build a world around the fantasy of ye being a pure and perfect man. At least let the lass know about ye. At least then ye’ll have been honest with her so there are no misunderstandings.”

  She was right.

  Magnus knew that Isabail was absolutely right. Perhaps he should have done it from the start, but it had never occurred to him. He’d never thought a simple act of helping a frightened woman would turn into something else, a feeling that was more than he could comprehend. It wasn’t Diantha’s business what he did with his life. But coming to understand her as he had in just the short time they’d known each other, he didn’t want her to think poorly of him.

  Something else Lucia had said had his attention.

  The lass feels something for ye.

  Those were the most important words he’d ever heard.

  “Do ye really think so?” he asked Lucia. “About her feeling something for me. Do ye really think so?”

  Lucia nodded. “I do,” she said. “She’s such a sweet lass, Magnus. Realizing that part of ye tonight… It broke her heart. She thought ye were someone that ye weren’t.”

  He groaned, feeling sick. “I never thought that…” He stopped when he saw the expressions on Lucia and Isabail’s faces, and he knew this wasn’t the time for excuses or regrets. It was a time for action. “It doesna matter what I thought. I must find her. I’ll deal with the rest later.”

  He was off, leaving them behind as he bolted through the warriors’ village and back to his cottage, praying that Diantha was there. He didn’t know what he was going to say to her, but he knew one thing—he had to be completely honest with her. Somehow, someway, her kindness and compassion had done something to him. There was a transition going on inside of him, something that was shifting from selfishness to selflessness.

  For once, he was thinking about someone else.

  For once, he was caring about someone else.

  He had to tell her so.

  His cottage was ahead and he bashed into the door, slamming it open, only to find it empty. He ran back into the smaller chamber, so neatly made up by Diantha, and that was empty, too.

  She wasn’t in the cottage.

  Trying not to feel panic, Magnus looked around, noting that Lady Ayr’s fanciful dress was still there, hung up on a peg by the door. The hearth was gently snapping and the cottage was neat and orderly. Untouched. Even the bumblebee in his bowl was sleeping on his flower petals, undisturbed.

  She hadn’t come here when she’d run off.

  But she was out there, somewhere.

  And he was going to find her.

  He started to run out but realized he was still dressed in his mail loincloth and shoes. The wind was picking up outside and the clouds were starting to gather, sure signs of a summer storm, and among his other fears, he was concerned that Diantha would get caught in it.

  Quickly, he stripped out of his clothing and donned leather breeches and a tunic, the first clothing he could find. Yanking on his boots, he rushed out into the predawn morning.

  As it turned out, Lucia and Isabail had alerted their husbands, and Magnus found himself with several of his friends willing to help him search. As the patrons still filtered out of the Ludus Caledonia, the warriors who had fought all night went on the hunt for a lovely Spanish lass who mattered to Magnus very much.

  By the time the sun rose, a storm had rolled in and the rain was pounding.

  But Diantha was still missing.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The rain was pounding.

  In the brown broadcloth dress that Lucia had loaned her, Diantha was soaking wet as she headed into Edinburgh along the same road she had traveled to reach the Ludus Caledonia.

  She was in mud up to her ankles and cold, but none of that mattered.

  Nothing mattered any longer.

  Her goal was simple—she was going to make her way to the docks north of Edinburgh and see if she could get work on a ship heading for France or Navarre. There were docks in Leith, she remembered Lady Ayr mentioning, so that was her destination. She was going to go home, back where she belonged, and forget about brutal Scottish dukes and beautiful gladiators who let every woman in Scotland sample that beauty.

  She was going to forget about Magnus.
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  If she could.

  It was just after dawn. Diantha had been walking perhaps two or three hours at the most since leaving with the droves of carriages and horses departing the Ludus Caledonia after the games were over.

  It had been easy to lose herself in the crowd, filtering out into the night, before finally leaping onto the back of a carriage as it puttered down the road. She been able to ride a little way until the coachman caught her and made her get off, and she had been forced to resume her walk.

  The rain had come heavily just before sunrise and she’d ducked into St. Eustace’s Church for a few minutes, just to get out of the rain, before heading back out into the weather. She probably could have remained longer at the church, but she wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and the Ludus Caledonia.

  She wanted to forget she’d ever known the place.

  The road into Edinburgh was the same one she’d traveled before, so she ended up walking off the road, near the trees, so she could hide if needed. The trees also provided a little protection from the rain, and at one point, she found a branch on the ground that was thick with needles. Picking it up, she used it to shield herself from the weather.

  But she was still very cold and very wet.

  As the sun began to rise, Diantha started to sneeze, knowing she’d caught a chill but trying to ignore it. Her throat was starting to feel scratchy, but she ignored that, too, unwilling to surrender to any illness. She had to make it into town and find shelter, perhaps in another church. Surely a church would let her dry out and wait for the storm to pass. Her stomach was also rumbling a bit, but she couldn’t address that at the moment.

  One problem at a time.

  The mud was thicker as she walked nearer to the trees because of the drainage, so she was forced back onto the road. The rain was starting to lighten up and the clouds were parting in spots, emitting bright sunlight onto the wet, green earth.

  She dared to turn around once and saw the green hills behind her, the hills that concealed the Ludus Caledonia. But seeing those hills brought tears at what she’d left behind, a life she’d been so happy with. She was already grieving the loss.

  But there was no use in looking back.

  She passed another church, a small one, and decided to stop because her body was crying out for rest. Her scratchy throat was growing worse, as was her sneezing, so she thought it might be best to stop for a while. Perhaps she could regain her strength a little if she were only to rest. Given that she hadn’t slept all night, her exhaustion was compounded.

  The church was small and dark, but the door was open and she entered timidly, looking for a quiet corner. It was dank and cold inside, but it was better than nothing at all. She went straight to a corner near the door and sat down, leaning against the cold stone, just to close her eyes briefly.

  Sleep claimed her before she realized it.

  ***

  She wasn’t at the Ludus Caledonia.

  After two hours of searching, Magnus had come to that conclusion. There had been a lot of people at the Ludus Caledonia last night when Diantha had run off, so he could only imagine she had either lost herself in the crowd or found someone who could offer her a ride. If she had walked out, there was still a chance of locating her, but if she’d gotten into a carriage with someone, there was no telling where she’d gone.

  Magnus was trying very hard not to panic.

  Lor, Bane, Galan, Tay, and even Aurelius Finn, the big Irishman that Magnus had beaten in his bout last night, were helping him search. Clegg was aware of the situation and had given permission for Axel and Wendell and Milo to help in the search as well. They were all looking for the woman in whom Magnus placed a good deal of stock, asking no questions but simply offering their help because it meant so much to him.

  But two hours later, Diantha de Mora hadn’t turned up.

  The search area would have to expand.

  There were training sessions to take place that morning, so Axel and Wendell went to work with those men while the rest of the doctores helped Magnus. By sunrise, they were all on horseback, horses from Clegg’s collection of fine animals, and they set off to hunt for the lady in the surrounding area.

  Before they split up, however, each man had a direction and a goal. Magnus and Lor were heading directly into Edinburgh along the main road while Bane took the eastern road. Tay and Galan headed west, toward Dalkeith, while Milo and Aurelius would search the hills surrounding the Ludus Caledonia. There were a lot of trees a lady could lose herself in.

  Unfortunately, Lor was delayed in departing because Isabail wanted to go with him. She felt responsible for Diantha’s departure and very much wanted to help, but in her condition, stress and possibly long hours on a horse wouldn’t be good for her, so Magnus took off while Lor tried to convince his wife to rest and wait. No one, not even Magnus, could seem to convince Isabail that the situation wasn’t her fault.

  The last Magnus saw of Isabail, she was weeping in Lor’s arms.

  Magnus was riding a magnificent dappled stallion named Tempest, who had been a gift to Clegg from a Portuguese duke who had spent three solid months attending games at the Ludus Caledonia. Tempest was young and excitable, but massive and sturdy, endless in his energy. Magnus took the horse down the road from the Ludus Caledonia, through the trees, and onto the main road that ran along the base of the hills.

  His only plan at that point was to retrace Diantha’s original path to the Ludus Caledonia from Edinburgh, ending at the apothecary shop where they’d first met. He was hoping that she had gone back to that shop because she was familiar with it, so that was his destination.

  It was his one and only hope.

  But first, he intended to check every church, tavern, and inn along the way, hoping she might have gone inside one of them for shelter from the rain. The weather had been warm and dry until last night when the summer storm rolled through, and it had turned the dusty roads into a soupy mess in places. Magnus could see carriage tracks and footprints along the road, but there was no way of knowing if any of those footprints belonged to Diantha.

  The first church he came to was St. Eustace at the crossroads in Morningside. The church was dotted with worshippers at lauds, or the morning prayers, and he walked through to see if any of the faithful were Diantha. He didn’t see her, and the priests, in the middle of the mass, refused to answer his questions.

  Frustrated, he continued northward. The storm had mostly blown away at this point, although there were pockets of rain now and again. A short time later, he could see another church, small and nearly hidden in some trees. He pulled the horse to a halt just outside the door, leaving the beast to chew on the wet green grass as he made his way inside.

  It was dark and smelled of rot. The floor leaned and the pillars that held up the roof looked as if they were barely strong enough. There were a few people up near the altar and he made his way up there to speak with them, but they seemed to be fearful of his presence. He managed to corner an acolyte, who denied seeing anyone who looked like Diantha. The priests tried to chase Magnus away until he told them that he was looking for a woman.

  Then they pointed to the door. He thought they were pointing at the door, demanding he leave, until he saw what they were indicating.

  A figure slumped into a corner.

  Magnus’s heart leapt into his throat as he rushed over to see that it was, in fact, Diantha. She was damp and dirty, slumped against the stone wall and sleeping like the dead. As he watched, she coughed and sputtered, but she didn’t wake up.

  Magnus had never been so glad to see anyone in his entire life. In fact, he could feel the unfamiliar tug of tears, something completely foreign to him but indicative of the emotion he felt.

  For her.

  Kneeling down, he reached out and gently shook her.

  “Diantha?” he whispered. “Diantha, wake up.�
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  She grunted and her eyes lolled open, but she shut them again. As she was drifting back off to sleep, he shook her once more and her eyes rolled open again, but she was staring at the wall. Magnus’s hand was on her knee and he patted it gently.

  “Diantha? Look at me, sweetheart.”

  She blinked. Then, slowly, her eyes moved in his direction until she was focused on him. For a moment, she simply stared at him.

  “Magnus?” she asked weakly.

  He smiled. “Aye. ’Tis me.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment. “Am I dreaming?”

  “Nay. ’Tis me.”

  By her expression, she was becoming a little more lucid when she realized that he wasn’t a dream. Sitting up, she jerked her leg back, away from his touch.

  “Go away,” she hissed. “Regresa a tus putas. No quiero verte de nuevo.”

  She was quickly growing furious and cagey, but he remained calm. “I dunna know what ye just said, but I can guess,” he said. “Diantha, ye must let me explain.”

  He tried to touch her knee again, but she batted his hand away. “I told you to go back to your women because I do not want to see you again,” she said. She sounded raspy and weak. “I want you to leave me alone. I was stupid to have gone to the Ludus Caledonia for your help.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you are not who I thought you were. You…you are not an honorable man!”

  He could see her lower lip trembling as she spoke, and he remembered what Lucia had said to him.

  The lass feels something for ye.

  Truth be told, he felt something for her, too.

  He wasn’t going anywhere.

  Shifting, he sank onto his buttocks, watching her recoil from him. He could see the anguish in her eyes, anguish he had put there when she discovered the unsavory truth about some of his activities. Magnus knew he would only have one chance to change her mind about him.

  He never wanted anything more in his life.

  “Will ye at least give me a moment of yer time tae explain?” he asked. “All I ask is one moment. If ye still want me tae go after that, I’ll go. Please?”