Page 8 of A Lover for Lady Jane (The Welsh Rebels #5)

Chapter Five

G riffin woke up to a sky full of stars.

The clouds must have cleared while he slept, uncovering a stunning tapestry woven with glittering diamonds.

In the trees overhead, two owls were answering one another.

Over by the fire, Cynan and Tomos were talking in hushed tones about a woman.

It did not take Griffin long to understand who that woman might be.

“She is with child. You know what that means,” Cynan said, satisfaction dripping from his voice.

“Do I?” Tomos had never been the brightest of the lot but this time Griffin could not blame him for not understanding what the big man was getting at. He didn’t either.

“It means she is no virgin.” It was obvious Cynan had expected a reaction of some sort, which Tomos failed to provide, because he carried on, in the same tone he would have used to explain something to a three-year-old child.

“Which means that there will be no harm in us amusing ourselves with her. Do you see? She will not be the worse off for offering us some well-earned relief.”

“Oh, yeah.” There was wonder and hope in those two words.

“She’s a tasty piece, for all her defying ways, and not fat from the babe yet. A moment in her arms should prove a welcome distraction from this dreary ride.”

“She is very beautiful,” Tomos agreed.

“Beautiful, aye, and nothing like your average village wench or pox-ridden whore, that much I can tell you. Just imagine how soft her breasts will be and how white her thighs. Jesus, I’m hard just thinking about it.

” He grunted and adjusted his position. “I’ll have to have a word with Geraint tomorrow.

He was adamant we shouldn’t touch her on that first day, but I doubt he will refuse us the boon now.

I can tell the wench’s attitude is getting on his nerves, so he’ll agree she needs to be put back in her place.

Hywel wants his bargaining tool and he’s going to get it.

He didn’t say we could not amuse ourselves with it before he uses it himself.

As long as she is not too badly damaged, then I say we should be allowed some reward for our pains. ”

“Aye. I too want between her soft white thighs.”

“You’ll get in, my friend, but after me. I’ll be the first to plough that sweet little furrow and fill it to the brim.”

Griffin bunched his fists when their coarse laughs pierced the night, replacing the calls of the two owls.

What he had heard was horrific but the worst of it was, Cynan was right.

After days on the road, getting increasingly irritated by his bothersome captive, Geraint would give his agreement to the foul scheme, on the condition that the men did not hurt her too badly.

Which did nothing to ease his worries. A single stolen kiss would have been more than she deserved to endure.

Having her at the mercy of lust-crazed brutes was unthinkable.

All thoughts of sleep forgotten, Griffin stood up and walked over to the two men keeping watch.

From the moment he’d seen Jane in that blue room, standing up to her captors with courage, he’d been battling with his conscience, and this had finally given him the kick he needed.

He would not stand by and let her be hurt.

He would not be less brave than she was and force her to risk breaking her neck to escape her tormentors.

He would help, and what was more, he would succeed.

With the threat of rape hanging over her head, failure was not an option anymore. Her safety and his sanity depended on this escape.

“What are you doing here, English? Heard something suspicious?”

“No, but I can’t seem to sleep, so you might as well make the most of it and get some rest,” he told Cynan, doing his best to sound calm when his blood was boiling.

Now was not the time to get confrontational.

Tomos was not so much of a worry, but the giant, for all his villainy, was an astute man.

It would not take much to raise his suspicion, and Griffin needed him gone.

“No sense in all of us being awake. I’ll take over with Tomos a moment, then he can go get Osian to replace him in a little while. ”

Cynan stood up and stretched his arms over his head, groaning in relief. “Well, if you’re offering, I won’t say no. I didn’t sleep well last night and I plan to be well rested on the morrow.”

Yes. So he could rape Jane to his heart’s content. Griffin clenched his jaw.

Over his dead body.

Jane was woken up by a man’s hand over her mouth, muffling her cry of surprise.

Panic instantly flared in her chest. Who was that?

Geraint, who’d come to the conclusion that she was more bother than she was worth after her attempted flight and had decided to kill her?

The giant, who was finally making good on his threat to have her?

Another one of the men, intent on sampling her charms in secret before delivering her to her father?

Before she could grab the arm to try to uncover her mouth a voice reached her ear, a voice that instantly cut through the panic.

“Hush, it’s only me.”

Griffin. She instantly relaxed, indicating she would keep quiet when he released her and was rewarded with a caress over her hair. The gesture, more intimate than she should allow, but tender, moved her.

“I’m sorry to have startled you, my lady, but there was no other way. I could not risk you making a sound.”

He uncovered her mouth and brought his head lower, his face now so close to hers that she could feel the hairs on his jaw against her skin.

This time she was not moved, she was… She wasn’t sure what she was, but heat had started to bloom in her chest and her breathing had gone rather more shallow than usual.

Griffin stilled, his cheek a hair’s breadth away from hers.

Had he noticed her reaction to his proximity, even in the dark?

She swallowed, hoping it was not the case.

“Come.” He straightened up, taking his wonderful scent with him. “We need to leave.”

Leave? Now? Why? It was the middle of the night.

Had the men decided they would reach their destination faster if they traveled by night as well?

The muscles in her tired body protested as one when she made to move.

After more than four days spent constantly on her guard, she was exhausted, and her fall from Taran earlier today had not helped.

“Keep silent,” he urged, helping her to stand up. “You and I are escaping. We don’t want to wake anyone up.”

At the words, her fatigue vanished, and the stiffness in her limbs was forgotten. Anticipation shot through her veins. If they were truly escaping, then she was ready. Sleep could wait.

“Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, she and Griffin made their way to the bushes where the horses were tethered.

With his pale gray coat, Eryr was easily spotted in the darkness.

Never had she seen a more welcome sight than that of the mount which would take her to safety.

Jane went to untie him while Griffin retrieved his saddle and set about getting him ready.

They were about to walk away, when an idea struck her.

“Shouldn’t we set the other horses free before leaving?” she whispered. Dawn was still some time away. Untethered, the beasts might wander away in search of grazing spots, delaying the pursuers even longer when they had to retrieve them in the morning.

“Good thinking.” Griffin pressed her hand in approval. “Let’s be quick and silent about it, though. Our priority is to leave unnoticed.”

The horses were only too happy to be freed and nudged away from the camp. Once all the beasts had been scattered, she and Griffin went back to the waiting Eryr. They led him away from the sleeping men before climbing on. As soon as they were settled, Griffin kicked him into a comfortable canter.

Little by little, as the distance between them and the camp grew, tension started to leave Jane’s body. Had she made it this time? Was she really free from Geraint and his men? The steady beat of the hooves on the ground seemed to answer the silent question.

Yes. Yes, you are.

In spite of the reassurance, it was a while before she dared to talk and shatter the silence of the night.

“Why are we escaping?” she asked at last, turning to look at Griffin over her shoulder. “I mean, I know why I would want to escape the men, but you? Why are you leaving them as well?”

He could have stolen a horse for her, covered her flight, sent the men in a wrong direction in the morning. He didn’t have to actually go with her to save her, and they both knew it.

“Because there is no other choice. From the moment I found out why I had been recruited by Geraint I’ve felt ill at ease.

I had no idea he and the men meant to abduct a woman, or I would never have agreed to follow them.

I thought I would only be required to act as intermediary in a sale, a dispute over land or some such.

” He shook his head in obvious disgust. “For days I’ve been debating with my conscience. Then tonight I heard Cynan?—”

“The big one with the wavy hair?” Without knowing why, she knew he was talking about the giant who had threatened her.

“Yes. I heard him talk with Tomos by the fire. He plans to hurt you.”

Hurt her? She frowned. Why would he risk injuring her when they meant to use her as a pawn?

It made no sense. Unless… She stilled. Unless Griffin had used the word “hurt” in lieu of another, much stronger one.

Jane took a deep inhale and asked. “He has no intention of inflicting a wound with his blade. That’s not what you mean, is it? ”

There was no answer, and she knew she had guessed right. Cynan didn’t really mean to injure her, but rape her, as he’d threatened to do on that first day.

Jane started to tremble and burrowed further into Griffin’s arms, more grateful for the protection he offered than she had ever been for anything in her life.