Page 35 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance (Highland Revenge Trilogy #3)

“ B loody hell, woman, are you out of your mind?” Ryland said, stunned by her suggestion.

“Nay. I think it is a most reasonable solution to the problem and one that could get us much needed information,” she argued, the next morning while savoring the hot cider that had been brought to them.

“You want to walk into Gavin’s cell and ask him to tell you, his secrets? That’s your grand plan?” He shook his head, not believing what he was saying.

“I want to make him believe I wish to help him. That I, too, want to see Lord Torrance’s rule ended.”

His brow shot up. “And why would he believe that? He may be a traitor, but he’s no fool.”

“Because I will convince him I can no longer take the abuse. That I know someone wishes Torrance dead and me along with him and that I don’t want to die that I want to be part of the plan to see him dead.”

“You think he’ll believe you would betray me that you don’t fear me enough to be too frightened to do such a thing?”

“Aye, if I give him a good reason to,” she said, setting down her cup and rising off the bench to face him. “If I tell him that Torrance treats me cruelly and that as his wife, I suffer endless bruises and tongue lashings, he’s bound to consider it.”

“Many wives suffer that at the hands of their husbands,” Ryland said. “Why should he care?”

“Because I will tell him that I want desperately to live and repeat that my life is in danger being Torrance’s wife and that I discovered he intends to replace me with a new wife What other choice do I have if I want to live?”

Bloody hell if she didn’t make it sound like a feasible plan that could actually work.

“This is nonsense,” he snapped, turning away from her annoyed that he might consider it. “You think tears and a few whispers will loosen his tongue? He’ll laugh in your face or worse… he’ll suspect I have a hand in it.”

“He’ll believe me if…” she said, stepping closer, “you leave a mark on me.”

He turned, anger simmering in his eyes. “What?”

“A bruise,” she said calmly. “One he’ll see the moment I walk in. A mark that says I have reason to want you gone.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “You want me to hit you?”

“Nay,” she said softly. “One small mark on my cheek.”

“Absolutely not,” he said through gritted teeth, trying to temper his anger. “How can you even ask such a thing? I would never strike you.”

“I know that, but it’s the only way?—”

“Nay!” His voice thundered through the small dwelling and beyond.

He took a breath, trying to calm the fury that rippled through him.

“Your plan is one thing to consider, striking you is completely out of the question. You have no idea what you’re asking.

I will never lay a hand on you, not even for pretense. ”

Her voice dropped, steady and quiet. “You said you were willing to do what must be done.”

“Don’t twist my words,” he warned.

“I’m not. I’m trying to stop you from becoming someone you’re not. If you torture Gavin, you take a step closer to becoming Torrance. Let me do this for you… for us. Let me find the answer we need.”

He turned away from her, hands braced on the edge of the table. For a long moment, he said nothing. There was no way he could ever strike her, absolutely no way.

The silence grew heavy between them.

Then, behind him, he heard a quick shuffle, then a tumble.

He turned just as Esme staggered and fell against the hearth, her cheek catching the edge of the raised stonework, and she cried out.

“Esme!” he roared, lunging for her, his arm hooking her waist before she could hit the floor and turning her around in his arms. Anger rose like a mighty beast in him as he saw tears shimmer in her eyes and she blinked them away.

His hand went to her face to tilt her head gently. A red mark had already begun to rise along her cheekbone.

“What the bloody hell have you done?” he demanded.

She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What had to be done.”

He stared at her, his jaw clenched and his heart hammering. “You could have hurt yourself worse.”

“I didn’t,” she said, softly but firmly as she finally met his eyes. “And now there’s no debate. Gavin will believe what he sees.”

A tear slipped down her cheek, and he brushed it away with his thumb, his touch reverent, careful not to press where her skin had already begun to swell.

“I hate this,” he whispered. “Hate that it’s come to this.”

“I know,” she said. “But if we’re going to get answers, we must be clever. You can’t always win by force, Ryland.”

He looked at her, at the pain she wore like armor, and at the strength beneath it.

“You’d make a fearsome laird,” he muttered, then hugged her gently. “Don’t ever do something like that again. Not ever.”

“I didn’t want you to stop me,” she murmured against his chest.

He held her tighter.

When he finally pulled back, his voice had found steel again.

“Then let’s make certain it wasn’t in vain.

I’ll make sure Brack is busy so he doesn’t see you and I will see that the guards have reason to leave their post so you can sneak easily into the dwelling where Gavin is being held.

But you must promise me if at any time you feel you may be in danger…

you will leave immediately. I will be waiting close by out of sight. ”

Esme nodded. “He’ll talk. I’ll make sure of it.”

The wind whistled around the small hut as Esme approached the unguarded door. Ryland had made sure the guards were called away, but she knew she didn’t have long to see the task done. She opened the door and slipped in.

A low fire burned in a fire pit, not giving off nearly enough heat for the small space. Gavin sat on a narrow bench, his ankles and wrists chained. His head lifted the moment she entered, surprise flashing in his eyes.

“Lady Esme?” he rasped, rising slightly despite the chains. “What in God’s name are you doing here?”

“We don’t have much time,” she whispered, pushing the hood off her head and moving closer. “I slipped in while the guards were called away.”

He stared at her, wary. “Why?”

“I need your help.” Her voice trembled with urgency. “I know you’ve no reason to trust me, but I swear to you… I am not your enemy.”

His expression hardened. “You’re the wife of the man who put me in chains.”

“I fear not for long,” she said quickly, stepping into the firelight and letting him see the bruise blooming along her cheekbone.

His brows drew together, his tone sharp. “He did that to you?”

“It is not the first time and won’t be the last. I know someone wants Torrance dead and me along with him for fear I carry an heir.

But I’ve failed to get with child, and I learned that he has plans to be rid of me and get himself a new wife.

My life is in peril no matter what happens, and I don’t want to die. ”

Gavin studied her, his jaw tightening. “And you think I can help you?”

“Not you,” she said, the desperation in her voice raw and real. “The person who wants Torrance dead. I thought if I could get word to him and let him know I would help him in his quest to see my husband dead that I could have a chance to survive.”

Gavin remained silent, his gaze fixed on her, as though weighing her pain against his caution.

Then slowly, he said, “There’s been quiet talk since Torrance’s father’s death, spread between those with growing concern for Torrance’s cruelty and what it means for the future of the clan.” He hesitated for a moment. “Then the truth revealed itself.”

Her breath caught. “What truth?”

He leaned forward, the firelight sharpening the lines on his face. “That Torrance has no right to lead Clan Glencairn.”

She blinked, confusion spreading across her face. “What are you saying?”

He held her gaze. “Torrance isn’t the true heir to Clan Glencairn.”

The door creaked as Esme slipped out of the small dwelling, the cold wind biting at her cheeks. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, but it did little to stop the tremble running through her. Not from the cold… but from what she’d just heard.

She barely took two steps before a shadow detached itself from the nearby trees.

“Esme.”

Ryland’s voice was low, but sharp with concern.

She turned to him, startled, and he was at her side in an instant. His eyes searched her face, and his hand gripped her arm.

“What did he say to you?” he asked, his voice quiet but urgent. “You’re pale as death.”

“I… I will tell you at the cottage,” she whispered, glancing toward the village path. “Not here.”

He nodded and without another word guided her away, his hand steady at her back as they walked.

Their boots barely left tacks in the little snow that had fallen, and neither spoke during the short trek, though Ryland glanced her way more than once, the tension in him winding tighter with every step.

When they reached the small cottage, he opened the door for her and followed her inside. The warmth was welcome, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in her chest.

She stood near the fire, her hands trembling slightly as she held them out to the heat to warm them.

He didn’t press her. He waited… impatiently… but he waited.

She finally turned to him, her voice hushed. “He said Torrance has no right to lead Clan Glencairn.”

Ryland didn’t move but his body turned rigid.

She stepped closer, searching his face. “He says Torrance isn’t the true heir.”

There was no shock in his eyes or expression, not even a touch of confusion, or humor at Gavin’s ridiculous statement.

“Did you know?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He still said nothing, but something in his expression changed, it warned he knew something.

“Is that what brought you here?” she asked. “Is that the secret you’ve been searching for all along?”

“If I tell you what I know and the wrong people find out you know something, it could put you in extreme danger,” he said.

“I can’t help you if you keep me in the dark and I am already in danger just being Torrance’s wife,” she argued, still trying to comprehend what Gavin had told her and what Ryland might know. She urged softly. “Please, don’t let anything come between us.”

Ryland dropped down on the bench by the table, stretched his arm out, and snagged her around the waist to ease her down on his lap.

“Torrance’s father revealed stunning news to him on his deathbed.

He then warned me not to trust anyone with the news, or the consequences could be dire, and I had to agree with him.

His father had little breath left in him when he told Torrance that someone might challenge him as the rightful heir to Clan Glencairn, that he could be older than Torrance and he was to make sure he didn’t unseat Torrance. ”

“Did Torrance assume it was you? Is that the true reason he went to war with you?” she asked.

“He assumed we were half-brothers which was why he urged me to take his place so that the Glencairn bloodline would continue to rule the clan. But he told me to find out for sure if it was what his father meant or if his father’s penchant for women produced another son who could be waiting to claim the title to Glencairn. ”

“Did Lord Randall give Torrance any indication of where to start his search?

“Nay, though I assume eliminating me was his first choice.”

“Where to after that,” she asked perplexed.

“Healers, midwives was the most logical direction, though it has been so many years I wonder if the woman who knew such information still lives.”

“So, then the Old Woman, might know the identity of the healer who possesses such information and could possibly know who the true heir is to Clan Glencairn.”

“I am assuming so since it is the only lead that I have found thus far. I am assuming whoever wishes me dead is the one who intends to lay claim to Glencairn. But—” He gave her waist a gentle squeeze.

“He cannot prove it, so therefore, he has no choice but to see me dead, though he attempts convince others he will be a better, more tolerant leader than Torrance.”

“How can he be a better more tolerant leader if he wishes me, an innocent in all this, dead as well?” Esme said, with a brief shake of her head.

“I doubt many would care as long as it brought an end to Torrance’s cruelty.

” She sighed softly and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I wish we could leave, walk away from it all and have a simple life together.”

“We could have a good life with my clan if this person proves worthy to lead Clan Glencairn and bears no ill will against Clan MacLeish.”

“Those are big ifs, and a man doesn’t always show his true nature right away, especially one who has so much to gain,” she said, a yawn escaping her lips.

“You are tired. We can talk more about this in the morning,” he said, lifting her in his arms as he stood.

“You know we have no choice?” she said softly.

He didn’t respond. He set her on her feet by the bed and began to undress.

Esme hesitated. She shed her garments down to her underdress and got into bed, a chill already rushing through her and another yawn attacking her.

Ryland slipped into bed naked beside her and reached over to tuck her close to his side. No more talk,” he ordered.

Esme yawned again and cuddled snug against him. “You can ignore the obvious all you want. But you know we have no choice… I must go see the Old Woman alone.”