Page 36 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance (Highland Revenge Trilogy #3)

E sme woke the next morning to intimate touches and gentle kisses and, at first, she thought she was dreaming and was extremely pleased to find out she wasn’t.

When she opened her eyes, she was startled, and her body grew taut.

She had to remind herself that her husband was dead and the man who touched her with such love was Ryland.

“I love you, Esme,” he whispered, and her body relaxed to his touch.

Ryland wanted to linger but he knew someone would arrive and disturb them soon and though it was quicker than he would have liked, it was no less satisfying.

They were barely dressed when a pounding at the door caused Esme to jump in fright.

Ryland’s arm went quickly around her to hug her against him as he called out, “Who disturbs me!”

“It is Brack, my lord. Gavin has escaped.”

Ryland felt his gut twist tight as he reluctantly left his wife’s side to yank open the door.

“What happened?” he demanded, stepping aside for Brack to enter.

Brack strode in, his face taut with fury and frustration. “Two of the guards were temporarily reassigned per your orders. It was supposed to be for no more than a few moments. By the time they returned, Gavin was gone. Vanished without a trace.”

Ryland swore under his breath, his mind already racing. It was a calculated risk he’d taken—one he’d justified in the moment for the chance to learn the truth. But now…

Brack’s sharp gaze shifted past him, to Esme. She stood straight, shoulders drawn back, and her chin slightly tilted.

Brack’s eyes narrowed. “Someone saw her, my lord. Slipping out of the hut just before the guards returned.”

Ryland tensed, prepared to defend her. “That’s not possible.”

“She was seen, my lord. There is no mistaking that.” Brack’s voice held no malice, only a firm conviction. “You had the guards pulled away, and she was seen entering the prisoner’s hut alone right afterwards. What I’d like to know, and what others will soon demand to know, is why.”

Esme stepped forward before Ryland could stop her. “I went to speak with Gavin.”

Ryland swung a warning look at her, but she continued, calm but deliberate.

“I went for answers. For my husband. I believed Gavin might say something to help him understand what’s been happening. I meant no harm and certainly no betrayal.”

Brack shook his head. “That bruise on your face tells me you displeased your husband, and he gave you what you deserve. Anger may have caused your betrayal, though I don’t believe that you acted on your own accord.

That you risk being seen, risk suspicion, just to help your husband?

Forgive me, my lady, but that doesn’t sound like loyalty. It sounds like manipulation.”

Ryland’s eyes turned stormy, and Esme could see the change in him as he stepped between them, the air around him bristling. It was Torrance who demanded, “Do you manipulate, wife?”

“Nay, my lord,” Esme said, lowering her head. “I would not be so foolish, for you would see through it right away.”

She could be part of the plot,” Brack said. “She needs to answer for what she’s done. Because if you don’t hold her accountable, your warriors and they”—he motioned vaguely toward the village beyond— “will wonder why. Why she is spared when Torrance’s punishments are swift and brutal.”

Torrance’s jaw clenched. The truth lodged painfully in his throat. He couldn’t defend her without undoing everything. The fragile illusion. The plan. The name he’d taken to root out the treachery in Clan Glencairn.

Esme stepped forward again, her voice steady despite the tremble that ran through her. “Though I wanted only to help, I will take my punishment, so no one thinks less of my husband.”

The room fell deathly silent. Torrance felt, though he didn’t show it, like she had just torn something out of him.

“She tries to secure her place as your wife while she betrays you behind your back,” Brack said to Torrance, eyes remaining fixed on Esme.

“And if she meant to help me?” Torrance growled, trying to contain his anger while trying to find a way out of this for Esme without causing her to suffer. “Then what, Brack? I punish her for helping me.”

“And what will your warriors and others think if you don’t act,” Brack asked bewildered that Torrance should question the obvious. “Will word spread that Torrance has grown weak, for if that should happen you leave your clan vulnerable.”

“Never would I do that,” Torrance snapped with a furious snarl.

Brack took a step back, surprised yet pleased by Torrance’s response. “What do you intend then, my lord?”

Torrance didn’t answer right away. His gaze locked on Esme, heart pounding with dread and admiration. Then he turned back to Brack.

“She’ll be confined to the cottage until I say otherwise. No walks. No visits. No speaking to anyone unless I permit it. And she will be given only bread and water to eat.”

Esme remained still, showing no hint of protest. She knew Ryland would never let her starve. He would somehow get food to her. But why confine her?

Brack nodded, pleased with his decision. “It will be done.”

“We have more pressing matters to see to, Brack,” Torrance said, grabbing his cloak off the peg.

Brack’s brow narrowed.

“If my wife speaks the truth, then it was someone else who helped Gavin escape, and we need to find out who.”

Brack was quick to accuse strangers. “Someone in the village.”

“Some in the village would have a key to the chains… unless the chains escaped with him,” Torrance said, his blue eyes intent while waiting for an answer.

“The chains were found on the ground in the hut,” Brack said, shaking his head.

“So, one of our own, yet again?” Torrance asked, his sneer showing his disapproval. “Wait outside for me. I will speak to the men and discover who truly betrayed me.”

“Aye, my lord,” Brack said.

As the door closed behind him, Ryland pulled Esme into his arms, his voice a strained whisper at her ear. “You didn’t have to do that.”

She looked up at him, fierce and unyielding. “Aye, I did. I needed to show myself I could be brave.”

“It takes true bravery to go through what you have gone through with Torrance and with me posing as him. You are a courageous woman, Esme. And you must be even more courageous and remain in the hut while I search for the truth.”

Her eyes turned wide, and she stepped out of his embrace. “That is why you confined me, so I could not go and talk with the Old Woman.”

“I must keep you safe whether you like it or not,” he insisted. “I have no time to discuss it with you now. We will talk when I return.”

She let him know how she felt. “I’m disappointed.”

“But you are safe and that is what matters. That is what keeps my heart steady and my stomach from twisting in fear of losing you.”

The truth in his voice, the concern in his eyes, and knowing how much he loved her softened her disappointment.

She smiled softly and in a way of accepting his punishment, said, “I’m hungry.”

Relief showed in his smile. “I will make sure you get food, and I will return as soon as I can if it is only to spend a short time with you. I am not leaving guards outside the door since I trust no one. So, keep the door latched and open it to no one.” He kissed her quickly and hurried out the door.

He was barely gone when the latch rattled, and she opened the door thinking he had forgotten something or had brought her much needed food.

“If you want to meet with the Old Woman, come with me now.”

Esme stared at Breann briefly and didn’t think twice. She grabbed her cloak and followed her into the woods.

The morning air bit sharp, the thin layer of snow crunching under heavy boots as Torrance stepped into the open area in front of the meeting house.

The sky hung low, gray and brooding, and smoke from the cook fires drifted like ghosts across the hard-packed ground.

Warriors gathered slowly at Brack’s summons, fanning out in a wary half-circle before Lord Torrance.

Silence reigned. Not a sound was heard from the gathered warriors, not even a murmur.

The cold crept into cloaks and stiffened hands, but it wasn’t the weather that made them uneasy… it was him. Torrance’s silence could cut deeper than any blade, and today, it hung over them like a drawn sword.

Brack stood off to his right, arms folded, his posture stiff.

“Gavin has escaped,” Torrance announced, his voice carrying sharp and clear through the stillness. “He did not fly, nor disappear by witchery. Someone helped him.”

Not a word stirred the air.

Torrance took a slow step forward, his gaze moving over each man. “The guards posted at the prisoner’s hut were called off to tend to another matter—briefly. When they returned, Gavin was no longer there.”

Still, none of the men spoke. Their eyes were careful, downcast or fixed on a distant point behind him. No one wanted to be the first.

“You all know what happens to traitors,” Brack added, his voice colder than the wind. “And you know Lord Torrance does not suffer fools or liars.”

One man shifted, his boot scraping the snow. Another adjusted the hilt of his sword with fidgeting fingers.

Torrance let the silence stretch painfully long before speaking again.

“I will ask once more and only once more. If any of you heard or saw something, anything, you will speak up now. If not, every one of you will suffer.”

It took a moment before a voice broke the tension. “There was talk about...”

Torrance’s stare froze the man in place and when the warrior remained silent, he demanded, “Finish what you will say.”

“Lady Esme,” the warrior said carefully, “was seen near the prisoner’s hut, so says wagging tongues.”

Another cleared his throat but did not step forward. “Aye, I heard the same.”

Brack glanced at Torrance, then stepped forward. “Lady Esme has already been punished for whatever, if any, roll she may have played in this. She is confined to her dwelling with only bread and water until otherwise ordered by Lord Torrance. That matter is settled.”