Page 12 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 12

T he abbey loomed in the distance, a solid structure of stone and faith, its high walls promising safety. Dru wasn’t convinced.

As they rode closer, she took in the simple but sturdy buildings, the neat rows of cultivated land, and the figures moving about in brown robes. She had little love for monks, but these men seemed peaceful enough, but it changed nothing.

Dru shifted uncomfortably in the saddle. She didn’t like the idea of being left behind while Knox ran off on some dangerous errand. What if he didn’t return? And why did that thought disturb her so much?

When Knox dismounted, he reached up to help her down. She hesitated before placing her hands on his broad shoulders, letting him lift her effortlessly to the ground.

“I won’t stay here long,” she warned.

Knox scowled. “You’ll stay until I return.”

A pair of monks approached—one elderly, the other younger, perhaps only a few years older than her. The older man smiled kindly. “Welcome, travelers. I am Brother Ewan, and this is Brother Thomas.”

Knox gave them a respectful nod. “Brother Ewan. I’m Knox and this is my wife, Dru. I was hoping you’d have a room to spare for a day or two for my wife. I must leave on an urgent matter, and I need her kept safe until I return. I will gladly compensate you for her stay.”

Dru folded her arms over her chest but said nothing.

“We welcome travelers whether they are able to compensate us or not, my son, but your generosity is appreciated,” Brother Ewan said. “Dru will be safe and well cared for while here.”

Knox turned to her, his expression serious. “Stay here. Do not leave these walls. Do not cause trouble. And do not try to follow me.”

She lifted a brow. “Or you’ll have me locked away?”

“If I must.”

She smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”

He exhaled sharply, muttering under his breath before looking at Brother Ewan. “She can be difficult.”

The old monk chuckled. “What woman isn’t?”

Knox turned back to Dru. “I won’t be gone long. Stay put. This place is safe, and I need to know you’re safe.”

She could argue—she wanted to argue—but something in his eyes made her pause. Worry. For her.

She looked away, fighting foolish and unexpected tears that threatened. “Just… don’t get yourself killed.”

Knox reached out and took hold of her chin to turn her head toward him and lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently, then whispered, “I don’t want to lose you. Stay safe for me.”

And with that, he mounted his horse and rode away, leaving Dru with her mouth agape, her misty eyes following him, her lips tingling, and with far too much time to think about his words— I don’t want to lose you —and what they meant and how they made her feel.

Knox had no idea why he said what he did to Dru or why he kissed her.

That was a lie.

He wanted to kiss her and though it was far from a sufficient kiss, the gentle feel of her lips delivered a powerful punch to his senses. Not simply sparking them but lighting them on fire. What was it about the pint-sized, wickedly feisty woman that he found so appealing? If he wasn’t careful, he could make a serious mistake and see their marriage made permanent.

Was that such a bad thought?

He shook his head. How could he even think that? She was appalled when his lips had faintly touched hers this morning. She probably was dragging her arm across her mouth to get rid of the taste of him right now.

But she had expressed concern that he didn’t get himself killed. Could it be that she cared for him?

Knox shook his head again, silently berating himself for such foolish thoughts. He had no time for this. He didn’t even know what this was. He’d never felt anything for the women he had known that he now felt for Dru.

He had never felt .

That was it. He had stopped feeling long ago or he would never have survived life with the mercenaries. Dru had changed that. She had made him feel so much more than he ever thought there possibly was to feel. He wanted her to be kept safe and he wanted to return to her and only now did he realize how much it had hurt him to ride away without her. He missed her in his arms and the way she rested comfortably against him, the way she challenged him in their discussions, and how her smile teased, tempted, and tested without realizing it.

“Bloody hell,” he mumbled, he cared for his wife, something he had hoped to feel for the woman he wed and with who he’d spend his life.

Now that he found her, how could he ever let her go?”

“It is always a blessing to see a married couple who truly love each other,” Brother Ewan said, smiling. “You and Knox will have a good and happy life together. Now come and I will show you to your room, then you are free to walk around the abbey. I only ask that you obey your husband’s word and remain here. He loves you and worries over you, don’t make him worry even more.”

Dru intended to leave right after Knox left, and head toward Autumn’s place, but the worry in his dark eyes, though more so his kiss, had changed all that. The abbey was a good place for her to contemplate her current situation and Knox’s kiss.

“I’m not going anywhere, Brother Ewan,” Dru assured him as she followed alongside him.

“I am pleased to hear that, Dru.”

The room was much like the one at Cramond Abbey, a single bed, a small table and a chair.

“We’re not as strict here as other abbeys. Wine is always available in the refectory along with whatever Brother Felix has baked for the day. He loves to cook, and he is exceptionally talented at it, which is why many of us are plump,” Brother Ewan said and laughed.

“Point the way,” Dru said, thinking a tankard of wine by the fire was the perfect place to sit and think.

Brother Ewan was right about the abbey not being strict. There was pleasantry about the place, chatter heard and laughter as well. Most abbeys were quiet and solemn and not at all welcoming.

She barely stepped into the refectory when a monk offered her wine and an apple tart. She accepted both and the apple tart was so delicious she had another one while the monk chatted with her. A second monk entered and joined them, and they soon had Dru laughing with tales of the travelers that stopped at the abbey.

The discussion went from one subject to another during which more wood was added to the dwindling fire in the large fireplace. More monks arrived, their cheeks glowing red from time spent in the chilly air. They went straight to the hearth to get warm.

“It’s gotten blustery out there,” one of the monks said.

“Winter chases autumn away,” another said.

“No worries for us. We are well prepared for winter,” a monk called out.

Brother Thomas rushed into the room, his eyes glancing quickly around and settling on Dru. He rushed over to her. “Brother Ewan says you are to go to your room and stay there until he comes for you.”

Dru placed her tankard on the table. “What’s wrong?”

“A band of mercenaries are here, and he doesn’t want them to know you’re here.”

“Do we know them,” a monk asked.

“Aye. It’s Phelan and six of his warriors,” Brother Thomas said.

“They probably want food and drink,” another monk said.

“Aye, that’s what we’re here for.”

Dru turned to see a slim, yet firmly built man of fair height, though not nearly as tall as Knox, gripping Brother Ewan’s arm with strength as he ushered him further into the room. Scars and age marred his face that at one time would have been pleasing. And unlike most men, he wore his hair severely cropped.

His dark eyes immediately went to Dru and looked her over in an alarming way.

“A woman. Is that why you didn’t want me and my men to enter the abbey, Brother Ewan?”

“She is a married woman, Phelan, under the care of the abbey,” Brother Ewan said.

So, this was the infamous Phelan. The one who had made her husband’s life a living hell and the one he had gone to talk to.

“Are you sure her husband didn’t just dump her here? There’s not much to her. She’s a wee thing. She probably wouldn’t survive a good pounding, nor is she fit enough to bear bairns. I wouldn’t count on her husband returning.”

The six men who entered after him laughed.

“My husband will return,” Dru said with such firm confidence that Phelan and his men looked surprised.

Phelan grinned. “Well, if he doesn’t, I’ll take you with me.”

His men snickered.

Dru smiled sweetly. “Hell would have to freeze solid for that to happen.”

The monks crossed themselves.

“I hope you are all blessing her since I let no woman talk to me that way,” Phelan sneered and gave Brother Ewan a shove as he released him.

Brother Ewan stumbled but righted himself. “We have graciously provided you with food and drink when you’ve stopped here as we do for most travelers. But I will not see you harm someone under our protection.”

Phelan took quick steps to Brother Ewan and jabbed his finger in his chest. “And how will you stop me… with prayer.”

His men laughed and helped themselves to the wine on the large table.

“If monks are the only men, you have the courage to threaten, I have a friend you might want to meet,” Dru said, fighting to hide her anger at the way he was treating Brother Ewan.

“You can introduce him to me after I teach you to hold that tongue of yours and then I’ll teach your friend to mind his own business.”

Dru’s chin went up defiantly. “The Monk wouldn’t like that.”

“What monk?” Phelan demanded.

“ The Monk ,” Dru emphasized.

Silence struck the room.

Phelan laughed. “Lie. You don’t know the infamous warrior, The Monk.”

Dru grinned. “Do you really want to find out?”

“Why not?” Phelan said and stepped toward her.

Dru didn’t budge, though her legs trembled. “Then how about my husband… Knox.”

The name stopped Phelan dead but only for a moment. He burst out laughing as did his men.

“Now I know you’re a liar. Knox would never wed someone as small and skinny as you.”

It took great effort for Dru to remain calm. “Maybe you don’t know Knox as well as you think you do.”

“I know him better than anyone,” Phelan claimed.

Dru laughed. “You’re a man who thinks only of himself, so I doubt you truly know anyone.”

The monks blessed themselves again and a few closed their eyes in silent prayer and Dru was glad since she needed all the help she could get.

Fury raged in Phelan’s eyes. “You need a good beating.”

Dru remained defiant. “And what do you think Knox would do to you if you beat his wife, not to mention what The Monk would do when he found out what you did to me.”

Phelan’s fury simmered, considering the consequences.

“I may just stick around to see if Knox is really your husband,” Phelan challenged.

“Then do wait outside since the lot of you stink horribly,” Dru said, fanning her hand in front of her face.

That did it. Phelan’s face burned red as he raised his hand ready to strike her.

“STRIKE MY WIFE AND YOU’RE DEAD!”

All turned to see Knox as he tossed a man, his face bloody, aside before he strode into the room and went straight to Phelan, giving him a hard shove and sending him stumbling and falling to his knees.

“NEVER. Not ever, go near my wife,” Knox threatened with an anger that was palpable.

Phelan got on his feet and got in Knox’s face. “You think I fear you.”

Knox shoved him again. “You’re a fool if you don’t since you beat the fear out of me when I was nothing more than a frightened lad. Nothing affects me, meaning I can kill with ease and no regret or remorse. I’ve been waiting for the day to finally get my revenge for the hell you put me through. I thought of many ways to get that revenge but there is only one that would satisfy me… ending your pathetic life. And believe me when I tell you, Phelan, my patience is as slim as a fine thread.”

“You owe me,” Phelan said with a bravado that the fear in his eyes betrayed. “I saved your family from starving and made you the skilled and fearless warrior you are.”

“And I am going to give you exactly what you deserve for making me a man who cares for nothing—now—if you’d like.” Knox’s hand reached back to grab the hilt of his sword.

Brother Ewan stepped forward. “Not in the Lord’s house.”

Phelan stepped away from Knox. “I have better things to do than fight an ungrateful man who refuses to see what I’ve done for him. And good luck with that sharp-tongued, skinny waif of a wife who?—”

Phelan went down hard from the blow Knox delivered to his jaw with such speed that he didn’t see it coming in time to avoid it.

“Stay away from my wife and me or the next time our paths cross, it will be the last day you take a breath,” Knox warned with a fiery rage in his dark eyes that made him look like a demon who’d risen from the depths of hell.

Phelan’s men raced out of the room along with the bloody-faced man.

“We’re not done, Knox,” Phelan cried out when he reached the door.

“You can count on it, Phelan. Death is knocking at your door. And make sure you don’t take your anger out on these monks, or your death will be that more painfully slow.”

“And The Monk will help him,” Dru shouted.

“Go see that they leave,” Knox said to a couple of monks, and they hurried out of the room. Then he turned and went to his wife and swept her up into his arms and hugged her tight.

Her arms went as far around him as they could to return his hug, relieved he was there and glad to be in his arms, even with her feet dangling off the floor.

Knox could have sworn he felt her heart thud wildly against his chest and it was good to hear. She was safe and unharmed.

He reluctantly set her on her feet. “You are too brave for your own good. You should have stopped after threatening him with what I and The Monk would do if he harmed you.”

She grinned. “I can’t keep the truth from rolling off my tongue. He and his men did stink.”

The smile came easily to Knox, a rarity, though not since meeting Dru. She had a way of drawing a smile out of him.

“Thank you, Knox, for helping us,” Brother Ewan said, turning to the couple after speaking with a few of the monks. “You won’t be leaving us yet, will you?”

“A warm bed is more welcoming than the cold ground, Brother Ewan. We will be staying the night. But I wouldn’t worry about Phelan and his men returning. He will wait and plan before seeking revenge for how I embarrassed him. The confrontation has been a long time coming and I look forward to it.”

“But your wife—would he use her to seek his revenge?”

“Possibly. But I know him far better than he realizes, and I will make sure that that never happens.”

Brother Ewan smiled. “I have no doubt you will, my son. Now sit and have some wine?—”

“And apple tarts—they are delicious,” Dru said, taking her husband’s hand and urging him to the table.

Dru hoped that she would get some time alone with her husband, eager to ask him about the kiss. But monks came and went, wanting to talk with Knox, curious how he knew to return to the abbey. It was a brief tale to tell.

“I recognized one of Phelan’s warriors when I came across him on the road. Phelan always sends a man ahead of him and he has another man lag behind to let him know if anyone follows. A few blows to his face gave me the answer I needed, and I headed right back here.”

More questions followed and it wasn’t until she and Knox settled in the room for the night that she asked, “Why did you kiss me before you left?”