Page 16 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 16

D ru stretched herself awake and turned, seeking her husband’s warmth. Her eyes flew open when she felt the spot next to her in bed empty. Knox was there during the night. She had curled against him and his arms had welcomed her. She shouldn’t enjoy it so much—sleeping in his arms—but she did. What Mave said about her staying in the marriage got her thinking. Would it be possible? Could she truly have a life with Knox?

She turned on her back, stretching her arms above her head and stretching her thoughts as well to possibly accept the impossible. She sighed. It would be selfish of her to even consider it since it would place Knox in danger. Mave had to be wrong. There was no future for her and Knox as husband and wife.

She had no excuse to linger in bed since she was feeling better. Besides, a delicious scent filled the air, and her stomach grumbled. She was hungry and she was also worried about how Knox and Mave were getting along. She slipped out of bed and into her boots. Then she went to the hearth and dislodged one of the stones to reach into the hole and pull out a cloth—in it— a bone comb.

It had belonged to her mum, and she had hidden it after her mum had died in case, she ever got a chance to return and retrieve it. Running it through her own hair, only to get it tangled, reminded her of when she was young, and her mum would comb her hair almost nightly.

After running the comb through her hair until not one tangle was left, she gathered the silky strands up with a twist and shoved the comb into the mess of curls and waves to hold it in place. It caught most strands leaving others to escape and fall around her face and neck.

She hurried to the door and as she reached out to open it, it flew open, and she toppled forward against her husband’s hard chest.

Knox’s arm circled her, holding her close against him.

Dru lifted her head, feeling her cheeks blush slightly. What was wrong with her? She never blushed. Well, almost never.

“Feeling better?” Knox asked, though her pink cheeks let him know she was doing well.

“Much,” she said.

“Mave left a brew for you to drink and a broth as well. She advised that you drink both and see how your stomach reacts before putting any solid food in it.”

She frowned. “I’m starving.”

“Mave said you would complain. Claims you are stubborn,” he said. “For only meeting you, she seems to know you well.”

“I spotted it right away. Didn’t you?” Dru asked and slipped around him to gladly drink the brew if that was all there was for her to have.

“What are you talking about?” Knox asked and joined her at the table, not able to take his eyes off her untamed hair.

Though she had tried to restrain it, the strands had defied her, having a mind of their own, much like herself. It suited her and it also highlighted her features. She went from pretty to beautiful, at least in his eyes.

“Mave is a seer besides a healer.” Dru sipped at the brew uncertain if she should have revealed that about Mave. But Knox was observant, he’d be sure to see it if he hadn’t already.

He nodded. “That would explain the clean room and fresh bedding. And why her first words to me were ‘It’s about time you got here’. She was expecting us.” He paused for only a moment. “The villagers told me she left because she saw trouble brewing and didn’t want to be part of it. She told me she returned because she was needed. She left for the village a while ago. She also told me about Autumn.”

“Anything that will help us find her?” Dru asked, worried about how much Mave had revealed.

“Mave claims Autumn died three days after her mum.”

“Then that does it,” Dru said, feeling a catch to her stomach like someone had just gripped it. “The task is finished.”

“Are you that eager to be rid of me?” Knox asked, his dark eyes narrowing.

“Aren’t you as eager to be free to claim your land?”

“You avoid the question.” He grinned. “Are you too fearful to admit that you might miss me?”

“Nay. I will miss you,” she admitted. “I will miss the safety you provide for me on the road, but I managed alone before you came along, and I will do so again.”

A lie for she would miss much more when they parted but she brushed the thought aside, it hurt too much to think about it.

Annoyance flared in his eyes. “I will not allow you to travel the road alone.”

“You can’t stop me,” she scoffed.

“Try me,” he challenged. “You’re my wife and you will obey me.”

Her posture grew stiff. “We had an agreement. Are you rescinding your word?”

“Nay. I will honor my word and free you of our marriage and see you placed somewhere you will be safe.”

“And where might that be?” she asked, thinking he would return her to Cramond Abbey where, of course, she wouldn’t remain.

“Living on my land where I can make sure you stay safe.”

Dru was too shocked to respond.

“You would be helpful to the woman I eventually wed and of help with any bairns we have and?—”

Dru stood so abruptly that the bench she sat on toppled over. “You are ten times the fool if you think I would be a servant to you and your future wife. I am a free woman, and I plan on staying one.”

Knox planted his hands on the edge of the table and stood slowly, towering over her. “Then I may have no other choice but to keep you as my wife.”

Again, Dru found herself speechless.

“You wouldn’t dishonor your word,” she challenged.

“I won’t have to.”

“And why is that?” she asked, a shiver running down her spine from how confident he sounded.

“You’ll agree to stay wed to me.”

“Why would I ever do that?”

“Because you’ll see it’s the only sensible thing to do.”

“I’ve never been sensible.”

“Now you’ve just proven my reasoning.”

“You don’t find me appealing.”

“You’re growing on me.”

“This is nonsense.”

“Until it isn’t,” he said, ending the debate. “Mave says a traveling merchant is expected in the village today. He will bring news, as all merchants do, and I wish to hear it. Besides, I want to speak with a young man I met yesterday. He knows more about Autumn than he says. Mave mentioned that Autumn saved him from one of Lord Randall’s warriors when she was young.”

“Why waste the time when Mave told you that Autumn is dead?”

“Aye, she died three days after her mum was buried, but Mave never spoke of Autumn being buried.”

A chill sent a shiver through Dru. “What are you saying?”

“The woman known as Autumn may have died that day, but another woman was born. From what I could gather, Cerise raised her daughter not to be foolish enough to wind up as she did—a mistress to a powerful man or forced into an unwanted marriage. To keep her freedom, Autumn would need to die. Now our task is to find out the woman Autumn has become, for I have no doubt that Autumn is very much alive.”

Knox went to speak with the merchant he spotted, as soon as they entered the village. Many of the villagers were gathered around him to hear any news he had to share. Few had the coins to buy his wares, but the merchant welcomed a good barter.

Dru spotted Mave and went to her, grateful those familiar with her ignored her. Mave had reached them with the news, and they remained faithful to keeping her secret.

“What did you say to Knox?” Dru whispered when she reached Mave.

“What Fate wanted him to know. Now, go look for Owen. He is eager to see you and I have work to do here,” Mave ordered, turning and heading to an anxious mum and small lad, cradling his arm against his chest.

Dru hurried off, though not before glancing to see if Knox still spoke to the merchant. She spotted him walking away with the man and slipping behind a cottage. They must have been discussing something Knox preferred no one else to hear. Eager to see Owen and let him know that Knox intended to speak with him, she picked up her pace. She had barely taken ten steps when she heard the sharp crack of a slap and a woman’s startled gasp.

Dru turned toward the sound.

A group of four men stood near the corner of a cottage, their leather armor and weapons marking them as mercenaries. One of them, thick-shouldered and smirking, had a fist tangled in a young woman’s sleeve. She struggled, trying to wrench free.

Owen was suddenly at her side. “I spotted them earlier when I was in the woods and avoided them and hoped they would steer clear of the village. They’re trouble.”

Dru nodded. He was right about that.

“You’re hurting me,” the woman said, her voice tight with fear.

The man yanked her closer. “Only if you keep fighting, lass.”

A knot of fury twisted in Dru’s gut and before she stepped away from Owen, she whispered, “Stay out of this.”

Dru approached the man and woman. “LET HER GO.”

Her voice rang clear through the hush that had fallen over the villagers. People shrank back, unwilling to interfere, but Dru stepped forward, her stance firm.

The mercenary turned, his smirk widening. “And who are you to give me orders, lass?”

“Someone who knows that only a man with a tiny shaft would lay unwanted hands on a woman.”

Laughter rumbled from the other three men.

“She’s got fire,” one chuckled.

“She’ll have a blade in her gut if she doesn’t walk away,” warned the man she had demeaned and whose face raged red.

Dru ignored them, her glare locked on the man. “Let. Her. Go.”

The mercenary held her gaze for a long moment—then shoved the woman aside. She stumbled, barely catching herself before fleeing into the crowd that had gathered.

Dru wasn’t foolish enough to believe their encounter was over. It had only begun.

“Maybe I grabbed the wrong woman,” the mercenary mused, anger fading from his eyes replaced by amusement. “I think I prefer a fiery one and you can see for yourself how wrong your claim was.”

Dru grimaced and shook her head. “I don’t know about that.” She pointed between his legs. “Your shaft can barely hold a salute.”

The man’s crew and the crowd burst out laughing.

Fury turned the man’s face so red that he looked about to explode, and he lunged at Dru.

Dru moved fast, twisting low then rising fast and striking him in the nose with her elbow, blood pouring from it. He grunted, staggered, but recovered quickly. His hand shot out, fingers clamping around Dru’s wrist like an iron shackle.

“Feisty,” he growled, and dragged his sleeve across his bloody nose. “I like that.”

Dru bared her teeth. “You’ll like this too.”

She drove her knee up, aiming for the most vulnerable spot. He twisted at the last second, her strike glancing off his thigh instead.

The mistake cost her.

Pain exploded across her face as he backhanded her. She hit the ground hard, her vision swimming.

Before she could move, he loomed over her, reaching for his blade.

A vicious roar cut through the air—then the heavy thud of a fist meeting flesh.

The mercenary flew backward as if yanked by an invisible force. Knox stood there, his chest heaving, his fingers flexing at his side, and his face carved from ice.

Dru shook off her daze just as another mercenary rushed Knox.

Knox sidestepped the attack and drove his elbow into the man’s gut, following it with a brutal strike to the jaw. The mercenary crumpled.

The remaining two hesitated, eyes darting between Knox and their groaning companions.

Knox took a slow step forward.

“I’d think very carefully about what you do next,” he warned, his voice low, dangerous.

The leader—the one still on the ground clutching his jaw—spat blood. “You’ve made an enemy this day, stranger.”

Knox crouched beside him, gripping the front of his tunic. He yanked the man close, his voice strong for all to hear.

“Knox. The name is Knox.”

Recognition turned the man’s eyes so wide that they looked ready to pop from his head and the other men stumbled back away from him.

“I can tell you’ve heard of me, so you know my reputation. You know I’m a man of my word. You cross me or my wife’s path again, and you’re dead.”

The man swallowed hard.

Knox stood, yanking the man to his feet with him and released him with a shove. “Leave and go far from this place and never—not ever—return here.”

Anxious to leave, the men stumbled over each other, tripping as they rushed out of the village.

He turned to Dru, his gaze raking over her. His jaw clenched when he saw the bruise blooming on her cheek. He stretched his hand out to her.

She reached up and took hold of it and he eased her up onto her feet.

“You are far too reckless?” he admonished, his heart thudding wildly in his chest.

Fear had struck him swiftly and so powerfully he thought it would knock him off his feet when he saw the peril she had gotten herself into. But his warrior instinct didn’t fail him. He’d been ready to rip the man in two with his bare hands he’d been so furious.

She smiled. “I did exactly what I needed to do.”

Her smile calmed his worry and his heart—somewhat. “And what was that?”

“I held him off long enough for you to arrive.” She poked him in the chest. “Why are so many mercenaries fearful of you?”

“Have Mave look at that bruise,” Knox ordered, ignoring her question and thinking about the unshakeable trust she had in him.

“She’s busy and the bruise will fade with time.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion, Dru,” he said, taking her chin gently in his hand to tilt her head and get a better look at the area that had deepened in color. “Have Mave look at it while I speak with Owen.”

“Owen?” she asked, having assumed from what he had said about the young man he wanted to talk with that it was Owen. She hoped to keep him from speaking to him. She worried that fear of Knox might have the young man revealing something he shouldn’t. “I know Owen.”

“How?”

“I’ve passed through these parts before.”

“So, you knew where Autumn lived?”

“I knew she lived around these parts somewhere, but I had no reason to know more and with her connection to Lord Torrance, I didn’t want to know.” She almost bit her lips since that was a lie—a lie that couldn’t be helped. “You asked for my help to find her because I?—”

“Peddle in information.”

“Merchant of information sounds better. By the way, what did the merchant have to say?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you later. Right now, I want to talk with Owen.”

“He’d talk more easily to me than to you, which means I can get more out of him than you can.”

Knox didn’t argue with her. “Fine, talk to him. I’ll go let Mave know you need her.”

Dru hurried to Owen.

“You need to be careful,” he said as soon as she reached him. “The merchant said that there is a death bounty on Autumn. Someone wants her dead. And Lord Torrance is adamant about finding his half-sister.”

“I know. I heard,” Dru said and saw fear in Owen’s eyes. “What is it, Owen?”

“I heard the elders talking. They say these men will not offer coin to learn the truth. They will hurt people until they have their answer. Knox does not know who you are, does he?”

Dru shook her head.

“This time, you really need to disappear,” Owen said. “You need to let the forest whisper you away before it’s too late. Wilbur, Rona, and I are the only ones left who know your true identity and we are going to take our leave tonight before it’s too late.”

“Where will you go?” Dru asked anxiously, worried for the ones who had remained so faithful to her.

“We don’t know yet.”

“Clan MacLeish,” she suggested quickly. “Speak with Quint or Shade. Tell them Dru sent you and you need a safe home.”

“Are you sure they will welcome us?”

“Aye, I am,” she said, confident her friends would not turn them away and hurried to give him directions.

Owen’s glance suddenly shifted. “He’s headed this way. I will always be grateful to you for the many times you helped me. Stay safe, my friend.”

Owen ran off.

Dru turned, her heart aching and praying that Owen and the others made it safely to Clan MacLeish.

“You frighten him.”

“Enough to have him tell you anything that may be helpful?”

Dru thought fast. “He did confirm that there was talk Autumn died soon after her mum. But no one attended any burial like they did for her mum, leaving many to believe she just disappeared.”

“Good to know,” Knox said and cast a glance at the sky. “Rain clouds gather we need to head back to the cottage.”

“Where is Mave?”

“She went ahead to fix you a salve for the bruise.” He took hold of her hand. “Hurry. We need to beat the rain there.”

They reached the cottage as thunder rumbled in the distance. Mave was walking to a cart where a young man waited nervously for her.

“A moment, Harold,” Mave called out to him and then turned a dismissive glance on Knox. “You as well.”

Knox glared at her. “What you say to Dru, you say to me.”

Mave’s chin turned up. “Have it your way.”

She steered them away from the cart to where they couldn’t be heard talking. “Fate spoke with me about you both. You need to consummate your vows and seal your marriage immediately.”

Dru shook her head when Knox turned an accusing scowl on her. “She didn’t hear we are not truly wed from my lips.”

Mave jabbed Knox in the chest. “Don’t you listen? I told you Fate spoke to me.”

“I don’t believe in fate,” Knox said.

Mave didn’t hide her annoyance. “Then I’ll be blunt. If you don’t seal your vows—make this marriage permanent—Dru will meet her demise before the next full moon.”