Page 20 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 20

“ Y ou will not. You cannot. I will not let you,” Dru ordered, her hands on her slim hips and a flare of anger in her eyes.

Knox finished adding the logs, he had recently split, to the dying flames in the hearth and they sparked to life. He stood, brushing his hands off.

“It’s the sensible thing to do,” he said. “I can find out if Lord Torrance knows of the bounty on you and what precise plans he has for you. I can also lead him to believe I have information of where you might be hiding, giving us time to plan and search for the one who wants you dead and eliminate that problem.”

She drifted over to him, dropping her head against his chest and his arms going around her. “Can’t we stay here for a bit longer?”

His fingers hooked her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “We have been here far too long already. You have kept me so occupied that I have lost count of the sunrises.”

“Is that a complaint I hear?” she asked, her brow shooting up.

He lifted her with one arm, so they were face to face. “Nay. I want nothing more than for all our days to be as they are now. But we have no chance of that if we linger here.”

Dru lowered her brow to rest against his. “It has been too long since I have been so happy, and I do not want to lose it.”

“We will always be happy, wife, as long as we’re together,” he assured her and brushed a faint kiss across her lips. “Besides, Mave may want to come home. I will leave tomorrow?—”

“We leave?—”

“Nay,” Knox said. “You will remain here while I speak with Lord Torrance. I won’t be long. It is known he has not returned home yet. He remains at the encampment where the battle with Clan MacLeish took place.”

“Why?”

“Some say his new wife disappoints him and he has no desire to return to her, others murmur that he is building a larger army of warriors to move north and take more land. It would be a wise move since those clans in the north do oppose him and will eventually cause him problems.”

Dru thought for a moment. “But wouldn’t he have heard of your forced marriage by now? And surely Torrance would have learned that your wife helps you search for Autumn. So, why wouldn’t she be with you?”

“Torrance would not care, and he would not want to speak with you.”

“Even better. While you speak with Torrance, I can see what I can find out from those in his camp.”

“Absolutely not,” Knox said, shaking his head. “There is not a chance in bloody hell that I would let you wander his camp alone. Any woman there among the warriors are there for one reason and one reason only—to please the warriors. I will not have you mistaken for one of those women.”

Her disappointment turned quickly into glee. “I will talk with the cook or the healer. They always know everything that is going on in the camp.”

“Nay. It’s too dangerous,” he insisted, the thought of what could happen to her there spiking fear as well as anger.

“But the more information we learn the more it helps us. You know as well as I do that information is often gleamed among the warriors, servants, and such before it reaches a noble’s ear. Someone could know who offers this bounty on me or at least may have heard a rumor of who it might be.”

“I will speak with them.”

“Not likely,” she said with a huff. “Your mission must be well known by now as well as the reward you will receive once it’s completed. Many will be jealous and have no desire to help you.”

“Or my wife?”

She chuckled. “Quite the opposite. They will feel sorry for a waif like me being stuck with such a big brute like you and commiserate with me.”

Why could he see that happening? And why would he even consider it?

“Some people spare me notice and talk to me while others ignore me as if I don’t exist and there is great value in that. They talk openly and I listen, learning more than anyone would want me to know.”

There was truth to that. He had seen it for himself.

“It’s much too dangerous,” he snapped.

“As dangerous as not knowing who put a bounty on my head?”

He growled, annoyed that she made sense.

She slipped her hand in his shirt and over his naked chest. “Let’s not waste time on this. Let’s make the most of the time we have together.”

“Seducing me will not change my mind,” he said and yanked her off her feet, her legs locking around his waist. He dropped them both down on the bed once in the other room. “You’re not going and that is the end of that.”

Dru draped her arms around his neck. “As you say, husband.”

“I mean it, Dru, you?—”

She smothered his words with a powerful kiss and soon all was forgotten as they got lost in a haze of lovemaking.

Dru wasn’t happy about leaving. She would have preferred to linger longer, pretend that nothing was amiss and life was good. But it was like lingering in a dream and eventually she would have to wake up.

“We’ll have our own one day,” Knox said, seeing the way his wife looked with longing at the cottage after they mounted his mare.

Dru didn’t need to force a smile, it came naturally. “Aye, but this place will always hold special memories, ones I will always cherish.”

“True enough, but we will make more memories together in our new home,” Knox said confidently as he directed his mare away from the cottage.

“I want to believe that, truly I do, but the truth of it is that we are powerless against someone like Lord Torrance. He can punish and condemn without consequence. And we would be fools not to consider that.”

“Aye, I agree, but we will find a way to deal with him. He hired me to fight along with him because of my exceptional warrior skills. I can pledge my fealty to him, fighting for him whenever needed.”

With a stubborn tilt of her chin, she ordered, “Absolutely not. You will do no such thing.”

He chuckled. “I now feel wed, having a nagging wife.”

“This is not humorous, Knox,” she scolded. “You accepted this mission so you would have land of your own where you could build a life of peace rather than constant fighting. I will not let you give that up for me.”

“You prefer we separate?”

She sighed as if defeated. “There are far too many obstacles in our path to find an easy solution to our problem.”

“One obstacle at a time, Dru, that is our wisest move. We find out who wants Autumn dead and eliminate the threat. With that done, we move to the next one, Lord Torrance.”

“You speak of Autumn as if she is separate from me.”

“For now, it is imperative she remain so.”

“If only we could let her die peacefully, never to surface.”

Knox shook his head. “I don’t believe that would be wise. There are those who know your secret and a secret doesn’t remain a secret if known by others. There is always a risk of it being revealed, leaving us to always live in fear of it being discovered. And if Lord Torrance was to find out about it…” He shook his head again. “I don’t even want to consider the consequences. We see this settled so we never have to fear discovery or revenge.”

She grinned, a need to lighten the troubling discussion. “You really got more than you bargained for when you wed Dru.”

His eyes flared, she thought with desire, then realized she was mistaken. It was love that blazed in them, and she hurried a kiss to his lips.

“I love you too,” she said afterward.

“It wasn’t a fair bargain, wife. I got far more than you did.”

She laughed, running her glance over herself and then him. “Look at the size of me and the size of you. I’m the victor here.”

He tugged her tighter against him. “You may be a wee bit of a thing, but you love with the fierceness of a giant and aren’t afraid of showing it which has helped me to get to know love that much easier.”

He kissed her as he brought his mare to a stop.

It was a strong kiss, a loving kiss, and Dru could not help but say… “You kiss me as if we are saying goodbye.”

“Beyond this point is a path where we may meet others. I don’t want to chance anyone seeing a difference in us than what we have shown thus far?—”

“A couple forced to wed since news of the incident at the abbey has to have spread wide by now.”

“Aye, so caution must be taken,” he said, and she nodded as they continued their journey.

They had been riding for a while, the road narrowing as it twisted through a stretch of thick woodland. Dru kept her hood up, her gaze scanning the path ahead while Knox remained silently tense beside her, one hand resting near the hilt of his blade as if expecting trouble at every bend.

It wasn’t until they rounded a slow curve that they saw the cart—small, wobbling slightly under the weight of bundles tied with fraying rope. A merchant sat atop the bench, reins slack in his hand, a half-eaten apple in the other. At the sound of hooves, he looked up and quickly smiled.

“A good morning to you, travelers,” the man called. “Fine day for a bit of trade, if you’ve coin or curiosity.”

“News if you have it,” Knox said, slowing his mare as the cart came to a stop.

“News is always free,” the merchant said, tossing the apple core into the woods. “Though not always welcome.”

“Then it is dire news you share?” Dru asked.

He scratched at his jaw. “For the woman who was caught.”

Knox stiffened. “What woman?”

“Name’s Autumn—or so folk say. Phelan got hold of her not far from the river crossing.”

Dru’s breath faltered.

“Was she alone?” Knox asked.

“Aye. Traveling on foot. Looked worn down but didn’t make it easy for them. Fought like she meant it, though once they had her bound, she kept saying they’d made a mistake. Denied being Autumn altogether.”

Dru exchanged a glance with Knox, her stomach coiling with unease.

“And Phelan took her anyway?” she asked.

The merchant nodded. “Didn’t seem to care what she claimed. Figured if he was wrong, no harm done. If he was right…” He shrugged. “There’s coin in it from what I hear.”

“Phelan is sure about this?” Knox asked, voice low and with a touch of annoyance. “Does he even know what Autumn looks like?”

The merchant held up both hands. “I only pass along what I hear. But aye, that’s the talk of it. She swore she wasn’t Autumn, but they took her all the same.”

Dru’s fingers clenched tight around Knox’s arm. “She could be anyone. Some poor woman in the wrong place, saying the truth and not being believed.”

“Aye.” The merchant’s voice softened. “That’s what has folks uneasy. Don’t sit right.”

“Do you know where he took her?” Knox asked.

“North. Toward the hills. But whether he means to hand her to Lord Torrance or the one who placed the bounty, no one can say.”

Knox gave a short nod. “Appreciate you sharing the news.”

The merchant lowered his voice. “That’s not all of it.”

“Please share,” Dru said eager to hear all he had to say.

“There is talk that Lord Torrance searches for a new wife.”

“Something happened to Lady Esme?” Dru asked. “They have been wed barely six moon cycles.”

“Tongues wagged before the victorious battle that Lady Esme has thus far failed to get with child and that Lord Torrance has no patience with her failures.”

“How can he search for another wife when his present wife is?—”

The merchant nodded. “You realize what most say… that Lady Esme will have a very short life.”

Knox bought two apples off the merchant before they continued on their way.

They rode in silence for several long moments.

Dru finally spoke. “It would be easy for some to let another suffer their fate. I can’t do that. I can’t let another suffer or die because she was mistaken for me.”

“I figured you would feel that way. But knowing Phelan, he will convince everyone that he is right. The bigger question is… who will he turn her over to? Alive and well to Lord Torrance or dead to the person who placed the bounty on Autumn?”

“We need to save her,” Dru said.

“I know what you’re thinking, wife,” he said worried. “You want to make it known who you are so no innocent women suffer.”

“What will stop others from doing as Phelan did, claiming that an innocent woman is Autumn to get the bounty or attempt to gain the land meant for you?” She shut her eyes briefly before turning sorrowful ones on him. “I cannot let that happen.”

“It isn’t only your decision now that we are husband and wife. It is one we make together, and it isn’t necessary to make that decision now. We’ll go see about this woman, but our top priority is to find out who put the bounty on Autumn and put an end to it.”

“As long as women don’t start dying because of me. If one woman dies—” She shook her head. “I will not be able to live with the guilt, knowing if I had spoken up her life would have been spared.”

“Phelan will not rush to turn the woman over to either parties. He will wait and see who offers him the most for her, then pit them against each other to get even more from them. We have time before any danger befalls her. Time to free her.”

It didn’t surprise him that his wife made no further comments but instead got lost in her thoughts. And he knew what they were and let her linger there, but not long.

Knox grabbed her chin, tilting her head back. She wore no challenging or determined grin he had come to expect and surprisingly loved. And he hated to see sorrow in her green eyes that usually sparked with boldness. That she was troubled, troubled him.

“I have only found you. I don’t intend to lose you. Autumn might sacrifice herself for another, but Dru would not surrender. She would fight to the end to save the woman and herself.” He lowered his face close to hers. “And she needs to remember that she is not alone in this. Her husband is beside her, more in front of her, shielding her—too often from her own follies—and he always will.”

He got the desired smile out of her that he hoped for.

She kissed him. “I have an idea.”

“Of course you do,” he said, glad to hear her sound like the indomitable Dru. “Tell me.”