Page 24 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 24

S oft kisses and tender touches woke her the next morning, and while last night was rushed, this morning they shared a gentle, lingering lovemaking. It was a memory Dru would always cherish.

However, they were reminded soon enough of their present dilemma and hurried to ready themselves to face the day when a knock sounded at the door. The monk from the night before delivered food and drink and informed them that Brother Edmund would be with them shortly.

Dru had no appetite. She nibbled on a piece of bread at her husband’s insistence as restless thoughts kept her pacing around the fire pit.

It wasn’t long before Brother Edmund arrived.

“I will take you to him now,” he said, then stepped outside and waited for them to follow.

Knox swung his cloak over his shoulders then grabbed Dru’s cloak off the bed and draped it around her shoulders, giving them a squeeze as he eased her out the door. He felt her tension, her worry, and he shared them.

Brother Edmund led them through the maze of makeshift shelters and soot-darkened camps, a makeshift world cobbled together in the shadow of the partially built abbey. Around it now stretched a sprawl of tents and lean-tos, and smoke curling into the gray sky. Men in plain, brown robes moved quietly, some tending fires, others hunched in silent prayer. The MacTavish brothers snored loudly around one fire all except Atley. He slept with his arms around Reena.

They stopped before a sagging tent stitched from scraps of wool and canvas. Brother Edmund hesitated, then drew back the flap.

“He’s in there,” he said. “But I warn you—he’s not well.”

Knox stepped inside without a word. Dru followed, her heart tight in her chest.

The stink of old blood, urine, and damp earth hung heavily in the air. On a mat of straw lay a figure barely recognizable—Cleric Freen, the man who forced a marriage between them. Now he looked like a ruin of himself. His robe was filthy, his face a map of bruises, one eye swollen shut, the other dull with pain. A strip of cloth bound one arm to his chest, crusted with dried blood.

When he turned toward them, his good eye flickered wide in surprise, narrowed with something that looked far too close to fear.

“You…” he rasped. “What are you doing here?”

“We came for answers,” Knox said, his voice low and controlled. “You’re going to give them to us.”

Freen made a pained sound and turned his face away. “I’ve nothing to say to either of you.”

Knox took a step forward. “Try again.”

Brother Edmund touched his arm. “He’s injured. Whatever you’re hoping for?—”

“I said we came for answers,” Knox repeated, more sharply this time, ignoring Brother Edmund. “About Autumn. You made it known that you have information about her.”

A monk entered. “You are needed, Brother Edmund.”

Brother Edmund looked at Knox. “This may be a tent, my son, but it is still the Lord’s house, please behave decently.”

As soon as the tent flap closed behind him, Dru stepped forward, her voice calm but edged in steel. “Why you, Freen? What do you suddenly know about Autumn?”

“Leave and bother me no more,” he muttered.

His evasiveness hit like a slap. Dru exchanged a look with Knox. The cleric hadn’t asked about them. Hadn’t asked how they were. He wanted nothing more than to avoid them.

“What game are you playing?” Dru asked quietly. “You’re hiding something.”

Freen gave a bitter laugh, then winced, the movement pulling at bruised ribs. “I’ve nothing left to play. I nearly lost my life the day the mercenaries stopped me along my travels and beat me half to death.”

Knox didn’t move. “And yet you’re still breathing.”

That stopped Freen cold.

His lips parted, but no sound came. The silence swelled, thick and ugly.

Dru stepped closer. “They didn’t kill you. They wanted to know about Autumn—and they didn’t kill you. Why?”

Freen’s eye darted to the side. “I— They had no reason to?—”

“Nay,” Knox said, stepping in now, looming over the man. “They spared you. Why? What did you tell them?”

“I did what I had to!” Freen shouted suddenly, flinching as though from an unseen blow. “I had no choice.”

“What did you do?” Knox demanded.

Freen slumped, deflating before their eyes. His voice, when it came, was ragged. “I gave them a name.” He stared at Dru with something close to desperation. “I thought… I thought it would be enough to save myself. You are a waif. No past. No kin. You have nothing.”

Knox stepped forward. “She has me. A husband and you knew that since you wed us.”

“You told them I was Autumn,” Dru said, unable to move, her words barely audible. He had revealed her secret without even realizing it.

“I did what was best,” Freen said, no remorse in his voice.

“You condemned another to save yourself is what’s best?” Knox’s fists clenched, and for a moment, it looked as though he would strike the man.

Dru grabbed his arm. “Don’t. He’s not worth it.”

Knox stared at him, teeth gritted, chest rising and falling with slow, dangerous breaths. That he, a man of the cloth, cared nothing for the danger he caused Dru infuriated him. He wanted to rip him apart with his bare hands.

“You will rescind that claim,” Knox ordered.

“Nay,” he said anxiously. “They will find me and kill me for lying.”

“Better you than my wife,” Knox snapped, doing his best not to strangle the cleric.

Brother Edmund returned, his glance going straight to Knox. “There is a message for you from Lord Torrance.”

Dru felt her life unraveling at a rapid pace and sensed that fate had a hand in it. She turned as soon as she felt her husband’s hand close around hers and hugged it tight. It was a reminder that she wasn’t alone, and it was also a reminder of the danger he was in, for being her husband.

“Your day of reckoning will come, Freen, since you refuse to repent. It’s the fires of hell that awaits you. A fitting punishment.”

Knox stepped out of the tent with Dru and got a second shock this morning. He expected to see a single warrior waiting for him with a message. Instead, all but one of a dozen of Lord Torrance’s warriors sat atop their horses.

The one warrior standing stepped forward. “Lord Torrance summons you. We will escort you to him.”

“I have not finished my mission,” Knox said, concerned over the sudden summons.

“I have my orders. You are to come with us,” the warrior ordered and mounted his horse.

His actions left no room for debate. Knox was to obey without question.

“A few moments to say our goodbyes,” Knox said and turned away from the warrior not waiting for a reply. He slipped a few coins into his wife’s hand and whispered in her ear. She hurried off and he went to get his mare.

Dru hurried to the MacTavish brothers and nudged them awake with her foot. “I need a favor.”

The jingle of coins had them all sitting up fast.

“The cleric that wed Knox and me was coerced into claiming an innocent woman was Autumn,” she explained.

“God help her,” Reena said, clinging tightly to Atley.

“You need us to dispute the news?” Quim asked.

“As fast as you can,” Dru said, though wasn’t sure if it would help. Wasn’t sure if she should finally own the truth.

“Who is the woman?” Olin said with a stretch.

Dru handed coins to each of them. “Me.”

That had the four brothers rushing to their feet, Reena as well.

“I’ll beat him senseless,” Quim said, and his brothers were quick to agree.

“Someone beat you to it and the reason he named me, a useless urchin that no one cared about or would miss,” Dru said, thinking how the life she created to survive would in the end be her downfall.

Fyre reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. “The cleric is a fool and ignorant as well. You have friends who would miss you greatly.”

The other brothers agreed with nods and strong ayes.

“You helped me, a stranger to you, and I will do whatever I can to help you,” Reena said, tears filling her eyes. “I know the horrors of being condemned with the name Autumn and I would not wish them on any woman.”

Condemned.

Had she been condemned since birth, Dru wondered. And why? Was it because of her father or because of her mother?

“Have no worries, Dru, we’ll see to it,” Quim assured her.

Reena didn’t look convinced. “You need to be careful. Some will pay no heed to the truth, their only thought—to fill their pocket with coin.”

“Knox will keep me safe. Besides, Lord Torrance has summoned Knox. Several of his warriors are here to escort us to him.”

Silence struck the brothers and Reena paled.

Quim finally spoke. “Not good, Dru. What if the news of you being Autumn reaches Lord Torrance before you and Knox do? What then is your fate?”

“Or Knox’s fate?” Fyre said. “He’s as vulnerable to Lord Torrance as you are.”

A grin spread over Dru’s face—unbidden—surprising her. Her resolve, her tenacity that helped her survive sprung alive like never before. It was more than only survival she was fighting for this time—it was for a decent life with a man she loved and who loved her. And she couldn’t let anything stop her, especially fear.

“Have some faith in me, fellows. I may be a wee lass, but I’m a powerful one.”

The brothers laughed.

“That you are, Dru,” Quim said.

“Dru!”

She turned to see her husband, raising his hand to summon her. She nodded and turned to the MacTavish brothers. “Thanks for the help, fellows.”

“Stay safe, Dru,” Fyre said, and the other brothers joined in saying the same as did Reena.

Dru hurried to her husband, grateful for the many friends she never realized she had.

“The leader has given you no indication of why Lord Torrance summoned you?” Dru asked as they rode surrounded by Torrance’s warriors.

“I don’t believe he knows. His task was to take me to Torrance. Me. When I mentioned my wife was coming with me, the warriors appeared surprised. So, I don’t believe Torrance knows I am wed.”

“Do you think there is a chance that someone delivered a woman to him who he believes is Autumn?” she asked, trying to prepare for whatever situation they might face.

“I suppose there could be that, or it could be that Lord Torrance has changed his mind and has lost all interest in finding his half-sister.”

“How great would that be?” Dru shook her head. “But with my lack of luck that isn’t even a possibility.”

Knox poked her playfully in the stomach. “You got lucky when you met me, and I agreed to wed you.”

She smiled, then chuckled. “You got that backwards. It’s you that got lucky meeting me and me agreeing to wed you.”

His teasing worked—he got a smile out of her. And she was right.

“The luckiest day of my life was when I went for that swim and I latched onto a wee, tenacious lass and never let go.”

Dru sighed heavily and batted her lashes at him playfully. “You forgot perfect and beautiful.”

His tone turned serious. “Aye, the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Her heart skipped a beat, his response was so heartfelt.

He snickered teasingly. “As for perfect? She needs a bit of work on that one.”

Dru jabbed him in the ribs. “What have I warned you about praising in one breath and stealing it in another?”

He smiled and poked her back. “You’ve also warned me about being truthful.”

She puckered her lips as if stopping herself from responding.

He kissed her puckered lips quickly. “Perfection is boring. I love you just the way you are—tenacious and irritating.” He laughed as she jabbed at him again and grabbed her hand, letting his laughter fade. “You are everything to me, Dru, and I love everything about you. Whether it was luck or fate that brought us together that day, I am forever grateful to whoever did. You are the best thing that ever happened in my life.”

Her heart fluttered at his loving words, and she whispered, “And you, dear husband, are a gift I will cherish forever.”

She thought he would kiss her since their lips were so close. But his head shot up and turned sharply away from her, then it tilted, and his eyes narrowed.

He heard something.

She sat up straight as he slowed his mare, leaving the warriors to pass him, some who looked to be dozing.

Knox pressed his finger to her lips, a silent warning to remain quiet.

Her stomach knotted.

His hand reached over his shoulder for his sword.

“ATTACK!” Knox shouted, and Torrance’s warriors barely got to their weapons before men poured out of the woods with vicious roars and brandishing weapons.