Page 5 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 5

“ W ait a bit to follow me into the village,” Dru instructed Knox when they reached the edge of the woods not far from the village.

Knox nodded and slipped his arm around her narrow waist to ease her off his mare. It reminded him of what a wee bit of a thing she was, and he grew concerned for her safety. She might be his wife in name only, but he still had an obligation to keep her safe.

“Be careful,” he ordered.

She tilted her head back looking up at him and was caught for a second by his fine features. Few men possessed such good looks that could capture a woman’s eyes and heart in one glance, but not her. She was wise to a man’s ways, and she wouldn’t succumb to them… not ever.

She smiled broadly. “I always am.”

Dru walked off worried over a sudden, unfamiliar flutter in her stomach. Could the nuns have served a touch of rotten food this morning? She hoped not and was glad when it calmed as she walked, then vanished completely as she neared the village.

Finally, a bit of luck. It was market day, and the place was busy. So, there would be no lack of people to talk to.

Dru slipped through the crowd with ease, weaving between the bustling stalls and the lively hum of trade. She had always enjoyed market days in this village. There was energy on those days, a blend of barter and gossip, that made people talk more freely than they should.

She let her fingers skim over a bolt of fabric, her eyes never lingering too long in one place. Familiar faces greeted her, some with cautious nods, others with easy camaraderie of past dealings. She was known here, as in other places, as someone who brought news with her. That was the key. No one could suspect she was here for any reason other than her usual trade, share news she had come upon and gather bits of information that might be beneficial to others.

A plump merchant with a graying beard called out to her. “Dru! Thought you’d gone and disappeared. And here you’ve gone and cleaned yourself up. What’s the occasion?”

Bloody hell. How could she have forgotten to return to her odorous self before showing up here? She thought fast.

“Disappeared? Now why would I do that, Hugh?” She leaned in with a grin, slipping an apple off his cart as she had done a hundred times before. “Mother Abbess at Cramond Abbey would have me no other way.”

Hugh nodded, easily accepting her reasonable excuse, then let out a mock groan but made no move to stop her. “You never do pay for those.”

“Consider it a tax for my charming company,” she teased and slipped the apple in the fold of her plaid. “Besides, if you charged fairer prices, you wouldn’t be missing one apple.”

“Bah! I charge fair enough, and you know it.”

She chuckled and let her gaze drift, catching snippets of conversation as she moved from one stall to the next. A woman fretted over the rising cost of wool, a group of men argued over a recent raid on a neighboring clan, and a traveling merchant boasted of the fine metalwork he carried from the Lowlands.

Dru listened without looking like she was listening—an art in itself.

She paused at the baker’s stand, pretending interest in a honeyed oatcake while her ears caught the low murmur of two men nearby.

“Lord Torrance has been restless of late. He wants his half-sister found.”

The other man scoffed. “Aye, and for what? Chasing ghosts, he is. That half-sister of his—she’s been lost for years.”

“Maybe, but he’s desperate. More coins floating about than usual. Makes a man wonder what he’s truly after. Maybe he’s going to make a move on those two northern clans, enemies of his father for years.”

Dru made a mental note of their faces and information before turning away and moving on.

She didn’t look around for Knox. That would ruin everything. He’d arrive later, unnoticed, just another face in the crowd, though on second thought, his generous size and fine looks would make that unlikely. Until then, she had more listening to do.

“My stars, Dru, you’re all cleaned up. I almost didn’t know it was you.”

Dru turned with a broad smile at the short, pudgy woman with unkempt flaming red hair.

“Aye, it’s me, Hennie,” Dru said and joined her at one of the many tables and benches set up outside for market day.

“Why did you clean yourself up?” Hennie asked, raising the jug in front of her on the table and shaking it at a sour-faced woman. “If Birdie ever smiled, she’d crack her face, but I guess if I was wed to that miserable beast of a husband, I’d be sour-faced too.” She cackled. “Though more than likely he’d be long dead.”

Dru used the same excuse she gave Hugh, though she needed only to say, “Cramond Abbey.”

Hennie understood.

“Get off your feet for a bit,” Hennie said when Birdie brought a large jug and used it to refill the one on the table.

“Seth will beat me senseless if he catches me sitting,” Birdie said.

Dru felt bad Birdie was stuck with Seth, a brute of a husband and one who cheated on her with any woman willing to have him. She knew because she had spotted him coupling twice with different women, once in the woods and another time right behind his cottage.

“Seth’s not around and no one needs serving right now. So, sit and have a drink with us. I’m sure you’re eager to hear whatever news Dru has for us.”

Birdie glanced around and, not spotting her husband, sat.

“So, tell us the news, Dru,” Hennie urged.

Dru leaned closer across the table and kept her voice low as if revealing a secret. “Lord Torrance has hired a mercenary to find his half-sister Autumn and not just any mercenary. He’s hired a fierce one, he has. Knox, he’s called.”

Birdie gasped. “I heard men talk about him. He’s a big man and with such strength that he can kill a man with one hand.”

“He’ll never find her,” Hennie said.

Dru hurried to ask, “Why not?”

“Heard she was dead,” Hennie said.

Birdie shook her head. “I heard her mum sent her to the Lowlands before she died.”

“That’s a fate worth than death,” Hennie said, and Birdie agreed, nodding.

“But no one knows for sure, right?” Dru asked.

“I don’t know about that,” Hennie said. “I heard that a healer had befriended Autumn’s mum.” She shrugged. “Though it could be nothing more than a woman making it appear that she knows more than she does.”

“Well, be careful what your tongues wag about since Knox is not likely to fail Lord Torrance, which means he’ll do anything to get information,” Dru warned a bit dramatically.

Birdie gasped, her eyes spreading wide.

Dru turned to see what put fear in Birdie’s eyes, though she didn’t need to. It had to be Knox, and it was. He towered over everyone there and the breadth of his shoulders and chest warned people away. His stride held confidence and strength and sellers whose stalls he stopped at avoided looking at him, while others took a wide berth around him.

“He is one handsome man,” Hennie said, smiling.

“Don’t be foolish, Hennie,” Birdie cautioned.

“I’d give him a free one if he was inclined.” Her smile grew. “I bet a man his size could really please a woman.”

Dru had to ask, “What if he’s too big for you, Hennie?”

Hennie laughed.

“There’s no man too big for me,” Hennie boasted. “Besides a man well-experienced in coupling, a good lover, knows how to ease a woman to fit him. I’ve known a few and they spoil you for others.”

“I wish I had one,” Birdie said, regret in her voice.

“What do you wish you had and what are you doing sitting on your fat arse when there are people to serve?” Seth snarled as he approached the table.

“Leave her be, Seth. She needed a break,” Hennie said, defending Birdie.

“Mind your business, Hennie, or you’ll feel my hand and not in a pleasing way,” Seth said.

Hennie scrunched her face in disgust. “Like I’d ever want to.”

Seth smacked Hennie in the back of the head. Watch your tongue with me, woman. And you—” He turned to his wife and twisted her arm until she cried out. “I’ll break it if you don’t get back to work.”

Dru couldn’t hold her tongue. “That wouldn’t be wise, then she wouldn’t be able to work.”

“She’s got another hand, and it doesn’t concern you,” Seth threatened.

Dru was about to say more but Hennie shook her head, so Dru held her tongue, though barely.

“And what are you wishing for, Birdie?” Seth demanded. “You have no reason to complain or wish for anything. I am a generous husband. You should be grateful.”

Birdie paled and worry sparked in Hennie’s eyes.

It didn’t take much to realize that Birdie would suffer if her husband found out what they had been discussing.

“Tell me,” Seth demanded, clinching his hand as if getting ready to use it.

Dru couldn’t let that happen. “You heard her wrong, you fool. She was talking to me, saying, “‘You wish you had one.’”

Seth looked puzzled and scratched his head. “Had what?”

“A good husband like you.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I almost gagged. She must be daft thinking you’re a good husband. You stink and you’re fat.”

Hennie squeezed her lips together, fighting back laughter and Birdie shot her a grateful look.

“You don’t disrespect a man that way,” Seth warned, his voice low with menace.

Dru let out a deliberate chuckle. “If there was a man present, I’d agree with you.”

Seth lunged across the table, but she was quicker, slipping out of his reach with ease.

Dru couldn’t just let it go and scurry away. Instead, she grinned. “You missed, which proves me right. You’re nothing more than a load of lard.”

Seth’s cheeks didn’t only burn red, his whole face did, and his eyes ignited in rage. “You need what most women need… a good beating.”

She wiggled her fingers at him. “Come on, load of lard, try and catch me.”

She turned and bolted, laughter on her lips. Until something hard struck her, knocking her off her feet. The ground came up hard and fast, stealing breath from her lungs.

Before she could scramble up, a beefy hand clamped around her arm and wrenched her upright. Seth’s other hand was already swinging for her face.

Dru ducked.

His fist caught his jaw, and he stumbled,

His grip loosened, and she wasted no time. She tore free and ran.

Dru darted through the village, weaving between carts and startled villagers, the sound of Seth’s thudding footsteps pounding behind her.

“Get back here, you little rat!” he bellowed.

“Why?” she called over her shoulder, grinning. “You’ll only miss again.”

A curse flew from his lips, but he was too busy dodging a flock of squawking hens to respond. Dru laughed and kept running.

She leapt over a pile of firewood, skidded past a trio of old women balancing baskets on their hips, and ducked under a clothesline, sending a row of damp tunics flapping in her wake.

Seth barreled right through them. One got tangled around his face.

His rapid-fire oaths had her glancing back and seeing him battling tunics no way near triumphantly, she nearly tripped laughing.

“You’re dead when I catch you!” he roared, finally ripping the cloth free.

“Oh, please, you can barely catch your breath,” she shot back, narrowly missing a cart piled high with turnips. She reached for the edge, yanking a handful free and tossing them over her shoulder.

One hit him square in the chest.

Seth let out a strangled growl. “You’re done for, Dru!”

She picked up her pace, but her laughter nearly cost her. She turned at the end of a merchant’s table too fast, slipped, and slammed into something solid.

No—not something—someone.

A steel grip caught her before she hit the ground, and when she looked up, her heart jolted.

Knox.

His dark eyes flicked to her, then past her. “Trouble?”

“Not at all,” she said, breathless.

He kept his voice low so only she would hear him. “I forgot. You can take care of yourself.”

“Exactly,” she said, though she couldn’t deny, to herself at least, that she was glad to see him.

Seth was upon them soon enough, panting and red-faced, his fury reignited at the sight of Knox gripping her arm. “Step aside. She’s mine to deal with.”

Knox didn’t move. Didn’t so much as blink. “She’s mine.”

The quiet, deadly way he said it sent a shiver through Dru.

Seth hesitated, but pride pushed him forward. “She insulted me!”

Knox cocked his head. “And?”

“And she—” Seth’s mouth opened, closed. He waved his arms like a man drowning. “She threw turnips at me!”

Knox exhaled sharply through his nose. If Dru didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying not to laugh.

He released her arm and stepped forward, slow and deliberate. Seth stepped backward as he did until they were in full view of everyone. Voices softened, glances shifted, and Dru wisely edged aside.

“Walk away, or else,” Knox said, his voice low and even.

Seth puffed out his chest. “Or else what?”

Knox moved so fast it was a blur. One second Seth was standing tall, the next he was flat on his back in a pile of turnips.

The village went silent.

Knox dusted his hands. “Or that.”

Dru folded her arms and looked down at Seth, sprawled and groaning. “The difference between a man and a load of lard.”

Knox shot her a sharp look. “And you.” He reached out, catching her chin between his fingers and tilting her face to examine her. “Are you hurt?”

She grinned. “Nay. I’m good.”

“Get on then,” Knox said.

He hesitated, reluctant to let her go. He wasn’t sure if she had gotten the information that he needed, though he doubted anyone would bother her now—not after he had come to her defense. Still, leaving her on her own unsettled him. Dru had a way of attracting trouble like bees to honey.

“Urchin!” Knox called out.

She turned, hands on her hips. “The name is Dru—” Her grin widened. “Giant.”

“Knox,” he corrected her, loud enough for the whole village to hear. A ripple of gasps followed. His name carried weight, and now that everyone knew who he was, a few, if any, would risk crossing him. Just what he wanted.

He approached her, suppressing a smirk. She was making him come to her.

Her grin faded the moment his arm slipped around her waist. With little effort, he lifted her so that her face was level with his.

She barely had time to react before he spoke, his voice low enough for her ears only. “The woods… soon.”

Her grin returned. “Anyone tell you that you were a man of few words.”

“Stay out of trouble,” he ordered loud enough for all to hear.

Or else what? The words nearly slipped from her lips, but the warning in his dark eyes had her thinking better of it.

Instead, she simply nodded. “Aye.”

“Soon,” he whispered as he set her down.

She didn’t waste time. There was still one person she needed to see.

Dru hurried through the market, past the last few scattered stalls, and toward the outskirts of the village, where a familiar cottage stood.

“Who goes there?” an elderly man called out from where he sat on a bench in front of his small cottage that looked in need of desperate repairs.

“It’s Dru, Albert,” she said.

Albert, his face creased with age, nodded, his concern evident. “Are you alright, Dru? I didn’t detect your usual offensive scent.”

She laid the blame once again on… “Cramond Abbey.”

Albert nodded, accepting the excuse as easily as everyone else had.

Dru dropped down on the bench beside him, reaching for the apple she had tucked in her plaid. She took his hand and placed the fruit in his palm.

He chuckled. “Funny how age has taken my sight, weakened my body, yet left me with good teeth and sharp hearing. Thank you, Dru. I look forward to these apples you bring me.”

“And I count on that sharp hearing of yours and look forward to our visits.”

Albert took a bite, savoring it, then let out another chuckle. “People are fools. They talk in front of blind men as if we were deaf too. Idiots the lot of them. Is there anything in particular you’re looking to hear about?”

“Autumn, Lord Torrance’s half-sister,” she whispered.

Albert went still. “That’s a dangerous one, Dru. Stay away from it.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t. It means my freedom.”

He sighed heavily. “That saddens and frightens me to hear. Be careful, lass. The consequences could be deadly.”

“I know. That’s why I need your help. Have you heard anything?”

“I heard something. Lord Torrance hired a mercenary, a strong one, to find Autumn and return her to him—” Albert paused, tilting his head to listen. “Is anyone else nearby?”

Dru glanced around. “Just some bairns playing off in the distance.”

Albert listened a moment longer, then leaned in. “There’s a rumor that someone else is searching for Autumn. No word on who it might be or for what reason.”

Dru frowned. “Why now? Autumn is of no importance, except to Lord Torrance. Why the sudden interest?”

Albert sighed. “I wondered the same myself. It’s troubling, so again, be careful.”

She squeezed his arm gently. “I’m always careful.”

Albert gave her a knowing smile. “Are you now? Then what’s this I hear about you taking a beating to save a monk?”

Dru smirked. “That’s a whole other tale, and I’ll tell you one day. But for now, I need to go.”

“You’ll come back?” he asked anxiously.

“Always.”

His weathered hand tightened over hers. “I’ll hold you to that promise you once made me, Dru.”

She smiled softly. “No need. I keep my word. If I’m lucky enough to find a safe place to settle, I’ll make sure there’s room for you.”

Tears gathered in his blind eyes. “You’re like the granddaughter I never had.”

Dru kissed his cheek and whispered, “I’ll be back, Granddad. Count on it.”

She hurried off, leaving Albert smiling.

Instead of going back through the village, she slipped behind Albert’s cottage, cutting into the forest where Knox would be waiting.

Before she barely took two steps into the woods, a strong arm clamped around her waist, pulling her flush against a solid chest. At the same time a large hand covered her mouth before she could let out a yelp.