Page 19

Eve had to do something.

Unfortunately, she had limited resources. Out of desperation, she attacked the outlaw clutching the dagger. She kicked him repeatedly in the arse, so hard she bruised her toes.

But it worked. Distracted by her pesky jabs, he rolled over to snap at her. In that instant, Adam was able to seize his wrist and wrench the dagger free.

She wondered if Adam meant to stab this outlaw in the throat as well. The idea sickened her.

But for now, he seemed content to take ownership of the dagger. The man was no threat.

For a moment, victory filled her veins. They’d done it. They’d defeated the six outlaws. She didn’t even feel the least bit of remorse. After all, it had hardly been a fair fight.

Then the man bellowed, “Tom! John! Help!”

The riders. She’d forgotten about the riders.

Adam wrenched the man around, choking off his cries, and set the dagger at his throat. But it was too late. The horses were already thundering back.

Now they’d lost the element of surprise. And the only leverage they had was one man. She only hoped he wasn’t the least favorite member of their band.

“What the Devil?” the first rider said, perusing the carnage around them.

“Dick!” the second man cried. “What did ye do to Dick?”

He dismounted and would have run to the dead man, but the first rider thrust out a boot to stop him. “Nay! He’s got Roger.”

Apparently Roger was important enough to warrant a hostage negotiation.

“That’s right,” Adam said. “I’ve got Roger. So don’t make any fast moves unless ye want to see him join Dick in hell.”

The first rider worked his mouth, taking time to consider his options.

The second rider looked aghast at the first. “Ye’re not goin’ to let him have Roger.”

“How much have they got?” the first rider asked Roger, nodding to the satchels.

Eve blinked. Were they actually weighing the worth of the man’s life?

Roger squealed in his throat, as appalled as she was.

“I’ll make a bargain with ye,” Adam said.

The first rider’s eyes glittered. “What kind o’ bargain?”

“Give us your horses, and I won’t kill the three o’ ye.”

The rider smirked. “Kill us? By yourself?”

“Ye can see what I did with your other five,” he said. “Oh, and by the way, this wasn’t all my doin’. The lady here’s the one who sent Dick to the Devil.”

Eve froze in disbelief at the lie, as astonished as the second rider, whose eyes rounded in horror.

Adam’s hostage knew it wasn’t true. But he certainly wasn’t going to argue with Adam’s version of the story, not with a blade at his throat.

Which meant she had to play along with whatever tale Adam invented.

So as gruesome as it was, she swallowed hard, marched over to the deceased outlaw, and pulled the dagger from his throat with a bravado she didn’t feel.

The sound of the blade leaving his flesh would haunt her forever, and the trickle of blood made her stomach roil.

But in the moment, she had to steel herself and feign to be Lady Aillenn, ruthless murderer.

“So what’ll it be?” Adam asked.

The first rider scowled at her, as if measuring her ability to kill him. “One horse.”

“Both,” he countered. “I don’t want ye followin’ us.”

She could see hesitation in the rider’s eyes. He wouldn’t agree to that. If they took his horses, his outlaw operation would be crippled. He’d have no scouting ability. No fast escape in the event things went badly.

“Leave us both horses,” she offered, much to everyone’s surprise, “and I’ll give ye coin enough to buy two more.”

“What!” Adam clearly disapproved.

“’Tis the least we can do,” she explained, adding pointedly, “after I killed poor Dick.”

“Fine. Done,” the first rider said, dismounting before Adam could alter the terms.

While the men worked out the exchange, Eve dug in her satchel and plucked out five silvery coins.

When she tossed the coins onto the path, the outlaws’ eyes widened. Adam made a strangling sound in his throat, but said nothing, releasing Roger.

Adam helped her to mount the horse. Then he hauled himself up, and they headed down the road at a gallop.

When they’d gained enough distance to slow their mounts, Eve could feel waves of anger boiling off of Adam. But he said not a word. For a long while they didn’t speak at all.

Finally she could stand it no longer. When the road widened, she reined in beside him.

“They’re not all evil, ye know. Outlaws.”

He uttered a disgruntled growl.

“Some o’ them are just misguided,” she explained. “Maybe they had bad parents. Or no parents. Maybe they were raised by thieves and know no other way. Maybe they’ve ne’er heard the word o’ God and don’t know stealin’s a sin. Maybe they were robbin’ from the rich to give to—”

“Those outlaws?” he said. “The ones who weren’t willin’ to trade two horses for their fellow outlaw?”

“But they did in the end.”

“Only after ye threw in enough silver to buy two new horses. And three new Rogers.”

She furrowed her brow. She doubted they’d be able to buy anything. Not with those coins. Still, that wasn’t the point.

“I gave them the coins in order to spare a man’s life,” she said. “’Twas the only thing I could think to do after…” She didn’t bother finishing. There was no need to remind him of what he’d done.

Adam knew what came after that “after.”

After…you brutally murdered Dick.

He wasn’t proud of that. It had been an unavoidable sacrifice. But the fact that Aillenn had rewarded their robbers felt like a double condemnation of his actions. That was the last thing he needed. He’d already condemned himself enough.

Killing had always been difficult for Adam.

Maybe that was why he’d never been a celebrated warrior like his cousins.

He was more likely to defend rather than attack.

To pull back at the last instant. To withhold the full measure of his strength in battle unless it was absolutely crucial to disable his opponent.

This time he’d had no choice. The man had threatened Aillenn’s life.

Still he was haunted by the sounds of the outlaw’s dying. By the dimming of the light in his eyes. By the horrible truth that he’d held the man’s life in his hands and willfully extinguished it.

As they rode along in silence, he tortured himself, wondering if there might have been a way to avoid slaying the robber.

As if she could read his thoughts, Aillenn said, “’Twas unavoidable, ye know.”

“What?”

“That outlaw. Dick. ’Twasn’t your fault. Ye didn’t have a choice.”

Was that true? He wasn’t certain.

“If ye hadn’t done…what ye did…” She shook her head, unable to finish.

“We had to resist them. I know that. If we hadn’t, they’d ne’er have been content with five pieces o’ silver.

They’d have stolen our weapons, our clothin’, our food, the rest o’ my coin.

And they might have…” She lowered her head and blushed. “Taken other liberties.”

He closed his eyes to slits and bit out, “I’d have killed them all ere I’d let them lay so much as a finger on ye.”

Her eyes filled with gratitude at his vehement chivalry. “I had a sense ye might. So ye see? ’Twas all for the best. Instead o’ them sacrificin’ all their men or us sacrificin’ all our silver, they lost just one man, and we lost just five coins.”

He smirked. How did she always manage to shine a ray of sunlight into the darkest gloom? Five pounds was a fortune to some people. “Just how much silver do ye have in that satchel?”

She shrugged. “Enough. Why?” She narrowed her eyes. “How much do ye have in yours?”

“Me?” he said with a chuckle.

The truth was, despite his wealth as a member of the Rivenloch clan and the rumors about his bottomless satchel, he traveled light.

He could easily earn coin by doing common labor or, when the situation demanded it, impressing his way into free food and lodging.

After all, who wouldn’t offer Hildegard of Bingen a hot meal and a place to rest her revered head?

“Ye said it yourself,” he added. “I’m just a master o’ disguise, not a titled lady who can afford to lose five pounds in silver.”

“Oh.” She stopped her horse to address him. “Could ye not tell? The coins weren’t real silver.”

“What?” He reined to a shocked halt beside her. “What were they?”

“Lead.”

“Lead?”

She nodded. “I always carry lead coins with the silver. ’Tis the easiest way to appease outlaws. They don’t usually look too closely when they’re robbin’ ye.”

“So ye gave them worthless coins?” he marveled, simultaneously horrified and impressed.

“Aye.”

“But what about them bein’ ‘misguided men with bad parents’?” he said, quoting her.

“That they might be, but eight o’ them against two of us?” She shook her head. “The churls didn’t deserve a penny.”

He laughed. The woman was fascinating. He’d never met a lass so flexible in her morality. Was she saint or sinner? It was hard to tell.

He nudged his horse forward again. “Be careful where ye spend those coins. There are some who’d hang ye for counterfeitin’.”

“I’d ne’er use them on honest men,” Aillenn said. “But if ’tis our lodgin’ ye’re worried about, I have enough real silver to stay for some days.”

Adam lifted his brows at that. Did she think she’d have to offer silver to stay with Pitcairn? One glance at Lady Aillenn, and the laird would be fumbling over his feet to accommodate the beautiful lass.

The road narrowed again, forcing him to ride silently behind her. But that was fine. It seemed the more they spoke, the more information she managed to squeeze out of him. And the more she knew, the less secure he was.

Traveling by horse was much swifter than on foot, even when they stopped to rest the animals.

To Aillenn’s apparent surprise, Adam pulled a brush out of his satchel to groom the beasts.

She seemed impressed, not only by his convenient assortment of tools, but by his attention to detail when it came to guises.