Page 24 of Savage Kilted Highlander (Temptation in Tartan #9)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

B ane saw no reason to leave the intimacy of their room before lunchtime the following day, which dawned foggy and cold. He stoked up the fire and they luxuriated in bed, making love and eating breakfast naked, scattering crumbs from toasted bannocks heedlessly among the sheets between kisses. Neither mentioned what lay ahead of them that day, but it lay between them, a heavy weight that they shared.

“I wish we did not have to leave this place. I wish we could stay here forever,” Constance said at last, when they were putting on their cloaks, about to leave. She put her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. Feeling as though his heart would burst with love for her, Bane enfolded her protectively in is arms and rested his chin on to top of her head.

“I wish it too,” he murmured, “but we have tae go and find Tav. I need tae find out what’s really been goin’ on with him. And ye havetae meet with yer faither. And ye’ll see Agnes too at last. Are ye nae excited about that?” He shouldered their packs and opened the door. They stepped out into the real world.

“Yes, of course. I have waited a lifetime to see her, even though I did not know of her existence. But I am nervous too.” He could see she was making an effort to brighten as they went down the stairs. “But the most important thing is that you are reunited with your brother.”

“Aye, I’ve waited a long time tae find him. I need tae hear what he has tae say. I want him tae come home with me, back tae the forge. But seein’ him ridin’ with yer faither’s soldiers makes me wonder if that’s what he wants. I must keep me eyes open for him and try tae speak tae him alone.”

“Of course. It must be very confusing for you. I pray it all goes well, Bane, I really do.”

Their horses had been brought round to the front of the inn for them and they mounted up.

“The village seems awfully quiet this morning. I think everyone must be sleeping off all the ale they drank last night,” Constance remarked as they rode out of it and back to the forest track, heading for the castle again. They followed the trail but saw no sign of the men from the day before or of Tav. But when they came to the outskirts of the castle complex, Bane’s eyes swept over the scene before them and caught sight of a group of soldiers riding slowly along to road back towards the castle gates.

“Those are the same men from yesterday,” he told Constance, instantly alert. He searched among them for Tav’s familiar figure. “There he is.” The conflicting emotions he had felt the day before on seeing Tav rose up inside him again. He pushed them down. Constance had said he should not make any assumptions before he had spoken to Tav and heard his explanation for his long, unexplained absence, and he chose to heed her suggestion.

“How shall we get close enough to attract his attention?” she asked him now.

He slipped from his saddle. “Like this.” He put two fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill, distinctive whistle. As he knew it would, Tav’s head swung in his direction immediately. It was the whistle he had taught Bane at a young age, when his younger brother would act as look out for him when they were stealing food. It was risky, Bane knew it. But he was lucky because Tav raised his hand and saw his brother’s gaze fix on him. He broke away from the other riders, telling them something and walked his horse slowly over towards them. It felt like ages while he was approaching them, the other riders not even sparing him a glance.

“Bane?” he whispered questioningly when he got close enough for Bane to make out his features.

Bane stepped forward from the tree line, his heart racing to see his brother after so long. “Aye, braither, ’tis me.”

Tav’s face split into wide grin as he dismounted and strode over to meet him. “Why, man, what are ye daein’ here?” He held his arms open, and the two brothers embraced.

“I came tae find ye,” Bane told him when they broke apart, thinking his brother’s expression had something shifty about it.

“But how did ye find me?” Tav asked, glancing behind him at his fellow soldiers.

“I searched fer ye, that’s how. When ye disappeared so suddenly, I asked about, and witnesses told me they’ seen ye abducted by some of Laird Kerr’s men.” Tav rubbed his jaw, looking distinctly uncomfortable, which made Bane very suspicious. “I thought he must be keepin’ ye captive in the castle. I would have come before, but I had tae wait fer Fia tae be safe before I could leave the forge.”

“Fia? Is she all right?” Tav asked, concern in his eyes.

“Aye, she’s married now. She married laird Stewart a couple of months back. She’s the lady of the castle now.”

“Ye’re jokin’? She’s wed tae the laird himsel’? Well, well, who’d have thought it. But that girl always had a lot of spirit,” Tav said, clearly surprised but smiling at the thought of their sister. “Where have ye been stayin’?”

“Here and there,” Bane replied, his need to know what was going on increasing. “We need tae talk, Tav. Are ye well? Are ye safe? When can we meet, somewhere safe?”

His brother rubbed his chin again as he considered the question. It was then that Bane saw Tav’s expression change from one of thoughtfulness to one of utter shock, quickly followed by acute dismay.

“Jaysus, Bane!” he hissed, stepping back, away from his brother and staring over his shoulder into the tree line. “What have ye done?!”

Bane glanced behind him and realized that Tav had spotted Constance, who was peering out from behind the trunk of a large oak tree. Her hood had fallen back, exposing her bright auburn hair.

“What are ye daein’, abductin’ the laird’s daughter?!” Tav demanded, his tone turning as angry and worried.

Bane hastened to explain himself. “That’s nae Lady Agnes, that’s—” he began, but Tav cut him off.

“Are ye tellin’ me I cannae trust me own eyes? I ken well who she is. That’s Laird Kerr’s daughter!” Bane was taken aback at the naked alarm on his brother’s face as he looked alternately between him and Constance.

Before Bane had the chance to explain further, he saw with horror that the men Tav was riding with had grown impatient and were quickly approaching, to see what was delaying him.

“Christ all mighty!” Tav exclaimed fearfully, glancing over his shoulder. “There’ll be trouble now, Braither, and I dinnae think I can save ye from it.”

“Hey, you there! What are ye doin’ with Lady Agnes!” the lead man shouted, geering up his horse and racing towards them. Cries of alarm erupted from the riders as they drew closer and also caught sight of Constance. She ducked behind the tree, but it was too late. As Bane turned to run towards her, the lead man thundered up to Tav, slipping expertly from the saddle before the horse had even stopped. He flung himself after Bane, shouting, “You there, stop at once, ye bastard. Ye’re nae takin’ Lady Agnes, nae while there’s breath in me body!”

Seeing no alternative if he wanted to live, which he most certainly did, Bane ran. Behind him, he could hear Tav shouting, “Hey, leave him be, that’s me braither! Let him, go, I say!” But whatever Tav did to help him was useless, because a moment later, he was tackled to the ground and several men piled on top of him, knocking the breath from his body and completely immobilizing him. He fought as hard as he could, but it was impossible to get free. He gave up, knowing the situation was hopeless. It was turning into the nightmare he had been so careful to avoid.

“Get off him, he’s me braither, I tell ye!” Tav was yelled furiously. Bane, his face pressed into the ground, gasping for breath, imagined his brother trying to pull the men off of him. At the same time, he could hear Constance screaming at them to let him go, that he was innocent. Even in the midst of his suffering, he felt a flash of admiration for her valor and found comfort in her love. She had sworn to intercede with her father on his behalf, and he trusted that she would do her best to help him if she could.

But there was no denying he had kidnapped her. Her father was not going to be happy about that, and Bane knew his fate depended upon his decision, that he could very well end up swinging from the end of a rope by his neck.

He was roughly dragged to his feet, sustaining several stupefying, vicious blows to his face and kicks to his body from his captors, each one bringing with it an anguished scream from Constance. Even through his pain, he hated her seeing him helpless like this.

“I’m sorry, braither, there are too many of them, I could nae hold them off,” Tav cried apologetically as Bane was roughly manhandled past him by the soldiers. Bane shook his head, trying with his eyes to tell Tav he understood. Tav ran alongside his comrades as they dragged Bane along by the arms, shouting, “Leave off hittin’ him!” His pleas fell on deaf ears.

Raising his head slightly, he saw two of the men leading a struggling Constance after them. Clearly believing her wits were addled by her ordeal, one of them was assuring her she was safe. Looking both shocked and furious, she shook them off and ran towards him. “Bane, I will tell my father you are innocent!”

Anger filled him as the men grabbed her by the arms, and again he was impressed by how she fought against them, raging furiously, “I am not Agnes Kerr! I am not her. It is a simple misunderstanding. We only look alike. That man is not abducting me, he is innocent! You are making a mistake!” But none of the men seemed to notice her cut-glass English accent, ignoring her protests and attempts to explain in their haste to save their laird’s precious daughter from, as they imagined, being abducted. The last thing he heard was her shouting, before a mighty blow to his face knocked him clean into unknowing darkness.

Constance was horrified to see Bane beaten to the ground by several man and punched and kicked where he lay. “That man is not abducting me, he is innocent!” she cried, terrified for him. “You are making a mistake!”

“He is innocent!” she shouted, shaking off the men’s attempts to lead her way. But to her intense frustration, none of them would listen to her, however hard she tried to convince them she was not her sister. Then she saw the blow that knocked Bane unconscious, and she screamed at the lead man who had delivered it, “There was no need for that, you brute!”

The soldiers exchanged confused glances but nevertheless continued with their perceived mission to save here. “Tav, bring their horses,” the lead man shouted to Tav over his shoulder as they dragged an insensible Bane between them towards the castle. Tav hurried back and fetched them, leading them from among the trees and hurrying to catch up with the men who were pulling the unconscious Bane along between them.

Meanwhile, one of the men, who kept trying to take hold of a struggling, enraged Constance’s arms and lead her away from the tree line back towards the castle, was telling her solicitously, “Come, me lady, we must get ye back tae the castle, where ye’ll be safe. What a terrible ordeal fer ye tae havetae go through. ’Tis a good thing we got the man before he could kidnap ye.”

“We must report this tae the laird right away,” his comrade said as they hurried her over the stretch of grass between the forest and the gates. “Dinnae worry, me lady, ye’re safe with us. He cannae hurt ye now, and ye can be sure the laird will make certain he’ll get the punishment he deserves.”

Terrified for Bane but realizing there was no convincing them that she was not Agnes or that Bane was not a kidnapper, she fell silent. She allowed them to march her up to the castle and through the gates. Bane was dragged alongside the whole way, his head hanging down and his body limp. They would not let her go to him, but continued marching her along, clearly thinking they had saved her. Inwardly, she prayed they would not inflict further violence upon him until they came before her father, explained the misunderstanding, and secured his freedom.

She found herself inside Castle Ferniehurst at last, but in radically different circumstances to those she had previously imagined. The soldiers hustled her across a vast, cobbled courtyard toward an edifice she assumed was the keep. Armed sentries stood at the double doors, pikes barring the way. But they lowered their weapons, staring with astonishment when they saw their comrades approaching with Lady Agnes and an unconscious stranger between them. The sentries stood aside and opened the doors, so the party could enter. Constance stepped over the threshold of her father’s castle at last, with Bane being dragged inside after her.

It did not seem to occur to any of the men that if she were indeed Agnes, then she would not have needed them to guide her across the large vestibule and along a broad hallway lined with tapestries. In their zeal to please the laird, they were determined to deliver her safely to her father regardless of the fact that she could walk and talk perfectly well and make her own way to see him. They wanted to be there when Bane faced the laird and punishment was handed down for his crime.

They strange party halted halfway along the hallway, outside a set of large carved doors. “Take your hands off of me,” Constance instructed the men who persisted in trying to hold her arms, as though she needed their support. She shook them off and straightened up, pushing her hair back from her face, her heart racing. She was suddenly aware of how disheveled she must appear, just as she was about to be thrust before her father for the first time. It was not how she had pictured it. But such things were secondary. Bane was her first concern, the rest could wait.

The man who seemed to have taken charge of the situation rapped sharply on one of the doors.

“Come,” said a deep, commanding voice from the other side.

The man put his hand on the door handle, and she knocked it away. “I can open the door for myself, thank you,” she told him sharply, summoning her most precise English diction, which had no effect upon him at all. Were they all fools, she wondered, as she pressed her hand down on the handle and pushed the door open.

The men hustled her inside, with the pair hauling Bane between them pushing in behind. She flinched as they dropped him to the floor. She glared at them, swearing silently to herself that she would get him out of this, protect him as he had protected her. The soldiers jostled in front of her, obscuring her initial view of the room. As she waited for them to move aside, with her heart pounding, she glanced up at the coffered ceiling, saw the tops of the paneled walls crowded with paintings, ancient weapons, and other memorabilia. She breathed in the scent of woodsmoke, ink, and leather.

“What is this commotion?” came the same deep, rumbling voice as before. It was not a shout, yet it was penetrating and laced with an impatience that made Constance shake with nerves. The effect on the men was astounding. They all straightened up and stepped away from her side. It was only then that she was able to see in front of her and she laid eyes on her father for the very first time.