Highland Savage (8 page)

Dimming his light, Lucas slowly opened the door. Seeing that it led to another passage, he quietly slipped inside and eased the door shut behind him, placing one of the small bits of wood he had carried with him in the frame of the door so that it could not shut completely. The last thing he wanted was to discover that these doors could only be opened from one side just as he was trying to make a swift escape. Silently he moved along the passage and within a few feet he began to hear the murmur of voices. Lucas followed the sound even as he tried to guess what part of the keep he was in.

“Why havenae ye found them yet, Ranald?”

The sound of Agnes’s voice startled Lucas into stopping. He was surprised at how clearly he could hear and quickly shuttered his lantern. He did not want some flash of light to give him away. There had to be some sort of listening hole nearby or the thick walls would have muffled Agnes’s voice. She was sounding almost shrewish, he mused as he lightly ran his fingers over the wall to try to see if there was a hole and if it was low enough for him to see as well as hear.

When he found the hole, he quickly put his eye to it. He could not see all that much of the room but suspected it was Agnes’s solar. He recognized the tapestry over the fireplace and the grim-faced woman named Freda sitting in a chair to the right of the fireplace. All he could see of Agnes was the edge of her skirts. They were blue, a color she often wore because he suspected she felt it complemented her eyes. Around the edges of the hole he peered through was cloth and he felt sure he was looking through a tapestry. Not sure how safe it was to keep his eye pressed to the hole he backed away and leaned against the wall, hoping he would hear something worthwhile.

“It has only been a week, Agnes,” snapped Ranald. “Ye ken as weel as I do that these bastards are verra good at disappearing. We have been chasing them for a year.”

“Someone must ken where they are. Ye need to beat the truth out of some of those insolent villagers.”

“I tried that and all that accomplished was to make more people angry. Ye get them too angry and ye will have more than a small group of reivers to deal with. Ye may even give the men on that council some backbone and ye cannae afford that.”

The swish of skirts told Lucas that Agnes was moving and he chanced another
peek through the listening hole to see that she had seated herself near Freda. Agnes did not look very sweet and witless at the moment. Her expression was one of cold, hard anger. As he returned to leaning against the wall he realized that everyone was right about the woman, and his confidence in his own judgment sank even lower.

“Mayhap it is time to do something about those foolish old men,” Agnes said.

“That wouldnae be wise,” said Freda, her voice strong and weighted with an authority that surprised Lucas. “They arenae poor villagers or crofters. They have important friends, ones who would ask questions, mayhap e’en seek retribution.”

Agnes cursed. “I grow verra weary of having to bow to their rule.”

“It willnae be for verra much longer. Word has come that Robbie may have been found.”

“
May
have been? That does me no good. I need him found and then buried.”

“Patience, child. Patience is often the best weapon against one’s enemies.”

“If Robbie has been found, he will be taken care of,” said Ranald. “He isnae such a great threat. Sir Murray and your sister are of greater importance. They could put a noose around our necks.”

“Sir Lucas didnae e’en send his family after us, so why should he act against us now?” asked Agnes.

“He didnae come back here to see Katerina.”

“Are ye sure of that?”

“The mon thinks she tried to have him killed. E’en if he no longer believes that, he must still believe that she was the one who ordered him beaten and no mon will forgive a woman for making him a cripple.”

“A cripple? Ye ne’er said he had been crippled.”

“Didnae see that it mattered as ye want him dead. He has stiffness in his left leg. Ere we tossed him o’er that cliff, we broke his leg, fair crushed it, so that he couldnae do much to help himself e’en if he survived the fall.”

“Weel, he managed to do both, didnae he.”

“Is there any way he could have guessed the truth?” asked Freda. “I always thought too many kenned that ye forced Katerina to act as she did. Someone may have told Sir Murray.”

“Nay, none of my men would tell him anything,” said Ranald. “If they ever saw him they would either run or try to kill him. They certainly wouldnae pause to have a wee talk with the mon and tell him they beat him near to death and tried to drown him because Agnes told them to and they are verra sorry they let him think his lover did it.”

“Ye grow verra insolent, Ranald,” Freda murmured. “I ne’er much liked the plan anyway. It wasnae thought out weel. In truth, ’twas just ye striking out in a temper, Agnes, because the mon didnae fall for your charms. Ye have ne’er tried to control your temper as ye should. Doing something because ye are angry is ne’er a good idea. Things swell as that attempt to kill them both should be planned coldly and with a clear mind.”

“It was verra obvious that he was wooing Katerina,” snapped Agnes. “When I couldnae seduce him away from her, I kenned he was serious in his pursuit of her. Ye ken as weel as I do that the council would have thoroughly approved of Sir Lucas Murray as her husband. He had to be gotten rid of.”

“Dinnae try to act as if ye actually had a plan, child. Ye didnae. Ye struck out in anger as ye often do. It failed. Accept that.”

“As ye wish,” Agnes said tightly. “Do ye have any great, weel thought out plan for getting rid of him and Katerina now?”

The sound of a slap echoed in the passageway. “Dinnae be so disrespectful. Aye, I have a plan. Grab either Sir Lucas or Katerina.”

“That is what we have been trying to do.”

“Use whichever one ye capture to draw the other into a trap,” Freda continued as if Agnes had not spoken. “The mon may think Katerina guilty of having him beaten near to death, but he is one of those honorable men and he willnae be able to do anything else but try to rescue her. Katerina will ne’er leave him in your hands either, Ranald. Each of them, with their honor and compassion, is the other’s own worst enemy.”

“Tis much the same plan I had when I went after Thomas,” Ranald said. “I had hoped to beat some information out of the boy but kenned weel that he could be used to lure Katerina into my grasp.”

Agnes snorted in obvious contempt “Ye thought to lure Annie into your grasp, Ranald. Dinnae try to fool us.”

“Either one would have brought Katerina running to the rescue.”

“Which is what we need her to do now,” said Freda. “They must be hiding close by as they are always quick at hand when someone is in trouble. There is a hiding place on Dunlochan lands, Ranald. Find it. There may be some note of it in the ledger room. If ye cannae read, get Agnes to do it for ye.”

There was the sound of a door shutting and, after a moment of heavy silence, Agnes said, “Weel, ye heard her. We are to dirty our hands and look through the papers in the ledger room.”

“I will do it. I can read weel enough.”

“Ye need to be out searching for Katerina or Sir Lucas. I cannae do that, can I. Ye can help me with that tedious chore from time to time, but catching Sir Lucas and Katerina is the far more important one. I still cannae believe that bitch survived being thrown into the loch or that Sir Lucas has returned to trouble us once again.”

“’Tis nay their ghosties I am dealing with. The old woman was right. The last time we tried to be rid of those two we just struck out at them, didnae think it through. It wasnae a bad plan and I did have Lady Katerina convinced that she could save her lover by standing still and quiet, acting like she was watching it all with a cold eye. Yet, we failed, and it could weel be that we would have succeeded if we had thought it out and planned it more carefully. This time we will do so.”

“Mayhap whilst ye are planning it all so carefully, ye can think of a way to allow me a wee bit of time with Sir Lucas ere ye kill him.”

“Only if ye allow me a wee bit of time with Lady Katerina ere we kill her.”

Agnes cursed softly and then sighed. “Fair enough. I suspicion ye had plans to take that time anyway.”

“Cannae see wasting an opportunity.”

“And I think it is time we made a few plans to rid ourselves of the burden of that cursed council.”

“Aye, I think Freda is being far too cautious there.”

“Thank ye, Ranald. Come with me, I have a plan as to how I might thank ye for your support of all my plans.”

He was an utter ass. Lucas slowly slid down the wall until he sat upon the floor and lightly banged his head against the wall a few times. It did nothing to dislodge the distasteful truth from his mind, however. He was still an ass, a witless blind fool. Katerina was innocent. He had scoffed at her tale of what had happened that night and it had all been the truth.

How could he have ever thought otherwise? Katerina had always shown nothing but kindness to all around her and she possessed a light spirit, compassion and honor as much a part of her as the blood that ran in her veins. There had been a part of him that had constantly denied her guilt, but he had always ruthlessly silenced it whenever it stirred. Lucas did wonder if it was that part of him that had kept him unable to take another lover even after he had healed enough to feel lusty again. At least he had not been unfaithful to her despite the few times he had tried to be. It was humiliating to realize that the usually witless part of him had been the only part to show any good sense.

The problem was what did he do now? Even if he had not killed whatever love Katerina may have felt for him, he had definitely killed her trust and faith in him. Lucas was not confident that he had the skills to repair that wound. A blunt but simple apology would certainly not do it.

Groveling might help, he thought wryly. At the moment, with every deep, fierce emotion he had felt for her a year ago swamping his heart and mind, released from the prison he had forced them into, Lucas suspected he might actually be able to grovel quite abjectly. He knew himself too well, however, to believe that he would really be able to do it. By the time he reached her side again pride would have reared its head and would prevent him from doing so. Knowing that he was wrong did not mean he would admit to it easily.

Lucas carefully stood up and began to wind his way through the passages that would lead him back to the hall hidden so well in the caves. He knew he had to have Katerina back. He had known it from the beginning but until now, that need had only fed his anger at her. His mistrust of her had made him see that need as a curse, a weakness that could get him killed. In fact, if Katerina wanted him dead now, he would not blame her at all.

Idly rubbing his leg, the damp in the passages causing it to ache, Lucas suddenly cursed. He stopped and dragged his hand through his hair. What could he be thinking of? Katerina would not want him now. He was scarred and maimed. There was no ignoring the awkwardness he suffered all too often because of the stiffness in his shattered leg. Katerina deserved a man firm of limb and unmarred.

A heartbeat later, Lucas decided he was being a coward, perhaps even making excuses so that he did not have to face her or admit his wrongs. He all too easily recalled how she had looked at him that first night after rescuing him from Ranald and his men. There was no disputing the joy that had brightened her eyes just before he had snuffed it out with his baseless accusations. She had spoken of grieving for him and he winced to recall how he had scorned her claim. Even more important, she had already included him in several of her forays against Agnes and Ranald and that strongly implied that she at least trusted him to successfully carry out his part in such actions. He had to trust in those indications that he had some chance of winning her back, small though that chance might be.

“Admit it, fool,” he muttered as he started on his way again, “if only to yourself. Ye dinnae have any choice but to try and mend things a-tween ye and Kat. Ye havenae truly been alive since ye lost her. Swallow your cursed pride and take your chances.”

Katerina also had her own scars, he thought as he cautiously entered the storerooms. He hated to think of all the pain she must have suffered, but it might mean that she would be far less concerned with his scars than many another woman. It was a small thing, but it gave him some hope. Once in the passage that led away from the keep, he moved more quickly, suddenly eager to get to Katerina.

Wincing, Katerina struggled to sit up on her own. By the time she accomplished that simple task she was so weak she fell against the pillows at her back and had to struggle to ease her rapid breathing. She was also bathed in sweat and wished she could reach the bowl of water and cloth Annie had set down on the chest near the bed. There would be no swift recovery from this wound.

Worse, she was bored. Even trapped into hiding from her enemies, she had still found a lot to keep her busy. Lying in a bed, too weak to do much of anything but think, was sure to make her insane in a very short time. She doubted she could even play a game of chess at the moment for her hands shook. Katerina cursed and looked around, wondering if she could call someone in to keep her company. She had a few books she had slipped out of Dunlochan and someone could read to her, she mused, and then cursed again. Katerina could not believe she had been reduced to this.

A noise at the doorway drew her attention and she tensed as Lucas entered the room. He looked so good to her that she nearly shouted at him to go away, even as she wondered why he was wearing such dark clothing. Katerina inwardly sighed. Her emotions might be in such a tangle that too much time with Lucas could be dangerous, but she was too hungry for company to care very much.

“Bored already, are ye?” he asked as he stopped by the edge of her bed.

“More than words can say.”

“Ye are looking verra flushed.” He touched her forehead and his brows went up at the sweat he found there. “Ye havenae gotten out of bed, have ye?”

“Nay, I merely tried to sit up all by myself. I am as weak as a newborn.”

“Ye will be for a few more days.” He moved to the bowl of water Annie had left and wrung out the cloth. “Ye must take care to move verra little and verra slowly,” he said as he gently bathed her face. “I dinnae think ye can open your wounds, but the fever could easily return if ye allow yourself to get too tired. It nearly took ye twice. It wouldnae be wise to invite it back.”

“Are ye saying that I nearly died twice?”

“Aye.” Lucas did not even want to think about those harrowing hours where he had fought to keep her alive, let alone talk about them. “Ye arenae as strong as ye used to be, I think, and it was a hard struggle for ye to fight off the fever.”

Katerina knew it was foolish to be so alarmed by that news, but she was. She had given little thought to how sick she might have been, had simply acknowledged that she had had a fever brought on by her wound. Now that she thought about it Annie had alluded to such a thing, but she had failed to fully understand. It was a little terrifying to realize how close death had come to her.

“Now ye look too pale,” he grumbled as he tossed the cloth back into the bowl.

“Weel, ye just told me I almost died twice.”

“But ye didnae die, so why fret o’er it. Just keep it in mind and take care of yourself. Rest and dinnae try to do too much too soon.”

The fear of taking another fever and failing to fight it off would certainly make her be careful, Katerina mused. She knew herself too well, however, to believe it would work for very long. It was something she would have to remind herself of from time to time, when the tedium of lying in bed for hours became too much to bear. Perhaps if she arranged a tight schedule of care and attention it would help. Whenever she got so crazed with boredom she was tempted to do too much, she could ease that feeling with the sure knowledge that someone would soon come to read to her, or play chess, or help her get clean.

“Kat?”

She blinked as his voice yanked her back from making all her plans. “What?”

“Where did ye just go?”

“Oh, I was thinking of the ways I might be able to stop myself from doing anything foolish.”

“And what did ye think of?”

“I need to arrange a verra tight schedule of care and companionship.”

“And ye think that will help?”

“Oh, aye. When the boredom makes me want to pull out my hair, I can remind myself that in but a few minutes William will come to play chess with me or Annie will come to wash my hair. Such as that.” She shrugged. “It might help.”

“It will help a lot. It did for me when I was trapped in a bed for mondis. I had so many kin ready to fall in with my plans that there were actually moments when I wished I could have some time alone.”

It was the first time he had referred to the time he had spent healing from his many injuries. Katerina was a little surprised. What surprised her even more was that there was no hint of accusation or anger in his voice or his expression. She desperately wanted to ask him to tell her more about how he had saved himself and how he had recovered so well, but she was afraid such a conversation would ruin the tentative truce they seemed to be enjoying.

Lucas watched the expressions dance across her lovely face and almost smiled. Katerina was quick of wit. She was already sensing a change in his attitude and was puzzled. He wondered if that would be enough, and inwardly grimaced. He knew he owed her an enormous apology, and had planned to give her one immediately, but the words were stuck in his throat. It might work just as well if he showed her he had changed, made it clear by his actions that he no longer thought her a threat to him. It was the coward’s way out, but he was willing to try it for a while, if only to save himself from the humiliation of openly declaring himself an utter idiot.

“Ye like to play chess?” he asked.

“Aye, but I am so weak my hands are trembling a wee bit and I wouldnae be able to handle the pieces weel,” she said.

“Ye could just tell me what move ye wish to make and let me move the piece for ye.” He glanced at the small pile of books set neatly in a basket in the corner. “Or I could read to ye for a while.”

It was sad how thrilled she was by his offer, she decided, and almost smiled. “Read to me, I think. I would like that I dinnae believe I have the strength to think my way
through an entire game of chess and I would like to at least give ye a good game.”

“Which book?” he asked as he went to the basket and began to look through the books.

“It doesnae matter. Whichever one ye feel inclined to read. I have the feeling I willnae be able to stay awake for too long.”

Lucas picked out a book of songs and poetry, deciding the shorter tales told by the words of the troubadours, the old songs would be best He sat in the chair next to the bed and began to read. The faint smile that appeared on her face cheered him for he knew he had chosen the right book. It held far too many flowery sentiments for his liking, but it obviously made her happy and that was the most important thing right now.

It was not long before Katerina’s eyes were closed. Lucas watched her as he continued to read, but her eyelids did not even flutter open once and he finally set the book aside. He leaned forward and lightly stroked her cheek with his fingers, fighting the urge to sigh like some foolish boy caught tight in the throes of his first infatuation. Katerina was beautiful, of that there was no question, but it was far more than that that had drawn him to her and he could not believe he had forgotten it. She was strong, compassionate, loyal, and had a quick, sharp wit.

In fact, she had been and still was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. Despite her innocence, even her passion was strong, matching his own in a way that kept him hungry for her all the time. Now that he knew the truth, Lucas could not understand how he could ever have doubted her. He was very glad he had never voiced his suspicions to his family. It had been pride that had kept him silent about his belief that he had been betrayed by the very woman he had wanted to make his wife. He had not wanted any of his kin to realize what an utter fool he had been. He had kept his grief over her loss and the hurt she had dealt a secret as well, although he suspected a few scraps of that had escaped when he had been fevered. No one had questioned it, however. At least he did not have to explain to his kin why he was now pursuing a woman he had claimed was the one who had ordered the beating he had suffered.

Standing up, Lucas stretched, his muscles stiff from all the creeping through damp passages he had just indulged in. He leaned over and brushed his mouth over Katerina’s forehead. When she murmured softly he moved his mouth down to hers. Even caught fast in the beginnings of sleep she responded to his kiss, her lips warm and welcoming, and her tongue lazily toying with his when he eased it into her mouth. He forced himself to pull away before need and temptation made him attempt to take advantage of her.

Lightly stroking her hair, he wondered if he would ever find the words to apologize for the great wrong he had done her. What could he say? My pardon for thinking ye are a murderess, a woman who would kill a mon because he smiled at another. It was not enough. Lucas was not sure any apology, no matter how elegant, would ever be enough, but that would not stop him from trying to win her back.

Hearing a soft rustle of skirts, he looked to find Annie standing in the doorway. He smiled faintly and waved her over to the bed. Although he was reluctant to leave Katerina, Lucas knew it would be best to leave her in Annie’s capable hands for a while. He needed to think, to plan his campaign to bring Katerina back into his arms, and he could not do that successfully when his attention was fully taken up with Katerina, even if it was only to watch her sleep.

“She has just gone to sleep,” he said quietly as Annie stepped up beside him.

“There isnae any sign of the fever returning, is there?” asked Annie.

“Nay, and I dinnae think it will return if she takes good care of herself.”

“I cannae believe we almost lost her. She has always seemed so strong, so verra alive.”

“She is both, but I am thinking that living in these caves for a year hasnae been verra good for her, and, nay matter how comfortable she has made them, there isnae all the food or warmth she was accustomed to before this.”

Annie nodded. “Aye, and she isnae all that long recovered from all the wounds and the fever she suffered after that bastard threw her into the loch.”

“Nay, she isnae.” Thinking of all the scars Katerina carried, Lucas was astonished that she had recovered as well as she had. “So, we must be sure that she nay only takes care to rest but that she isnae allowed to get too bored and fretful.”