The Angel and the Highlander (20 page)

“From what our scouts tell us,” Artair said, “a tall man, who rides his horse with distinction and more handsome than you”—Artair paused to glance at Lachlan, though without a grin—“leads them.”

“I know him!”

The three brothers turned wide eyes on Alyce.

“H
ow do you know him?” Lachlan demanded, having heard her clearly but somehow not quite understanding her, or perhaps not wanting to. After all he had made it clear to her that part of the reason he also had been at Everagis was to make contact with the mercenaries in the area to see if they could provide information about Carissa and in turn Ronan.

When Alyce still hadn’t answered, Cavan spoke. “Explain,” he ordered with the command of a laird who expected obedience.

“His name is Septimus,” she said. “And I struck a bargain with him so that Everagis would remain safe.”

“A shrewd decision,” Artair said.

“A necessary decision,” she corrected. “I had people to protect.”

Lachlan shook his head. “You knew I wished to make contact with the mercenaries and yet you never told me.”

“I couldn’t,” she said truthfully. “I gave my word
to speak of the bargain to no one in exchange for protection.”

While Lachlan knew what it meant to give your word, it disturbed him that she had not confided in him. “But you knew that the mercenaries might be able to provide information about my brother Ronan.”

“Your brother Ronan was not among the mercenaries.”

“How do you know that?” Lachlan asked.

“I’ve been to their camp several times.”

“While I was at Everagis?”

“That was when I first made contact with Septimus.”

Lachlan shook his head. “Wait. Are you telling me that while I was at Everagis you stole off into the woods and made contact with the mercenaries knowing full well I wished to make contact with them?”

“I had a duty to protect my sisters and we were not yet involved.”

“They’re not your blood sisters, nor are they nuns,” Lachlan said raising his voice. “They are simply women, who I have made certain remain protected.”

“No!” she shouted at him. “They are women who survived horrible situations and deserved to have a safe haven. And those women and I joined together and made Everagis just that, a safe haven for us. When the mercenaries arrived, did you really expect me to sit and do nothing but wring my hands and expect you to help us knowing your inevitable departure would leave us vulnerable?” Alyce shook her head. “I long ago abandoned the fantasy that a man would rescue
me, love me, and protect me. I decided it was up to me to provide it all for myself.”

“You could have trusted me,” Lachlan said sadly, for it hurt to know that she felt she could depend on no one, but especially him.

“Could I have?” she asked. “Would you truly have understood? You wanted an answer from the mercenaries, while I required much more.”

“Have you told us all you know of the mercenaries?” Cavan asked.

“No,” she answered boldly. “And I will not, for I gave my word.”

“Before or after you became involved with me?” Lachlan asked.

Alyce shot daggers from her eyes at him. “You truly need to ask that?”

“Enough,” Cavan ordered. “You can settle your differences in private later. At the moment we need to deal with the present situation.”

“I will go speak with Septimus,” Alyce said, though it sounded more like a command.

“You will not,” Lachlan snapped.

“He is a friend and I will speak with him,” she argued. “And settle this matter reasonably.”

“He may be a friend of
yours
, but not of the Sinclare clan,” Lachlan said.

“I thought I was a Sinclare,” Alyce challenged. “Wouldn’t that then make a friend of mine, a friend of the Sinclares?”

Lachlan stepped toward her to argue, but Cavan interrupted.

“She is right,” he said. “If this Septimus is here to visit with Alyce then we will welcome him.”

“He arrives with a troop,” Lachlan argued. “Such a heavy contingent speaks more of battle than a mere visit.”

“We will send a messenger,” Cavan said.

“I will go to him,” Alyce insisted.

“You will not,” Lachlan ordered.

“You cannot stop me,” she argued.

“I most certainly can. You are my wife and carry my child and I will not see you placed in harm’s way.”

“I can take care of myself,” she said, shaking a fist at him.

He grabbed hold of it and yanked her to him. “I don’t care. You are my wife and will do as I say.”

“Like hell I will.”

“Don’t challenge me on this,” Lachlan warned.

“What challenge?” she snapped. “You can’t stop me.”

“Try me?”

“Stop!” Cavan shouted. “This is no time to argue. I will send a messenger to the mercenaries and see what brings them to our home. In the meantime we will devise a plan of attack in case it proves necessary.”

Alyce yanked herself free of her husband and headed to the door. “Septimus is not here to war with you, and I will not help you make plans to attack a friend.”

“We are your family,” Lachlan said, stopping her before she could grab hold of the latch.

“Are you?” she asked. “I see that you all trust each
other, and yet not one of you trusts me when it comes to this matter.”

“I must protect my people,” Cavan said.

“Which is exactly what I did,” Alyce said and shut the door hard behind her when she left.

She hurried her steps, mixing with the shadows of the great hall until she reached the kitchen entrance and then made her way through, the cooks so busy they barely noticed her. Once outside she knew her time was limited. She needed to get to her horse and out of the keep before the gates were sealed tight. Local farmers were probably still arriving seeking the safety of the walled village, but soon the gates would be closed tight and she would have no way out.

The wind whipped Alyce’s wool cloak around her, and she was glad for its protection. She made it unnoticed to the stable, everyone much too busy to pay heed to her actions and she wished to keep it that way, though it would not be easy. If she could reach Septimus and talk with him she knew she could have this misunderstanding settled before any blood was shed.

Men were much too quick to raise a sword, and though Cavan sent a messenger to Septimus, she knew full well it would read more like a demand and that would not set well with the mercenaries.

And selfishly she had another reason. Septimus would have news of home, and she wanted desperately to hear about her sisters and Everagis.

After her mare was saddled and she had a chance to consider her actions, she realized that if Cavan or her
husband did not want her to leave the keep, they would make certain she was unable to. Therefore, Cavan had purposely let her go and there was no reason for her to hide her departure. But why argue over it with her?

She had no time to give it thought, wanting more than anything to see Septimus and hear of home. She rode through the village and out of the open gate assuring those who called frantically to her that she was going to help as many to get to safety as possible.

They certainly would report her departure to Cavan, but then he already knew where she went.

Alyce knew from what Piper had taught about Septimus’s scouting tactics that while he led the troop, he would have men scouting a few miles ahead and also along the perimeters. They would know of the messenger’s approach long before he arrived, and they were probably also aware of the exact positions of the sentries Cavan had posted. One thing she had learned about the mercenary group was that they were no ordinary ragtag band of men, and she couldn’t help but wonder again over their origins.

Once she left the moors, and reached the woods she kept to the edge of the forest knowing Septimus’s men would spot her and take her to him and sure enough that was what happened. Two of his men she was familiar with, Dale and Hagen, approached.

She had to smile for they were night and day in appearance, Dale short and stout and Hagen simply large.

Hagen was grinning. Surprisingly, he possessed
all his teeth and not a one was yellow or rotted. His diction marked him more an educated man than a mercenary.

“Septimus advised you would arrive before we reached Caithness. It is good to see you again,” Hagen said

Alyce grinned from ear to ear; she was happy to see them. “How is everyone at home?”

“Septimus warned us you would ask at once about Everagis, but he asked that we should get you to camp before we answered any questions or we might never make it there.”

She laughed. “He is wise.”

“He says it’s because he understands women,” Dale said, motioning her to follow him, Hagen taking up the trail behind her. “And strangely enough, I bloody well think he does.”

Alyce had a string of endless questions to ask, but she knew it was best that she waited and though the ride wasn’t long, it seemed like it took forever. Finally, they arrived at the camp and after greeting her, Septimus walked her to a more secluded location at the bank of a creek and sat with her a few feet from the water’s edge.

“My sentries are posted well. No one spies on us here,” he said.

“Why are you here?” she asked eagerly.

“Why, to rescue you, of course.”

“I’m going after her,” Lachlan said as soon as he received word that his brave wife rode off to help bring
the farmers to safety. He turned to leave the solar and found Artair blocking the door.

Lachlan turned and pounded Cavan’s desk. “You knew she’d go to him, and you let her.” He shook his head. “If it were your intention all along, why didn’t you just let her go from the beginning?”

“I wished to see what she would do,” Cavan said calmly.

“You mean you wanted to know if she would obey your orders,” Lachlan said.

Cavan nodded. “She impressed me with her many skills, but her one fault is…”

“Obedience to authority,” Lachlan finished.

Cavan nodded. “She is too accustomed to leading and has no patience for anyone’s dictates but her own, though I have seen her acquiesce to you on occasion.”

“Not this time,” Lachlan admitted reluctantly.

“It was to be expected; she looks on Septimus as a friend,” Artair said, having left his post at the door to join his brothers.

“But I am her husband,” Lachlan emphasized.

“You’ll find that while that holds importance, it also gets in the way,” Artair said.

Lachlan shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re thinking like a husband,” Cavan said, “while your wife thought like a warrior.”

“She was wise and courageous in bargaining with the mercenaries,” Artair said.

“She could have told me,” Lachlan said, still feeling the bite of mistrust.

“That would have meant a betrayal to the mercenar
ies and they would have retaliated, not only against Alyce and her village, but you as well,” Cavan said. “As Artair commented, she made a wise and also necessary choice.”

“She refused to tell you everything concerning the mercenaries when you asked,” Lachlan reminded.

“But she freely told us about Ronan,” Artair said. “And she was blunt that she gave her word so therefore was bound to it.” He snickered. “You’re just angry that she took off to meet a man handsomer than you.”

Fury engulfed Lachlan and he raised a threatening fist to Artair. “You’re damn right I am. And when I see him I’m going to beat the hell out of him.”

“Rescue me from what?” Alyce asked Septimus.

“From an unwanted marriage.”

“I appreciate the offer but it isn’t necessary,” she said, wondering who precisely had sent him. Her sisters had known all too clearly the situation and the repercussions of sending Septimus to Caithness.

“You don’t want to give it some thought?” he asked.

While she missed everyone and her life at Everagis, and it still continued to prove a challenge in adjusting to life at Caithness, lately she had come to the realization that she would find it impossible to live without Lachlan. She loved him more than she thought possible and she looked forward to raising their child, and hopefully more together.

“You’re thinking about it,” Septimus said.

She shook her head and smiled. “No, I’m thinking about why I would never leave him.”

“Tell me, so that I can return with your words and let your friends, who worry about you, know you are happy.”

She thought of what to share with him and the others, but how did she put into words what she truly felt when she was still realizing it herself? Of course, she could say that she loved him, but the women knew she did. Whatever could she say that would convince them and perhaps even make her fully accept why she truly chose to remain with Lachlan?

“I will tell you before you return home,” she said.

“I return now if you are certain about your decision.”

“You cannot leave yet,” she said, grabbing hold of his arm. “You must stay for a few days at least and meet my new family.”

“That’s not a good idea,” he said.

“You must,” she urged. “Cavan, the laird of the clan Sinclare, must know that you did not come here to attack his home.”

“I do not care what the laird of the clan Sinclare thinks.”

“There will be no bloodshed,” she ordered sternly.

“You should be laird. You give orders easily enough.”

“Then obey them and meet with Cavan and his brothers.”

Septimus stood and held his hand out to help her up. Once she was on her feet he said, “We will camp here. If the Sinclare men wish to meet with me and see that I am no threat to them then let them come here to my camp tonight.”

“To expect the laird of the clan Sinclare to come to you would be considered an insult and reason for battle. I will not be part of such nonsense.”

“No faith in your new family?” Septimus asked.

“Respect for my new family,” she confirmed with a quick nod. “You either do what is right or suffer the consequences.”

“You threaten me?”

“I am truthful with you and I expect the same in return,” she said. “You either present yourself at the Sinclare keep tonight or tuck tail and run.”

“Now that’s a challenge that could have serious repercussions.”

“No,” she snapped, “it is the right thing to do and if you can’t see that then turn around and go home without a word from me.”

“Not much of a bargain.”