Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

" I f Dru hasn't returned by tomorrow, I am going to go search for her," Quint said, keeping hold of his wife's hand as they approached the edge of the woods just outside the village. "I have allowed her a few extra days past when she told me she would return, knowing Dru's returns are often delayed. But enough time has passed for concern."

"Then you must go and find her, for I worry over her safety," Shade said.

"Dru may be petite, wife, but she is sly and quick and can outmaneuver most warriors and avoid capture. Besides," —Quint wrinkled his nose— "her foul odor alone keeps everyone away from her."

"You cannot be gone long," Nug said, close enough to have heard him and hurried to the couple. "I expect Rufus to return any day now and I wouldn't be surprised if more mercenaries arrived, stragglers who think to join the ones they assume are here."

"Knowing Dru, she is probably close by. I have no doubt I will find her fast enough," Quint assured him.

"Can I have a moment of your time, sir?" Nug asked.

Quint's head turned toward his wife. He had promised he would go with her into the woods to hunt for plants whose roots she wanted to gather, and he didn't want to disappoint her. But he had also yet to ask Nug if he believed there might be a message within the message Ryland had sent with Caleb.

"I can gather some of what I need just beyond the edge of the woods where you can see me," Shade said, seeing her husband's desire to speak with Nug.

"You won't go any further until I go with you," Quint said, intending to make sure she didn't.

"Aye, I won't wander off," she assured him, and he bent his head down to press his cheek against hers and she waited for the whisper that was sure to come, letting her know she better do just that. So, she was taken by surprise by his whispered words.

"I love you, Shade, so take care and do as I say."

His loving words sent her heart fluttering and even tinged her cheeks pink. A bit flustered by his unexpected remark, all she could do was smile and nod her head. She turned and headed to the edge of the woods and after taking barely a few steps beyond the edge, her husband's strong voice stopped her.

"That's far enough, Shade!"

She stopped, turned, and waved at him, then got busy hunting for the roots she was looking for, her mind more on Quint's words of love than her task at hand. It took her a few moments to clear her head and concentrate and once she did, she got lost in her chore.

Quint watched his wife and seeing that she was sticking to one area, he began to talk with Nug while keeping an eye on her.

Shade knelt amid a tangle of wild ferns and heather, her fingers deftly plucking leaves and roots from the underbrush. She had braided her hair and wrapped the braid on her head, pinning it with combs so it wouldn't get in her way and was glad she did, for her head hung low enough for her braid, if loose, to brush the ground. A chilly breeze kissed her slightly flushed cheeks cooling them, and she smiled. She missed the woods since leaving home. There wasn't a day that went by when she didn't spend time in the woods. It offered so much wisdom and peace that she couldn't resist it.

Her smile grew when she spotted a cluster of yarrow plants, and she hurried to the white yarrow blossoms and carefully snapped the stems to place in the basket she had brought with her. They worked well on wounds and with fever. She continued harvesting the yarrow taking her deeper into the woods lolled by the lovely autumn breeze and the melody of the twittering birds. It was like she was home in the safety of her woods, but then no forest in the Highlands was truly safe from animal or man and one always had to remain alert. She was reminded of that when she heard the distinct snap of a twig.

She quickly stood and glanced around. She didn't see anything, but she did see that she had drifted deeper into the woods than she intended, and that Quint was so engrossed in talk with Nug that he wasn't looking her way.

She bent to grab her basket to get herself closer to the edge of the woods where she had promised her husband she would stay when she heard the snap of another twig. That could not be a coincidence, and gooseflesh sent the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. That was when she realized the forest had turned silent. No birds chatted.

She heard it then, a shout for help. She cried out to her husband, "Quint!" Then she took off running, abandoning her half-filled basket and giving no thought to her husband's repeated warnings to think before she reacted.

Again, she didn't think when she came upon Brother Peter being held at bay with the tip of a sword while Dru was getting tossed around by a large, laughing man only to get up and try to stop him from grabbing her and tossing her around again as if she was nothing more than an amusing plaything. Shade's only thought was to help Dru. So, without hesitation, she ran straight at the man who dangled Dru in the air effortlessly.

"Let her go!" Shade shouted as she ran toward them.

The man laughed while Dru squirmed in a useless attempt to free herself, his hold on the back of her shirt too tight.

"Release her," Shade demanded again, and the man laughed even harder as he continued to shake Dru like a rattle.

Shade picked up speed and when she almost reached him, he raised his meaty hand to swat her away, but she dropped her head and rammed into his substantial belly. Dru fell to the ground, his two hands going to grab his belly as he stumbled. He righted himself quickly enough and his face turned red with rage, and he looked ready to lunge at Shade.

"Strike my wife, Witley, and you're a dead man and, Monty, drop that sword!" Quint commanded with a powerful shout as he hurried toward them all.

To Shade's astonishment, the man her husband called Monty dropped his sword and the large man—Witley—his face drained of all color.

"I didn't know she was your wife, Monk. I would never harm what's yours," Witley said, a nervous tremor in his voice.

The Monk went to Shade, his hand capturing her chin to give it a light squeeze. "Are you all right? Witley's belly is too big to be soft from all that fat."

"I am good," she assured him, his comment bringing a tender smile to her face.

He lowered his head until his brow almost touched hers. "Your penchant for rushing into situations will worry me to death."

"I will try to do better," she said softly.

"I will hunt you down and beat you senseless, Monty, if you try to sneak away," The Monk called out as he raised his head and released his wife's chin.

"Aye. Aye. I'm not going anywhere I was just going to sit on that stump over there," Monty said, his face paling.

"Then sit!" The Monk ordered and Monty hurried to obey.

"I should see to Dru," Shade said. "I spotted blood and bruising on her face."

"Aye, go help her," he said and stepped aside to let his wife hurry to Dru while he turned his attention on Witley. "You say you would not knowingly harm what is mine, yet you torment, Dru, and you know I protect her. Was it you who left her bloody and bruised?"

"Nay. Nay, it wasn't me. She was like that when we came upon her and the cleric. I wouldn't have touched her if she hadn't started with that wise mouth of hers," Witley said and gave a nod toward Brother Peter. "He'll speak the truth. Ask him."

"I can speak for myself," Dru shouted, pushing Shade's hand away from her face. "It was Witley's fool mouth that stirred my ire."

"She speaks the truth," Brother Peter said. "The big fellow tormented her endlessly and I must say Dru kept her calm until he made mention that her mum must be as useless and as smelly as she was. Dru grabbed a fallen tree branch and gave him several whacks with it and before he could stop her, she ran, and I ran with her. The two men caught up with us here and the big fellow grabbed her and started tossing her around. Dru has a good soul. She is bruised and bloody because she helped me escape from a man about to do me harm. She took the beating meant for me."

"Were you part of the mercenaries killing the Clan MacLeish warriors who were trying to return home?" Nug called out as he and several other MacLeish men arrived.

The Monk turned. "You are not in charge here, Nug. I am and if I must warn you again, I'll have you put in the stocks."

"We don't have stocks," a man called out.

"You will soon enough," The Monk warned, casting a threatening glance at Nug. If the fool didn't follow the plan, he, himself, had devised, all would be for naught.

Nug's eyes widened briefly as if realizing his mistake and quickly apologized. "Forgive me, sir, I meant no disrespect."

"You rule here, Monk?" Witley asked, surprised.

"Only until Lord Torrance arrives," The Monk said.

Witley scratched his head. "Lord Torrance never made mention of you when he sent Monty and me here."

"My message to Lord Torrance must have arrived after you left. I prevented some mercenaries from doing harm to the clan and trying to steal whatever riches now rightfully belong to Lord Torrance," The Monk said, keeping with the story so that news would spread about it.

"Lord Torrance will be glad to learn of that," Witley said. "He sent me and Monty with a message to the mercenaries that the killing of the wounded MacLeish warriors was to stop and that no harm was to come to anyone in Clan MacLeish. He claimed there would be no victory if he was left with a decimated clan to rule."

"I heard the same," Dru confirmed.

"All ends well then," Witley said, smiling. "Monty and I will join the other mercenaries who help you keep rein on the clan."

"Not many made it here and the few that did were too greedy, so they now reside in the dungeon. You follow my rule, or the dungeon will be your new home. Understand?" The Monk said, looking from Witley to Monty and both men nodding and claiming their loyalty to him. "I issue orders, I punish, and I alone rule here. Go against my word and—" He said no more, he simply placed his hand on the handle of one of the three daggers at his waist.

The two men nodded vigorously while assuring The Monk they understood.

"Go with Nug. He will see you get food and drink, and a place to rest your head while here, and you will wait on orders from me. Brother Peter, you go with Nug as well," The Monk said and stepped aside for Witley to pass him as Monty hurried to retrieve his sword and join his friend.

Witley barely stepped past The Monk when he called out his name and Witley turned and was met with a fist to his face that sent him stumbling and bumping into Monty which sent the two men toppling to the ground.

The Monk placed his boot-covered foot on Witley's chest before he could move. "That was for what you intended to do to my wife. If you had laid a hand on her, I would have killed you. Understood?"

"Aye. Aye. I would never harm your wife, never," Witley said and rushed with Monty to join Nug as soon as they got to their feet.

"I don't need you fussing over me. I'm good," Dru said when The Monk approached her.

"Is she good?" The Monk asked his wife, her bruised face telling a different story.

"I'll know better when I get her to Ena's cottage and take a closer look at her wounds," Shade said.

The Monk's finger landed on the tip of Dru's nose when she went to protest. "You will do as Shade says and then we will talk, and you will tell me what you've found out. But quickly, you can confirm about Lord Torrance's change of heart?—"

"If he had a heart," Dru muttered.

The Monk scowled and continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Concerning Clan MacLeish warriors and the clan itself?"

"Aye, word spreads that he wants no harm to come to the clan or its people. Some believe it is a false claim, others insist it is true. It is good that Witley and Monty can confirm it since I wondered over it myself. Lord Torrance is not a forgiving man, and his sudden change confuses me. I fear he may have a more devious plan in store for Clan MacLeish than first planned." Dru cringed, her hand rushing to her side.

"The fellow got you in the ribs?" The Monk asked, the thought of the hit she must have taken making him angry. When she nodded, he shook his head. "Brother Peter is larger than you, he could have defended himself."

Dru laughed and cringed again, her hand returning to her side to gently touch it. "The man knows nothing about defending himself. One hit from his attacker and he was begging God to help him. So, I jumped in and helped." She raised her hand before either of them could take her to task for making a remark that could get her in trouble especially with the cleric. "Brother Peter believes his prayer was answered that God sent me to help him." She shrugged. "And maybe he did, who knows. I just couldn't stand by and watch the frightened man get beaten to death. Besides, in the end Brother Peter conquered his fear and came to my aid. And I appreciate what he did." Her eyes went to The Monk. "The attacker was a cruel one. He was one of Asher's men."

Quint paced outside Ena's cottage. It was taking longer than he expected for his wife to tend to Dru and he worried something was seriously wrong with the petite woman. He was also eager to hear what she had learned about Asher and what one of his men was doing in the area and why he attacked a cleric. He wanted to hear from her what happened before he spoke with Brother Peter.

Shade had insisted she tend to Dru before he talked with her, and he didn't argue. Dru looked exhausted and she was probably hungry. They could talk in his solar while she ate as soon as Shade finished with her.

The door opened and Shade stepped out, a smile appearing as soon as she saw him. He went to her and slipped his cloak off to drape around her, dusk drawing near and bringing with it a cold night.

"How is she? You took so long I worried something was seriously wrong," he said as he walked with her to a bench a short distance from the cottage. She looked tired and it was no wonder, spending most of her time tending to the wounded or ill. He would be glad when this was all done, and they could return to her cottage and have time together just the two of them.

"She is not happy with me. I insisted she wash and rid herself of that horrible stench so that I could tend to her properly. Ena agreed and with endless cajoling we got her to partially agree. It took longer to get her a bit cleaned than it did to examine her. Though it did serve another purpose. I was able to take my time and look inside her to make sure I didn't miss anything. With the way she lives, she is surprisingly well. Her bruises and wounds will heal, and none will pose any problem. Her ribs are not broken, thank goodness, though they are bruised a bit so she will continue to be in pain until they heal and for them to heal, she needs to rest. And I fear that poses the biggest problem. I don't believe she will listen to me and rest."

"Dru listens to no one and for whatever reason she is the way she is, I have come to respect her ways. One thing you should know about Dru, she is far more intelligent than she lets anyone know. If you tell her she needs to rest to get better, believe me, it will not fall on deaf ears."

Shade squeezed his hand. He had taken firm hold of it after slipping the cloak on her. She loved that they often held hands. It was as if neither of them ever wanted to let go of the other.

"I am pleased to hear that, and I am glad she has a good friend in you."

"I need to speak with her. Food and drink wait in the solar for her."

"She is hungry, complaining about it to Ena and me endlessly. As long as she seeks her bed once you are done, I see no problem with it. Besides, I am eager to hear what she has learned."

"As am I," Quint said.