Chapter 9

Every bone in Arianna’s body was loudly complaining as they raced toward Dubheidland. She fought the urge to look behind them to see how close her enemy might be. At times her back itched as if it sensed a weapon aimed at it.

Just as she was about to give in to the urge to look behind her, Brian made an abrupt change in the direction they were traveling in. She was forced to keep her full attention on following him. It was a rocky, winding trail they now followed, one that severely slowed their pace, if only for fear of maiming their horses.

For a moment, panic choked her, as she grew certain they would soon be caught, but she forced the fear down. Brian moved as a man who knew the land well. The ones chasing them did not. This upward winding, treacherous trail might slow them down more than she liked but it would slow down the enemy at their heels even more.

“Your cousins dinnae want anyone to come visiting, do they?” she muttered as she struggled to guide her mount over the tortuous path, annoyed that she had none of the skill at it that Brian revealed.

Brian laughed softly. “Nay, they dinnae, but the more common route used to get to Dubheidland is a wee bit easier. This one is hard but shorter. A lot shorter. On the other side of this pile of rocks and heather the land is much easier to ride over. We shall have a straight, swift ride right to the gates of Dubheidland.”

“Straight and easy also means open, doesnae it?”

“It does, but we would have ridden onto open land even if we had gone the other way, too.”

“What if the others have learned to follow the other path, the easier one? Will they get ahead of us?”

“Nay. As I said, ’tis only a wee bit easier. Sigimor doesnae like to make any route to Dubheidland too easy. And, truly, this is much shorter. Dinnae fret, love. We will win the race.”

Brian hoped his brave words proved true. It was going to be a very close-run race no matter which path that fool Amiel forced his men along. Worse, he and Arianna were on tired horses and were tired themselves. Brian knew Amiel, his horses, and his men were undoubtedly as weary as they were but that did not ease his concern by much.

The way Amiel kept finding them, remained so close at their backs no matter how convoluted a trail Brian chose, worried him. He began to suspect that Amiel, fool though he was, had finally had the wit to hire a Scot or two to lead him and his men. Or one of Amiel’s men had. There were always those who would do anything for a few coins. A good tracker, one who knew the land, would explain why he and Arianna had been unable to lose Amiel despite all the twists and turns he had taken them on. In the beginning it may have been luck but good luck was never this persistent. Amiel might have known where they would head from the start but he should not have been so continuously good at finding the trail they took to get to that place.

Brian chanced a quick glance at Arianna. She looked weary but kept her attention fixed firmly on the dangerous trail they rode over. Small and slender though she was, she was revealing an astonishing strength so far. That strength was rapidly waning, however. He could see that in the paleness of her face and the shadows under her eyes.

What she needed was a few nights in a soft bed and a lot of nourishing food. She had not even been given time to recover from nearly drowning before being forced to run for her life. Another night at Molly’s inn would have helped her but they had not been allowed that needed respite. Brian could only hope that they found it at Dubheidland.

Determined to get her to his cousin’s keep unharmed, Brian turned all of his attention to the chore of reaching safer ground as quickly as possible. It was not a trail that allowed any speed, however, and he cursed it continuously as they struggled to get over the hill. When they finally got to safer ground, he paused for a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, not surprised to hear Arianna echo it.

“This does look much better,” Arianna said as she nudged her mount up alongside his. “Is that Dubheidland in the distance?”

“Aye. A straight run.”

“Some of which looks to be uphill.”

“But nay as rocky as the hill we just rode over.”

Before she could say any more, Brian tensed. A heartbeat later she knew why. The sound of horses approaching from their left was unmistakable. Amiel was obviously pressing his men and horses dangerously hard. She and Brian had not gained much of a lead at all.

“Ride, lass.” Brian leaned over to slap her horse on its flank. “Straight for those gates,” he yelled as they both picked up speed. “Dinnae look back and dinnae stop nay matter what happens.”

Following Brian’s example, Arianna leaned low over her mount’s neck as she kicked it, prodding it to as fast a pace as it could provide. She prayed that the exhausted animal still had the strength left to get to those gates and safety. A cry from behind them told her that they had been seen, but she ignored the need to look toward the sound. She could hear her brother Neacal’s voice telling her to keep her gaze fixed upon the direction she was headed in, that looking back would only slow her down. With shelter so close at hand she was determined to win the race.

She was close enough to see men moving on the high, thick walls of the keep and hear shouting coming from within when the deadly hiss of an arrow passing close by reached her ears. Arianna tensed, fear swiftly chilling the blood in her veins, but nothing struck her, she heard no cry of pain from Brian, and her horse did not falter. Shouts and curses came from behind her and there were no other arrows fired at them. Amiel had obviously reminded his men that he needed her alive. Her death gained him nothing. The DeVeaux wanted her and Lucette needed the boys.

The man was an utter fool if he thought she would sacrifice her boys to his greed. Even if she did not think of Michel and Adelar as hers, she would never trade the life of a child for her own. Amiel’s ignorance gave her a small advantage. So long as she remained free, her life was not truly in danger. The same could not be said of Brian, however, so she would continue to act as if the men chasing them wanted her dead. Not later, after she had given them what they wanted, but now.

“Almost there, love!” Brian yelled, able to see Sigimor’s men on the wall so clearly that he recognized a few. “’Tis Sir Brian MacFingal! We are coming in!”

“Ye have a tail, laddie!”

“Cut it off!”

This time when Arianna heard the sound of arrows slicing through the air her heart did not leap up into her throat. The deadly weapons were not aimed at her and Brian but at their enemy. She followed Brian through the high, iron-studded oak gates only to abruptly rein in her mount, barely avoiding riding straight into a group of mounted men.

“I see ye brought me a wee gift, Brian,” said a huge, red-haired man.

“I need at least one of them alive, Sigimor,” yelled Brian even as he dismounted, grabbed another horse and joined with the men riding out through the gates, their horses at full gallop and their swords drawn before they had even cleared the gates.

“Such poor manners ye have, lad, to give me a gift and then tell me what to do with it,” she heard the man Brian had called Sigimor yell back.

Brian’s reply to that was lost in the roar of a battle cry erupting from all the men racing toward Amiel and his men. Arianna turned in her saddle to look out the gates, not surprised to see Amiel and his men immediately turn and flee, leaving two arrow-ridden bodies on the ground behind them. Arianna suspected those two dead men had been the ones closest to her and Brian.

“A horse! Go fight!” cried a high, sweet, childish voice.

Arianna turned back to look at the people gathered in the bailey. A small, red-haired boy was running toward the gates, a wooden sword held high in his tiny hands. Hard on his heels was a very pregnant, black-haired woman. One tall, lean man was quicker, catching the boy up in his arms and laughing as he disarmed the child.

Not sure what else to do, Arianna dismounted only to have to hang onto the saddle and lean against the horse when her legs threatened to collapse beneath her weight. Out of the corner of her eye she saw two black-haired little girls, armed with wooden swords as well, attempt to creep around the people gathering in the bailey. Before she could open her mouth to say a word, yet another tall, handsome, red-haired man caught both little girls by the back of their gowns and pulled them to a halt.

Just as Arianna was about to test the strength in her legs, the very pregnant, black-haired woman stepped up to her and smiled. The woman was, in a word, beautiful. There was only welcome to be seen in the unusual silvery gray eyes as well and Arianna found herself returning the woman’s smile with a tired one of her own.

“I am the laird’s wife, Lady Jolene Cameron,” the woman said.

“English? Are we at peace with England then?”

“Who knows. It changes from one day to the next. Nay, I am but a poor English lass caught up by Sir Sigimor’s great charm.”

Arianna did not need the laughter of the men around them to tell her that was a jest. The laughter brightening the woman’s eyes told her that. She also realized she had just been rather rude to the poor woman, who already had to deal with an enemy at the gates.

“I am sorry,” Arianna said, and held out her hand. “I am Lady Arianna Murray.” She stuttered to a halt as she shook the woman’s hand and realized she did not want to be known as a Lucette any longer. The word had stuck in her throat. Relief swept over her and she knew it was past time she had let go of the name that had never truly been hers and had no pleasant memories attached to it.

“Well, I imagine you have had a very long and arduous journey, if your entrance into Dubheidland is any indication.” Jolene slipped her arm through Arianna’s. “Allow me to escort you inside. I suspect you would welcome a bath, clean clothing, and food.”

“Och, aye, I would. Thank ye. I apologize for the trouble.” She rubbed her forehead but it did little to ease the throb of exhaustion. “We just couldnae seem to shake them off our trail.”

“They will be shaken off now.”

The woman spoke with such confidence, Arianna was forced to believe her. She set her mind to simply walking without stumbling. Now that she had stopped running, she was all too keenly aware of just how exhausted she was.

“’Tis verra wrong of me, but I wish they were nay just shaken off; I wish they all end up dead.”

“Nay, after what they have done to you, that you would wish it is no surprise. I understand that feeling very well, having had to run from an enemy myself. ’Tis how I met my Sigimor, but that is a story to tell you after you have rested. I suspect you have not had much rest from the running.”

“Nay, verra little.” She looked around when Jolene escorted her into a bedchamber. “Oh, this is verra nice,” she murmured, eyeing the big bed and wondering if she had the strength to get over to it and collapse upon all those soft coverings.

“I have already ordered a bath for you.” Jolene urged her toward the bed. “Sit and I will gather some clothes for you.”

Arianna sat as stiffly as she could, afraid she would fall over and go to sleep if she did not. More aches were making themselves known in her body and she had to fight back a groan. She accepted the tankard of drink Jolene gave her with a smile—one sip enough to tell her it was a deliciously spiced cider—and watched the woman move quickly around the room to collect some clothes for her.

“This isnae your bedchamber, is it?” she asked.

“Nay, this is the one Sigimor’s sister Ilsa uses when she comes to visit. These are her things. They may be a little long but I think they will fit you well enough.” Jolene set the clothes down on the bed and turned to direct the youths and maids in setting up the bath for Arianna.

“They will be all right, will they nay?” she asked Jolene after they were alone again in the room and Jolene began to help her shed her clothes.

“Of course they will. There did not appear to be too many men chasing you and my husband likes a good fight. Or, considering how fast the men after you were fleeing, a good chase. Oh, my, such bruising you have. I will fetch some salve for them.”

Before Arianna could protest, she was in the bath and Jolene was hurrying out of the room. Arianna sank down into the hot water, realized Jolene had sprinkled some gently scented herbs in it, and allowed it to soothe the aches in her body. She was dangerously close to sleep when Jolene and an older woman hurried back into the room.

The two women had her washed, dried, dressed in a fine linen nightgown, and seated before a full plate of food before Arianna could protest. “Ye shouldnae be doing so much,” she said to Jolene as the woman finally sat down in a chair and faced her across the small table. “All this dashing about cannae be good for the bairn.”

Jolene laughed and poured herself a tankard of cider. “I am fine. This child is due soon and well settled within me. You, however, look like you had better eat your fill quickly before the need to sleep conquers you.”

“I am verra tired, I admit.” Arianna began to eat the tender venison on her plate. “I should tell you what this trouble is that I have brought to your home.”

“No need. We got a message from Ewan and he told us some of it. Brian can tell us the rest. Oh, and I am to tell you that Michel and Adelar are safely tucked up behind the very high, very strong walls of Scarglas.”

“Oh, thank God,” Arianna whispered, and then burst into tears. “I am sorry. I dinnae ken what ails me.”

Jolene handed her a linen cloth. “Relief and weariness. Have a good cry and then finish your food.”

Arianna laughed and wiped the tears from her face. “I have just been so afraid for them. This isnae over yet but at least I now ken that they have been taken somewhere safe, somewhere that has the men to protect them.”

“Oh, the men of Scarglas will keep them very safe indeed. You can put your mind at rest about that. Old Fingal might be a rutting old goat and the oddest fellow I have ever met, but he cares for children. No man will be allowed to harm them.”

Not sure what to say about that remark concerning Brian’s father, Arianna concentrated on finishing her meal. She could feel the hard pull of exhaustion and knew she would not be able to stay awake much longer. If she were not careful she would be falling asleep sitting in the chair in that strange way she did when she became too tired.

By the time she finished her meal she had become almost too tired to chew any longer. “I wish I could remain awake to greet Sir Brian when he returns, but I dinnae think I will be able to.”

“Nay, I can see that.” Lady Jolene took Arianna by the arm and led her over to the bed. “Rest. You still have a bit of a journey to complete and you need to sleep when you can. Sir Brian will understand. I suspect he will be doing just as you have done as soon as he returns.”

The moment Arianna was tucked up in the bed, she knew sleep was but a breath away. “Thank ye, m’lady,” she managed to say before she gave in to the overwhelming urge to rest.

“Weel, he doesnae have as many men as he once had, but I think ’tis time to end the chase,” said Sigimor as he reined in and glanced up at the sky.

“I was hoping to end it here,” said Brian as he halted by Sigimor’s side. “At least then we could travel to Scarglas without having to watch our backs every step of the way.”

“Mayhap that is where he flees to.”

“Aye, ’tis possible. ’Tis also possible that once he and his allies get a look at Scarglas they will decide it isnae worth the trouble just to gain a little revenge and that fool a title. I willnae put any wagers on that though. Chasing the lads here to Scotland when his parents already work to disinherit the boys was madness. I doubt this or a look at Scarglas will clear any heads.”

“Sigimor,” called Fergus, “what shall we do with the bodies scattered about?”

“Pick the three along the trail clean of anything that is worth something and leave them for the carrion,” Sigimor told his youngest brother. “The two left outside the keep are already dealt with.” He turned his mount back toward Dubheidland and left his brothers to deal with the gruesome chore as he headed back to his keep.

“There were a few more of them than there were the last time I saw them all together,” said Brian as he rode beside Sigimor.

“Hired a few men, aye?”

“I think so. Amiel may have kenned where we were headed but there were too many times when he was right on our trail yet I was nay following the one everyone kens about. He could only have done that with the help of some mon who kenned the land.”

Sigimor nodded. “And the others who are searching for the lads may do the same. Ye could find yourself in a true battle once ye get to Scarglas.”

“Aye, but we can deal with it. We have before.”

“We can talk on that after ye bathe and then join us for some food. I suspicion ye will be in dire need of some rest, too.”

“Oh, aye.” Brian cursed as he realized how he had left Arianna alone. “I should have seen to Arianna instead of leaping onto a fresh horse and joining ye in the chase.”

“My Jo will see to her. And, if the lass is as weary as ye look, I wouldnae be expecting her to greet ye when ye return.”

Sigimor proved right and Brian was not surprised to hear that Arianna was already asleep when he returned. He suffered a brief disappointment over the fact that she revealed no concern for his safety but easily shook it off. They had been chasing Amiel and his men, him and about twenty well-armed Camerons. Arianna had enough sense to know there was little danger for him.

After bathing and donning clean clothes, he made his way down to the great hall. He wanted to sleep but his belly told him he needed some food first. Once in the great hall, he kissed Jolene on the cheek, ignoring Sigimor’s scowl as he did so, and then sat down next to his cousin to fill his plate.

“Lady Arianna was so tired I feared she was about to fall asleep even as she ate her meal,” said Jolene as she sat down across the table from him.

“She may weel have if ye hadnae gotten her into bed quickly.” Brian told them of how she had fallen asleep on her horse and grinned when they laughed. “She hasnae had much time to recover from nearly drowning.” Between bites of food he told them everything that had happened before and since he had found her on the beach.

Jolene shook her head. “I cannot understand how men can do such things just for the sake of gain. One begins to think that no child who might inherit something of worth is ever safe.”

“There is that to consider. This is unnecessary though, for his family will surely get the boys disinherited simply because their mother was a common wench.”

“Amiel may ken something they dinnae,” said Sigimor as he sprawled in his chair and sipped at his wine. “Mayhap the lass wasnae as common as they thought. Some lord’s bastard daughter or the like. There may be someone who will fight the Lucettes on their plans to mark the boys as bastards.”

“Hadnae thought of that,” said Brian. “Yet, if she was better born, surely that fool Claud would have openly declared her his wife.”

“Nay. Blood-proud people dinnae like the fact that someone is a bastard, especially since many of them spring from common stock. ’Twas just a thought. When this is done, however, I would have a wee look at what is happening concerning those lads and their inheritance if I were you. Even if they are marked as bastards, a deal leaving them something of worth may be made to get that marriage annulled.”

“Aye, that will be done if only because Arianna also demanded something be given to the boys. Since the elder Lucettes must be pleased the boys are now out of France and Arianna has implied she willnae shame them with the truth of what their son did, she might just get what she asked for.”

“Clever lass. A little blackmail can be a good thing.” Sigimor caught his wife’s disgusted look and winked at her. “Your brother sent out word to the Murrays once the lads were safely at Scarglas.”

“I sent out word as weel.”

“Then help should be on its way. But, I think ye need to seek your bed, cousin. If I felt as weary as ye look, I would be snoring with my head on the table right now. We can talk on this in the morning.”

“I was thinking we should continue on our way in the morning.”

“Then ’tis even more important that ye get some rest.”

“Where was Arianna put then?”

“In Ilsa’s old bedchamber,” replied Jolene. “I have put ye in the one across from her.”

“Nay, I will stay with her,” Brian said, and could hear the force of demand in his voice despite how softly he spoke.

“Brian, she is not some simple wench. She is a lady, and a Murray.”

“I ken that. I also ken she is a widow, so ’tis nay as if I sully some cherished innocent.”

“I know what men think about widows, but that does not mean it is acceptable to treat them like you would some tavern wench. They still have a good name to protect.”

“I dinnae treat her like that but I willnae leave her alone, either.”

“Do you mean to marry her then?”

“Jo, m’love, leave the mon be,” said Sigimor.

“But ...” Jolene began.

“Nay. Go on with you, Brian. Ye will see that she is safe and cared for. Sleep weel and we will talk in the morning before ye leave.”

Brian quickly escaped the great hall before Jolene could say anything else. He knew it was wrong to be so open about the fact that he was Arianna’s lover, but the thought of not sleeping at her side forced him to be blunt. Jolene could not know that he did not have much time left with Arianna before he had to hand her over to her family. He was not going to waste one single minute of the time they had left in bowing to the proprieties.

He entered the room Sigimor’s only sister had once occupied and smiled as he closed the door. Arianna was little more than a lump beneath the blankets. Brian shed his clothes and crawled in beside her, pulling her into his arms. She murmured his name and pressed close to him.

“Brian?” she said, although he could see that she was not really awake.

“Aye, love.” He touched a kiss to her forehead.

“Ye are unhurt?”

“I am hale and so are all of Sigimor’s men. I fear Amiel managed to escape, though.”

“Bollocks.”

Brian looked down at her face, saw that her eyes were closed and the hand on his chest limp, and laughed softly. Arianna could not only ride a horse while asleep, she could carry on a conversation. He knew she would not recall a word of it, however.

He tucked her head under his chin, and rested his cheek against her hair. The herbs from her bath teased his senses and his body stirred with need, but he was so tired it was easy to quell the urge to make love to her. The need to sleep with her in his arms troubled him a little as it showed him he was not keeping the distance between them that he should. No matter how often he told himself that he had to stay close to keep her safe, he could not fully believe it. They were now inside a strong keep with a strong force of men to watch over them and fight an enemy that tried to get to them. Brian knew, in his heart, that he simply liked to hold her close as he slept.

The part of him that wanted to keep her rose up and he tried to banish it. Even if he could convince himself that she would be happy with him, that she felt more than passion for him, it would be selfish of him to try and hold on to her. He could not give her all the things she could find with another richer, better-born man. Arianna deserved a life of ease, surrounded by the finer things, and there would be little of that if she stayed with him. Even with the improvements made to Scarglas and the money he had saved, it would not equal what she had had as a child of the Murrays or the wife of a comte.

Brian closed his eyes and held her a little closer. There was still some time left to them and he did not want to shadow it with thoughts of all they could not have together. For now, he would enjoy all they could share. He also swore that by the time he set her free, she would know her worth and be bled of the poison Claud had fed her for years.