Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

L iam snarled at Evander, “Friends of yers, is it?”

“Whoever it is, they’re naethin’ tae dae with me,” Evander hissed back furiously. “This meetin’ was suppose tae be secret.” He slid backwards along the wall and craned his neck to see out of an empty window. He jerked his head back suddenly. “Jaysus! ‘Tis a party of Gael’s men! What the hell are they doin’ here?”

“Ye tell me,” Liam shot back with disdain. “Ivy, get behind that archway, out of sight. If we can take them by surprise, we may have a good chance of gettin’ out of here.”

“What about me?” Evander asked.

“Ye? They’re yer friends. The only reason I havenae killed ye already is because Ivy seems tae believe yer lies and thinks ye harmless.”

“They’re naethin’ tae dae with me, I tell ye! They’re me enemies just as much as they are yers. Gael would love tae kill me.”

“I ken the feelin’,” Liam said as he ran to the rear door and pressed himself against the wall, ready to attack anyone who entered.

“How many are they, Evander?” Ivy asked, drawing her sword and retreating beneath the archway as Liam suggested.

“Five or six from what I could see, all armed tae the teeth,” he replied. “How the hell did they ken we were here?” he repeated, leading Ivy to believe he was genuinely baffled. He took up a position in an alcove near the ruined front doors of the chapel. There was an ominous silence coming from outside. Liam and Ivy exchanged glances.

The first of Gaels’ men who stepped silently into the chapel through the back door did not get very far before Liam plunged his sword into his chest. As he was pulling it out, another man barged in after him, his sword raised. He attacked Liam with a fierce growl.

Liam ducked and spun on the balls of his feet, coming up to block the downswing of his opponent’s blade with his own. The man was large, with a bushy black beard, and he fought furiously, trampling over his fallen comrade’s body heedlessly as he advanced and engaged with Liam.

Evander too had leaped out behind the first soldier through the shattered front door and was about to cut him down when the next man appeared and, on seeing Evander, yelled “Watch out!” to alert the first, who managed to swerve and avoid Evander’s strike. Evander backed up, frantically parrying the shouter’s blows. The first man turned and also attacked him.

Another soldier burst in, and was about to attack Evander as well, when Ivy sprang out from her hiding place and came to Evander’s aid against the trio. She and her informant fought hard, their feet moving rapidly as they parried and exchanged blows with the three attackers. The clash of metal filled the air and bounced deafeningly off the walls.

“Dinnae hurt the girl but bring her!” a tall rangy man with a scarred face shouted as he came running in through the door, gripping his sword and looking left and right. His eyes alighted on Ivy, and he too plunged into the fray, directing his efforts towards increasing the pressure on her.

Liam was still holding off the bearded soldier, who was proving to be a challenging foe. Even as Liam skillfully thrust and parried and rained down blows relentlessly on his enemy, he was getting as good as he gave. This was because he kept glancing over at the fight going on on the other side of the floor. It was obvious that Ivy and Evander were outnumbered and slowly becoming overwhelmed, now pitched against four men.

“Ivy, run!” he shouted over to her frantically, narrowly dodging the arcing downswing of his foe’s blade. “Just get out Ivy, get away, ‘tis ye they want!”

“I’m nae runnin’!” she yelled back, still valiantly fighting alongside Evander. Evander, who was slowly being forced backwards, tripped over something behind him and fell on his back. The fall knocked the breath from him, and his sword fell from his hand. In a split second, he rolled to one side, only just avoiding being skewered by one of the soldiers. In a moment, he was back up on his feet and retrieving his sword, engaging again with the last of his opponents.

After that, Ivy was soon completely overrun. Scarface and one of the other men took her sword off her and held her securely by her upper arms. She fought and kicked to get free, but it was no good.

“Ivy, are ye all right?!” Liam shouted, redoubling his efforts against his bearded foe. Finally, his attacker stepped back onto his dead comrade’s body and lost his balance, tottering slightly. It was enough of an opening for him to stab the man in the belly.

As the man dropped his blade and folded over, clutching his gut, Liam kicked him hard in the chest, wrenching out his sword from the wound at the same time. The man flew backwards, his bloody entrails squeezing out from between his fingers, and landed against a wall.

Without pausing for a second, Liam leapt across the room towards the men who were dragging a struggling Ivy out through the front doors. However, the moment they glimpsed Liam heading towards the door, they rushed to engage him. Ivy was screaming and shouting, cursing her captors and doing everything she could to make it as hard as possible to get her through the broken front door.

Liam frantically engaged with both of the remaining soldiers, who were now blocking the doorway and his access to Ivy. Suddenly, the end of a blade appeared in the middle of one of the soldier’s chests. It vanished just as quickly, and as the soldier fell to his knees, wearing an expression of shock, Evander appeared behind him and wiped his blade on the man’s coat.

Liam sprang through the doors and onto the back of one of the men holding Ivy, stabbing him hard and fast in the neck. Then he grasped the dying man by his collar and tossed him aside like a broken doll. Scarface was still dragging Ivy by the arm. As Liam threw himself after them, he saw Ivy reach down to her belt, pull out his dirk, and plunge it into Scarface’s chest.

The man dropped instantly to his knees. Ivy cursed him and pulled out the dirk. Scarface fell forward, clutching at the wound in his chest, until a gout of blood flew from his mouth, and he lay still.

Ivy stayed hunched on the ground, and when Liam got to her, he saw blood dripping from a long slash in her upper arm. “Ivy, Ivy, are ye all right?” he asked, ripping off his kerchief and using it to bandage her arm.

“Aye, I’m all right. Are ye? Are ye hurt?” She lifted her head to look at him. She was pale and exhausted.

“Aye, I’m fine. Can ye stand? We need tae get out of here and get ye tae Effie as soon as possible,” he told her.

“Can ye give me a hand up?” she asked, putting her uninjured arm out to him. He took it and gently lifted her to her feet, supporting her as she leaned against his side. “Me horse is over there.” She nodded to a gap in the trees.

“I ken. I followed ye, remember?”

She smiled weakly. “Oh, aye, so ye did. Just as well, really, eh? I would have been half way back tae Gael by now if ye hadnae interfered.” She looked around. “Where’s Evander?”

“Here,” came the reply. Evander appeared in front of them.

“Are ye hurt?” Ivy asked him.

“Nay, just a few nicks. I was lucky,” he said.

“Ye fought bravely,” she told him.

“So did ye, melady.”

“How d’ye think they kent where tae find us?”

“Most likely they followed ye. Since ye’ve been at Castle Stewart, they’ve had spies all over the place. That’s why I’ve been sneakin’ about, as yer friend here puts it.” He looked at Liam as he spoke.

“Ye fought well, aye, but I still dinnae trust ye,” Liam told him.

“I’m nae askin’ ye tae trust me,” Evander said. “I’m askin’ Lady Ivy here tae trust me.”

“What will ye dae now, Evander?” she asked him.

“Ask ye tae arrange fer me tar have sanctuary at Castle Stewart.”

She was surprised, but then she nodded. “Well, obviously it is nae me decision, but I’ll certainly ask the laird if that’s what ye want.”

“Knox will never grant that,” Liam said.

“He might if he learns that Evander can prove me braither and Gael plotted tae kill our parents and destroy the both of them,” Ivy pointed out. “Besides, Evander fought with us. What sort of folk would we be if we didnae help him out?”

“Christ!” Liam muttered. He looked at Evander. “All right. Ye can come back with us if it’s what Ivy wants. But the decision is down tae the laird. If ye really dae have this proof ye speak of, then he’ll wantae ken about it.”

“If he agrees, I’ll give him everything I have,” Evander said with a nod.

“All right, let’s get out of this place,” Ivy said.

“Aye, ye need tae see the healer right away.”

“Ach, man, will ye ever quit yer naggin’?” Ivy asked with a laugh as he walked her back to her horse.

“When it comes tae keepin’ ye alive, probably nae.”

As the trio rode slowly back to Castle Stewart, Liam had a lot on his mind. As had so often been the case recently, his emotions were scrambled. He was thankful that Ivy was safe, that her only injury was not life-threatening. Yet when he thought about how close things had come to her being taken back to Carson and Gael, he felt sick. He had to admit they would not have gotten out of that situation at the chapel if Evander had not been there and fought alongside them.

Yet Evander presented a problem in himself. There was something about the man that made him feel uneasy. He seemed to have an answer for everything, and it all sounded reasonable. Nevertheless, Liam still felt there was something fishy about him. Ivy might trust him, but he had no intention of dropping his guard. Moreover, he was certain that Knox and Magnus would feel the same way.

However, if he was proved wrong, and Evander really could help bring down Carson and Gael, then it would bring Knox the outcome he wished for, without any bloodshed. If that happened, he would apologize to Evander and shake his hand.

What was really nagging away at him since the fight at the chapel was his feeling that he could not protect Ivy. He castigated himself for letting her go to the chapel at all. It did not matter to him that she had made her own decision.

In his mind, the failure was his, and it all bore out the mantra that ruled his life: the moment you started caring about someone, they would be cruelly snatched away from you. Effie confiding to him that Ivy loved him had made it easier to admit to himself that he was in love with her. But that just makes it worse if I cannae keep her safe. She’ll be better off without me , he concluded grimly as they rode into the castle.

He arranged for Evander to be escorted to see Knox, sending the message that he would be there as soon as he had taken Ivy to see Effie. Then, he picked her up and carried her up to the infirmary. Effie was horrified to see the state of Ivy but also happy and relieved that she was safe. Nevertheless, he sensed some tension in Effie that he guessed stemmed from her guilt at telling him about the meeting.

He waited while Effie examined the wound to Ivy’s arm and checked her for any other injuries. “I think she’ll be fine after I’ve cleaned and dressed the wound and she’s had a nice rest. She’s very strong. I’ll look after her and take her back tae her chamber if ye have things tae see to,” she told him.

“Erm, I am actually here in the room, ye ken,” Ivy chimed. “I’m nae incapable of speakin’ up fer mesel’. I have a cut on me arm, nae a mortal wound.”

“I’m sorry, Ivy. Ye have nae idea of how worried we were about ye,” Effie told her.

“Well, that’s nice tae ken, but please dinnae treat me like an invalid when I’m nae.”

“I havetae go and see Knox now,” Liam told Ivy. “I’ll see ye later.”

“Aye, all right.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Thank ye fer interferin’, Liam. I’m very glad ye stuck yer nose in me business and followed me.” Her beautiful smile almost broke his heart.

He tried to smile back as best he could. “We’ll talk later on,” he said and left the infirmary. As he strode down the tower steps and headed for Knox’s study, he reflected that if he had to choose between dealing with affairs of the heart or a clan war, then war would win hands down.