Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A sudden splash of cold water fell on Kaden's face. Feeling as if he was being doused in ice, he sat bolt upright.

"What in God's name –" He broke off when he saw Elara stood above him. In her hand was a bucket. Evidently, it was the same bucket she had just thrown at him full of water. "What was that fer?"

"Ye looked as if ye needed tae calm yerself down in yer sleep." She pointed down at his trews.

Angered, Kaden jumped to his feet, shaking off the water from his hair and wiping the dregs free from his face.

"Elspeth is very kind, isnae she? She thought I needed this tae freshen up this morning." Elara looked delighted as she returned the bucket to a table nearby.

"Ye clearly slept well," Kaden observed, glancing at the bed. She must have slept better than he did. It was an uncomfortable night's sleep on that floor, but it hadn't been helped by dreams of Elara as she stepped out of that bath, her body glistening.

"I did," Elara said as she strode across the room and pointed at the bedchamber door. "So, what are we going tae dae now?" she asked. "Ye mentioned this advisor last night, a Liam."

"Hold yer horses," he said, waving a hand at her as he rearranged his trews. Fortunately, the bucket of cold water had at least done its job in calming his hardened length. "Aye, we'll go and see him, but we'll eat first."

"Eat? Ye seem preoccupied with eating all the time."

"I am preoccupied with keeping up me strength." He glanced at her as he marched across the room, sweeping aside one of the screens as he searched for some clothes. "Unlike ye, I have nay intention of weakening meself ahead of a long ride."

"Who said I liked tae weaken meself?" she said tartly. He didn't answer, but he had noticed enough at the dinner the night before to realize she was not eating a lot. He put it down to her nerves at being in his castle.

"We'll leave soon, but first, we shall eat. If we're going tae hunt fer this killer together, Elara, then ye're going tae have tae learn tae trust me."

"Dae ye nae realize how mad that sounds? Trusting ye?"

He halted in his search for clothes and glanced back at her.

"Ye dae remember I am nae a murderer, dinnae ye?" At his words, she shifted her weight between her feet.

She had chosen a different dress again today, though in truth, Kaden found it as distracting as the gown she had worn the first night he met her. It wasn't as revealing, but with the corset fastened to her waist in just the right place, it accented the curve of her petite body in the most alluring way. It didn't help that the pale blue silk complimented her eyes and the blondeness of her hair. Where he was dark and tanned, she was pale and golden.

"I remember," she whispered. "It doesnae mean I am inclined tae trust ye yet."

Frustrated to be so attracted to a woman that plainly disliked him, he pulled a screen between them once again, blocking out his view of her.

"What are ye doing?" Elara asked, calling back to Kaden with impatience. They had two horses ready for them in the courtyard for their trip to visit Liam, and she was eager to be going. Kaden, on the other hand, seemed in no rush.

He stood in the entrance to his keep, muttering something to one of his guards.

"One minute, fire," he called to her.

"Fire?" she repeated in surprise.

He handed a note to the guard beside him.

"Fer Marcus' eyes only," Kaden urged, and the guard nodded. Kaden walked out toward Elara where she stood there, eyes wide.

"What did ye call me?"

"Me new name fer ye," he whispered, winking. "Fire."

"I dinnae like that name."

"I dinnae like the fact ye struck me in the back of the head, yet, here we are." He gestured to the horse beside her. "Ye need any help up?"

"Nay." She pressed her booted foot into the stirrup and pulled herself up into the saddle, catching out of the corner of the eye the fact that Kaden smiled a little as she did so. She tried her best not to think about what that smile could mean as he walked toward his own horse.

"Me laird, please, let us send a guard with ye?" An elderly man was calling to them from the doorway. Judging by his fine apparel, Elara thought he must be one of the council members.

"We have been through this," Kaden stated, pulling himself into his own saddle. "Marcus has already taken two guards with him tae pursue the missing Lydia. The more men I travel with, the more suspicion I draw tae meself. That cannae happen."

"And who will ye say ye two are, if ye are stopped and asked?" the man asked, gesturing between the Elara and Kaden.

"We'll say we're married," Kaden declared.

"We will nae," Elara snapped. Kaden laughed and waved another time at the man.

"We will nae be gone long." With these final words, he flicked the reins and shot off toward the open gate in the curtain wall. Elara hastened to follow him, leaning forward in the saddle as she hastened to catch up with him. Fortunately, her mare was strong, and bearing such a light charge, she caught up to Kaden with ease.

Rather than heading anywhere near Inverness or an open road, Kaden led them straight toward the forests and the mountains instead. The river dropped away behind them, and soon enough, they were surrounded by Douglas firs, that guarded them like sentries. They had to slow their horses as they climbed steep hills, conserving energy.

When they reached a path in the mountain, they slowed to a walk, riding alongside one another.

"Ye ride well," Kaden said approvingly. Uncertain why this compliment caused her any degree of happiness, Elara looked away from him.

"Thank ye. I learned much from me braither over the years."

"Including how tae knock a man out with one pinch," his bickering tone made her glower at him.

Despite that burning glare, Elara was realizing something. She had been alone twice in Kaden's company for a whole night now. He had not hurt her, nor laid a hand on her.

He is a man who can be trusted.

"It's a useful thing tae ken," she whispered.

"Only a few people I have met ken such a skill. Mercenaries, and… spies." Kaden eyed her, moving his horse alongside her own. Their knees brushed and she looked at him in alarm. "Are ye a trained spy?"

"Nae exactly." She shook her head. "Me braither taught me skills tae survive. They make me a good spy, but he would never send me on such a mission."

"Then, he doesnae ken about ye coming tae me castle?" He cursed and looked away from her, not bothering to wait for her answer.

"Why dae ye ask?"

"Ye did it all without Laird Cassian's knowledge, didnae ye?" Kaden cursed again. "When Cassian finds out, he'll probably think I kidnapped the pair of ye."

"He wouldnae think that. Me braither kens well enough I've been trying tae sneak intae yer castle fer a long time now." Elara waved her hand dismissively, but nothing could dissuade the look of tension in Kaden's brow. "Ye are safe from me braither's wrath."

"I nearly bedded his sister, I am nae safe from it."

"Ye didnae nearly bed me!" she cried in sudden defense, shifting herself around in the saddle to face him fully.

"Ye took me tae yer chamber in that inn. Ye kissed me."

"That is nae the same as bedding someone," she hissed, leaning toward him. He seemed to be leaning toward her too, out of his steed's saddle.

"Nay indeed." The way he looked at her meant something more. She shivered, though it had nothing tae dae with the chilly wind that was bristling across the mountain. "What was that?" His eyes suddenly narrowed.

"I shivered."

"Nae that." He reached across and caught the reins of her horse.

"What are ye daeing?"

"Hush," he pleaded, bringing them both to a stop. "That." He nodded to a nearby clump of trees.

There was some bristling of leaves, but it was not from the wind. It was an isolated patch of leaves within a larger bush, shaking, as though someone was ruffling them from behind.

"Stay here," Kaden urged, releasing the reins and swinging his leg over the saddle to get down.

"Why? So ye can make me bait if we are about tae be attacked by bandits?"

He didn't answer her for he had moved too far away, skulking toward the trees, his hands on his weapons belt. He pulled out a sword slowly, the metal inaudible against the leather scabbard.

As Kaden disappeared into the trees, Elara held her breath. She waited for him to appear, but he did not come back.

She wasn't sure what made her do it. Maybe it was because she wanted to show Kaden she would not bend her knee at his order, or perhaps it was because she suddenly felt isolated, because for all of his flaws, he seemed like a very safe place to stand by.

She moved down from the horse and crept toward the trees, picking up the skirt of her blue gown just enough to allow her to tiptoe into the trees without her skirt snagging on twigs and causing a sound.

In the forest, she looked left and right, her nerves growing with the increasing wind. A tremble passed up her spine as she saw a shadow a few feet away from her. Someone passed between the trees, molding himself to the back of a tree trunk. She stepped toward him, releasing her breath when she saw who it was.

"Kaden?" she whispered.

He jerked his head toward her, his sword held still in his hands, the blade pointed toward the sky.

"What dae ye nae understand about stay out there?" He mouthed the words, jerking his elbow toward the outer edge of the trees as she moved to stand beside him, her back to the trunk.

"Ye were making me intae bait," she mouthed back.

"Nay, I was trying tae keep ye safe." His answer made her baulk. "Surprised ye, did I?"

"This is nae the time fer bickering."

"I quite agree."

"Ah, so ye agree with me about something after all?"

"Ahhh!" A bellow erupted from the trees.

Out of nowhere, a figure ran toward them. With a branch held high in his hands like a weapon, the man swung it in their direction.

Kaden jumped forward. He knocked the branch clean out of the man's hands with the sword. A heavy thud followed, and the man screamed again, jumping back.

Kaden lifted the sword aloft in the air but did not bring it down as the man cowered by the nearest tree.

Elara watched, open mouthed, as the man trembled from head to toe. Old with a scraggy beard and withered arms, he was hardly a bandit or highwayman. His clothes hung off his bones, for he had such little meat on him.

When the sword didn't come down on his head, slowly, he lowered his arms, his gray eyes darting between Elara and Kaden in wonder.

"Oh, oh," the man gasped. "Ye arenae them. I thought… I thought ye were them." He as good as collapsed to the ground, sinking down the tree.

"Woah, careful there." Kaden thrust his sword into his belt and went to take the man's arm. "Dinnae sit there. Come, sit here." He moved the man from the boggy ground to a fallen tree, practically lifting him onto the trunk to sit. "Are ye all right, sirrah? Ah, I see ye are nae."

Across the side of the man's face, blood dripped.

"Who did this tae ye?" Kaden asked, his voice thick.

Elara scrambled forward. She reached into a bag she had looped over her shoulder and pulled out her handkerchief. Kaden took it from her and placed it to the man's temple, trying to staunch the blood.

"Highwaymen," the man said, winching at the touch. "They took me horse, me money, everything. I ran off intae the trees tae hide. I thought ye were them, come tae kill me."

"Nay one is going tae hurt ye." Kaden's voice had softened. "The bleeding isnae bad, it should stop soon." He still dabbed the man's temple all the same.

Elara watched Kaden, her eyes finding it hard to look away from the gentle way that Kaden attended to the man's wound.

"Now, can ye tell me anything about these highwaymen?" Kaden asked.

"Three of them. Dressed all in black. They took me horse and cart. I was going tae Inverness market. I sell wood, sir, but… they took it all." He lowered the handkerchief from his face, his eyes full of unshed tears.

"Then we must get ye some help. Can ye walk? Come, I have an idea." Kaden took the man's arm and steered him off the trunk. Elara moved to his other side, helping the man as the three of them scrambled out of the trees. "Ye see this mare?" Kaden pointed toward the horse Elara had been riding. "Take her, but dinnae go tae Inverness. Go tae the castle instead. Take this money, and this." He held up a small chip, it was emblazoned with the Stuart family crest. "Tell them that the laird has sent ye there. They will look after ye."

The man's hand trembled as he stared at Kaden.

"I cannae dae that."

"Ye can."

"But… that would mean ye are…" He pointed a finger at Kaden. Slowly, Kaden inclined his head.

"Laird Stuart, at yer service." Kaden glanced over his shoulder. "Now, we must be quick, in case these highwaymen dae come back. Come, I'll help ye ontae the horse."

Elara went to help too, speechless. She had no words to conjure as she aided Kaden in getting the man onto the horse.

"Safe travels, sirrah," Kaden said, waving as the man turned the horse back up the path and rode away. The man kept pressing his hand to his temple, still trying to staunch the bleeding from his temple. "Ye're staring at me, Elara." He jerked his head toward her, his eyes narrow. "Why are ye staring?"

"Wonder," she whispered. "Ye shocked me. That is all." Plainly, it had been as natural to Kaden as breathing. He had taken care of the man, shown him kindness and protection, even offered up one of his own horses and some money for the journey.

Something warm started to grow inside of Elara as she stared at Kaden, something that this time she could not stamp down on.

He gestured to the horse.

"Well, I'll anger ye next. We're going tae have tae ride the rest of the way on the same horse."