Hannah Howell (23 page)

“And the few thousand riders?” he asked in a tight voice as he released his grip on her hand and stood up.

She folded her hands in her lap. “Thirty thousand at last counting.”

“Sweet Mary.” He ran a hand through his hair as he paced once around the cell. “That accounting doesna include all that Thurkettle has left behind, does it?”

“Nay. There has been no time to tally that yet.”

Tess watched him pace for a moment. She could not be sure if it was a sign of agitation or if he sought some solution. Then she decided that it did not really matter. The look of utter horror on his face said all that needed to be said. There was no way that he could live with her fortune, and she knew that giving it all up would not help them, either.

“Get dressed, Revan,” she said as she stood up.

“What?” He turned sharply to face her.

“Get dressed.”

Still stunned by what she had told him, he simply obeyed her, moving to tug on his clothes. “Are we going somewhere?”

“Ye
are. Ye are leaving here. Ye dinna have to wed me in the morning.” She held up her hand to silence him when he started to speak. “Nay. Dinna tell me about duty and honor. They are very fine sentiments, but we both ken that few people will judge ye poorly if ye dinna hold to them now. There will probably be many a man who will think ye are admirably clever.”

“Mayhaps. However, although ye have opened the cell door for me, how am I to escape?”

“Through the tunnel, just as ye did before. Uncle had it cleared. But this time I regret to say that ye canna do it with your knife at my throat.”

He ignored that. “And once I step outside of that tunnel, I shall be swiftly taken up by your kinsmen.”

“Nay. The way is clear. Ye need but saddle your horse and ride away.”

“No one is in the stables?”

“The stable lad is tied and gagged.”

“The men standing watch upon the walls?”

“Asleep. Brenda sometimes took a potion to make her sleep. I poured some into the water bucket just before the lad took it around and gave each man there a drink.”

“Ye gave this a lot of thought.”

“More than ye will ever ken,” she murmured. “Ye had best go.”

“Your kinsmen will only hunt me down,” he said as he tugged on his boots.

“Well, I may not be able to stop them at first, but ye need hide out for only a few days. By then I shall have convinced them to let bygones be bygones.” When he just stood there staring at her, she demanded, “Well? Ye shouldna waste time. I canna be sure how long the guard will be asleep. And ye shall want to have as large a start on my kinsmen as ye can get.”

“I canna help but think ’tis wrong to sneak away like a thief in the night. I said I would marry you.”

“Aye, ere ye kenned what I was really worth. Ye canna live with it, Revan. I saw the look upon your face just now. I saw how ye acted and felt when I was given this keep and whatever comes with it. Ye only grew accepting when ye decided that ye might still be able to match that. I dinna think ye could ever make yourself believe that ye could match what I have now.”

“The king himself would have trouble matching what ye have,” he snapped, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I am sorry. ’Tisna you I am angry with, Tessa.”

“I ken it. But it will be. One day it will be. Little by little that anger ye hold will poison our marriage, poison us. ’Tis best if ye just leave now, Revan. ’Tis really the only solution.”

He knew she was right, yet he felt oddly hurt. “ ’Tis strange. I had come to believe that ye cared for me, yet ye are merrily sending me on my way.”

“Merrily?” She laughed shakily. “Ye can be such an idiot.” She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. “Aye, I care for you.” She traced the shape of his face with her fingertips. “At times I think I may care for you too much. ’Tis why I must let ye go.” She got behind him and gave him a little push. “Leave.”

Revan hesitated only long enough to realize that he could think of nothing to say. With one last look at her he headed for the tunnel. There were a lot of good reasons to do exactly as she said. He had thought of several himself. It did not make sense to feel so reluctant. Annoyed at himself for his uncharacteristic hesitation, he moved faster. Within moments he was mounted and riding out of the keep.

For a while he just rode blindly, unable to form one single coherent thought. It took him a moment to realize that his horse had finally halted. He suspected he had not given the animal any direction. Revan looked back toward Thurkettle’s keep, but he had already entered the forest, and the trees combined with the night’s shadows to obscure the keep from view. It was a place he should be glad to get far away from, yet glad was the very last thing he felt.

“There should be a sense of freedom, the feeling that a burden has been lifted from my shoulders,” he muttered as he patted his horse’s neck. “There is none of that, Amigo.” He spoke the name carefully and smiled faintly when the animal whinnied. “Aye. It suits you. She chose well. I wonder what she will name that lump of stone she now holds.”

He cursed and shook his head. That was no longer any of his concern. Tessa herself was no longer any of his concern, no longer to be a part of his life. He was riding away a free man. Tessa had released him from all promises and obligations.

It hurt and that briefly annoyed him. There should only be a small sense of regret. Everything was just as he had thought he wanted it to be. His pride intact, he could return to being a knight in King James’s service, a knight with no entanglements to interfere with his skills or the execution of his duties. Ever since he had first looked into Tessa’s huge brown eyes, he had been sure that this was just what he wanted.

Memories of Tessa crowded into his mind. He remembered how she laughed, how black her eyes grew when she was caught in passion’s grip, and how brave and uncomplaining she had been throughout their life-threatening ordeal. Revan frowned as he clearly recalled how she had looked as she had set him free—her pretty face pale and her big eyes clouded with sadness. It hurt to remember that look, for he knew he was the cause of it. She did not want him gone. She was doing what she thought was necessary for his happiness.

“But, curse it, I am
not
happy.” He scowled at Amigo when the horse snorted. “I am not happy and she is not happy, so how can this be the only solution, the right thing to do? If it is, ’tis the worst one I have ever heard of.”

Revan knew what the solution was—conquering his pigheaded pride. That was at the heart of their problems—he was too proud to accept that Tessa had wealth and he did not. He frowned. When put that way, it sounded more like envy than pride.

He weighed it up in his mind again and again—wincing as he listed what Tessa had and sighing as he listed what he could contribute. There was always the chance that he could yet gain some land and wealth if he continued to ride in King James’s service. It would be a salve for his pride but gaining it would leave Tessa alone a great deal, alone to manage and defend all her holdings as well as any family they might be blessed with. He knew she had the wit to do it alone, but she should not have to.

There was one reason for his hesitancy and confusion that he had avoided considering, but suddenly he faced it squarely. He loved her. Matters were not as simple as they should be because of that emotional bond, and he knew it was foolish to keep trying to ignore it. He loved her. Revan found it a little exhilarating to finally accept it.

And because he loved her, he would always know in his heart that he had not married her for her wealth, he thought as he sat up straighter in his saddle and looked back toward the tower house. Tessa would know it as well. Most people would consider him simply a lucky man to have won such a well-dowered bride. The few who sheltered less charitable thoughts did not matter. It was exactly what everyone had been telling him, but he had refused to listen, had held firm to his own view, and had stubbornly refused to be swayed. Now, faced with the choice of living without Tess at his side or living with her wealth, he could see it. He was also sure that, with some time to consider the matter, he and Tess could find ways to further placate his pride. They could put some of her wealth in trust for their children just as the wealth she now held had been put aside for her when she had come of age.

Laughing softly, he turned Amigo back toward the tower house. The way he felt was further confirmation of the rightness of his action. Faced with leaving, he had been confused and miserable. Now that he was going back, now that he had made the decision to stay with her, he felt lighthearted and eager. He urged Amigo into a slightly faster pace, hoping to get back to his cell as secretly as he had left it. It would be fun to see Tessa’s face when she found him still there. He would pause only long enough to untie the poor stable boy.

 

 

“Here he comes.”

Silvio tugged Tomas back down behind the wall. “Dinna let him see you.”

“They are going to realize that we ken the whole of it. If naught else, the guards will wonder why they all went to sleep at the same time. It would be reported.”

“ ’Twill be a while ere they recall that.” He grinned and winked at Tomas. “ ’Twill be fun to see how the lass plays this in the morning.” He laughed along with Tomas.

A heavy sigh escaped Tess as she studied herself in the mirror. The gown she wore was of the finest gold silk. Her hair was loose and festooned with gold ribbons. She was sure she looked as lovely as she ever could, and it was all for nothing. Very soon she was going to be facing her angry kinsmen and trying to talk them out of hunting Revan down and dragging him back. It was not something she looked forward to. For a little while after she had set Revan free, she had considered running away herself. Only the knowledge that it would solve nothing had stopped her.

There was a rap at her door, and her uncle called, “Are ye ready, lass?”

“Aye, Uncle Silvio,” she answered as she moved to open the door. “Quite ready.” She managed a small smile.

“Ah, lassie, ye do look bonnie. Very bonnie, indeed.” He kissed her cheek, then took her by the arm. “Ye will have your laddie so beset he will have trouble saying his vows.”

“More trouble than ye ken,” she muttered as he escorted her down the stairs.

“What was that, dearling?”

“Nothing. Has the priest been found, then?”

“Aye. Tomas brought him from the village nearly an hour ago. He waits in the great hall. Once ye are there, we shall fetch your groom.”

Tess looked away and winced. It should have been such a happy day for her, but it was turning into the worst day of her life. What she wanted to do was curl up somewhere and weep out her pain, but she was going to have to deal with what could be a very emotional confrontation. She was surprised that Revan’s escape had not already been discovered. The men must have been too embarrassed to report what she had done to them. It had given Revan plenty of time to get away, but she did wish the discovery of his flight could have come a little earlier.

When they entered the great hall, Tess covertly watched the men gathered there as Silvio escorted her over to the priest. She recognized a few of the guards who had been on the walls the night before. Each of them smiled courteously and gave a slight nodding bow. Not one of them gave even the slightest sign that they knew they had been given a sleeping potion and by whom. That did not seem reasonable to her, but before she could think about it much, Silvio introduced her to the priest.

“Ye stay here with the good Father, Tess,” Silvio said and winked. “He will tell ye all about the duties of a good wife while I help Tomas fetch your young man. Best to listen well to the Father. I think ye are in need of it.”

Before she could make any reply, Silvio strode away. The priest took what her uncle said as a serious command and immediately began to lecture her on the proper behavior of a wife. Tess found it both painful and tedious. It hurt to listen to the priest because she so wanted to be a wife—Revan’s wife—and that future was now lost to her. After the priest mentioned duty for the fourth time and stressed obedience for the third time, she began to ignore him. She nervously watched the heavy iron-studded doors to the great hall, tensely awaiting the outcry that would soon come.

 

 

Silvio smiled as he stepped up to Revan’s cell, the keys dangling from his fingers. “Your bride awaits you.”

“I am ready.” Revan idly brushed his hand over the rich blue doublet he wore.

After testing the cell door to see if it was open, Silvio murmured, “Locked.” He used the key.

“Ye locked it yourself.” As soon as Silvio unlocked the door, Revan stepped out of the cell.

“Aye, that I did—the first time.”

Revan slowly turned to look at Tomas and Silvio. Both men wore faint smiles and watched him closely. Their dark eyes were alive with amusement. They knew everything. Revan was certain of it.

“How fares my bride?” he asked as he started up the steep narrow stairs, determined not to be the first to mention his near escape.

“Very pretty and taut as a bowstring,” Silvio replied as he followed Revan.

That was not hard for Revan to imagine. Poor Tess had to feel as if she were walking on broken glass as she waited for his disappearance to be discovered. Her wits must be sadly scattered if she had not yet guessed that her kinsmen knew everything or that he must still be at the keep. He hoped he did not offset her too much with his unexpected return.

At the top of the stairs he hesitated, struck by a sudden bout of knee-trembling uncertainty. What if he was wrong about how she felt about him? She had sent him away. Her reasons for that might not have been as noble and self-sacrificing as he had thought. Tess might simply not want to marry him.

Inwardly he shook his head, banishing that fear. She did care for him. No one could look at a person as she had when she had set him free and not care. It might not be the love that he now knew he craved from her, but the seeds of that emotion were definitely rooted in her heart.

“Ye have had your chance, lad,” Silvio said quietly. “Ye have made your choice.”

“I ken it.” He started on his way again. “Just a brief attack of uncertainty.”

“The lass might be grateful if ye would keep walking when that happens. I left her with the priest. He is instructing her on the virtues of a good and dutiful wife.” Silvio just smiled when Revan glanced his way.

“Cruel. Punishment, is it?”

“The lass could use a wee bit of instruction on duty and obedience.”

“I can see that I must hie to her rescue yet again.” Revan increased his pace, Tess’s chuckling kinsmen quickly matching it.

Revan stepped into the great hall a moment later and halted when he saw Tess. She was as beautiful as he had ever seen her, the rich gold of her gown suiting her coloring perfectly. Or it would do if she were not as pale as parchment. He hurried over to her, a little worried that she was about to faint for the first time since he had met her.

Tess wondered if her lack of sleep, her pain, and the several lapses into heavy weeping during the long night had disordered her mind. It was not until Revan reached her side and took her hand in his, his warm and very solid hand enclosing her suddenly cold one, that she knew she was not seeing things. Revan really was there, dressed for his wedding and watching her with concern.

“Revan,” she said, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper. “Ye are here.”

“And where else would he be?” asked her uncle Silvio.

She was about to reply, “About fifty miles away and riding hard,” when Silvio ordered the priest to begin the ceremony. Tess had a hundred questions she burned to ask but could not utter even one of them as she and Revan knelt before the priest. She saw no sign upon Revan that he had been forcibly dragged back and his expression was one of serious calm. Unable to think clearly, not knowing what to do or say, Tess simply went along with the ceremony.

 

 

“A toast to the bride and groom,” bellowed Silvio as he stood up, his wine goblet raised high.

Tess quickly grabbed her wine as Revan stood up and pulled her to her feet. She was only just beginning to think clearly again. The wedding ceremony and the feast that had followed it seemed more like faint memories instead of things she had just done. For the first time since Revan had walked through the doors of the great hall, she was not feeling as if she were locked into some strange dream.

She smiled at the men gathered around the table and started to lift her goblet to her lips. It suddenly came to her notice that several men were clearly waiting for her to drink first. Since it was a toast in her honor, that was somewhat odd. She frowned as she realized the ones who hesitated were men who had stood guard the night before, men she had given the sleeping potion to. It took a moment, as her memories of the past few hours were very confused, but she realized that these same men had hesitated in the same way with each and every drink of wine.

They knew. The knowledge shook her, and she took a deep drink to try and steady herself. They immediately drank their wine as well, confident that she would never take a dose of her own poison. As they all sat down again, she thought the matter through several times, and her shock began to change to annoyance. If the guards knew they had been dosed and that she had done it, then her kinsmen knew as well. Her attempt to free Revan had been no secret. She would not be surprised if it had been watched from the moment she had slipped out of her bedchamber. She had suffered through hours of fear and nervousness for nothing. Tess glared at Silvio.

“Ye kenned it all from the start, didna ye?” she snapped at her uncle. “Ye have been playing your own game, not mine.”

Revan quickly stood up, grabbed Tess by the hand, and pulled her to her feet. “I believe my sweet bride and I shall retire to the marriage chamber now.”

“Now? ’Tisna even sunset. And I havena finished talking to my conniving uncle.”

“Aye. Ye have.”

Tess screeched softly in surprise when Revan picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Many a ribald remark was bellowed after them as he strode out of the great hall. She relieved her embarrassment a little by pounding vigorously upon his broad back.

“Put me down, ye great idiot.”

“Is that any way for a blushing bride to speak to her husband? I thought the priest had instructed ye on the correct manner of a wife.”

“The priest belched out a great deal of nonsense I paid no heed to. Now, put me down.”

“When we get to our bedchamber.”

She cursed him and got a light slap on her backside in reply. When he entered the bedchamber they were to share and tossed her onto the huge curtained bed, she quickly sat up to glare at him. The need to push her tousled hair off of her face before she could give him the full force of her glare only added to her annoyance.

In fact, she was not quite sure why she was angry with Revan. His taking her away from a hearty argument with her uncle was a small offense. She decided that it was simply because Revan was there. She had spent a hellish night, torn up inside over his leaving, and worrying about the consequences of setting him free, only to find that it was a needless self-inflicted agony.

“Did they find ye and drag ye back here?” she asked, noticing that he had started to undress.

“Nay. I rode but a few miles and then turned back.”

“But I gave ye what ye wanted.” She tried to keep her mind on the important discussion she was trying to have, but when he took off his fine linen shirt, she could only think about what a beautiful chest he had.

“Aye, and I really thought that I wanted it.” Stripped to his braies, he walked over to the bed and ran his hand over her hair.

She got up onto her knees so that she could look him in the eye. “And just what do ye want?”

Revan slipped his hand beneath her heavy skirts and stroked her thigh. “I want you, Tessa—right now.”

His touch already had her breathing fast, and she fruitlessly tried to fight her weakness for him. She put her hands on his chest, intending to push him away, but was distracted by the feel of his warm taut skin beneath her hands and by how fast his heart was beating. When he began to undo her gown and brushed his lips over hers, she sighed and gave in. Nothing seemed quite as vital to her at the moment as the need to know his touch again.

After he removed her gown, he gently pushed her down onto the bed and covered her body with his. Tess clung to him, occasionally easing her grip only enough to allow him to finish undressing her. When their flesh finally met, she trembled. She was starved for him, the night she had spent believing him gone forever only adding to her hunger.

Tess greedily welcomed his every caress, his every kiss, and did her best to return each one in kind. She could not seem to get enough of the feel of him, of the taste of him. For as long as she could, she fought to restrain her body’s screaming need for completion. She wanted the pleasure, the sweet closeness, to last forever.

When Revan finally united their fevered bodies, she cried out with a mixture of heady delight and faint disappointment that the lovemaking would soon end. She clung to him, returning his fierce kiss, and tried to pull him as deeply within her as she could. Her release forced the words she had kept locked in her heart out of her mouth in a passion-thickened cry. She paid no heed to that compulsive confession, hearing only Revan hoarsely calling her name as she sank into the blind abyss of need. Tess held him close, her limbs curled around his lean body, when he slumped against her.

She watched him carefully when he finally eased the intimacy of their embrace and moved to wash up. Even when he gently performed that intimate service for her, she could not stop looking at him. She told herself not to be such a fool, but a part of her was still afraid that he was not real, that he was simply a vision produced by her exhausted mind.

Revan returned to bed and started to tug the covers down. Tess moved to slip beneath the lavender-scented sheets and felt something crinkle beneath her backside. She frowned at the letter she tugged out from beneath her as she joined Revan beneath the covers. Someone had left it on the top of the bedcovers, but they had missed it in their need to make love. Her eyes widened when she saw Revan’s name scrawled on it, as well as the king’s seal.

“ ’Tis for you.” She handed it to him and saw by his expression that he was as surprised as she.

“Mayhaps ’tis just some orders,” he murmured as he tore it open and, slipping his arm about her shoulders, held her close while he read it. His amusement over how hard she tried not to read his letter faded as he discovered what the king had written to him.

“I have been given all that MacKinnon owned,” he said, his voice soft with shock. “A fine piece of property and what coin and goods there might be to tally up.”

“Oh, Revan, ’tis wondrous news. ’Tis well past time that he gave ye some reward for your loyalty.”

Tess impulsively kissed him, then snuggled closer to his side. She was happy for him but knew that her happiness was prompted by more than Revan finally getting some of the reward he so richly deserved. Now he had land and coin in his purse. Now they were just a little more equal. She glanced up at him and frowned. He was looking at her a little oddly.