His Conquest (8 page)

“Lord Grey is gravely wounded,” she said, her tone cool, “though he would claim otherwise.”

Seathan’s brothers immediately focused on him.

“He has a deep gash in his left side,” Linet continued, “and bruises all over his body.”

“Name the bastard,” Alexander spat.

Linet flinched at the instant fury. Fulke deserved their wrath and more.

“Lord Tearlach,” Seathan replied.

Duncan’s eyes narrowed to ice. “I will slay his damnable heart.”

“Not before I carve his arse,” Alexander stated. He nodded to Seathan. “Tell us everything.”

In horrifying detail, Linet absorbed Seathan’s account of his friend Dauid’s betrayal, of witnessing his men’s slaughter, and the torture served to him by her brother. Sickened, she turned away, leaned against a nearby elm, and closed her eyes. ’Twould seem when it came to ensuring that Fulke gained King Edward’s praise, her brother spared no one.

She understood the lure of power, of wanting possessions, which caused many a man to make poor decisions. But to hurt others, torture a man until his body was broken, or he died from the cruelty, that she would never understand.

Or accept.

A soft hand touched her shoulder. She turned to find Duncan standing there, his eyes concerned, but like his older brother, watchful.

“I am sorry,” he said. “A lady should not have heard such.”

“Shielding my ears from brutal truths changes naught. Seathan suffered much from a noble who sees your brother as no more than a trophy to bestow upon King Edward to earn his praise.” At his surprised expression, Linet stilled. She was revealing too much. The last thing she needed was to expose her detailed knowledge of Fulke. “Forgive me, I am upset at the brutality served to your brother.”

“Do not apologize. Too often wartime delivers an abundance of grief and pain. Even to those who are victorious.” Duncan fisted his hand, then slowly un-curled his fingers. “It is rarer to find those caught in the fray who choose to not only care, but to take risks to right a wrong.”

“I but set a man free. Give not my actions valor. ’Tis what most would do.”

“Nay, most would not dare act against their lord’s wishes and set a valuable prisoner free.”

Guilt gnawed at her. Like Seathan, Duncan seemed a man of passion, a man guided by his morals and sharp of wit. ’Twas but his delivery that was more refined.

“I am tired of the killing, of the senseless death.” She shook her head. “I wish the fighting were over.”

“As do I,” Duncan agreed. “But until we chase Longshanks from our soil, we will continue our fight to secure Scotland’s freedom, with our every last drop of blood if necessary.”

Longshanks—the name given to King Edward because of his extraordinary height. “You will win.”

Fierce pride sparked in Duncan’s eyes. “Aye, we will.”

Of that she had no doubt. After meeting Seathan and his brothers, men who fought for the people they loved with their very soul, confidence filled her. They would overcome the English king’s tyranny and reclaim their country. Unlike King Edward and others like Fulke, men who were driven by greed, the brothers fought for love.

“Duncan,” Alexander called.

“A moment,” Duncan replied without turning toward his brother, his green eyes too watchful, seeing more than she would like.

“Go tend to your brother,” Linet said. “I am fine.”

He hesitated a moment longer. “You are sure?”

She nodded. She was fine, but not in the way she’d once believed. Time would heal her wounds while she crafted a new life in the Highlands, but the bond of family she’d once held, of trusting those she loved, was forever lost.

Clear skies framed a vivid display of stars cradled above the treetops, the full moon exposing the forest within its silvery light. A soft breeze thick with the scent of earth and night rustled through the leaves overhead. Seathan stared at the heavenly expanse a moment longer, then shifted, careful to keep pressure off his injury.

“You are awake?” Alexander said, his voice low.

“Aye.” Seathan glanced toward Linet opposite him. Wrapped in a blanket provided by his brothers, her head cushioned on a bed of leaves, she lay sleeping, her face caressed by moonlight. He lingered over the curve of her mouth, the soft breaths slipping from her lips to cast a strand of hair about. An ache swept through him. He missed her curled against him, the sense of rightness at having her by his side.

“She is a beauty,” Alexander said.

Startled to be caught staring, he turned toward his middle brother and found Alexander evaluating him. “She is,” he replied, his words cautious.

Duncan walked over and sat beside Alexander to complete the small circle, their muscled frames shutting out Linet.

Sitting with his back to a stump, Alexander dragged the tip of the stick in his hand through patches of snow around a protruding root. “You care for the lass.”

Seathan sat up. “She saved my life.”

Alexander looked over, his expression skeptical. “She did.”

“You of all people should know of my intent to never become seriously involved with a woman again,” Seathan stated. “When I take a wife, my decision will be born of duty, naught more.”

“God’s teeth, did I say you were involved with the lass, serious or otherwise?” Alexander asked, but Seathan heard his brother’s question. After his heartbreak, his family avoided the topic of Iuliana. A foolish mistake during his youth, an affair entered against his father’s advice. He’d learned the hard way. In the end, Iuliana’s attention toward him was but her vulgar attempt to make her husband jealous.

Nay, after the devastation he’d experienced when he’d learned of her deception, never again would he allow a woman into his heart.

Seathan studied Linet, irritated by the unfamiliar tug of need. “How could I possibly care for the lass? Besides her name, I know little about her.” He eyed one brother, then the other. “Before she would release me from the dungeon, I was forced to agree to her request to escort her to the Highlands, no questions asked.”

Alexander blew out a rough breath. “Her refusal to state her reason reeks a foul stench.”

“Aye,” Seathan agreed, “but against the option of death, her offer was one I could not refuse.”

Silence stumbled between them, serenaded by crickets and the rush of the spring-fed wind.

Duncan ground the heel of his boot into the dirt, looked up. “What I cannot figure out is how the lass snuck into the dungeon without being seen.”

“She used a secret passage,” Seathan explained.

“A secret passage?” Alexander frowned, threw the stick into the night. “I would think but few trusted nobles close to Lord Tearlach would know of the maze of tunnels hidden within Breac Castle.”

“My thought as well,” Seathan replied. “Nothing else makes sense.”

“What is her relation to Lord Tearlach?” Duncan asked.

In brief, Seathan explained his suspicions that she was Lord Tearlach’s intended bride.

Alexander muttered a soft curse. “Something is greatly amiss when a noblewoman betrays her betrothed’s confidence to release the prisoner he values most.”

“It is,” Seathan agreed, “but as I said, she may have been forced into the marriage.”

Alexander grunted. “You may have given a vow to not question the lass, but I have not.”

“Nor I,” Duncan added.

“The question is, did she plot against Tearlach out of anger? Or is my release but a scheme Tearlach devised to infiltrate the rebels?” At the flash of anger on his brothers’ faces, Seathan nodded. “As much as I wish to believe otherwise, the latter is a possibility we must consider. I assure you, before I deliver her to the Highlands, I will know.”

Duncan rubbed his jaw. “The lass will be spitting mad when she learns you will not be taking her to the Highlands posthaste.”

“She will be displeased,” Seathan agreed blandly.

Alexander snorted. “With the way she issued commands earlier this night to ensure your care, the lass is not one to stand by and be ordered about.”

Seathan grimaced. That he knew well. “Aye, another fact that raises further questions as to her true identity. But her upset at the journey to the Highlands being delayed is of less concern to me than finding Dauid.”

At the mention of their supposed friend, Alexander hissed his breath through his teeth. “Had someone else told me of Dauid’s betrayal, I would have called them a liar.”

“If I had not seen him in the torchlight standing by Lord Tearlach,” Seathan said, “I would never have believed it myself.”

Duncan shook his head. “His actions make little sense.”

“I agree,” Seathan replied, the scene of that soul-wrenching night racing through his mind like an ongoing nightmare, “but it neither changes how many of our knights were slaughtered, nor that their mutilated bodies were left for the wolves.” A fresh wave of fury tore through him, followed by the weight of responsibility. He exhaled and dropped his hand. “Upon our arrival home and once Linet is secured within a chamber, I will speak with the men’s wives.”

“You will not go alone,” Alexander said.

Duncan nodded.

“As lord of Lochshire Castle,” Seathan said, “the responsibility is mine.”

Alexander bristled. “The castle and its duties are yours, but Duncan and I have always been here to turn to. ’Tis you who have chosen never to seek either of us for support.”

“I need no help,” Seathan said, his voice hardening.

“Nay, you think you can do it alone,” Duncan charged. “As you always have.”

Grief burned in Seathan’s gut. “Bedamned! You think the telling will be easy? They were friends, men I have known my entire life.”

“Men who were our friends as well,” Alexander added, his voice calmer. “But instead of asking for help, for support from the brothers who love you, you wrap yourself within your title and push Duncan and me away.”

A muscle worked in Seathan’s jaw. “The men were under my command.”

“The men, like you, were betrayed,” Alexander shot back. “You may be an earl, but damn you, you are my brother, my flesh and blood. After Iuliana used you to make her husband jealous, Duncan and I mentioned naught. But our silence has not allowed you to heal. Instead, the error of your youth continues to fester inside you and poisons your ability to share your hurt, your sorrows, with your family.”

Seathan stiffened. “Alexander—”

“It is true,” Duncan interrupted. “The time has come for you to accept that you cannot stand alone. In life or war. The men were our friends as well. We grew up together, trained, watched them wed, and christened their children. We will not step back and allow you bear the full grief and anger, or the telling to those they loved that their husbands, sons, and fathers have been slaughtered.”

Humbled by his brothers’ support, Seathan swallowed hard. “I had not meant to hurt you,” he said unsteadily.

“We know,” Duncan said. “But it is time to allow us into your lives as brothers who love and support you, who will stand by your side whenever you need.”

“Aye,” Alexander agreed.

Nay, he would not share his shame, but he would accept his brothers’ offer. Seathan nodded. “Once we return to Lochshire Castle, you will both accompany me to break the news to our people.”

Alexander and Duncan nodded.

His brothers understood the cost of his decisions, but not the full weight of the responsibility he bore. Seathan shifted, studied Linet, who lay sound asleep across from him, then looked at the sky so beautiful, so full of peace. The path before him was anything but.

On an exhale, he asked, “What of your meeting with Wallace and Bishop Wishart?”

Excitement sparked in Alexander’s eyes. He glanced toward Linet to ensure she was asleep. “Better than planned. ’Twould seem that, fed up with King Edward’s tyranny, The Stewart has joined our ranks.”

“The Stewart?” Seathan nodded. “After being chosen as one of the Guardians of Scotland upon the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, I am not surprised by James Stewart’s decision, more so with Wallace’s family belonging to Stewart’s fife. His tactical move makes sense.”

“It does,” Duncan agreed. “And when King Edward learns of The Stewart’s shift in loyalties, he will be furious. But then, that’s a state he’s been in since the death of his wife.”

Seathan nodded, finding it curious such a power-hungry king had found the capacity to love someone other than himself. “But embroiled in war against France, he has little time to focus on the actions of The Stewart. In his mind, he has conquered Scottish soil with little left to do but squelch the last pockets of resistance, a task he’s left to Sir Hugh Cressingham and John de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey.”

“Warenne,” Alexander spat. “The weak-kneed lackey who sneers down his nose at Scotland. The earl has abandoned his post and ridden to his estate in Yorkshire, leaving Sir Hugh Cressingham with the full brunt to bear.”

“Welcome news for the rebels,” Seathan said. “So it is Cressingham we must stop. He is a dangerous man who sees Scotland as but a stepping stone to a greater destiny.”

“Aye.” Duncan rubbed his brow. “His rise from a bastard child to King Edward’s trusted minion makes his each achievement all the sweeter.”

“The arrogant bastard,” Alexander spat. “He gives not a damn for those who suffer because of his lust for power. He may be assigned to keep peace, but in addition to culling the revenues for Longshanks, he stirs up further hatred from the Scots.”

On that Seathan agreed. ’Twould be a day to celebrate when Cressingham lay rotting in the earth. “We will strip Cressingham of his power, then sweep across Scotland. King Edward will learn that he has made a grave error in dismissing the Scots.”

A hard smile edged Alexander’s mouth. “He has.”

For the next few minutes, Seathan listened as his brothers outlined their discussion with Wallace, Wishart, and The Stewart, adding his own insight. “I am impressed by the breath of their plans to rid Scotland of England’s presence. To shield their actions behind Wallace is brilliant. He is the perfect choice. With his passion, he holds the ability to unite our people.”

“King Edward is so caught up in his tangles with the French and Flemish,” Alexander said, “by the time he learns of our plans, it will be too late.”