Taming the Wild Highlander 04 (20 page)

"
What do you mean?" Pol asked, curious.

"
Ah, lad, 'tis no' for us to say about such a matter. Only to say we didna touch the woman in any manner. We only defended our brother when he was attacked, as any brother would another. Do you have brothers?" Kayne asked.

Pol
shook his head. "I…I wish I did. Like you." He again surveyed the men.

Kayn
e's eldest brother, Egan, opened his eyes, but he didn't sit up and Kayne believed Egan didn't wish to spook the lad. If Kayne or Halwn could gain the lad's trust, all the better.

"
You have lost your mother?" Kayne asked, assuming he must have and that was the reason Oppida was here.

Pol
nodded, his eyes bright with tears.

"
Och, lass, we lost ours only last winter. 'Tis a terrible thing to lose your mother." It wasn't the same—as they were grown men, but the lad seemed to believe it was because as a young boy he could only think of it from his standpoint.

"
Can you get Drummond another blanket?" Halwn asked. "He shakes something awful from the chills."

"
Aye," Pol said, his voice again soft. He raced to an empty cell, the candle flame flickering wildly.

Kayne exchanged a hopeful look with his brothers. Mayhap the lad could truly help them.

Pol dashed back with a blanket and shoved it through the cell bars. When Kayne took it, Pol quickly stepped away from the cell as if he knew he should not get so close to the dangerous men.

"
Our da and sister will be fairly worried about us when we dinna return. I can imagine our sister in tears."

"
You have a sister, too?" Pol marveled.

"
Aye. She is verra bonny indeed. She has red hair, mayhap darker than yours and blue eyes instead of green like yours. If people didna know, they might think she was your sister," Kayne said.

"
Is she my age?"

"
Nay, but she is the youngest of us."

"
Will she come for you?"

"
We fear she might and then what would your…" Kayne almost said chief. The boy might be just a guard's son, allowed to see what it was like for the prisoners kept down here because one day he would be a guard. But what if he was the chief's son? "What would your da do then if she came looking for us? Put her in here with us?"

Pol licked his lips with nervousness.

"Would he strip her of her clothes?" Halwn asked, his voice hard with anger.

"
Would…would she look for you…here?" Pol asked, his voice wilting.

"
Aye. We fear for her safety. She, who is a sweet innocent, unlike Oppida," Kayne said.

Pol stiffened, his red brows furrowing.

Kayne feared he'd said the wrong thing and forced the lad to side with the witch.

"
She…she is no innocent," Pol said, his words bitter.

Halwn was about to make exception to the boy
's comment, but Kayne put his hand on his chest, willing him to silence his tongue. "Oppida?" Kayne asked.

"
Aye. She is the devil," Pol said.

Kayne smiled, albeit a wee bit evilly.
"Aye, lad. The witch blinds a man to do her bidding. She is no innocent."

"
She scowls at me when she thinks I dinna see. She tries to make me drink things that I dinna want to drink. She pretends to love me when my da watches. I dinna like her," Pol said.

"
What of the other men in your da's castle?" Kayne asked, still attempting to verify that the lad was the chief's son.

Pol said nothing, just stared at him solemnly.

"They like her?" Kayne prompted.

"
They…want her…like my da does. I hear the men talk. She…smiles at them. Teases them. But at least no' that I have ever seen, she doesna allow the men to touch her. Mayhap they are afraid they will end up down here. Or mayhap she is afraid
she
will." Pol let out his breath and the candle flame flickered. "I wish he would send her away and find me a real mother."

Kayne didn
't want to suggest it as he was afraid of where this might lead, but he didn't know what else to say that might encourage the lad to help them. "Our sister, Edana, is sweetness and light. She loves children and we had hoped she would find a husband soon as she needs one to keep her safe."

Halwn jumped in and added,
"She wishes wee bairns of her own, but she could use a good stout lad such as yourself who would help her and protect her when your da is away."

"
She would look as though she were your mother as red haired as she is, and she would treat you as her own son, mark my word," Kayne said.

"
Is…she bonny? My da wouldna look at her if she was no'."

"
Oh, aye," Kayne said. "Once her eyes capture a mon's gaze, he finds himself looking into those pools of blue, entranced. Her hair catches the sunlight and fairly sparkles. Her cheeks blush the most beautiful red when she is embarrassed," Kayne said, Halwn nodding.

"
Alas, we are but her brothers, meant to protect her, and now we are here," Halwn said, spreading his hand out to emphasize just where that meant.

"
How…how will she know to come to the MacRae keep?"

Kayne felt the anvil pressed against his chest lighten a wee bit.
Now they knew where they were. "She loves us so dearly, Pol, as she does anyone she grows close to, that she will do everything in her power to find us. But we fear your da will do to her what he has done to us."

Pol shook his head.
"He canna."

"
But what if he does if she comes here? Or what if Oppida does something evil to her? Tells your da something that makes him believe our sweet dear sister isna an innocent?"

Pol chewed on his bottom lip, then swallowed hard.
He reached inside his tunic and pulled out a bannock and slipped it through the cell door. "I will come back. I…I dinna know what to do. Where are you from?"

"
Like you, our father is a chief."

The boy
's eyes rounded.

"
Aye. Our sister is the daughter of a chief. A suitable wife for a chief." Kayne wanted the lad to know they were of the same rank as him so that he could see their plight better, if he envisioned himself in Kayne's place. Yet he feared the boy might believe the Clan Chattan would wage war on the MacRaes if they learned of this and so no word would be leaked of their imprisonment.

"
I…I canna unlock the door or your manacles. The guard let me come down here to talk to you. But he wouldna let me have the keys to free you." Pol slipped his hand underneath his tunic again, and this time he pulled out a flask. "Drink of the honey mead. I will fill it back up and return again later. But I canna let my da know I came to see you."

"
Thank you, lad. When we see Edana, we will tell her of your kindness to us."

The boy waited while Kayne took the flask and tried to get Drummond to drink of the mead. He had already tossed the extra worn blanket
off, his skin flushed, his eyes wild. "Drink, Drummond. The lad, Pol, has brought you something to help with your fever," Kayne said, reminding the boy that their brother was ill and could die.

"
I…I will see if our healer can give me something to give to him…or…mayhap I can ask how to go about ridding a body of fever." Pol seemed contemplative.

"
Can you trust her?" Halwn asked. "If she gave you something to give Drummond?"

"
Oh, aye, she wouldna harm him."

"
Nay, I am meaning, would she tell your da you had spoken to her about such?"

"
Nay," Pol said with conviction. "We are friends. I aid her in finding the herbs she needs. She says I am a great help to her. She has even been closer to me since my mother died."

"
Good," Kayne said. "We thank you for your kindness, Pol. You will make a fine chief someday."

A shadow of a smile ghosted across Pol
's small face.

The brothers quickly finished off the mead, then Kayne handed the empty flask back to Pol.
"No' that she intends you any harm, lad, but if Oppida attempts to force you to eat or drink that which you dinna want, tell your da, and dinna allow her to make you succumb to her wishes."

"
Aye." Pol jammed his flask back inside his tunic and said, "Later." Then he hurried off, leaving them behind in darkness.

Angus, Edana, her maid, and all the men who had traveled with them
arrived at the Fitzburn Tavern later than they intended because the weather held them back. Angus had hoped they would arrive earlier so they could learn where Oppida lived and continue on their way. He didn't want Edana out in this weather further. He had hoped to leave her at the tavern with a guard posted while he and her father and his men continued to the place where Edana's brothers were being held prisoner.

The
two-story tavern's gray stone walls and thatched roof blended with the gray sky and day. It was late afternoon, the rain slackening off, and no one in the village was out in the dreary weather. The men and women were all drenched and exhausted. Several had taken refuge in the tavern while Angus and Tibold hastened to pay for rooms, taking six of the eight rooms that were available. Some of the men would bed down in the stables. Others found owners of crofts who would take them in. Gunnolf and Niall shared a room with Tibold and Keary.

Since Tibold was
the father of the men who were incarcerated, he kept four of his guards with him as they questioned everyone already eating or drinking in the common room of the tavern, concerning the whereabouts of Oppida. Did any of them know where she lived? Hopefully, answers would soon be forthcoming.

A peat fire burned in the hearth on one wall, the smell of leather, horse, man, wet wool
, and peat permeating the air. Ale and fish stew added to the smells while voices grew more boisterous as men gathered at the tables, glad to be out of the bad weather, and having food and drink to bolster their spirits.

Angus
intended to retire to one of the rooms with Edana for a brief time. But she wished to learn if anyone had word about her brothers. She was shivering so hard, he feared if he didn't get her out of her wet clothes, she would grow ill. Still, she proved reluctant to leave her da's side. Undeterred, Angus scooped her into his arms without warning. Her expression revealed shock, eyes wide, her lips parted as she let out a small squeal.

Not waiting for her to object, Angus
carried her up the wooden steps to the second floor of the tavern. A few laughs and ribald comments punctuated their exodus—about a man being in charge, a woman knowing her place, and other such things that had him smiling and her frowning.

Una followed
close behind, just as wet and bedraggled and tired looking.

Angus
set Edana on her feet inside the room, unsure what to do with Una. He didn't wish her to join them, but they couldn't afford to give her a room to herself as few rooms as there were, nor could they safely foist her off on the men. Angus had no intention of sleeping with the men, but Una needed to divest herself of her wet clothing as well.

Fully intending to help Edana out of her wet garments and then leave so that Una could do the same with hers, h
e shut the door to the room. He started across the floor to help Edana as her chilled fingers worked to unfasten her brooch. Before he reached her, a knock at the door stopped him. He stalked back to it and opened the door.

Una
's father, one of Tibold's head guards, black-bearded and black-eyed, stood in the doorway and said, "I have found a crofter who will take Una and me and two of my men in. My chief says that they still have no word of where his sons are, but he will continue to question newcomers to the pub to see if any know of the woman and where she may be. Then he will make further plans. He says to sleep and food will be sent up in a few hours." Una's da bowed his head a little to Angus. "Sleep well." Then he smiled at Angus and hurried his very wet daughter down the corridor to the stairs.

Vas
tly relieved that the maid's father took her off Angus's hands, he quickly shut and barred the door and turned to see Edana struggling to get out of her wet brat, her fingers icy cold.

He strode forth
, unfastened her brooch, and helped her out of her damp léine, chemise, hose, and shoes. Before he could remove his own clothes, she buried her naked body under furs in the big bed. He smiled at the sight, ready to warm her better than even the furs could.

He laid his c
lothes out to dry beside hers. Then he pulled the covers aside, glimpsed her arousing nakedness—light unmarred skin, dusky rose nipples peaked, the red curly hair at the juncture of her thighs. Her blue eyes and rosy lips smiled at him. And he wanted to bury himself in her—make love to her, and then sleep with her tucked in his arms.