True Love Brides 02 - The Highlander’s Curse (22 page)

Annelise smiled and cast her arms around his neck, her jubilation so complete that his heart thundered in his chest. “But why did you not do this sooner? Why did you not seek your inheritance the very moment you knew the tale?”

Garrett would have confessed that tale to her—for the Fae had no role in it—but he was suddenly aware of Yseult’s fear.

The horse was terrified.

Garrett tightened his grip on Annelise but had no time to assess the reason for the mare’s mood. She shied but an instant later, casting them both easily from the saddle, then galloped back the way they had come.

“Yseult!” Annelise cried.

Garrett took the brunt of the fall, landing on his back with Annelise sprawled atop him. He grimaced as the mud splashed over them, though it did not make the road appreciably softer.

Then he heard the mare’s panicked thought and he looked past his lady’s shoulder.

Wolf
.

“Fool horse,” Annelise muttered, making to rise, but Garrett lifted a finger in warning.

Annelise followed his gaze to the road ahead, then froze. A white wolf paced back and forth in the middle of the road, its teeth bared in a snarl and its eyes flashing like sapphires. He had a moment to believe that crisis could be averted, then the wolf leapt toward them to attack.

*

Annelise cried out in dismay when the wolf lunged toward them, teeth bared. She had no time to respond, for Garrett responded for both of them. She was flung to one side with dizzying speed as he bounded to his feet. He had his dagger in his hand in the blink of an eye, his movements fluid.

But the wolf leapt past him, racing after Yseult. The mare whinnied in terror, then turned and galloped back down the road. Garrett swore and ran after her. He threw his knife after the wolf, then reached back for his crossbow.

“Nay!” Annelise cried, but the wolf seemed to anticipate Garrett’s move. She had only a heartbeat to fear for the creature before it ducked into the woods and disappeared.

Garrett’s knife landed point down in the muddy road. He had not even had time to load his crossbow, though he did so now.

He swore. “If only I had grabbed my crossbow first,” he muttered with an anger rare in him. “I would not have missed.”

Annelise was glad he had.

Yseult halted in the distance, stamping her feet nervously as she watched Garrett approach. The reins hung loose over her neck, dangling on the ground, and her ears were folded back. She clearly was torn between approaching them and fleeing. The wilderness held no charms for Yseult and she was clever enough to know that food and protection came from Annelise and her kin. Still, she was spooked. The wolf had been where they stood, which challenged her desire to come to them, yet the road behind might be filled with greater danger were she to flee alone. Annelise remained still, letting the mare consider her choices as she calmed down. Garrett retrieved his knife and wiped it clean with a decisive gesture before jamming it back in the sheath.

“Why would you wish it to live?” he demanded of her, his frustration clear. “Have you forgotten what a wolf can do?”

“Then why did it not kill any of us?” Annelise demanded, when she reached his side. “It could have at least injured Yseult, but it did not.”

Garrett sobered and looked into the forest where the creature had fled. There was no sign of it, but the mist would have helped it to disappear, given the color of its coat. “It could have changed its mind.”

“It could have been warning us.”

“Of what?” Garrett was impatient with this notion.

Then Annelise had a thought. “Do you not know what it was thinking?”

Garrett shrugged with some irritation. “The wolf might have been surprised that we were three. Perhaps it is not sufficiently hungry to take such a risk.”

Annelise turned to look at him. “You do not know,” she guessed and Garrett shook his head. “That is why it surprised you. But that means you could not hear its thoughts.”

His expression turned grim.

Annelise looked into the forest where the wolf had fled, wondering at its choice. In the tales, the Fae could hear the thoughts of mortals, man and beast. If Garrett could not hear the white wolf’s thoughts, was it Fae? Could it truly be a Fae woman snared in wolf form? If there was truth in the tales she had heard, this wolf might be Garrett’s mother.

But nay. The wolf in Garrett’s story had died, and Garrett had been told the story by his mother.

Had the wolf meant to aid them or injure them? Given her past experience, she had to believe that the wolf could readily have killed at least one of them, if it had desired to do so. Once Yseult had thrown them and run, it could have pursued the mare and attacked her. But it had merely chased away Yseult, then fled.

“If it was protective, then it did not want us to follow this road,” Annelise mused. “Why?”

“It is a wolf,” Garrett said with impatience. “Such creatures do not think with such subtlety.” He gave her a hard look. “It must have changed its mind.”

“Why could you not anticipate it?”

“I will not discuss it.”

“Could you hear its thoughts? Aye or nay?”

He pivoted and marched away.

“You could not!” Annelise cried but he did not reply.

She had to be right. Where were they? She spun in place. The forest surrounded them, the trees lush and dark. There was a bit of mist at this high point on the road, and she could not see into the distance. She looked in the direction they had been riding and took a deep breath. They had crested a rise, although she had not been certain it was the summit. Now she noted that the air had a crisp edge that reminded her of Kinfairlie.

The sea was ahead.

“This is the road to that holding,” she guessed. “The one that featured in Andrew’s tale, on the point that perched above the sea.”

“Killairig,” Garrett supplied.

“Your mother’s tale was a tale of Killairig, albeit disguised as Broceliande,” Annelise guessed, though there was no doubt in her tone. “Which means you are the golden son and rightful heir, and we go to claim your legacy. But the wolf wanted to stop us. Why?”

Garrett ignored her words, but she had expected as much. He was fingering the hilt of his knife, his attention fixed on the very skittish Yseult. Annelise was certain he was listening to the mare’s thoughts, deciding when best to give chase. Yseult tossed her head and strode back and forth, her step high and her eye fixed upon them. Garrett stood and watched the mare, content to grant her time. Annelise admired his patience.

“But if you know the name of the holding, why have you not gone there before?”

“I did,” he murmured softly. “But I could not argue mine own case.”

Annelise remembered how he had been afflicted at Seton Manor and nodded understanding.

“It will not happen again,” Garrett said with a resolve that reminded Annelise how his state had become worse when she left to fetch Isabella.

“Because I will be with you.”

Garrett took her hand, lifting her fingers to his lips. “I have greater incentive this time, and the power of my lady’s kiss to strengthen me.”

She saw the doubt in his gaze and had to ask. “Is it sufficient?”

“We shall find out soon enough,” he vowed, just before he bent and captured her lips beneath his own. Annelise could not resist his kiss and stretched to her toes to taste him more fully. How wondrous it was that the pleasure only increased each time he kissed her, as if each time was the first.

And what a fine promise that gave for their future together.

Was that why the wolf had barred their path? Did it know that her affection was not sufficient to see Garrett healed? Annelise could not lose him. She would not lose him.

It was then she realized that she could not leave the future to chance.

She would seal their fates together, and she would do it this very day.

Once again, when he kissed Annelise, a healing power surged into Garrett. Annelise’s touch was all he desired and more. He drank deeply of that which she willingly gave, then reluctantly lifted his head to regard her. Her eyes were shining and her lips swollen, a faint flush staining her cheeks. She was so lovely a maiden that her next words astonished him.

“We should be intimate,” she said with nary a pause to take a breath.

Garrett stared at her. “I believed that we would meet abed after we were wed. You know that I cannot ask for your hand honorably until I reclaim my birthright.”

Annelise’s lips set. “I know that Orson would have compelled me to wed him, by forcing himself upon me last night.”

She was right, and that did little to please Garrett. “Orson is far behind us…”

“Are you certain? We might well be pursued.”

“I would know of it. He took the other way, the road to Kinfairlie. He believed our ruse.”

Annelise nibbled her lip as she regarded him, the movement of her teeth making him think of claiming another kiss. “I am not convinced that we have time,” she protested. “And I do not see the cause for delay. We could make love and guarantee the matter!”

“And your brother would think me no better than Orson,” Garrett replied, his annoyance rising. “I would have your family think me a man of honor.”

“I would ensure that my choice carries the day.”

“Annelise, I ask only for patience.”

“Everyone asks only for patience,” she said with disgust. “Once I had an abundance of it, but I find myself lacking in it now.” She fixed him with an indignant look. “Perhaps you do not truly wish to wed me.”

“Not if you would be better without me,” Garrett said, for this truth he could confide in her. “And until I claim my due, you would be.”

Annelise propped her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing in a most beguiling way. “I would not!” she argued. “I would live with you and be happy, even if you had naught to your name. You would care for me and treat me well, and that has more value to me than the seal for a holding in your hand.”

“You might change your mind when you have a babe in your arms, my lady.” Garrett leaned close to her, letting her see his determination. “You will not be my lady wife until I am certain you will have comfort in my home. I will ask for your hand honorably and I will commit no deed that will compel you to wed me either way.”

“Honorably,” Annelise echoed, her dissatisfaction clear. “You care more for honor than for love.”

“I know love can fade without honor to defend it. I know that love will not feed a family or build a roof over our heads.”

“Did you not have love as a child? Was it not sufficient?”

“I knew little then, and I lived with no noblewoman.”

“So, it is my birth that is at issue! Were I a goatherd like Bess, would you think your love sufficient?”

“It does not matter, for you are no goatherd. My lady, you must trust my way.”

“And you must cede to mine.” Her resolve was clear. “Orson could pursue us, surprise us, and rape me, even before your eyes to see his will triumphant.” Garrett was appalled by the thought. Annelise glared at him. “The only way to ensure he cannot do that is to anticipate him. You must take my maidenhead.”

“Not until our wedding night!”

Their gazes locked and held for a charged moment, each as convinced of their argument as the other. Then Annelise smiled so coyly that Garrett could think only of her sweet kisses. “I shall have to seduce you,” she vowed. “I shall come to you in the night and you shall not be able to resist me.”

Garrett smiled despite himself, amused by the idea of Annelise claiming him against his will.

“Do not laugh at me,” she chastised, her own eyes dancing. “I know little of the art of love, but where there is a will, there is a way.”

“You might be innocent, my lady, but that does not mean you are without allure.”

She blushed then, although he could see that she was pleased. “Then you confirm that my strategy might work,” she whispered with delight.

“I confirm that you have beguiled me completely.”

“Just like the silver maiden, Florine,” Annelise said with satisfaction and his heart sank. He would hear no more about the goodness of wolves this day. “Though I am not Fae, if you betray me as the laird in that tale betrayed his lady, it will be your heart roasted for the evening meal.”

Garrett bowed before her teasing tone. “I take fair warning. Just as you should take warning that I will not show myself to be like Orson.”

“We shall see,” Annelise said softly.

Garrett, however, had no intention of spending a night in any place where she might launch her plan. He indicated the mare, who had now calmed enough to graze cautiously at the side of the road. She still watched them with care and was less concerned with her meal than with them. “Now, what of Yseult?”

Annelise grimaced and folded her arms across her chest, even as she surveyed the mare. “If only I had an apple. She will do much for one.”

Garrett heard how the mare associated apples with Annelise. Part of the reason she scrutinized them so closely was her conviction that Annelise must have one.