Читать книгу Highland Savage - Hannah Howell - Страница 9

“I dinnae believe I asked ye to accompany me.”

Lucas lifted his gaze from watching Katerina’s hips sway as she walked and almost smiled. The lad’s clothes she wore could not disguise her almost voluptuous curves. She might be small in stature, almost a foot shorter than his six feet plus, but she was all woman. He had resented the desire he still felt for her at first but no longer. Any man would desire Katerina. It was only a man’s natural inclination he suffered from, he told himself firmly. Perhaps if he ceased accusing her of trying to kill him, they could revisit that passion they had shared for far too brief a time. He would, of course, make sure she was not armed when they indulged themselves.

“Ye cannae go into the lion’s den alone,” he said, “and William has to wait for the others to return.” He thought about how Ranald was searching for the reivers, searching hard enough to keep the rest of Katerina’s men from seeking the shelter of the caves. “Are ye sure this is a good time to go into the keep and steal some food?”

“Ranald would ne’er think to look for us right inside the keep.”

“But if someone sees—” He barely stopped himself from walking into her when she abruptly stopped and whirled around to glare at him.

“Listen, Sir Murray, I and my men have done fine without your aid for a year.” Katerina knew she was spitting her words out from between tightly gritted teeth, but there was no chance that she could conceal her anger from him this time. “We thank ye for deciding to join with us, to contribute your great strength and fighting skills, but I dinnae believe any of us declared ye the leader of us all. So, mayhap ye could keep your opinions to yourself.”

Lucas had the inane thought that Katerina was lovely when she was angry, and then quickly shook it out of his head. “Ye havenae won, have ye?”

“We havenae lost, either.”

“And ye are content to let this battle continue to drag on like this? To continue to nip at Ranald and flee his retribution until ye destroy Dunlochan?”

Katerina desperately wanted to hit him—repeatedly. Instead of her anger causing the man to back down, he pummeled her with hard questions. Worse, his questions revealed that he could clearly see all that was wrong with the fight she was locked into. It was destroying Dunlochan. A quick, decisive win was desperately needed, but she could not see any way to get one, not without causing far more bloodshed than she could stomach. She ruefully admitted to herself that, if Lucas gave her that much-needed decisive victory, a part of her would be eternally grateful. Another part of her, one ruled quite firmly by her pride, would undoubtedly want to inflict some severe, painful injury upon him.

“We are doing our best to stop Ranald from destroying Dunlochan and benefiting from it.” She turned away from him and started on her way again. “When this fight is over he and Agnes will have nothing, mayhap not e’en their lives, but I will hold Dunlochan and my men will still be alive.”

“’Tis admirable that ye dinnae wish the men who fight with ye to suffer or die, but no battle can be completely bloodless. Nay, not if it is to be won.”

That was a hard cold truth she had no wish to study too closely. The men who rode with her were her people, her kinsmen, and her friends. Several times, as she had tended to wounds received during a raid, she had seriously considered giving it all up. The burden of keeping her men alive and trying to rid Dunlochan of men like Ranald often grew so heavy Katerina felt crushed by it. The only thing that kept her struggling onward was the certainty that Agnes and Ranald would never let her rest. They would never trust her to simply accept her meager inheritance, accept all her losses, or accept their attempt to kill her. They would never believe that she would simply live peacefully on the little piece of land and the small cottage her father had left to the loser in the battle for the rule over Dunlochan. They would kill her and anyone foolish enough to stand with her.

And why that thought should suddenly make her so afraid for Lucas, Katerina did not know. The man did not deserve her concern. He was obviously one of those men who believed that, if anything went wrong in his life, it had to be the fault of some woman. She was surprised she had not seen that in him until now, but suspected his fine looks and her desire for him had hidden a lot of his faults from her.

“I fully intend to win this battle, Sir Murray, and without turning the land red with the blood of my kinsmen or friends,” she said, once she was sure he would not hear any of her own lack of confidence in her voice. “Mayhap we have just been testing Ranald’s strengths and the skill of his hirelings ere we make our final strike against him.”

Lucas snorted, his disbelief clear to hear in the rude sound. He could tell by the way Katerina clenched her small hands into tight, white-knuckled fists that she was furious, but when she just continued to walk, he decided it was safe to ignore her anger. It was undoubtedly foolish of him to join Katerina’s small army, but since he was now part of it, he was eager for the battle to be won. Katerina was very skilled at slapping Ranald swiftly and sharply, but she had yet to succeed in knocking the man down. Her men had to be as eager to put an end to the battle as he was, yet Lucas suspected few complained openly, so the plans never changed. It was past time they did so.

What angered him at the moment was what fed his eagerness to get Katerina to heed him and start fighting Ranald, really fighting the man. Lucas’s own deep need to make Ranald pay for beating him and trying to kill him was definitely part of his eagerness, but not all of it. He had to face the fact that he did not like Katerina constantly putting her life at risk, and that angered him. Part of his reason for returning to Dunlochan was to make her suffer for her part in what had happened to him. It hardly made sense to then start worrying that she might get hurt. A desire for her that he could not kill had obviously rattled his wits.

“Where does Ranald hide when he isnae chasing ye or grinding the people of Dunlochan under his boot?” he asked even as he noticed that the passage they traveled in was beginning to slowly wind upward. He struggled not to think too much on how deep in the earth they were.

“With Agnes, of course,” Katerina replied after sternly telling herself it would be childish to ignore the man when he had asked a very reasonable question.

“They openly commit adultery?”

“Weel, they arenae rolling about in the heather for all to see, but they arenae really secretive. Agnes declares herself a widow e’en though near everyone about here kens verra weel that her husband fled her side. They also ken that no one has actually brought word that the mon is dead.”

“And no one acts against her or Ranald for sinning so openly?”

“Wheesht, dinnae ye sound so verra pious,” Katerina murmured, casting a fleeting glance at Lucas over her shoulder.

“My family frowns upon such a thing, true enough, but I was speaking of ones like the men on that council, or the women who consider themselves the righteous ones. Every village has some of those and they dinnae abide anything that e’en hints at sin.”

“Ah, aye, those women. Nay, few here speak on the matter aloud. The fear Ranald likes to breed in people has spread wide and settled in deep and hard. There are many who see Agnes as being just as bad, just as dangerous, as Ranald. So, nay, naught is said and naught is done, e’en when Agnes turns her lustful gaze upon another mon, and then another, and then—”

“I believe I understand. Although I am a wee bit surprised that Agnes would dare to be unfaithful to Ranald. It could prove verra dangerous.”

“Oh, he doesnae like it, but he can have no power in Dunlochan without her. He isnae faithful to her, either. Ne’er was. Ranald feels it his right to take any woman he wants. I worry about Annie at the alehouse. Ranald wants her, but, so far, he has not taken her as he has others.”

Although Katerina did not say the word rape, Lucas had no trouble understanding that that was what she meant. He had a deep loathing for men who brutalized women. It was just another reason to make very certain that Ranald did not escape justice. Lucas was a little surprised that Agnes had anything to do with the man, but he was beginning to realize he had misjudged the woman. For reasons he could not understand he believed most of what Katerina said about her half-sister. The only thing he doubted was that Agnes could be as cunning as Katerina believed her to be. The few times he had dealt with the woman he had certainly not gained any sense that there was much intelligence behind Agnes’s big blue eyes.

The insidious thought that some of Katerina’s anger at Agnes might be due to the fact that the woman was bedding Ranald slipped into Lucas’s mind and he inwardly cringed. Despite all he suspected Katerina of, he found that hard to believe. The ugly surge of jealousy that gripped him at the thought of Katerina and Ranald together surprised and dismayed him. Lucas did not want to care who Katerina gave her favors to.

A soft noise yanked him from his dark thoughts. Instinct ruling him, Lucas grabbed Katerina by the arm, yanked her back, and shoved her between him and the rocky side of the passage, even as he drew his sword. Someone was moving stealthily toward them down the passageway. Katerina and her men had been safe within all the caverns and passages for a full year, but it only took one mistake to steal that safety away. The man who came into view a moment later was tall, almost too thin, and looked as alarmed as Lucas had briefly felt. Lucas did nothing to stop the man from drawing his sword.

“’Tis only Patrick,” Katerina said, pushing at Lucas’s back and softly cursing when the man did not move an inch.

“Only Patrick?” the young man muttered and peered around Lucas to look at Katerina. “Are ye unharmed, m’lady?”

“Aside from being pressed right into the rock by this hulking brute, aye,” Katerina replied.

“One of your men, is he?” asked Lucas.

“Aye, one of mine,” Katerina answered. “Now, would ye please move? I cannae breathe.”

Lucas kept a close watch on Patrick all the while he slowly sheathed his sword. Patrick returned the compliment by keeping a close eye on Lucas as he did the same. The man’s dark blue eyes held the same wariness Lucas felt. It was only Katerina pushing hard at his back and cursing him softly that ended the silent weighing of strengths and weaknesses between him and Patrick. Lucas wondered why the man’s tall, fair-haired handsomeness should irritate him so much.

A heartbeat later he knew exactly why when Patrick smiled at Katerina. Worse, Katerina smiled back at Patrick. The feelings stirring to life inside of Lucas carried the strong taint of jealousy and the very last thing he wanted was to feel possessive toward Katerina. The fact that he had felt the same way only moments ago told him he might be losing that battle. Lucas struggled to fix his mind on the fight against Ranald and Agnes and only that.

“’Tis good to see that ye have returned safely. And unharmed?” asked Katerina.

“Quite unharmed,” replied Patrick, and then he cast a quick look at Lucas. “It appears Sir Murray wasnae quite dead yet.”

Katerina laughed and shook her head. “Nay, not yet. He is thinking he will join us in our fight against Ranald.”

“Nay thinking,” said Lucas, “but planning to. As I have said, I too want Ranald dead.”

Seeing how Katerina winced at that blunt statement, Patrick patted her on the arm. “It has to be done, m’lady. Ye ken it weel e’en if we do all avoid saying so bluntly. Who else has returned?”

“None that we saw. Ye are the first. William waits in the hall for the others.”

“And what are ye about to do? Ye are nay thinking of going out and looking for any of the others, are ye? If they are staying away ’tis because it is still too dangerous to come here, the risk of being seen and captured too high.”

“Nay, I dinnae plan to venture outside. I go to gather us some much-needed supplies, that is all, so ye may cease bristling and go join William.”

The moment Patrick left, Katerina started on her way again. She desperately needed to put some distance between herself and Lucas. Despite the roughness of his actions in his efforts to protect her, she had been deeply stirred by the feel of his body pressed so close to hers. Even the hard, cold stone wall against her back had not cooled the sudden rush of heat in her veins. It was sad, she decided, when a woman could be aroused by being pressed hard against rock by a man who thought her capable of brutally murdering him just because she was jealous.

Suddenly, it did not seem such a good idea to accept Lucas as her lover. The feelings she had for him were still so fierce, ran so bone deep, Katerina knew she would be risking a great deal of pain. She should not have forgotten how she had felt when she had believed he was dead. It had torn her apart, left a gaping wound where her heart should be, and it had been many long months before she had been able to push some of that pain aside. If Lucas and she became lovers and he continued to believe she had had some part in the attack upon him, then they would just be using each other to scratch an itch. She might find that acceptable, despite the punishment her pride would have to endure, but she now suspected that would not last long and she would soon be wallowing in her own pain again. Lucas, on the other hand, could simply walk away at any time.

And, yet, what choice did she have? She thought as she eased open the door to the storerooms deep beneath Dunlochan keep. Despite wanting to do violence to the man for his insulting accusations, Katerina knew she would not be able to resist another taste of the desire that had always flared between them. She inwardly shrugged. She had survived all attempts to kill her; she had survived thinking the only man she had ever loved had died and left her alone; she would survive the fact that the man she loved and desired was a blind idiot who might just use her and walk away. If they did become lovers, she would try to gather up as many heated memories as she could and then stand dry of eye as he walked away. It was all she could do to salvage her pride. That was one thing she would not allow Lucas Murray to destroy.

“Are we below Dunlochan now?” Lucas whispered as he followed her into the room lit by only one small torch set high on the stone wall.

“Aye. What we want should be over here.”

Lucas followed her into a shadowy corner of the room and nearly gaped. Piled there was a very large collection of food and drink. Someone inside the keep was obviously helping Katerina by secretly setting aside some supplies, probably little by little every day. As a warrior, Lucas could not stop himself from wondering exactly how they might use such allies to defeat Ranald and Agnes.

Seeing how Lucas scowled at her supplies, Katerina carefully placed her list of things she needed in the hiding place she and the cook had agreed on so long ago. Neither of them had thought it would take so long for Katerina to win back Dunlochan. Poor old Hilda still believed in her, probably more than Katerina believed in herself, but she suspected the woman was growing weary of waiting to be free of Agnes’s harsh rule.

“Just how has this come to be here ready for ye to walk away with it all?” Lucas asked, keeping his voice as soft as Katerina kept hers.

“Ah, weel, Old Hilda, the cook, and a few others slowly gather it up. When we take it we always leave a wee message telling them what we think we might need soon.”

“Doesnae anyone notice how much is going missing from the stores?”

“Nay. Can ye truly see Agnes or Ranald keeping records or tallying anything at all save for the money in their purses? I doubt they e’en think on where it all comes from. Not e’en Agnes’s woman, Freda, tends to how the things they want are acquired, only that they are delivered into her hands exactly when she wants them. ’Tis my people who diligently tend to such things as these stores and the ledgers. ’Tis another good reason for me to continue to play dead. If Agnes or Ranald kenned that I was still alive, a lot of my people would be in grave danger. They would immediately come under suspicion and that could easily mean their deaths.”

“Ye have planned for that, havenae ye.” Lucas did not make it a question for he knew she would have made meticulous plans for the safety of such people. Considering what he believed she had done to him such confidence did not make much sense, but he shrugged aside that puzzle as he picked up a heavy sack of food. “There is a lot here. Ye could ne’er have carried it all back on your own.”

“Nay, not in one journey, true enough.” Katerina shrugged. “I had little else to do aside from waiting for my men to return. A few trips back and forth ’twixt here and the hall wouldnae hurt me.”

“The people who do this for ye could be verra useful in other ways.”

Katerina sighed, all too aware of what he was thinking of for she had often considered the very same thing. “They could be, but using them for anything aside from gathering food and information for us could get them killed. Most of them are verra young or old. They arenae warriors and some have no ability to become ones. They are cooks, clerks, pot boys, and the like. Verra good at listening since people like Agnes ne’er e’en see them, and verra good at making ten meat pies but serving only eight, slipping the other two aside for us. E’en that small but valuable service puts them at risk.”

Lucas nodded in agreement. “There may come a time, however,” he began.

“When the risk is worth it,” she finished for him. “I ken it and so do they.”

The sound of a foot sliding over stone drew Lucas’s attention. Again he pushed Katerina behind him as they both crouched behind the stacked barrels. Afraid the sound of him drawing his sword would echo too loudly in the room, he slowly drew his dagger. The glow of candlelight came first followed by a plump, gray-haired woman who paused in the entrance to the room and nervously looked around.

“’Tis Hilda the cook,” Katerina whispered even as she wriggled out from behind Lucas and stood up. “O’er here, Hilda.”

“Oh, bless ye, child,” Hilda said as she hurried over and gave Katerina a brief, one-armed hug. “I have been slipping down here whene’er possible just hoping to catch ye. I was getting ready to try and hunt ye down.” Hilda’s eyes widened as Lucas stood up and stepped closer to Katerina. “Oh, have mercy, he is alive!”

Quickly putting an arm around Hilda’s shoulders to steady the woman when she swayed, Katerina said, “Aye, and he means to make Ranald pay for what he did to him.”

Katerina knew Lucas intended to make her pay, too, but she did not say so. She needed full cooperation amongst her allies. Telling Hilda, who had been like a mother to her, about Lucas’s suspicions would set the woman firmly against him. That was a trouble she did not want to deal with at the moment.

“Weel, how wondrous, and it ne’er hurts to have another strong sword arm when ye are in such a hard fight.” Hilda eyed the monk’s robes Lucas wore. “Unless—have ye joined the church?”

“Nay,” replied Lucas. “I thought it a good disguise.” He could tell by the woman’s expression that she most certainly did not agree with him.

“Weel, ’tis God’s blessing that ye survived those bastards.”

“Verra true,” Katerina agreed. “What did ye need to see me for, Hilda?”

“Ranald is suspicious about young Thomas, I fear. The lad disappears a lot and does it when ye ride. Ranald has finally taken notice of that. He feels he ought to bring the laddie here and beat some truth out of him.”

Already planning on how to bring young Thomas to safety, Katerina asked, “But Ranald hasnae decided on doing that just yet?”

“He has, but Agnes hasnae. She isnae sure Ranald is right and she frets o’er how acting against the lad could rouse people’s anger against her. Fool woman doesnae seem to see that almost every mon, woman, and bairn at Dunlochan already loathes and mistrusts her. I but needed to warn ye for I think Ranald will soon convince her of the need to grab Thomas. Especially if, weel,” she looked at Lucas, “if she learns that this mon is still alive.”

“She will learn that as soon as Ranald returns this night, for he tried to kill Lucas again and we snatched away his prize.” Katerina kissed Hilda on the cheek. “Thank ye, Hilda. I must go quickly now and see to Thomas’s safety.”

“Godspeed, child.”

Grabbing up all they could carry, Lucas and Katerina hurried back to the hall. Lucas could almost feel Katerina’s fear as she nearly ran through the passages. He was not sure what could be done to help the boy but he knew she would try something. Lucas also knew that he would not let her go alone. That need to keep her safe made no sense to him, but he was beginning to think a lot of what he felt and thought concerning Katerina Haldane made no sense.

“What has happened?” William demanded, alarmed by the way Katerina and Lucas rushed into the hall.

“Ranald has become suspicious of Thomas,” Katerina replied as she set aside the sacks of supplies.

William and Patrick cursed. “Then we have to try to get to the boy before he does,” William said.

“There are only four of us,” Patrick pointed out quietly.

“It will have to be enough,” said Katerina. “We cannae let Ranald get his hands on the boy.”

“Nay, of course we cannae, but do we have a plan?”

Katerina rubbed at her forehead, trying to ease the ache that was beginning there. “Nay, and I am nay sure we can make one until we ken where Thomas is and if Ranald is already hunting him. Hilda said Agnes hadnae agreed with Ranald’s plan to grab Thomas and beat some truth out of him, but after what happened tonight, Ranald may nay care about that.”

“Where does Thomas live?” asked Lucas.

“At the inn,” replied Katerina. “He is Annie’s brother and they both live at the inn. She has a wee room in the eaves, but, unless ’tis verra cold, Thomas stays in the stables with his beloved horses.”

“’Tis nay the easiest place to creep up on, but ’tisnae impossible. The night can hide a great deal. I walked into Ranald’s hands, foolishly thinking my disguise was good enough to hide me. This time we all ken that our enemy may be there.”

“True, but so will many of his men, I suspect.”

“Is there any choice?”

“Nay, there isnae. I but wonder about Annie. Hilda didnae say Annie was in trouble, but if Ranald cannae get his hands on Thomas—”

“Then he will grab Annie and use her to bring the boy to him.”

“That is what I am afraid of.”

“It is probably just what will happen,” said Patrick. “I can get Annie if the rest of ye go after Thomas.”

“Ye can get into the inn unseen?” Katerina’s eyes widened with surprise when Patrick blushed.

“I can. I used to be verra friendly with Morag ere she ran off with that traveler last spring. I ken just how to get into the inn without being seen.” He shrugged. “She didnae want anyone to ken that she had lovers so she always made the men she bedded down with creep about like thieves. Sorry, m’lady,” he mumbled.

“Dinnae apologize. I kenned what Morag was. I just didnae ken ye were one of her lovers. Weel, it will serve us weel now. Ye get Annie out of there and we will do what we can to get Thomas.”

“Ye dinnae think we should wait until more of our men return?” asked William even as he collected his sword.

“I dinnae think we can afford to waste any time e’en in such a good cause. Ranald is going to be enraged o’er the fact that he lost the chance to kill Lucas again.”

“And he will be eager to take that rage out on someone.” William sighed. “Ah, weel, Thomas has been a great help, as has Annie. We cannae let them suffer for it.”

“Agreed. So, ’tis back to the village, only this time we cannae make such a fine show of it.”

“I hope ye arenae suggesting we walk to the village.”

“Nay all the way.”

Katerina actually found herself smiling when she heard the three men groan, but it was a fleeting moment of lightheartedness. Her heart felt as if it was cramped with fear for young Thomas and his sister. Until she got them safely out of the reach of the brutal Ranald she doubted she would be able to breathe easily. Too many had already paid dearly in this battle with Agnes and she refused to let her half-sister and her lover claim another life.