Delia called out for help with the bucket,
and one of the guards went to her aid. When a few minutes passed
and they had not returned, Moira and the guard glanced at each
other.
‘Take her out of here,” the man said to
Moira and moved toward the door that the other guard had
disappeared through only moments before.
Brianna glanced up from the task of wiping
the table and noticed the alarmed look on Moira’s face.
“We need to leave here,” she said, hurrying
to Brianna’s side.
Brianna dropped the cloth and grabbed for
Moira’s outstretched hand.
“Stay where you are.”
The familiar voice caused Brianna to freeze
in her steps.
She and Moira turned to see Arran holding a
knife to Delia’s throat.
Both women remained completely still.
“No smile for your husband?” Arran asked,
applying pressure to the knife at Delia’s throat and forcing her
farther into the room. “I knew with patience I would find you in
the kitchen baking berry pies. You always had a penchant for them
when the berries were in bloom.”
Moira held firm to Brianna’s hand.
“Did you think I would not come for you? Did
you think I did not miss you or know how much you missed me?”
Two men entered behind him, rough and dirty
in appearance.
Brianna reminded herself that she had
prepared for this possibility, and she was ready. Though her legs
trembled and fear rippled through her, she demonstrated not a sign
of her fright.
“I care not that you come for me. You mean
nothing to me, and there was not a day I missed you.”
Moira squeezed her hand, showing her support
and confidence.
A malicious grin spread across his face.
“You mean more to me than you know, dear wife.”
He motioned to the two men, and one quickly
took Delia from him while the other hurried over and wrenched Moira
away from her. In seconds a knife was placed again at Delia’s
throat and to Moira’s throat.
“Now, dear wife, the choice is yours as to
whether you come with me or not.” He raised his hand, and the two
men pressed the knives more firmly to the women’s throats.
She surprised herself with her answer. “You
have never given me a choice before, Arran. Why should this time be
any different?”
Moira did not hide her grin.
Delia choked getting the words out. “You
tell the bastard!”
Arran turned his fury on Delia. “I have no
trouble cutting your throat, old woman.”
Brianna stepped forward. “But I have trouble
with it. Let her be.”
“You think to give me orders.” He raised his
hand to her.
Brianna stopped herself from cringing as she
had often done. “I think you foolish enough to stand here and waste
precious time arguing with me.”
Before he could strike her, one of the men
spoke.
“She is right. We waste time with this
nonsense. Take her and let us be gone from here.”
Arran reached out and grabbed Brianna by the
arm. “You have forgotten about obedience. I will remind you.”
He shoved her toward the door.
She turned and looked to Moira. ‘Tell Royce
I love him.”
Her words infuriated Arran, and he grabbed
her by the back of her hair and pushed her out the door but not
before saying to Moira, ‘Tell Royce she
belongs
to me, and
he will pay a dear price to own her.”
An uproar rose throughout the keep as news
spread of Brianna’s abduction, but it was the thundering roar that
caused all to shiver and cross themselves, for the leader of the
clan’s fury had been unleashed, and the devil himself could not
match his wrath.
Several guards had been injured, one
seriously, and Delia sustained a minor cut to her throat, her
assailant hasty in his departure and not caring where his knife
touched. Moira suffered no injuries, though she felt foolish for
not being more aware of the obvious.
“When Delia did not return immediately, I
should have whisked Brianna right out of there.” Moira paced in
front of the large fireplace in the great hall. She was chilled and
stopped often to warm her hands.
Ian kept a constant eye on her. He knew she
was not shivering from the cold, for the hall was warm; her chill
was caused by her ordeal, and while he wanted to hug her to him, he
realized she needed to walk off her agitation and concern.
Delia, with a bandage wrapped around her
neck, brought Moira a hot cider.
“I told you to rest,” Royce said.
“I am rested and intend to do what must be
done” —Delia paused and tears filled her eyes— “as will you do so
that she is returned to us safely.” Delia left the hall, wiping at
her fading tears.
Royce looked to Moira. ‘Tell me what you
have not.”
“You are observant,” she said and moved to
stand beside her husband. Ian slipped his arm around her waist.
Royce waited. He had learned the power of
patience when in battle. Sometimes it was better not to charge
ahead but to first learn your opponent’s intentions, and then a
wiser choice of tactics could be determined.
Moira took a sip of cider and inched closer
to her husband. “Arran told me to tell you that Brianna belonged to
him and that you would pay a dear price to”—Moira paused, knowing
the words would affect him and Ian—”own her.”
Ian spoke up. “He thinks to sell my sister
to Royce?”
“Did he not always think of her as his
property?” Royce asked, not as upset as expected. “He treats her as
he always did, and that will be his mistake.”
“Aye, you are right,” Moira agreed. “Brianna
is not who she once was. She spoke up to him when he raised his
hand to her, and he did not like it.”
Royce looked ready to kill. “He raised his
hand to her here in her own home?” The thought drove him to the
edge of rage. He had promised Brianna that he would protect her. He
had given her his word, and here she was threatened in her own home
and then abducted when he had repeatedly assured her it would not
happen.
“He never struck her,” Moira said, hoping to
diffuse some of his anger.
“He has raised his hand to her enough; she
need not feel it again,” Ian said, his own anger evident in his
heated eyes. “We need to reach her as soon as possible.”
“The men gather now. I leave as soon as I
finish here.”
“I go with you,” Ian insisted. “There are
enough men here to protect Moira and the keep, and he will not be
so foolish as to return here.”
“But he will send the ransom demand
here.”
“I will see that it reaches you,” Moira
said, knowing her husband could not sit idly by while a search went
on for his sister. It had troubled him the last time this had
happened, and he could not go, for she was giving birth to their
son. Now, however, there was nothing to stop him, and she certainly
would not.
Ian squeezed her waist, letting her know he
appreciated her support and understanding.
Royce did not wish to waste time arguing. “I
will send men back periodically so you are aware of our whereabouts
and so that you may send along any messages received.”
“Then we leave now,” Ian said, removing his
arm from around his wife and stepping forward.
Royce stayed him with a raised hand. “Nay,
there are things we need to know first, or we ride
senselessly.”
Ian was impatient. “Arran disappears fast.
We can lose the trail if we do not hurry.”
“If you hurry and ride without thought and
purpose, we will solve nothing. And if Arran disappears as quickly
as you tell me, then he has already done so and we will follow a
worthless trail, which is probably his intention.”
Royce made sense, so Ian asked, “What do you
need to know?”
“Brianna mentioned something about land that
once belonged to Arran but was in disrepair. I had a few of my men
discover where this property is, but I wonder if he would take her
there. If so we can easily locate them.”
“You sound doubtful that it would be his
destination,” Moira said.
“It seems too obvious, and he might suspect
that Brianna had mentioned it to someone. I do not think he would
take the chance, though I could be wrong.”
“He cares not if he provides shelter for
her. Perhaps he intends to remain in the woods. The denseness of
trees and such would provide concealment,” Ian suggested.
“A possibility, but he is a man who observes
and waits for people to react out of habit or anger. He knew
Brianna would eventually spend time in the kitchen and give him a
chance to abduct her. He thinks to anger me enough to ride off
immediately after him and follow a senseless trail he has others
ride while he goes another way. And of course he suspects that her
brother will advise me how he is not an easy man to track, and
therefore time should not be wasted but immediate action taken. All
will divert us from his true destination.”
“Then where does he go?” Ian asked.
“Perhaps the better question would be where
does he not go?” Moira said.
Royce nodded. “He goes where we would least
expect.”
Ian nodded knowingly. “There is only one
place for him to go.”
“Where?” Moira and Royce asked.
“Home,” Ian said. “He is returning to what
is familiar to him and where we would never look.”
“The keep where he and Brianna lived,” Moira
said, agreeing with a firm nod.
“I have not assigned anyone to reside there
since Arran’s betrayal. I had hoped that Brianna would one day wish
to return,” Ian said.
“With a new husband?” Royce asked.
“I had hoped.”
“She will have a new husband before she
leaves there,” Royce informed him. “Gather what you need. We leave
within the hour.”
“We will be ready,” Moira said, realizing
they would be close to home and missing her son.
The two men glared at her.
It was Ian who spoke. “You may go as far as
our home.”
Moira did not protest. It was where she
wished to be.
“You will take care, the two of you, and see
to bringing Brianna home safe.”
“That I promise you,” Royce said with a
strength that sent a shiver through Moira. Within the hour they
were gone, their pace steady and their destination known.
~ ~ ~
“No complaints, dear wife?” Arran asked
riding beside her.
Her back hurt, she was tired and concerned
for her unborn child, but she had no intentions of telling him.
“None.”
He looked disappointed. “Good, then we will
continue to ride.”
They would have continued to ride no matter
her response, so she paid him no heed. Silence had always been her
ally when dealing with her husband, and she expected it to remain
her ally. Besides, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Royce.
She knew he would search for her, and it was only a matter of time
before he found her. Until then she had to remain strong and
courageous for herself and the babe.
“You were not a proper wife.”
She knew he intended to torment her, so she
refrained from responding, though she had to bite her tongue. That
gave her courage, for she had never before thought to disagree with
him.
“Instead of mourning me, you found another
man.”
Very much a man, she wished to say. Instead
she shrugged. “He found me.”
“And you expect him to find you again?” He
laughed. “I think the babe will arrive before he does.”
His remark startled and frightened her. What
if Royce could not find her? Soon after they left the keep, Arran’s
band of men divided their intention to divert Royce away from
Arran. She did not think it would work; he was too much a seasoned
warrior to be so easily misled. And she would not allow herself to
believe otherwise, which was what Arran intended.
Royce would come for her; she was certain.
Until then she would be patient and keep herself safe.
‘Tell me of my funeral,” Arran asked. “Was
it well attended?”
She stared at her husband for a moment,
wondering what it was that she had found so attractive about him.
He was selfish, arrogant, and cruel, and his features were far less
appealing to her. She must have been blind when she thought herself
in love with him. Now he was simply repulsive to her.
“I asked you a question,” he said, reaching
out to grab her arm.
Her reaction was quick, and she moved out of
his reach. “I did not attend your funeral.”
His face grew scarlet. “You dishonored my
death?”
“You dishonor yourself.”
He attempted to ride closer to her, but he
had forgotten what an excellent horsewoman she was, and she
skillfully maneuvered her horse away from him with little
difficulty.
“I am an honorable man and do what is
necessary when others refuse to.”
“You are deceitful and selfish.”
“How dare you speak to me with such
insolence,” Arran said his fury on the edge of erupting.
Brianna wisely bit back her response. She
was all too familiar with the consequences.
“Why did you not attend my funeral?” he
asked.
She did not answer fast enough for him.
“Answer me before I beat the answer out of
you.”
Her hands began to tremble, for she recalled
the brutal beatings and she feared for her unborn child’s life.
Then she recalled the conversation with Moira, reminding her that
Arran preyed on the weak and defenseless. It would do her no good
to show him fear. She had to remember she was in battle, and in
battle a warrior did all he could to defend himself.
“I did not want to attend your funeral. I
did not care that you died. I was grateful that you were dead.”
He stared at her utterly bewildered and then
shook his head. “You have grown brave since our parting.”
“Nay, I have always been brave. I simply
allowed you to rob me of my bravery.”
“If I did it once, dear wife, I can
certainly do it again,” he said with a smile that had once charmed
Brianna and now simply disgusted her.