"Did you hear what I said?" she asked, suddenly stopping, facing Angus.
His gaze shifted from the outline of her breasts to her face, her now narrowed cat-like eyes, and her pursed soft pink lips.
As if she'd been speaking to Niall instead, he said, "Aye, you have some fae gifts."
Angus stared at Niall. What had the lass said?
Gunnolf finished his mead and stood. "'Tis obvious those are no' the only gifts the lass possesses." He smirked at Angus as if knowing he had missed the whole conversation.
Angus wondered if Gunnolf had been watching him while Angus couldn't get his eyes off the lass.
"So we take the lass back to her castle now, Angus?" Gunnolf asked.
"My brothers are rotting away in a dungeon some place, and you dinna care?" Edana asked, her tongue sharp, but tears filled her eyes. A few spilled down her cheeks, and she brushed them angrily away.
Niall cleared his throat and glanced at Angus, his expression beseeching him to take care of this before she dissolved into weeping fully. Gunnolf was the only man Angus knew that seemed immune to a woman's tears. If Angus knew more what the lass had said, he could respond, but he was afraid she'd weep even harder if he asked her to repeat her words all over again. Though this time he would pay attention.
"If you knew where they were being held," Gunnolf said, "we could attempt to free them. But you dinna know that, ja?"
She looked at Angus, appealing to him to be the word of reason, to say he would help her in her time of need. What had she said?
"How do you know your brothers are incarcerated in a dungeon?" Angus asked.
She threw her hands heavenward. "Were you no' even listening? And you thought to dismiss your friends and hear my plea alone?"
Mayhap he would have listened more astutely then. Or…mayhap not. The woman was beguiling.
Niall sat up taller. "She said she has a fae ability to speak with people who are close to her."
Angus raised his brows at Niall. Wasn't that what they were all just doing? Speaking…to each other? How was that special?
"In her head, Cousin," Niall said, sounding exasperated as if from a look he had discerned Angus had mistaken his words. "Not like what we are doing now."
Angus tried not to frown at the lass, but he wasn't quite following the gist of the conversation.
"I canna speak to my brothers," she said, sounding exasperated that Angus was not the only one who had missed what she had said.
Angus felt a wee bit vindicated.
"I can hear them calling out to me. Pleading with me to send help to free them."
At first, Angus hadn't believed that his brother Malcolm's wife, Lady Anice, could see future events, but he'd witnessed enough of her visions that had come true, that he'd become a believer. And his brother Dougald's wife, he truly believed could commune with ghosts. So mayhap if they had special abilities, Edana had them also.
Yet, he still had a difficult time imagining she could experience such a thing as this.
"Where were your brothers going when they were captured?" he asked, as if he thought the scenario might be true, not humoring her, but thinking they might check into the matter—after they left her with her father—to set her mind at ease.
The relief and thanks in Edana's expression surprised him. No matter what was going on, she truly believed in what she had told them.
She quickly sat down at the table again. "They were to return in a fortnight after seeing our McEwan cousin. But somewhere along the way, they crossed paths with someone who took them prisoner. I only know my brothers wouldna have done anything wrong to have deserved such treatment. They have to have been mistaken for some others."
"I dinna understand how you can know this," Angus said.
Sounding vexed—though whether with him or with herself, he wasn't certain—she let out her breath. "I…I dinna know how I can only capture some words and not others. Or how I can discern who has spoken them as if every thought had a voice of its own. But I know they were not said aloud. They were willed to me when the person in trouble thought them…breathed emotion into them…focused on the words and called out in distress. My brothers are in trouble."
Angus and his companions didn't say a word. He wasn't sure what to believe.
She folded her arms and looked absolutely cross at him. "Not even my brothers had wanted to trust in my abilities, even scoffed at them, although I suspect they did so in part to assure our clan that I am no' touched by the fae. That I am a great storyteller, naught more. Except for one thing. What I warn my clansmen of always is the truth and comes to pass. And no one can explain that away. For years though, I have kept my abilities to myself and attempted to help people without revealing how I knew they needed it. No' that they didn't suspect the truth."
She expelled her breath. "But now, my own brothers are desperately seeking my help. At least I believe they are and not that they are just thinking the thoughts and I am receiving them not due to their own attempts to reach me."
"Your da asked us to find you. Did you tell him what you had heard?" Angus asked.
"He doesna like it when I discern things I couldna possibly know. And he ignores them for the most part. He worries about my revelations, but he doesna give into them. I had no intention of remaining at the keep while the clan believes my brothers will return in a fortnight when I know better. I will locate them on my own if I have to. The closer I am to where they are incarcerated, the better I can hear their pleas, and I will finally be able to isolate their location. Once I do, I can tell my father exactly where my brothers are being held prisoner, and then he can send men in to free them." She waited for Angus to agree or disagree.
What bothered Angus most was that he was certain she had not talked to her father about this or he might have posted a guard to ensure she did not run off on her own.
"You didna tell him what you had witnessed, did you, lass?"
She pulled her hands into her lap, tilted her chin up, giving a haughty and stubborn look that was utterly appealing, and said, "He wasna interested in what I had to say."
He studied her—the determination in her expression, no hint of dishonesty. She wasn't lying, yet something wasn't being said. He wasn't sure what, but he wanted to know.
"You tried to talk to him."
"Aye," she said quickly as if she didn't wish to discuss the matter further.
"And he wouldna listen to you."
"Nay."
Angus rubbed his chin, the stubble softer now. Then he folded his arms. "You tried more than once? When he wouldna listen?"
"He was more concerned about other matters," she said, dismissively.
"Such as?"
Her face reddened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Niall quickly glance at him.
Angus knew there was some other reason for her being out here alone. And he didn't like it. "Who were the men you were with?"
At that, she raised a brow. "Are you serious?"
Aye, he was. Only mayhap he had not gotten the scenario right this time either. "Your da will want to kill them when he learns who they were and that they took you beyond the keep without his permission."
Her face paled a bit. "They…they know I speak the truth. They wanted to help me find my brothers as much as I did."
"To earn your favor?" Angus asked, unable to curb the harshness in his voice. Neither of the men should have ever left the keep with the chief's daughter, except with his blessing. And he suspected one or both of the men were sweet on the lassie.
Her cheeks blossomed with color again. He'd never seen a woman wear emotions on her face as much as she did.
"Of course, no'!"
He didn't believe her. He couldn't imagine any man not wanting the lass…well, except maybe because of her peculiarity. "And now because of their actions, you were alone and vulnerable. What if someone had come upon you and had wished you harm?"
"I dinna worry about being alone. I have my sword—which I already used on
a brigand—and I have my dirk. I had no choice. Not when my brothers need me."
Angus stared at her in disbelief and snapped his jaw closed. How could she have survived an encounter with someone who wished ill of her? "Tell me, what manner of man did you dispatch with your sword?" He couldn't imagine unless the man was small, drunk, and half starved. And unarmed. Mayhap a green lad. He couldn't visualize her fighting with her wee sword either.
"Similar to you in build," she said.
He didn't believe it.
"Of course I was taller, seated upon my horse."
Angus wanted to curse out loud. The woman could have gotten herself killed. "And if there had been more of these big ruffians to attempt to stop you?"
"More than the two might have given me difficulty," she agreed.
"Two?" Angus said in disbelief.
Gunnolf grinned. "She would make a good Viking bride."
She gave him an annoyed look.
Niall shook his head. "She doesna need a man to escort her. She can be the escort."
"Did you injure them?" Angus asked, ignoring his friends' jests. His stomach knotted at the notion she could have been injured or killed.
"Their pride, I warrant."
"Then they are no' dead?" He knew she couldn't fight a man and take his life.
"Nay."
"Then they are still out there."
"Aye, aye. Are you willing to help me?" she asked.
"A dungeon," Niall said, skeptically. "You promise we willna end up in one, Angus, if we attempt to prove the lass's claim true and run into trouble of our own?"
She reached over and took Niall's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you. When do we ride out?"
When had Niall taken charge of their destiny?
"We will return you home and ask your da about the route your brothers took. We will see if there are any keeps along the way and verify that your brothers are not locked in any of them. When we find them, we will send word of them home."
She frowned at Angus, and he could tell his plan was not agreeable to her. "I will go with you."
"Nay, you willna, lass. Your place is home with your da."
"You need me. I can listen for my brothers calling to me, but I fear they will weaken the longer they are in captivity. We can find them faster if I go with you."
"'Tis too perilous for an unmarried lass to make the journey such as that. We canna take you."
"You are no' returning me home."
"Aye, we are. Your da wishes it of you, and we will do as he asks." Angus was beginning to think his plan of last eve had been better. Ensure the lass didn't leave the shieling and have her father's men come for her. Instead of him and his companions having a fight on their hands, her father's men could have dealt with her.
Yet, he wouldn't have given up the memory of warming that sweet body of hers all night long for anything, and as daft as the notion was, he would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
She stood abruptly, then seized her brat and wrapped it around her. "'Tis time to go then."
Angus glanced at Niall and Gunnolf. They both gave him wary looks that confirmed they didn't believe the lass was ready to give in that easily.
"Good," Angus said, and proceeded to put out the fire. "Let us be on our way."
So why, if he was doing the honorable thing for the lady, did he feel he was not?
***
As they rode to Rondover Castle, Edana kept worrying the reins in her hands, the horrible prospect of seeing her da filled her with dread. She would do anything for her brothers. She wouldn't be stopped in her quest to help them.
She knew the men didn't believe her. Not truly. And they didn't trust her not to run away either. She wasn't surprised when Niall led her horse and Gunnolf and Angus stuck close to her flanks.
The day was cool, the fragrance of orchids clustered on the grassy flanks of mountains drifted to her on the light breeze. The mist in the distance was growing thicker, closer.
She took a deep breath. Would Angus and his friends really search for her brothers as they said they would? Or was it only a ploy to get her to agree so she'd return to her home without causing them any grief?
She feared she wouldn't be able to slip away from her castle again. And she was certain when she entered the inner bailey, she'd be taken in hand and shuffled off to her chamber where she'd be locked for a fortnight. If only to prove she was wrong and her brothers would return on time without further complications.
She knew Angus would return her home and she couldn't save her brothers if he did. She fought the tears that welled in her eyes. Her brothers had protected her, humored her, loved her, just as she loved them. She couldn't imagine them being tortured or starved, cold and sick in a dank dungeon.
A couple of tears trickled down her cheeks. She wiped them brusquely away. She didn't wish these men to think she was some sniveling maid who couldn't keep her emotions under control. But the worry kept plaguing her. By the time her father sent men to look for her brothers, they could be near death or dead.
She had nothing to bribe Angus and his companions with either, though she'd even considered that. Yet, could they be bribed? She highly suspected they could not. They seemed to be honorable men, coming to her father's aid just because he'd asked them to, based on the clans' friendship over the years.
She glanced at Angus. He was observing the path ahead of them, appearing to be lost in his thoughts. "Will you truly look for them?" she asked softly.
He turned to her and appeared so sincere. "Aye, lass, on my honor."
She believed him. But she wasn't satisfied. She feared Angus and his men could be too late. "If you inquired at any of the castles, how would they respond? 'Nay, we dinna have the Chattan men chained in our dungeons?' If I were close by, I would know the right of it. If they lied, you would travel onto the next castle, believing them not to be manacled in the last one. How would you ever divine the truth?"
Angus nodded. "Your reasoning is sound, Edana."
Was it? Only if Angus truly believed in what she said.
"But I canna in good conscience take you with us," Angus continued.
She pondered that for a while as their horses clip-clopped across the glen, the now thick mist making her feel as though ghostly walls had been erected where they could not discern what lay beyond.
Did he worry about her reputation? It didn't matter whether it was in tatters or not. No one would marry her. She would be living with her father, and then her eldest brother when he became chief, if the wife he took agreed, until the day she died.
That was the trouble with having these cursed abilities of hers. She couldn't banish them from her thoughts. She had to help whenever she could. Some were afraid of her because of them.
"You dinna have to worry about my reputation," she finally said.
Niall turned back to look at her. She realized both Gunnolf and Angus were staring at her.
"No' that I have any, mind you. A reputation." She sighed, afraid she was not getting her point across. At least she didn't think so with the way the men waited for her explanation. "My reputation is no' in tatters, I am meaning. 'Tis just that…" She ran the reins through her fingers. "'Tis just that…well, no one will ask for me and so you need no' concern yourselves that anyone would likely fear that my character is damaged. You have no need to worry that anyone would believe that you had caused my ruin. No' that I am saying 'tis ruined, mind you. Just that no one will believe it could be spoiled."
There, she said it. Shouldn't that set their minds at ease?
Gunnolf cleared his throat, grinned, and looked straight ahead. Niall was smiling, shook his head, and watched the forest they were growing nearer.
Angus likewise was wearing a conceited smile, and she let out her breath in a huff.
This was not going at all as she planned.
Chapter 5
"'Tis all your fault you had to take a gamble on the whore, Drummond," Kayne Chattan said, annoyed with the youngest of his
four brothers, and the most reckless, "if you hadna given into that wench and made such a muck of it."
"I didna tup her. I kissed her in the darkened corridor of the tavern, aye. But naught more. And I didna ask you to fight my battles." Drummond closed his blue eyes, his dark curly hair lying on the rotting blanket. "And you know verra well we all thought she was what she professed to be."
Kayne grunted. "And that is supposed to make it right? We had the fortitude no' to give into the whore's solicitation. You should have left well enough alone."
Halwn tied his dark brown hair back in a tail, the next youngest brother, and he nearly always agreed with Drummond. "He is right, Kayne. He only kissed the woman, though why, I still canna fathom. How were we to know she is a chief's mistress? She should be in chains, no' us."
"Drummond didna have to lay a hand on the wench!" Kayne retorted.
"Before long, McEwan will send out men searching for us when we dinna show there," Gildas—the second to eldest brother—said, his blue eyes sharp. "What is done is done. So take heart."
"And if his men reach this clan's keep, whichever that may be, and he preserves the secret about us being down here?" Kayne shook his head. "Have all of you been attempting to reach our sister?"
Drummond gave a soft snort of derision.
Kayne fought the urge to hit him, although Drummond already sported one black eye. Mayhap he needed another to knock some sense into his thick skull. "Edana may give us hope when we may have no other."
Drummond opened his eyes and glowered at Kayne. "'Tis no' that I dinna believe in her strange fae abilities, but God's wounds, we dinna want her traipsing about the land, searching for us. If she speaks of it to Da—and you know she will—he willna believe her. We have gotten ourselves into this; we will have to get ourselves out of it."
"We? You got us into this horrendous mess," Kayne said. Age-wise he may be the middle brother, but felt he was as much the voice of reason as his two older brothers.