"Need I remind you once again, you didna need to fight on my behalf. Had you no', you could have told our da what happened to me." Drummond closed his eyes.
"Mayhap Drummond is right," Egan said and Kayne had to agree with his eldest brother, despite not wanting to concur with anything Drummond said. "'Twould be a mistake to call Edana, if 'tis even possible. Da wouldna believe her. And you know what she would do if he doesna act on her revelations."
"Run away," Kayne said, rubbing his bristly chin. Hell, he had been trying to reach her ever since he'd gained consciousness. "What say you, Gildas?"
Their second eldest brother seemed deep in thought. "I only wish we knew where we are."
Kayne knew what he meant. Gildas had been trying to reach Edana also, and if he could tell her where they were being kept hostage, she could have their father send men to find them. After the day the lass had drowned in the river, all of his brothers had become believers. Because of her peculiar abilities, poor Edana would never find a husband. But that didn't mean she would be safe from men who could wish ill of her.
They didn't know exactly how her abilities worked. She had admitted being uncertain herself. But she'd alluded to hearing people's emotions and their thoughts when they found themselves in peril. Not one of the brothers was in immediate peril. But with the chilly conditions, no garments, and lack of food or drink, they could all grow ill at any time and die.
"She willna give up on us," Gildas said reverently, his fingers interlocked on his chest as he rested on his blanket.
"Edana? Then you think she is looking for us this very moment?" Drummond said. "If any harm comes to her…"
"She loves us," Hawln said, with a scoffing sound. "Unconditionally. Even when we didna treat her well because our clansmen hadna."
"Speak for yourself," Kayne said. He and Gildas had always been her champions.
"I stuck up for her," Hawln said. "Nearly drowned a lad for making fun of her once."
Drummond ran his hands through his hair, but didn't say anything.
Halwn shook his head. "You can pretend you didna champion her cause but I witnessed it on a number of occasions, Drummond. Even if no mon ever wants the lass for a wife, she has stolen all our hearts."
"Aye," Kayne and Gildas said.
Everyone waited for Drummond to say something. Then he said very gravely, "Which is why we shouldna attempt to reach her as we could verra well put her in harm's way."
***
Riding through the thick mist on her way home, Edana felt defeated as Angus and Gunnolf continued to flank her, Niall still leading the way. Then she heard someone speaking. A faint voice. Trying desperately to hear what he was saying, she closed her eyes. Gildas. What was he saying? "Stay home."
Stay at home? Nay! They worried for her. Nay! She wouldna give up. His voice sounded so far away, she knew she was moving away from him.
"My brother Gildas just spoke to me," Edana said in a rush to Angus and his companions.
Everyone reined in their horses and stopped.
"I canna…I canna speak with them. I wish I could ask them the questions we need answered. I only know they canna tell me which keep they are being held in. But we are riding away from their location."
She couldn't believe Angus and his friends had actually stopped to hear her out. Did they trust in her? But what if her brothers no longer tried to reach her? What if they realized they could put her in danger by doing so?
She closed her eyes, willing Gildas to say something more. Please, she pleaded. We have help. The MacNeills.
Nothing. She knew it didn't work that way, although every time she'd had one of these one-sided conversations, she'd attempt to draw them out—to have her own say, to learn more so she could help the person in trouble.
Niall did not pull her mare along. And Angus did not tell the others to keep moving. He was waiting for her to do something.
Oppida, Kayne said, the woman's name brushed across Edana's mind. "Oppida!" Edana said. "My brother Kayne just gave the name to me." Though she couldn't be sure if he was so angry with the woman that his emotions had helped send the name to Edana or not, or if he actually had tried to give her the name. "Does the name mean anything to any of you?"
Niall said, "No' me."
But Angus looked at her so strangely that she thought he appeared to have seen a banshee. "Angus?" she asked.
Gunnolf said, "We encountered this Oppida. Well, actually heard of her."
Edana's hopes instantly rose. "You know her? You know where my brothers could be?"
"At Lockton Castle. 'Tis Dunbarton's keep. Dougald and I stayed there for a spell," Gunnolf said.
"Then we must go there."
Angus said, "We must return you home first and let your da know where they are, if they are there at all."
"He willna believe us. No' unless we know for certain."
Angus looked at Gunnolf for confirmation.
"We heard tell Oppida was the chief's mistress. She visits taverns looking for payment for her…services. When the chief learns of it, he throws the mon in the dungeon who dared…" Gunnolf stopped mid-sentence.
"My brothers wouldna have been with such a woman," Edana said vehemently. None of the men said anything, which infuriated her. Did they think she did not know her brothers that well? After she'd seen her father with Zeneva when she would have defended his honor to the death, maybe she didn't know her brothers any better. But she wouldn't admit to that. "They wouldna! Just because you and Dougald had been—"
"Nay, lass," Gunnolf said quickly. "I mentioned we had heard tales of the woman. Dougald and I attempted to stop Dunbarton's men from raiding sheep on our lands. We found ourselves vastly outnumbered."
"Oh," she said. "My brothers wouldna have been doing such as they were on their way to see our cousin, the McEwan. They wouldna have been… Well, they must have been doing something honorable as well, and Dunbarton threw them in the dungeon. They must have heard about the woman as you did and thought I might share the information and someone would know then where they are."
"What think you?" Niall asked Angus. "I believe going for reinforcements might be in our best interest. Beyond that, seeing to the lady's care by leaving her with her da is probably the best idea, do you no' think?"
"Quite a squabble ensued between Dunbarton's five bastard sons as to who would rule the clan next when he died. We dinna have much to do with them, and they havena been raiding our lands of late," Gunnolf said. "So we dinna know which one is now laird."
"But you and Dougald have already been in their dungeon once. Dinna you think if they see you, they will want to put you there again? And us because we will be with you, and of course we will fight to keep you from going into the dungeon in the first place," Niall said, clearly sounding as though he was afraid he'd end up in a dungeon again.
Angus said, "If Keary rules in his father's place. I believe he will listen to us. He did aid us in freeing you and Dougald, Gunnolf. But we will still take the lass home first."
"We will be heading in the wrong direction and add four more days if no' more to our—your journey—if we go to my da's keep. Four more days of abuse!" Edana exclaimed, her temper flaring.
"We take you home, Edana. That is my final word," Angus said.
If her brothers were truly at Dunbarton's keep, she had done her job. Angus would enlist her father's help, and somehow they would convince their laird to release her brothers. So why was she not happy with the prospect?
What if they had some of the scenario wrong? What if Oppida was somehow the key, but the keep Gunnolf thought they were being held at wasn't the correct one?
"Are you certain they would be holding them at Dunbarton's keep?" she asked. "That Oppida is still at Lockton Castle when Dunbarton no longer lives? That she isna some other chief's mistress?"
Angus didn't say a word. Neither did Gunnolf.
She pursed her lips. Then she wondered just how difficult it would be to get them released. "Gunn
olf, how were you and Dougald set free?"
"The first time?"
Eyes wide, she asked, "You we thrown into the dungeon more than once?"
"Ja. The first time, a lass freed us."
"A lass?"
"Aye. She gave the guards a sleeping draught and helped us to escape. But we were captured again and the next time we needed extra help."
"I wasna there, but James led a force to help free them," Angus said.
"Why were you no' there?" she asked, believing he would have been there to help his brothers.
"Angus was injured in a swordfight with some of Robert Curthose's men," Gunnolf said. "He couldna fight for a fortnight, but his injuries healed, and he has use of his sword arm again."
She glanced at Angus's arm, not having seen him favor it in the least. But now she worried he might be injured if he was unable to keep up with the other men.
"'Tis properly healed," Angus said, giving Gunnolf an annoyed look.
But she still worried. "Your brother, James, laid siege to Lockton Castle?"
"James had some assistance. Once he and his men were shown the secret tunnel, they made their way inside."
Her spirits lifted at once. "You can sneak them out. Good. Aye, you will need my da's men to assist you."
"We canna just force our way inside," Niall said. "We have to learn if her brothers are even there."
"Aye, 'tis true," Angus said.
"How will you be able to do that with a group of men? They will surely realize you mean to wage war on them. Especially when they see my da's men, if they know which clan my brothers belong to. Or I suspect they might."
"We will come up with a plan," Angus said, sounding as though he was attempting to appease a bairn and wished to end this discussion.
She meant to speak not another word to them all the rest of the way back to the keep, though it would take them two days, but she couldn't help herself. "What if my da doesna believe you? That my brothers are being held in Dunbarton's dungeon? What if he thinks you will cause trouble with a clan we havena had problems with before? What if he says no' only is he no' sending men, but he doesna wish you to visit Dunbarton's keep on my brothers' behalf either?"
But worse, what if they had it all wrong and her brothers were not shackled at Lockton Castle?
Chapter 6
As Angus and his companions crossed the glen, the foaming burn running through the center of it, they paused their horses to drink of the fresh water and fill their flasks. He felt unsure about what to do concerning Edana as she stretched her legs, bending over to add water to her flask. So surprised, he stared, mesmerized as he considered her lovely backside. It didn't matter that she was wearing a brat over her léine. Just the way she was bent over made him harden.
Och. He quickly turned away, but caught Niall and Gunnolf watching her, all smiles. He frowned at them and once they saw his scowl, they busied themselves with filling their own flasks.
The lass belonged at home, not with the men who were not family and when she had no female to accompany her.
He glanced at the Scots pine towering nearby and the craggy peaks of mountains, spearing low-lying clouds, predicting they would soon have more rain.
Shortly thereafter, they remounted their horses and continued on their way.
The nagging thought kept pulling at his conscience. She could be right. That even if they convinced her father to allow them to take men with them, what if they couldn't persuade the current Laird of Lockton Castle to give up her brothers? What if the laird wouldn't admit to having the brothers incarcerated at his keep? Worse, what if they discovered her brothers were not even there?
His mind made up, though he could not believe he'd come to this decision, he hollered, "Hold!"
Everyone stopped.
"We go to see the Laird of Lockton."
"We canna take her with us," Gunnolf said, frowning.
"She will be my wife," Angus said.
Her jaw dropped.
"We will pretend you are my wife," Angus clarified. "We will ask for Highland hospitality and see if we can learn for certain that Edana's brothers are there. Once we learn the truth, we can take the news to Edana's father, and he can send men with us to convince the laird to release her brothers."
"What if the lady herself ends up in the dungeon?" Niall protested.
"We will endeavor to keep her safe," Angus said, not believing anyone would take such measures with the lass.
"Sorry, Niall," Gunnolf said, already agreeing to the plan that could lead to their downfall. "'Tis an adventure when you journey with any of the MacNeill brothers. Have they no' warned you?"
"I thought Dougald was the only one who landed his friends in a cell with him," Niall said glumly.
"Mayhap 'twas one of the other brothers who was the cause before," Gunnolf said, with just a hint of a smile. "Malcolm and James had their turn also."
"If you mean the time that Da arranged two marriages for Malcolm at once," Angus said, "'twas Da's fault, no' my brothers."
"Ja, but if Malcolm had agreed to wed the daughter of that clan chief, none of us would have ended up in the chief's dungeon. 'Tis good that James finally convinced the chief to free us as the lady that Malcolm finally wed is the perfect one for him," Gunnolf said.
Edana cleared her throat and they all looked at her.
"How can I ever thank you?" Edana asked, so gratefully, she looked as though she would come out of her saddle to hug Angus. Tears swam in her eyes, but they were tears of joy and relief.
He wanted that hug, truth be told. But he was on a mission so important, he couldn't allow a bonny lass to distract him.
"But you must promise to guard everything you say, Edana, so you dinna give our purpose away," Angus warned. "'Tis a role we must all play."
"Oh, aye, you have nothing to fear on my part."
She looked so eager to aid them in locating her brothers, Angus frowned.
Why did he not believe her?
***
Edana could have embraced Angus she was so relieved that not only had he believed her, he agreed to take her with them. She hoped Kayne would attempt to speak to her again. She prayed they would learn for certain that her brothers were locked in the dungeon without her escort getting into any trouble themselves.
"There is one little problem with all of this," Angus said. "Gunnolf has been there before, as he has mentioned. Gunnolf isna one to forget easily and any number of Dunbarton's men might recognize him. We may encounter trouble because of it."
"Then mayhap we should leave him nearby and see for ourselves if they have my brothers there first," Edana said.
"If you wish it, Angus, I will wait. Should you no' return by an agreed upon time, I will seek Chattan's help."
"That is a wonderful idea," Edana said brightly. "Even if my da is reluctant to come to my brothers' aid, believing they are still safe and riding to see our cousin McEwan, he willna balk at demanding my release."
Angus frowned. "You willna try to get us placed in the dungeon so that Gunnolf will seek your da's help, would you?"
She was shocked he would even consider such a notion. "Surely you jest, Angus. I have no wish to reside with my brothers in a dark, dank cell even for a heartbeat."
Even so, if she could be with them, she would give up her freedom, knowing Gunnolf would bring a rescue party.
Angus looked unsettled as if he knew just where her loyalties were. "Just so you know—they most likely will be naked."
She gaped at Angus, then quickly closed her mouth and stared straight ahead. She didna wish to see her brothers naked, even though she had seen Gildas's bare arse when he was tupping a maid by the loch when she'd chanced upon them. Thankfully, neither had seen her dash away from the scene of their impassioned romance. At least she hoped not.
Chin up, she continued to look forward, her cheeks heated despite the chill in the air. She would do anything, she reminded herself, if it meant getting her brothers freed.
&nbs
p; Then she frowned, coming to a conclusion she didn't wish to consider and turned to Angus. "They wouldna do such a thing to a woman prisoner, would they?"
Niall's eyes rounded, his mouth gaping as he turned to see how Angus would respond.
Gunnolf did not say a word, though she assumed he'd know, as many times as he'd been in one. Angus flushed a little. "Aye, lass. No' always, but sometimes, aye."
Her brothers would be furious with her captors and with her!
She would do most anything to secure their release. Mayhap not that.
***
God's knees, Angus knew Edana must have been thinking of getting herself thrown in the dungeon so that Gunnolf would go for help and her father would damn well provide it.
He hoped mentioning that captors sometimes stripped women prisoners of their clothing would make her reconsider such a notion. He wished to help her in her quest, but not at the expense of them all losing their freedom. Even for a brief time.
They traveled until late that night and made camp near a burn streaming white, alder mixed with downy birch, and rowan leaning over the burn's banks. This time he knew she would not attempt to slip off on her own because they had agreed to ride with her to locate her brothers. Small consolation as he had other concerns now. The difficulty was that he did not want her sleeping by herself, cold and shivering in the chilled night air. They had no tent, no way to keep out the damp mist cloaking them.
Yet, wrapping her in his body heat and sharing hers with him could be a habit he would not be willing to give up so easily once they had accomplished their mission.
While Gunnolf watched over the lass and made a fire, Angus and Niall gathered more kindling in the tangle of brush to last the night. "You are no' making a mistake by calling the lass your wife, are you, Cousin?" Niall asked.
"'Tis just a ploy."
"Yet with our customs—saying it is so, makes it so. 'Tis just as binding as marriage in a kirk." Niall struggled to untangle a fallen tree limb from the brush.
Angus went to help him as Niall wasn't making much headway. "Aye, I know, but she agreed to the ruse only in an attempt to learn where her brothers are. She wouldna keep me to my word when we are only pretending to be husband and wife."