Seducing the Laird (5 page)

In the second before he broke free Verena was able to position the knife so that the blade pointed up. Taking a deep breath she fell on it, jerking as if the man pulled her down.

The soldier froze, staring at her in shock. She could see the horror on his face as he felt her warm blood on his chest. Despite his foolish bravado, the archer was painfully young. He pushed away from her, but just as he managed to break free Cairn’s tree branch slammed into his head. He fell unconscious to the frozen ground.

"Are you alright?" Cairn asked. He stood above her clutching his side where a dark red spot stained his tunic. Cairn must have pulled his stitches during the fight.

"I don’t think so," she answered gesturing to the wound on her shoulder. Cairn noisily sucked in his breath as he saw the blood rapidly soaking the front of her dress.

"You little idiot!
He could have killed you."

Cairn tore one lavishly embroidered sleeve from his tunic and used it to staunch the blood. He then ripped off his other sleeve and used it to tie a crude bandage on top.

"You are welcome," Verena said.

According to Hadran’s plan an arrow was supposed to lightly graze her right arm, injuring her and forcing Cairn to take Verena to Scotland. Unfortunately because of Cairn’s quick reflexes or poor shooting she was forced into more extreme measures.

"You should have run when he released you."

"I was trying to help."

Cairn swore, adding more pressure to her wound. The pain was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Though Hadran often said tears were one of the greatest weapons a woman could use against a man, she stubbornly turned away, reluctant to have Cairn see her weakness. He should be praising her for her courage, not berating her for stupidity. She might have saved his pathetic life.

"What is this?" he asked, turning her head to face him.
"Tears?"

She angrily wrenched her head away, using her uninjured arm to wipe the wet from her cheeks.

"It hurts."

With those words all the fight seemed to drain out of Cairn. He gazed at her with such a fearful tenderness she had to look away. He was afraid for her. Cairn feared he wouldn’t be able to protect her from his enemies. That was the reason for his gruff behavior.

"We should have parted long ago," he began uncomfortably. "But it was easier to accept your help. I should have known better."

"I chose this," she lied earnestly, placing her hand over his. "I chose to help you. No matter what happens you are not responsible for my actions."

"I cannot protect you here."

"I didn’t ask you to," she replied with a touch of humor.

"I think the bleeding has stopped."

Cairn pulled his hand from her wound and looked over her critically, then at their two attackers. He had to take her to Scotland now. The staged attack should have proven she was trustworthy and that it was too dangerous to leave her in England.

"We should leave soon in case they have friends nearby."

She painfully climbed to her feet with Cairn’s help. After this she would have several bruises in addition to the knife wound. Though she swayed, Verena held her ground, gritting her teeth until the pain was under control.

Cairn warily watched her in case she decided to swoon.

"I am ready."

She stared at her blood-soaked dress and hoped the words were true.

Chapter 10

"We are close," Verena announced.

 
had
traveled along the main road since their encounter with Gundy’s soldiers, darting quickly into the underbrush when they sensed someone’s approach. Soon they would reach the crossroads where she told Cairn they would part ways. According to Hadran a party of Scottish knights led by Cairn’s brother Andreu was rapidly approaching. They should have met when accosted by Gundy’s men, but either the soldiers acted too quickly or Cairn’s men traveled too slowly. Verena sighed. After years of working for Gundy she stopped expecting things to go smoothly.

"Soon," Cairn whispered under his breath.

He increased his pace, eager to be gone from England. She opened her mouth to protest and then thought better of it. She understood his excitement. It would be nice to be free of Gundy’s sinister control, but in her experience appearances were often deceiving. Even among the wilds of Scotland neither of them could escape Gundy’s reach.

Suddenly they heard angry shouts behind. She whipped about, momentarily forgetting her injury. Their earlier attackers were crashing through the underbrush in hot pursuit, trying to get a clear shot through the trees.

"You didn’t kill them?" she exclaimed in shock.

"I suppose you could only expect bloodshed from a bloodthirsty Scot."

"Nay!"

But that was exactly what she expected and was the reason Hadran insisted on using Gundy’s disposable soldiers. Owen and Hadran would have slit both men’s throats and then calmly divested their bodies of valuables. She had become so used to this procedure that Cairn’s mercy struck her as absurd.

"Better their lives than yours," Hadran had often said. ‘All threats must be dealt with in the most final way possible.’

Cairn took her hand and dragged her off the road, hoping to lose their pursuers in the dense vegetation. They ran together, each supporting the other, ignoring the blood that dripped from freshly opened wounds and bruises that had only begun to heal.

Forgetting propriety, she hiked her skirts up to her knees, concentrating all of her energy in putting one foot in front of the other. The blows to the head would slow their attackers, but Cairn and Verena were also moving at a sluggish pace. They were too weak to maintain even that brutal speed for long. Cairn was pale from the strain and his breath was ragged. Soon they would be forced to stop with or without meeting Cairn’s soldiers.

A tree root seemed to rise up from the ground and trapped her leg before she could swerve away from it. She fell hard onto her injured side with enough force to make her see stars.

"Get up!" Cairn barked, yanking her to her feet.

She was breathless and covered in blood. The pain was intense and she almost told Cairn to leave her
be
, but she was on her feet again before she could utter the words. She did manage to swear indelicately as she was forced to keep running.

The sound of footsteps rapidly increased behind them and somehow she was able to convince her exhausted body to move. Where were Hadran and Owen? They were supposed to keep Verena out of real danger. The foolish, untried soldiers didn’t know she was working for Gundy and would treat her as a criminal. If Owen was watching as he said he would, he should have assisted in some way.

They swerved around a large tree and Cairn shoved her ahead, ordering her to keep running. He then turned to face Gundy’s men from his hidden position behind the ancient wood, brandishing the small sword he had stolen from the unconscious soldiers. Though the strain of their journey was evident in his sweat and bloodstained clothes, he was burning with anger, eager to smash someone’s head in retaliation for Gundy’s crimes.

Exhausted and nearly delirious with pain, she defied his order and stopped, thinking to aid Cairn in some way. If Owen wouldn’t protect her, she would have to protect herself. Her favorite knife was held loosely by the blade, ready to throw. Another was hidden in the folds of her skirt. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision and even slapped her cheeks when her exhausted body wouldn’t comply fast enough.

Above the roaring in her ears Verena heard the twang of a bowstring being released and then another. Cairn fell to the ground in an instant, draping his heavy body over hers. Her last thought before darkness overtook her was how surprisingly good it felt to be in his protective embrace.

Chapter 11

For a moment the forest was quiet and Cairn took advantage of the stillness to catch his breath. As soon as he heard the twang of a bowstring he pushed her to the ground. He didn’t know who shot the arrows, but Cairn managed to glance up as he fell and saw one of them pierce the throat of Gundy’s soldier. A second arrow found its mark in his friend’s cheek.

"Cairn?" a familiar voice called. He rolled off her and saw his elder brother Andreu and a score of men emerge from the trees.

"Aye.
You have no idea how pleased I am to see you."

"Where are the others?" asked a giant of a man named Fergus as he helped Cairn to his feet. His beefy fist gripped the pommel of his unsheathed sword, expecting Lord Gundy’s army to attack at any moment.

"Dead.
All dead."

"Dead?"
Fergus repeated.
"How?
Gundy invited you in peace. I knew you couldn’t trust that murdering English swine!"

"It was an ambush. I and a couple others survived, but they were slain in Gundy’s dungeons. I managed to escape."

"And her?"
Andreu asked, peering at her sleeping form with interest.

"She’s mine." Cairn surprised himself with the possessiveness of his tone. "More explanations will have to wait, as will my revenge. Now we must heal and make preparations."

Fergus opened his mouth to protest, but paused. Though Cairn didn’t say more, the colorful bruises and blood-soaked clothing was enough to quiet his men. They were so close to Langthorne. It was maddening that they had to retreat, but Cairn was in no condition to fight and Verena needed medical attention. Revenge would have to wait.

"Let’s see those wounds," said Andreu, reaching for his brother. Cairn pulled back stubbornly.

"The woman first."

Andreu raised an eyebrow, but didn’t argue. Turning back to the woman Andreu was able to examine her more closely. The lass looked like a beautiful street urchin with her stubborn jaw and frowning mouth. There was a gentle delicacy in her features that spoke of too many missed meals. Her slender fingers were loosely coiled into fists, but when Andreu lifted her into his arms, she curled about him like a trusting child.

Carefully he laid her on the blanket one of the men spread out on the mossy ground. He untied her bodice to reveal the deep wound and saw at once it was recent, perhaps only an hour or so old. Cairn’s stepmother would likely throw a fit when she saw the bloodstained sleeves that she had so carefully embroidered.

Andreu cleaned the wound, stitched it shut and bandaged it. Luckily the woman remained unconscious throughout his attentions. He took off his cloak to wrap it about her, smiling as she seemed to disappear in its voluminous folds. She tried to snuggle into its warmth and winced as the movement must have pulled her stitches. Without thinking he reached out to comfort her, but was stopped by Cairn’s sharp voice.

"Have you forgotten me, brother?" he asked testily. Andreu immediately turned back to Cairn, intrigued by the show of jealousy.

"You will be fine. Someone has taken excellent care of you."

The bleeding had already stopped and required only fresh bandages.

"We are safe for the moment," said Cairn. "Have those bodies hidden and guards posted. We will leave at first light."

"And her?"
Andreu wanted to know.

Verena said Cairn was not responsible for her, but it was infuriating that he couldn’t guarantee her safety. Cairn had ordered the woman to run but she chose to stay and fight by his side with that pitiful looking knife. That decision pleased and infuriated Cairn.

He had planned to separate at the crossroads, but now it was too late. Cairn couldn’t leave her after she saved his life, not after the injury she sustained because of him, and certainly not after that kiss.

It was disconcerting to realize Cairn had lost himself so completely despite the danger they both faced. He wanted to protect her, yet at the first opportunity Cairn behaved like an untried youth. It was no wonder Verena pulled away so abruptly. She was such a confusing mix of innocent and temptress that Cairn never knew what to expect. To have faced abuse in Langthorne and then find herself pawed by the one man she was beginning to trust must have been more than she could bear.

He had avoided thinking of it before when his mind was solely focused on returning to Scotland. Now that they were out of immediate danger Cairn couldn’t forget her perfect lips. They had felt as soft as he imagined and when she opened for him it was like tasting ambrosia. With that first brush of her tongue Cairn knew he would never allow Gundy to reach her again.

"She comes with us."