Highland Savage (9 page)

“I ken it. She could try to get up or do something else that would cause her harm. I mean to keep her verra busy and try nay to leave her alone too much.”

“Exactly what she and I were discussing ere my reading sent her to sleep. Just a week more. Then I feel sure she will be strong enough to get up and e’en allow herself to get tired without having to go right to bed. I shall leave ye to it, then.” He started toward the door. “And dinnae fret if ye feel the need to rest a wee bit yourself. Katerina is recovered enough to call if she needs help or feels the fever catching her in its grip again.”

Lucas headed for the hall. He needed to talk to William about some of the things he had overheard. He would not tell the man everything if only because he doubted he could stand William’s gloating when it became obvious that he had heard the full truth about the beating and the attempt to kill him. What the vicious pair he had just listened to said about their plans for now and in the future was all the man needed to know. That and the location of the passage within the walls next to Agnes’s solar. They now had a chance to learn all of Ranald and Agnes’s plans and Lucas intended to take full advantage of it.

Katerina slowly opened her eyes and looked to the side of the bed. She was annoyed at how disappointed she felt when she saw Annie there sewing a shirt for Thomas and not Lucas. She touched her lips, not sure if the kiss she had felt was a dream or had really happened, but the warmth of it lingered. Shaking aside such useless puzzles, she began to sit up, immediately drawing Annie’s attention.

“Nay, Annie, let me try this myself,” she said as the woman put down her sewing and moved to help her. “It isnae such a great thing yet I believe ’tis one small, harmless way to start to regain some of the strength I have lost.”

“Aye, I suspicion it is. Do ye want something to drink?”

Realizing that all her effort to sit up on her own had been wasted because she was going to have to have Annie help her with her personal needs, Katerina softly cursed. “After I make room for it.” She grimaced as Annie took her by the arm and carefully helped her out of the bed. “I hate this.”

“I ken it, but it willnae be so verra long ere ye can do this much for yourself as weel.”

Katerina hoped the woman was right because the more she healed the more embarrassing she found the need to have such help. By the time Annie got her back into bed, she needed to have the fine sheen of sweat bathed from her skin. Despite her
embarrassment, however, she did feel much better by the time it was done. She gratefully accepted Annie’s help in drinking some mead, yet again strengthened with some herbs, for her hands were shaking slightly again. Once that was done, Katerina rested against the pillows Annie plumped up behind her back and realized that, although she was tired, she was not really ready to go to sleep again.

Her thoughts immediately went to Lucas. There had been something different about him when he had visited her earlier. The anger in him seemed to have disappeared. He was almost like the Lucas she had fallen in love with a year ago. What Katerina could not puzzle out was why there was a change in him or how long that change would last. Was it just because he had been too weary to be angry, or had he finally begun to reconsider his accusations against her?

“I dinnae understand men at all,” she muttered.

Annie smiled as she sat down and began to work on the shirt again. “I dinnae think many women do, but then men dinnae much understand women.”

That seems a verra strange way for things to work.”

“It does, doesnae it, but mayhap ’tis arranged that way so that those who wed will ne’er truly bore each other. Why are ye troubled about that now?”

For a moment Katerina said nothing, not sure she wished to share such troubles with the woman, but then she sighed. She had no one else to share them with and it would probably help to have someone to thrash it all out with. Another woman’s point of view might even help to ease some of the confusion gripping her so tightly at the moment.

“Sir Murray was acting verra different when he was here earlier.”

“Different? In what way?”

“Kinder. There wasnae the anger in him that he has carried about since he arrived.”

“Ah, that anger. Mayhap he had finally thought things through most carefully and decided ye are nay the threat to him that he thought ye were, that ye are innocent of what he accused ye of.”

“I wondered on that but why should he have changed his mind?”

“Because all of us who ken ye weel tell him he is wrong.”

“And when has that e’er mattered to a mon?”

Annie laughed softly. “True. Sadly true. I cannae say, m’lady. Mayhap he has learned something, heard something from someone he cannae dismiss as just your friend or kinsmon.”

“But where would he have heard anything?”

Annie shrugged. “I dinnae ken. The men dinnae tell me all that much about the battle with Ranald and Agnes. When they do talk to me, ’tis about what they heard concerning the people in the village or the like. If anyone would ken if Sir Lucas had heard something important, or where he has been that he might have heard something important, William would. ’Tis verra clear to everyone that Sir Lucas treats William as your second-in-command.”

“Which is good because that is what he will be when I have control of Duhlochan.” She frowned. “I wonder how he kenned that for I dinnae believe I have e’er told him so.”

“Ah, weel, men are much like dogs in that as they can always seem to sniff out the leader in a pack.”

“I certainly hope they dinnae do it in the same way dogs do.” Katerina grinned when Annie giggled. “No matter. At least Sir Murray chose the right mon and didnae
insult William in any way.”

“True, for it wouldnae be just William who felt the sting of it. There are those brothers of his who would also take insult.”

“And my wee band of men would turn into a snarling pack of angry wolves, useless to me. Nay a pleasant thought.” She frowned, her thoughts immediately going back to the puzzle of Lucas’s change of humor. “Yet, if he heard something and kens the truth now, why didnae he tell me so?”

“Or apologize for thinking poorly of ye.”

“Aye. He said naught about it. Ye would think he would at least let me ken that he was wrong and why he has changed his mind.”

“Ah, weel, there ye have it.”

“What do I have?”

“The reason why he has said nothing. If he has finally heard something that has made him see the truth that has been right under his nose all the time, then the only way to tell ye is to admit he is wrong. E’en Thomas, young as he is, finds it verra difficult to admit that he is wrong about something.”

Katerina thought of her father and realized she could all too easily recall the same fault in him. “’Tis a peculiarity with men then, aye?”

“It would seem so. Does it matter if he doesnae come right out and say he was wrong and now he kens ye are innocent of all the wrongs he accused ye of?”

“I fear it does. He hurt me, Annie, hurt me verra badly. If ’twas but a wee sin against me I wouldnae care, but his accusing me of trying to kill him fair tore my heart right out of my chest. Aye, he needs to say something if he has changed his mind about that. It doesnae have to be pretty and he doesnae e’en have to bluntly declare that he was an idiot, but he has to say something. He has to give me some reason why he believed such an awful thing about me, try to explain how the idea e’en entered his head or I am nay sure I can trust my heart to him again.”

Annie sighed and nodded. “Aye, I think I would feel the same. It revealed that he had lost faith in ye and that is a verra grave sin indeed. Unless he explains how that happened ye could spend the rest of your days fearing it would happen again. All I can say is that, if ye want the mon back, are willing to accept an apology and start again, best ye listen verra closely to what he says. ’Tis just like a mon to slip an apology into a conversation without ye e’en kenning he has done so.”

“And something tells me that is exactly what Sir Murray might try to do, although he is always so bluntly honest in all else.”

“But nay on something that has probably left him feeling like a fool. Then ye are dealing with a men’s pride and ’tis a powerful thing.” She winked at Katerina. “Rest, m’lady. Your eyes are already more shut than open and I think ye are going to need all your wits about ye in the coming days.”

Katerina smiled even as she closed her eyes. It seemed that simply waking up was enough to use up what little strength she had. And Annie was right; she was going to need her wits strong and clear to deal with Lucas in the coming days.

If he had changed his mind about her, no longer believed her capable of such a heartless crime, he would present even more of a lure for her than he did already. That meant she had to make a decision about whether or not she would allow the passion that flared between them to take hold of her again. If he had changed his mind, Lucas could
well be thinking to return to where they had been before the beating. She had better be ready to say aye or nay for she knew there would be no turning back no matter which answer she gave him.

She had meant every word she had said to Annie. She needed an apology of some sort, but she needed an explanation even more. Katerina knew she had to try to understand why he had condemned her so quickly and had been unwilling to accept her claim of innocence. Until he did that to her satisfaction there would always be a shadow of doubt and fear in her heart. As sleep crept over her, dimming her thoughts, a small voice whispered that that should make no difference in the passion she and Lucas could share, that she should take what she craved and sort out the other problems later. Katerina was not sure that was the best advice she had ever given herself, but she had the feeling it might just be the only advice she heeded.

“If we dinnae get some meat soon, ye will be eating naught but oatmeal morning, noon, and night,” Annie said as she served Lucas a bowl of stew.

Looking at the spoonful of stew he was about to put into his mouth and then into the bowl he held, Lucas could see very little meat in it. It looked a lot like the broth Katerina had had to eat for the last three days. Although it tasted good, it was not what he wanted to eat too often. He had had his fill of such food when he had been recovering from his injuries.

“We are that low on supplies?” he asked.

“Just on meat. William says Old Hilda told him that Ranald and his men are feasting every night, eating as if they are afraid it will all disappear tomorrow. She said that if it continues there willnae be a chicken, cow, or pig left within the walls of Dunlochan. And none of the fools has gone hunting, nay for game leastwise. She said she would try to get us some, but William told her nay to take the risk. He told her that when supplies are too tight a little thievery is much too easy to spot and she would be one of the first ones they would be looking at with suspicion.”

“He is right in all he says and I pray she heeds him. The cook is always the first one such men look at when the meal is poorly made or is too plain, or when there isnae much of it set out. Getting meat for us isnae worth the risk to the woman. Right after I check on Katerina’s wounds I will go a-hunting.”

“May I come with ye?” asked Thomas.

“Aye, if ye wish to,” replied Lucas.

“Oh, aye, I wish to. I havenae left these caves in days. ’Twould be nice to get out of them for a wee while.”

“Mayhap ye should wait until the rest of the men return from moving the horses,” said Annie.

“That could be far later than ye think it will be, Annie,” Lucas said. “The horses have been hidden far from here and they will be moved a fair distance from where they were last night. ’Tis a verra long walk the men must make now and made all the longer by the stealth they need to use.”

“But Ranald is hunting ye.”

“I ken it, but a mon and a boy can hide more easily and quickly than a large group of men can.” He smiled faintly. “I shall wear a cap to hide my hair. ’Tis what caught me out last time.”

She sighed and lightly bit her bottom lip. “Mayhap Hilda—”

“Nay, she cannae take the risk, Annie. The minute they suspected her of taking food, they would suspect she was giving it to us. ’Tis a wonder the fools havenae started to turn on all the ones who had been close to Katerina yet I think they suffer that blindness that so often afflicts the people who have a lot of servants, and simply dinnae see that, say, a cook, could be any threat to them. I would like it to remain so.”

“Aye, ye are right Our friends within the keep have all been verra lucky so far and it would be careless to put that at risk for the sake of a bit of meat.”

Lucas finished his meal and stood up. “All of us are being hunted, Annie. Ranald may want me, or Kat more than any other, but none of us are safe. I dislike hiding away here, but I understand the need for it. I willnae do it without a good meal, however. Dinnae fret, the game is still plentiful round here and, though it sounds vain of me to say
so, I am an excellent hunter.”

He strode away before Annie could think of any more arguments she could make. It was risky to go out to hunt some food, but it was also risky to go out every night to move the horses around in the hope of keeping them out of Ranald’s hands. It was risky to sit in these caves so close to Dunlochan keep. Until Ranald and Agnes were no longer a threat they were all trapped by risk. It was not something he felt he should say to Annie, however, as the woman fretted over the safety of them all far too much already.

Lucas entered Katerina’s bedchamber and grinned. She was struggling to sit up again and although her movements were much stronger and the hint of her former grace could easily be seen, she was still having some trouble. Katerina’s need for some hearty fare to regain her strength was yet another good reason to take the risk of going out to hunt. If they were reduced to oatmeal and broth she would never regain the health stolen by her wound and the fever.

“Need some help?” he asked as he walked up to the bed. He caught a quick glimpse of a somewhat dirty foot and knew Katerina had been out of her bed but he resisted the urge to lecture her.

“Nay, ’tis getting easier,” Katerina said, trying to sound pleasant when she actually felt very inclined to curse. She certainly was not about to confess that one reason she was struggling now was because she had risen and seen to her own personal needs, using up far more strength than she had thought she would.

“Aye, I can see that. Ye shall be up and dancing in but a day or two.”

“Have ye come here for a reason other than to bludgeon me witless with what ye think is humor?”

“Ouch.” He laughed and shook his head. “I can see that your wits are returning to their usual sharpness. Nay, I came to have a look at your wound ere I go a-hunting.”

“A-hunting what? Nay Ranald and his men, I hope.” She tried to see the wound he uncovered but it was in an awkward spot high on her shoulder and she could barely see more than the edges of it around Lucas’s long fingers. “I wouldnae be at all surprised if that is just what Ranald would like ye to do.”

“Nay, I dinnae go out hunting Ranald although I have been thinking of it. The mon has run free o’er Dunlochan lands for far too long. Nay, tonight I go to find some meat for the table.”

“Has something happened to Old Hilda?”

Deciding it was time to leave the bandage off, Lucas did so, and then retied her night shift, trying hard to ignore the tempting glimpse of the soft curves of her full breasts. “Nay, Old Hilda is fine.” He told her what Annie had told him. “The risk is too high now. The people still within the walls of Dunlochan are safe and I want them to stay that way.”

“A wish I share wholeheartedly but ’tis verra risky for ye to go out there now. Ranald—”

“Is hunting us. Aye, I ken it weel. It doesnae matter. A number of us have to go out each night to move the horses from one hiding place to another, dinnae we. I see nay difference between that and me going out to catch us a few rabbits for the pot except that I will bring back something other than sore feet”

Katerina smiled fleetingly, but quickly grew concerned again. She knew everything he said was right and there was no argument she could make against his decision. She
still felt tempted to try. Unfortunately, the only argument she had was that her stomach had knotted when he had said he was going a-hunting. It was a feeling she always got when something was wrong, but she doubted he would understand or believe her. Katerina suspected he would get the same look on his face as her father always had, that irritating expression of the superior male affectionately amused by the woman’s emotional foolishness. If he did, she would probably hurt herself in her attempt to hit him repeatedly.

“I dinnae like it,” she murmured.

“Although I am actually looking forward to getting out of these caves for a wee while, I am nay too fond of it either. But I am nay too fond of a regimen of oatmeal and herbal broths, either. ’Twill be just Thomas, who kens verra weel how to be quiet and stay weel hidden, and me. We willnae be easy to see or easy to catch and find if we are seen. I dinnae intend to bring down a deer and risk getting caught whilst dressing it or trying to drag it back here. I go for some rabbits. Small game. Something that willnae clearly mark that someone has been in the area hunting.”

“I ken it I ken that ye are verra skilled in all of this.” She grimaced. ’Tis just that my stomach hurts.”

Lucas blinked, “Your stomach hurts? Do ye think ye have eaten something that wasnae good for ye?”

“Nay. E’er since I was a little girl I get an ache in my stomach when something is wrong and it really aches now.”

“Did it ache the night ye got wounded? Or the night Ranald attacked us by the loch?”

“Weel, the night I got wounded I had reason to think it ached for a specific reason.” She felt herself blush at the thought of how she had believed it was time for her monthly bleeding to begin, especially when the look in his eye told her he had guessed what she was referring to. “The night Ranald attacked me by the loch as I waited for you, I thought ’twas, weel, anticipation.” She ignored his grin and continued, “’Tis neither of those things now.”

“Weel, lass, I suspect ye have a wee gift for sensing trouble. I had a great uncle who could do the same. Aye and a cousin. I will heed it in such that I will be verra wary and verra careful. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by trouble and we need meat. The men willnae stand for meals without it and ye need it to regain your strength.”

“I ken it. In truth, I have had the ache in my stomach now and then ever since Ranald learned that I was alive.” Katerina fought to hide her pleasure over the way he so calmly accepted her strange gift and, even more important, seemed to believe in it without question.

“And that should be no surprise, aye? The mon wants ye dead. I willnae ignore the chance that ye are having a warning about something else, however.” He bent over and gave her a quick hard kiss, pleased by the way her blue eyes darkened with a pleasure she could not hide. “Ye remain aware as weel. Annie remains here and the men should return in a while. Thomas and I will be back as soon as we can. I dinnae go to enjoy a hunt, simply to get what I can as fast as I can.” He started out the door. “And next time ye have to use the bucket call for Annie so that ye dinnae exhaust yourself so.” He hurried through the doorway and quickly stepped to the left, just in time to miss being hit by the tankard that flew after him.

Katerina heard his soft laughter fade away as he left and she cursed. How had the man known that she had gotten up to relieve herself without calling for Annie? She suspected it was just a very clever guess on his part. Still, he was right. She had exhausted herself over that one small chore. If she had had Annie at least help her to the bucket tucked behind the privacy screen and then help her back to bed, she would not need to sleep again.

Settling herself more comfortably against the pillows, she tried not to tire herself worrying about Lucas. She idly rubbed her aching stomach and repeatedly told herself that it was simply a continuous warning about how Ranald wanted her dead. It did not mean that something bad was going to happen tonight, to Lucas or to her. Such good sense only eased her concern a little. Even though Katerina knew she would probably sleep for a while, she also knew she would hold fast to her concern for Lucas and young Thomas until they returned safe and sound.

“Wheesht, ye are good,” said Thomas as he tied the third rabbit they had caught to his belt.

“Practice and patience, lad,” Lucas said, idly setting another trap and wondering if three rabbits was enough for now.

“Weel, I do have a problem being patient, I confess.” He watched the way Lucas tied the small noose he then hid carefully beneath the leaves before baiting it with some clover. “How do ye ken that there are a lot of hungry rabbits round here?”

“Ye look for the signs such as weel cropped clover.”

“Ah, aye, I can understand that.”

Once the trap was set, Lucas sat back in the shelter of some thick bushes and waited. He would not wait too long for he felt they had been outside long enough already. Yet one more rabbit might mean no one had to risk hunting tomorrow.

“Mayhap we should just steal some chickens,” said Thomas, keeping his voice low, almost a whisper.

“I think Katerina would like to survive this without stooping to thievery. We cannae reach the chickens inside the keep, so we would have to steal from the crofters or villagers and I think they have as much need of such bounty as we do, mayhap more.”

Thomas sighed and nodded. “Aye, they do. I was just thinking that chickens could be kept inside the caves, aye? They would also give us eggs.”

“Clever lad. Ye think with your stomach. I like that in a mon.” Lucas exchanged a grin with Thomas. “I am hoping we willnae be trapped in the caves for verra much longer.”

“Ye have a plan to beat Ranald and Agnes? Ye can get the proof Lady Katerina needs to defeat them?”

“I am the proof needed, laddie. They both tried to kill me.”

“But Lady Katerina said it has to be hard proof. Ye are her friend, aye?, so why would anyone believe ye?”

“Because I will have my verra powerful family standing behind me. I just need to puzzle out a way to get word to them and get their aid without putting any of them in danger. Right now, a Murray coming here could easily be walking to his death and I cannae have that.”

“Are your people really that powerful?”

“Powerful enough. Certainly more powerful than Agnes or Ranald. Ah, here comes our rabbit.”

Lucas winced when the trap did its job and he soon had another dead rabbit to add to the catch hanging from Thomas’s rope belt. He preferred to hunt with a bow. Trapping an animal always made him feel as if he was cheating, if only because it was baited. This time, however, it was a necessity, for he had to make a large catch and make it quickly.

He cleared away all sign of the trapping he had done and any sign that anyone had lain in wait in the bushes. Thomas seemed unconcerned by the fact that he had four dead animals swinging from the rope belt around his thin waist. Lucas almost grinned. Thomas was one of those young lads who wanted to know everything, see everything, and do everything. Annie certainly had her hands full.

Lucas was just about to ask the boy about his family, if he had anyone besides Annie, when a soft noise caught his attention. He briefly placed his hand over Thomas’s mouth to stress the need for silence and crouched down. It pleased him when Thomas did the same, keeping a firm hold on their catch so it did not brush the leaves and signal where they were. Lucas did wish the boy was far away, however, as he had the strong feeling that the trouble that made Katerina’s stomach ache was about to descend upon them.

Keeping Thomas sheltered by his body Lucas slowly crept backward, seeking out the heavy undergrowth deeper in the forest. Between it and the many deep shadows in the forest Lucas felt they could hide safely from whoever it was he felt stalking them. Keeping Thomas safe was his greatest priority if only because he loathed the thought of returning to Annie and Katerina and telling them something had happened to the boy.