Five
Several hours later, after losing the guards that Brothwell had sent with William to find Thomas, William finally came upon the cave where the men who he and the king had gathered to aid in this mission were awaiting him. The first person he saw, standing just outside of the cave, was Thomas. The fool was bent down skinning a rabbit.
“Ye’ve been spotted,” William said by way of greeting.
“What’s that ye say?” Grant Macaulay asked, appearing at the entrance of the cave.
The king had contacted Grant because, of the men in the king’s inner circle, Grant lived the closest to the MacLean holding, and time had been of the essence. Once William won the tournament and wed the lass, he hopefully would have the names of the remaining three lairds secretly plotting against the king, and then they could flee to take down those men and find his brother. He was unsure how Ada was to help him exactly with this gift she supposedly possessed, but the king was insistent that she would be of aid.
Grant, along with Lannrick and Thomas, who William had convinced the king could be trusted and of help, had been sent with him so that once he got away from Brothwell with Ada, they could assist him in bringing down Brothwell and the other lairds. Likely, he would send the men in three directions to gather troops from the MacLeod stronghold, the Douglas stronghold, and the MacLean stronghold to join them in fighting Brothwell and the traitors, but he could not know for certain until he had the lass and the names.
Thoughts of the lass with hair the color of golden, glistening honey and eyes as intense as a threatening gray sky before a winter storm sparked his lust to life. And itwaslust. There was no other way to describe how she made him feel. He’d not exchanged a single word with the watchful lass, but his body had responded to her as if they were long-lost lovers.
He’d felt an instant pull to her, and guilt tugged at him at how they were planning to use her. But with so much at stake, remorse was not a luxury he could allow when it came to her. Besides, there was the real possibility that she was conspiring against the king with her stepbrother. He needed to set thoughts of her away. He did not have time to dwell upon her. When he was standing in front of her again, there’d be time enough for contemplating how to proceed until he was rid of her.
“William?” Grant asked, snapping his fingers in front of William’s face.
“Sorry,” William responded and waved toward Thomas as he glared at his normally careful friend. “Thomas was spotted by the MacQuerrie’s guard. Now the man is demanding I bring Thomas to him to prove my newfound loyalty to the Steward and the MacQuerrie himself.”
“Christ,” Grant growled, yanking a hand through his hair and glowering at Thomas. “I told ye nae to chase after that rabbit!” The jagged red scar that ran down the length of Grant’s right cheek darkened.
“I told ye so, as well,” Lannrick said, adding his own dark scowl to the ones already directed at Thomas.
Thomas rose, his razor-sharp blue eyes flashing with clear ire. “I made a mistake. If any man here has nae ever made a mistake, speak now and I’ll wash yer feet because, surely, ye are a god.”
William let out a breath of frustration and pressed his lips together.
“I’ve made two mistakes,” Grant said. “The first was nae killing a man when I had the chance, which got me this.” He ran a finger down his scar. “The second was trusting his duplicitous sister, who swore to God above that she was not aiding the Steward. Of course, that particular mistake landed me in captivity for a year.” Grant’s gaze locked on William. “Dunnae trust Ada. Heed me, William.”
Before William could respond, Lannrick said, “I’ve made two mistakes that almost got me killed in battle, and both had to do with my brothers. The bond of brotherhood can lead us to do foolish things, things that will harm us, but we do them anyway—for our brothers.” His gaze rested on William now, as well. “I ken ye took this mission for yer brother, as well as the king. I dunnae fault ye that. I’d have done the same. But keep yer eyes open when and if ye see yer brother again. He may nae have come here a traitor, but love does strange things to men’s honor.
William nodded. He’d already been considering what it would mean for him if Bram was truly a traitor, if that was why contact with the king had stopped. What if Bram had fallen in love with Marjorie MacQuerrie and truly had turned in support of the Steward? William did not think he could bring Bram to the king to be beheaded as David had demanded if that was the case, and that would make William a traitor, too.
“Now that we all ken that nae any of us are gods,” Thomas said, “what is the damage created by my stubbornness to catch the damned rabbit to eat?”
William took a long, slow breath, considering Thomas’s question, what had happened, and how to respond. “If I dunnae take ye to Brothwell, he’ll nae let me compete, and it will make it verra hard to get near enough to Ada MacQuerrie to snatch her, let alone wed her and bed her so that she is truly my wife. I was to woo her, wed her, bed her, get the information and flee all within a sennight. A difficult task, at best, made nearly impossible if I have to snatch heranda priest, and we all have to flee while being pursued.”
Thomas nodded. “What do ye propose?”
William slid his teeth back and forth, listening to the grating sound as he thought about what to say. The only possible solution was for him to take Thomas to the MacQuerrie, but he was loath—no, more than loath—to tell his comrade that he should offer himself up like a foolish lamb to be slaughtered. William had little hope that the MacQuerrie would not subject Thomas to torture. Oh, he would not kill Thomas, as Brothwell himself said he needed to deliver Thomas to his father alive, likely to then be killed for betraying the man, but there was some dispute between Thomas and Brothwell. The desire for vengeance had dripped from the MacQuerrie’s gaze.
“He’s obviously nae going to answer ye,” Lannrick said to Thomas, “but I will. Ye’ll have to allow William to take ye to the MacQuerrie, prepare yerself for pain, and trust that we will rescue ye before ye are killed.”
“Put most efficiently,” Thomas said with an agreeable nod. “The MacQuerrie will nae kill me. I have nary a doubt that he wants to hand me over to my father. Just free me before then, and I should recover from whatever pain the MacQuerrie inflicts upon me.”
William frowned. He didn’t know much about Thomas’s past, besides it being a dark one with twisted deeds inflicted upon him as a young lad that led him to align himself with his father and the Steward simply so he could seek vengeance against the MacLean. But apparently, the MacLean had broken through Thomas’s hatred, and he’d seen the wrongness in what he’d been doing. Thomas had not given William a single reason not to trust him, so trust him he would until the man proved he did not deserve it. But this, this unselfish act, proved much in William’s mind.
William clasped Thomas’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Thomas.”
Thomas shoved William’s hand off him, making William recall that the warrior did not like to be touched. “Dunnae be,” Thomas said. “’Twas my folly, and now I will suffer the consequences willingly to keep the mission alive. Did the MacQuerrie say anything else regarding me?”
“Only that ye would serve to cancel a debt to his father,” William responded. “What’s between the two of ye, though? It seemed there was more.”
“Seemed that way how?” Thomas tilted his head, waiting, watchful.
William motioned to his eyes. “He could nae hide his hatred for ye.”
Thomas chuckled at that. “What’s between us is a woman. I tell ye now, William, it always comes down to a lass. And what of yers?”
“She’s nae mine,” William answered automatically, though the clenching of his gut indicated he already felt possessive of her. Before even a touch. Before even two words had been exchanged. Before vows. Before the bedding.
That would not suffice. He had to be prepared to do anything to clear his family’s name, and he could not do that if a lass had his attention. He needed to be focused on his mission and unaffected by Ada MacQuerrie, no matter how beguiling she was.
