Laird of Flint: A Forbidden Love Scottish Medieval Romance Adventure (The Warrior Lairds of Rivenloc

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Though she’d never seen them before, Carenza recognized what they’d found at once.

A gold chalice. A silver cross. A jeweled Bible. And various pieces of costly jewelry—rings, medallions, brooches. They were piled on a large square of linen atop the bed’s rope frame.

“The missing artifacts,” Hew breathed.

“How did they get here? Only my father and I have a key to…” She shivered at a sudden chilling thought. “Ye don’t think…?”

“That your father is a thief? Nay.”

She had to admit it seemed improbable. She was glad Hew thought so too. But all evidence pointed to the Laird of Dunlop. Or his daughter.

“Then how…?”

Hew said, “Someone else has regular access to this room.”

Their eyes widened simultaneously as they recognized the significance of that fact. With prudent haste, they began throwing on their clothes.

“Do ye think ’tis Peris?” she said, shimmying into her leine.

“That would be my guess.” He pulled on his braies. “He could have easily snatched the key from your father.”

“True.” She slid her stockings up over her knees. “Da wouldn’t even notice it missin’. I don’t think he’s come here since that day.”

Hew stuck his leg through his trews. “The physician’s accomplice. He said they planned to move the goods, right?”

“Aye.” She tossed her arisaid over her shoulder, trying in vain to find the brooch to pin it together. “Before Lent, he said.”

“So they mean to transport them from here within…” he said, tying a sloppy knot in his trews as he calculated the days. “A month.”

“Which means we need to catch them in the act. But how? Post a guard at the door?” She shook her head. “My father would ask too many questions.” She found the brooch.

“Nay.” Hew shook his leine out and hauled it over his head. “I’m taking it.”

“Takin’ what?”

“The treasure.”

She winced as she poked her finger with the brooch. “Ye can’t do that. What if ye’re caught with it?”

“’Twas stolen long before I arrived.” he said, buckling his belt. “The abbot will vouch for that.”

That made sense. Then a twisted thought coiled around her brain. “What if Peris’s accomplice is the abbot?”

“I don’t think so.” But she could see there was a sliver of doubt in his mind. “The abbot wouldn’t have put me on the task in the first place if he had something to hide.”

“So what are we goin’ to do with the treasure?”

“We are doing nothing,” he said, arching an overprotective brow. “I have a plan.”

“And what’s that?”

He furrowed his brows. He obviously didn’t want to divulge his plan.

“Damn ye, Rivenloch,” she bit out, startling him with her oath. She startled herself almost as much. “I brought ye here.” She pointed to the bed. “We just lay on that pallet together in nothin’ but the skin we were born in. I shared my body with ye in the most intimate act a man and woman can perform. God’s eyes, I gave my maidenhood to ye. Are ye goin’ to tell me ye’re unwillin’ to share your plan with me?”

She could see he was taken aback by her fury. To be honest, so was she. But she had to admit she rather liked this new person she was becoming. Someone who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. To disagree. To get angry. To have opinions and ideas and dreams of her own.

He apparently liked her too. His lip curved up in a half-smile of approval.

“Fine,” he said, telling her his plan as he gathered up the treasures in the linen square, tying a knot in the top.

She didn’t like the plan. It was too risky. There were too many opportunities for mistakes.

But she knew it would do no good to tell him so. His mind was set. He was confident it would work.

The best thing she could do was make her own plan for when his failed.

Hew carefully poured the contents of the linen bundle onto the table of the chapter house. The gold gleamed in the candlelight, and the jewels winked up at the three witnesses.

“Ye found it!” the abbot exclaimed in stunned awe.

“How?” the prior asked, looking just as shocked. “Where?”

He didn’t answer the prior. Instead, he addressed the abbot. “Is this all of it? All the missing items?”

“Aye, it appears so, but…” The abbot looked puzzled. “’Tis more than that.” He picked up a medallion and a ring. “These don’t belong to the monastery. None o’ these jewels do.”

“’Twas a thief by trade, no doubt,” the prior said, licking his lips. “A local outlaw.”

“Did ye find the thief?” the abbot asked.

“I found one of them,” Hew said, subtly bringing his axe down off his shoulder and testing the edge with his thumb. “He confessed.”

The men paled.

“One o’ them,” the abbot repeated. “Is there more than one?”

“Aye. He had an accomplice.”

“An accomplice?” the prior echoed.

“Did he name the fellow?” the abbot asked.

“Not yet.” Hew pretended to examine his axe blade. “But I mean to return to Dunlop on the morrow. I’ll convince him to clear his conscience. ’Tis only a matter of time. In my experience, most outlaws prefer to keep at least half their fingers.”

Both men shuddered at that.

Hew shouldered his axe again and bid them farewell. Before he exited the chapter house, he turned.

“I believe you’ll find the jewels belonged to your deceased infirmary patients.”

Their jaws dropped in unison.

Hew returned to his cell. Now he had only to wait.

He’d made a large wager. It might not bear fruit. But if he was correct, the accomplice would be eager to act fast. Likely tonight.

As he suspected, a cloaked monk left Kildunan at nightfall, hurrying along the road as if chased by a pack of wolves.

But the beast on his scent was Hew.

Hew kept his distance. There was no need to further frighten the man. He was already headed into the trap.

The man naturally had no trouble negotiating the gates of Dunlop. After all, who would suspect a monk of foul play? The castle guards were probably used to his frequent midnight visits. To them, the prior appeared to be an exceptionally devoted man of the cloth, since he was always coming at the darkest hours to pray for suffering members of the clan.

Tonight, it was Peris who needed his prayers. And when Hew glimpsed the flash of a dagger blade in the prior’s hand, he knew how the prior meant to relieve the physician’s suffering.

He tracked the prior through the great hall to the physician’s quarters.

Hanging back in the shadows, he heard the prior pound hard on the door. After several moments and an additional heavy round of knocking, the physician opened the door.

“What have ye done?” the prior hissed.

Peris sounded like any man wakened in the middle of the night. Stuporous and irritable. “What are ye talkin’ about? And what are ye doin’ here? I thought we agreed—”

“Bloody fool!” the prior bit out, brandishing his dagger. “Did ye think I wouldn’t come after what ye did?”

“What the—”

The prior pushed his way in.

“Ye don’t mean the guildsman, do ye?” the physician rattled on. “We agreed I could hasten him along with a few extra drops of opium. ’Tisn’t the first time I—”

“Not the guildsman,” the prior growled. “I don’t care about the guildsman.”

“Is it the guildsman’s jewels? I swear I put them in with the rest.”

“Och aye. Right before ye handed them o’er to Rivenloch.”

“What?”

“He brought them to Kildunan, ye halfwit. Showed them to the abbot.”

“What are ye talkin’ about? They’re right where I left—”

“Is that so?” the prior sneered. “So ye’re sayin’ ye didn’t confess to Rivenloch and turn o’er the treasures?”

“What?” he blurted in amazement. “Why would I confess?”

“I should have known ye were a coward. Ye’ve been as twitchy as a cat for weeks now.”

“Because I’ve been sittin’ on top o’ the spoils,” the physician challenged. “Ye keep sayin’ ye’ll move it, but—”

“But since ’twas takin’ so long, ye decided to wash your hands of it. Is that it?”

“Nay.”

“Ye figured ye’d unburden your soul,” the prior said, “and throw me to the wolves.”

“I swear I don’t know what ye’re talkin’ about.”

“He’s goin’ to pry it out o’ ye, one way or another.”

“Who?”

“Rivenloch. All he has to do is pick up that bloody axe o’ his, and ye’ll be screamin’ my name all the way to the garderobe.” There was a sudden heavy impact, like the prior punching the wall, followed by a squeak from the physician. “But then ye know what happens? I tell them about your crime. They’ll be interested to learn ye’re a godforsaken murderer.”

The physician choked on outrage. “God’s eyes! Ye said it yourself. They were goin’ to die anyway. I only put them out o’ their misery.”

“I don’t think the law will see it that way. Which means ye’re goin’ to die. Probably by hangin’. ’Tis an ugly death, as I’m sure ye know. Ye’ll piss your trews, and ye might strangle for an hour. So here’s what I’m offerin’. I’m goin’ to… How did ye say it? Put ye out o’ your misery.”

The physician gasped.

“But I’m a forgivin’ man. It seems ye haven’t given Rivenloch my name…yet. So I’m goin’ to give ye a choice. Ye can either brew yourself a toxic concoction and die by your own hand, or I can slit your throat and leave ye bleedin’.”

“Wait!” the physician barked in panic. “Wait,” he repeated, clearly trying to calm himself. “Listen to me. I’ve said nothin’ to Rivenloch. I swear. Absolutely nothin’. I stashed the guildsman’s jewels away where I always do. And the treasure was right where ’tis always been.”

“Are ye sure about that?”

“O’ course I’m sure. Come. I’ll prove it to ye. I’ll take ye there now.”

Troye lifted his head, suddenly alert.

Carenza coiled her hand in the hound’s collar. She braced her other hand on the rim of the wooden tub behind which she was crouched and listened.

That had to be Peris. Once word got back to him that the artifacts were missing, he’d surely come to see for himself. Whether he would come with his accomplice, she didn’t know. But one or both of them would likely flee once they discovered their crime was uncovered and their treasure confiscated.

With Troye by her side, she had the might and courage to face the outlaws before they were able to escape. The loyal hound was ferocious of growl, sharp of fang, and fiercely protective. The two of them could keep the thieves cornered until help could be summoned.

At the first rattle of the lock, Troye started growling.

The door swung open.

The hound immediately snapped and lunged at the two men—Peris and the prior.

The prior cursed.

Peris yelped in panic.

Carenza hauled back with all her might to keep the hound from charging.

The thieves would have exited back the way they came, but suddenly an immense figure filled the doorway. Hew stood glowering at the entrance, brandishing his axe before him.

Unfortunately, Carenza was caught in the backlash.

Peris, more threatened by Troye than a Viking, started kicking at the hound.

The hound caught the physician’s calf between his teeth and began thrashing.

Screaming in pain, the physician wrenched a sconce from the wall and bashed it against the hound’s jaw.

Troye went down with a whimper and was silent.

Carenza cried out. But before she could rush to the poor hound’s side, the prior grabbed her arm and flung her against the wall. The impact sent stars exploding across her vision. Then she felt the cold, hard steel of a blade against her throat.

“Let me go,” the prior said, “or I’ll slit her throat.”

“She’s done nothing,” Hew said tightly. “Your battle is with me.”

“My battle is with anythin’ and anyone who stands in my way,” he corrected, prodding her hard enough with the point of his dagger to draw blood.

She’d just felt the prick when Hew hauled Peris forward by his leine and set the edge of his axe at the physician’s throat.

“A hostage for a hostage,” he bit out.

The physician squealed, rolling his eyes in fear.

But the prior was too concerned for his own survival to care about his accomplice.

“Go on,” he growled. “Kill him.”

Hew was afraid of that. There was no leverage against a rabid animal that was cornered and desperate.

His heart thundered. His breath froze in his chest. The single crimson drop of Carenza’s blood rolling down the blade made him shudder with rage.

But in the end, there was only one thing to do.

Even though it went against his every instinct as a warrior, he couldn’t let harm come to the woman he loved. The woman he intended to wed. The woman who meant the world to him.

He tossed his axe away and released the prior, who sank onto the floor.

“Let her go,” he croaked. “I won’t follow. I give you my word.”

“Nay,” Carenza sobbed in protest.

Hew understood how she felt. It was hard to surrender. To accept injustice. To fight for what was right and still fail.

But some things were more important than winning. Sometimes you had to pick your battles. Amor vincit omnia was more than just the Rivenloch creed. It was a truth. Love was the most powerful force of all.

For one awful instant, Hew feared the prior wasn’t going to let her go after all. He hesitated. His eyes darted around the room. His hand tightened on the grip of his dagger.

Somehow Hew managed to keep his voice steady as he rasped out, “You don’t want her blood on your hands. If you leave now, we’ll remain here until dawn.”

As further proof of his surrender, Hew raised his arms up and sat in the corner on one of the chairs.

It seemed an eternity before the prior finally decided he could make a clean escape. He shoved Carenza away from him so that she fell at Hew’s feet. Hew curled his arm around her, less to protect her and more to keep her from lunging toward the prior to scratch his eyes out.

Still wielding his dagger, the prior slowly backed out of the room.

But he forgot about the physician, his accomplice, his partner in crime, that only a moment ago he would have happily allowed to be killed.

Peris was understandably bitter about that. And he was in no mood to forgive the prior. He seized Hew’s axe where it lay on the ground and turned the blade upwards. Then he tripped the prior so that he fell backwards onto the edge.

The blow didn’t kill him at once. Hew covered Carenza’s face so she wouldn’t see the prior’s thrashing or hear his piteous screams. But within moments, the physician opened a double locket from around his neck and poured the contents—a white powder—into the prior’s mouth. It must have been fast-acting poison. Foam spilled from between the prior’s lips, and then he went still.

Hew wondered if this was the sort of mercy killing Peris had been doing at Kildunan in order to steal the nobles’ jewels. It might be quick, but it was still murder. The physician would likely be tried and executed.

Looking into Peris’s eyes, he saw the man’s dark fate written there as well. Execution was not what the physician intended. Before Hew could prevent him, Peris opened the second side of the locket and ingested the rest of the powder.

Hew held Carenza close while Peris suffered the thankfully brief paroxysms of agony. The physician might have been a thief and a murderer, deserving of death. But at one time he’d cared for her mother. This was something Carenza didn’t need to see.