Chapter 5
“Ye daenae have to answer me right now,” Lucas said, startling Flora back into the present moment. “But I’d like to ken about the conditions they were keepin’ ye in.”
She swallowed hard, her fingers flexing where she had them resting on the horse’s mane. This was the third or fourth question he’d asked over the course of the ride. She’d been unable to answer any of them, try as she might.
The sensation was brand new for her. Even when she lived with her father, she’d never lost her voice. Sometimes she could only provide curt, one-word answers, but she could always speak. Now, though… It was almost as if her body had simply had too much.
“And I’m quite serious about wantin’ to ken what ye like to eat,” he continued, his words setting her on edge. She couldn’t trust that the concern was genuine, nor was she able to respond, “I’d like to ken yer hobbies, too. Ye’ll need somethin’ to pass the time.”
When she didn’t answer once more, he just made a sound of acknowledgement.
It was as if he weren’t put off by her lack of speech.
She wasn’t sure if she’d get used to silence being met with acceptance rather than anger or insistence that she speak.
She shuddered when she thought of what would happen if her father were the one asking the questions.
“I’ll make sure ye’re taken somewhere warm as soon as we arrive,” he said, misinterpreting the shiver. “We’re nearly there, Flora.”
She nodded again, grateful the journey was nearly over.
If it weren’t for Lucas’ arms bracketing her as they rode, she was sure that she’d have fallen off.
More than once, she’d dozed, and each time, he’d simply righted her without calling more attention to it than need be.
Even now, his arms were tight to keep her from tumbling off, a steady hold that was completely foreign to her.
Cautiously, Flora thought she might be able to trust that he’d truly come to rescue her. She’d yet to parse out his true intentions, though. Perhaps she was simply tired and not thinking straight.
“Ach, there’s the castle, lass,” he grunted about fifteen minutes later.
She tilted her head back, taking in the imposing building that they were quickly approaching. Two towers cut into the sky, a stone roof peeking over the solid stone wall that surrounded the grounds. An iron gate locked the world out of the happenings inside, but she was able to see through it.
As they got closer, the awe quickly fizzled away. She was able to see men just beyond the gates, and she swore there was a face in one of the windows on the top floor. She tried to count everyone that she saw, but they moved too fast, and her mind was too slow.
Tension coiled in her gut. If anything went wrong, if she decided that she needed to run away and try to survive on her own, they would make it difficult to leave. Not to mention that she was positive that it would be easy to get lost in a building so big.
“Ye daenae need to worry, lass,” Lucas said, apparently sensing the tension that had settled in her body.
The sound of his voice was almost soothing against the wild thoughts, but she didn’t think she could will herself to trust him.
“The people here are kind. They willnae treat ye poorly. Ye’re never goin’ to be in danger again.
I already told ye that I will make sure of that, and I always keep me promises. ”
Flora nodded again. She wanted to trust him, but that felt impossible. Every instinct in her body was calling on her to flee.
As they approached the gates, two guards pulled the iron bars open. Lucas urged the horse into the castle’s walls, grunting an acknowledgement at the armed men. When they reached a courtyard, Lucas finally brought the horse to a stop and swung off the saddle.
She began to follow him down, clumsily attempting to throw her leg off the leather seat, but his hands stopped her.
They gripped her waist, putting her feet solidly on the ground.
For a long moment, his touch lingered, his eyes searching her face.
Before he was able to say anything, someone called his name.
“Lucas! Ye’re here sooner than we thought ye’d be,” a man said. A grin stretched across his face, but it was tempered with something that seemed a lot like concern. Beside him was a slight woman with a soft demeanor. “Ye’ve brought a woman. I assume the other men are comin’ as well?”
“Aye, Matthew,” Laird McGowan said as he let go of Flora’s waist. Impossibly, she missed the steadying touch. “They should be arrivin’ shortly. I went ahead of them on the way here.”
“I assume it was to ensure this one gets to the healer and a meal, aye?” the woman said, looking at Flora with a kind expression. “I’m Annabeth. It’s nice to meet ye.”
Already, Flora felt a bit better. This woman seemed comfortable here, and that felt significant. When Flora had been abducted, the female servants she’d seen had a weary, miserable look in their eyes. Annabeth was relaxed and sure that Flora was in the right place.
“This is Flora,” Lucas said after a beat when she tried and failed to introduce herself. “She’s a bit tired from her ordeal. I daenae want her to be overwhelmed.”
“Nay, we wouldnae want to do that,” Annabeth agreed. “But we need to get her fed. She’s so thin. The cook will make sure she gets some meat back on her bones.”
Her thinness being pointed out made Flora blush all the way down to her chest. She’d never been a particularly large woman.
Even before she’d been taken for the hunt, she hadn’t had access to much food.
Her father had withheld it, claiming that he needed more than she did because he was the man of the house.
“Ye’re right,” Lucas said, his eyes roaming over Flora’s form.
The attention only made her more self-conscious, feeding the desire to disappear.
“I’ll have food sent up to the rooms. I daenae want anyone gawkin’ at her while she eats.
” He turned back to Annabeth. “Would ye mind takin’ her up to the quarters in the south wing of the castle?
I’ll have the kitchen prepare a meal and a maid bring it up for her. ”
Annabeth nodded, stepping forward and linking her arm with Flora’s.
Despite her small stature, Annabeth was solid.
The strength that Flora felt radiating from the other woman was inspiring.
It gave her hope that maybe, just maybe, she would be able to come out of the other side of this just as strong.
* * *
Lucas watched as Annabeth led Flora away. It seemed as though being near women helped Flora’s anxiety. That wasn’t surprising, considering how awful the men that he’d rescued her from had been to her. He’d have to make sure that only other female servants attended to her.
“Are ye goin’ to tell me what ye saw out there, Lucas?” Matthew asked as soon as the women were out of earshot, his expression hardening. “Flora looks haunted.”
“We dinnae have time for interrogations, so I daenae ken what was happenin’ before we arrived,” Lucas replied, his eyes still on her retreating form.
It felt fundamentally wrong to let her out of his sight, even if it was what was best for her.
“They were already huntin’ down the girls when I got there.
I need to consult further with me men when they return. ”
Matthew crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “And how long do ye think it’ll take? I havenae kent ye to pull ahead of yer men. This is new for ye.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes at his brother and man-at-arms. He was fishing for something, poking at Lucas in an attempt to get something, but Lucas wasn’t sure what.
At the moment, he didn’t have the patience to entertain the question his brother hadn’t asked verbally.
There were far more pressing matters to attend to.
“They shouldnae be too far behind us,” Lucas said, handing off the reins of his horse to the groom. “And I pulled away from me men to get the nearby villagers’ eyes off of Flora. She’s nae a spectacle for them.”
Matthew accepted the answer, not pushing whatever he had running through his mind.
Lucas knew that this wouldn’t be the last of it, though.
His brother was an annoyance, but only when the situation was appropriate.
He was smart enough to know that Lucas was more concerned with bringing the men who perpetrated this violence to justice than whatever he had attempted to imply.
“Ye still dinnae tell me how ye got back so quickly,” Matthew said after a moment. “If they were in the midst of a hunt, I’d expect the group to be spread out and the women to be difficult to find.”
“When I got there, Flora was well on her way to escapin’,” Lucas said, feeling a stroke of pride at the girl’s actions.
“She was fightin’ back against one of those bastards.
Hit him in the head with a rock that was nearly as big as she was.
I was able to step in before he tried anythin’ else with her. ”
“And I’m assumin’ she gave ye problems when ye tried to get her, aye?” Matthew was smiling, amused. It seemed as though he was proud of the lass too, even though he hadn’t properly spoken to her. “Ye get intimidatin’ when ye care about somethin’.”
“Ye ken she did,” Lucas confirmed, grinning despite the seriousness of the situation. “The other women hid themselves well. If we werenae prepared to track them, it would have taken much longer to find them all.”
“And the monsters responsible for the hunt?” Matthew lowered his voice, stepping in closer as if he were worried about them being overheard.
“They were so damn loud that me men and the other lairds’ men dinnae even have to rely on their trackin’ skills,” Lucas said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And the dobbers alerted the women when they were close. Their own stupidity is what got them caught and kept those girls from gettin’ injured any further. ”
“But they were injured,” Matthew said, his voice dangerously low, nearly a growl. “How badly?”
“Aye, they were, but none of them had anythin’ life-threatenin’,” Lucas said as he stared through the open gate, down the path that led to the castle.
“As I said before, we dinnae have time to interrogate the men about what they were doin’, and I dinnae think it appropriate to demand the women tell us everythin’ while we were still in the clearin’.
Flora dinnae want to share what happened with me while we rode back either. ”
“I will fetch the healer, then,” Matthew said after a beat. In the distance, the rest of the men were approaching. “I ken Annabeth will go after her, but I can expedite the process.”
“Send her straight to Flora with everythin’ she has,” Lucas ordered, taking a step away from his brother, so he was prepared to meet with his men. “She pushed herself. I daenae want her wanderin’ the castle. She can be seen in her quarters.”
“Of course, I will,” Matthew said, looking as if he were restraining himself from implying Lucas was insulting his intelligence.
Lucas knew Matthew understood how seriously he took these missions, but he still felt the need to state his directives clearly.
“I saw the way she looked. I cannae imagine that she’s nae hidin’ bruises under her gown. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”
Lucas gave him a nod that promptly ended their conversation. As Matthew walked briskly toward the castle, Lucas headed toward the gates to wait for the rest of the cavalry. His guards were standing by, their hands ready to draw swords if anyone followed the group.
“Did ye encounter any issues on the ride?” Lucas barked as soon as the first of his men dismounted.
“Nay,” the man, Ryan, said. “Seems we were lucky.”
Lucas grunted, his eyes watchful as the rest of his men entered the grounds.
Some of them bore bruises, and others wore the blood of the lairds that organized the hunt.
None of them were seriously injured, and those with minor contusions would likely protest if they were instructed to see the healer.
“Ye all did an excellent job today,” Lucas said, his voice loud and commanding as he prepared to issue the instructions for what came next.
They stood at attention, each of them focused on Lucas.
He walked down the line in front of them, his eyes lingering on each of their faces, a sharp sting of pride piercing his chest. Because of these men, as well as the other lairds and their own teams, they’d been able to stop this hunt before anyone was seriously injured.
“Now, I’ll be puttin’ together a team to go back to the village for interrogations.
I will be stayin’ here to ensure our newest guest settles in,” he said, part of him aching to lead the team while another, more compelling part of him insisted that he stay here.
“Those of ye that go in me stead will be just as ruthless as ye were today.”