Chapter 10
Gareth’s eyes opened, and he blinked rapidly, adjusting to the darkness of his new surroundings.
The last thing he remembered was being in the barn as arrows were raining in from some unseen enemy.
But since he had just awakened in a bed, his first thought was that it must have been some kind of nightmare and that he was in his own room at McDaugh Keep.
His vision was blurry, and he seemed to be having trouble focusing.
He also felt a terrible agony in the left side of his chest, and that was when he began to understand that the ordeal in the barn had been all too real.
Gareth tried to lift his right arm so he could touch the area where he’d been wounded, but to his surprise, it took him far more effort than he had expected.
He felt as weak as a newborn foal. He could barely keep his eyelids open, and it felt as though he had been sewn to the bed, for he felt utterly unable to summon the strength to rouse himself.
The next thing his brain registered clearly and only after several more moments of impenetrable mental fog was the crackling of flames.
That sound alarmed him slightly, and he slowly raised his head so he could determine whether he was safe from the fire or if it threatened to consume him.
Perhaps his thoughts were so addled that what he’d mistaken for a bed was only stacked bales of straw.
Perhaps he was still in the barn, and it had been set aflame.
Absurdly, he found himself worrying about the safety of his horse.
Then he was able to raise his head ever so slightly, and his pupils began to take in more details of the room around him.
He appeared to be in a humble cottage of some kind, and the crackling sounds were emanating from a small fireplace.
He peered a bit more closely, summoning all of his focus, and a face appeared to him in the darkness, illuminated by the wild yellow and orange hues of the dancing flames.
It was the face of a woman, with features so lovely and enigmatic that in the glow, she could easily have been mistaken for some woodland druid or nymph sitting at the edge of a solstice campfire.
The shifting lights were reflected in streaks in her red hair.
Lady Pelna. Of course. But he had never imagined he could find her so ethereally beautiful before this very moment.
Gareth licked his dry and parched lips and coughed weakly. She turned and went to him, and now that her back was to the fireplace, she was little more than a sleek and graceful silhouette coming toward him, like some benevolent phantom.
“Ah, good, ye have awakened. I was beginnin’ tae worry that ye had lost too much blood tae be revived.”
“What…happened?” he croaked.
“There’ll be time fer that in a moment,” she assured him, reaching for a pitcher and bringing it to his lips. “Sip this. Slowly.”
He took the fresh cool water on his tongue and nodded gratefully.
“From the rain?”
“Aye. It was easy enough tae collect. Indeed, there are several more such pitchers at the ready if yer thirst should persist.” She put the pitcher aside and regarded him inscrutably.
“I was able tae fire a few shafts at our attacker and drove him off, at least fer the moment, though I shall nae claim a lack of apprehension since we’ve been here regardin’ his eventual return. ”
“He would find us at rather a disadvantage, I fear,” Gareth agreed wryly.
“At any rate,” she went on, “I brought ye into the house here so that I might tend tae yer wounds in a cleaner environment and try tae make a fire tae warm yer depleted body. It was fortunate indeed that the house’s previous residents left a pile of firewood inside near the hearth and neglected tae bring their tinder along with them. ”
Gareth swallowed hard. When he spoke, his voice was dry and scratchy.
“Aye. The people of these farms and villages were forced tae flee in haste in advance of yer approachin’ armies. Many valuables and personal possessions were left behind.”
For a moment, it appeared as though Pelna was about to angrily retort but instead she took a deep breath and seemed to grow calmer.
“We may wish tae discuss matters such as those another time. Nothing will be gained by hurling accusations and recriminations at one another.”
“Even so,” Gareth said in a bewildered tone, “ye might just as easily have left me wounded and went in search of yer own people.”
“Or I might have chosen tae kill ye myself while ye were helpless tae stop me,” she remarked sardonically.
“Laugh at me if ye wish, but aye, ye could have done that as well and rid yerself of an enemy.” He paused, peering at her closely. “Why did ye bandage my wound and wait with me here?”
She sniffed. “It seemed wrong tae leave ye in such a state. We Wallaces are an honorable clan.”
And with that, she turned away from him again.
As she did, he heard her sniffing loudly.
“Ye have been cryin’?”
Pelna glared at him. “What business of yers is that?”
“I did not mean tae offend,” he assured her. “Anyone who had not been previously tested in battle would have reacted emotionally tae such a strange and sudden onslaught as what we endured.”
Her demeanor softened somewhat. “Well. Thank ye, then, I suppose.”
“Indeed, it seemed tae me that ye showed tremendous courage in pickin’ up my bow and drivin’ them off with it. Do ye ken whether any of yer arrows might have hit their mark? Did ye see anything or hear the attacker cry out?”
She shook her head. “Nay. I suspect I missed him entirely.”
His head settled back onto the pillow. “Well, no matter. You’ve given us space tae regroup, and for that, again, I thank ye and salute yer resourcefulness. Now it is only a matter of time until the keep sends out a search party, and they’ll surely find us here.”
“Nay, they will surely find ye here,” she corrected him.
He frowned, puzzled. “What on earth do ye mean?”
“I mean,” she clarified, “that the rain shows nay sign of stoppin’ anytime soon, and I feel I have stayed on this side of the border quite long enough.
My guardsmen will doubtless be lookin’ fer me, and if I do not turn up soon, they will likely raise the alarm at Wallace Keep.
Then there shall be trouble indeed. I came here tae quell hostilities between our people, nae stoke them. ”
The mental image of her riding aimlessly through the rain at night distressed him greatly.
“Nay. I cannot allow ye tae do that.”
Pelna arched an eyebrow dubiously. “Ye’ll pardon me fer sayin’ so, sir, but it seems ye are not in much of a position tae prohibit me from much of anything at this point.”
“Ye do not understand. It will not be safe fer ye out there. There is the chill tae consider, the chance of floodin’ from the storm.
Ye might never make it home. Tae say nothing of the fact that we do not ken for certain which of us that archer might have been attemptin’ to kill! If ye were the intended target—”
“That hardly seems very likely, though, does it?” she reminded him. “Given how many of the arrows seemed tae be aimed in yer direction?”
“We cannot trust in that,” he insisted firmly. “With the wind and rain, there’s no telling what that scoundrel might have truly been aiming for. I tell ye, Lady Pelna, ye must not take such a terrible risk.”
She regarded him shrewdly for a moment. “Do ye ken what I think, Gareth?”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “That I am entirely correct, and ye intend tae do as I ask without further comment? Nay, of course not. I could never be so fortunate as that.”
“I think,” she continued undeterred, “that ye are far more concerned with whether one of yer own people will encounter me and harm me or worse. I think ye cannot necessarily vouch for the actions or integrity of yer own people. I think that means it is more likely that a McDaugh killed Bran than ye have previously led me tae believe.”
“That is not the case at all.” As he said the words, though, his heart fluttered with a twinge of uncertainty. Could he truly guarantee such a thing? How could he speak to the intentions of every member of the McDaugh clan?
What if one of them had orchestrated the death of the old farmer for some reason? If so, what could they possibly have had in mind?
“Deny it if ye wish,” she replied, “but either way, I choose tae leave at once. The sooner I start off fer the border, the less time I will be forced tae spend in this inhospitable place.”
“If ye insist on doing so,” he croaked, bracing himself against the bedspread and rising achingly, “then I intend tae accompany ye.”
She laughed incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous! You can barely stand. How do ye propose tae ride, let alone protect me from harm?”
“I will be able tae ride with yer help,” he insisted. “As fer fightin’, I can feel my strength returnin’ somewhat.”
“Ludicrous! Ye require a healer tae properly minister tae that wound.”
“And I shall have one,” he said through clenched teeth, “but first I must make sure ye reach the border safely. I will not need tae swing a sword, I assure ye. My mere presence will be more than enough tae dissuade anyone from botherin’ ye.”
“Aha! I suspected that was yer worry all along,” she blurted triumphantly.
“Suspect what ye wish, and say what ye wish,” he growled, growing more impatient with her by the moment, “but say ye will allow me tae remain with ye until ye are safe.”
She sighed. “Ye ken ye should remain here. If, as ye’ve said, they will be sendin’ a search party fer ye—”
“Then that search party will find me well enough,” he snapped, waving her away.
“Heavens, woman, must ye be so damned willful? Even at the cost of yer own safety? I am servin’ as steward of these lands during my father’s illness, and it is my duty tae vouchsafe yer return tae yer own territory!
If I were tae do otherwise, and ye suffered some ill before gettin’ home, then yer people would surely blame me! ”
It looked like she was about to protest, but then her expression softened slightly.
“Ye make a fair point. Indeed, I had a similar concern earlier. I suppose, as long as our clans refuse tae trust each other, we must both tread carefully in such regard. Very well, then. We shall give ye just a bit more time tae recover…an hour or two, at least…and then, when ye have regained a bit more strength, we will set out together. If that is what ye insist upon.”