Chapter 14
Sure enough, from what Pelna could make out through the driving rain, they had reached the demarcation between the Wallace and McDaugh lands.
Suddenly, she was swept up by the most peculiar desire to remain in Gareth’s company. The moors ahead seemed cold and dark and terribly lonely.
“Perhaps ye should accompany me the rest of the way,” she suggested.
He shook his head. “Nay. I would not be welcome in yer lands.”
“It is as ye said when ye insisted upon comin’ with me tae the border,” she reminded him.
“None will have anything tae say about it as long as they see me with ye. Besides, ye have been injured. You could be seen by our healers, have a chance tae dry off and rest, have something tae eat and drink… If ye are worried for yer safety, I will happily guarantee it fer as long as ye are our guest, just as ye did when I was within yer lands. And in going with me, perhaps it might be a first strong step on the way tae a mutual understandin’ between our two clans? Even an alliance?”
“What ye offer is temptin’ indeed,” he admitted, “but still, I must refuse, with gratitude. My own people will be lookin’ fer me, and if they do not find me soon, they will doubtless grow concerned.
Fer now, I feel we might be able tae do more in the service of peace from our own homes.
However, I suggest we maintain contact and arrange tae meet again soon.
Particularly if any more strange attacks or deaths occur.
We must get tae the bottom of this fer the good of all concerned. ”
“Then I suppose this is farewell, fer now,” she said sadly.
Why did it feel so difficult to say goodbye to him? Why did she have this uncanny desire to remain on his side of the border, if only to make sure his guardsmen found him? As before, the thought of him alone and injured tugged at her heartstrings dreadfully.
“Aye, it would seem so,” he agreed, dismounting from the horse.
“It seems so far fer ye tae walk on yer own,” she protested. “And wounded, at that. Are ye sure ye won’t come with me? I fear ye may take a turn for the worse while awaitin’ rescue. Ye lost so much blood, and ye were so weak…”
Gareth laughed. “I am touched that ye would care so deeply about my well-being, my lady. I assure ye that I will make it back unscathed. As I showed by gettin’ us here, I ken which ways are safest tae travel, even in this abominable weather.
And I have endured arrow wounds before and lived tae tell about it. ”
“Includin’ wounds tae an unarmored chest?” She looked over her shoulder at him and chuckled in disbelief. “Ye were fortunate the shaft did not pierce yer heart!”
As her eyes met his, she noted an oddly tender look in them.
It made her breath catch in her throat, and she was suddenly very aware of the fact that his arms were still encircling her from behind.
She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back as he inhaled and exhaled, and the musky scent of the rain on his clothes filled her nostrils.
He smelled like the wildest parts of a dark forest, a mystery both enticing and dangerous, hers for the solving if she was only brave enough to take a step toward it and then another.
“No matter which part of my chest it struck,” Gareth said in a husky tone, his breath tickling her lips, “it would not have found my heart, I promise ye.”
“What?” She let out a faint and breathless laugh. “Why on earth nae?”
“Because,” he answered softly, “ye have had my heart almost from the moment I saw ye.”
His words fluttered in her ears like the velvet wings of lunar moths, and even though she knew it was an unexplainable moment of beautiful madness, she wanted nothing more than to surrender herself to it utterly.
She felt herself moving forward, closing the distance of mere inches between them so that their mouths might meet in a kiss…
a dreamlike and impossible kiss, here amid the bejeweled raindrops…
“Take yer hands off her at once, ye scum!” a man shouted angrily across the moors.
The voice was coming from the McDaugh side of the border, and both Gareth and Pelna turned, startled.
A pair of riders were coming toward them rapidly, and within moments, she was able to make out their faces; it was Aidan and Jamie.
Their swords were drawn, and their expressions were alarmed and furious.
Pelna hopped down from the saddle immediately and began to run toward them, trying to calm them before something awful happened.
“Jamie! Aidan! It is all right! I am safe!”
Jamie dismounted and went to her, his face filled with concern and outrage.
“I was afraid someone might find ye on the wrong side of the border, my lady, but I hadn’t imagined it would be him! Has he harmed ye?”
“Nay, nae at all!” she said quickly. “In fact, he has kept me safe on my way here so that I might pass through McDaugh lands unmolested. There’s no need tae worry about me, Jamie. All is well.”
“It looked like he was about tae take liberties with ye,” Jamie exclaimed indignantly.
“That wasn’t the case, I assure ye! We were simply forced tae ride double since his horse ran off. It is a long story, Jamie. I will tell ye everything on our way back tae the keep. Fer now, though, ye can relax.”
Jamie frowned. “But… I thought I saw…”
“Never mind that now, laddie,” Aidan spoke up. “It must have been our eyes playin’ tricks on us in the rain. The lady has said she is well, and that is good enough fer us. Now we must return her home at once before the rain and chill have their way with her.”
Pelna turned back to look at Gareth but did not know what to say to him, so she merely gave him an awkward wave, then joined Jamie on his horse and rode off with the guardsmen.
At one point, she risked a look over her shoulder, only to see that Gareth was still there, watching her go with what appeared to be a forlorn expression.
“So, my lady?” Jamie urged. “What has transpired here?” There was an odd edge to his voice as he asked, as though there was a fury within him that he was struggling to contain. “Now that we are far from him, ye may speak the truth without fear!”
“I was speakin’ the truth before,” she insisted. “Gareth came after us because he felt that our audience had been unproductive, and he’d hoped tae rectify that. He found me sheltered in an abandoned barn, but when he did, an unseen archer began tae shoot at us.”
Jamie frowned. “At ye, or at him?”
“In truth, I could not say. It all happened so fast, and we were never able tae identify the attacker. At any rate, Gareth took an arrow tae the chest.”
“More’s the pity it didn’t kill him then and there,” Jamie muttered darkly.
Pelna chose to ignore that comment, though she was surprised at how it made her ire rise.
“I did what I could tae treat the wound…”
“What?” Jamie exclaimed incredulously. “Why? Ye could have allowed him tae die and done our clan a favor!”
“It would have been a dishonorable act,” she informed him sharply, “and I had not the stomach for it. As it turns out, it’s a good thing I did not, fer we managed tae have a civil conversation about the future of our clans. We may yet negotiate peace if we are careful and smart about it.”
“Peace?” Aidan scoffed. “How could ye possibly think of makin’ peace with those savages after what they did tae Bran?”
“Those savages could have captured me and held me fer ransom, yet they chose nae tae,” she reminded him archly. “And if we can find a way tae reach an accord with them, we might join forces tae drive off those murderous Sinclairs.”
“And that is all that happened between the two of ye, my lady?” Jamie asked, sounding suspicious. “Nothing more?”
She found herself growing tremendously weary of his questions. It had been the longest night of her life, she was cold and wet, and she could bear it no longer.
“All that I care tae speak about, Jamie, aye. Now, if ye don’t mind, I wish tae continue the rest of the journey in silence so that I might conserve my strength fer relaying all of this over again tae my father when we arrive.”
Jamie did as he was asked, but she could still feel his discontentment and uncertainty the entire rest of the way.
When they arrived at Wallace Keep, the servants brought towels and dry clothes for Pelna as soon as she had crossed the threshold. Once she was changed, she went to her father’s room at once, praying he would still be alive when she opened the door to his chamber.
Thankfully, it turned out that he was. He greeted her warmly with tears in his eyes, telling her how worried he had been for her ever since she’d first set out for McDaugh Keep.
She comforted him, warmed herself by the fire in his hearth, told him about the audience at the McDaugh keep, and then related the same set of facts to him that she had shared with Jamie.
“I am so relieved that ye made it through such a ghastly ordeal alive!” he exclaimed when she was finished.
“But Daughter, just because Gareth showed ye a moment’s courtesy does not mean that we can trust him enough tae ally our clan with his.
Laird Fredric is a sworn enemy, which makes his son one as well.
They are twisted and evil people and must be kept at arm’s length.
Besides, all evidence still points tae their involvement in the farmer’s murder. ”
“But Father,” she protested, “the more I consider that, the less sense it makes! Why would they make such a move, only tae deny it and offer a chance at peace instead?”
“Tae confuse us, perhaps? Tae put us off our guard so that we won’t see where the real threat is comin’ from until it’s too late?
” Laird Cameron coughed, and blood speckled his chin.
“We cannot be too careful with these vipers, Pelna. It sounds tae me as though Gareth’s show of kindness was meant tae take advantage of yer good nature, tae earn yer trust so that it could be exploited later on.
Ye must not have any further contact with him. ”
Pelna lowered her head. “Very well, Father. If ye will excuse me, I must take my leave of ye now. I have been through a hideous series of tribulations, and I require rest.”
“Aye, and food, too, I daresay!” Cameron wheezed.
But somehow, Pelna felt certain she would have no appetite that night. She had far too much on her mind—like whether her father might have a point in continuing to distrust Gareth or whether she might yet be able to contact him and discuss an end to their conflict.
And most of all, how that kiss with Gareth might have felt if it hadn’t been interrupted at the last moment.