Chapter 27 #2
John’s cry reached him first when he was halfway down the passage, after which a crash followed.
Nay.
He ran.
The nursery door stood shut. He struck it with his shoulder, tearing the latch from the wood, and entered to find Violet half hanging through the open window, one hand clinging to the stone frame.
Lachlan was gripping the back of her gown, trying to push her over, while John screamed from the cradle.
He crossed the room before Lachlan could move, caught him by the collar, and hauled him backwards. Fabric ripped beneath his fist as Lachlan struck the floor hard enough to lose his breath.
“How dare ye?” he hissed. “How dare ye touch her?”
He wanted to follow his brother down. He wanted bone beneath his knuckles and Lachlan’s blood across the floor. However, at that moment, Violet made a broken sound near the window.
He turned away from Lachlan and hurried to her.
He pulled her inside, one arm firm around her waist. Her fingers were scraped raw from the stone frame, and a bruise was darkening beneath the torn sleeve on her upper arm.
He checked her temple and the back of her head before cupping her face in both hands.
“Look at me.”
Her breathing came too fast. “John.”
Moira rushed through the broken door with Alex and two guards behind her. She went straight to the cradle, lifted the crying baby, and turned away from Lachlan.
“Moira has him,” Connor said. “Can ye stand?”
“Aye.” Violet’s knees wobbled.
“Are ye hurt?”
“I am all right.”
“That isnae an answer.”
Violet glanced at the window. “I used the move ye taught me.”
Connor looked at her bleeding fingers. “The Yellow Lady.”
She laughed in response.
His arm tightened around her waist, then slackened before he hurt her. He moved her behind him and faced Lachlan.
The guards had dragged his brother upright. Lachlan’s lip had split against the floor, and ale soured his breath. His eyes darted from Connor to Violet and then to John in Moira’s arms.
“Kill me,” he demanded, his voice breaking around a laugh.
Connor looked at the bruises forming on Violet’s arm. “Nay.”
“Why?” Lachlan sagged between the guards. “Ye have wanted to for years.”
Connor looked him in the eye. “I want ye sober for it.”
The laughter stopped.
“Take him to the dungeons,” he ordered.
Lachlan did not resist as they pulled him out of the room. He watched Connor until he disappeared around the corner.
John’s cries had weakened to frightened whimpers. Moira held him close, one hand cupping the back of his head. Violet moved toward them, then stopped.
Connor saw the traveling cloak on the chair. A small bag sat beneath it. “Ye were leaving.”
Violet lowered her scraped fingers. “Aye.”
“Nay.”
She looked at him. Her face was pale, though her gaze was steady. “Connor.”
“I can keep ye safe.”
“I ken,” she responded.
The answer cut deeper than any claim otherwise could have.
“Then stay.”
Violet looked toward John. She did not reach for him. “I am trying to keep ye safe, too. Ye and him.”
“Lachlan will never come near either of ye again.”
“I made me decision before Lachlan attacked me.” Her voice shook once, then steadied. “I may be ill. I may have already brought danger into his nursery.”
“The healer will decide that.”
“And if the answer is the one I fear?” She pressed her injured hand against her dress. “Ye daenae deserve to care for someone who may nae be alive for long.”
“Oh well, it is a bit too late for that,” Connor muttered, his voice almost on the edge of a bitter laugh.
Her eyes lifted, and for one breath, he thought she would answer. Her mouth opened, then closed. She turned toward the bag as if she had heard nothing.
Connor understood the choice and hated her for making it necessary.
“Ye willnae ride alone,” he said.
“I didnae ask permission.”
“And I didnae give it. Ye’ll have an escort.”
He sent a rider ahead to Hannah and Aiden. A trusted captain took six guards, a maid, and a covered carriage stocked with food and blankets. Connor ordered stops whenever Violet needed them and no change from the main road.
Violet, unable to find anything else to complain about, accepted each command without argument.
Before leaving, she stood beside Moira and touched one finger to John’s blanket.
She refused to take him when Moira offered.
She refused Connor’s arms too, stepping back when he came close enough to hold her.
Connor watched the carriage pass beneath the gate, and only after the escort cleared Moore land did he return inside.
“Double the guard around John,” he told Alex. “And seal Lachlan’s chamber.”
Alex’s expression sharpened.
“Henry Tolford sent him,” Connor continued. “He expected Lachlan to steal the bairn and deliver him.”
“To England?”
“Aye. Find him. Put what he planned before the law. Make certain they understand that he sent a drunk man to kidnap a child to whom he meant harm.”
Alex adjusted his sword belt. “And if the law fails?”
Connor met his eyes. “See that Henry never comes near Scotland again.”
Alex nodded. “He will never come near the bairn again.”
Connor waited until Alex rode out. He checked John himself and received word that Violet’s carriage had crossed the southern bridge without trouble.
It wasn’t until then that he went down to the dungeons.