An Auctioned Bride (Highland Heartbeats #4)(55)

“But why did you leave?” Hugh asked. “At the time, at least as far as I can recall, you didn't say why.” He paused. “Was it something I did, Derek? Was it because I fell in love with Elyse and didn't… we didn't… did she come between us?”

Derek shook his head with a gentle smile. “She did not come between us, brother.”

“Then what?”

“Nothing but my own burgeoning desire for adventure.” He shook his head. “You seemed—and still do—so perfectly content to live with the Duncans, to serve them, to live among them. But I wanted more than that. I told you I wanted to become a soldier, a sea captain, something, anything that was different from the life we led with the Duncans.”

Hugh tried to remember, to recognize that moment in time when his brother was not nearly as content as he had been. He could recall no defining moment, no specific circumstance or incident that triggered Derek’s departure.

“Don't look so worried, brother,” Derek said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It was nothing that passed between us, no words, no argument that compelled me to leave. We may be much the same, but in other ways, we are very different. I asked you to come with me, remember? You chose to stay.”

Did he? Hugh didn't remember that. Perhaps there were plenty of things that he did not remember. Over the years, and especially after the traumatic death of Elyse, he had filled in those blank areas, the lack of memories, with what he assumed was true. So there had been no estrangement? No wedge driven between the two of them other than his brother's lust for adventure? He looked into his brother's face, his expression somber and still.

“You've had a good life, Derek? Here by the sea? With your shipping business and your seafaring? You've found everything you're looking for?”

Derek smiled again. “Not everything, brother,” he said. “But I am not yet ready to be tethered down with the yoke of marriage. You, on the other hand? I think that marriage will suit you well.” He glanced meaningfully toward the sacks of grain where Dalla slept. Then, he straightened and shrugged, as if he'd had enough of introspection. “We'll leave as soon as it's dark,” Derek said softly. “We only have a crescent moon tonight, so we'll have to venture farther from shore. With the approaching storm, I want to be out far enough to make sure that we don't hit the shoals to the west.” He said nothing for a moment, watching Hugh, as if trying to read his mind. “Are you sure this is the way you want to do it?”

“No,” Hugh answered honestly. “But I can't think of another way that will keep us out of arm's reach of her uncle and those with him.”

“Take no offense, brother, but are you sure you can trust her? Are you sure she is not a spy as the rumors say?”

“She isn't a spy, Derek. I was in the tavern when she was brought in, bound and blindfolded, directly from a room where the women had been taken after leaving the ship.”

“She speaks English well,” he said, still doubtful.

Hugh nodded. “She has been well educated.”

Derek stated the obvious. “As a member of the royal family, she is bound to garner attention sooner or later when the truth is told. Even if… even after you arrive on Duncan lands, what are you proposing?”

Hugh sighed, struggling with a sense of impatience. It was understandable that Derek had questions, but he didn't have the answers to such questions. “I haven't even gotten to the point where I can plan that far ahead,” he admitted. “First, I want to put some distance between us and her pursuers. If what she says is true, that her uncle and perhaps even her father is behind this attempt on her life, well, she may just have to permanently disappear, if you get my meaning.”

“Aye, I do,” Derek nodded. “It is unfortunate, brother, that our reunion has to be under such difficult circumstances. I have many questions for you.”

“And I as well,” Hugh said. “But it is good to see you. You are doing well for yourself.”

Derek grinned, tilting his chin in the direction where Dalla slept. “And I hope I can say the same for you after all this is over.”

After all this was over. When would that be? Would the trouble and the danger and the threat against Dalla's life be over once they got on the ship and away from the coastline? Would it be over if they made it to Duncan lands? He wasn't sure.

“I will ask one more time, Hugh. Is she worth it?”

He turned to his brother and gave him a solemn nod. “She saved my life. She is worth it.”

Derek nodded. “Then wake her and bring her to me. I have questions for her.”

At first, Hugh hesitated, wanting to ask his brother what he wanted with Dalla, but then he nodded. His brother was risking a lot to help them. He had shown no outward animosity toward his somewhat unwilling bride. It made sense for his brother to want to talk to her, perhaps learn more about her uncle and her father.

He strode toward Dalla, his gaze sweeping over her slumbering figure. She looked so young, so innocent to have to endure what she had. Then, he stiffened. He would not feel sorry for her. Life was hard for all of them, filled with challenges. This was hers. He couldn't do anything about her past, nor his. What they had to do now was focus on the here and the now, escape her uncle and reach a modicum of safety on Duncan lands. If safety was not to be found there, they would find it somewhere else. He shook his head just before he reached down to nudge her awake. If he hadn't gone into that tavern when he did, what would he be doing at this moment?