The Saint (Highland Guard #5)(87)

“Stay away from her,” Kenneth said in a low voice. “Would you bring more danger down upon her?”

That did it. Helen’s irritation exploded. “Good God, you, too? What is this supposed danger that I know nothing about?”

Magnus’s mouth was white as he and her brother shot silent daggers at one another.

“Aye, why don’t you tell her, MacKay?” Kenneth taunted.

Magnus looked like he was seriously regretting removing his hand from her brother’s throat. “I warned you before, Sutherland. Shut. The. Hell. Up.”

“Not if you won’t keep your hands off her. She deserves to know what she’s getting herself into.” Kenneth turned to her. “Go ahead, ask him. Ask him about the secrets he’s been hiding. Ask him about Gordon. Ask him about the rumors of Bruce’s phantom warriors attacking Threave Castle a few days after your wedding.”

Helen’s eyes widened. Everyone had heard the stories of the impossible feats performed by a small band of seemingly invincible warriors who slipped in and out of the shadows like phantoms. ’Twas said no one could defeat them. She’d enjoyed the stories as much as anyone else, but had never put much thought into the men behind them. Real or imagined, no one knew their identities. But she felt an eerie prickle of premonition whisper behind her neck. “Bruce’s phantoms? What does that have to do with William?”

Magnus took a step toward Kenneth, but Helen blocked him. “Tell me, Magnus. What is he talking about?”

Magnus’s gaze fell to hers. She could tell he was furious but watching his words carefully. “He’s talking about things he doesn’t know a damned thing about.”

But her brother wouldn’t back down. “Ask him about the strange explosion that took down part of the wall at Threave, Helen. Does it remind you of any stories I used to tell you about?”

She gasped, and her gaze shot to Magnus’s. Knowledge of the Saracen black powder was rare enough to be remarkable. “Is it true? Is what my brother says true? Was William part of this phantom army?”

But she didn’t need to ask. His eyes burned into hers, hot and full of torment.

She stepped back, covering her mouth in shock. “Dear God!”

It seemed incredible that William could have been part of something that seemed almost mythical or apocryphal. How little she’d known him!

To her surprise, her brother looked just as stunned as she was. “Damn,” Kenneth muttered. “It’s true.”

“If you care anything about your sister’s safety you will never mention it again.”

Kenneth’s mouth fell in a grim line.

She looked back and forth between them. “What does it have to do with my safety?”

The men exchanged looks; clearly neither was eager to explain. After a long pause, Magnus broke the silence. “There are many people who would be willing to pay a price to learn the identities of the alleged ‘phantom army.’ Anyone known to be connected to any of them is in danger.”

“But I don’t know anything about it.”

“Aye, but no one knows that,” her brother pointed out.

God, he was right. Helen stared at Magnus. “Am I in danger?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you have a reason to believe I might be.”

He nodded.

“That’s why you were so worried in the forest.”

“What happened in the forest?” her brother demanded.

Magnus looked as if he wished Kenneth far away, but eventually he said, “I thought someone was watching us.”

Kenneth swore. “Why didn’t you go after them?”

His mouth thinned at the criticism. “Because I wanted to get your sister to safety, that’s why. I couldn’t very well take her along. I was about to organize a scouting party when you got in my way.”

“I’m going with you.” Before Magnus could object, he added, “She’s my sister. If she’s in danger I’ll protect her.” He turned to her. “Come, Helen. I’ll take you back to camp.”

She shook her head. “Magnus will do it.” She watched Kenneth’s expression darken. “It shall only take a few minutes and you can see me from camp. There is something I must say to him.”

“If you need help finding the right words, I have a few suggestions.”

Helen ignored him, not needing much of an imagination to guess what those words might be.

“Get MacGregor and Fraser,” Magnus said to him. “I don’t want to take any more men from camp than that. We will leave as soon as I am done.”

Kenneth didn’t like it, but he left them alone.

The ramifications of William’s involvement with the mysterious warriors were staggering, but one possibility loomed above the others. She thought of the changes in Magnus. His closeness to William. The tight bond he seemed to have with the king. “And what about you, Magnus? What does Bruce’s phantom army have to do with you?”

“The king acknowledges no such army.”

“So because it’s not official, it doesn’t exist? You’re part of it, aren’t you?”

He held her gaze, his expression perfectly unreadable. “Don’t ask me a question I cannot answer.”

But she didn’t need to ask. She knew. He was part of the group, too. Her brother suspected the truth as well. That was one of the reasons he wanted him to stay away from her.