The Viper (Highland Guard #4)(8)

She should be terrified, but her skin prickled with a strange flush. In the midst of chaos, she felt the unwelcome shock of awareness. Her breath stilled. She could smell the leather of his cotun, the wind on his skin, and the warm spiciness of his breath. But most of all she was distinctly aware of the heat and rock-hard strength of the body against hers. A warrior’s body.

Alarm flared through her like a bell. Her cheeks flushed with mortified heat. What was wrong with her? After years of feeling dead to sensation, her body decides to come alive now? To react to such a man was beyond shameful.

The hard clip of his voice brought her harshly back to reality.

“Look, Countess. If you want to get out of here before your husband arrives, we have to go now. Your daughter isn’t in any danger. The flames are nowhere near the Hall. I signaled to my men as we left the tower; they are fetching the gel now.”

“But—”

He cut off her protest. “Decide now. If you are getting out of here it’s right now. Are you going to do this or not?”

Helplessly, she gazed back across the courtyard, wishing that her daughter would somehow materialize out of the smoke. Every instinct urged her to race into the chaos to find her. But now that the initial panic had passed, she could see that he was right. The fire was not as big as it had originally seemed and wasn’t near the Hall.

She turned back to him. “You’re sure your men understood? Someone will get her? They won’t leave without her?”

His face hardened, but he met her gaze unflinchingly. “Aye.”

Bella held his gaze, knowing that she had no reason to trust him. Indeed from what she knew of him, she had every reason not to.

But she didn’t have a choice. Her decision had been made when she’d agreed to crown Robert.

She nodded. God help her, she nodded, hoping she hadn’t made the worst decision of her life.

She allowed him to drag her out of the castle gate and be herded with the stream of other terrified onlookers. The guards didn’t look at them twice, too busy trying to put out the fire and catch her husband’s valuable horses before they disappeared into the countryside.

The brigand pulled her along beside him toward the trees. She kept looking behind them, trying to catch a glimpse of her daughter in the crowd. Joan had been wearing red. A deep garnet gown embroidered in gold thread and pearls.

“Where is she?” she asked at one point. “I don’t see her.”

He didn’t answer, pulling her deeper and deeper into the forest. Soon she wouldn’t be able to see the castle at all.

“Stop,” she said, jerking back and digging her heels into the ground. “Where are your men? Where is my—”

The sharp sounds of a whistle behind them stopped her. Lachlan returned the sound and a few moments later two men rode up behind them, leading two additional horses—one of which she recognized as her husband’s.

“You have her?” one of the riders asked.

Like Lachlan, the two men were not dressed as knights and wore darkened nasal helms, padded black leather war coats studded with pieces of steel, and strangely fashioned dark plaids.

“Aye,” Lachlan responded.

“Any trouble?” the other man asked.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Lachlan said, taking the reins of one of the horses.

Bella looked around, expecting to see more men joining them. “Where are the rest of your men?”

The smaller of the men on horseback—the one who’d spoken first—grinned. “We are the rest, my lady.”

Her gaze shot to Lachlan. “Then who is getting my daughter?”

His expression didn’t flicker. Nothing betrayed even the barest hint of discomfort. He looked like exactly what he was: a mean, ruthless brigand.

He shrugged indifferently. “It was impossible. We didn’t have time. Look,” he said, pointing back toward the castle, “they’ve already gotten things under control. The guards are back at the gates.”

But she didn’t want to look. Bella felt the horror rise inside her as she realized what he was saying. What he’d done. Her eyes bit into his, and her voice shook with anger. “You lied to me.”

Her anger had no effect on him. “I did what I had to do to get us out of there.” No apology, no regret, just a calm take-it-or-leave-it explanation. “The girl is better off at the castle. Where we are going is no place for a child.”

Anger surged within her like a maelstrom. How dare he! She was the one who decided how to keep her daughter safe. “That wasn’t your choice to make.”

“Aye, it was. It’s my duty to get you to Scone.”

“It’s your duty to get me and my daughter to Scone.”

His mouth tightened infinitesimally, but he seemed otherwise unmoved. While her heart was tearing apart into a thousand tiny pieces.

She glanced back at the castle, seeing the guardsmen swarming the gate. Every bone, every fiber of her being urged her to go back in there. No matter how foolish.

Joan was the most important person in the world to her. She needed her. How could she possibly leave her behind? It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She’d never intended …

She looked at the two other men for help but saw only pity in their eyes.

The brigand had tired of waiting. “What’s it to be, Countess? Will you ride with us to Scone and keep your promise to Bruce, or will you return to your daughter and husband?”