Highland Savage. Hannah Howell

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СКАЧАТЬ Lucas had the feeling he had become involved in something far more than simple reiving, something that may have even been behind that attempt to kill him. If they were just reivers, he had to wonder why they stayed so close to the ones they raided and fought with. It was that alone that made him think it was all something far more complicated and more dangerous than simply raiding for food and coin.

      His eyes widened as they approached a ruined stone kirk. Lucas glanced back at the man who trotted along behind them dragging a branch to disguise their trail. The man’s gaze was fixed upon the kirk whenever he was not glancing around, looking for any hint that their enemy had found them. It seemed they were indeed headed for that roofless stone building. He held silent, reminding himself that these people had snatched him from Ranald’s murderous grasp with an awe-inspiring skill, and had, thus far, revealed meticulous planning in their every move. Such people did not choose hiding places too obvious or too difficult to defend or escape from.

      The moment they entered the kirk, his two cloaked companions stopped and Lucas joined them in taking a moment to catch his breath. His leg throbbed with pain but he forced himself to ignore it. Glancing around, Lucas realized the kirk was an ancient one and built to last for a very long time even without a roof. The stone walls had been decorated with a vast array of carvings that were obviously Christian yet carried a lingering flavor of paganism. Lucas watched as the larger of the two men moved to a shadowed corner and pressed his palm against the face of what looked to be one of the twelve apostles and pushed hard. A grating sound assaulted his ears and Lucas nearly gaped as the carving began to move, opening inward like a door. There was no room behind it, however, just what appeared to be a large black hole in the floor.

      “Catacombs?” he asked softly as he edged closer.

      “Aye,” the small reiver replied, almost grunting out the reply as he lit a torch. “A veritable maze of them.”

      “Is this the only way in or out of them?” Lucas felt compelled to ask.

      “Nay, there are two other routes.”

      That was good news but did not fully soothe the unease Lucas felt. He hated small, enclosed spaces. He suspected he was about to discover that large enclosed spaces with no fast route of escape would disturb him almost as much. Stiffening his spine he followed his short savior into the dark, struggling to climb down a wooden ladder without displaying too much awkwardness. When the larger man shut the door and followed him, Lucas smothered the urge to run back up that ladder and out into the open air.

      The torch the small raider carried did not do much to cut the oppressive dark that enfolded them all. Lucas breathed a silent prayer of gratitude when the larger man lit a second torch and handed it to his small companion. He inwardly cursed when he looked around to find himself in a large burial chamber. Although not a particularly superstitious man he hoped this was not where they were going to be staying. Despite his distaste for small dark places Lucas was almost relieved when yet another hidden door was revealed and they started down some steep, narrow stone steps.

      At the bottom of the steps they traveled several yards along a narrow tunnel before coming to yet another chamber. Here were tables and benches, a central hearth, and bedding. Glancing up as his companions lit several wall torches, Lucas saw two holes in the solid rock ceiling that allowed smoke out and air in. Either these people had worked very hard to make themselves a comfortable lair or the ancient holy men who had once occupied the kirk had done so.

      Lucas looked at his companions and immediately forgot about asking where the other ways out of this tomb were located. They had removed their cloaks and the cloth masking their faces. The smaller one was no youth. He recognized that long, thick, honey-gold hair all too well. For a moment he felt choked with joy as he looked upon Katerina’s sweet face and saw her smile, her wide dark blue eyes alight with welcome and happiness. Memories of their time together, the warmth of her kisses, and the softness of her skin swept over him. And it was all a lie, he thought, abruptly banishing every trace of pleasure he felt over the sight of her standing there alive and well and pretending she was glad to see him.

      “They told me ye were dead,” he said.

      Something cold and hard in his voice halted Katerina’s rush to hold him in her arms. For just a moment she had seen joy, wonder, and heated welcome in his beautiful silvery-blue eyes, but that was all gone now. Now Lucas looked distant, cold, and even angry. She began to feel increasingly uneasy. This reunion was not going as she had imagined it would.

      “Aye, but those bastards didnae succeed in killing me, either,” she said.

      “And why would they e’en want to? Ye refused to pay them for a job weel done, did ye?”

      “A job weel done? Ye think I ordered them to beat ye?”

      Lucas shrugged. “Ye certainly seemed to be enjoying the show.”

      “They caught me as they caught you. They told me that if I stood there and said naught, did naught, they wouldnae kill you.” The scornful noise he made cut her deeply.

      “Ye made nary a whisper of protest e’en as they threw me o’er the cliff.”

      “I was too shocked! By the time I realized they truly meant to kill ye, it was too late to do anything, e’en protest. Ye were gone.”

      There was a catch in her husky voice that sliced through his fury and that made Lucas even angrier. He would not weaken again, would not allow the tears welling in her beautiful eyes to soften his heart and make him a fool. The important thing to find out now was just why she had saved him this time when a year ago she had tried to kill him.

      “I cannae believe ye would think I had anything to do with that attack upon you. What reason could I have had to do such a thing?”

      “The usual—jealousy.”

      “Jealousy? Ye think I would have a mon killed for that?”

      “Ye had made it verra clear but a few hours earlier that ye were furious about the way Agnes wouldnae leave me be, that ye believed I was welcoming her fawning attentions.”

      “I would ne’er have ye beaten and killed for that!”

      “Then what was your reason?”

      Katerina just stared at him, unable to understand how he could believe such things about her. Then the pain she felt over his suspicions turned to anger. She had grieved for this man. All the time she had wept until she was weak and ill, he had thought her the cause of his pain and near death, judgments reached without any proof.

      “Ye dinnae deserve this, but I will tell ye the truth this once. I had naught to do with what happened to you. ’Twas Agnes’s order the men followed. They told me that if I stood silent, did not plead or weep or try anything to help you, they wouldnae kill ye. I did exactly as they asked because I wanted ye alive. Then they tossed ye over the cliff. Ere I had fully accepted the truth, that they had ne’er intended to let ye live, they threw me o’er after ye. Agnes didnae just want ye dead for spurning her, but me as weel.”

      “It appears ye recovered weel enough.”

      The way Katerina stared at him as if he was a complete stranger to her made Lucas uneasy. He had the unsettling feeling that he had just dealt her a heart-deep wound, but that made no sense. He had seen her, seen her standing there silent, dry-eyed, and un-protesting as he had been beaten and cut.

      “Mayhap it just went further than ye had planned for,” he began, abruptly silenced by the slashing СКАЧАТЬ