My Highlander: A Cree & Dawn Novel, page 15
Dawn scrunched her brow as she gestured.
“Oh, it is of a personal nature. That could be a problem and even more of a problem if your husband misunderstands you or me hearing what is said between you two?”
Dawn sighed and shrugged, having no answer.
“He discovered you were tracking him and confronted you?” Cree asked, not sure he had heard Henry correctly. That was something that had never happened to Henry and made Cree more curious about the bearded man.
Henry nodded, then lowered his head, shaking it. “I was shocked when he came upon me.”
“And you asked him why he left sooner than planned?” Cree asked.
“I did and he told me that there were too many people and too much noise for him.”
Cree wondered over the man’s aversion to people and noise and propensity for solitude. It was a trait found often in men who had seen much battle and death. Or men who had been shackled to other prisoners and crammed into small cells. He, himself, had longed for solitude at one time, battles having seemed endless, but he had a responsibility to the men who fought with him and their families. He was now glad he never took that path, since he would have never met Dawn.
“He told me if you wished to speak with him, he would wait, where he is camped, one more day. After that, he would take his leave. He says he will speak to no other but you.”
“Did he say why he would speak to only me?”
“No, my lord, but he strikes me as a man of his word. When he came upon me it was not with vicious intent. It was simply to let me know that he knew I was following him. And he offered to wait on his own accord and made it known he was willing to speak with you, though he also made it clear he would not return here.”
“Did he say why?” Cree asked.
“He said he has had enough of people. He prefers the silence of his own company.”
“How long to there and back from where he is camped?” Cree asked.
“If you leave now and not spend too much time with him, you can be back by tomorrow evening.”
Cree did not like the thought of leaving Dawn alone, but there was no reason to have the man forcibly returned here if he was willing to speak with Cree. And not knowing if the man had any involvement in Ann’s attack or by chance what he may have seen it would be wise of him to talk with the bearded stranger.
“Prepare a small troop of warriors,” Cree ordered Sloan.
“I will prepare a larger troop… in case a trap awaits you.”
“I saw no signs of anyone else about when I followed him,” Henry said.
“Yet he managed to discover your presence,” Sloan reminded.
“I would have found signs of troop movement and I found none,” Henry argued.
“I will take a small troop and Henry will scout for me.” Cree raised his hand to silence Sloan when he went to object. “You will send another troop to follow a distance behind us and not make itself known unless necessary.”
“That will work,” Sloan said, appeased with Cree’s decision.
“We leave within two hours, see it done,” Cree ordered and Sloan headed to the door, a wave of his hand ordering Henry to follow.
“A word, my lord?” Henry asked.
“Henry will follow shortly and, Sloan—”
“I know, order extra sentries posted while you are gone and keep an extra watch on things, especially your wife. Worry not, all will be protected in your absence.”
“I never doubted it would be,” Cree said, though still did not feel comfortable leaving Dawn. He turned his attention to Henry. “Something troubles you, Henry?”
“I am sorry for failing you, my lord.”
“You did not fail me, you simply met your match and the experience will make you an even better tracker than you already are.”
“Thank you, my lord, but I wanted to speak to you about my wife, Nell. I went to see her for a moment to let her know I had returned and she was very upset. She worries you no longer trust her and what you may do to her and Ina if your daughter slips away again.”
“Nell and Ina can prevent that from happening,” Cree said, impressed that Henry approached him about his reprimand of Nell and Ina. He was defending his wife, something Cree respected him for.
“True, my lord, but Lizbeth is a curious bairn, from what Nell tells me and from what I have seen, and having been a curious bairn myself, I often wandered off to explore without thinking of any dangers I might face.”
“What have you seen concerning my daughter?” Cree demanded and was surprised when Henry smiled.
“Lizbeth is as charming as she is curious and she asked me what I was doing one day when Nell had her and Valan out for a walk. I was studying some tracks like I always do, honing my skills, seeing if I could determine who the tracks belonged to. Lizbeth asked me what I was looking at and I explained to her about how the marks in the dirt spoke to me. Her questions continued one after the other. She has a sharp astuteness about her for one so very young.”
“Are you saying you believe my two-year-old daughter can outwit Nell and Ina?” Cree asked disbelievingly.
“I would not dismiss it lightly, my lord,” Henry said.
“I appreciate you sharing that observation with me, Henry.”
“I worry that my wife worries about your daughter and keeping her safe and I cannot imagine what it will be like when we have a daughter of our own.”
Cree rested his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Beyond, difficult, Henry. Beyond difficult.”
Cree was surprised to find Lila sitting with Dawn in the Great Hall, then it struck him. She wanted Lila to interpret for her, which meant it was important to her that he not struggle to understand or misinterpret her gestures.
Cree stopped in front of the table where Dawn and Lila sat and pointed. “My solar.”
Lila was quick to bow her head and stand. Dawn rose more slowly and once in Cree’s solar, she went to the hearth, her hands stretched out to the warmth of the fire.
“Sit,” Cree said and his wife shook her head and gestured, Cree easily understanding that she felt it better if they stood for easier interpretation.
Cree remained standing as well and kept his eyes on Dawn. “Tell me what has so disturbed you, wife, that you have delayed telling me and that you feel it necessary Lila interpret for you.”
Dawn began, Lila interpreting. “I want no misunderstanding in what I tell you about what happened after I escaped the two men who abducted me.”
Cree nodded. “I have been patient, not an easy thing for me. I want to know, tell me.”
Lila spoke as Dawn gestured. “I ran to get as much distance as I could from the two men. They realized quickly that I had made an escape. The tall, lankier of the two was fast on his feet. I knew I would never out run him. My only choice was to take a chance with the rushing stream. I jumped in and tried to swim, but the turbulent waters had other ideas. I had all I could do to keep my head above water.” Dawn’s hand paused, the memories taking her back to that moment, then she shook her head and brought herself back to the present, her hands moving once again. “I truly thought I would die.”
Lila snuffled back tears that threatened to fall when Dawn paused again.
Cree could see his wife was struggling to continue and he spoke up. “I want to hear all of what happened to you, but if it bothers you to speak of it, the telling can wait for another time.”
Dawn shook her head and began to gesture.
“The water finally had its way and swallowed me. I woke—” Dawn’s hands stilled and it took several moments before she continued. “I woke wrapped in a blanket, naked beneath, before a burning hearth, cradled in a naked man’s arms.”
Cree looked to Lila. “Naked? In a naked man’s arms?”
“Aye, my lord, that is what she said,” Lila said and Dawn confirmed with a nod.
Endless, angry thoughts of what it might mean whipped through his mind, not at Dawn, but at the naked man. As difficult as it was, he kept them to himself. He wanted to hear what else his wife had to say.
Dawn was well aware of the anger that stirred in her husband. She could see it in the tight set of his jaw and the way his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She also was aware that his anger was not meant for her.
“Did he release you once he saw you were awake?” Cree asked.
Dawn shook her head, and Cree’s nostrils flared.
“It took a bit to sort things out, to make him understand that my lack of a voice had nothing to do with me almost drowning. And also to make him understand I had no difficulty hearing.”
Cree’s anger mounted with the man thinking his wife deaf besides voiceless or dumb as most people referred to someone who could not speak. He could only imagine, though he preferred not to since the very idea stoked his anger even more, how difficult and frightening the situation must have been for her.
He warned himself to hold his tongue, but that was impossible. He needed to know. “Did he have his way with you?”
She shook her head, then shrugged.
“What does that mean?” Cree asked, not able to keep his anger out of his voice.
Lila was quick to explain as Dawn’s hands began to move.
“I do not believe he did, since he was the one who rescued me from the stream, but I do not know how long I was out or what happened during that time. I was assured by one of the few women in the troop that I had been treated well and that the man allowed no harm to come to me and that he had wrapped himself around me so that his heat and the fire’s heat would stop me from trembling so badly.”
“The man’s name who rescued you?” Cree asked more concerned with him at the moment than the mention of a troop.
“Tarass, that is how he introduced himself, though he offered no more than that nor did anyone else. I got the feeling that he preferred I learned little about him.”
“Did you tell him you were my wife?”
Dawn shook her head.
Before she could explain, Cree demanded, “Why not?”
“I was not sure if he was friend or foe to you, or a stranger, and I did not want to take the chance. I requested he help me get home to my husband and bairns.”
“A wise decision, wife,” Cree said, glad his wife had had the wits to contemplate that before saying anything and to let this Tarass know she had a husband and bairns. “So he refused your request and you left to journey home on your own?”
“No, he told me he would see me escorted home safely after he saw to a matter that required his immediate attention. I realized after a couple of days that we were traveling further away from where I wanted to go. I asked him how long he thought it would be before he could see me home and when he told me a month at the least, I knew I could not wait that long.”
“So you left,” Cree said.
“I tried—”
“Tried? He would not let you leave?” Cree asked, wishing this Tarass was standing in front of him.
“He stopped me when I tried to leave. He told me it was not safe for me to travel on my own that I was to be patient and he would make sure I got home safely.”
“So you snuck away?” Cree asked.
Dawn nodded and held up two fingers.
“Twice?”
“Aye, he found me the first time I tried. I would have been home a month sooner if I had been successful. The second time I planned my escape better.”
“How did he find you the first time?” Cree asked.
Dawn pointed to Beast laying near her feet.
“Beast tracked you?”
Dawn nodded.
“Beast belongs to Tarass?” Cree asked.
Dawn nodded again.
“How is it that Beast is with you if he tracked you the first time and you were found?” Cree asked.
“I had been gone a few days before Beast showed up and, at first, I thought I would be found, but when no one appeared, I realized that Beast had escaped as well. Tarass had told Beast to look after me, let no harm come to me. He spent all his time with me and we grew more attached than I believe Tarass expected.”
Cree looked at Beast sleeping beside Dawn and was grateful that the animal had grown so fond of Dawn that he continued to protect her and the twins as well.
A hard rap at the door reminded Cree that he would be taking his leave soon.
Sloan confirmed that when he entered and said, “All is ready for departure.”
“I will be there soon,” Cree said and turned to Lila. “You may leave us now.”
Lila nodded and Dawn thanked her with a tight hug.
Cree went to his wife as the door closed and took her in his arms. “You feared telling me this?”
Dawn nodded.
“I would ask you why but since I know you well I would say it was because you feel guilty, though you have no reason to. And while I do not like that this Tarass had you naked in his arms and refused to escort you home right away, I am also grateful to him for saving your life and to the addition of Beast to our family.”
Dawn forced a smile, not feeling as relieved as she had thought she would. And while her husband’s words consoled, they also cautioned. He might be grateful to the man for saving her, but there were still some things he did not like, did not have clear answers to, and she was sure her husband would get his answers.
“No matter what you would have told me, wife, it would have changed nothing between us. You have no reason to feel guilty or worry over it any longer. It is over and done.”
Dawn knew her husband as well as he did her and she did not believe this was the end of it, but for now it brought her a modicum of peace of mind that she had told him all she had gone through. She now kept nothing more from him.
This was not the time to leave his wife. She had harbored this unnecessary guilt when all she had done was fight to return to her family. Yet the information he might gleam from this man could help solve the mystery of her abduction and the murders.
“I have to go, not that I want to. Henry tracked down the bearded man and he will talk to me and only me. He refuses to return here and I do not think it would be wise to force his return.”
Dawn nodded her head, agreeing with her husband, and already feeling his absence.
She might agree, but her reluctance to his sudden departure was there in the slight slump of her shoulders.
“I will be gone but a day—” His words stilled on his tongue. A day was far too long to be gone. “I will return tomorrow evening and Sloan will see you and the twins are kept safe.”
The disappointment that filled her eyes poked at his heart and made him think he would not go. It was too soon after their forced separation to leave her. And with what she had just told him, she needed him there now with her, proving that nothing she had said changed anything between them.
“I will not go. I will not leave you,” Cree said, taking tighter hold of his wife as if his grip confirmed his decision.
Dawn would prefer her husband to remain with her, but it was a decision of the heart that drove that thought when a sensible decision was needed.
She gestured, needing to know how long he would be gone.
“I would be home by tomorrow evening,” he said, “but that matters not. You need me here.”
She gestured again.
“Aye, it is important to speak with him. He could be involved in Ann’s stabbing, though I doubt that, but he could have seen something that could be helpful in solving what happened to Ann.”
Dawn gestured and pointed to the door.
“Are you telling me I must go?” Cree asked, his wife’s strength continually surprising him.
Dawn rested her cheek against his, keeping it there for a moment, then nodded her head.
That she would miss him and was reluctant to let him go was obvious, but she also understood the benefits of him seeing to this matter.
“I will miss you,” he said and kissed her.
He meant it to be a light kiss, but when their lips met it sparked his passion that he had attempted to control far too long. Her lips never felt so luscious, the taste so delicious, and her response so damn inviting.
Her arms hugged his neck so tight that he thought she would never let him go and her body melted against his in complete surrender, not only to him but her own passion.
Cree found it nearly impossible to ease her away, returning again and again after trying to separate from her, until finally he shoved her gently away.
“When I return, wife, be ready, for I am done being celibate,” he said and took hasty steps out of the room, yanking the door closed on his smiling wife.
He was glad Sloan waited for him in the Great Hall.
“There is an important matter I want you to see to,” Cree said as he neared Sloan and he joined steps with Cree as he walked through the Great Hall.
“A man named Tarass. Find out all you can about him. I have questions for him.”
Chapter 16
Cree faced the bearded stranger, a cold campfire separating them. They had arrived at his camp before mid-day the next morning as he appeared ready to take his leave.
“What is it you wish of me, my lord? I am eager to be on my way,” the bearded man said.
“You left my village suddenly, why?”
“Too many people and too much noise, I prefer solitude,” he said.
He may have given the impression of focusing on Cree, but he could see the man’s eyes shifted now and again to the warriors a short distance behind Cree. He kept a good watch on them and something warned Cree that he was not a man who would surrender easily.
“Why?”
The man appeared puzzled by the question.
“Why do you prefer solitude?” Cree asked.
The man settled his bold blue eyes on Cree. “I find no one to my liking. Now what is it you wish of me, my lord, as I said, I am eager to be on my way.”
“Were you aware of the woman in the stocks?” Cree asked, ignoring his wish for their talk to be over.
