My Highlander: A Cree & Dawn Novel, page 24
Her words kept ringing in Dawn’s head long after she left Old Mary. The whole time she had been gone, she had wondered over her abduction. Why had someone taken her? What had been the person’s intentions? She recalled the one abductor reminding the other several times that she was not to be harmed and they were not to have their way with her. So what had been the reason for her abduction?
“My lady.”
Dawn startled, losing her balance and Tarass’s hand reached out quickly to steady her.
“I did not mean to frighten you.”
Dawn shook her head, then tapped her temple.
“You were deep in thought.”
Dawn nodded.
“Something troubles you?” Tarass asked as he followed alongside her when she continued her slow pace.
Dawn had found it easy to talk with Tarass during the time spent with him, though she minded her tongue when speaking with him. Still, she had found that though he had a quick tongue, he listened well.
Dawn nodded and crossed her wrists, pressing them against each other.
“You think of your abduction.”
She nodded again.
“I thought on it much myself when you were with me and then after you were gone. Truthfully, I was concerned that your husband had you abducted with the intention of seeing you dead.”
Dawn smiled, shook her head, and patted her chest.
“I realize now seeing you and Cree together that I was wrong. The man adores you and would give his life for you. That kind of love is rare. I understand now why you wanted so badly to return home. But someone meant you harm.”
Dawn shook her head. She reached her hand out and pulled it back toward her several times.
“You believe you were abducted because someone wanted something.”
Dawn nodded.
“Do you have any idea what that might be?”
Dawn shook her head.
“My lady.”
Tarass and Dawn turned to see Ina hurrying toward them.
“Forgive me for disturbing you, my lady, but Lord Cree hurried me out of the woods fast, warning me not to go in the woods again alone and that the twins were not to go near the woods. What has happened?” Ina asked, standing there with a bouquet of a variety of woodland flowers clutched tightly in her hand and worry heavy in the deep lines between her eyes.
Dawn pointed to the bouquet and held her hand down low to demonstrate height.
“Aye, my lady, these are for Lizbeth. She wanted some different flowers so I went into the woods to get them for her. But what has happened? Did I do something wrong?”
Dawn shook her head, pointing to her.
Ina looked relieved, understanding she was not at fault.
“Do they search for someone in the woods?” Ina asked, looking to Tarass.
“I am not aware of what goes on,” Tarass said.
Dawn found that difficult to believe. Nothing had gone on in his camp that he did not know about, which had made her escape more difficult. And while this may not be his camp, he kept a watchful eye and ear and no doubt knew what had taken Cree to the woods with his warriors. So why say otherwise.
I trust few. You should do the same.
The words came back to her suddenly. Tarass had said them to her one time when they had talked. She wondered what had happened to Tarass that he trusted so few.
Dawn smiled and shook her head at Ina, hoping to reassure the young woman that she had nothing to worry about.
Ina nodded and held up the bouquet. “I will take these to Lizbeth so she has them when she wakes from her nap.”
Dawn’s hand shot out to take hold of Ina’s, her eyes full of concern seeing the blood that covered her one finger.
“A scratch, nothing more,” Ina insisted.
Dawn shook her head, disagreeing, rested her hand under Ina’s elbow and pointed at Elsa’s healing cottage.
“If you insist, my lady, I will have Elsa look at it.”
Dawn nodded, then turned and gave a nod to Tarass.
“My lady,” he said with a respectful nod and walked off.
“It is not necessary for you to come with me, my lady,” Ina assured her.
Dawn would not be dissuaded, keeping her hand to Ina’s elbow she walked with her to the healing cottage.
“Truly, my lady, I can see to this myself,” Ina said as they got closer to the cottage. “You must have things that require your attention. Please do not let me keep you from them.”
Dawn recalled that she wanted to speak with Lila and warn her about the woods and that was something that could not wait.
Smiling, Dawn nodded, pointed to the bouquet of flowers and patted her chest thanking her for collecting them for Lizbeth.
“Lizbeth does love flowers,” Ina said and after a bob of her head to Dawn, continued on to the healing cottage.
Dawn hurried off to see Lila.
“Lila is not there,” a voice said when Dawn went to rap on Lila’s door.
Dawn turned to see Cleva, one of the women who tended to the spinning of the cloth along with Lila.
Cleva was quick to tell her where Lila had gone. “She went to collect some shellock in the woods.”
Dawn cradled her arm and shrugged, hoping Cleva would understand that she asked about Thomas and trying to keep her worry from showing.
“Thomas joins in play with the other spinners’ bairns.”
Dawn smiled, patted her chest in thanks, and walked off, worried for her friend. She could send word to Cree and have him see to it, but it would take time for the message to reach him and he was not familiar with where the shellock grew. She was and could reach Lila in no time.
She thought to go and collect Beast to take him with her, but he was protecting the twins and she much preferred he remained with them. Cree would not be happy with her going off on her own and if she requested one of his warriors to accompany her, he would prevent her from entering the woods. But there was Lila’s safety to consider.
She had only one choice, though she had given her word to Cree that she would let him know of her whereabouts. That was easily solved.
Dawn rapped on Old Mary’s cottage and it took a few minutes before the door opened and she could see that she had disturbed the old woman’s rest. She did not wait. She told Old Mary where she was going.
“You cannot go there,” Old Mary argued. “Let Cree see to it.”
Dawn remained steadfast, her gestures firm.
“I do not care if it is Lila. You cannot leave yourself vulnerable to danger.”
Dawn would not waste time arguing with Old Mary, Lila could be in danger. She gestured for the woman to tell Cree when he returned if she, herself, had yet to return.
Old Mary went to argue and Dawn held up her hand to stop her, then pressed it to her heart. She was letting Old Mary know that Lila meant too much to her not to help her, then she simply walked away, slipping behind the cottage to enter the woods.
Chapter 25
With every step Dawn took, she berated herself. This probably was not a wise thing to do, but she could not stop herself. Lila had defended her against endless taunts through the years and even went after a young lad who had come up behind Dawn one day when they were about twelve and shoved Dawn so hard, she hit the ground, splitting her lip.
Lila had been furious and had unleashed that fury on the lad. She swung her fist, hitting him with such force that it knocked him out, suffering far worse pain to his pride than the wound itself.
She would be devastated if anything happened to Lila, especially if she could do something to prevent it. She would collect Lila and hurry out of the woods before her husband got word of where she was. Or so she attempted to convince herself.
Dawn often picked the pot herb shellock for her mum along with Lila. The best place to find the herb was not far into the woods and keeping a quick pace, she should be done and back to the village with Lila in no time.
She rounded the tree where she knew she would find Lila and would have let out a scream if she could.
Lila lay prone on the ground, not moving.
Dawn rushed to her, dropping down beside her, feeling as if she choked on her silent gasp when she saw the pool of blood beside Lila’s head. She gently lifted her head to get a look at the wound in the back, hoping it would stir Lila awake, but her eyes remained closed. The wound was similar to Elsa’s, a bump and a gash, though this gash did not seem as bad as Elsa’s, giving Dawn hope that Lila wound do well. She ripped a piece of cloth from the hem of her shift and did the best she could to fashion a bandage around her friend’s head even though the bleeding looked to have stopped.
The problem now was how did she get Lila home. She was unable to call out for help and she would not leave Lila here alone while she went to get help for fear the culprit would return.
The thought had Dawn looking hastily around. She could be leaving herself vulnerable as well. She gave another quick glance over the surrounding area and gathered any large stones she could. She spotted a few larger stones a short distance away and went to gather the only weapons available.
She spotted the blood on a large stone before reaching down for it. It had to be the stone used to hit Lila. She did not pick it up, she left it lying there as she glanced back and forth between Lila and the stone. Whoever hit her had walked away with the stone in hand and dropped it before disappearing into the woods.
Dawn jumped at a noise, her hand gripping a large stone and instinctively shooting up in the air, ready to throw and defend her and Lila. She was greeted with silence. She waited listening and finally when she heard no sound that brought her alarm, she returned to Lila. She tried tapping her cheek to wake her. If she could get Lila on her feet, she could help her to walk, but she did not respond.
Carrying her was not a possibility, she simply did not have the strength. And if she attempted to drag her through the woods, she could chance doing Lila more damage. Her only recourse was to wait for help. But how long would it take and did the culprit still linger nearby?
Her head shot up, hearing another sound and this time the sound did not stop. It remained steady and grew.
Dawn positioned herself in front of Lila, a stone in each hand, prepared to fight, to defend them both.
She grinned, seeing a big ball of black fur burst past the trees… Beast.
She dropped to her knees in relief, releasing the stones, to bury her face in Beast’s fur and wrap her arms around his thick neck. The dog licked her face enthusiastically when she finally released him, his tail wagging rapidly.
Dawn felt safe with Beast there, but he could not stay. He was her only hope in getting her and Lila help. It took a few repeated gestures to get him to obey her, more so from his reluctance to leave her than him not understanding her.
Beast took off in a run, barking as he went.
“My wife is in the woods,” Cree repeated, having heard his warrior who had delivered the message from Old Mary, but repeating it to make sure he had heard him correctly.
“Aye, my lord, she went to find Lila,” his warrior said a bit out of breath from running. “Old Mary says to hurry.”
“Did she say why?” Cree asked.
“No, though it seemed that she just realized that you needed to hurry as she spoke with me. She shooed me away, urging me to hurry, not waste a minute.”
Something was wrong if Old Mary rushed the warrior off. And Cree’s stomach twisted in fear. He let out a yell and his warriors rushed from all directions toward him. He was about to give orders when he heard barking.
“Beast,” he shouted and the barking stopped for a moment, then started again and did not stop.
Cree realized the dog had no intentions of coming to him. He waited for Cree to find him.
Cree took off, his men spreading out to follow, covering a good portion of the surrounding area, leaving no places uncovered in case of attack.
His gut continued to twist and tighten as he worried over his wife. She should have come to him. She should not have gone into the woods alone, not after Old Mary had warned them against it. How would he ever keep her safe when she often plunged ahead without thought or consequence?
Never.
The thought struck him like a severe blow to his mid-section. He could never keep her completely safe no matter how hard he tried. It was an impossible task. That was the most frightening thought he had ever had and also the most truthful.
It was not long before he came upon Beast and the animal did not wait, as soon as he spotted Cree, he took off and so did Cree.
He felt another hard blow to his gut, but this one was one of relief when he saw his wife standing, unharmed, though anger took quick hold of him when he spotted Lila on the ground, not moving.
He was relieved to see that Lila was not dead, but seeing her head bandaged, he guessed she had suffered a similar blow to Elsa’s.
Dawn hurried to explain to her husband, first though, he embraced her, hugging her tight, the strength of his arms letting her know she and Lila were safe now and all would be well.
“At least you had the sense to bring Beast with you,” Cree said, taking a step away from her and growing annoyed when the look on his wife’s face told him otherwise. “You did not bring Beast with you?”
Dawn pointed to Lila, reminding him that she was what was important right now.”
“Later, wife,” he said with a snarl that sounded similar to Beast’s.
Dawn paid her husband no heed. She was too concerned with Lila. She tapped her husband’s chest, pointed to Lila, and moved her fingers as if they were running feet.
“You want me to rush Lila back to the village,” Cree said and he saw then the worry on her face, the hint of tears in her dark eyes, and how they pleaded with him.
Dawn held up two fingers, wrapping them around each other and pointed them to Lila, then to herself.
Cree stepped closer to his wife, his hand going to rest gently on her arm. “I know she is like a sister to you and we will do everything we can to see her safe and help her heal.”
Dawn threw her arms around her husband to let him know how grateful she was for his words, his support, his love.
Cree would have loved to let her remain wrapped around him, but what she needed from him right now was to get her friend to Elsa.
He eased her away from him. “We need to get Lila home.”
Dawn nodded firmly and stepped aside.
Cree issued orders to one of his warriors to go get Paul from the fields and have him waiting at the healing cottage. He also ordered his men to spread out and see what they could find while six of his men were ordered to follow him back to the village.
He also took a moment to praise Beast. “You did well, Beast. You will be rewarded. Now protect Dawn on our way home.”
Beast took a protective stance beside Dawn, a wag to his tail that Dawn knew meant he was glad to be returning home.
Cree leaned down and lifted Lila up into his arms, then turned to Dawn. “Stay close, wife.”
Dawn pointed to Lila, then to him, and then to Beast and herself.
“Are you telling me to protect Lila over you?”
Dawn nodded and pointed to Beast.
“She is pointing to Beast is she not?” Lila asked with a moan. “Dawn would do that, expecting you to help me over her, but she should not expect that of you, my lord. You are her husband and you would protect her first as you should.”
Dawn grinned as Lila continued to talk, knowing she would be all right, that no one could silence her, though by the time they reached the village, she was sure Cree would have had enough of her endless chatter.
“You saw nothing?” Cree asked of Lila, sitting up comfortably in her bed, her son snuggled next to her in the crook of her arm and Paul sitting on a chair beside the bed, holding his wife’s hand, grateful Elsa felt that with a few days’ rest she would be fine.
“Nothing, my lord. As I said, I thought I heard a voice and before I could turn, I was struck on the back of the head and that is the last I recall until I woke just before you lifted me in your arms.” Lila’s cheeks reddened.
“A single voice or more?” Cree asked.
“I cannot be sure, my lord,” Lila said.
“You have done well, Lila,” Cree praised. “Rest, and if you recall anything more, let me know.”
“I am most appreciative of what you did for my wife, my lord,” Paul said with a respectful nod of his head.
“I do far less than what you and Lila have done through the years for Dawn. It is I who am eternally gratefully,” Cree said.
“Lady Dawn is family to Lila and me, my lord, and you protect your family, as you do for all of us,” Paul said.
Dawn sent Paul a smile, a tear threatening to spill, pleased that Paul acknowledged what he and Lila had told her through the years. The three of them were family and always would be.
“I am pleased that my wife has such a caring and loving family,” Cree said. “I will see that the culprit, who harmed your wife, is made to suffer for his ill deed.”
“I had no doubt you would, my lord,” Paul said.
Dawn gave Lila a kiss on the cheek and Paul too, crossing her arms over her chest and letting them both know that she loved them before she took her leave with her husband.
Silence followed Cree and Dawn after they left Lila’s cottage, Beast keeping steady pace with the pair. It was not until the cottage was nearly out of sight that Cree spoke.
“It was foolish of you to go into the woods.”
Dawn sighed and tightened her grip on her husband’s hand as she rested her head against his arm as they walked.
“I understand you were worried about her,” Cree continued, “but you placed yourself in danger.”
Dawn gestured and it was easy for Cree to understand.
“I know Lila would have done the same for you, but you should have sent word to me.”
Dawn nodded, agreeing.
“What am I to do with you, wife?” Cree asked with a shake of his head.
Dawn gestured.
“Love you?” Cree asked in a whisper. “I do that every minute and second of the day and will continue to do so long after I am gone from this earth.”
