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His mind once more turned to her unbound hair and the way her chemise had clung to her body. She’d be sleeping in all her clothes tonight, but that didn’t stop his thoughts from taking a turn he was desperate to avoid.
He stalked away from her tent before he did anything foolish.
‘What is it about this journey that has you so jumpy?’ asked Merrick when Braedan joined him by the fire.
‘I’m no different from normal,’ said Braedan as he stretched his fingers out to the warmth.
Merrick snorted, but didn’t comment any further. Their usual camaraderie had been strained since Braedan had yelled at his friend for enjoying Aldith’s company. He didn’t regret it. Ellena must be kept safe at all costs.
He hadn’t told Merrick that this mission was different from every other one he’d ever taken. That this time there was so much at stake. If he was successful then the last eight years of hard graft would finally be rewarded and he would be able to repair some of the damage that had been done to his family’s name and fortune by his father’s treasonous acts.
He sat by the fire long after Merrick had turned in. The logs spat and hissed, turning black as images of his father teaching him to ride his first horse flickered through his mind. He hadn’t known it at the time, but that had been his last taste of sublime happiness.
He hadn’t thought about the big, burly man who’d raised him in a long time. As a boy he’d idolised him, but just as he’d reached manhood everything had been destroyed. His father had been executed as a traitor and his lands and wealth stripped from the family he’d left behind.
Braedan had taken his mother and two distraught younger sisters with him to the Earl of Ogmore. Braedan had done his knight’s training under Ogmore’s supervision, but even so it had been beyond humiliating to kneel before him and beg him to take in the three women.
In return Braedan had sworn his allegiance to Ogmore and he’d been doing his bidding ever since, rising to be his chief of guards and earning himself the nickname The Beast because of the ruthless way he squashed Ogmore’s enemies and the way his face had been disfigured while doing so.
Now, in return for years of service, Ogmore had promised him stewardship over Castle Swein so long as he safely returned the Earl’s widowed daughter to his care. Stewardship there would finally give him a certain status in the world, and allow him to build up enough wealth for his sisters’ dowries.
Ellena had been refusing her father’s entreaties to return for nearly a year. Two emissaries had been sent and had failed to return with her. She was apparently every bit as skilled at manipulation and dissembling as her wily father.
Ogmore’s patience had finally worn thin and he had dispatched Braedan to do the job.
Braedan felt a stab of guilt every time he thought of how he had finally got her to agree to leave her precious castle. He had told her that she needed to negotiate her freedom to act as steward of the castle with her father directly, and that hiding in Castle Swein was the coward’s way out.
He’d seen enough of her stubborn nature to know that she wouldn’t like to be branded a coward, and he’d been right. It didn’t sit right with him that he knew something she didn’t, but that castle meant more to him than simply another home. It meant the restoration of his family to their rightful place in the world and the safety and welfare of Katherine and Linota, his two sisters, who had been so badly damaged by their father’s actions, and who would never make good marriages if they were forced to continue living as they were currently.
If that meant betraying the beautiful Lady Swein then so be it.
The first watch returned to camp and he heard the second group of men fan out in the forest. He stood from his place by the fire and stretched. He ought to get some rest, as it would be his turn to stand sentry soon enough.
It felt like only seconds later when he was awoken by shouting. He grabbed his sword and was running before he’d left the shelter of his tent.
‘What’s happening?’ he shouted to Merrick.
‘A warning’s been sounded. There are men approaching.’
‘Stay with the women,’ he commanded as he raced to the edge of their encampment.
Behind him he could hear the panicked braying of the horses, and in front the sound of men engaged in sword fight.
He dispatched his first opponent within seconds of joining the fight.
He was on to the next one before the first had dropped to the floor.
Soon the metallic smell of blood filled the air. The tip of another opponent’s sword had grazed his neck, but it was only a light cut and he soon had his vengeance by adding his body to the growing pile of their enemies.
The fighting was intense, but they were gaining the upper hand, and before long he heard the welcome sound of his enemy retreating.
‘Make sure they’ve all gone,’ he barked to his men.
He turned on his heel and raced back to their campsite, muttering a prayer that they’d done enough to keep Ellena safe.
A watery sun was just beginning to peek through the trees when he burst back into the opening.
Merrick stepped forward to greet him. ‘Is it all over?’
‘For now,’ said Braedan. ‘Are the women safe?’
‘Yes, but I’m afraid—’
Braedan didn’t wait for him to finish that sentence. He pushed past him and rounded the corner of the tent.
There he found Ellena kneeling in the mud. Eluard’s head was resting in her lap and even from this distance he could tell that the boy was badly injured.
She lifted a tear-stained face to his and his gut wrenched at her expression.
‘He shouldn’t have been fighting but he insisted—’ Her voice broke as she bent over the boy. ‘Why would someone hurt a young man just to get to me? Couldn’t they see he was little more than a child?’
Braedan crouched down next to her. Her whole body was shaking and he resisted the urge to pull her into his arms.
‘Will you take him to my tent?’ she asked, turning her pale face to his.
He opened his mouth to protest—it wasn’t appropriate for her to have a man in her tent, even a young one—but she forestalled him with a soft, ‘Please,’ and he found himself nodding instead.
He lifted Eluard, who moaned softly but didn’t wake, and carried him to the bundle of blankets she’d been using to sleep on. Eluard weighed virtually nothing, and he cursed himself for bringing the lad on this mission.
He gently settled the boy on her makeshift bed. Over the coppery smell of the boy’s blood he could sense Ellena’s delicate fragrance in the air, the soft scent of lavender and something else he couldn’t identify but which he thought of as uniquely her.
Staying this close to her was dangerous. Being alone with her was too much of a temptation.
‘I’ll send Aldith in,’ he said to her, before striding out of the tent and away from the enforced intimacy.
Ellena had cared for her sick husband for nearly four years as illness had gradually taken his life. She’d seen everything the human body had to offer and had quickly got over any squeamishness.
She took a deep breath and began to remove Eluard’s tunic. Blood had soaked through the fabric. She shuddered, but carried on. No matter how bad it was for her, it was worse for him, and she didn’t want him to be frightened by waking up and seeing a look of horror on her face.
The tent flap opened behind her, but she didn’t look up. She didn’t want to see her maid right now. She had been useless when the attack had happened. If it hadn’t been for the sake of propriety she would have sent her maid back to the castle, but she knew she was stuck with the tiresome woman—at least until they arrived at Ogmore.
‘Merrick tells me you tried to protect Eluard,’ said a gruff voice behind her.
She jumped at Braedan’s words. She hadn’t expected him to return.
‘I probably did more harm than good,’ she murmured, remembering her very brief battle with a blond-haired stranger. ‘I merely used Eluard’s sword to block the man from striking Eluard again. Merrick took over before I really knew what was going on.’
He didn’t respond but neither did he leave the tent.
She heard him inhale as she finally exposed Eluard’s wound—a deep, long cut across his chest.
‘Here,’ said Braedan, handing her some strips of fabric.
His callused fingers brushed hers as she took the offered material. She ignored the tingle the contact made and pressed the cloth to Eluard’s wound.
‘Stitch him up as best you can,’ said Braedan abruptly. ‘We’re leaving as soon as the tents are packed up. It won’t take long.’
Ellena stood quickly and turned to face Braedan. Only a whisper of air separated them in the confined space of the tent. She knew she wanted to argue with him but his proximity had momentarily robbed her of coherent thought.
She took a small step backwards and cleared her throat. ‘We can’t move him.’
‘We must. We can’t stay here. Copsi knows where we are and he’ll attack again once his men have rallied.’
‘Then you’ll have to fight them off again. We cannot move Eluard now. He will surely perish if we do.’
‘If we stay here then more of us will die.’
Braedan turned to leave but Ellena grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. The tight band of his muscles moved beneath her fingers and she quickly let go as a strange heat seared through her.
‘I will not leave,’ she said.
‘Yes, you will,’ he answered, and he swept from the tent, that gentle side of him vanishing as if it had never existed.
Chapter Four
Ellena stood next to her horse, gripping the animal’s reins tightly. The skin on her face was a worrying shade of pale but her back was ramrod-straight and her blue eyes flashed angrily.
Braedan rubbed his forehead. She hadn’t so much as glanced in his direction since her tent had been dismantled and Eluard had been strapped to a makeshift stretcher. And if she was angry now then her mood was going to be a lot worse when she found out where he wanted her to travel for the next part of their journey.
Copsi had fallen back, but he knew their location and he knew their direction. They would have to move quickly as they were especially vulnerable right now.
‘I’ve decided we need to split up into two separate parties,’ he said, the sound of his voice cutting across the low rumble of his men’s voices and reducing them to silence. ‘Tanner and Walden, you will take Eluard to the nearest town. Seek a medic; I don’t care what it costs.’
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ellena twitch in surprise and she finally turned her head towards him.
‘Aldith, you will swap cloaks with Ellena and ride with Merrick on his horse. Instead of following our planned route we will cross the River Burcoed and take a more circuitous course to Ogmore’s land. It will take us longer, but it will give us the element of surprise. Ellena, you will ride with me. Nilson will take care of the riderless horses.’
He heard Ellena’s gasp of surprise but didn’t turn to look at her. He knew she would hate being in such close proximity with him, but he wouldn’t be swayed on this matter.
‘Won’t Copsi and his men expect Lady Swein to be with you? It would make more sense if she rode with me,’ Merrick argued. He was the only one of his men brave enough to contradict his orders.
Braedan nodded. That did make more sense, but he would be damned if Ellena sat between Merrick’s thighs—besides, he was the one who had sworn to keep her safe. He was better placed to do that if they were close.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But I hope we’ll throw enough doubt on the situation to split their forces. We’ve already depleted their numbers so there can’t be many of them left.’
Merrick nodded, although he was clearly unhappy.
No one else raised any objections and he was pleased that Ellena hadn’t argued. He’d half expected to deal with her strenuous objections and he didn’t want to put her down in front of his men. She deserved their respect after the way she had treated Eluard. Not many noble ladies would put a young orphan’s safety and comfort before their own, kneeling in the mud and carefully dressing his wounds.
‘We leave now. Lady Swein, please swap your cloak with Aldith’s.’
The two women didn’t glance at each other as they exchanged clothes, the transaction allowing Braedan a brief glimpse of Ellena’s hair. Her dark locks were tightly bound in an elaborate plait that was gathered at the nape of her delicate neck.
Ellena pulled the rough woollen hood of her maid’s cloak over her head, while Aldith fixed Ellena’s veil over hers. It wasn’t the best of disguises—Ellena was much taller than Aldith—but it was better than nothing. Her rich dark green cloak clearly marked her out as a noblewoman and made her an obvious target.
The rigid set of her shoulders suggested she wasn’t happy with him. He sighed quietly. If only she was as soft and as gentle with him as she was with Eluard his life would be a lot easier.
The image of her tending to him while he lay in bed sprang suddenly to mind and he pushed it away forcefully. That would never happen.
‘Lady Swein.’ He held out a hand towards her, hoping that because she hadn’t argued she would be willing to join him on his horse.
‘I don’t think this is necessary,’ she said, turning to face him.
‘You’ll be safer if we ride together.’
‘No... I...’ She looked around the group of assembled men, who were already on horseback and watching their exchange.
Although none of them betrayed any emotion at her obvious distress, he could sense a subtle shift in their allegiance. These men had willingly followed him into many battles, but by helping Eluard she had gained their support. They would defend her to the death—possibly even against him. Luckily he meant her no harm.
‘Please,’ he said, trying to soften the demand, despite the fact he had no intention of letting her ride by herself. He would tie her up and throw her over the back of his saddle if he had to.
She nodded quickly and the muscles in his back relaxed. If anyone tried to get to her they would have to come through him—and he wasn’t easy to kill.
He swung into his saddle and then pulled her up to join him.
He immediately regretted his decision.
It had been torturous, imagining what her curves would feel like against his body. The reality was far worse. As they began their brisk trot through the trees the saddle pushed her thighs against his and every movement Stoirm made jolted their bodies together.
By the time they’d cleared the forest all his focus was on the parts of his body that touched hers. He should have been concentrating on the surrounding countryside, but nothing could distract him from the direction his mind was taking him.
He wanted to tug the hood of her cloak from over her hair and unbind the pins that held her plait in place. He wanted to run his fingers through the long tresses and touch his lips to her slender neck. He imagined her sighing with pleasure as his beard tickled the sensitive skin there, until she relaxed against him and allowed him to touch his mouth to hers. His kiss would be soft and gentle until...
‘Sir,’ said Nilson, bringing him back into the moment. ‘There’s a small group of men following us.’
Braedan twisted in his saddle. Behind them a tight group of riders followed at a brisk pace. He cursed under his breath; he’d hoped they’d get further than this before Copsi’s men caught up with them.
Once their pursuers realised they’d been spotted they nudged their horses into action and flew towards them, quickly raising their bows and pointing them in the direction of him and his own men. With Ellena in front of him he wouldn’t be able to reach his own bow and arrow.
Braedan kicked Stoirm into action. ‘Hold on tight!’ he yelled to Ellena as an arrow hit his chain mail and bounced harmlessly off.
His men rode hard next to them, providing a protective shell around Ellena. He heard Aldith squeal, but Ellena remained silent.
More men appeared at the top of a rise to the right of them. Copsi and his men must have been following them more closely than he’d realised.
The new group began to charge towards them, their weapons drawn. He had only a split second to make a decision.
‘Men!’ he shouted. ‘Hold them off. You know the route I plan to travel. Meet with us once you’ve drawn them off our trail.’
He pushed Stoirm into a faster gallop and they flew away from the scene. Behind him he heard the sounds of a battle taking place but he didn’t look back. He needed to get Ellena to safety, whatever the cost.
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