“Zia!” Cavan shouted. “Speak to your grandmother now!”
She held her hand up, so the sentinels would hold their arrows, and hurried passed Cavan, disappearing beyond the foliage.
Cavan addressed his brothers and Alyce. “That man is a mercenary.”
“And for a price he will do anything,” Alyce said.
“So his business here?” Lachlan asked.
“Perhaps someone placed a price on Carissa’s head, and he’s here to collect her,” Artair offered.
“Who would be so foolish to do that?” Cavan said. “All of the Highland clans know we search for her and are in agreement. She is to be found and made to pay as her father did.”
“What I wonder,” Alyce said, “is how the stranger gained such easy access to the village. The sentinel seemed not to question him at all, which means—”
“He is known to them,” Cavan finished, and turned to Artair. “We need entrance to the village now.”
“You have it,” Zia said, emerging from the dense foliage, “but not your warriors. They must remain here.”
“For now it will do,” Cavan said, dismounting from his stallion, as did Lachlan and Artair.
The three brothers and Alyce followed Zia through the narrow entranceway that allowed them to walk single file, their horses skittish as they followed. And the brothers didn’t like what they saw as they entered the pristine village.
The stranger stood speaking with Bethane, and she was nodding and smiling as if she were talking with an old friend. When she spotted them, her smile grew and she waved. The stranger quickly leaned closer, and whatever he whispered caused her to nod.
“He has her ear,” Cavan said to his brothers, as they walked alongside him. “Stay alert. Something goes on here that doesn’t sit right with me.”
Both men nodded.
Bethane stepped forward before they moved too close, placing a buffer between the men. “It is good to see you all again though I wish the circumstances were different.”
“It is always good to see you, Bethane,” Cavan acknowledged. “And I regret that a clan issue has been placed at your doorstep.”
“It was inevitable,” she said. “And it is better that it all comes together here on neutral ground.”
“There can be only one outcome,” Cavan said, taking his stance. “And your own words predicted it.”
Bethane nodded, her smile never wavering. “I remember. I told you to find Carissa and you’d find your brother.”
“Then you don’t deny that Carissa is here?” Cavan asked.
“I don’t deny it.”
“Then hand her over to me,” Cavan said, “for it has been far too long since I have seen my brother.”
“The way you tormented him, I’m surprised you would want to see him again,” the stranger said, and threw back his hood.
Cavan and his brothers stood staring at the man. It was Artair who first recognized him.
“Ronan!” Artair cried, and rushed forward to ensnare him in a brotherly hug.
Lachlan followed and did the same.
Cavan remained were he stood, as did Ronan after the hugs, slaps on the backs, and more hugs were done. Finally, the two brothers stepped forward at the same time and within seconds arms were flung around each other. Then Cavan grabbed his youngest brother by the back of his neck and rested his forehead on his.
“There is much I have to say to you, though not now. Now it is just good to have you back.”
Ronan remained silent, unable to respond. He was torn between relief at being with his family once again and unease in being with them. Cavan was right, though, there was much that needed to be said, but not now. Now he had to finish the last leg of his journey home.
“Why didn’t you reveal yourself to us when you first came upon us?” Artair asked.
Cavan answered. “Because the honor was due him to lay claim to Carissa first and as such have a say in her punishment.”
Ronan nodded. “I want the final say, Cavan.”
Cavan braced his hand on Ronan’s shoulder. “You have it.” He then turned to Bethane. “Bring us Carissa.”
Her response rang through the village like a clanging bell. “No!”
Chapter 3
Carissa watched the heated exchange that followed Bethane’s resounding no. The wooden shutters in Bethane’s cottage sat ajar just enough for her to easily view the whole scene, and the close proximity allowed her to hear every word.
She had hoped that no one would learn of her taking refuge here and, for a while at least, she would have some peace. Since she had never known peace, she had been foolish to think she ever would.