‘To what end? So that he can be king of a graveyard?’
‘To make it absolutely clear that he will suffer no challenge to his power or to his authority.’
‘It serves but to make him a more hated tyrant.’
‘Hated, aye. But feared more.’
‘Must a man be feared in order to govern?’
‘Aye, he must, but he has no need of the kind of brutality the Normans rejoice in.’
Ashlynn fell into reflective silence. He saw that she had stopped shaking now and the warmth of the fire and the drink had made her more relaxed. The fur cloak had slid back off her shoulders revealing the mane of tawny hair beneath. In the light of the fire it was shot with red and took on a resinous sheen that served to enhance its beauty. Seeing it, Iain found himself wanting to touch it, to run his fingers through it. He wanted to put his arms around her, to hold her close and kiss away her pain. However, he did none of those things. A fragile bond was being established in this room and he would do nothing to destroy it.
She looked up and surveyed him with curiosity. ‘Do your men fear you?’
‘They have nothing to fear from me.’
‘But they do not cross you.’
‘That is why they have nothing to fear.’
It drew a smile from her. ‘And those men who do cross you?’
‘Only do it once.’
The words were lightly spoken but their import was not and she shivered inwardly. However, it was not totally due to fear. It was a feeling akin to one she had known before, when she and Ban were about to embark on another reckless adventure. It was not totally divorced from apprehension but underlying it was something else, something concerned with excitement and danger and the allure of the forbidden. Regarding him now, it occurred to her that the face she had earlier considered merely arresting was very much more than that, like the dark eyes burning into hers now. The expression there was familiar and disturbing. Shaken by the direction of her thoughts Ashlynn decided it was the wine talking and sought safer ground.
‘When can I see Ban again?’
‘You will see him tomorrow. As he grows stronger you will be able to visit him for longer periods.’
‘How long was he unconscious?’
‘Several days. Then he was delirious with fever. For a while even Meg thought he might not live.’
Ashlynn felt only relief and thankfulness. She had been hurt by his failure to tell her but that had been a misjudgement on his part, not done out of malice. She saw that now. In the immediate shock after finding Ban alive she had been overwrought and that, on top of the existing concerns, had caused her to overreact. The knowledge brought a sharp twinge of guilt. The reality was that he had given her back her brother, an unlooked-for gift of inestimable price.
‘I did not thank you for saving Ban but I do so now, and unreservedly.’
The tone was gentle and tender, different from any she had used hitherto, and the look that accompanied it likewise. It was also sincere, a realisation that warmed his blood more thoroughly than the wine. With an effort he controlled it.
‘You should rather thank Fergus and Dougal. ’Twas they who found him.’
‘But I think it was you who made it a rule never to leave injured men behind,’ she replied. ‘And you who had him brought here and tended. Were it not so he would never have survived.’
‘I’m right glad he has, lass.’
‘You have shown him much kindness. More than I could ever have supposed.’
‘You find it hard to believe then that simple kindness exists among the Scottish savages?’
She reddened a little. ‘The tales about you paint a different picture.’
‘Ah, and which particular tales would they be?’
‘Tales of murder and kidnap, of rape and theft.’
‘It is true I have killed many men but they had just as much chance of survival as I did. Every warrior knows the realities of combat,’ he replied. ‘I have kidnapped, but ’twas a man as it happened. His father tried to renege on a business agreement and I had to find another means to get what I was owed. I have known different women but never raped one. As to the rest I confess it freely, but I have only ever taken from those who had plenty to give.’
‘I’m glad to learn that you live by such a strong moral code.’
‘I live by a different code from the one you may be used to, lass, but it is not entirely without honour.’
‘No, I think it is not.’ She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. ‘And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving Ban.’
The dark eyes met and held her own. ‘No thanks are necessary and I do not want your gratitude, Ashlynn. If you would kiss me let it be for myself.’