After the Storm (24 page)

She made a habit of confusing him with her version of reality, he knew that much about her. Bastien did his best to concentrate on the least improbable of the things she'd said. "Your father is a wizard?"

"Oh, yeah. But—" She gave Bastien a long, hard, scrutinizing look before she went on. "The wizard at Lilydrake was very close to building a machine that would go anywhere in time, that's why it was so secret. My father's time machine will only travel from—well, never mind that part. Let's just say that some people

— you and your wife, and some outlaws decided to raid Lilydrake at the exact same moment the time experiment got out of control."

Bastien leaned forward. He was intensely interested in this talk of wizards and time out of control. He darted forward to grab Isabeau by the shoulders and pull her close. "A wizard's spell killed my wife? Left me mad?" He shook her.

"Where is this wizard?"

"I don't know."

That was not the answer he needed to hear. He told her, "I'm going to kill him."

"I think he's dead already." She blinked and shook her head in confusion.

Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't remember. Not yet," she added as she twisted away from him. She got to her feet. "I'm going to remember, Bastien. So are you.

We're going to help each other remember what our lives were like before the acci-dent." She hesitated for a long time before she added in a tightly controlled voice, "Then we're going to go on with our lives from this point on."

She sounded very certain. So, all she wanted him for was to help get her memory back. After that he was free to go back to the woods, and she back to her castle.

Maybe that would be for the best. Maybe, but he wanted to make sure she never forgot him.

Bastien got to his feet and faced her. "I want to know that this wizard is dead. I want to make sure with my own two hands." He had never felt such loathing before. It felt good, gave him something to concentrate on. Something besides the driving need for Isabeau that clouded his already fogged mind. He wondered what Warin knew of the wizard of Lilydrake. "Why were you with this wizard, Isabeau?"

She ran her fingers along her jaw. "That," she said, "is a very good question.

They should have sent Marjorie on this assignment, she's the specialist in this place and period, not me. My specialty is Asian history. We weren't expecting visitors. We were using Lilydrake because it was isolated." She gave him a bitter look. "How did the outlaws know we were there?"

Was she suggesting that he'd invaded her castle? Had he? "I don't know."

"You do. You just don't remember that you do. I remember a woman coming to the gate. She's older than you, isn't she? With red hair? What's her name?"

"I don't know."

She'd hoped the sudden question would shake the memory loose. He'd spoken each word with sharp annoyance instead. Libby went on anyway. "I remember Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

her screaming, but I don't think there was anything wrong with her. I think it was a diversion, that she tricked us into letting her into the castle. I think the outlaws followed her in. I think she must have been your wife." She pointed at him. ''You probably were the leader of the outlaws."

Her tale made sense, but he didn't believe it. He took a step closer to her. "I would not marry a treacherous woman."

Isabeau retreated a step. The back of her legs encountered the log, and she sat down on it. As she looked up at him she said, "Considering how badly you hate the nobles I don't see how you could call it treachery. Aren't they your enemies?"

He found that he was looming over her. "Aren't you my enemy, you mean, my lady?"

Libby could only assume that he was annoyed because she'd just accused him of being an outlaw, a rather clever outlaw, actually. "The diversion was a good plan."

"It wasn't mine."

He sounded certain, and looked furious. Libby refused to be intimidated. "Then what were you doing at Lilydrake?"

His expression clouded for an instant. He shook his head. "Outlaws came to the castle. I'll grant that. I can almost remember that. I wasn't one of them. Nor was my wife."

She appreciated his defending the woman's honesty, but Libby also remembered the red-haired woman who'd come to the gate. Her own explanation was the only one that made sense, even if she didn't remember anything more than that the woman had come to the gate. "Why were you at the castle?"

He shook his head. She could tell by the slight pinching of the skin between his heavy brows that he was getting a headache. She reached out, took his hand, and Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

gently pulled him down beside her. Bastien sat down heavily on the log, his arm went around her shoulders. She felt the wiry strength of his muscles against her back. His closeness spread warmth through her. "I am not your enemy," she told him. "We'll figure out what happened together."

He looked at her, green eyes clouded with pain. "Why do you want to help me?

Why help me if I attacked your castle? Why not just let the sheriff hang me? It would be better than never knowing," he added softly as he looked away.

Libby turned in his embrace. She cupped his cheek in her palm and forced him to look at her again. Their gazes met and locked, both searching for and offering comfort that was beyond words. His beard stubble scratched her hand, the masculine abrasion sent a pleasant shiver through her. This is no time to get physical, she thought, and an instant later was kissing him anyway as his mouth descended to cover hers. The heat that flared inside her then was enough to burn away good intentions and logical explanations. All that mattered from the instant their lips met was the demanding need that she had to answer. Even rain and wet earth meant nothing as they eased onto the crushed grass before the log.

The pain stopped when he held her in his arms, when he claimed her mouth. It wasn't just the pain and confusion in his head that ended, but the pain that engulfed his heart. He hadn't meant to kiss her, but once he started, once he held her body close, he didn't want to go back to a conversation that did nothing but leave him blind and hurting. All he needed was her hands splayed against his back, pulling him tightly against her soft, hot body. Her lips found the base of his throat while he ran his hands through her tangled hair and brushed her cheeks and eyelids with quick kisses. She tasted of fresh rainwater, her scent was her own, familiar and arousing.

"Olivia," he whispered against her temple, "I need you so badly."

She stiffened against him. She would have pulled away, but he let her go as he Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

heard the rustling sound of something large moving through the trees on the other side of the stream.

"Stay here," he ordered.

Libby sat up as he moved swiftly away, his dagger drawn. She grabbed the bow and arrow he'd left behind and looked around for his quiver. She armed herself without thinking. She was having enough trouble controlling her breathing and getting her emotions under control. She didn't want to complicate a potentially dangerous situation by thinking about what he'd called her. She blocked the name away for now. She'd bring it out and consider what it meant later.

The log was large, offering her plenty of cover for the moment. She peered over the top of it to watch Bastien move forward with a combination of graceful speed and caution. He was like a hunting cat, poised and deadly. Not a hawk, she thought, a panther, Bagheera himself. But even a panther could use a little help sometimes, so she watched carefully, in case he needed backup.

Then a man stepped out from behind a bush and waved. "Bastien," he called.

"Well met, friend."

Bastien's stance straightened, but he didn't put his dagger away. "Warin," he said. The word wasn't a greeting. "Do you come searching for me?"

Warin jumped across the stream. "I do. Sikes sent me to find you. It seems there are men in the forest looking for you."

As the newcomer moved closer Libby got a better look at him, though not without difficulty. She could make out that he was thin. Lank, blond hair peeked out from beneath the gray hood of his cape. Bastien was carefully keeping himself between the man and her position. There was something familiar about the way Warin moved. Libby's temples began to twinge with pain.

"Sikes sent me to offer you the safety of our camp," Warin went on.

Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

His voice was more familiar than his movements. It sent a shock of pain through her, followed closely by the disorienting dizziness.
Hey
, she thought before she passed out
, I know that guy
.

Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

Chapter 13

Bastien did not want
Sikes's man to see Isabeau. The old outlaw would try to take the Lady of Lilydrake as his own prisoner if he knew Bastien had her. Sikes was as likely to turn Bastien in to Reynard or Rolf and collect gold for Isabeau's return as well. Her ransom would make her captor very rich. Or the clever old man might find some other use for her. Nothing Isabeau would find pleasant, of that Bastien was sure. It was said her father had hunted down Sikes's first outlaw band, and had nearly caught Sikes himself. The old man might be one to hold a grudge.

"There are always men hunting us," Bastien reminded the other outlaw. He recalled that he had sent to ask Sikes for help. He had more than himself to think about, being with Isabeau had almost made him forget the people who depended on his protection. "My men can take care of themselves," he told Warin. "But if Sikes will take in the women and children I'd appreciated it."

"Sikes won't like granting such charity." Warin laughed. "But that termagant wife of his will make him. She's been trying to save his soul, she says, since he abducted her from a village fair when they were both young." Warin clapped a hand on Bastien's shoulder. "But I came looking for you, friend. To warn you that there are horsemen in the forest, and not that far behind me."

Damn. He needed to get Isabeau to safety. He needed to get rid of Warin of Flaye first. "Then you'd best seek your own safety, friend."

Sizemore, Susan - After the Storm

"Come with me, Bastien."

That he would not do. He shook his head. "I mean to hide myself in Blackchurch." The people in the village he'd named were known to be suffering from a catching fever. He had no intention of going there, but hoped to frighten Warin off.

Warin nodded. He looked as if Bastien's decision was one of the wisest things he'd ever heard. "I— what's that?" Warin whirled at the sound of a distant shout.

"They're coming this way."

Bastien listened carefully, recognizing the sound of many men making their way as carefully as they could through the woods. "Horses," he said, "as well as footsoldiers. Damn." He grabbed Warin's shoulder and pointed. "You go south, I'll head east." A look of indecision flashed across the other outlaw's face. "It'll be safer if we split up," Bastien told him. "Do it. Meet me at Maiden Well at moonrise."

Warin gave a sharp nod. "I'll take you to Sikes then."

"Yes," Bastien lied. "Go."