Knight's Legacy (13 page)

“Lady Montwain.”

Cat sat up in bed, recognizing the voice at once.

“Merlin!”

She scrambled up to throw on her cloak. “You should know not to call me by that name!”

The old man smiled, blue eyes twinkling. “Should I not? Very well. Catherine, if you prefer it. My lady is … content?”

“You can ask that of me, when I have traveled back in time and have no idea how I have done it? Are you real, or part of my imagination?”

“Does this feel as if I am a spirit, an apparition?”

He reached out to her and grasped her hands. She sighed wearily.

“Then how? How did we do such a phenomenal … unbelievable …?”

“Catherine.” He interrupted her, aware of the fear laced with her curiosity.

“Do not fear the portal. It comes not from an evil source.”

“Then it is possible to travel through the space time continuum?” Her eyes sparkled with the possibility.

He snorted as if disgusted, and dropped her hands. He shook a very long, thin finger in her face.

“You have been peering into that ridiculous box people stare at endlessly in your time! Allowing it to think for you! It matters not how!”

“You're not going to tell me, are you?”

“You have been given a great gift,” Merlin declared.

Cat opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it; for he had spoken the truth.

“ 'Tis true, Merlin. I wouldnae care for ye to think me ungrateful.”

He smiled. “The speech of this time is not all to which you have grown accustomed. My lady has taken a husband?”

An unwelcome blush crept into her cheeks. She had slipped into the medieval speech without being aware of it, but she discarded her embarrassment.

“I have. And shall we discuss it, old man? You seem a bit too smug about my marriage to Roderic. Why is that?”

“Smug? Aye. Meddlesome? Aye. Repentant? Nay.” He smiled as if delighted, having bested someone at a game of chance. Cat's eyes sparkled, suddenly astounded; she understood.

“You want us together!” She spoke the words as an accusation. He did not answer, but made an attempt to change the subject.

“I must go now, Catherine.”

“Why? Why did you want me to marry Roderic?” She threw her head back and placed her hands on her hips.

“May you be a virtuous and faithful wife to him. Treat him with tenderness, for I have only loved one more than that boy. I know you will, for I have searched long for this solution. Do not allow your fear to stifle your courage. I must go.” He turned away.

“No! Not yet. You must show me where the portal exists here and now. Stop speaking in riddles! My being here is a solution to what?”

“You must find your own answers. You are needed here,” said Merlin.

“What if I want to go back?”

“If that be true, you would have answered my question.”

“What question?”

Merlin walked to the door. He turned and spoke one sentence.

“Milady is content?”

He disappeared silently, walking through the door with all the finesse of a true apparition.

Roderic followed the young lass through the woods. She moved swiftly, her small form darting through the trees, brown hair flowing. The forest was dense, and Roderic had to duck beneath some of the branches while he kept her in sight, the child was so fleet of foot and agile he had to bend frequently to follow her. They trotted through the forest in this manner until Roderic began to fear she did not know her goal. Suddenly she stopped and turned to him, and reached out to take his hand. The look on the child's face was one of joy, her eyes dancing with anticipation. Roderic smiled and took her tiny, delicate hand in his own.

“Come, we have arrived,” Janet said. She pulled him forward past the trees to a clearing, and Roderic gasped, for the sight before him was appealing.

The cottage lay nestled among many small trees and wildflowers, and understood the look of enchantment upon the young girl's face when he looked about him. When mothers spoke to their wee ones about fairies as they spun a tale, one could easily suppose they would spread their wings in such a place. The mist hung heavy near the cottage, and it conjured up the fancy of childhood dreams and laughter.

Janet called out, “Come, Kenneth.”

Roderic stood, still taking in the surroundings, while the girl sought his attention by pointing up to the roof. Kenneth crawled up over the top of the thatched roof, and smiled at them, shaking his head as if it were a game.

“Yes! Ye must come,” Janet said. “Mother said we must fetch ye. She wants ye home.” The boy continued to smile at her and made no move to come down.

“Climb down now, Kenneth,” Roderic said. There was a silken thread of warning in his voice.

The boy, his expression defeated, scrambled over the roof. He shimmied down to the corner of the cottage, hooking his feet over the stone as a spider would climb down a wall, and soon dropped to the ground.

Janet rushed forward, and taking Kenneth's hand, followed the trail back to the keep.

“Halt, lass,” Roderic said. Entering the small dwelling, he pushed the door open with his shoulder. He looked around at the condition of the place, and though the door had a broken hinge and was in need of repair, the roof was sound and the hearth was fitting to keep out the cold. He vowed some in the clan could make use of the shelter.

Returning to Mary's cottage with the children, he then made his way back to the keep. He set another warrior on the task of guarding Brianna, and summoned Nigel.

“We must speak of the needs of the clan. Give me your report on how they fare.”

“ 'Tis bleak, Sir Roderic. They were unable to rebuild or shore up their defenses from the last attack made on Mackay.”

“What must be done at once?”

“Shelter. We have given them all food and assistance to those ill. Many of their homes are no more than half standing, near burned out on the last attack.”

Roderic sighed. “We shall see to it at once. Set the warriors about the repairs now, and have those who can see to building new quarters. It seems we cannot go to King Alexander at this time. My hope was that I could give Brianna the joy of being at court and allow Alexander to see her once again, but I fear it must wait. Far more do I wish to lay before him proof that our goals were met here. My bride will have many occasions to go to court to be with the King and Princess Joan; we must give the clan proper shelter before the winter.

“The cottage where I found the boy can be restored. I wish to go there with my bride for some time alone. We shall return in three days. I give you the command until I return.”

“Aye, Sir Roderic.”

Cat had little time to ponder her dilemma and her encounter with Merlin. Roderic returned to the keep and commanded her to make ready for a short trip, and to pack for three days.

They were less than an hour from the keep when they reached their destination. The stone cottage was tiny, nestled in a lane of trees, and mist lay softly around the clearing, creating an ethereal beauty.

Their first day alone was immensely enjoyable to Cat. Roderic was a very compassionate man. He treated her tenderly with kindly humor, and her feelings for him became more intense with each passing moment. Their time together was marred by only one disagreement.

She was steadfastly unrepentant of the incident concerning the Maitland child. His anger was brief, however, and dissipated quickly in the light of their passion for one another.

At the end of the second day, long into the evening, Roderic turned to her.

“Brianna, some of your own clan have called you mad. Are you bewitched?”

Her face clouded with uneasiness, and she floundered before the brilliance of his gaze. “Who has told you this?” She spoke with a tremble in her voice.

“One who has no use for an Englishman in his midst, and prefers me to the cruelty of the Mackay. Why would he lie?”

“Roderic, do you see me as simple-minded? Or bewitched by the devil?”

“I know only that you have bewitched me … filled me with lust.” He reached out to hold her cheek, his eyes soft when he went on.

“I am in awe of your beauty, intrigued by your spirit. You are a mystery, though, no evil abides in your heart. You are too caring for those helpless and in need. I hope I possess your loyalty. King Alexander wants your protection by this alliance, and he will have it, I will do all in my power to see it done.”

“Even if it means you have married a woman who you believe to be mad?” Cat was dubious.

“Aye. Make no mistake, Brianna. You will obey me. If there be any effort from you to be loyal to your father, I will not hesitate to stop you. If you be in like mind of the boy,” he paused before he finished his thought, “I will take care of you both.”

She was rankled by his cool, aloof manner.

“You could be speaking of a pet you were given but didn't want! I am not like Kenneth! You are too quick to judge him. He is mute, but I don't believe he is lacking in intelligence. Having learned to fear most people, he shuts them out, but that does not make him stupid. As for my father, why would I be loyal to him? The man has never expressed empathy in his entire pathetic existence!”

“I want to believe you, the people here cannot withstand being taken prisoner and driven from their homes. Three Lairds have reason to kill Mackay on sight. Do you think Kenneth and the others will not be included in their wrath?”

Her angry expression was replaced with one of apprehension. After a long moment, she spoke softly. “Nay, they would not spare them. I know I cannot begin to make you understand, but I am not mad. I will do all I can to protect my people, even those who tell you these stories of my being bewitched. Their needs are so great. You have given them food, and I am grateful, yet their homes are in such a state …”

“Aye, wife, you speak the truth. They need warm homes for the winter. I left orders for my men. They work as we speak. The elderly and infirm will have their cottages built first. I left my many duties to be with my wife.”

Her green eyes were bright when she turned her face to kiss his palm before she answered. “I do treasure this time alone with you. I appreciate the sacrifice. They will come to give you their loyalty in time, Roderic. How long did it take for your army to follow you without rancor? They must have resented an Englishman as their leader.”

“Aye, they were misfits, too. My army embodies those from many different clans. Some were cast out, bastards with no holdings, no ties. Some lost their loved ones to war and had nothing to go back to, as I. Perhaps they accepted me in spite of their prejudice because I led them, gave them pride and integrity by beseeching the King on their behalf. He thought to give them a home here, too, a purpose. If the people have the discernment to trust in this alliance, they will have the benefit and protection of the finest warriors in Scotland.”

“How proud you are of them.”

“Aye, they are fine men, worthy of praise,” he said.