Love Never Lies (45 page)

Or, had he simply inherited Uncle Royce’s cruel streak, as Maddie often said. ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,’ she liked to preach. She blabbed on and on of Barak’s faults to Isabeau, but knew enough to hold her tongue in his presence. Barak had the power to send her packing. And, Maddie cherished her position as nursemaid too much not to guard her tongue.

The day wore on, until Isabeau hunched stiff in the saddle, her backside so sore it had gone numb.

When Barak pulled his mount to a halt on the rise of a hill, Isabeau’s heart stopped with a heavy clunk,
then
picked up speed until it raced so fast she could not catch her breath.

She’d prayed he wouldn’t stop for the night—that she’d be safe from his manhandling. But deep in her heart she knew that was too much to hope for. Barak never gave up.

Her mind turned and turned, searching for a way out—some means of escape.

But there was nowhere to run.

Her only hope was to outwit him.

How, she did not know.

He dismounted, leading his mount to a lone cedar sprouting between two boulders and a smattering of lichen-covered rocks, as good a place as any to stop, as there was no cover to speak of in the bleak and barren landscape stretched out before them.

There was no place to hide.

No one to help.

Isabeau remained rooted in the saddle, gazing at the desolation before her.

Panic prickled up her spine.

 
Her mind raced and raced for a way out of her predicament. “There’s no shelter.” Her voice rose like a eunuch, despite all efforts to remain calm. “Why do we stop here?”

Having tied his mount to the craggy cedar, Barak turned back toward her, a thin smile stretched across his lips.
“Because I wish to.”
His smile of satisfaction deepened as he strode toward her. He yanked her from the saddle, fingers biting into her arms like talons.

Isabeau twisted and turned attempting to free herself from his merciless grip, but she could not loose him.

Barak released her so suddenly she fell back, smashing her elbows on the rocky ground as she attempted to save herself.

Before she could recover he jumped atop her, straddling her legs and pinning her arms above her head.

“Go ahead! Do it!” She screamed between short gasps, straining for air with Barak’s weight pressed down hard on her breast. “But, take heed before you do,” she spat. “I’ll make certain I tell Newbury ‘twas you who took my maidenhead. He won’t be very happy when he discovers you cheated him out of the pleasure.”

Barak’s green eyes widened. “He’d never believe that!”

“Why?
Because you’ve dealt so honestly with him in the past?”
Isabeau let go a bitter laugh. “Oh, I think he would.”

“You impudent whore!”
Barak shook her then spat in her face as he pushed himself off of her, rising to his feet with a snarl twisting his lips. Before she could wipe the spittle from her cheeks, he reached down and grabbed her by the neckline of her kirtle, hauling her to her feet, nearly strangling her in the process.

She attempted to flee, but only managed to choke herself further.

He slapped her across the face so hard her ears began to ring.

The blow knocked her to the ground, disorienting her to the point where the earth seemed to swim and shake beneath her, and for a moment, she thought she heard voices.

When the black spots cleared from her eyes she realized she’d been right. The earth had shook.

From the steady thrum of Mercury’s hooves and Beaufort and William’s mounts.

Isabeau’s heart lifted, as she stumbled to her feet wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

Barak expelled a curse as he raced to his chestnut Destrier, boots kicking up dust and stones as he went.

When he turned from the beast, sword in hand, Alec stood waiting, mouth flattened, blue eyes narrowed to cobalt slits.

Their swords met with a hollow clang.

Barak fought like a cornered animal, and so he was, wielding his sword wildly, delivering one powerful blow after another.

Sweat beaded on Alec’s forehead from the effort it took to fend off Barak’s assault. One well-placed thrust missed him by a finger, wrenching a gasp from Isabeau, but she need not have worried, for, as at Langley’s tournament Alec’s agility eventually began to win out.

Barak tired, huffing and puffing, sweat dripping down the bridge of his nose. Wielding his sword high he brought it down hard, like a club, the steel slicing the air with an eerie whine. But in his fatigued state, he had misjudged the angle of his attack.

Alec’s blade caught the edge of Barak’s sword with so much force it went spiraling to the dirt.

Barak made a wild dive for his sword, but before his fingers could grasp the hilt, he felt the prick of Alec’s blade against his neck.

“Yield and I will spare you for Isabeau’s sake,” Alec said through gritted teeth, his chest heaving.

Barak glared up at him, but conceded, saying with little grace, “I have no choice, ‘twould seem.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Beaufort said, striding forward to take over guarding Barak’s throat.

Isabeau rushed forward, overcome with joy and relief, her heart pounding fast. She needed to feel him and touch him and know that he was real.

Alec met her halfway, enfolding her in his arms, squeezing her so tight, she couldn’t catch her breath. Then he drew back. “Never do that again! Do you understand? Never leave me again!” He kissed her on both cheeks then hugged her tight again. “I love you,” He breathed against her ear. “You are my life!”

“I love you too.” She kissed him again through salty tears.

“What should we do with him?”

They drew apart to regard Beaufort.

He smiled grimly, a predatory gleam alight his amber eyes. “Should I kill him, my lady, or do you want the pleasure?”

“Leave him to me.” Will hustled forward, one eye and cheek blotched black and purple, no doubt a gift from Barak or the monster twins.

Isabeau sucked in a sharp breath.
“Nay!”

“He’s your kin.” Alec said, meeting Isabeau’s gaze, a wry smile twisting his lips as he strode toward her, sheathing his sword as he went. “What do you suggest, my lady?”

It didn’t take her long to consider the matter. “He’d bring a tidy ransom, don’t you think?”

 
“That he would, my sweet.” Alec drew her close with one arm to drop a kiss on her lips, making her heart leap. “But one ransom is all I need.

 
“You can’t keep that ransom.” Still aflutter and a little off balance from the silky feel of his lips, her voice rose to a squeak at the thought of Nicola’s outrage. “Nicola and Curran need it. They’re just starting a family and—”

“I’m speaking of your dowry, my love.” Alec said, putting a finger to her lips to end her tirade. “I’m not as greedy as you once accused me of.”

Heat suffused her cheeks, remembering how she’d once questioned his honor.

“Well?” Beaufort demanded, impatience crinkling his brow.

“He’s worth more alive,” Alec threw over his shoulder. “Truss him up and cart him home. You can hold him for ransom, and after, Agnew can feed him to Newbury’s sister.”

“You whoreson bastard!!!”
Barak raged before Will stuffed a rag in his mouth and tied a leather strip around his head.

 
Isabeau’s tone turned wry. “Mayhap you should have killed him?”

Alec shrugged. “He’s your cousin, for good or bad.”

“True.” Isabeau’s belly knotted remembering what Barak had done to Nicola—what he had almost done to her, and the shame he had brought their family. “But I would have killed him, had I a weapon, if you hadn’t arrived when you did.”

“Then, ‘tis well I fought him and not you, else our tale would have had a different end.”

“I fear we’ll never be safe as long as he lives.”

“You’ll always be safe,” Alec said, gathering her closer in his arms, “As long as I’m here, he’ll never harm you again. Or the next time, kin or no kin, I’ll kill him myself.”

“We’ll make a pact then.” Isabeau grinned. “You save me from my family and I’ll save you from yours.” She clung to him, hugging him tight, needing to feel the heat of his body, needing to know that it was really him—that he was flesh and blood. She laid her head in the curve between his neck and his chest. He smelled so clean, like the snow and the wind, and everything good, and yet he felt so warm, and hard and safe.

“You’re right. ‘Tis best that neither of us start killing off our own kin. The deed would haunt us both after we’re wed,” Alec said, producing the amulet from under his surcoat,
then
lifting it off over his head. “You forgot something when you left.” He pressed the amulet into her hand,
then
brought her hand to his lips to kiss the backs of her fingertips. “When I sent this gift, the words bore a different meaning. But from the moment I found you in the woods that changed. I think I loved you from the second I set eyes on you, Isabeau Dawney.”

 
She lifted it with trembling fingers over her head to place it around her neck,
then
cocked a saucy smile. “’Tis a pity you did not show it.”

He drew her into his arms. “I will show it for the rest of my life.”

“And how do you propose to do that, my lord,” she said lifting her arms around his neck.

 
“Like this,” he whispered against her ear,
then
kissed her with such passion it left her breathless. “Does that meet with your approval?”

“That will do very well I think,” she said when she could eventually catch her breath, her heart beating with such joy she could not think.

But three words repeated in her head.

Love never lies.

To find true happiness, it cannot be denied.

And she had finally found it.

THE END