Page 46 of The Guardian's Witch

“Alex.”

“Who’s there?” He glanced at the door but didn’t bother to get up.

Jamie rubbed his hands together. “Drinking are you? It’s no fun to drink alone. Did you save some for me?”

Alex peeked into the pitcher, turned it upside down, and shook it. “Not a drop—go get your own. Wait.” He held up his hand. “I’m the lord here and you’re my guest. I’ll get the ale.” He stood up on unsteady feet.

Jamie tapped him on the shoulder sending him back into the chair. “You stay put. I’ll get the ale myself. I wouldn’t want you cracking your head nor do I want to carry your dead weight up the cellar steps.” He left and moments later brought back a full pitcher.

“She’s tossed me over for Bryce.Bryce. She didn’t deny it. I thought... I thought...”

“For Bryce?”

“I told her not to leave Glen Kirk. We tracked her here, then to Ravencroft. Go look inside for yourself.” He pointed to the bedroom.

“I don’t have to look at the room. Go over everything again just as it happened. Don’t leave one thing out.” Jamie moved a chair by the hearth to the table. “What’s all this blood?”

“Lisbeth said it’s Bryce’s but he didn’t look like he’d been injured.”

Jamie searched the floor. He found droplets that led to the window. He went outside and a few minutes later returned. “You’re right. The blood isn’t Bryce’s. I found blood spots on the other side of the window and in the garden. They led to a dead rabbit in the hedgerow. It wasn’t killed by an animal. Its neck has been sliced open.”

Alex picked up his head and tried to think clearly. He remembered one of his men mentioning a dead rabbit.

“Did you ask her why she was at Ravencroft?” Jamie sat by the table, the ale forgotten.

“No.” Alex gave Jamie a questioning look. He held his head in his hands, his elbows on the table. “I asked her why she came here. I didn’t ask her why she was at Ravencroft.”

“She didn’t tell you why she was there?”

“No, Bryce did. I told him I’d come for Lisbeth, and he said she had asked for sanctuary, sanctuary from me.”

“What did you say?”

Alex leaned his back against the chair. “Why, I told Bryce she was mine, given to me by the king.”

“And she heard you?” Jamie slapped his hand on the table. “Did you explain to her afterward?” Jamie sat forward and jabbed his finger on the table to make his point clear.

“I did not. I told her we were married by proxy, nothing else.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” He got out of his chair and paced in front of Alex. “You’re a prideful man, Alex. Your pride is a good defense with your enemies, possibly even your king, but not with your woman. Pride won’t keep you warm at night nor bring a smile to your face, a laugh to your heart, or a babe to your arms. Pride can be cold and lonely.” He sat back down at the table.

“Faith.” Alex ran his hand through his hair, pulling at it more than smoothing it down. “I felt her eyes on my back while I stood there protecting her.”

“Protecting her! Possessing her is not protecting her.”

Alex faced Jamie totally sober. “If I told him anything else, she’d become his pawn and in more danger than you can imagine.”

“You think Bryce is the enemy?”

“That’s the thing of it. Bryce knows about the marriage. He knows it’s a directive from King Edward. There is nothing he could gain but to create difficulty between Lisbeth and me. Something was not right. It’s as if I faced a different man. Yes, an enemy. I knew she was in danger, and I had to get her out of there. I chose my words carefully when I evoked the king’s name. He could not argue, and that was what I wanted. I had to get her to safety.”

“So why do you think she was at Ravencroft?” Jamie’s brow was creased with worry.

“I don’t know. Bryce had to know I would come after her.” He felt the screams of frustration building inside him. He jumped out of his chair and sent it flying. “Faith. He’s outsmarted me, Jamie. I’ve done exactly what he intended. I declared Lisbeth my property, like livestock, given to me by the king. He wanted her to hear me.” He paced the room. “What’s Bryce up to?” He pounded his fist against the stone wall.

“Bryce knows you very well. He knows what you like, don’t like, where you excel, but most of all Bryce knows your fears,” said Jamie.

A flash of anger raced through Alex. “John told me she wanted to come to the lodge to see Laura. He reminded her I gave orders that everyone was to stay on the castle grounds. He never thought she would do otherwise.”

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