Page 80 of Intrigued By A Highlander

Dru chuckled. “And you haven’t started one to see where it might lead?

Quim laughed. “You know us too well, Dru.”

“I heard a rumor I thought you fellows might have started—that Phelan, a mercenary, caught Autumn.”

“Sax started that one,” Atley said. “He got mad when some woman he tried to have his way with one night complained to his wife. She made him pay for that discretion and Sax wanted revenge, so he made sure Phelan was pointed in the woman’s direction.”

“And since she was new to the clan, no one could say otherwise,” Olin said. “Even Sax’s wife believed it and blamed the woman for the incident with her husband. And with no one confirming who she is…” Olin shrugged. “She’s doomed.”

“What makes you think she’s not Autumn?” Knox asked.

“Everyone knows that Autumn’s dead. She died shortly after her mum and?—”

Quim rushed to disagree. “That’s a tall tale, Fyfe.”

“A true one,” Fyfe argued.

Olin chimed in. “She’s buried with her mum.”

“That’s nonsense,” Atley said, shaking his head. “Someone would have dug up the grave by now to see if that was true.”

“Maybe we should,” Quim said. “That information could bring good coin.”

“It’s not right to desecrate a grave,” Olin warned.

Quim laughed. “Afraid the occupant will protest.”

His other brothers laughed along with Quim.

Olin jumped to his feet. “Are you calling me a coward?”

“He’s not calling you a coward, Olin,” Dru said, trying to prevent the sparks that flew between the brothers from erupting into a fiery battle.

“I don’t have to call him a coward. His reluctance says it all,” Quim said with a smirk, clearly enjoying himself far too much.

Knox watched Dru step away from the pair and he stepped closer to her prepared to shield and whisk her away, sensing the brothers were about to explode.

“Dru…” he murmured, low enough that only she could hear, “we need to go.”

She nodded, familiar with how tempers could flare quickly and senselessly between the brothers and doing her best not to get caught up in it.

“No one’s a coward,” Fyfe said, lifting his hands in an attempt to calm the situation. “So, what if Olin wants to avoid?—”

No sooner had the words left his lips than Olin lunged.

Quim met him head-on with a grunt, and they both went down, knocking over one of the small barrels of ale that spilled into the fire with a hiss.

“Bloody arseholes, you spilled the ale,” Atley shouted and cursed at the pair as he tried to rescue what was left in the barrel.

He stumbled and fell into Fyfe who spun and swung before knowing who’d touched him. In the span of a breath, all four MacTavish brothers were tangled in a mess of limbs, curses, and grunts, fists flying without much aim and less sense.

Knox moved fast, tucking Dru behind him just as Quim’s foot kicked a spray of embers from the fire.

“Stay close,” Knox ordered, his voice calm but firm, his eyes scanning for the safest path out.

They began to edge away when Olin landed a punch on Quim that sent him flying right into Knox. Dru barely managed to avoid the fall, stumbling but keeping on her feet. Not so Knox. He and Quim went down.

Knox avoided a couple of wild punches from Quim before making it to his feet. But he had no choice to throw a fierce one himself when Quim stood and swung again. He missed. Knox didn’t, and Quim went down hard.

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