Page 76 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance

As he dressed, Esme slipped into her shift. “Be careful.”

“I don’t like leaving you alone or trusting you to warriors I don’t know if I can trust,” he said once he finished dressing.

“I will keep the door latched and open it to only you.”

“That helps me worry a bit less,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist and lifting her up against him to kiss her.

She rested her brow to his when the kiss ended and whispered, “Go and be done with it, Ryland. I miss you already.”

Ryland left, resuming his role as Torrance as soon as the door closed behind him. That she bid him good-bye as Ryland gave him hope that one day she would not see Torrance at all when she looked at him.

“See that no one enters… no one!” Torrance ordered the two warriors who stood guard at the sides of the cottage.

He walked off, two warriors following behind him to the meeting house.

The meeting house sat quiet beneath the late-night sky. Brack stood just outside the door, arms folded, a sour expression on his face.

“Gavin is anxious,” Brack said as Torrance approached. “He claims he has news worth hearing.”

“Let’s see if his tongue proves as useful as his sword should’ve been,” Torrance muttered, pushing the door open.

Inside the room, the firepit burned brightly, casting a good warmth throughout the large area. Gavin stood near the long table closest to the heat, his cloak damp and his boots caked with mud. A travel-weary slump bent his shoulders, but his eyes lifted quickly at Torrance’s entrance, and he straightened.

“My lord,” he greeted with a respectful nod, though his voice carried a tight edge, forced yet calm, perhaps even practiced.

Torrance said nothing at first. He took his time removing his cloak to drop on a bench, drawing out the moment as his gaze raked over the man. “You said you have news.”

Gavin nodded, stepping forward. “I did. Keeping to the trees, on my way home as you ordered, I caught sight of a few riders. I followed at a distance.” He paused, turning a quick glance toward Brack before continuing. “Mercenaries, I’d wager. The sort who fights for coins and little else or entices others with coins. I would not be surprised if it was them who caused the betrayal among our warriors.”

Brack’s brow furrowed, and he looked ready to speak, but Torrance raised a hand, bidding silence. He moved to the table, resting both palms on its edge, leaning slightly toward Gavin.

“That’s quite the tale, Gavin. Mercenaries, skulking through the woods, plotting betrayal.” Torrance gave a faint, humorless smile. “You must have followed them far to be gone as long as you were.”

“I did. I thought it important,” Gavin said quickly, too quickly. “They led me past the ridgeline. I returned as soon as I lost their trail.”

“And yet,” Torrance said with a hard gaze on the man, “I saw you.”

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “Saw me?”

Torrance straightened. “At Clan Stott. You were speaking with Chieftain Eagan.”

The room went still.

Brack stiffened beside him, turning sharply to Gavin, whose jaw flexed as if working through his next lie.

Torrance’s voice sliced through the heavy tension like a sharp blade. “Strange, isn’t it, how a man so busy tracking mercenaries ends up in conversation with a chieftain of the clan where I was meant to stay?”

Gavin opened his mouth but said nothing. The spark of surprise, or was it calculation, had already given him away.

Torrance held his gaze. “So go on, Gavin. Tell me again… about these mercenaries.”

Gavin hesitated, his mouth parting slightly, then snapped shut again as if weighing his words.

“Don’t keep me waiting,” Torrance cautioned.

“Aye, I did pass near Clan Stott,” he said at last, eyes darting between Torrance and Brack. “But only to see if they had any word of strangers in the area. Chieftain Eagan caught sight of me and summoned me. What was I to do? Refuse a chieftain and raise suspicion?”

Brack frowned but said nothing.

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