Page 86 of Cottage in the Mist
“I could say the same for you.” Bram felt the back of his eyes prick. Bloody hell, he’d not expected to ever see the man again. And yet here he was smiling up at him.All of that thanks to Lily, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind, but he ruthlessly pushed the thought aside. “How are you feeling?”
“As if I’ve been gutted like a pig and then roasted on a spit for all to see.”
“Well, ’tis my understanding that between the attack and the healers you’re no’ far wrong. But the important thing is that they’re saying you’ll get better.”
“The lass?” Robby asked, struggling to sit up. “Lily?”
“Be still,” Bram soothed. “You’re far too weak to be trying to rise. Lily is here. Just over there.” He nodded in her direction and his friend calmed.
“She saved my life.”
“That she did,” Bram agreed. At least of that much he was certain.
Behind him, he felt Frazier creeping closer, the man clearly needing to feel a part of things. But Bram wanted time alone with his friend, so he turned and waved Frazier back again. With a grimace, the man obeyed.
Turning back to Robby, Bram was surprised to find his friend’s face gone white, his eyes wide with concern. “You’ve brought Frazier?” he asked, his breathing harsher now.
“Aye, he managed to escape as well.”
Robby shook his head slightly and whispered something Bram couldn’t hear.
“Hold on,” Bram said, bending closer. “I can barely hear you.”
Robby’s face had gone from white to red, his mouth moving, his eyes, if possible, even wider. “Traitor,” he whispered. “Traitor.”
Bram struggled for understanding. Was he still talking about Lily? Bram’s blood ran cold at the thought, but surely he’d missed something.
“Robby, I know—“ he began, but was cut off by Lily’s scream.
“Bram, watch out, he’s got a knife.”
Almost simultaneously, Robby surged up, his face twisted in anger. “Traitor,” he said again.
And for half a second, Bram believed Robby was coming for him. But then in an instant his mind cleared, the truth sinking in, and he grabbed his dagger, swinging around to face Frazier as the other man snarled and leapt at him, showing no favor at all to his supposedly injured knee.
Off to his left, he could see Lily edging toward Robby, who was trying valiantly to push to his feet. But it was Frazier who held his attention, the other man swinging his blade, managing a cut across Bram’s shoulder.
Behind him, he heard Lily’s sharp intake of breath, and then Robby speaking. “’Twas Frazier. He’s the one who tried to kill me. He’s in league with the men who attacked Dunbrae.”
Bram dodged another of Frazier’s thrusts, his mind scrambling to make sense of what had just been revealed. “But you helped to save me.” The words came out of their own volition as he circled the older man.
“No’ by choice,” Frazier snarled, brandishing the knife. “I had no weapon, so there was no way I could take both you and Robby. I had to let you go.”
“And then followed me to Iain’s.”
“After making sure your own people believed it was you who’d betrayed yer clan.” His smile was twisted, almost feral, his eyes glittering with hatred. “If the attack on Duncreag had worked, I’d no’ have had to come at all. But someone had to make sure you were taken care of.”
“Murdered, you mean.” Bram shifted, looking for an opening as he realized it must have been Frazier who let Murdoc go and that the old man had most likely pretended to be injured earlier in an attempt to lure Bram into a trap. Only his cousins’ timely arrival had spared his life.
“Aye,” Frazier was saying. “With you dead, everything will finally be as it should be.”
Frazier lunged again, but Bram managed to dodge the blade, this time answering with a thrust of his own. He felt the knife slice through the man’s plaid but knew he hadn’t managed to draw blood.
Frazier danced back, his agility belying his age. With a quick twist, he freed a second blade from his boot and advanced slowly, his eyes dark with rage.
Bram reached for his claymore, cursing himself when he felt the empty scabbard. In the heat of his desire to see Robby, he’d left it in the copse of trees where he’d been talking with Alec. Still, he was younger and stronger than Frazier.
Frazier attacked again, using both knives to advantage, forcing Bram to retreat slightly, the two of them still circling. As Frazier moved toward Robby, Lily stepped closer, clearly wanting to protect the injured man, but in so doing she’d also put herself in range of Frazier’s knife.
