Hannah Howell Read online

  “Ah, Revan, my gallant stallion. It has been a very long time.”

  The sultry voice speaking his true name startled Revan so he choked slightly on his ale and abruptly sat up straight. He stared at the buxom brunette leaning against the small rough table in front of him and struggled not to reveal his horror. The very last thing he could afford at this time was to be recognized. As he forced a smile for her, he tried to think of a way to make her hold her silence.

  “Mary, what are ye doing here? The last time I set eyes upon you, ye were living in Edinburgh.”

  “Aye, but there was a wee bit of trouble, and my protector took to wife a very jealous lass.” She reached out to thread her fingers through his still damp hair. “This poor spot is where I was born. I came home for a time.” Mary trailed a finger over his cheek as she leaned forward, allowing her low neckline to gape open. “Ye canna ken how very pleased I am to see you again. I have been stranded here for months with naught to entertain me save farmers and drovers.”

  Revan grunted in surprise when she settled herself upon his lap and wrapped her arms about his neck. Her kiss was one of skilled passion. It did nothing for him. The narrow-eyed look she gave him when she pulled away told him she not only had sensed his complete disinterest but was infuriated by it. He struggled to think of a way to soothe that anger. Revan recalled that Mary could be as wild in her fury as she was in a bedchamber. She felt insulted, and that could make her very dangerous.

  “ ’Tis good to see that ye are well, Mary,” he said as he gently set her away from him.

  “Is it? Ye dinna seem too pleased to me. I remember when—”

  “I remember it as well,” he said hastily, “but ’twas six months ago or more. My life has taken a new turn since then. I have a new lover.”

  “Do ye mean that wee brown lass dressed as a boy?” She stood before him, her fists planted firmly upon her full hips. “Ye would choose that skinny, flesh-bare child over me?”

  It was hard for Revan to soften his words. Her disparaging remarks about Tess infuriated him. He looked at the full-curved Mary and felt no desire. Her scent was one of heavy perfume poorly disguising the aroma of rarely washed clothes and skin. She had more for a man to hold on to, but Revan could not remember a single time when she had fit in his hold as perfectly as Tess did. Mary had skill and a hunger to satisfy many men, but Revan no longer counted himself one of those. The way she glared at him made him realize his less than charitable thoughts were being reflected in his face.

  “ ’Tis the way of it, Mary. I owe you no explanation.” He immediately saw that he had taken the wrong tack with the woman.

  “We were lovers. I gave myself to you.”

  Since he was caught up in the argument already, he decided to see it through. “Ye were well paid for that ‘giving.’ ” He swiftly finished off his ale, slammed the dented tankard down onto the table, and stood up. “I have no need for a lover now. Ye demean yourself by pressing the matter. Find yourself a man with the will and the purse to pay for it.”

  Mary slipped her arms around his neck and rubbed her body against his. “Faithfulness is very admirable, Sir Halyard, but ye shouldna allow it to steal all pleasure from your life.”

  “I wouldna practice faithfulness if it didna pleasure me. I am not so unselfish.” He tugged free of her hold and grasped her tightly by the arms. “Now, heed me, my fair Mary,” he said, making his voice cold. “While I abide here, I am not Sir Halyard but Wallace Frazer, a common man-at-arms. Ye best recall that upon what few occasions ye may need to address me. Ye will also forget my companion. I had none with me should any ask. Ye will do as I command, or ye will forfeit that beauty ye use to ply such a fine living.” Despite the way she glared at him, he saw the hint of fear in her eyes and believed his warning would be heeded.

  “Ye ask a great deal of me, yet I see no profit in obedience.” She yanked free of his grip and rubbed her arms.

  With a soft curse Revan extracted a few coins from his pocket and thrust them into her hand. “There, woman. Ye are now better paid to hold your tongue than ye ever have been for your reputed charms.”

  Although she closed her fingers tightly over the coins, she hissed, “This insult will be remembered.”

  “It had best be forgotten. This game ye have stumbled into far outweighs your petty jealousies and tantrums. If I ever have reason to believe ye have been the cause of trouble for me, I shall still that clattering tongue of yours forever.”

  Revan pushed past her and headed toward his chambers. He ignored the insulting and ribald comments of the group of men he passed who loudly questioned his manhood because he had pushed the fulsome Mary away. As he hurried up the narrow wooden steps to the room where Tess was waiting for him, he tried to think of a way to explain why he stank of Mary’s somewhat cloying scent.

  The moment he stepped into the room he had bought for the night, he forgot all about Mary, the trouble she could cause, or any explanations. Tess stood by the bed, smiling faintly and nervously, dressed as a woman should be. Her thick midnight hair tumbled over her slim shoulders and was gently held back from her face by two hairpins of bone. As he shut and bolted the door, she gathered up a little of her skirts in each hand and turned in a circle. The gown could not be considered in fashion, it was faded and it did not fit her perfectly, being a bit too long and too wide at the waist, but he thought she looked endearingly lovely.

  “Ah, lass, when ye finally gain the gowns your fortune and birth can fetch you, every Scotsman with blood in his veins will be rendered speechless.” He tossed his cape and hat on a stool by the door and took a step toward her. “I ken it because of how ye flatter this wee pretty dress.”

  Tess could feel the tingling heat of a blush cover her cheeks. “Mayhaps ’twas wrong to spend your coin so, but I saw this in the mercer’s shop and suddenly ached to be rid of my lad’s clothes, if only for a wee while.”

  “Seeing you like this, how can I begrudge the cost?”

  He took her into his arms and combed his fingers through her hair. Tess’s pleasure abruptly ended as she caught the scent of another woman upon his clothes, a heavy flowery scent that made her wrinkle her nose. In her mind the voice of caution advised her to ignore it. The woman’s scent might cling to his doublet, but the woman herself was not there. It was Tess he held. Then came the crisp voice of jealousy echoing through her mind, demanding to know just where he had been before he had come to her. Just where, when, and how had he gained the perfume upon his clothes?

  “The blacksmith of this village must be a very odd fellow,” she murmured.

  Revan pulled away a little to look down at her. The way she crinkled up her pretty nose and scowled at his doublet explained her strange words. He had briefly forgotten how Mary left her heavy scent on a man. It had been the one thing that had often left him displeased when they had been lovers.

  “I fear I was accosted by a wench eager for a bit of coin.”

  “Ye need offer me no explanations.” Tess suddenly began to heed the voice of caution.

  “Nay, I dinna, but I will. The reasons I feel I owe ye one are too many to list, the greatest being that we are bound together in this time of danger and treachery.”

  It pleased Tess to hear him speak of a bond even if it was not the sort she wished to share with him. She was also pleased that he felt there was reason to explain himself to her. He could just as easily have agreed that he owed her nothing. She much preferred this display of honesty. Yet, she inwardly grimaced, she prayed she would continue to be pleased after she had heard what he had to say.

  “So ye were accosted, were ye?” She smiled faintly finding it easy to believe that a woman would work hard to try and catch Revan’s eye.

  “Aye. I fear she scented the coin in my pocket.” He was debating the wisdom of admitting to his past relationship with Mary when there was a rap at the door. “That should be our meal.”

  “More than porridge, I pray.”

  “Much more,”
Revan answered as he opened the door, and two young boys hurried in with heavily laden trays.

  Tess clasped her hands in delight and anticipation. The trays were loaded up with meat, bread, cheese, and wine. The boys had barely set them down upon the table near the window when she was there to inspect the feast. She ignored Revan’s soft laughter as he pressed a coin into each lad’s hand, then ushered them out of the room.

  “Dinna wait upon me—begin,” he said as he shut and bolted the door.

  After she set the tiny wooden bench closer to the table, Tess sat down but did not immediately start to eat. “I am not sure which to savor first.”

  Revan sat on another small bench opposite her. “Ye had best not hesitate too long, or I shall have eaten it all.” He grabbed a still-warm loaf of bread and, after slipping his eating knife free of its sheath at his waist, began to slice it.

  She helped herself to one of the thick slices of bread he cut and spooned some honey over it. Revan poured them each a tankard of wine. With only the occasional exchange of smiles over their gluttony, she and Revan proceeded to eat every morsel of food upon the trays.

  When Revan offered her the last slice of bread, Tess shook her head and placed her hands over her stomach. “I am full nearly to bursting.”

  “There is a cure for that.” Revan finished the last slice of bread and took a hearty drink of wine.

  “Oh? And what might that be, other than to cease indulging in such wanton gluttony?”

  He stood up and moved to stand beside her. “Well, first we must remove this tight bodice.” He began to unlace it.

  As she watched him undo her gown, Tess smiled faintly. She did not need to see the look in his eyes to know that he was no longer thinking of her overindulgence at the table. His hope was to inspire her to another overindulgence—in the bed. That husky note of rising desire was in his voice. She felt her body begin to respond to it.

  “Ah, so that I might breathe with more ease?”

  “So I may breathe with less ease.” He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the high, curtained bed.

  “And that will help to cure me of gluttony?” she asked as he laid her down on the bed, then sat down on the edge of it and began to tug off his boots.

  “Let us say I hope to change the source of your gluttony from that of one for food to one for something else.” He laid down on his side next to her.

  “I had suspected as much.” She put her arms about his neck and tugged him closer. “We are to halt here for the night?”

  “Aye.” He began to brush soft, light kisses over her face. “The horse has been reshod, but so few hours were left to the day that there didna seem much point in moving on. Though the night will be a short one, as we must leave at first light, I saw no harm in our spending it in comfort.”

  “Ye shall hear no complaint from me, but—are ye certain we can be safe here even through a short night?”

  Only briefly did Revan consider Mary as a possible danger. The woman was uncommonly fond of her own skin. She may doubt the truth of his threats, but she would not dare to risk her life or beauty in challenging the worth of them.

  “Ay, ’tis safe enough. No one shall disturb us.”

  Mary cursed under her breath as she eluded the grasping hands of the two men she was serving. She slammed the tankards of ale down in front of them. They were handsome enough, but they had little coin to spare. And coin was what she needed. Without it she would be stuck in the tiny village until age robbed her of her beauty. When she had seen Revan, she had thought he was the answer to her prayers, that he would free her of the bonds of boredom and toil she was caught in all the while she lingered within the village.

  She strode back to the bar, slouching against it, and cursed Revan yet again. He had scorned her, even threatened her. It infuriated her, but there was nothing she could do, no way she could make him pay for the insult he had dealt her.

  The arrival of four well-armed men drew her out of her angry thoughts. They demanded ale, and she quickly filled tankards for them. Their armor was not that of a full knight but fine enough to hint at some coin in their purses, coin enough to be of use to her. As she neared the table the men sat round, she noticed that they wore the colors of the Douglas, and she saw the chance for even more gain. The Douglases owned nearly half of Scotland. The men who worked for such a powerful family had to be well paid and could even have some power themselves, if only through their liege lord. A little flattery, a little catering to their passions, and the day could yet prove to be a profitable one.

  “Here, my fine stalwart soldiers,” she said, smiling invitingly as she set their tankards down on the table before them. “ ’Tis the sweetest ale in all of the borderlands.”

  The tallest of the four wrapped his arm about her waist and tugged her close to his side. “And a fair maid to serve it to us. I can think of no better way to end my searching than to rest a night in your fair arms.”

  “Spend the night where ye will, Howard,” said a short, burly man at his side. “But ’twill not mark the end of this search.”

  “God’s tears, we have searched every inch of the borderlands and gained naught for our troubles.”

  “Not every inch, and we had best not return to the Douglas with empty hands until we can swear to just that. He will hang us from his keep’s great walls and leave us there for the corbies to feast upon if he thinks we were slack in our duty.”

  “What do ye search for?” Mary asked, allowing Howard to tug her down onto his lap.

  “ ’Tis none of your concern, wench,” grumbled the short, burly man.

  “Nay, yet I could be of some help.”

  “Hah! Have ye heard of the reward offered? Is that it?”

  “Nay. A reward, is there? Well, I should like a fair chance at it.”

  The man opened his purse and set twenty-five gold riders upon the table. “This is the reward offered for aid in capturing or killing Sir Revan Halyard and his companion. And, so, wench, take your chance.”

  Mary could not believe her luck. She reached for the coin only to have the man grab her tightly by the wrist, halting her. “The coin is mine.”

  “Not until I am certain ye have earned it, wench. Ye have told me naught yet, if ye even ken anything of any worth.”

  “The man ye seek is right over your heads, ye great fools.” She chuckled when each of them glanced upward.

  “Ye mean Halyard is here—in this very inn?”

  “Aye. He has taken a bedchamber above. He and his wench.”

  “The lass is with him?”

  “Oh, aye. The lass is dressed as a lad. She is the one ye look for, aye?”

  “Aye.” He released her hand but quickly took up ten of the coins, allowing her to grab only fifteen.

  “Here!” she cried and leapt to her feet. “Ye said the reward was all of that.”

  “I have yet to see the proof of what ye have told us. In truth, why should I believe ye at all? How could some common tavern wench ken a king’s knight? Aye, and his secrets, his comings and goings?”

  “Common tavern wench, am I?” she snapped. “I have refused far better men than you. Sir Revan Halyard was my lover for nigh onto a sixmonth when I was in Edinburgh. I ken the man very well indeed. He calls himself Wallace Frazer for the moment, but I wasna fooled. He and the skinny wench are in the best chamber. Just go up the stairs, and ’tis the door to your right. I will have the rest of that coin now.”

  “Ye will have it when I have them. Come on, men,” he ordered the other three as he stood up and strode toward the narrow stairway. “This may be the night we can end this thrice-cursed search.”

  Mary smiled as she watched them hurry up the stairway. She sat down and helped herself to one of their tankards of ale. When she heard them begin to try and break down the door, she wandered outside to stand beneath Revan’s window. If he was to die, she at least wished to hear it. It would pay for the insult he had dealt her.

  CHAPTER 11

&nb
sp; “Open this door, Halyard!”

  A thundering crash against the door followed that bellowed command. Revan leapt from the bed, cursing himself for a fool. He had heard sounds, noises that had alerted the soldier within him, but his hunger for Tess had held him in her arms. Instead of heeding what had been the sound of four well-armed men hurriedly approaching their room, he had continued to stroke and kiss Tess. That distraction had cost them a valuable minute or two. He yanked on his boots, grimly determined not to let his error cost them too dearly now.

  “We are trapped,” Tess whispered even as she scrambled off of the bed and swiftly donned her boots.

  “Nay, dearling. We may yet escape if we act swiftly.” He buckled on his sword. “Grab up all ye can safely carry and slip out through the window.”

  “Halyard!” one of the men bellowed while they continued to hurl themselves against the door in an attempt to break into the bedchamber. “We ken ye are in there. Your Edinburgh whore told us.”

  “Mary. That she-devil!” hissed Revan. “ ’Tis clear I didna pay her enough for her silence.”

  Tess hesitated only a moment over the indication that the woman who had left her scent on Revan had been more than some unknown tavern wench. Now was a poor time to delve into the matter. The woman had betrayed them, and it was time to flee. With the saddle pack draped about her neck, the wineskin over her shoulder and a blanket tied about her waist, Tess hurried over to the window. One glance out of it left her certain that Revan had taken the room because of the ease with which they could flee it if the need arose. A series of shabby outbuildings cluttered the area below and provided an odd stairway to the ground. After shoving the table out of her way, she gathered her skirts, swung her leg over the sill, and looked toward Revan.