The Guardian

she didn’t like to hear it, he also loved her for her devotion to his family, for there was such goodness in it.

He liked that she said her mind and stood up for herself. And that she gave herself to him without holding back. When she was a wee thing, she trusted him to rescue her from mishaps. And now that she was a woman, she trusted him with her heart.

He would do his best to deserve it, now and always.

When he smelled porridge and heard the murmur of male voices coming from downstairs, he knew he had to get up. Still, he let himself watch Sileas’s face and the steady rise and fall of her chest for a few moments more. It was hard to make himself leave her, even though he knew he would sleep with her again tonight—and most nights for the rest of his life.

But Ian needed to talk with his father before Connor and the others left. A suspicion too horrible to believe at first had taken root in Ian’s mind about what really happened at Flodden. He hoped his father’s memory had improved with his health.

CHAPTER 31

Sileas hummed to herself as she washed up at the basin and dressed. How late had she slept? It was quiet downstairs, giving her hope she would find Ian alone. Her face grew warm at the thought of facing Beitris and Payton after last night. What if they had heard her through the walls?

Her limbs were so loose that her legs wobbled as she went down the stairs.

Her foot had barely touched the bottom step when Alex banged through the front door, holding his side. She blinked, unable to take in what was happening for a moment.

Good God, that was blood dripping through his fingers! As Ian and Niall helped Alex to a chair, she bolted for the kitchen to get a cloth and basin of water. By the time she returned, Ian had removed Alex’s plaid and cut his shirt open, revealing a deep red gash down Alex’s side and another on his thigh.

“Ian, ye must go for Connor and Duncan,” Alex said, speaking in short bursts between gasps for air. “They’re hurt far worse than me.”

Alex winced as Sileas began to clean the wound on his side with the wet cloth.

“Where will I find them?” Ian said.

“We were ambushed on the path, less than a mile north of here,” Alex said. “But they’re in no shape to walk.”

“Let’s go,” Ian said to Niall. “We’ll take the horses.”

“Ian.” Alex’s voice stopped him at the door. “They left us for dead, so I don’t think they’ll be back. But keep a sharp eye, all the same.”

“How many men?” Ian asked.

“Twenty when they attacked us,” Alex said. “A few less now.”

Beitris had come into the room in the midst of this exchange and immediately set to helping Sileas staunch the blood from Alex’s wounds.

After the door slammed behind Ian and Niall, Sileas said, “We’ll need ye to lie down, Alex, so we can sew up that cut on your face. It looks deep.”

“There’s no need,” Alex said, but he let them help him to the floor by the fire.

“Careful now,” she said, “I think ye may have broken a rib or two.”

Sileas built up the fire while Beitris went to get needle and thread.

“We’ll need to work fast,” Beitris said when she returned, “so we’re ready when they bring in Connor and Duncan.”

Fear hammered at Sileas’s heart as she washed blood and dirt from the wound on Alex’s cheek. If Alex was the least hurt, what must the other two look like?

“Can ye tell me what happened?” she asked to divert him from what she was doing.

“They were looking for us.” Alex sucked in his breath as she took the first stitch to close the gash. “I’m guessing someone saw us crossing the water yesterday.”

“Was it Hugh?” she asked.

“No.” Alex winced as she drew the needle through again. “It was the MacKinnons and a few of their good friends, the MacLeods.”

Sileas’s fingers froze. “Are ye sure? What would they be doing here, so far into MacDonald territory?”

“That’s a verra good question,” Alex said. “Your step-da Murdoc was with them. And that ugly ox Angus as well.”

Sileas swallowed back the panic rising in her throat and forced herself to keep her hand steady as she finished up the stitches. Then she took the salve Beitris handed her and rubbed it gently over the wound.

“There ye go,” she said, wiping her hands. “Ye might have a scar, but that will just make ye more interesting to the lasses.”

They worked quickly to clean and bind his other wounds.

“Lie still,” Beitris told Alex, as she got up from her knees. “Now we’d best get clean water and blankets for the others.”

No sooner had they gathered the blankets than Ian burst through the door carrying Duncan. The huge, red- haired man’s head lolled against Ian’s arm, as if he were a sleeping child. Sileas spread a blanket on the floor by the hearth where Alex had lain a few moments before. Ian dropped to his knees and gently laid Duncan down between them.

“I need to help Niall with Connor.” Ian met her eyes. “He’s verra bad.”