Bram caught her hand and drew her outside the broken wall. He spied Alex and Ross starting to make their own escape, and he led the woman to their horses.
When Alex and Ross arrived with the others, the chief lost his temper. “Bram, what in God’s name have you done? She’s not coming with us.”
“We can’t leave her there,” he argued.
“She’s one of them,” Alex snapped. “And if you bring her, Cairnross’s men will follow her to Glen Arrin.”
“No,” the woman interrupted. “If you send word to my father, he’ll come for me and you will be rewarded.”
“And just who is your father?” Alex demanded.
The woman’s face turned cool. “Guy de Montpierre, the Duc D’Avignois.”
At that, Alex’s face grew intrigued. Bram could read his brother’s thoughts without words. Rescuing the daughter of a French duke might result in a reward for their clan.
“I am Marguerite de Montpierre,” the woman continued, offering them a regal nod. “I was betrothed to Lord Cairnross.” From the distaste upon her face, it was evident that she had not wanted to marry the man.
Bram wasn’t certain why the duke would want his daughter to wed an English lord instead of a French nobleman, but he didn’t ask. Perhaps there were other reasons for the alliance.
“You may have our protection until your father arrives,” Alex agreed. “But you’d best pray that Cairnross doesn’t find you.”
The woman pulled the hood of her cloak over her veil and Bram boosted her onto the saddle. In the distance, the garrison was in flames and he saw it crumbling to the ground.
“I’m glad to see it destroyed,” Marguerite remarked.
“How long were you there?” Bram asked, as he climbed up behind her, urging the horse faster.
“Only a sennight. But the prisoners . . .” She shuddered at the memory.
Bram said nothing, not wanting to know what had happened since he’d escaped. He knew well enough the sorts of tortures that the soldiers used. His chest tightened at the memory.
“Did you ever see a man called Callum MacKinloch?” Bram asked, though it was likely a fruitless hope. “Younger than me, one of our brothers?”
“He was sent away a few days ago,” Lady Marguerite admitted. “Oui, I saw him.”
“Where?”
She shook her head, keeping her gaze fixed forward. “To the south. That’s all I know.”
“But he was alive and unharmed?”
“Alive, yes.”
But she didn’t say unharmed. Within her voice Bram heard a note of worry and wondered what they’d done to his brother.
Don’t think of it now, he urged himself. At least he had a place to begin searching. And in the meantime, until they found his brother, he would spend every minute training.
Never again would he find himself too frozen to move, letting the nightmares of the past dominate him. He would rebuild the skills he’d lost over the years, no matter how long it took.
And he wouldn’t give up until Callum was found.
Four days later
“You’ve gone brainless,” Dougal told Nairna.
She shrugged. “If you’re too frightened to escort me, I’ll find someone else.”
Her barb struck its mark and Dougal stiffened. “And what if I don’t want to? I don’t even like you.”
