Exhausted, they fell asleep as they were, wrapped together, their skin glued together by sweat and passion.
An owl woke Bronwyn. She awoke with her eyes wide and her senses alert. Stephen was sprawled half on top of her, pinning her beneath him. She frowned as she remembered their previous passion. It was gone now, and her head ruled her disobedient body.
The sound of the owl was very familiar. She’d heard that signal all her life. “Tam!” she half whispered. Slowly and with more gentleness than she felt, she pushed Stephen’s sleep-heavy limbs off her body.
She dressed quickly in the dark, making almost no noise. She found her shoes where Stephen had tossed them and made her way outside the tent. She stood still for a few moments and listened as Rab stood beside her. Stephen had planted guards, and they walked about the edge of the camp. Bronwyn gave them a look of disgust as she slipped past them and into the forest. The heathery blend of her plaid and her dark hair made her nearly invisible.
She walked quickly and surely through the forest, her passage making little noise. Suddenly she stood very still. She sensed that someone was near.
“Jamie taught ye well,” came a deep voice from behind her.
She turned, a brilliant smile on her face. “Tam!” she gasped an instant before she flew into his arms.
He held her very close, her feet off the ground as she gave over her whole weight to him. “Did they treat ye well? Are ye unhurt?”
She moved away from him. “Let me look at ye.” The moonlight made Tam’s hair even more silver than it actually was. He was a man of average height, no taller than Bronwyn, but he was powerfully built with arms and a chest an oak would envy. Tam was her father’s cousin, and he’d been her friend all her life. One of Tam’s sons had been one of the three men she would have chosen to be her husband.
Tam gave a deep laugh. “Yer eyes are better than my old ones. I can’t tell if ye’re well or not. We wanted to come for ye, but we were afraid for yer safety.”
“Let’s sit down.”
“Ye have time? I hear ye have a husband now.”
She could see the concern in his face, could even see that there were more lines about his eyes. “Aye, I have a husband,” she said when they were seated side by side on a boulder. “He’s an Englishman.”
“What is he like? Does he plan to stay in Scotland with ye or go back to his England?”
“What do I know? He’s an arrogant man. I’ve tried to speak to him of my clan, but he never listens. He is sure that there is no way of anything except the English way.”
Tam touched her cheek. For so many years he’d thought of this girl as his daughter. “Has he hurt ye?” he asked quietly.
Bronwyn was glad for the darkness and the cover of her blushes. Stephen hurt her pride by making her writhe under him and above him. She could keep her head as long as he did not touch her. But that wasn’t something you could say to a man who was like a second father. “No, he hasn’t hurt me. Tell me, how is my clan? Have you had much trouble with the MacGregors?”
“Nay. It’s been quiet while ye were gone. We’ve all been greatly worried. The English king promised ye wouldna’ be harmed.” He put out his hand as Rab came to his side. He patted the big head absently. “There are things ye aren’t telling me. What of this husband of yers?”
Bronwyn stood. “I hate him! He will cause more problems than I need. He laughed at me when I told him he must try to be accepted by my clan. He travels with an army of men and baggage.”
“We heard ye days ago.”
“I worry that his ignorance and his stupidity will harm my men. He will no doubt try to force my men to conform to his ways. Someone will slip a dirk between his ribs, and the English king will bring his soldiers down upon my clan’s heads.”
Tam stood and put his hands on Bronwyn’s shoulders. They were small shoulders to bear the weight of the responsibility she carried. “Perhaps not. Perhaps some small pieces of his skin can be removed, and that will help him to learn our ways.”
Bronwyn turned and smiled up at him. “You are good for me. The English say we are a savage, crude lot. They’d believe so for sure if they could hear you.”
“Savage, are we?” Tam asked, teasing her.
“Aye, and they say the women are as bad as the men.”
“Hmph!” Tam grunted. “Here, let’s see if ye remember any of what I taught you.”
Before she could blink, he’d drawn his dirk and had it aimed at her throat. He’d spent years teaching her ways to protect herself from strong men. She moved to one side in a quick, fluid movement, but it wasn’t quick enough. The knife pressed against her throat.
Suddenly, from out of the trees, a man flew, literally off his feet, as he sailed through the air and slammed against the side of Tam. Bronwyn leaped to one side, and Tam struggled to keep his balance. He was a massive, thick man, and his strength was in his ability to stand firm against all comers. Bronwyn had seen four strong, grown men leap at him, and Tam had remained standing.
Tam shrugged, and the man fell off him as Tam blinked at him in curiosity.
Bronwyn smiled when she saw Stephen lying on his back. It would be a pleasure to see him laid low. He’d beaten Roger Chatworth, but Roger was an Englishman, trained in rules of chivalry and sportsmanship. Tam was a real fighter.
