“Miles has taken the Chatworth girl to Scotland, and from what I can gather he had to drag her there while she screamed curses at him. Damn him!” he said passionately. “Why do I have so much trouble with my younger brothers? Only Stephen—”
“You’d better stop,” Raine warned. “I’m in a mood to drive a sword through someone’s belly.”
“And what has happened now?” Gavin asked tiredly, sitting down across from Raine. “I have more problems than I need. Has your wife said an unkind word to you?”
“Notmywife.” He stopped. “What do you plan to do about Miles? Do you think he’s taking her to Stephen?”
“I can only hope so. Sir Guy is with him, so perhaps he can talk some sense into Miles.”
“Do you have a reason why Miles should keep the girl? Other than for his own pleasure, that is? I can’t imagine our little brother forcing a woman to do anything, nor can I imagine one refusing him. I’ve never seen him have any trouble with women.”
“One of Miles’s men broke his arm right after Lady Elizabeth was delivered and so stayed behind when Miles went to Scotland. I caught him on the road.”
“And what was his bad news? It couldn’t be as bad as the look on your face.”
“There were four men in Miles’s tent at the time. Pagnell’s man was allowed to enter, all the men holding swords on him. He was carrying a long carpet in his arms. He paused just inside the entrance, tossed it to the floor, gave it a push with his foot and unrolled it.”
“Well?” Raine demanded.
“It unrolled at Miles’s feet, uncovering Elizabeth Chatworth wearing nothing but several feet of blonde hair.”
“And what did our little brother do?” Raine asked, torn between laughing and groaning at the picture he’d conjured.
“From what I found out, all the men stood and stared without moving until Lady Elizabeth jumped up, grabbed a cloth from a cot and an ax from a corner and took after Miles.”
“Was he harmed?”
“He managed to dodge her blows and sent the other men from the tent. When the lady started cursing worse than what anyone had heard before, Sir Guy took the men out of hearing distance of the tent.”
“And no doubt she was purring the next morning,” Raine said, smiling. “Our little brother has a way with women.”
“I don’t know what happened after that. An hour later the man I spoke to broke his arm and was sent back to Miles’s house.”
“Then how did you know they went to Scotland?” Raine asked.
“I went to Miles’s campsite and when no one was there, I asked some of the tradesmen in the area. Over a week ago Miles and his men left, and several people heard them say they were going to Scotland.”
“No clue as to why?”
“Who can say what goes on in Miles’s mind? I know for sure he wouldn’t harm the girl, but I’m afraid he’ll hold her to punish Chatworth.”
“Miles would fight a man, many men, but he wouldn’t take his grudges out on a woman. That’s Chatworth’s game,” Raine said grimly. “I’m sure he had a reason to take her from England. What do you plan to do now?”
Gavin was quiet for a moment. “I’ll leave him to Stephen and see what he can do with Miles. And Bronwyn has a level head on her. Perhaps she can do something with Miles.”
Raine stood in the tub. “I doubt if anyone can reason with him where women are concerned. If the woman took more than ten minutes to fall in love with him, it would be the first time such a thing has happened. Maybe Miles saw it as a challenge.”
Gavin snorted. “Whatever his reasons, he’s tempting the King’s wrath. King Henry’s changed since his eldest son died.”
Drying himself, Raine stepped from the tub, gave a kick to his clothes heaped at his feet. “It will be good to get out of these for a while.”
“How long do you think you can stay?”
“Three, four days at most. I need to get back to the camp.”
“Are your outlaws so important?”
Raine considered for a moment. “They aren’t all outlaws, and perhaps if you’d lived their life you would have different ideas about right and wrong.”
