Joan cast her a withering glance, but its power was diminished. Rowenna need not suffer her scorn any longer. As the woman swept out, she realised she was now Lady of Kransmuir. But only as long as Jasper stayed alive.
She put her palms together and prayed he would come home safely.
Chapter Thirty
Jasper lurked in the greenery of Torhove’s woods. A long wait had given him plenty of time to ponder his rival. Caolan was fortunate in his land – it groaned with timber, its fields were as fertile as his beautiful blonde wife, Sybilla, and the river, running south, transported goods down to England to turn a fat profit. And yet Clan McColl had fallen into his lap by chance. He had not earned it and retained his grip through sheer cunning and Bannerman belligerence. Few men crossed Caolan and lived to tell the tale. As the quietest of the Bannerman brothers, Caolan was an enemy you did not see coming. He certainly hadn’t.
The whinny of a horse alerted Jasper to a rider coming along the riverbank. His spy had been correct, and it was Caolan off on his morning ride. Jasper waited until he drew level and crashed out of the trees straight at him. The impact knocked Caolan off his horse, and Jasper was upon him in an instant, a knife pressed to his throat, his weight pinning him down.
‘Get off me, Jasper, before one of us gets hurt,’ he said with no hint of fear.
‘It will be you who gets hurt,’ said Jasper as he pressed the knife to Caolan’s neck. ‘I will have my vengeance this day.’
‘Vengeance for what, saving you from an ambush?’
‘You sent Strachan as bait. You knew I would hunt down the men sent to ambush me. And then, you took your chance and tried to kill me, you bastard.’
‘The only part you got right is that I am a bastard. My warning was sincere.’
‘You are lying. Your men tried to hang me. They said, ‘Caolan Bannerman sends his greetings.’
‘Which men. What did they look like?’
‘I did not know them. But you told them to make me suffer. So now, I will make you suffer.’
Jasper pressed the knife harder. Blood oozed out from beneath the blade.
Caolan’s eyes flicked to the red welt on Jasper’s neck. ‘News reached me of the attack on you, but it had nought to do with me, and you know it, deep down. And if I wanted to kill you, I would look you in the eye while I did it, Jasper.’
‘Seaton, then. He has long wanted me dead.’
‘He mourns the loss of your friendship and regrets the rift between you. But you know in your heart that he would not wish you dead. And I am true to our alliance.’
‘Why would you ever be true to me?’
‘Because you stood beside me last year against Robert Strachan when I was in dire peril.’
‘I did it to get my hands on the Liddesdale land.’
‘No. You did it for our shared history - you, me and Seaton. Or you did it for Brenna.’
‘Do not speak her name. I warn you.’
‘Whatever your reason, Jasper, your loyalty lies with us Bannermans. I swear, on my life, that I sent a warning, not men to kill you.’
‘Not good enough. Swear on Sybilla’s,’ said Jasper.
‘Alright. I swear on my wife’s life that I sent the warning in good faith. May God strike me down if I lie. And if you cannot believe me, then we are all lost – you, me and Strachan. Do not be turned from our purpose by the Warden’s cunning. I sense his hand behind this, trying to divide us.’
Jasper stared down into Caolan’s eyes. He had watched him grow from an awkward boy, so scrawny that the wind would blow him over, to an embittered young man, and finally, to triumph, as a ruthless laird who would give no ground, even with a knife at his throat.
Had Rowenna’s love softened him, for he could not take Caolan’s life, even if he deserved it? With a sigh, Jasper took the knife from Caolan’s throat. It was only then that he felt the prick of a knife against his belly. It had been there all along.
‘Good. I am glad that is settled,’ said Caolan, sheathing his knife with a grin. ‘Now help me up, will you, and tell me what happened.’
As Jasper recounted his brush with death, Caolan seemed to take an inordinate interest in brushing off dirt and leaves from his plaid, which irritated Jasper no end.
‘Are you even listening to me, Bannerman?’
