Moments later, Griffin and Allard came in. There was a scuffling noise, and a curse from outside, and suddenly, there was Donnan. Two of Griffin’s thugs flung him at her feet. Her friend was so filthy, and his face so swollen, she barely recognised him. Blood oozed from a wound on his temple. He had once been almost handsome, someone a lass might look twice at. And he had stolen a kiss but a few weeks ago, surprising her up against a tree in the woods around Fellscarp. But now, she was ashamed of the irritation she had felt in the glare of his growing infatuation, for Donnan had been viciously beaten.
Lowri tore free of Cullen and threw herself down next to him. ‘What have they done to you?’
‘Forgive me, Lowri. I did not protect you,’ he gasped. There were leaves stuck in his hair, and his lips were split open and bleeding.
‘Donnan, there’s nothing to forgive,’ she gasped. She took his face in her hands. It was icy cold. ‘Where is Rory?’
‘He’s hurt, Lowri. He’s in a bad way, locked up, as I have been. I think his leg is broken, and he suffers.’ Donnan glanced up at Griffin and then stifled a sob with the back of his hand. He sniffed and rubbed his nose. ‘Have they hurt you?’ he said, not catching her eye.
‘No.’ It was a lie to salve his pride, for every bone in her body ached with cold, and her belly clenched with hunger. But Donnan would want to protect her, and he would be ashamed that he hadn’t. Lowri tightened her hold on her friend and rounded on Griffin.
‘You didn’t have to hurt him, or Rory.’
‘The lad will survive, and the other one hurt his leg falling from his horse while he tried to run. Nought to do with me.’
Allard snorted a laugh, and Lowri dug her nails into her palms to stop from scratching his eyes out.
Griffin leaned over the two of them. ‘You rascals tried to steal from me. I have every right to give the lad a beating. Just as I have every right to send you to the magistrate for judgment. And what will it be – the stocks, the whipping post or something more befitting the crime?’
‘Not punishment enough for what she tried to do,’ said Allard. ‘What about transportation to the colonies or a rope to adorn her bonnie neck?’
‘Be quiet, Allard,’ sneered Cullen. ‘They didn’t manage to steal anything, and she is but a lass.’
‘Aye, but her companions are not. Why should we release them to steal from our father again?’
‘If you weren’t such a cruel dullard, you would see the danger here.’
The Macaulays were poisonous, even to each other. Lowri had the awful feeling that she was caught in a game of cat and mouse, with her as the mouse.
‘I swear, we will not steal from you again,’ slurred Donnan, through a swollen mouth.
That earned him a kick in the ribs from Allard.
‘Get away from him,’ cried Lowri, and Allard swung his boot back to kick her, but Cullen pushed him off. ‘Leave them be. They have suffered enough.’
‘Not nearly enough,’ shouted Griffin. ‘Take this cur away where no one can find him. I’ll make him a pretty prison.’
The two thugs began to drag Donnan away. Lowri clung to him, but the hateful Cullen tore her fingers free and gripped her to him around the waist.
Donnan shouted back. ‘Forgive me, Lowri, for not protecting you. I love you, lass.’
Then he was gone.
Silence fell, save for the rustling of horses in the stalls. Cullen waited until Lowri’s squirming subsided. She was strong, and her desperation made her hard to hold. ‘If I let go, will you calm down and listen to what my father has to say?’ he hissed into her ear.
She nodded, and he released his hold. Lowri sprang away from him. Her hands fisted at her sides, eyes darting from one to the other of her tormentors. How fierce she was. Even cornered, she did not succumb. She spat her fury at them all, and Cullen was humbled by her bravery.
‘You are vile. You must let them go. I am to blame for the reiving. It was all my idea.’
‘I’m more inclined to punishment than forgiveness, so, no,’ smirked Griffin.
‘I was the ringleader. I confess to stealing, and I will take whatever punishment you demand, as long as you let them go.’
‘Don’t try to bargain with me, lass, for you have no power here. And the more you defy me, the more I’ve a mind to see them swing,’ said Griffin. ‘Off to the magistrate in the morning.’
‘It’s your word against theirs. They might get off.’
‘I told you, I have the magistrate in my pocket. They will die, unless you do as you are told.’
