Bennett eyed him beneath sullen, suspicious brows.
Torin squared his jaw and tilted his chin. Bennett wouldn’t confront him. He was afraid of Torin, as he should be.
“We will need his men when the Scots come,” Torin said, trying to divert Bennett’s thoughts away from wherever they were heading. “Now is not the time to make him an enemy.”
“We will have his men,” Bennett finally promised with a curl of his thin lips. “He will have no choice but to send for them.”
“Why not?”
“I’m going to tell him that I believe Miss Hetherington betrayed us to the Armstrongs.”
Torin grew silent for a moment as shock settled in. What? This scum could not be serious!
“She hates us,” he continued, ignoring Torin’s pale face. “She stirs strife between us and her father—and worst of all when we need the reivers the most on our side. There is only one way to stop her from trying to cause a war between us.”
No, no, Torin told himself. Bennett was speaking of Galien, not Braya. She sought peace.
He stared at Bennett with rage darkening his expression. “You know perfectly well ’twas not her who betrayed us to the Armstrongs.”
Bennett shrugged his shoulders. “I said I was going to tell him I believed it. In truth, I do not know how they knew we were vulnerable. I must take Miss Hetherington as my wife and secure the promise we have with her family to fight with us when the Scots come to Carlisle.”
Torin would have laughed but there was nothing humorous about this. He would kill Bennett before he ever came close to marrying Braya.
“She will never agree,” Adams muttered. “Will you force a woman to your bed?”
“If ’twould guarantee our safety against the Scots, aye, I would,” Bennett replied.
“Nothing will guarantee your safety against the Scots,” Torin pointed out through clenched teeth. “They are wild and savage and if they are coming here, they are coming to killyou.” If he could, Torin would kill him right now. But he wouldn’t be able to hold the castle alone until the Scots got here. He had to wait. He wished he hadn’t asked the Bruce for another sennight.
“With the reivers help, the Scots lost five years ago,” Bennett said with a chuckle. “I will ensure we have their aid again by marring Braya Hetherington.”
“She will kill you before the Scots ever get here,” Adams pointed out with a sneer.
Bennett laughed, tempting Torin to leap over a small table that separated them and knock out his teeth. “I’m certain Hetherington will agree that this is best. I will continue to keep the Armstrongs and other warring reivers away from his family and I will have his protection against his hated enemy, the Scots. ’Tis a perfect plan.”
Not if Torin killed him first. He balled his hands into fists and forced himself to remain still and try to look non-threatening. “That is good news, my lord. We can use the men. Now, if you will excuse me.” He had to leave the solar before he ruined all his plans and killed Bennett where he stood. Torin was an excellent swordsmen, the best he knew, in fact. But even he could not fight all of Carlisle’s guards alone.
He smiled and walked out without waiting for Bennett to reply. As soon as he was out of the solar, he closed his eyes and ground his jaw. The thought of Bennett forcing Braya to marry him was enough to make Torin risk it all. No, he told himself. She wasn’t his. He had no right to act as if she were. He was going to have to change that. What did he mean to do? He didn’t know, but he was not going to let Bennett near her ever again.
He soon realized that Adams was behind him. “Do not ask me where I’m going. ’Tis better for you if you do not know what I’m about to do.”
“I already know,” Adams drawled. “I’m coming with you.”
He turned at once and held his hand up to stop Adams’ advance. “I’m not—I will not be back until the Scots arrive.”
The tall, older man nodded. “You will need someone at your back until you take her wherever you are taking her.”
Torin looked him straight in the eye. “You will not try to stop me?”
“Why the hell do you think I would?” Adams asked him frankly. “I do not want Miss H—Braya with him.”
Would he want Braya with Torin? “Her father will likely try to stop me.”
Adams nodded. “You will have to convince him that you can keep her safe from the warden’s treachery.” He swung his thumb over his shoulder toward the keep. “And from fighting the Scots.”
Aye, Torin thought, Adams understood. Torin didn’t really want company but it never hurt to have another sword and, besides, he could use a bit of advice. Like, was it normal to ache in every muscle, every bone, his head?
“Very well, let us go.”
