Perhaps there was damage to some of the homes or the common areas. But why would they want her? She was in charge of the guards, which meant anything that fell under the umbrella of protection or hunting. Maybe part of the outer wall had fallen from the weight of snow? Unlikely.
No matter how she tried to reconcile this unplanned meeting, nothing made sense.
As she moved toward the door, a slight footstep sounded in the hallway, then a tap on the wood. “Brielle?” Audrey’s voice was muffled by the barrier.
Brielle closed the final step and pulled open the door. “Yes?”
Audrey raised her brows. “Hello to you, too. I came to check on you. Going somewhere?”
Brielle breathed out the tension in her shoulders and pulled the door wider for Audrey to step in. “My father sent for me. Andre said the council called an emergency meeting.”
“About Evan?” Audrey was eyeing her, head tipped and brows lowered.
Brielle shook her head. Her chest locked so tight she could barely breathe. “I don’t know. Did something happen while I slept?”
“Not that I’ve heard.” Audrey’s gaze grew stronger. “What’s going on between the two of you, Brielle? You’ve not told me a thing, but I’m certainly not blind.” A smile softened her words.
Brielle was powerless to stop her own grin, the one that rose every time she thought of the man who’d stolen her heart. Whose kiss still made her mouth tingle. “I . . .” How much should she tell?
Nothing right now. The council waited.
She gripped Audrey’s shoulder as she moved toward the doorway. “There is something, but I’ll have to tell you more later. Andre said Papa’s request was urgent.”
Audrey’s huff followed her out the door as Brielle turned toward the community room.
When she reached the set of tall doors, she pulled one open and slipped inside the large chamber, then paused to let her eyes adjust. The council members sat in their usual cluster near the front. They only met in this room when the weather didn’t allow meetings outside, but that seemed to be half the time. Papa and Erik stood at the front of the group, and he motioned her forward. Had they been waiting for her?
Apprehension knotted in her belly as she approached, but she kept her chin high and her shoulders back. People didn’t like to see worry in the one they looked to for protection.
She stopped several paces away from her father and waited for him to speak.
He leveled her with a serious look. “Brielle, a situation has been brought to our attention that must be dealt with quickly. It seems Marcellus’s trek into the blizzard might have been intended for his harm and yours. There’s also been athreat—” his tiny pause made her chest tighten—“to your well-being. And on the life of Evan MacManus.”
The words swam in her mind, not finding solid footing until her father spoke Evan’s full name. Then their full meaning slammed into her with savage force.
Questions spun, but she forced her mouth to stay shut. Her father would tell all if she gave him the chance.
“Gerald Arsenault was overheard telling another man that he plans to kill Evan tonight while his guard is sleeping. During the ensuing chaos, he stated he would kidnap you and take you away. He intends to assault you and alluded to killing you later.” Father’s voice tightened the more he spoke, though it was clear he was trying to keep his words steady. He was doing a better job than she would have managed in his place.
Gerald clearly hadn’t learned his lesson from his last punishment. The fiend. How could anyone in Laurent be so malicious? She’d not thought highly of the man, but how had she missed this rebellious streak? This vengeful nature? How long had his hatred been simmering?
Memories flooded through her of his training and all the other times she’d worked with him. She’d been the one to test his skills when he joined on as one of the guards. Had she done something to incite his anger? Or was it merely the fact she was a woman doing a role that typically belonged to a man? She had to push away that line of thought and focus on what should be done with the blackguard.
Her father was speaking again, so she forced her attention on his words.
“...be dealt with swiftly. Today. Before he carries out his plot or makes a change we don’t anticipate. Do you agree?Or do you feel it’s better to assume he’ll carry out his intentions as they were overheard, and we should set a trap for him in the storage room tonight?”
Her mind swirled through both options. How likely was it Gerald would change his plans? “Who overheard him speaking? And who was the other man he told this scheme to?” Gerald tended to boast readily, but evenhehad to know such a plot would be swiftly stopped. And punished.
He was a fool to speak it to anyone. Who would he trust so much? Was there a man in Laurent who Gerald thought would keep that kind of secret? She mentally scanned the faces of each male in the village. A few she didn’t know well, mostly the youngest men who had just come of age and hadn’t yet sought positions as guards and hunters. But she couldn’t think of a single person who would go along with such a plan.
“Evan is the one who overheard him. He and Leonard stopped in the Duluth residence when Leonard’s brother returned. There were many people in the room, so Gerald must not have seen Evan sitting against the wall. Evan couldn’t see the man Gerald was speaking to, but he heard all of what Gerald said.”
Father’s gaze sharpened as he continued. “I see no reason why Evan would lie about this. I had recently begun to question Gerald’s character, even before he spoke such foul words about Audrey. I’ve long known he wanted to increase his standing among the guards, that he felt he should have been their leader instead of you. Had I thought his opinions were so strongly against Laurent and the safety of our people, I would have taken action before now. But I do believe Gerald is capable of carrying out what he spoke of.”
Father paused, but his lips parted as though he wanted to say something more. “Of course, he frequently spouts bluster, so it’s possible that’s all he meant by this. But even so, the Scripture states, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. We cannot allow such a man free rein in our village. He’s already tainting others with his foul heart.”
Her heart had caught on Evan’s name as her father spoke, but she didn’t allow herself to linger there. She couldn’t think about what Evan might have felt when he heard this plan.
