CHAPTER NINE
Blake took up his post in front of Reyna’s door with a sigh. He’d spent the entire day planning with Preston and enduring Luke’s sullen looks, and even his nerves were frayed. There were too many things happening at once, and unlike a battle, where he could lose himself in the combat, he had to keep his head clear and his mind focused on the tasks at hand.
Preston had mentioned that Kenzie had passed his note to Reyna, but he hadn’t seen her, and he didn’t know what she was planning to do with the information he’d given her.
For that matter, he didn’t know what he was planning to do. The news from his cousin had changed everything. For the first time in ten years, he had a choice, and it was a difficult one. On the one hand, he longed to go home, and he was sick of the type of service Oran Murray demanded from him. On the other, Oran had been the first person to offer him safety and a future. Vile the man might be, but that didn’t change what Blake owed him.
He was still considering that when a firm knock on the other side of the door drew his attention. He moved closer. “Is there aught ye need?”
She recognized Blake’s voice, but she pretended she did not to fool him into opening the door.
“Och, I just wanted tae speak tae whoever is me guard taenight. Just so I ken who’s name tae call if I need aught later, like fresh water or the like. Besides, if I’m tae be the Lady o’ the clan soon, I need tae start learning the names and faces o’ me direct attendants, so I cannae get taken off guard by impostors. Please, will ye nae open the door fer a moment?”
It was an innocent enough request, and gave him a ready-made excuse to answer it, one even Oran Murray could accept, if necessary. Blake drew the secondary key he had as the second in command from his belt. “Step back.” He heard footsteps retreat, and smoothly unlocked the door.
No sooner had the door opened than a small but strong hand grabbed the front of his vest and tugged him sharply through the door into Reyna’s rooms. He stumbled through the portal, and stared in surprise and concern as Reyna snatched the key, shut the door behind him, and locked it again. “Reyna! What are ye doing?”
She stared back at him, eyes glittering with determination. “We need tae speak, and how else was I tae get ye where we wouldnae be overheard?”
Blake grimaced. “I ken ye’re impatient, but if I’m caught away from me post, we’ll be in more trouble than I’m sure I can manage.”
“Then ye’ll have tae keep an ear on the door tae be sure that doesnae happen.” She took a breath. “I wanted ye tae ken that I’m thinking o’ visiting me braither, as ye suggested. Kenzie told me that ye had a plan tae delay the wedding, and I’d like tae ken what it is afore I think o’ anything else.”
That was reasonable. “Ye ken Laird Oran is planning on going on the hunt taemorrow. ‘Twas a thought Preston and I had that there might be an accident – or mayhap an incident – in which he was injured. A broken limb will mean he’s nae in any shape fer a wedding, much less a wedding night.”
“Ye’d cause him injury?”
Blake grimaced. He knew such a plan would grate on her healer’s sensibilities. “Tis nae uncommon for there tae be a broken bone or two on a hunt fer big game. A broken arm or leg will see him laid up fer a fair amount o’ time, and the medicine fer the pain would keep him from doing aught save resting and eating.”
Reyna made a face, but to his surprise, she nodded. “Och, tis nae me favorite idea, but so long as yer nae talking o’ something that will cripple him permanently.”
Blake chuckled in relief. “I didnae think ye’d be so accepting of such a plan.”
Reyna shook her head. “I wouldnae normally, especially since I’ve heard tis harder fer older men tae heal from such things. But after what I’ve seen o’ the man, he’d be well served tae put up with a broken bone fer a fortnight or more.”
Blake tilted his head. “Och, I cannae say I’m nae relieved tae hear ye say so, but I’m fair surprised... I would have thought, as focused as ye were on saving yer braither, ye’d demand the wedding, and mayhap some other solution. Or that ye’d tell us tae leave well enough alone.”
The thought that she might refuse help and go through with the wedding and the wedding night had made him near sick. Part of the difficulty he’d wrestled with in his own mind had been what he’d do if she decided to fulfill her duties with the same determination she’d shown thus far.
Reyna shook her head. “Nae... I was fair determined tae do what’s needed, and I still will if I must, but I dinnae trust Laird Oran Murray. And with a temper like his, I dinnae trust him tae be a proper husband. I’m certain sure he’ll nae be a kind lover, and if he cannae perform, I ken he’ll make it me fault and take the temper and the embarrassment out on me and the servants. Better if the danger o’ it is delayed.”
“I cannae argue that.”
Reyna hesitated, then she slipped closer to him, her eyes dark. Her voice was low as she looked up at him. ‘Ye ken... the truth is I dinnae want tae dae this at all. Dae ye think there’s any wayfer me tae escape, mayhap another path through the tunnel ye mentioned? Would ye help me get away, if I could manage it?”
Abruptly, she colored and stepped back. “Never mind... I ken ye’ve a debt o’ honor with Laird Murray, and nae many choices... I didnae mean tae...”
Blake stepped forward and put a hand on her lips, stilling her protests. “If ye’d let me reply, Reyna lass... Ye’re nae wrong about the debt I owe. But the greatest difficulty in getting ye free wouldnae be me feelings on the matter. Laird Murray’s nae fool, and he keeps a tight guard on his keep.”
“Wouldnae yer friend Preston help?”
Blake shrugged his shoulders. “He might, but ‘tis even more complicated fer him than ‘tis fer me.” He reached up and stroked her face, brushing some of her hair out of her face. “He’s a good friend, but he has a lass, and kinfolk among the clansmen tae think about, who wouldnae be able tae escape Laird Murray’s wrath so easily. Beyond that... Preston was born and bred in Murray clan. His faither was a leader o’ the warriors in his time, and so was his faither afore him. Preston doesnae have great fondness fer Laird Oran, but he’s loyal tae his clan and kinfolk, and so long as Oran’s his laird, it’s Oran he’ll serve, unless the man manages tae put the clan as a whole in danger.”
She sighed. “I can respect that. And I cannae ask him tae defy his laird. Nae more than I can ask ye tae face exile from the Highlands and any place ye could call shelter, fer a second time.”
Blake blinked. He’d forgotten that she wouldn’t know about the note he’d received. “I wouldnae like tae betray a man who helped me when I was a boy, but I wouldnae be without help or shelter if I defied him. Mind ye, it wouldnae be easy, but I’d have a place tae go.”
Reyna frowned. “What dae ye mean?”
