Highland Barbarian Part 74

At the sight of Meredith being held at knife point, Brice's blood froze.

Gareth found himself staring at a ghost.

"You are dead. I killed you."

"And I have come back to haunt you," Brice said through gritted teeth.

"Nay. It cannot be. I plunged my sword through your heart. I watched the lifeblood spill from you. As my father did before me with your father."

At his words everyone went deathly quiet.

It was Brice who broke the silence.

"Was it also your father who spread lies about my father?"

Gareth gave an evil smile.

"Aye. He coveted his wealth and t.i.tles.

And he taught his sons well. Once a man's name is muddied, it is never clean again."

"And the lies spread about me in the French Court?"

Meredith suddenly realized what heartache Brice must have suffered in a foreign land, with enemies such as the MacKenzies.

"Aye." Gareth laughed.

"The queen mother felt that you were exerting too much influence on the young queen. It was my task to see that you were--encouraged to leave."

"Release the woman." Brice's words were deadly soft. "This fight is between the two of us."

Gareth tightened his grip on Meredith's throat.

"You will drop your weapon or my dirk will find the woman's heart."

The other women stood in stunned silence in the doorway. Their faces mirrored their shock as they watched and listened.

For a long moment Brice's gaze held Meredith's. He thought of all the battles he had fought, the victories he had savored. How simple life had been when he'd had nothing to lose except his own life. But it was Meredith's life that hung in the balance. And he would gladly pay any price, even death, to save her.

He made a move to toss aside his sword.

As his hand moved to his scabbard Meredith gave a cry. "No, Brice. I cannot let him kill you."

In a panic Gareth pressed the blade tightly to Meredith's throat. She gave a sudden cry of pain. Blood spilled down her bodice.

At the sight of her blood Brice lost all reason. Like a man possessed he lunged, catching Meredith by the arm and yanking her free of Gareth's grasp. With one fluid movement he plunged his sword through Gareth's heart.

For a moment Gareth stared at his a.s.sailant, his eyes round and unblinking. Then, with a cry bubbling in his throat, he dropped to the floor.

As Meredith slumped to her knees Brice caught her and lifted her in his strong arms. With blood streaming from her wound she clung to him and whispered,

"Oh, Brice, hold me."

Before he could respond she sank into a sea of darkness.

Meredith drifted in and out of consciousness. Through a blur of voices she heard Brice's voice, low and troubled.

"She should have responded to your physician's potion by now."

She thought she heard Brenna calmly stating,

"It is exhaustion. She has been through too much these past months.

She must be returned to MacAlpin Castle. There she will rest and grow strong."

There was another voice, regal, haughty.

"You will take my carriage and a company of my soldiers. She can be home by morning light."

And Megan's voice, high-pitched in agitation.

"If anything will give her the will to live it is home."

"Home." Though Meredith's mouth formed the word, no sound came out.

She felt Brice's arms around her, cradling her against his chest. She breathed in the familiar scent of him and sighed as sleep once more overtook her.

Meredith lay very still, listening to the sound of birds on the sloping lawns of MacAlpin Castle. She snuggled deeper into the furs surrounding her and breathed in the fragrance of roses that wafted from the cultivated gardens below her window.

Opening her eyes she saw the figure in the chair beside her bed.

Brice, his chin rough and unshaven, his eyes red rimmed from lack of sleep, sat watching her.

"At last you are awake." He sat forward and caught her hand.

"Have I slept long?" Her words were wrenched from a throat that felt raw.

He nodded.

"I feared you would never wake." He smiled, causing her heart to tumble wildly.

"I remembered that other world that once held me in its spell, and thought it had claimed you instead."

"How long have I been home?"

Home. The word caused a terrible pain around his heart. How long had he denied her the comfort of her home?

"For three days now you have slept in your own bed. But you were not here. You were somewhere else. I could not reach you. No one could."