LIAM MACHUGH WAS IN SORRY SHAPE. SOMEONE HAD TAKEN a whip to his back, and his skin had been shredded into bloody ribbons. His legs and the bottoms of his feet had also taken a beating, and blood dripped from the deep gash on the right side of his head.

Gabrielle knew she could get help for the warrior at Arbane Abbey, and though she was in a hurry to get there, the injured man’s immediate needs came first.

They rode along the bank of the stream until they were far enough away from the fighting to stop. Stephen lifted the lifeless body of Liam MacHugh from his horse and placed him on the ground next to Gabrielle. She gently laid his head in her lap and pressed a cloth to the wound at his temple, trying to stop the bleeding, and then she quickly cleaned the other cuts as best she could with a strip of linen she’d torn from her undergarment and dipped in cold water. The man needed medicine to ward off infection and a soothing salve for his back. He also needed someone to put a needle and thread to him to pull together the ragged edges of skin around the gash. She didn’t want to be the one to sew him back together, for she didn’t wish to cause him any more pain.

The turn of the stream was tucked in between the pines a fair distance away from Finney’s Flat. They were isolated and she hoped safe from intruders. While Lucien and Faust guarded the area, Stephen and Christien stayed close to her. Just as she was about to call for her guards to move him, Liam’s head wound started bleeding again.

“Princess, you’ve got blood all over your gown,” Stephen remarked.

“I’m not bothered by it,” she replied. “But I worry about this poor man. He’s lost so much blood.”

“I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Christien said. “And we should be prepared for that possibility. What would you have us do with the body?”

Gabrielle wasn’t shocked by Christien’s bluntness. He wasn’t being callous. He was a compassionate man, but he was also the most pragmatic of the four guards.

“If he dies, then it is God’s will, but I will do everything in my power to help him survive.”

“As will we,” Stephen assured her. “However, Christien has made a valid point. This MacHugh warrior has not seen you.”

Her smile was gentle. “How could he? He has yet to open his eyes.”

“You don’t understand our meaning,” Christien said. “You could be in great danger.”

Stephen agreed. “We don’t know who these people are or if any of them may have seen us. Your arrow killed the leader of the men at the grave, but the others got away. If they find out you’re responsible for his death, they might seek revenge. No one must ever know you were there.”

Gabrielle glanced around at the somber faces of her four guards and realized Stephen was right. But it wasn’t for her safety alone that she was concerned. If the men at Finney’s Flat found out she had killed one of their own, they wouldn’t just come after her; they would retaliate against her guards as well. She couldn’t let that happen.

“What do you propose I do?” she asked.

“When we get closer to Arbane Abbey, Lucien and Faust will accompany you inside and escort you to your quarters,” Stephen suggested.

“You could use your cloak to hide the blood on your gown,” Christien said.

“And what of this injured man?” she asked.

“We’ll find another way to get him into the abbey. The monks will surely have the medicine he needs.”

Christien nodded. “If he dies, there is the possibility that Laird MacHugh might blame you. You heard what those cowards said about him.”

“They called him ruthless,” she said. “Yet they were going to bury an innocent man alive. Why would I believe a word any of them said?”

She stopped them before they could argue. “This man is now our responsibility. I won’t hand him over to anyone. We will all find a way into the abbey that will not draw attention. Only when I am assured that he is well cared for will I leave his side.”

“But Princess—” Christien began.

She continued. “These monks are men of God, are they not? I will simply ask them to keep silent as to how Liam came to be at the abbey. If I can get them to promise, they cannot and will not break their word.”

“There are other ramifications,” Stephen said. “You cannot get in the middle of a war.”

She knew they weren’t going to let up. “We shall compromise. Once Liam is safe and looked after, I will separate myself.”

“And you will tell no one what happened?”

“I will tell no one.”