Black Poole, England 1075
Sean of Drogheda was mad enough to spit. Anger squeezed his gut, snaking around any clear thinking he might have managed and choked it until it was good and dead. His fisted hand clenched against his thigh. He urged the horse forward.
His mount reared slightly, pitching its head left then right, nearly unseating Sean. The round, wooden shield secured to his back shook with the movement. Like an arrow, understanding shot through Sean’s rage induced state. He immediately loosened the rein from his iron grip and righted the deer hide brat draped over his shoulders. The beast need not suffer from his ill temper.
“Easy, Roana.” Sean spoke through gritted teeth. The courser jerked its head in response. “Easy, lass.”
Calum Rua pulled up short in front of him and turned his horse about. His sparse red beard did little to hide his scowl of anger and irritation. “Sean! Ye’re being an arse.”
Sean exhaled slowly, methodically. Heat surged through him. He narrowed his eyes at the man blocking his path. Beating his friend into the ground would be a fine way to release this fury burgeoning inside of him.
Calum’s mouth tightened and his nostrils flared as if sensing the unspoken threat. “Damn it. Let. It. Go. ’Tis done. She’s wed.” He rolled his eyes and tugged the animal to face front and continue forward. “I’ll not be yer lackey to be kicked around nor pick ye up when yer mount drops ye on yer arse. I’m for the boat.”
Sean watched his friend’s retreating back as he galloped away. The tension didn’t lessen. The anger didn’t lessen. The feeling that his life had been ripped away from him didn’t lessen.
Closing his eyes, Sean could again see Brighit’s laughing face, her cheeks lightly reddened from the exertion of running up the hill. Nigh on four years ago now but the memory still burned.
He’d let her get ahead of him and believe she was beating him. All so he could watch her fine backside displayed in her brother Tadhg’s tight trews and too short leine as she raced ahead. Tadhg would have taken a strap to her if he’d realized she’d dressed that way. Sean selfishly encouraged her rebellion. He’d been stiff as a board when he finally reached her and they collapsed on the hill, side by side, laughing and breathing heavily.
The intensity of emotions flooded back. He’d needed to touch her. Needed it more than his next breath. Anywhere. Caressing. Squeezing. Kissing—that had been what prompted the slap. He’d worked his way closer, covering her with an arm. They’d both grown quiet. And that wide-eyed expression of surprise when his face hovered above hers.
“What are ye about, Sean?” Her eyebrows slashed down, her tone accusing. “Don’t ye even—”
But he was way past “even” and her lips were tender and supple. He thought he’d died and gone to heaven. An innocent kiss.
The club to his ear made him cry out in pain.
“What to hell?” Sean said, gripping the side of his head with two hands.
Brighit pushed him away from her and stood, towering over him as he lay at her feet. “Sean! How dare ye take liberties with me! I’m like yer sister.”
He cringed inside. Why did she always insist they were like brother and sister? Sean certainly didn’t feel that way. He wanted to marry her but she shunned all his advances.
Her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. “I won’t tell Tadhg what ye’ve done here so that ye may continue to live.”
She was right. His best friend would kick his arse from here to the Hill if he found out what just happened. He stood, slowly. She took a step back, keeping her distance. Like a fist to the gut, she acted afeared of him. Regret surged through him, dashing any lust-filled thoughts. He did not want her to fear him.
“Please, Brig, I dinna mean to—”
“Yea! Yea, ye did and ye ken it. As do I… now. This is done. I’m not for ye as I’ve told ye time and time again. Do not be coming around with yer pleas of friendship. I see yer heart clearly now and I’ll have none of it.”
He started toward her but she held up her hand to ward him off. “Nae! I mean what I say. Ye sit. Sit!”
Unmoving, she waited until he had again settled on the ground.
“I will return alone. Ye may not accompany me.”
“Shite! Tad will have my head if I let ye wander through the woods alone.”
“YE are what threatens me. YE!” She pointed her finger at him, her eyes bulging with accusation. “I will be safer alone than with ye.”
And with that she left him.
Sean sighed and opened his eyes.
And now the love of his life married to some Norman knight? Sean would never have his way with her. What to hell was he supposed to do when every waking thought, and many arousing dreams, had been spent lusting after her? If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit it was her fine body he sought to master. He never imagined her making his food or tending his children, just being betwixt her legs.
Her father and six brothers had kept her well protected but Sean had glimpsed her fiery courage. Her rebellious spirit. Intentionally going against the rules. She longed to let go. She wanted to be free. Now her fine Norman would be unlocking the passion that lay beneath her trained obedience.
Sean kicked his mount into a gallop and slackened the reins. A local animal he’d rented. It knew the area well which he did not. Yet another reason for his gut-wrenching frustration but his anger merely wasted his energy. It truly was over. No chance remained for him. He’d been focused on winning Brighit over for nigh on five years now, believing he would eventually succeed. He showed himself an idiot for being so persistent and not realizing her stubbornness. He had to return to Eire and make a life for himself that didn’t include Brighit MacNaughton.
At the top of the rise, he paused to catch his breath. The animal did the same, twitching its ears in exhilaration as if sensing its nearness to home.
“Settle yerself, Roana. We’ve quite a ways to go yet.”
Sean looked out over the wide expanse of water barely visible between the thick forest separating him from his homeland, the cold air filling his lungs. A deep sadness welled up inside. He had to let it go. The anger and resentment did him no good. His dream of wedding the lovely Brighit was like mist on the water. Here then gone.
Sean jumped from his horse. He secured his shield to the saddle. Removing his brat, he folded it up and tucked it underneath. The walk would do him good, give him a chance to get his emotions to settle. With Tadhg staying behind with Brighit, Sean would be acting clan leader once he arrived in Drogheda. He needed to show a calm, thoughtful demeanor. His anger could be his undoing since they all knew how hot-headed he could be. They would watch for him to lose control. Calum’s support would be crucial. He shouldn’t have let him go on ahead.
A high-pitched whistle sounded from the woods beside him. The courser broke loose from the light hold he’d had of the reins and raced off toward the trees.
“Hey! Stop!” Sean froze in disbelief then began to chase after the animal. “Stop, ye stupid shite.”
Finally out of breath and admitting the waste of time chasing a galloping horse was, he went down to one knee. A few feet from the forest’s edge, he’d swear he heard a female laugh. He steadied his breathing so he could listen. Yes, definitely someone laughing. He stood, peering into the darkness of the trees, hands fisted on his hips. The sun rested low in the sky and cast little light within.
He ground his teeth in irritation. Someone had called to the animal, truly enjoying a laugh at his expense. A coward, hiding in the dark. The low jingle of the iron stirrups indicated the horse and rider were not far, just beyond his sight.
Sean took a few steps into the woods, allowing his eyes to adjust. The shadowed figure of the mounted animal became discernible. It whinnied and backed further into the darkness.
“Hold!” Sean said. He struggled not to let his anger be heard. “Ye’ve bested me. Steal the horse but I’m for the coast. I need my things.”
“’Tis not stealing it if it’s mine.”
Not a woman’s voice. A young lad then.
“I paid for the use of it, son.”
“I’m not yer son.” The voice broke, confirming Sean’s suspicions.
“Nae. Ye’re not but I have quite a walk ahead of me. May I at least collect my belongings?”
A loud thud accompanied the bag that dropped at his feet. Sean stared at the sack. Arrogant little shite. The few items he’d collected to bring home were no doubt in pieces now. Anger simmered. He glanced toward the rider.
“My thanks. And will ye toss the weapons at me as well?”
“They’re mine now… the price for the use of my horse.”
Sean forced himself to appear calm. “I told ye I paid for the use.”
“But it wasn’t paid to me.”
Sean moved in closer but with every step, the rider retreated. If he could get his hands on him, Sean would teach him a lesson he wouldn’t soon be forgetting. By his size, the boy looked to be about ten.
“But I did pay for its use. An honest agreement between men. I had nae way of knowing it had been stolen. I had plans to return it.” Despite the blood racing through him at being outsmarted by some unknown, he shifted his tactics. He used his ever-so-amicable tone of voice but would not be letting the horse—or rider—get away. “When was the horse stolen from ye?”
The lad didn’t respond at first but the beast shifted, indicating uneasiness. “It was taken without my permission.”
Sean gave a small smile, moving closer as he spoke. “That’s what I said.”
“Nae ye asked when it was stolen from me.”
“Is there a difference?”
The lad tipped his head back as if looking heavenward in exasperation. Taking his eyes off Sean proved to be his mistake. With three long strides Sean closed in, yanked at the reins, and ripped them from the rider’s loose grip. Stepping clear, he waited while the courser jerked against the rope now held firmly in his grip. The rider, struggling to keep his seat, tossed about with the rough motion.
“Arghhh.”
Definitely a young lad. Not even a curse uttered from the unexpected change of events.
“Damn it.”
Sean smiled and stepped in to put his arm around the horse’s snout to settle it down. He spoke in a quiet, calming voice. “Easy now, Roana.”
“Roana! What kind of name is that?” The lad threw his leg over the far side of its body in preparation for his escape.
The courser was not very tall. Sean wondered why he didn’t just jump off.
“The one I gave it! A handsome beast deserves a handsome name.”
He grabbed at the lad’s skinny arm, hauling him across the saddle, flat on his belly, facing him.
Sean offered a contented smile. “Did ye have somewhere to go?”
The horse thief kicked his legs and strained against Sean’s unwavering grip.
“Let me loose!” He all but screeched in his outrage.
“I dunna take kindly to someone stealing my mount.”
“I told ye. ’Tis my mount.” He yanked and pulled.
Sean took hold of his little shoulders and dragged him forward, dropping him hard on the ground beside him. The horse skittered away but didn’t seem inclined to stray very far despite the commotion. Sean held the end of the reins fast.
When the boy tried to stand, Sean shoved him back down with the toe of his boot. The thief landed on his backside with a loud oomph.
“Sit!” Sean stroked the horse with a soothing shhh between orders. “Stay!”
The boy sat with his knees pulled up tight to his body, shooting daggers at Sean. He had a young face from what Sean could see. A pretty face for a boy with reddish-brown hair pulled back.
“Were ye lying in wait for yer horse? If it even is yer horse.”
“’Tis my horse!” The boy lurched forward, his cheeks a bright red, and he spat the words at Sean then slammed his lips together and crossed his arms. The bright, green eyes held the telltale glistening of tears. Tears?
“Buck up, man.” Sean understood the lad’s frustration but to have him crumbling would be thoroughly embarrassing. “A slower man than I would have had quite a walk ahead and nae way to defend himself against brigands he may find along the way. And that after he had paid honestly for the use of the horse.”
“She was not theirs to lend out.” The lad jutted out his chin. “’Tis my horse and I’ve been searching for it. And ye’re not so fast.”
“Fast enough.”
The lad swiped at the tear dripping off his chin then looked away. “Go ahead. Take her. See if I care.”
Sean moved in close to the animal and removed his long sword from the scabbard with a slow, fluid movement. The boy stood, alert now, watching him. His eyes widened with fear.
“Ye want me to take her? Now?” Sean turned toward him and held the formidable weapon upright as if inclined to use it. “Take her? As in I would then be stealing yer horse?”
The boy took a step back. And then another. Finally backing against the trunk of a large oak tree.
“Ye would be stealing it,” he said, his voice quiet.
The horse seemed alert to the lad as if she did belong to the boy. Sean was inclined to believe his story. Why lie? Truth to tell he only needed it as far as the sea. Once he had the knife back that he’d offered up as collateral, he didn’t care who took the animal. The rounded shoulders of the lad, the stench of living in the rough, and the way he kept glancing toward the animal made Sean feel a bit sorry for him. Mayhap an agreement could be reached.
“So ye say the horse was stolen from ye?”
“Taken without permission,” the boy corrected.
Was he being intentionally obstinate? “I dunna see the difference.”
“Of course ye dunna.”
Sean tipped his head toward the boy, his brows raised. Blood pumped in his ears at the innuendo. “Of course I dunna?”
“Ye’re too stupid to understand the distinction.”
Distinction? Sean’s mouth opened slightly at such audacity from one so young. “What did ye call me?”
The boy stood a little taller, barely coming up as far as Sean’s chest. “Ye heard me.”
Sean took a step closer and glanced at his sword before him. “I dunna believe I did.”
“Ye’re an islander. Ye’re stupid.” The boy’s hands reached around the trunk of the tree.
It seemed as though the boy was just leaning against it, but then Sean saw the club he’d reached for.
Sean grabbed him by the tunic, yanking him off the ground, pulling him in close to his face. Their noses nearly touching. The large club that had been hidden behind the tree dropped harmlessly from his grasp.
“Were ye going to brain me with that?”
The lad took a shaky breath. His entire body trembled while his feet dangled beneath him.
“So yer bravery came from yer weapon?” Sean looked him over, grimacing, to convey his disgust at what he saw. “Not much of a man are ye?”
The nostrils flared. “And ye threatened me with yer sword. What does that say about ye?”
Point well taken. Still fisting his tunic, Sean allowed his feet to touch the ground now. Long lashes framed almond-shaped eyes that held his own. To say this lad was pretty would be an understatement. If he was a girl, he’d be—she’d be quite comely. He glanced at his hand that lay nearly flush against the heaving chest. Clearly if it was a girl, she was trying to hide the fact. Despite what the lad might think about Sean’s intelligence, he was clever enough to figure out someone’s sex.
“Let me go.” The lad’s bravery had returned and he tried to break free. “Take my horse and leave me.”
And now he was giving orders.
“Take yer horse?” Sean searched his face. The tracks left clean from the tears gave him pause. “So ye can whistle it out from under me? Or so ye can say I stole it from ye and have me whipped? But then again, ye’ve given me yer permission. Or is there nae longer a distinction?”
The scowl said the lad was mad enough to spit. “I willna bother ye one way or the other.”
“So says the thief.”
“I’m nae thief.”
“Ye stole my horse from me!” Sean said.
“’Tis my horse!” The pitch of his voice rose a bit.
Sean glanced around the darkened woods. He saw no sign of anyone else. No trails leading away. No place that could be used for shelter. If this were a lass, she had no business being here. Mayhap that was reason enough to dress as a boy.
“Is no one with ye?”
His eyes widened ever so slightly, revealing flecks of gold even in the waning light. “Why?”
Defensive. It wasn’t looking good. Sean indicated the club on the ground beside her. “Yer only protection?”
“I can protect myself just fine. Unhand me.” She pulled at his hand. “Isn’t that why ye willna drop yer weapon? Because I can defend myself?”
Sean smirked. He shoved her away with a well-placed push to her chest which was far more fleshy than it should have been. She adjusted her shirt with narrowed eyes, searching his face as if to assess if he’d uncovered the truth. He had, but she didn’t need to know. He kept his features blank. Sean placed his weapon on the ground, carefully, crossed his arms and stared her down.
She shrugged. “So? Leave! Go! Take her.”
“I am waiting for answers but my patience wears thin. Do I need to take ye over my knee?”
Her hands moved instinctively to cover her backside. Well, someone had disciplined the lass despite her mouthiness.
She averted his gaze. “I am not alone. I am here with my brother. We search for my horse,” she turned a stern look on him, “which I have now found.”
She lied through her teeth. But a brother? The now obvious filling out of her tunic indicated she was probably of a marriageable age so why not a husband?
“Ye’re with yer brother? I see nae sign of a brother. Just a lad alone in the woods, getting himself into trouble.”
Her cheeks blazed with color. “He went to see if he could track down my horse.”
Her irritated tone bordered on insulting.
“And he told ye to stay put?”
She was also probably told to stay hidden.
“He’s returning any moment.” Her cheeks darkened.
He tried not to smile at her transparency. “Methinks not.” A bad liar. “Might I ken yer name?”
Her full brows dipped into a V. “Why?”
“So that when we travel together on yer horse, I’ll ken what to call ye.”
Her jaw dropped.
“Nae? Ye’d rather I take yer horse and leave ye here? Rather than take ye to this brother with the very horse he is supposedly searching for?”
He’d swear he could hear her jumbled thoughts as she tried to work out her answer. She was a very bad liar.
“A name is all I’m asking.” He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he used his most acquiescent tone. “I promise not to use it against ye.”
Her lips puckered. “Thomas—Tommy. Call me Tommy.”
For some reason her expression no longer indicated she lied. “Now we make progress, Tommy. And ye may call me Sean. Apologize for yer insults and I’ll see ye safely to yer brother.”
She gasped. “Nae! I’ll not apologize. I only stated the truth.”
“The truth? Dear Tommy, I fear if the truth were a snake, ye’d get bitten in the arse.”
“How dare ye!”
Hmm, perhaps she was not worried about being revealed as a female—not as much as she should be. A reminder may be in order. “How dare I? What are ye? A girl?”
“Nae!” Her protest sounded a little too strong. She seemed to sense it and snapped her mouth shut.
The last thing Sean needed was to travel to town with her but he needed the horse. He also didn’t need it known that his traveling companion was a female only pretending to be a boy. Villages along the coast were full of unscrupulous travelers—all male—who wouldn’t mind finding a female in their midst. He didn’t need to be put in the position of having to protect her.
“Good! Because I’ve nae need to be seen with a female dressed in lad’s clothing. There are plenty of men looking for just that sort of sport, I assure ye, but I am not.”
Sean didn’t miss her gaping mouth but returned his sword, secured his items and turned the horse about. He leapt into the saddle and reached his arm down to Tommy. If he had to travel to town with her, he’d just as soon she continue with her disguise. The idea of catering to a whining female right now did not sit well with him. He needed to get back home and put this whole terrible trip behind him. The sooner the better.