Page 38 of A Touch So Wicked

Though she could not see Tavis’s face, she could sense the venom festering inside him.

“By giving yourself to him, then killing him when he’s most vulnerable. We’ll take care of the others. I’ve dedicated my life to killing Englishmen and chasing the survivors back to English soil. The Gordons and Frasers and their allies are in a position to become a major force in the Highlands again. Once Damian Stratton is dead and Misterly mine, I’ll make the fortress impregnable to English attack.”

Elissa found it difficult to catch her breath. How could Taviss suggest such a plan…and such a role for her in it? Was so much killing and death necessary? She wanted Misterly back, but not at the expense of her kinsmen’s lives…or Damian’s.

“The Demon Knight fancies you,” Tavis continued. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Has he had you yet?”

“Tavis!”

“Forgive me, lass, but you are the only one who can maneuver the Englishman into a vulnerable position, and ’tis best accomplished in his bedchamber.”

Elissa went still. She felt numb, betrayed. Her own betrothed wanted her to bed the enemy.

“You want me to slay Damian? In cold blood?”

“Aye. Do whatever it takes, for no Highlander will judge you harshly.”

“You want me to let him bed me,” she repeated, wanting desperately to understand, “and then kill him?”

He grasped her arms, his desperation palpable. “Heed me, lass, ’tis the only way. The Demon is a wily and skilled soldier, he’ll kill too many of us before he’s brought down. You are the only one who can get close enough to kill him.”

“Nay!”

“Have you forgotten that your father and brothers lie rotting in their graves? Or that Gordons and Frasers and their brave kinsmen were slain at Culloden?

“Now think about the man who calls himself Lord of Misterly. He was at Culloden; mayhap he killed your kinsmen. He might have dealt the fatal blow to one of your loved ones. You have to do it, lass. For your clan, for your honor.”

Elissa mentally retreated. Her relationship with Damian might be volatile, but she couldn’t kill him. “I canna.”

“Here, take this knife. Hide it in your clothing. The deed must be done soon. Tonight and each night afterward, I will be watching from the forest for your signal.”

“What signal?”

“Has the Demon taken the north tower for his own?”

“Aye.”

“Verra good. After you kill him, hold a lighted candle before the open window. That’s the signal for us to remove ourselves to the unguarded postern gate and wait for you to let us in. You’re smart, lass, you should have no trouble sneaking from the keep to open the gate for us. Once inside, we’ll spread out and kill the guards and sleeping soldiers. Finding the enemy within the keep and their lord dead will create a confusion that will defeat them in the end. We will slay them before they can arm themselves.”

Numb with disbelief, Elissa closed her eyes and whispered. “I canna do it.”

“You must! Here,” he thrust the knife into her hand, “take the knife. I will be waiting for your signal.”

Despite her reluctance, Elissa’s hand curled around the handle. Her eyes flew open. “Nay, I willna have their blood on my hands.” But when she tried to give the blade back to Tavis, he had disappeared.

Elissa shuddered. She couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t. Tavis was mad to demand such a thing of her. She wanted Englishmen on Scottish soil no more than he did, but what Tavis asked of her was murder and beyond her capability. Disturbed by the startling turn of events, Elissa returned to the keep in a daze. When she reached the kitchen door, she entered as stealthily as she had exited and made her way to her bedchamber.

Elissa collapsed on the bed, her mind in turmoil. A long time elapsed before she found the energy to rise and remove her cloak. With mounting horror, she realized she still clung tightly to the knife Tavis had thrust into her hand.

Uttering a cry of dismay, she flung the knife away. It landed on the floor with a metallic clunk. The sound seemed to snap her out of her confused state. She retrieved the knife and looked about for a place to hide it. In desperation, she thrust it beneath her mattress.

Elissa tried not to think about Tavis Gordon the following day. She went about her duties and refused to answer her mother’s questions about her meeting with Tavis. Another day passed. Then another. And each day she tried to avoid Damian lest he grow suspicious of her distraction.

Elissa was sharing lunch with her mother when Marianne said, “You seem distraught, daughter. Does it have anything to do with Tavis Gordon? What did he want with you? I hoped you’d tell me about your meeting with him without my asking.”

“Tavis merely wanted to…to ask how we were faring.”

Marianne rolled her fine green eyes. “I donna believe you. Is Lord Damian troubling you, then?” She searched Elissa’s face. “Has he done something to offend you?”