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Aulay's mouth tightened at the very thought. It would be a cold day in hell before he would even touch the woman. Well, other than to apprehend her.
"Speaking of which," Cat said now. "He and the others should soon finish their search, and then he promised to return to claim his husbandly rights, so . . . we really need to move this along so I can send one of the soldiers to fetch him back here. From what I have seen, I expect I will be naked, on my back and moaning and groaning minutes after he comes through the door."
"Over my dead body," Jetta growled.
"That is the plan, sister. Literally," Cat said on a laugh. "I plan to kill you first and, since I cannot move you until things settle down, shove your dead body under the bed. Your husband will literally be giving me pleasure right over your dead body."
When Cat started toward Jetta, brandishing her knife, Aulay's heart nearly stopped in his chest.
Chapter 21
He had left it too late, Aulay realized with dismay. Instead of intervening the moment he saw both women in there, he had allowed himself to be distracted by the tale his wife's sister told. Cursing, Aulay pressed on the lever to open the passage entrance to the small room and rushed inside. But he didn't get to Cat before she got to Jetta. She must have heard him. Perhaps the rustle of his clothes or a footfall gave him away. He didn't know, but before he could reach Cat, the crazy wench rushed to Jetta and moved behind her. In a heartbeat, she had dropped to her haunches so that Jetta hid most of her from view, and placed her knife at Jetta's throat.
Aulay froze at once. Trying not to show the alarm coursing through him, he growled, "Put down the knife, Cat. Ye're caught."
"I am not caught yet," she assured him grimly, her gaze sliding from him to the passage entrance.
Aulay glanced toward it, relieved to see that the passage looked empty. Alick had had the good sense not to follow him and was nowhere in sight. Turning back to the women, he said, "Ye're right, and ye do no' ha'e to be. Let go o' Jetta and--"
"I am not a fool," she interrupted dryly. "The minute I let her go you will attack." Her gaze slid to the passage and back again and she urged Jetta to her feet as she said, "So . . . I think I will just take her with me."
"I'm no' a fool either, wench," Aulay growled. "I ken do ye leave here with Jetta, she's as good as dead."
"Jetta," Cat said with disgust. "Her name is Sorcha, or Sorry, as I like to call her. But it is not Jetta."
"It is now," Aulay said unperturbed. He'd noticed Jetta's wince at the unkind nickname, and vowed if he ever heard anyone call Jetta that, he'd beat them into the ground himself. Returning to the subject at hand, he said, "Ye can take Jetta with ye as far as the passage entrance. If ye let her go there, ye're free to flee through the passages. I'll no pursue ye."
Cat looked toward the passage and back to him, as if considering, and then said, "Move away from there then."
Aulay nodded, and took a moment to glance to Jetta. He hadn't dared before this, but now he met her gaze and offered her a reassuring smile, trying to convey that all would be well. His heart nearly broke when Jetta peered back at him with apology in her eyes, of all things. To him that meant she'd already given up.
Mouth tightening, he eased to his left, moving closer to the tub, but on the side opposite the two women. Cat watched him narrowly as if expecting a trick, but did urge Jetta to move along the other side of the tub in the direction of the passage. When she gestured with her head that Aulay should move further to his left, he took a couple of short steps along the tub toward the back wall of the room.
Once he had, Cat moved Jetta another few feet the opposite way and then suddenly paused.
Noting the way her eyes narrowed as she looked through the opening into the passage, Aulay felt his heart sink.
"Who's in there?" she barked suddenly. "Come out."
There was a pause and then Alick stepped into the opening, looking chagrined.
"Get over there with Aulay," Cat snapped.
Muttering an apology, Alick moved up beside him, and they both watched Cat tilt her head to get a better look into the darkness. A moment passed, and Aulay was quite sure she didn't see anything else. His brothers weren't stupid. They would have moved back to ensure they didn't give their presence away until she was in the passage. Aulay was positive she didn't see anything. Unfortunately, the lass was smart and said, "I know you are there. You might as well come out."
When silence reigned and no one appeared, she said, "Or should I just slit Jetta's throat and be done with it?"
Aulay saw Jetta wince, noted the bead of blood that appeared as Cat pressed the point of her knife harder against his wife's skin. Hands clenching helplessly, he barked, "Come out!"
Dougall appeared, followed by Murine, Uncle Acair, Conran . . .
Mouth tight, Aulay shifted his gaze to see how Cat was taking this development, and she snapped, "Over by Aulay. Now."
The room wasn't a very big one, and they'd all been kind of gathering in front of the passage opening, blocking it somewhat from view, but now they moved as a group toward him and Alick, allowing Niels, Edith, Greer, Cam, Rory and Jo to follow.
Cat scowled at the group of them now clustered across from her. She'd drawn Jetta back several steps to stay out of reach as the crowd grew, and now stood in the door to the master bedchamber and eyed them all with irritation.
"What about the other one?" Cat asked sharply. "The one who was with the maid when I shot her?"
"Geordie is with her still. He has no' left her bedside since she was injured," Aulay assured her solemnly, trying to keep her calm. She seemed to him to be getting agitated.
"You probably have soldiers in there, waiting to grab me," she muttered to herself.
Before Aulay could assure her there were no soldiers, Jetta said, "You cannot get away, Cat. It is finished. Please, just give yourself up before you get hurt."
"You would like that would you not? Me being in your husband's dungeon for the rest of my days so you could visit me and flaunt how you outmaneuvered me?"
"I would never--" Jetta began.
"I do not think so," Cat spat, interrupting her. Digging her knife in again, she placed her mouth by Jetta's ear and added, "And you had best hope it is not finished for me. Because if it is, I shall make sure 'tis finished for you as well,
Sorry."
"Cat," Aulay said quickly.
Much to his relief, Cat shifted her attention to him and at least didn't put further pressure on the knife at Jetta's throat.
"Surely we can come to some kind of arrangement?" he suggested in bored tones. While he was desperate, it wouldn't do to let that show. Predators fed on fear.
Cat eased the knife out of Jetta's skin, but Aulay didn't feel relief as he watched the line of blood rolling down her throat to soak into the neckline of her shift.
"What kind of an arrangement?" Cat asked warily.
"What do ye want?" he asked, and then holding his hands out to indicate his entire domain, he said, "Ye can take whatever ye want in exchange fer Jetta."
She considered him with interest, and then her gaze shifted from him to Jetta and back. A slow smile began to curve her lips, and Aulay had a bad feeling even before she said, "I want you."
"You cannot have him," Jetta said at once. "He vowed himself to me in front of a priest. He's mine. He cannot give himself to you."
"Oh, please," Cat said on a laugh. "My husband vowed to love and honor me in his marriage vows. Those vows mean nothing. Besides, mayhap Aulay would rather have me than a sorry creature like you, Sorry Sorcha. I was always the prettier of the two of us and more interesting by half than you with your stained gowns, always running about fetching Mother this, and getting Mother that like a faithful dog."
"She was dying and in terrible pain," Jetta said angrily. "Of course I did all I could to comfort her."
"And made yourself a dull little wren in the process." She smiled coldly, and added, "And a nag. You were forever locking away the whiskey and wine so Father could not drink. 'Tis why it was so easy for me to convince him to send you to the marquis in my place. I promised to let him drink all he wished." Raising her eyebrows, she asked, "Do you lock up Aulay's whiskey too?"
"Of course not," Jetta said with a frown. "Aulay is not drinking himself to death. You know the healer said if Father continued to drink as he was it would be the death of him."
