“Not by a long shot,” Henry said with obvious disdain. “Though he sorely deserves to be after the threats he made.”
Thoughts flew through my head like a flock of startled birds. My brother is alive in Ireland, fighting with a band of men.
“I spared his life for your sake, Selah.”
The muscles convulsed in my throat. Henry cut my brother’s hand off.
Sean sat on the ground, propped against a man for support. Others hunched at his sides, their faces etched with concern. Someone had tied a strip of cloth around his forearm to stop the blood flow. He tried to lift his remaining hand toward me, but it fell back to his side. “Selah,” he said in a hoarse whisper. His light blue eyes locked onto mine before the lids fluttered closed.
I made to go to him, but Henry’s arm turned to iron around me. “Let go,” I said, pulling harder with each passing second. “It’s Sean...he’s alive.” My voice broke unnaturally.
Henry refused to yield. “He threatened to kill you.”
Their earlier exchange returned with new meaning. “And then I’ll kill her for meddling with an Englishman.” I shook my head, unwilling to believe it. “He spoke from rage. Sean would never hurt me.”
An angry curse fell from Henry’s lips. Then the tightness in his arm gave just a bit, and I felt the indecision a split second before he fully released his grip. “Go to him, but know that I’ll kill any man who tries to harm you. Your brother included.”
I rushed forward. A man moved over to make more room, and I dropped to my knees on the cobbles in front of Sean.
“Brother,” I whispered. My fingers shook when I touched his cheek.
He opened his eyes a fraction. “Yes, Sabie. It’s me.” His eyes closed again and his head drooped forward.
I just stared at him, my emotions a torrent of confusion. Never in a thousand years did I expect to hear my childhood nickname spoken again. If not for the physical evidence of Sean’s skin beneath my gloved hand, I might have thought him an apparition. For three years I’d thought him dead. Three long years!
Henry had followed me like a deadly shadow. Two of the men stood in response, swords drawn and glaring at him in open challenge.
“Stop it!” I snapped. “We’ve no time for more fighting.”
One of the men glared at me. “You don’t give no bloody orders around here.”
A woman rose up from those still huddled at Sean’s side. She stepped in front of the man, who towered a whole head above her, and pushed a finger in his face. “Fie on you, Conri. I’ll have no more trouble today.”
Conri’s nostrils flared and the tips of his ears burned an angry red. “Don’t you be talking so to me, Marin.”
The woman huffed. “I’ll talk how I want, you stubborn brute. A wise man knows when he’s been beat, and the Englishman will have you crying for mercy if’n you don’t back down. Keep pushing, and it’ll be your sorry hide I’m patching next.”
Though he outweighed Marin by at least five stone, the man’s shoulders slumped from the stern rebuke. “There ain’t no call for insults, woman.”
“I’m giving you the truth, Conri, whether you like it or not.” Her voice softened a bit when she added, “I don’t want to see any more o’ me kin hurt today.”
A small war played out over the man’s ruddy face before he finally nodded the barest consent.
Marin kept her gaze steadfast for a moment longer before skimming her eyes over two of the other swordsmen. “Aron and Marcus, help Conri get the crowd away afore they see anything more.”
Conri jerked his head toward Henry. “What about him. He could kill Sean when we’re not looking.”
Marin turned just enough to look at Henry. “You done fighting?” she asked him, in no wise cowed by his imposing presence.
“Upon my word, I shall not act unless provoked.” By his tone, I could tell he was smiling. But even more than humor, I heard his respect for the brazen woman.
“So you have it,” Marin said, turning back to the other men. “Now get to work. The last thing we need is to have some damned lobsters breathing down our necks.”
This last part got their attention. With more than a few grumbled complaints, the three men moved away to start dispersing the crowd with loud calls to break it up and go about their business.
“Bloody stubborn men,” Marin muttered under her breath. “Always looking for a fight.” I nodded, feeling a strange kinship to this feisty woman, until the moment she knelt down and attempted to shoulder me aside. “Budge along. Your reunion can wait till I’ve tended him.”
Her sharp words jolted me back to reality. This woman wasn’t my friend, and after what happened with Henry, she might well be my enemy. The last assumption seemed most likely, judging by the unveiled hostility in her eyes.
I held my ground, refusing to cede a single inch. “Leave Sean to me, and go fetch his hand.”