Chapter Nineteen
She did not possess the strength to lose him a second time.
Where she found the courage, Agnes did not know.
In the next moment, she too lunged forward toward Elspeth, grabbed hold of her shoulders while kicking her legs out from beneath her.
With William’s mother shrieking in the background, Connor tying William’s hands behind his back, and she sitting atop Elspeth and holding onto her hands, the scene must have looked quite horrific to anyone who might happen upon them.
Hands dug into Agnes’s hair as she was yanked off Elspeth and flung her aside to hit the wall. She’d gotten her hands out in front of her in time to protect herself from receiving a nasty blow to the head.
“You filthy bitch!” Elspeth leapt at her but was caught by John and restrained.
“She is no good to us maimed. You must remember the plan.”
Elspeth immediately backed off. Whatever hold John held over her must be great for she appeared to revere him as though he were her superior.
His words sent shivers down Agnes’s spine. This business was far from over and for the first time she believed all would not be well. She had so many questions and without William now to protect her, she considered she might never find the answers.
“Get up,” John said as he kept Elspeth at bay who looked like she wanted to tear Agnes apart one limb at a time.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because if you don’t,” John said, “you will regret it. And believe me when I say, niece, you will also soon regret your attempt to deceive me. Though your fickle plot was enough to help me escape, it was not enough for me to give up the location of our band.”
He reached down and lifted her up by the shoulder. “Now be a good lass and keep your mouth shut,” he said as he turned to Elspeth.
“This way,” she said and moved to the back of the hall to the side of the hearth. “Quick, behind here,” she said leading to a narrow passageway Agnes didn’t know existed.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked. Hair prickled at her nape and uneasiness swept over her as she realized they had left William hogtied and his mother shrieking while Connor tied her to a chair.
John shoved her forward as the first pounding began at the hall door on the other end. Someone must have realized finally the danger that had set up on them.
“Will they find us in here?” he asked Elspeth.
“It is not likely. These passageways have not been used in years, and at this point only William and my mother would know about them.”
“Where do they lead?”
“They will bring us outside of the castle walls. But we must be careful. Once the guards are inside, they will seek an alternative exit and since Connor is administering more of the poison to my mother at this moment, it is unlikely she or William will wake for many hours.”
Agnes tried hard to keep her wits about her. The last comment gave her some relief in that at least they weren’t planning to kill them, rather render them helpless until they could make their escape. The pathway was dark and the sound of Elspeth feeling her way along was unnerving.
“What do you plan to do with me?” she asked.
“If it were up to me, you’d already be dead,” Elspeth said with such a matter-of-fact tone Agnes didn’t doubt it for a second.
That she might live was likely due to her uncle; the irony was not lost on her. William would be beside himself when he woke to find her missing again. But this time was far worse than the last.
“Enough, Elspeth. Less talking and more movement. I won’t rest until we are away from this damned place and somewhere safe.”
She’d keep that nugget to herself as well. If she could find a way to delay them, she might yet survive this ordeal.
“Why won’t you tell me what you plan to do with me?” she asked him.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said.
If his intent was to ensure she remained on edge and terrified, he was achieving his goal.
Agnes’s guts were coiled as tight as could be.
Her blood pounded in her ears, and she was sure much more of this and she would surely retch.
Some part of her was convinced her own uncle would not see harm come to her.
On the other hand, he was scheming enough and dedicated enough to this plan to outsmart the king’s own guardsmen and walk straight into the castle and snatch her away.
She would of course give credit to William who would have never suspected his sister’s involvement in this rebellion.
By God, when her uncle had said they were spread far and wide, he hadn’t exaggerated.
If an earl’s own sister could be involved, there was no limit to the levels to which this cause had reached.
And that was it. Everyone had sold them short, especially William.
Her heart ached at how he would feel when he woke.
In the distance she could hear shouting and the sound gave her hope.
She had to think fast if she were to find any way to delay them exiting the castle.
The hallway was rather narrow with lots of twists and turns.
She could try to trip, but then John would likely just pick her up and carry her.
Still, it would slow his movements. She didn’t want to really hurt herself in case she needed all her parts in good working order should she need it.
“We turn here,” Elspeth said as they approached a split in the passageway.
Agnes turned to see if she could make out anything down the other passageway, but John urged her forward before she could really glean what might be there and if it might offer some security should she find a way to escape.
After several minutes the passageway widened and light from somewhere ahead brightened their way enough so Agnes could detect a doorway down at the end. The shouting she heard earlier was now completely gone; her uneasiness returned with a vengeance.
“How will we know if he made it out?” John asked.
It was then Agnes realized Connor had not followed them. If he hadn’t gone through the main door, and hadn’t followed them, did that mean there was another way out still?
“We will know shortly,” she said as she pressed her ear to the door.
Agnes was out of time. She could kick herself now for not fake tripping over something earlier. Dammit! She had to do something before they left the castle or who knows when she might have another chance. At the very least she would have to leave a sign somehow to let William know where she was.
Reaching into her pocket she searched until she found only one item. She balled up the handkerchief and pulled her hand from her pocket. Squeezing the fabric tight, she willed it to land somewhere William might find it.
Elspeth turned back to them with a smile on her face. “He’s there.”
She opened the door wide and as John pushed her through, she tossed the handkerchief behind him hoping it landed in a good place.
“Through here,” Elspeth said as she led the party through a small opening in the garden.
The time was upon her. She must do something now or she might never find another chance.
Agnes opened her mouth and drew in a deep breath.
John clamped his hand across her mouth as if foreseeing she might do something like that.
The only thing she could do now was to break free from him.
She bucked and kicked at him and tried to squirm out of the hold he had on her, but it was no use. He was too strong.
“We can’t travel with her like this. We can’t trust her,” Connor said. “Here, let me hit her over the head with this rock.”
“You’ll kill her and she’ll be of no use to us then,” John said.
“Here,” Elspeth said as she withdrew a vial from her pocket together with a piece of cloth. She poured the liquid on the cloth and returned the vial to her pocket. “We will have to be quick,” she said to John.
As soon as John’s hand lifted from her mouth, Agnes let out as much sound as she could before it was covered again by the cloth.
Pressed against her nose and mouth, she had no choice but to inhale and as soon as she did her mind turned to fog and her limbs grew heavy.
She didn’t fear for her life, but she did fear that asleep she would have no way to leave any further clues for William to find her.
Her last waking thought was of him and how she had failed him—failed them all.
*
When he woke, William found himself half sitting against the stone wall.
A cloth was placed on his head and Old Nan sat beside him.
His mother rested, her head in her hands, and wept at the table.
He looked around for Agnes, somehow knowing she was not there.
Dozens of guards and clansmen all spoke at once making the dull ache in his head worse.
“I have to admit, laddie, I’m not fond of finding you like this,” Old Nan said. When he made to get up, she placed a surprisingly strong hand on his shoulder. “Not yet. Twice poisoned in a short time and the only thing that saved you this time was the size of you and a smaller quantity.”
He understood her words, but they needed to act, and fast. The more time that passed, the less likely he would find Agnes before they secured her some place she might never be discovered.
“You’re awake,” Neville, his steward said. “How do you fare?”
“I am well enough. What do we know?”
“We managed to save most of the village. Only two homes burned and none of the merchant structures; both the forge and the tannery are intact.”
That was good news. He’d provide materials and have those homes rebuilt immediately. He would not have a family displaced for any longer than necessary and he’d put them up in the inn in the meantime.
“And Agnes?”
“We know they used the old passageways, but beyond that…”
“Do we know which one they used?”