Chapter 13
Elspeth struggled to breathe through the hood. She yelped and tried to lash out, but the men who were carrying her had iron grips. They smelled musky, of ale and the earth. She assumed they were the same men in the tavern and that one of them was Angus.
She heard a door shut behind her, and one of the men was told to keep watch. Elspeth was hauled downstairs. Her feet skipped, and she would have stumbled had the men not been keeping her upright.
There was a familiar scent in the air as well, although she wasn’t in the right mind to try and place it.
Panic had set in, and her breathing was frantic; she could not concentrate on anything other than her own fear.
She was unceremoniously thrown to the floor.
She instinctively outstretched her hands to break her fall, but because she was blindfolded, she misjudged, and instead of taking the impact of the fall on the palms of her hands, she took the brunt of it on her forearms, and she yelped in pain.
She drew her legs in, trying to curl herself into a ball and make herself as small as possible.
Never before had she been attacked like this.
There had always been the threat of bandits lurking in the world, but Elspeth had always been safe in Kilin.
It was a grim reminder that she was not in Kilin any longer.
After the initial shock of falling, she ran her hands around her body and was relieved to find that nothing was broken.
But she was still at the mercy of these men, and she had no idea what they had planned for her.
She raised her hands to try and take off the hood, but as soon as she did so, rough hands grabbed her wrists.
She whimpered at the sharp grip, and hot tears stung her eyes.
“Please, dinnae hurt me! I dinnae know what ye want with me,” Elspeth said in a trembling voice.
She chastised herself for being so stupid at not sensing their presence outside.
She cursed herself for being so foolish as to not bring a guard with her to the village.
She had wanted to believe so badly that things could be like they were in Kilin, where she could walk freely without feeling any danger at all.
Her lower lip trembled as she struggled against the men holding her.
They would not let her arms go, and soon she stopped struggling because she didn’t want to use up all her strength.
She had no idea how long she would be held and might need to keep a reserve of strength for later.
“We dinnae want much, lass,” one of the men said. She recognized the rough, cruel voice as that of Angus. “We just want a wee bit of information.”
“Information? About…about what? I dinnae know what I could tell ye. I dinnae know why ye hae captured me. I think ye hae the wrong lass!” she spoke in a plaintive, trembling voice.
There was a faint hope that they might soon see the error of their ways.
“If ye let me gae I wilnae tell anyone about this. We can carry on as though naething happened. I swear it, on all that is holy I wilnae tell anyone.”
“I’m sure we can all trust the word of a sweet, innocent lass like yerself,” Angus said, “but that wilnae help us get what we want. All we’re gaeing tae dae is ask ye a few questions, and all ye hae tae dae is answer.
After that, we’ll let ye gae, and ye can dae whatever ye want. Does that sound fair?”
“I suppose sae,” Elspeth said, although she had no idea if she could trust what Angus said. A promise from him was as reliable as a crumbling bridge.
“Good, good,” Angus said. “Well then, ye can begin by telling us about the castle grounds. I want tae know everything, every nook and cranny, every shadow that can hide something. I want tae know it all.”
“I…I dinnae know what tae tell ye. I dinnae know the castle that well. I hae only been here a wee while. There’s the chamber, the kitchens…”
“I dinnae care about that! I want tae know the secret ways in and out. I want tae know where the armory is and how many guards are usually on patrol. I want tae know where that damned laird spends most of his time sae I can gae in there and give him a piece of my mind.”
Elspeth assumed that Angus was going to give him far more than that. More likely, he was going to give Finlay the pointy end of a sword. While she had no doubt that Finlay could defeat Angus in a fair fight, she had the feeling that Angus wasn’t interested in any fight that was fair.
“I dinnae know any of that!” Elspeth said in a shrill voice.
Angus cursed.
“Maybe she really doesnae know,” another man said. “What if we got the wrong lass? We cannae make her tell us.”
“Oh, I can make her talk alright,” Angus said. Elspeth felt the heavy sense of foreboding as his footsteps reverberated across the floor. There were shocked gasps from the other men in the room. Fear rippled across Elspeth’s skin.
“She’s just a lass! Ye cannae dae this. We want tae get the laird, nae anyone else,” someone cried out.
“Sacrifices hae tae be made. This was never gaeing tae be a clean business. If we want tae get rid of him, then we’re gaeing tae hae tae get our hands dirty.
If any of ye are tae scared tae gae through with this, then ye can leave now, but ye are all here because ye know that this is the right thing.
We hae all suffered; we all want a better life for ourselves.
This is the way tae get that. All she haes tae dae is tell us what we want tae know.
It’s entirely in her hands. If she doesnae want tae talk, well… she knows the consequences.”
Angus’s tone was grim. It promised nothing but pain.
“Please dinnae dae anything. Please, Angus,” she said. As soon as the word slipped out, the mood of the room changed. There were murmurs and whispers.
“How dae ye know my name?”
“I…I overheard it in the tavern the other day. I hae nae told anyone else, I swear,” she said.
“I just wanted tae forget about it all. I dinnae know why ye want tae plot against the laird. He haes been naething but kind tae me.” This wasn’t entirely true, but Elspeth wasn’t about to complain about her marital problems to these men.
“Surely ye can find it in yer hearts tae give him another chance? He is married now. Perhaps his wife can temper his foul mood.”
Angus scoffed. “Pah! The chances of that are as good as me waking up tae find a pile of gold at the end of my bed. Nae lass could temper a heart as black as his. In fact, we’re daeing her a favor.
Better tae be a widow than married tae that man.
I cannae imagine what a life with him would be like.
” But Elspeth could, and now she feared that the life she hoped for herself was vulnerable to the plans of this man.
“Angus, we need tae talk about this. If she knows who ye are, then she can just tell someone when she gets back tae the castle. It wilnae be long before the guards come and confront ye,” one of Angus’s men said.
“Then we’ll just hae tae make sure she doesnae make it back tae the castle,” Angus said.
“Ye cannae be thinking about murdering her?” a shocked gasp sounded. Elspeth’s breath caught in her throat.
“Oh nae, nae unless she misbehaves. But I can keep her here. Maybe she can keep me fed instead of tending tae the laird. I need a good woman around here anyway.” Angus’s voice rumbled with laughter, but Elspeth was far from amused at the prospect of being kept as his prisoner-wife.
She did not reveal that she was Finlay’s bride as she worried that it would only make her more of a target and more valuable to them.
If they kept thinking she was nothing but a simple maid, then she still had a chance to get out of there alive, but if she was the lady of the manor, then they would never let her go.
“I wilnae misbehave. I promise. I’m sorry. I told ye that I am only here for a wee while. When I leave, I will never speak again of this place. I swear tae silence, please, ye hae tae believe me.”
“Oh, I believe ye, lass,” Angus said, “but I also know that ye know more than ye are letting on. Ye hae lived in the castle, and even though it haes only been for a wee few days, that’s still more of it than we hae ever seen.
Haes the laird ever invited us tae a feast?
Nay, we weren’t even important enough tae be invited to his wedding.
Ye would think that once in a wee while, he would throw us a bone and let us enjoy some of the food we work sae hard tae produce for him, but that place is like a fortress.
Why dae ye think we should be loyal tae him when he haes never shown us any loyalty?
Ye are fortunate if ye get tae leave soon.
I wouldnae condemn anyone tae live in this place, nae until changes are made.
Ye can help make this place better, lass.
All ye hae tae dae is answer my questions. ”
“I…I dinnae know,” Elspeth said in a trembling voice.
She had no idea what to do. The last thing she wanted was to betray Finlay and tell Angus what he wanted to know, but she feared that the longer she disappointed them, the angrier Angus was going to get, and as he had declared, he was not going to hesitate to harm a simple maid.
“This is getting us naewhere,” one of the men said. She heard them move to the far end of the room. They lowered their voices so that she could not hear what they were saying. Then, heavy footsteps approached, and Angus’s rough voice greeted her.
“We’re gaeing tae leave ye tae yerself for a wee while.
Think about all ye hae heard, and when I come back, we’re gaeing tae hae another conversation.
I hope that ye will be able tae remember something that might help me; otherwise, I’ll hae nay choice, but tae use any means necessary.
” There was a faint hint of desire in Angus’s voice, as though he wanted her to fail, as though he was just waiting for her to slip up so that he had an excuse to hurt her.