Chapter 1
1
Alyth stumbled up the hill towards the castle, half-bent over as if she were in pain. Presently, she heard a loud shout from one of the guards at the huge gate. “Hey ye!” he cried. “What dae ye want?”
Alyth looked up at him. She had always been a good actress, and now she summoned up a flood of tears that ran in streaks down her filthy cheeks as she sobbed painfully. She stumbled as far as a few feet from the mighty gate and looked up at the man who had cried out.
“Could you give me something to eat and drink, sir?” she asked pitifully. “I am so hungry. I’ll be on my way after that, I promise.”
She watched as one of the others came to stand beside the first man, and after they had talked for a few moments, a gate, just big enough to admit one person, opened at the bottom of the big one.
“Come in, hen,” the first guard said. He was a burly man in his middle years who looked as though he could bring down a bull with his bare hands, but he had a kindly face with gentle blue eyes.
He put an arm around Alyth’s shoulders as he ushered her inside, then he took her to the guards’ room and sat her down on one of their hard wooden seats.
He ordered one of the other men to bring a blanket, then some food and warm ale, and kept a close eye on her as she ate. Alyth did not have to pretend to be hungry. She was ravenous, and wolfed down the porridge, eggs, and sausages she had been given in short order without any regard for good manners. Now was not the time to be a lady—she needed to look as pathetic as possible.
“What happened tae ye, hen?” the guard asked. He looked concerned.
“I cannot remember exactly,” Alyth replied. “It all happened so fast. I was riding in a cart that was going to the market in Roscree. I was going to visit a friend who lives there. Then all of a sudden, these men came out of nowhere and ambushed us. There must have been about a dozen of them.”
“Were they on foot?” Suddenly, another guard was by their side. He was an older man with a bushy dark beard, and he too looked troubled as he gazed at her.
The first man said, “This is the Captain of the Guard, hen.”
Alyth nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes,” she replied. “Even though we had a horse there were just too many of them, and we could not get away. The farmer had a lot of meat in his cart, and that is quite valuable stuff, so they fell on it straight away. I don’t know what happened to the farmer, but I hope he survived. I just ran for my life.”
“How did ye get away?” the Captain of the Guard asked, frowning. The whole story sounded rather implausible to him.
“I am a lady’s maid,” Alyth answered. “But the man whose daughter I serve had me trained to use a knife in order to protect her. I always carry my knife with me.” She took a small dagger in a leather scabbard out of her pocket. “One ran after me, but I managed to kick him and get away.”
“My god!” the Captain breathed as he looked at the lethal weapon. He stared at Alyth in admiration. “That’s courage, lass. Roscree, ye say?”
Alyth nodded. “Yes, but I lost my way. Where am I now?”
He looked at the other guard in shock. “Ye’re at Leithmuir Castle, home o’ Laird Carrick, an’ ye have come about seventeen miles, lass,” he explained. “How long have ye been walkin’?”
She thought for a moment. “Nearly three days,” she replied. “I had no idea where I was going, so I just walked and hoped I would find somewhere to rest.”
“Ye can rest here, hen.” The Captain stood up. “We can get a message tae your mistress an’ tell her ye are fine.”
Alyth pretended to panic. “No! Please, no!” she cried. “I never want to go back there. I only worked in their house because I had nowhere else to go, and I would have left sooner or later anyway. In a way, this is a blessing in disguise.” She stood up. “Thank you for your kindness. I will leave you now.”
“Where will ye go?” the Captain asked. He looked worried.
Alyth hung her head. “I have a little bit of money,” she replied. “I will find a job and somewhere to live somehow.”
A second later, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see the Captain of the Guard smiling down at her. “Stay here for a wee while, hen,” he suggested. “I will see if I can find ye somewhere tae stay tonight. My name is Gavin Ballantyne. An’ yours?”
“Jeannie Dunbar,” Alyth replied.
She had rehearsed her story over and over again during the course of her journey until she had memorised every last detail, including the false name she had just given herself.
“Wait here,” he told her, patting her shoulder before walking into the castle.
Alyth hugged the blanket closer to herself and finished off the last of the ale, hoping that she could remember her story; one slip, and she would be finished. She shuddered; the thought of being dragged back home and marrying Laird Roberson made her feel nauseous.
The sun was fully risen now, and her maid would be opening the curtains in her bedroom. She would find Alyth’s note and carry it to her father, who would read it and be utterly devastated. No doubt, he would begin to search the countryside around the castle for her, but he would meet with no success.
Alyth almost wept at the thought of the distress she was causing him, but it was too late to turn back now. She doubted if her horse would still be anywhere near where she left it, since an animal of such quality would be a great asset on a farm or fetch a good price at the market.
Alyth looked around her. The sounds of the guards bantering with each other was so familiar that she felt like laughing and joining in, as she had done many times before. She loved the rough company of the men, the way they teased and laughed at each other, occasionally playfully punching and slapping each other. Now and again, an impromptu wrestling match would break out and the air would be filled with cheers of encouragement from the supporters of each side.
Alyth smiled as she listened and watched. She supposed that guards were the same in every castle. The smell of leather, horses, ale, and sweat was familiar too, as was the aroma of the food the men were eating. It all engendered a great feeling of homesickness inside Alyth, and she wanted to leap up out of her chair and run back home.
For a moment, she panicked, then she heard a gentle woman’s voice behind her.
“Good mornin’, lovie.”
Alyth turned to see a small woman with deep blue eyes and greying fair hair. Alyth guessed that she was in her fifties, but she was still pretty, and her gentle smile enhanced her beauty.
“I am Maisie Ballantyne,” she said, smiling. “Gavin tells me ye are lost an’ very tired.”
Alyth nodded slowly. “I-I am,” she replied. It was not a lie; she was exhausted.
“We can soon put that right, hen.” Maisie’s voice was firm and brisk. “Come wi’ me. Ye need a wash an’ sleep, I think, an’ some clean clothes.”
“Thank you, Mistress,” Alyth said gratefully. “The robbers took everything I had, even my clothes. I was going to stay with a friend when I was ambushed.”
“Aye,” Maisie said thoughtfully. “Gavin told me about that. Are ye all right, hen?” There was a worried frown on her face.
“I wasn’t hurt,” Alyth answered. “Just very, very frightened.”
“They didnae… touch ye at all?” Maisie raised her eyebrows in a question so that Alyth understood what she meant.
“I never gave them the chance,” she replied, then shuddered. “But I don’t want to talk about it any more.”
“That’s fine, hen.” Maisie smiled. “We need tae get your dirty clothes off an’ wash ye.”
“Do-do you think the Laird would give me a job here?” Alyth asked tentatively. “I have heard he is a very kind man. I will do anything, no matter how lowly. I can work hard, and I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.”
Maisie led her into a small room. It was dim, but cosy, and had a fire, two armchairs, and a bed that was big enough for two.
“This room belongs tae me an’ my husband,” Maisie told her. “I am the housekeeper an’ he is the Captain o’ the Guard—ye have met him already. We have worked here for a long time, an’ the young Laird likes my Gavin, so he will help ye as much as he can. We both will. I can see ye are a good lass, an’ ye deserve it. Ye likely willnae get a ladies’ maid’s position again, but we will find ye somethin’.”
“What if you can’t?” Alyth asked anxiously.
“Dinnae worry, hen,” Maisie replied. “I will see that ye are no’ thrown out in the cold. I have friends in the village, but I would rather see tae it that ye stay here because I think that is what ye want, is it no’?”
Alyth sighed and nodded. “I feel safer here,” she answered. “Thank you for your kindness, Mistress.”
Maisie patted her hand. “Kindness costs nothin’ hen,” she answered. “Now I am goin’ tae get some hot water. Wait there.”
Alyth sat down on one of the chairs and looked into the fire for a while. She felt both the warmth of the fire and Maisie’s affectionate treatment, and for the moment all was well.
To her astonishment, Maisie came back almost at once with hot water and a change of clothes for her. The plain dress was a little too short, but it was better than what she was wearing. She allowed Alyth to wash and change her clothes while she went on another errand.
As she entered the room again, she smiled at Alyth. “Good news,” she said happily. “Gavin spoke tae the Laird, an’ he says he will give ye a job as a maid. Ye can start tomorrow.”
As she was led up what seemed to be a thousand stairs, Alyth felt both excited and fearful in equal measure. She had had adventures before, but they had all been the mischievous kind, like climbing trees and making her maid search for her, thinking she was lost, but this one was positively dangerous.
Yet in a way, it felt good to be free of the social obligations that had kept the reckless part of her nature tied down for so long. Yes, there was fear, but there was also freedom. As well as that, there was the satisfaction of knowing that if she achieved nothing else, she would at least frustrate any heinous plans the Carricks had. She knew they would stop at nothing in their plans to dominate the other lands in the area.
Alyth’s chamber was up in the attic, and it was so small that there was barely enough room for a bed. The roof was slanted so that she could not stand up properly, but at that moment it seemed like a palace to her. The narrow bed was not very comfortable, but Alyth slept surprisingly well on her first night, probably because she was absolutely exhausted.
In the morning, she went downstairs to meet Maisie again, carefully looking around her for pieces of furniture and pictures to remember so that she could find her way back.
It occurred to her that now would be a good time to look around a little, and if Maisie queried her lateness she could claim that she had become lost in all the passages she had to navigate. However, she decided against the plan, reasoning that she would have plenty of time later while she was working. She had no wish to take unnecessary risks.
She made her way down to the lower levels and began to walk along the corridor that led to Maisie’s room, which was on the ground floor and abutted the kitchen. Her heart was beating fast as she tried to imagine what duties she would have to perform and whether she would even be capable of them. After all, she had never had to do any manual labour in her life, and she might become a laughingstock among the other servants.
What if I’m dismissed for being hopeless at my job? she thought desperately. What will I do then?
She began to imagine freezing nights spent in barns or derelict farm cottages and shivered, but then she thought of the alternative. Laird James Robertson was a tall man in his fifties with a shock of prematurely white hair, who was so thin that his face resembled a skull. Alyth could not imagine a more repulsive figure, and knew that she would do almost anything to avoid marrying him. The thought of having to share a bed with him and engage in intercourse with him was absolutely abhorrent to her.
Maisie had given her a broom and instructed her to begin sweeping the corridors that led from the courtyard to the adjacent areas of the castle. When she heard her orders, Alyth was elated. This was a perfect excuse for her to begin to explore the castle, and have a perfectly good reason to do so.
Now, mixed with her apprehension, Alyth felt a dark glee; in a macabre way, this might actually be fun! Her hatred for the Carricks was so bitter that even the slightest injury she could commit against them would be a triumph.
She began to move quickly so that she would have the most time to explore; as far as she could see, there were literally miles of corridors, each with dozens of doors leading off them. Maisie had given her keys, but Alyth knew she would not have the time to explore every single one of them.
The chambers on the ground floor consisted of storerooms, parlours, and a few rooms that were used for administrative purposes, since they had desks and cupboards that she found were full of documents. These were the kind of rooms in which she was most interested.
Alyth wondered if she could find a way of taking some of them with her to read after her working day was finished, then she looked at them and saw that they were years old. This must be a repository for all the estates’ records. Yet perhaps these were the kind of documents she needed; knowing the Carricks’ history with their neighbours might reveal some valuable secrets. She had nothing in which to carry anything, so she decided to leave the door unlocked and come back the following day.
She looked around the room. The carpet was old and faded, as were the curtains, and the furniture had about an inch of dust on it. She got to work, clumsily finished the room hoping it would be passable if Maisie checked her work, and went onto the next.
Leithmuir Castle was a great deal grander than her own, Alyth realised as she moved further into the building. The floors were covered in Oriental carpets, the curtains were mostly made of silk brocade, and the furniture was mostly ebony and mahogany, intricately carved and polished.
Alyth searched in every drawer and cupboard she could find in what appeared to be a spare bedroom, since unlike the others it was fairly stark and bare, and had just knelt down so that she could look under the bed.
However, she found nothing apart from a carpet of dust, and was about to retrace her steps and leave the room when she heard a child’s voice calling, “Mammy.”
Alyth looked up into the face of a little girl, whom she guessed to be around eight or nine years old. Her hair was a deep red colour, and her eyes, which were wide with disbelief, were a striking blue-green.
“Oh, sweetheart, I am so glad you came,” Alyth said, pretending to be relieved. “I have just arrived here, and I’m a wee bit lost. Can you help me find my way out to the courtyard?” She crouched down a little to be on the same level as the child and smiled.
The little girl was silent, but she did not take her eyes off Alyth for a moment. Her expression of incredulity had been replaced by one of curiosity. Alyth instinctively reached out to touch the pendant that was hanging from her neck—a practised move.
The jewel was made of silver, oval in shape, and when opened revealed a picture of a beautiful woman in the middle. It was not very valuable, but had been a present from her mother on her fifth birthday, and it was precious to her.
Now, however, she needed a way to get into the little girl’s good graces because she could see by the quality of her clothes that this young lady was definitely of importance, maybe an advisor’s daughter. She had heard that Carrick had a kid, so maybe the little girl was the Laird’s daughter, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting out of there before anyone was alerted to her snooping around.
“Hello,” Alyth said gently, “My name is Jeannie, and I am the new maid here. It seems like I have lost my necklace while sweeping the floors. Have you seen it perhaps? It looks exactly like this one.”
The child said nothing, merely stared at her pendant fixedly.
“What is your name?” Alyth signed, and asked with a tentative smile. It was a long shot to depend on a wee child anyway.
Again there was silence. Alyth swallowed nervously, then continued, “Look, I’m lost. If I give you this as a present, will you show me the way out?” She asked politely.
The girl narrowed her eyes at Alyth, unconvinced. Did she suspect her by any chance? She had caught her snooping around in her bedroom…
“Please help me, lassie. This pendant is all I have left from my mother. It is priceless to me, but I’ll give it to you if you help me get out of here, and keep my job in the Keep.”
The little girl examined her a bit more, then nodded and took the proffered pendant. She clasped Alyth’s hand and led her out into the corridor. They walked beside each other, but despite Alyth’s attempts to engage the girl in conversation by asking her name, she would not say a word.
“I worked in another castle before this one,” she told her. “But it was nowhere near as nice. Have you always lived here?”
Again, the girl was mute, and after a few more futile attempts to draw her out, Alyth gave up.
They turned a few corners and then emerged into the courtyard, but before Alyth could take more than a couple of steps forward, she collided with the large and formidable bulk of a man who was standing in front of her, completely blocking her way.
He held out his hand to the little girl, and she went to him at once, then put her arms around him, smiling at him fondly. It was clear that they were very dear to each other, and Alyth realised that this was Laird Carrick, the man she had come to find, her clan’s enemy.
He was not at all what she had anticipated. For a start, he was younger, not more than thirty years old, she guessed, and he stood well over six feet tall with a well-muscled physique. The blue-green eyes that were staring into hers aggressively were the same colour as the child’s, although his shoulder-length chestnut hair was a shade darker.
The man gently eased the child behind his back, then turned to glare at Alyth from under thick brows. “Who are you?” he growled.