Chapter 12
The smell of baking bread and the happy expression on Mary’s face had Jenna feeling triumphant with her accomplishments in the kitchen.
This was probably the first day since she’d been at Breaghacraig, when Mary had not scolded her for one thing or another.
Jenna had come to love Mary and her set-in-her-ways handling of anything to do with food or the kitchen.
It had taken some time, but Jenna had eventually won her over and that made her happy.
She wanted so much to fit in here at Breaghacraig.
She had everything she could possibly want—the man of her dreams, her best friend and now sister-in-law, and a new family who let her know in so many ways, how loved she was.
Life at Breaghacraig had been perfect. Sure, she missed all the modern conveniences of the twenty first century, but she had gladly given it all up for her man.
Cormac was more than she’d ever hoped for.
He was kind, loving and he knew how to make her laugh.
She realized now, after being here and being his wife for a while, that she had really been quite awful to him when they first met and she was happy he hadn’t let that get in the way of winning her over.
Lost in her own thoughts, Jenna almost missed the arrival of Latharn and Sophia as they practically fell into the kitchen.
It appeared as if Sophia couldn’t go another step further, so Latharn picked her up and carried her to a nearby chair.
Latharn was alarmed about something; Jenna had never seen him so frazzled before. He was normally a very levelheaded man, but Sophia was special to him and he was obviously very upset about something that had happened.
“What’s wrong?” Jenna asked, glancing across to Mary, hoping for some hint of what had happened.
“The witch, Brielle, has escaped! She tried to kill Sophia!” Latharn appeared terribly embarrassed about something.
“Oh, my, Sophia, are you okay?” Jenna asked.
“Here, lass, drink this.” Mary handed Sophia a cup of whiskey and held her hand as she brought it to her lips and took a big gulp, coughing and sputtering as it went down.
Latharn seemed unable to move and he couldn’t take his eyes off Sophia. Jenna could see how concerned he was about her and wanted to put him at ease.
“Latharn, you go and get help. Mary and I will make sure no further harm comes to Sophia.” Latharn hesitated for only a moment, before he turned and ran down the passageway, calling for Cailin and Cormac.
Sophia was gasping for breath and Mary tried to get her to drink some more whiskey. “Just a small sip, lass. Ye took a wee bit much the last time.”
Sophia did as Mary suggested, and with Mary’s soft motherly voice soothing her, Sophia was finally able to speak.
“I couldn’t breathe. She made it so I couldn’t breathe!
I must have passed out and the next thing I knew, Latharn was helping me into the kitchen.
I was so scared! I thought I was going to die, but now she’s escaped and who knows what she’ll do!
” Sophia seemed as if she might be about to start crying.
“Latharn had no choice. He unlocked the door for her. She would have killed me, if he hadn’t. ”
“It’s okay, Sophia. They’ll find Brielle and deal with her before she can cause any more trouble.
” Jenna hoped she sounded convincing, because she was anything but confident they could stop that witch.
Worry for Cormac and the others began to seep into her brain, filling her with dread.
Please, don’t let any harm come to Cormac, she prayed.
He had become her world and it would kill her if anything happened to him.
“I’m going to find Ashley and Irene. I’ll be right back. Stay here.”
“Dinnae ye fash, Jenna. I’ll take care of Sophia and if the witch is unlucky enough to find herself here in my kitchen, she’ll be verra sorry.” Mary waved a large piece of firewood in the air. Jenna couldn’t help but smile despite her concerns, as she left the kitchen in search of her friends.
***
“Cailin! Cormac!” Latharn stumbled out of the castle and into the bright afternoon sun.
“Aye, Latharn,” Cormac answered. “What’s wrong? Ye look terrible.” And then as if realizing the problem, Cormac continued. “Who’s watching Brielle?”
“That’s what I’ve come to tell ye. She’s escaped!” Latharn was doubled over, hands on knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“Explain,” Cormac demanded.
Cailin and Robert came running towards them from the practice field. “What’s all the commotion?” Robert asked.
“Latharn is just about to tell us. It seems Brielle has escaped,” Cormac responded swiftly.
All three men stood together, silently waiting for Latharn to speak.
Latharn was ashamed of himself for letting Brielle out, but he had to save Sophia.
He loved her and he wouldnae allow anyone to harm her.
He just wished he had been able to do more to stop the witch before she got away.
Taking a deep breath, Latharn told the men exactly what had happened.
He mentally prepared himself for the berating he was certain would follow, but much to his surprise, there was total silence.
“I’m verra sorry,” Latharn said. “It was wrong of me, but I couldnae let her harm Sophia.”
Again, he waited for someone to pummel him, or at the very least, have him taken away and locked up.
“’Tis nae yer fault, lad. Any one of us would have done the exact same thing if it had been our woman she’d bespelled, and that is what Brielle was counting on.
She knew ye wouldnae stand by and watch as she sucked the verra life out of Sophia.
” Robert paced back and forth. “We must locate her immediately!”
“Aye, but how?” Cailin asked. “We have nae idea where she is or what she might do next. We should send the women off to Ewan’s castle, until we have everything under control.
I dinnae trust that Brielle wouldnae try to harm Ashley or our baby.
I think it’s best for them to seek refuge with yer brother for the time being. ”
“Yer right,” Robert agreed. “Latharn, start spreading the word that the women and children are to leave the castle as soon as possible.”
“Aye, sir,” Latharn said. He walked away swiftly to do as he had been told, relieved that Sophia would soon be out of harm’s way.
***
Jenna found Irene and Ashley sitting by the fire, sewing baby clothes. They both looked up as she hurriedly entered room.
Ashley held up the little outfit she was working on, “Jenna, what do you think? Isn’t it the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen?”
Jenna was sure she looked anything but interested in baby clothes, at that particular moment.
“What’s wrong, Jenna,” Irene asked, taking note of Jenna’s worried expression. She stood up and hurried across to Jenna, taking her hand. “Tell us.”
“Brielle has escaped. We don’t know where she is,” Jenna said, managing to calm herself enough to fill them in on the details. “We need to find the men.”
Ashley put down her sewing and joined them. “We’ll all go.”
They were just about to leave when Latharn came rushing through the doors. “My ladies, yer husbands have requested that ye prepare to leave. Ye will be escorted to Sir Ewan’s castle as soon as yer ready.”
“What? I’m not going anywhere without Cormac,” Jenna protested.
“Sir Robert has ordered that all the women and children are to leave the castle. ’Tis fer yer own safety,” Latharn responded, looking as if he fervently hoped Jenna wouldn’t continue to argue with him.
“Where are they?” Ashley asked.
“They were in the courtyard, making arrangements to see you all to safety,” Latharn explained.
“Thank you, Latharn. We’ll get ready to leave,” Irene announced firmly.
“Jenna, Ashley, I ken ye dinnae wish to leave yer husbands, but Robert is right. We dinnae ken what this witch is capable of. So far, her mischief hasnae done more than cause chaos and a few wee injuries, but now that she understands we ken who she is, there’s nae telling what she may be capable of. ”
Jenna gave that some thought and realized that leaving would be for the best. She was worried about Ashley and the baby, and Irene and her children, not to mention all the other innocents who might find themselves in the path of Brielle’s ire. “Let’s get ready then.”
***
Hours later, the courtyard was lined with wagons, being loaded with passengers and their belongings. Maggie and Dylan charged through the gates atop their horses and came to an abrupt halt near the stables, where they quickly dismounted and ran to discover what was happening.
Seeing Jenna, the two of them headed her way. “What’s going on?” Maggie demanded.
“Brielle has escaped and we don’t know where she is.
Robert thought it best for all of the women and children to leave the castle and head to Ewan and Lena’s for our safety,” Jenna answered.
It was obvious from her composure that she was nervous.
She kept searching the area and relief spread across her face when Cormac made his way through the others to reach her.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “I’m scared, Cormac,” she told him.
“All will be well, Jenna. Dinnae be afraid,” Cormac responded.
“I can’t help it. What if something happens to you? I can’t bear to think about it,” she replied.
“Then dinnae,” Cormac smiled down at her and plunked a kiss on her forehead. “I love ye, Jenna, and I’m nae about to leave ye.”
Maggie watched and realized she wasn’t jealous of these exchanges anymore.
She finally had Dylan for her own and the possibility of love was alive in her.
Cormac escorted Jenna to her horse, Rose, and helped her mount.
Maggie searched for Cailin and Ashley and giggled as they argued over whether Ashley was riding her horse or travelling in a wagon.
It was obvious which Ashley preferred and it was the exact opposite of what Cailin wanted.