Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I t was not very late when they reached the camp. The men were sitting around their firepits, talking, honing their weapons, playing cards, jacks, and knuckle bones. Music from a fiddle drifted to them on the gentle night breeze, along with the smell of cooking and the distinctive aroma of one-hundred-and-fifty men who were reluctant bathers.
Annie seemed to have woken up a bit as they walked back to the tent, though her face was still drawn and pale. She had been very quiet since changing back in the woods, but he put it down to the blow to her head and the effects of the willow bark tea. He was surprised by how frightened he had been for her when she was hurt, and how relieved he had been when the healer said she would be fine. When he had cradled her between his thighs on the way to the healer’s cottage, it was the first time he had admitted to himself how much he was starting to care for her.
Which he knew was crazy, because he still did not know who she really was, or even if she was secretly planning to try to kill him again. However, that seemed to matter less and less with each moment they spent together. Helping her to change in the woods had been a strangely tender moment for him. Her absolute trust in him not to hurt her was like a drug to him that he seemed to thrive on and craved more of. It was completely different to the lust he had felt for her at the pond. That was centered in his groin, while the tenderness, the urge to care for her and protect her came directly from his heart.
“Get some rest,” he told her as they entered the tent. “If ye think ye’ll be all right alone fer a wee while, I’d like tae go and have a word with Colin. But I’ll be back in an hour or so tae check on ye. Will that be all right?”
“Aye, I feel all right, but I’m awful hungry. I think I’ll have somethin’ tae eat and then rest until ye come back,” she said.
“I’ll see ye in a wee while then,” he said, leaving the tent to go see Colin. He was eager to find out from his captain if any information had come in to confirm the existence of a secret way into the castle, though he was now pretty much convinced there was. He had noticed the way the barman in the inn had clammed up when he asked about it, which made him suspicious that the man was hiding something.
Then there was Joyce Shilling, who had worked at the castle. He was sure she had been about to confirm there was another way in when Annie had spilled the wine on her dress. That had been very unfortunate. But even without her confirmation, his sixth sense told him the hidden entrance was there somewhere, and he intended to find it.
There was also the matter of the whereabouts of Galbraith’s missing sister. He wanted to know if the scouts sent to search for her had found her. As all those thoughts were buzzing in his mind, he made his way to Colin’s tent.
“Ah, ye’re back,” the captain said when Ewan looked inside. Colin was sitting at the flimsy table and, judging by the jug of ale and flask of whisky before him, was enjoying a relaxing drink. “Before ye say anythin’, I’m off duty,” the captain informed Ewan, raising a dram in mock salute before downing it in one swallow.
“Me too, man. Pour me a dram, will ye? I could dae with a drink,” Ewan said, taking the vacant chair opposite his friend. Colin obliged, and also poured them a foaming beaker of ale each.
“So, what’s been happenin’ while I’ve been gone? Any news?” he asked his second in command.
“Nay, naethin’ tae write home about, and nae a squeak about Galbraith’s sister. But the men will be settin’ off soon in search of this supposed secret entrance tae the castle, so that might prove worthwhile’.”
“Aye, I’m lookin’ forward tae seein’ if they find anythin’,” Ewan said, swallowing his dram and pouring himself another.
“How did ye get on in the village? Did ye find out anythin’?” Colin asked.
Ewan began to tell him what had happened that evening. As the pair discussed things, they continued drinking steadily. Ewan found himself enjoying the brief respite from his responsibilities. However, even though he felt quite drunk, when he imagined roughly an hour and a half might have passed, he remembered he had to go and check on Annie.
He hauled himself to his feet. “I must get back tae see if she’s all right,” he muttered.
“What?” Colin said. “Who’s she ?” He suddenly grinned. “Ye havenae brought a wee bedmate back from the village fer the night, have ye, Ewan?”
“Ach, bloody hell! Damn that whisky,” Ewan exclaimed, not so drunk as to not realize he had made a serious slip up.
“Ye have, haven’t ye?” Colin asked, laughing.
Ewan raked his hands through his hair as he looked at his friend, the man he trusted with his life and felt terrible about lying to. He made a decision. “Ach, I might as well tell ye. But ye must swear nae tae tell a soul,” he said.
“Why? What is it?” the captain asked, his brow wrinkling with curiosity.
“Swear on yer life.”
“Fer God’s sake man, I swear!”
“All right. ’Tis Harris,” Ewan began and stopped, not quite knowing how to go on.
“What about Harris?”
“Ye all think he’s a lad.”
Colin’s face creased up even further, in obvious bewilderment. “What are ye goin’ on about, man?.”
Ewan leaned his palms on the table and shook his head. “Nay, ye’re wrong. He’s nae a lad. He’s a lassie, and her name is Annie Dean.”
After a moment’s pause, Colin burst in to laughter. “That’s a good, one, Ewan. Harris, a lassie! Pull the other one, man. Ye’ve had too much of that whisky, I reckon, Ye’re ravin’.” He slapped his thigh in merry disbelief.
“’Tis true, I tell ye. Harris is just a disguise. Underneath that uniform, he’s a… she,” Ewan said more urgently, having enough wherewithal to keep his voice low lest they be overheard.
“Ye cannae be serious, Ewan,” Coin protested, his expression turning from mirth to alarmed incomprehension.
“I am bein’ bloody serious. D’ye think I’d make up somethin’ like that?” He sat down again and proceeded to tell his friend everything he had been keeping from him. He told him about how he had been sleeping in his cot and been awoken by a noise and found himself about to be stabbed by an assassin, who, after a struggle, he had managed to overcome.
“And when I pulled off the assassin’s cap, ye can imagine me surprise when I discovered it was a woman!”
“Jaysus God Almighty!” Colin exclaimed under his breath, rubbing his face in disbelief. “D’ye nae understand the risk ye’ve been takin’, keepin’ her here in the camp?”
“Of course, I dae! I’m nae a complete fool,” Ewan hissed. “But what choice did I have?”
“Ye could have told me fer one! She tried tae kill ye. Who’s tae say she’s nae gonnae try it again?” He was so obviously shocked, Ewan felt guiltier than ever and doubted his own wisdom, not for the first time. But he was not about to put Annie in harm’s way.
“She hasnae so far. I threatened tae execute her or give her tae the men if she tried anythin’ again,” he hastened to explain as best he could despite his inebriation, conscious that Annie was back at the tent alone, and possibly with a concussion. “I’ve nae let her out of me sight, and I’ve kept her tied tae me at night, Colin. Ye’ve seen how she’s settled intae the camp. Naebody suspects. The men like her… I mean, Harris.”
“Well, have ye at least found out who sent her tae kill ye?”
“Nay, nae yet. She’ll nae tell me anythin’ more than that she’s a lass from a nearby village and her name is Annie Dean,” Ewan admitted.
“But we should be takin’ measures tae find out! She’s far too dangerous tae have runnin’ around the camp unchecked like this, Ewan, ye must see that,” Colin protested in a low voice.
“I’m handlin’ things, Colin, so dinnae fash yersel’. Trust me, will ye?”
“Seems like ye give me nay choice. I just cannae believe ye would keep somethin’ like this from me.”
“I had tae, I’m sorry. I kent what ye would dae if ye found out. Ye’d have killed her.”
“Aye, because she’s likely an enemy spy!”
“Ach, she’s nay spy.” Ewan wished he was as confident of that as he sounded.
“She’s likely been reportin’ back every move we make,” Colin whispered accusingly.
Ewan shook his head vehemently. “I told ye, she’s nae been out of me sight since she got here. She’s had nay chance tae go anywhere alone. And she daesnae seem interested in tryin’.”
Colin stared at him. “Ye’re foolin’ yersel’, Ewan. She arrives in the dead of night and tries tae murder ye in yer bed, and ye dinnae think she’s a spy? Have ye gone mad?”
Ewan was losing patience. He was drunk, and he was worried about Annie and wanted to get back to her. “I’m nae sayin’ I trust her, and I’m nae even certain that Annie is her name. But she’s willin’ tae fight fer us, and she’s done everythin’ I’ve told her tae dae. Are those the actions of a spy?
“Besides, I’ve sworn tae protect her, and that’s what I’m gonnae keep on doin’ until this siege is over and matters between me and Allan and Galbraith are settled. That’s all I’ve got tae say about it fer now.”
“This is madness,” Colin moaned, shaking his head. “Ye’ll regret this, Ewan, I’m certain of it.”
“That’s me own affair. I’m keepin’ a close eye on her, and I take responsibility fer anythin’ that happens. Look, I’ve got tae go now, Colin. Ye swear ye’ll keep this tae yersel’?”
“Ach, get out of me tent, ye madman,” his captain told him, with an air of weary despair.
“Good man,” Ewan replied, reassured, making for the exit.
“But if ye wind up dead, dinnae come runnin’ tae me,” the captain hissed after him as he left. The warning was so ridiculous, Ewan could not help laughing to himself. The cold air hit him as he stepped outside, and he suddenly felt the drink catch up with him. He felt well and truly hammered. The world began to spin as he made his way unsteadily back to the tent, his head full of Annie.
Isla’s head had cleared thanks to the willow bark tea Ella had given her, and her injury was little more than a dull ache on her brow for the moment. In fact, it was her heart that was aching rather than her head.
Weary from the night’s activities, she had undressed to her shirt and stockings and gotten into bed, keeping her cap on just for the moment in case anyone other than Ewan came in. She propped herself up against the pillow and, bathed in the warm glow of several candles, gave herself over to worrying about what would happen if Ewan and his men discovered the tunnels leading into the castle. If they succeeded, then once they got inside, those trapped in the castle would be like lambs to the slaughter, most of all Gregory!
Desperate to protect her brother, when Ewan left the tent to see Colin, she had toyed with the idea of sneaking out of the camp and into the castle before he returned, to warn Gregory of the imminent threat. But after a lot of thought, she had decided it would be too risky. She had no idea if Ewan would be gone five minutes or an hour or two. If he returned and she was gone, he would know she had been lying to him all along, that she was a spy, and she would never be able to return. For some reason she could not fathom, she was reluctant for that to happen.
Besides that, she knew she could easily get caught sneaking out of the camp and raise suspicions of her being an enemy spy. If that happened and she was revealed to be a woman, she did not think Ewan would be able to protect her from the consequences, even if he wished to.
She decided it would be better to try to get a message to Gregory somehow, to try to persuade him to avoid bloodshed by suing for peace with Ewan. She was pondering this when she was interrupted by Ewan stumbling into the tent.
“Annie, I’m back. I’m shorry I was sho long. I got tae talkin’. Are ye feelin’ all right?” he said, slurring his words, swaying unsteadily as he grinned at her.
“Ach, ye’re drunk,” she replied, surprised to see him in such a state.
“I’m nae drunk, I jusht had a few drinks,” he said, trying to pull off his boots off and almost falling over himself in the process. Isla had never seen him like that before—he was always so in control—and she could not help laughing. Her worries receded as she watched him struggling comically with his boots for a few moments before getting up and going to help him. She had no idea what she was in for.