Chapter 28
T hey needed a proper plan. None of this rush in and save him or ride in and hope for the best . Without a watertight plan and some clever thinking, they didn’t have a chance in hell of saving Sandy.
Unfortunately, Brigid had absolutely no idea what to do. Her mind seemed frozen, full of a thousand images of Sandy lying still in the cart, his hands tied and his clothes smeared with his own blood.
She drifted in and out of the parlour. Tam and Mary were holed up in there, alternately grieving and plotting. Tam had already started on the whiskey. Brigid had tried to offer a few suggestions, but they didn’t really seem to hear her.
She wanted to help Sandy, of course. More than anything. But this tragedy brought home just how much of an outsider she was, in this place of close-knit relationships and lifelong bonds. When Sandy was here, she’d felt like a part of everything. Now, she just felt lost. She was certain of one thing, though - she couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.
Tam and Mary seemed utterly unable to come up with a plan. They were both too shocked and horrified to think straight. Brigid could hardly blame them. Combined with the whiskey, she suspected that they would not act until tomorrow at the least.
They wouldn’t hang Sandy before then, would they? He was a gentleman, so it might yet be a few days until his trial, let alone his hanging. Things had to be done properly when a gentleman was involved, Tam said. None of it would be rushed, for fear of serious reprisals.
But Brigid could not bear to wait. She owed Sandy so much - she owed him everything. She had to save him.
So, wearing her borrowed breeches, she crept out of the castle. Most of the horses were exhausted from Edmondson’s ambush, but she found one that still seemed fresh enough. She didn’t want to involve any of the servants, so she managed to sneak the beast out of the stables by herself. Unfortunately, that meant no saddle - she just couldn’t figure out this eighteenth-century riding equipment. But at least she had plenty of experience riding bareback. She could do this.
And besides, she didn’t have to go that far.
Because Brigid had made a decision. She couldn’t rush into the lockup and save Sandy by herself, but she knew who could - someone with influence, with power, with blunt force. And she was prepared to bargain with the very last thing she had.
Herself.
Brigid rode right up to Edmondson’s camp. When the first men caught sight of her, they began to jeer and catcall. Their comments were vile, but Brigid ignored them all. She was not here for them. She let their words wash over her.
She rode on until she reached the centre of the camp. There were men all around her now, leering up at her. One even had the gall to stroke her leg. She kicked him off, but he just laughed.
“I want to speak to Edmondson,” Brigid called, keeping her voice as steady as she could. She must not show her fear.
Just a moment later, Edmondson strolled out from his tent. And then, close behind him, ducking his head through the tent flap to emerge into the open air, came Finn.
Brigid’s heart almost exploded with joy and relief. She jumped down from her horse and threw herself at Finn, raising her arms to wrap them around his neck. But he held her at arm’s length, looking down his nose at her. There was no matching joy in his eyes, just disdain.
“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Brigid breathed, trying not to cry. “Oh, Finn, I’ve been so worried.”
He laughed scornfully. “Of course I’m alive. What the hell are you doing here, just riding in like that?”
Brigid’s joy evaporated as the original purpose of her mission hit her with full force. She took a deep breath and turned to the Professor.
“I’m willing to give up the fight,” she told him. “I’ll do whatever you want, for as long as you want. You just have to promise that you’ll let Finn go home, and use your influence and armed men to get Sandy - Alexander MacLeod - out of the jail house before his trial.”
Edmondson nodded. For a second, Brigid’s heart rose. He was agreeing!
Then two of his men grabbed her arms, laughing.
“You certainly will work for me,” Edmondson said. “But I won’t be freeing anyone. Your Sandy is not my business, and I would be more than happy to see the man hang.”
Finn burst out laughing.
Brigid turned to him, shocked.
“Finn, why are you laughing?” she asked. “He just said he won’t let you go home!”
Finn laughed even harder. “Oh, you stupid woman,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I can go home whenever I like. Have you really not worked it out yet? I’ve been part of this all along.”
Brigid stared at him. What did he mean? Nothing he said made sense.
“Your friend here was working for me long before he ever met you,” Professor Edmondson said smoothly.
His words sank in slowly. Brigid felt her eyes fill with tears, although they did not yet fall. Her mouth fell open as she stared at Finn.
“Do you mean… you don’t love me?” she asked, a strange numbness spreading across her body. “You don’t want to marry me?”
Finn’s mouth twisted, as if he tasted something disgusting. “Of course not,” he said. “It was all an act for your benefit. Frankly, I’m relieved that I don’t have to keep it up any longer.”
He turned away.
“Secure her,” Edmondson ordered. “I’ll be back for her later, once everything is ready.”
The two men dragged her off. And now, her tears did fall. She tried her best to stem them, but they just kept coming, as much as she didn’t want these men to see her cry. Her face was wet in seconds, and the trickle only grew stronger.
Finn, the man of her dreams, the man she loved more than anything, had never loved her at all?
The silent trickle of tears turned into a raging waterfall.