Chapter Nineteen #2
Maisie giggled lightly at his comment. I was astounded by her bravery.
She had the courage of all these soldiers put together.
Either that or she was that sure of her feminine influence that she had no doubts whatsoever that she could manipulate these and any other men any way she chose.
“That might be arranged, after I bring you some meat from our kitchens. What do you prefer? Lamb? Or venison? Why don’t I bring a bit of both?
” She stood close to the soldier who had spoken to her directly, fingering the tufted horsehair of the helmet he still wore.
“A big, strong warrior such as yourself needs sustenance.”
“Aye,” the man replied, somewhat less lecherously, as though he was, in fact, hungry.
She weaved her way through the men, describing some of the food the kitchens had to offer. She had the undivided attention of each and every one of them.
And I took my opportunity. I reached from behind the leafy branch I hid behind to grab the whiskey bottle, which was unstoppered. Carefully—and quickly—I poured the entire contents of the glass vial into it, swirling it to mix the contents. Then I placed the bottle back where it had been.
Maisie watched me out of the corner of her eye as she leaned over one of the men, granting him a privileged view of her abundant cleavage.
“What a big sword you have,” she commented, touching his shoulder.
“I like strong warriors with big swords. Why don’t I get you some more whiskey, as well? Have you run out?”
The soldier looked to his right, locating the bottle. And to our infinite luck, he took a large swig, then passed the whiskey around. The men drank all that was left. “Aye,” said one of the men, to which the other men laughed.
“Stay a little longer,” one of the soldiers said, touching Maisie’s gown with his hand, but she skirted him coquettishly.
“I’ll be back soon,” Maisie told them, retreating into the darkness. “I’ll feed you myself if you’re good. If you let me play with your sword.”
“Hurry,” one of them called after her.
There was some murmured mirth in the aftermath of Maisie’s interruption, which lulled into silence within a matter of minutes. By the time Maisie found her way back to me, several of the men were snoring loudly and all of them were sprawled on the ground, deeply asleep.
Our plan had worked.
Campbell still lay in front of the door, holding the keys loosely in his grasp.
It almost seemed too risky to tamper with him.
The possibility of waking him would have unleashed too much consequence.
But of course we needed the keys. I had no doubt Kade would be chained and worse.
But as I reached with determined trepidation to extricate the keys from the sleeping warrior’s grasp, a hand went over my mouth as I was grabbed roughly around the waist and pulled behind a bush.
* * *
MY FIRST THOUGHT was that one of the men had awakened or had feigned sleep, suspecting our plan, thwarting it and avowing to kill us in retribution.
I was so certain that my time had come that I almost gave into it.
I went still, allowing myself to be dragged backward.
Episodic images flickered across my consciousness.
My mother’s face, hazed by the distance of time; my sister Ann’s kind eyes; the scent of the night garden; Kade’s expression as we’d made our wedding vows.
And in that flashing memory, I had a sudden and powerful realization: he’d loved me even then.
I’d been too overcome on the day and knew too little about the manifestations of his emotion at that time to read him.
But now, in hindsight, I understood. He wants you.
And I wanted him. Desperately and acutely. More than my own life.
I thrashed against my aggressor, reaching for my knife and breaking free at the same moment he let go.
I turned on him, holding up my knife, ready to strike.
But I stopped myself, as I realized who it was.
It was Caleb. His hands were held up in a defensive disclosure.
Maisie stood behind him. Both of them looked at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
“Stella, you’re armed?” Caleb asked. “You’re fighting back?
” In his simple questions, I realized Caleb had summed up the changes in me that my marriage had, if not introduced, then at least allowed.
I was empowered. And I had to admit, it felt remarkably good.
I felt strong and wild-eyed. Defiant and bold.
Here now, with a knife in my hand and a purpose to fight for, I felt a truer version of myself than ever before.
I was going to get what I wanted—my husband—no matter what I had to do to find him, free him and keep him.
Or I would die trying. “While I applaud your sentiments,” Caleb said, “put it down. I’m here to help you.
There’s another way in. If Campbell wakes, he’ll kill us all. Come. Hurry.”
We crept farther around the base of the tall hill, following Caleb. “How did you find us?” I whispered.
“My brother heard that your husband was taken. I went to find you and your sisters told me where you were headed. Jamie’s waiting for us at the back entrance. ’Tis used by the tradesmen,” he explained. “I used it when I installed the chains.”
Jamie was loyal to my husband, I knew that.
And I was relieved by it, especially now, in this fraught and dangerous darkness.
It made me feel as though our cause had numbers and hope.
Campbell was here, but Aleck was dead. Campbell’s small army was among us, but so were our own troops, many of which were against the mutiny, and fighting on our side.
Caleb spoke again. “Jamie has sent messengers to summon the Mackenzie army. Since they’re our closest neighbor, they’ll at least know of our plight. They may even have made it to Kinloch by now. They were dispatched some time ago.”
If we didn’t free Kade by the time the Mackenzies arrived, he would be used as a pawn against his family, and if they didn’t agree to any—and every—request made of Campbell, Kade would be tortured, slowly and horribly, until his life bled away.
And there were many, many requests Campbell could make of them, I knew.
He wanted ultimate power of the Highlands, including Ossian Lochs and Kinloch, too.
Kade’s life was worth it all to me, and to his siblings, but how much would be sacrificed to save him?
I stopped in my tracks, remembering a crucial detail. “The key, Caleb. We still need the key.”
Caleb smiled slyly, pulling something from the pocket of his trews. He held up a large and intricately carved silver key, which shone white in the moonlight. “I always make an extra. It proves handy to possess the master key to every lock in the keep.”
I almost threw my arms around him and kissed him.
Out of gratitude and nothing more. My fondness for Caleb was there, in my memory and here now.
Once I had thought of his face as an etching on my thoughts, and it was true still.
If Caleb was a pleasant, comforting surface inscription, then Kade was a deep, gouging totality.
My love for my husband had become so much a part of me that it felt like the very blood that coursed through my veins.
Aye, his warrior’s blood had mixed with my own, transforming my life, and me along with it.
We could see Jamie’s silhouette now, against the night.
But there was no door, nor bushes of any kind.
And then, as we drew closer, I could see that a trapdoor had been opened, lined with sod and dirt.
There was a small hole in the ground, just large enough for a man to fit through.
The top rungs of a ladder leading down were just visible.
Wordlessly, Jamie began to climb into it, disappearing from sight. Caleb made a move to follow him, but I held his arm. “Caleb,” I began, “you don’t have to risk your life. You’ve done enough.”
But Caleb gently removed my hand, as though remembering Kade’s warning. “Your husband, Stella, is soon to be laird of our clan. Considering our past, my life will be a living hell if I don’t prove to him that I am worthy and loyal. Let me do this.”
Caleb began climbing down into the dungeons and I didn’t bother to argue with him further. In truth, I was glad of his newfound bravery, and I understood it. We had both grown in this way and there seemed no point to deny him his right to prove himself.
I turned to face Maisie, and I held her hands. “Your debt is repaid, sister. There’s no need for you to come farther. Go back to the manor and lock yourself away. As lady of this keep, I’m issuing you an order. I’ll not take nay for an answer.”
“Stella, are you certain—”
“Go.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the manic resolution in my voice, the ominous and unfathomable black hole or the combination of the two, but to my intense relief, my sister, for perhaps the first time in her life, obeyed.
Maisie retreated toward the manor as I began my descent down the ladder into the dark abyss of the dungeons.
* * *
I MIGHT HAVE been descending into hell itself. The darkness was thick and total. I could see nothing, not even my own hands as I clutched the damp rungs of the wooden ladder, my feet feeling clumsily along the narrow, slippery surface for the next step. It was a long way down.
I thought of Kade. Alone. In pain. In the dark. Was his life draining away as he dreamed of the gentle hills of his home, wishing he had never seen me or met me or sacrificed himself as he had?
There were shuffling footsteps below me and a sudden, vibrant light.
Jamie and Caleb had reached the bottom and had lit a small torch that illuminated an orange circle of brightness.
They waited for me to climb down the last rungs of the ladder.
“This way,” said Jamie, leading us into a narrow dirt tunnel.