Chapter Four
Linnette and Paulina made their way across the courtyard and toward the stables, looking for Brom. All she wanted was to secure an escort for tonight, hoping Duncan would be there to meet her. But before she could even find the stableboy, she noticed an entourage entering the castle gates.
“Was my father expecting visitors today?” Linnette stopped in her tracks and craned her neck to see who approached.
“I’m not sure, but you can ask him. Here come your parents now,” Paulina answered.
Linnette spun around on her heel to see her mother and father hurrying from the keep and heading right toward her.
“Oh, Linnette, there you are.” Her mother’s brows dipped and she bit at her bottom lip.
“What’s the matter, Mother?” asked Linnette.
“Where have you been?” Her father’s dark eyes bore into her. “We wanted to tell you last night, but you seemed to have been avoiding us.”
“Tell me what?” Linnette started getting a very bad feeling about this.
“Whitby, is this the type of greeting I’m to expect? Because if so, I don’t like it,” came a booming voice from behind her. Linnette turned to see a man with graying hair. He was perched atop his horse, glaring down at them, his nose in the air.
“Nay, of course not, Lord Payne,” said her father with a slight chuckle.
“‘Lord Payne’?” gasped Linnette. She turned back around and whispered to her parents. “What is he doing here?”
“He’s your betrothed, my dear,” answered her mother. “He’s here to marry you on the morrow.”
“What?” she squeaked out, barely able to speak. “Nay,” she said, shaking her head. A gust of wind blew her long, auburn hair, covering her eyes. “The wedding banns haven’t even been posted yet, and that takes three weeks.”
“Lord Payne was in a hurry and didn’t want to wait,” answered her mother.
“Lord Payne, this is our daughter, Linnette,” her father introduced them.
“Hmph. Why is her hair loose and her head not covered?” complained Lord Payne. “She looks like a whore.”
Slowly, Linnette pushed back her hair from her eyes, noticing Paulina pulling a ribbon from her pouch and running over to tie back her tresses.
“Allow me, my lady.” Paulina reached out with the ribbon, but Linnette lifted her hand to stop her.
“Nay, Paulina. I rather like my hair loose. And I don’t appreciate being called a whore.
” She glared at her betrothed, who just smirked at her.
Then she looked over at her father, hoping he’d defend her, but his downcast eyes made her realize he wasn’t going to do a thing to jeopardize this alliance.
It made her angry. “Father?” she asked, waiting for his reply.
“Well, Linnette, you know you should be wearing a headdress and your hair needs to be braided,” said her father. “Lord Payne, I assure you it won’t happen again.”
“Really?” she gasped, unable to believe her father wasn’t taking her side.
“We’re so sorry,” said her mother, making Linnette even more irritated, although she knew her mother would never go against her father. She was the ever-obedient bride.
“I am sure you have proper accommodations for me and my traveling party.” Lord Payne’s words were as stiff as his body as he told and did not ask.
“Yes, of course,” said her father. “Just follow me. My steward will see to all your needs.”
“I want the wedding early enough in the morning so I can travel back to Northumbria tomorrow while there is still light.” Her betrothed was a demanding man and she didn’t like that.
“Certainly,” said her father as they headed away.
“Mother?” whispered Linnette. “Please help me. I don’t want to marry that horrid man.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but there is nothing we can do about it.” Her mother’s sad eyes met hers as the woman gently laid her hand on Linnette’s shoulder. “You will grow to accept him in time.”
“I don’t believe I will.” Linnette stepped back. Seeming surprised by her response, Linnette’s mother dropped her hand to her side. “And I certainly could never love a man like that!” Linnette continued.
“My dear. Marriages are for alliances and not about love,” said her mother. “You know that.”
“Mayhap so, but that is about to change!” Linnette spun around and stormed off to the stables with her handmaid dogging her heels.
“Linnette, don’t do anything you’ll regret,” her mother called out after her.
“Oh, I assure you, I won’t regret it,” she answered, mainly to herself, not stopping until she had entered the stable. “Brom? Where are you?” she called out.
“I’m here, my lady. Did you need your horse saddled?” asked Brom, stepping out of the shadows. He was a tall boy with wide shoulders and lots of muscles, even at his young age. Just what she needed. “Oh, hello, Paulina. So nice to see you.” Brom quickly ran a hand over his mussed hair.
“Brom, I want your help, and I need you to keep secret what I am about to ask of you,” Linnette told him.
“‘Secret’?” Brom looked up with wide eyes. “Do you mean for me to keep something from Lord Whitby? Please, don’t ask me to do that, my lady. It is against everything I believe. I could end up in the dungeon.”
“Please, Brom?” asked Paulina using a calm and sweet voice. “Lady Linnette is in dire need of an escort tonight.”
“‘Escort’?” His eyes flashed from Linnette to Paulina and then back again. “‘Tonight’? Where are you going, my lady? I mean, I thought you were getting married in the morning. Has something changed?”
“Oh, nay. I assure you, I still plan on getting married. Just not to the man my father thinks,” Linnette explained.
“Nay,” said Brom, shaking his head. “This can’t end well. I ask you to reconsider, my lady.”
“Please, just help her,” begged Paulina. “For me?” The handmaid even batted her eyelids, almost causing Linnette to laugh aloud. Still, it wasn’t a wasted effort since it worked.
“Well, all right,” said Brom softly, his gaze flickering back and forth once more. “I’ll do it. So where are we going?”
“To the moors,” said Linnette, watching the boy’s face turn ashen.
“The m-moors? Oh, nay. Please, anywhere but there.”
“Are you afraid?” asked Linnette. “Because I took you for a courageous, strong man who would be able to protect me.”
“So did I,” added Paulina.
“Well, I… Of course I am,” said Brom, his attention on Paulina now. Then his stance became straighter. “I’m not afraid.”
“Not even of a headless horseman?” asked Linnette, not able to stop herself from asking.
Brom opened his mouth as if to object, but thankfully, Paulina stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek.
It was an act that sealed the deal. No matter how harrowing the experience to come might be, now Brom was hooked and wasn’t about to leave her.
*
“Do you really think we should be here?” complained North as he and Duncan tied the reins of their horses to a tree a little ways from Castle Whitby.
“Well, you’re the one who is in a hurry to return home,” answered Duncan, pulling the hood of his cloak up and over his head. “I was more than happy to wait on the moors.”
“Ha!” North pulled his hood up as well. “I think you’re just afraid of encountering the headless rider again, even though I don’t believe he even exists.”
“I’d do anything to help Linnette. Now come on,” said Duncan, leading the way. “If we’re lucky, we can sneak in amongst some of the traveling merchants, find Linnette, and be on our way back to Scotland before the sun even sets.”
“Or we can be on our way to the castle dungeon when her father discovers two Highlanders inside his castle walls.”
“Just keep your plaid hidden, and don’t let your sword show, either.” Duncan hurried behind a line of peasants who were following a merchant driving his cart to the castle. “Keep your head down,” he whispered as they entered through the castle gate.
“What are you all here for?” called out a guard. “I need to check everyone before entering.”
“Still think this is a good idea?” grumbled North from his side.
Thankfully, the herald’s trumpet sounded from the stairs of the keep, taking everyone’s attention.
“I announce Lord Thomas Payne of Northumbria,” called out the herald.
Duncan looked up slightly to see two men standing atop the stairs. One he knew to be Linnette’s father, so he figured the other was Lord Thomas Payne.
“I wonder who he is,” whispered North.
“That is the name of Linnette’s betrothed,” Duncan whispered back, wondering why the man was already here.
“I invite you all to greet our guest, Lord Thomas Payne,” called out Lord Whitby. “And I invite everyone to join us to celebrate the marriage of Lord Payne and my daughter, Lady Linnette, which will take place right here in the courtyard tomorrow morning.”
“What?” Duncan spat out, a little too loudly. North pushed him and they hurried away, ducking into the stables before the guard noticed them.
“Keep your voice down,” commanded North. “And I suggest we get the hell out of here, since you’re obviously too late.”
“Excuse me? Who are you and why are you here?” came the voice of an angel.
Duncan looked up to see Lady Linnette standing there with a stableboy and a woman who was most likely her handmaid whom she’d called ‘Paulina’ in her missives.
“Linnette,” he said in a raspy voice. He raised his hand and slowly pushed back his hood to reveal his identity to her.
Her stern look quickly disappeared and a smile spread across her face.
“Duncan! You came for me!” She bolted into his arms and pressed her lips up against his before he could stop her.
She tasted like honeyed mead and her hair smelled like roses.
Lost in the excitement of her presence, he pulled her closer and kissed her again.
North cleared his throat. When Duncan looked up, he realized that the handmaid and the stableboy were gawking at them.
“I’m thinking it’s time to go,” said North.
“Nay! Don’t leave without me,” Linnette begged them. “My father is marrying me off to a cur in the morning and we can’t let that happen. I want to go to Scotland with you.”
“Linnette, are ye sure ye want to go to Scotland?” Duncan asked her.
“Of course I do. I’d go anywhere with you, Duncan,” she answered.
“But we heard the announcement. Ye’re supposed to marry a lord in the morning. He’s most likely rich and can give ye things that I canna.”
Her smile quickly turned into a frown. “He can’t give me love. Duncan, don’t you want me? I thought we’d agreed to one day get married.”
“Of course, I want you, lassie. It’s just that…this could cause a lot of problems for ye as well as for the Scots.”
“You sound like a coward!” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I really expected more from you, Duncan. I thought we had plans to actually marry someday. Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“I’m no’ a coward and ye ken it. And yes, I still want to marry ye. Someday.”
“In case you already forgot, by the morning, it’s going to be too late.”
“This is all so sudden. I didna ken ye were goin’ to be married to someone else so soon.”
“Neither did I! But I can’t let that happen.” Slowly, she uncrossed her arms. Tears formed in her bright-blue eyes. “Duncan, I love you, not Lord Thomas Payne. The man is so much older than me, wants many heirs, and will treat me horribly.”
“Nay. I willna allow that to happen.” He swallowed forcefully, not sure what to do.
“It will! He’s not been here ten minutes and already, he’s called me a whore to my face. And my father did nothing to reprimand him from speaking in such a way.”
“Och!” Duncan’s fury grew. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword. “I will have the wretched man’s head for that! No one will speak to ye in such a manner. And no one will take ye away from me, lass.”
“Duncan, someone’s comin’,” warned North. “We need to go. Now!” North pulled his hood back up over his head.
“Come, Linnette.” Duncan held out his hand, but she shook her head.
“Nay. Not yet. I see my father and Lord Payne headed in this direction. Go back to the moors and wait for me there. My stableboy, Brom, will bring me there tonight and then we’ll leave for Scotland together.”
“I willna leave ye here with that awful man.”
“Go, Duncan. We’ll be together soon, I promise. Now hurry. If my father catches you in here, you’ll both be thrown into the dungeon.”
“No’ to mention, we’ll be the next headless horsemen on the moors,” commented North.
“I’ll be watchin’ for ye, my love,” said Duncan, pulling his hood up over his head. He and North ran out of the stables, thankfully not being spotted by Lord Payne or Linnette’s father.
“I told you this wasna a good idea,” complained North as they stuck to the shadows and hurried out the castle gate.
Duncan could see his point, but he wasn’t about to give up the woman he loved. Then again, neither did he want to become a headless horseman, either!