Chapter 17
Laird MacPherson rose from his chair and loomed over Callan.
Callan’s gaze drifted towards Nora, but he didn’t make any sign that he knew her. With a heavy breath he rose to his knees. His wrists were bound together, and there was a surly look upon his face.
“Ye sought tae turn yerself in? Did ye think ye would find mercy here, lad? I dinnae hae any pity for a thief,” MacPherson said.
“I’m nae just a thief. I hae killed yer guards too. Cruel men, all of them.”
MacPherson laughed. “And ye would confess this tae me? I thought yer kind scuttled in the shadows like rats.”
Callan’s voice grew to a rasp. He stared at Laird MacPherson through brooding, intense eyes. Nora knew how much Callan’s hatred for Laird MacPherson burned. The tension in the air was almost like fire.
“I wanted tae meet ye face tae face, tae tell ye that ye are nae man. Ye are a cruel, heartless bastard that hae nae right tae own sae many estates while yer people starve. Yer time is coming, m’Laird. One day the people will rise and they will drag ye intae a pit from which ye cannae escape.”
Callan’s head twisted sharply when Laird MacPherson struck him.
Nora gasped and closed her eyes, as though she had borne the brunt of the strike herself. The crack of the impact reverberated through the hall. A great welt appeared at the side of Callan’s head, and a thin line of blood trickled from it. He didn’t show any sign that he was hurt though.
“I dinnae care what ye or anyone else thinks. I am the Laird. I control their destinies. If they rise up against me then I shall take their children, burn their homes, and steal their food. Ye think they will still rebel against me then? If that is the message ye came here tae deliver then ye hae lost yer mind, nae that I care. I never tire of watching vermin hang.”
“Ye hae already burned our homes,” Callan said.
The Laird may not have sensed it, but there was more emotion in his words. Nora’s ears pricked up as she suddenly realized that Callan hadn’t told her the entire truth about his past.
“Aye, and I’m sure more will burn before I am done. Nae that ye will be there tae see them. But ye should die understanding that naebody can take my power away from me. These lands belong tae me,” he said, curling his hand into a fist. “I will enjoy watching ye take yer last breath.”
His hatred for Laird MacPherson didn’t just arise because he witnessed the suffering of so many other people, but because the Laird had inflicted a deep wound upon Callan’s heart.
The same wound that Callan had inflicted upon Nora.
A phantom rope tightened around Nora’s throat, making it hard to breathe. The dress played its part. It seemed to be getting tighter with every moment.
“My Laird,” she forced out of her throat. “Perhaps ye can find mercy in yer heart considering it’s our wedding taemorrow. Surely it would nae be right tae hang a man on the same day we are married.”
Laird MacPherson turned his head slowly. Upon his face rested the first genuine smile she had seen.
“That’s precisely why we should hang him, lass.
He will be the centerpiece of the occasion and a reminder tae anyone with these delusions that they should remain obedient, lest they suffer the same fate.
Our wedding shall be marked with the blood of a thief, and I cannae think of a better way tae celebrate the occasion. Guards, take him tae the dungeon.”
Laird MacPherson turned his back on Callan as the guards grabbed him roughly.
Nora looked towards him, her heart peeling open with sorrow.
She should have enjoyed seeing him suffer like this.
After all, wasn’t this the justice she had always wanted?
Hadn’t she used to sit in bed with a vengeful heart and pray that her parents’ killer was executed?
Her prayer had finally come true, but it was not as she imagined.
She did not feel happy about it at all.
“Gae tae yer room, Nora. That vagrant has soured my mood.” MacPherson ordered.
Despite not having eaten anything, she was led back to her room. The maids undressed her, brushed her hair, and then lit candles. Nora ran her hands along her ribs, feeling the indentations of where the bones in the dress had pinched her skin. Before they left, Nora felt a surge of courage.
“The Laird wanted ye tae leave the door open. He said he dinnae want tae fiddle with a lock if he decides tae call on me.”
It was a desperate gamble, a hope. The maids glanced at each other and then gave a pitying look towards Nora, as though they knew what Laird MacPherson was like. The door remained unlocked. It was the first bit of good fortune she had encountered since leaving Callan.
She wasn’t sure what to do, but she waited for all to fall silent and dark in the castle.
Callan was close, and she wasn’t about to let him suffer.
Despite all that had happened between them, despite all that had occurred before they met, she felt she owed him that.
She considered that her heart might have been betraying her, but she knew she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she did nothing.
So it was that when the hour grew late, Nora crept out of her room.
She took a candle with her. The light formed a soft halo, illuminating the immediate darkness, keeping it from enshrouding her.
She nimbly stepped along the abandoned hallways, trying to find her way to the dungeons.
There were lots of closed doors. Why did one man need so many rooms?
It was staggering to think that this location wasn’t enough for him.
He needed more and more, countless estates peppered across the land, each of them in far better condition than the villages.
Imagine how many people would feel better if they were able to live beneath these sturdy shelters.
Instead, they stood empty, waiting for Laird MacPherson.
Nora found staircases that descended through the estate. She followed the cold, and when her breath turned to vapor she thought she was near. A heavy door creaked.
She froze. Waited. Did anyone hear?
Nobody appeared. She breathed with relief, turning her head away from the candle so she didn’t risk blowing it out.
Tall, thick iron bars rose from the floor to the ceiling.
Behind them sat a huddled figure, his head bowed.
When the light appeared, framing her face, Callan looked up.
His bruised eyes widened. The blood had dried on the corner of his head.
He hadn’t bothered to wipe it away. One of his lips was swollen, but she knew that this was only the beginning of his suffering.
He wouldn’t have had to suffer at all if he hadn’t come here.
“Callan, what are ye daeing here? Did ye really turn yerself in?”
“Dae ye think those lumbering fools would hae been able tae catch me otherwise?”
He somehow found the will to smirk despite his beating. Nora leaned against the bars and he rose, curling his unbound hands around the bars. The ropes had been tied so tightly they left deep red gashes around his wrists, cutting through the flesh.
“But why?”
“Because of ye. I came after ye and saw the carriage gaeing past. I tracked it, and I kenned the only way tae get intae this place was tae turn myself in. I needed tae see ye again, Nora, tae mend things between us. I ken ye hate me, but please let me explain. I never kenned they were yer parents. It was a long, long time ago I… I hae tried tae forget it. I am nae proud of it. It all happened sae fast, but that is nae excuse. They were yer parents and ye are right, I dinnae think about the people I rob or the families they hae. Maybe it is time I pay for my sins, although I dae appreciate ye asking for mercy on my behalf. I suppose ye cannae hate me all that much after all,” he grinned.
Nora rolled her eyes. Even when he was being sincere he still found a way to get under her skin.
“It hae become apparent that Laird MacPherson is every bit as bad as ye thought. Perhaps even worse. He will nae merely kill ye. He will make a display of ye. There is nae justice in that.”
“Aye, well, if ye hae just listened tae me in the first place…”
“I dinnae think ye should gae down that path. Ye lied tae me from the beginning.”
“I dinnae lie, nae about everything, anyway. And about yer parents… it really was an accident. I ken it dinnae make much difference, and I suppose that’s why I’m here.
Nora, ye can decide what happens tae me.
If ye wish tae leave me in this dungeon then ye can walk away.
I will willingly pay for my crimes, and aye, it is gaeing tae hurt, but that’s what I deserve for hurting ye.
At least it will only be fleeting anyway, unlike the pain I would feel if I hae tae live without ye.
I cannae stand ye hating me, Nora. I thought I dinnae care about any of that stuff, but then ye came along and…
and… och, look at what ye hae reduced me tae! ”
Nora stared at him, the candle flickering between them.
If there weren’t iron bars between them he would have been close enough to kiss.
She studied the shape of his face, the lips she knew intimately, the man that lay beneath the clothes She thought of his soul, his wit, his carefree nature that actually masked a deep concern for the wellbeing of others.
He had stolen, yes, but it wasn’t as though he lived in luxury. He gave to others, to orphans. He didn’t kill for the sake of it either, but could she look past the fact that he had killed her parents?
She met his eyes. Callan remained silent, for once.
Nora recalled the way he’d saved her, then taught her to fight. She had gazed into the eyes of cruel men, and she knew that Callan was different from them. Should he be judged for one sin when he had done so many good deeds?
Did she have the right to condemn him?
Nora leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the bars, and exhaled deeply.
“I cannae lose ye,” she admitted in a whisper, closing her eyes.
Callan’s fingers curled around hers. She did not pull away.
“I dinnae ken if I can ever truly forgive ye for what happened tae my parents, but I cannae allow ye tae die. Ye stirred something inside me as well, Callan. All my life I hae thought about what duty demanded of me, but ye taught me that sometimes we can live for ourselves, and there are many ways tae help people. I was ready tae live in that cabin with ye.”
“Aye, lass… and if my past actions ruined that then sae be it. I cannae change the past, I can only suffer for it. I will never forget ye, and I ken I will never feel this way about anyone else. Ye are sae special, Nora. Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” she said, opening her eyes.
“That ye will find some way tae escape this fate. Ye dinnae deserve tae be sitting at his feet all yer life. Dinnae let him diminish ye, because ye are the brightest star there hae ever been. I just wish I hae ken ye before all this, before my life was torn apart.”
“He did it, dinnae he? He burned yer parents’ land.”
“Aye, at least his guards did. But he gave the order because he wanted the land for himself,” Callan said, his head dropping.
“And I suppose since I am in the mood for confessing I should tell ye something else. When all this began I escorted ye with the intention of killing him. But I meant it when I said I would leave that life behind. I dinnae want tae be that man anymore. Ye hae made me want tae be a better one.”
Nora stayed quiet, not entirely sure how to react to that. She took her hands away.
“I will find a way tae free ye,” she said, the words having the air of a promise.
She took the light away and Callan receded into the shadows.
Nora crept out of the dungeons the same way she had entered but then ventured outside, needing to learn more about the estate if she was to find an escape route.
She hadn’t gone far when she bumped into someone.
She dropped the candle and gave a startled gasp, fearing that she had been discovered.
The stranger picked up the candle and held it to his face.
She saw that he was a young man, more a boy really, with a few wisps of hair on his cheeks.
“M’lady, I can help ye,” he whispered before Nora could bolt.
“Help me?” she asked, trying not to give anything away in case this was a trap.
The boy’s eyes darted furtively around and his voice was a conspiratorial whisper.
“Ye were just speaking tae him, aye? Ye are a friend?”
“Why dae ye ask?” Nora asked, still guarded.
“I saw him when he was brought in. I saw ye, too. Ye hae the air of kindness about ye. I cannae believe ye were gaeing tae him in order tae taunt him before he died. Nae at this time of night, without a guard.”
“And why are ye out here, lurking in the shadows?”
“I was gaeing tae talk tae him myself, but ye were quicker than I.”
“And why should ye wish tae speak tae him?”
“Because… because he saved me and my kin. He fed us during winter. We hae nae food, but he came by and left a huge sack on our doorstep. We would hae starved without him. He’s a hero, and I need tae repay the favor.”
Nora considered his words, then pursed her lips and raised an intrigued eyebrow.
“Tell me yer name, lad, and what exactly ye are planning.”
They huddled together in the darkness. “Samuel, m’lady,” he said, and then proceeded to tell Nora his thoughts.