Chapter Twelve
Fifteen minutes passed, and still no one came. I worked my way around the room, grabbing onto furniture, toward the jug of water on the dresser. The water, now barely lukewarm, held a lavender smell. I washed my face and hands and dried off with the linen towel.
Feeling a little bit refreshed, I turned and surveyed the room, unsure of what to do with myself. I didn’t want to lie down on the bed if someone was coming for me. I would have felt too vulnerable lying in the bed, too suggestive. I thought about slumping down into the chair, but that hadn’t been particularly comfortable. My feet were tired from standing. I looked down at the tartan carpet. It was the floor for me. I lowered myself carefully and sprawled out on my side to stare at the sky through the open window.
I finally allowed myself to think about Torq. I hoped he hadn’t been too badly hurt, as Iskair had indicated. I suspected Torq would probably worry about me. I knew Ann would, but I really thought there was little they could do. Nothing, in fact. I doubted if John had any money for ransom. I suspected his money was tied up in the castle and surrounding property, which were no longer his.
It was up to me to get myself out of this fix, and I hoped that Iskair had convinced his cousin to hold me for ransom...to protect me for ransom.
The sound of a key in the lock caught my attention, and I looked up. Iskair stood in the doorway, looking down at me with an expression of concern. He shut the door behind him and hurried to my side.
“Did ye fall, lass?”
He started to pull me from the floor, and I moaned.
“No, I was just laying there. The chair is uncomfortable. I was tired of standing, and I wasn’t about to be caught dead in a bed.”
He supported me in a standing position.
“Well, if ye canna stand and ye canna sit or lie down, what am I to do wi ye?”
“Ideally, you could just carry me out of here, and off we go! Drop me off at the nearest village or something...away from here.”
I gave him a half smile.
“Ye ken I canna do such, lass,” he said earnestly, apparently unaware that I was half joking. “My cousin wants to meet wi ye. I confided in him, and he has no spoken to Angus yet. It is a problem though. If Angus discovers that Murdo has hidden a source of ransom—and a lass—from him, he will no take kindly to such.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“We leave tomorrow for Broder Castle. Ye will stay here until tonight, when I will spirit ye out of the castle. We will await Murdo and the lads and meet them on the way, no one the wiser.”
“What about the men you were with? Won’t they tell Angus about me?”
“Nay, they are Macaulay lads, loyal to the Macaulay. I have spoken to them, promising a share of the ransom.”
He looked down at me.
“Ye spoke the truth when ye said yer family would pay a ransom for ye?”
I blinked and looked up at him.
“Oh yes! Yes, they will. You bet!”
“Verra well. I will return at midnight for ye. Mrs. Mackay will send ye some supper. Try to rest. Where shall I set ye?”
“Well, I guess the bed,” I said. “How badly was Torq hurt?” I asked as he supported me to the bed.
“Torq? I told ye, no bad at all. I wasna there, mind, but they said they left him alive. I told ye he is hard to kill.”
“Have you tried to kill him before?” I settled back onto the pillows.
Iskair, on the point of leaving, turned.
“Aye, my mother thought so when we were wee laddies.”
“Wee laddies?”
Iskair looked toward the door.
“Torq is my cousin. I am verra angry that the lads hurt him, but there was naethin I could do about it after the fact. I am in a difficult position.”
“Why are you even here, Iskair? Why would you attack the keep? They’re your family too. I don’t understand.”
“I ken ye dinna understand, Mistress Dunnon. These are matters of which ye dinna need to understand. Trust me.”
“I’m not sure how to trust you. I trust you with my safety, but only you, and I have no idea where your allegiances lie. You’re an enigma, Iskair.”
He smiled. “As ye wish. I must return to the hall. Rest.”
He shut the door behind him, and unfortunately, I heard the key in the lock again. With little else to do, I closed my eyes and slept.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard a knock on the door. No one entered, and I called out groggily.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the tall, burly chieftain that I’d seen in the courtyard entered, followed by Iskair.
I gasped and pushed myself upright, swinging my feet over the bed. No matter how much my back shrieked at the motion, the sudden rush of alarm coursing through my body allowed me to move quickly. I was not going to be found lying on a bed. I just wasn’t.
Long, stringy gray hair hung down the sides of his rounded face. His beard and mustache were more white than gray. Dark eyes buried in fleshy eyelids stared at me. His great kilt seemed larger than Iskair’s, and I assumed it was because he had a lot of body mass to cover. A jeweled brooch secured his sash to a dark jacket.
I pushed myself off the bed to stand, keeping one hand braced on the mattress. I shot a look beyond Murdo Macaulay toward Iskair, who assumed a deferential stance that I hadn’t seen him exhibit before.
“How much do ye ken yer family will give for ye?” Murdo began abruptly. His teeth were in poor shape.
Iskair spoke up.
“Mistress Dunnon, may I present our chieftain, Laird Murdo Macaulay?”
I refused to curtsey and wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to.
“Aye, of course, introductions. Mistress Dunnon. Pleased to meet ye. Now, how much do ye ken yer family will give for ye? Iskair tells me that yer father is an English viscount?”
“Yes,” I said briefly with the feeling that every time I lied about my wealthy viscount father, I was digging my grave even deeper. “He’ll pay the ransom, but I think the English might have something to say about my kidnapping.” I couldn’t believe I was complicating matters even further by dragging the English into the conversation, like a threat.
Murdo looked over his shoulder toward Iskair.
“Scrappy lass. The English dinna concern themselves overmuch in our affairs up here in the Western Isles, though to be sure they might be interested in the taking of a viscount’s daughter. If yer family pays promptly, ye can be home within a month.”
“A month!” I protested feebly. I almost forgot that his estimate didn’t matter. I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Aye. A fortnight to demand the ransom, a fortnight to deliver it. That is, of course, if yer father pays and disna contact the army. I should have ye write a note to him along with the ransom demand. Can ye write?”
“Yes,” I said, the knot in my stomach growing. I was in way over my head. Where was I supposed to address this note?
“Verra well then. That is settled. Ye shall stay here in yer room until Iskair comes for ye tonight. Iskair will bring notepaper. I believe the lad explained the situation to ye, that it would be best if Angus Macleod didna ken of yer existence.”
“Because he would want to keep me for the ransom?”
“Aye, that is the truth. Having seen ye for myself, ye dinna want Angus to ken ye’re in the castle anyway. It wouldna be good for ye. He is...fond of the lasses, ye ken.”
“I ken,” I said with a racing heart.
“Aye, there is many a bairn here at the castle with Macleod blood now. Ye would have to be as auld as Mrs. Mackay to be spared such a fate.”
I thought about poor Igrid.
Iskair spoke up as if he read my mind.
“Mrs. Mackay disna allow such liberties wi her lasses.”
“Nay, most likely no,” Murdo said with a wide grin of damaged teeth. “I mind my manners around the woman. She has a sharp tongue.”
Iskair chuckled.
I didn’t smile.
“It is time for me to join Angus and the lads for supper. A pleasure to meet ye, Mistress Dunnon. I will see ye tomorrow. We will send a lad off with a note after we leave Ardmore Castle.” Murdo turned and left the room.
Iskair lingered for a moment. “I think Mrs. Mackay will have supper sent up soon,” he said. “Eat and rest. Until tonight.”
He turned and followed Murdo from the room, locking the door behind him. I relieved myself and washed again, everything taking five times longer than it should.
Within a half hour, a knock on the door brought Igrid with a tray. She set the tray down on the table before moving over to the fireplace to light two candles on the mantel. She returned to the table to clear away the soiled bowl, spoon and tankard from my lunch.
“Are you a Macleod, Igrid?”
The mousy-brown-haired maid paused, holding the silver tray in her hands.
“A Macleod?” she repeated. Brown eyes slid away from mine, and I suspected she stalled more than failed to understand the question.
“Yes, what clan do you affiliate with?”
“Auch, mistress, I dinna think I should say. Do ye need anything else?”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
She blew out an air of some sort of emotion and shook her head.
“Nay, I am no Macleod!”
“But Mrs. Mackay protects you? From Angus Macleod? I heard he’s...”
“Aye, he is...” she agreed with a fervent shake of her head. “There are no Macleod women here at the castle. The men didna bring their own womenfolk.”
“So everyone is a Morrison?”
She looked toward the door. “Or cousin to the Morrisons, aye. We dinna speak of it though.”
“Do you have family at Dun Eistean?”
“No. My family was carried away by the grippe.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said.
“Mrs. Mackay is like a mother to me. If there is naethin else?”
“No, thank you.”
She left, and I lowered myself gingerly onto the chair to eat. Mrs. Mackay had prepared a delicious stew that I ate with appreciation. Oatcakes, every bit as tasty as Mistress Glick’s, filled my stomach.
Surprised at my hearty appetite, I cleaned off my plate and pulled myself up to the window ledge to look out over the courtyard. Twilight had descended, and torches had been lit throughout the courtyard, some on walls, some in stands, a bit like tiki torches. The hum of castle life continued, probably given the unusually dry weather of the day.
Gaggles of people gathered in various groupings, perhaps listening to stories. I couldn’t make out faces or details of their activities, but I imagined that was what I would do on a fairly warm summer night in the absence of TV.
Men and women entered and exited the tower below me, I suspected going in and out of the great hall.
I returned to the bed to stretch out and stare at the velvet bed hangings until I drowsed myself into sleep. Having expected Iskair’s return, I awakened instantly when I heard the key in the lock. The candles had burned down apparently, and I whispered in the darkness.
“Iskair?”
He didn’t answer.
I called out again, this time my voice a little louder.
“Iskair?”