The Clan MacDougall Series (145 page)

As she sat holding on to her memories, her heart tearing with each beat, she though she heard a scratching sound coming from above. Her first thought was that it was Horace coming to taunt her further, mayhap throw down garbage or a few rats to make her even more miserable.

She held her breath and listened, though it was difficult to hear anything over the blood rushing in her ears. One of the planks was lifted and moonlight streamed in, but only for a moment. A figure soon blocked most of it before she heard a soft whooshing of air and a quiet thud as something landed on the floor. Nora could not move, fearful the object dropped was filled with something she did not want to see.

“Lass,” came a familiar voice.

Nay! It couldn’t be. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She’d been stuck in the hole for far too long. She’d officially lost her mind and was now lost in some odd hallucination.

“Lass,” the voice whispered to her. “’Tis me, David!”

Nora shook her head as if doing so would break the spell of the hallucination.

“Lass, there be water and food wrapped inside the blankets,” David called down to her.

It was all too much to hope for. It had to be a dream, hadn’t it? Nora reluctantly felt around in the dark until her hands landed on the soft blanket. If she were hallucinating, would she be able to feel the soft blanket under her fingertips? She doubted it.

Jumping to her feet, she clung to the blanket and looked up into the darkness. “Is that really you, David?” she called up to him. Her throat felt sore and scratchy from lack of water and all her crying.

“Aye, lass!”

Nora could hear the significant sound of relief in his voice. She could almost imagine the bright smile that was undoubtedly formed on his face.

“Daniel and a few others are with me. We need ye no’ to give up hope, lass. Wee William will be here soon. There are too many English soldiers nearby to get ye out just yet. Can ye hold on for a while?”

She was too relieved and happy to ask how long it might take. As long as she knew they were there, simply waiting for Wee William and more men to arrive, she reckoned she could last for weeks if needed. For the first time in days, she felt more than just a glimmer of hope. She felt downright giddy!

“Aye, I can David!” She could get through anything knowing her husband was on his way.

“I’m sorry I let ye down, lass,” David whispered.

Nora could hear the sincerity and regret in his voice. “It isn’t your fault, David, it is mine. I set out to find Horace so that I could run my sgian dubh through his heart.”

She could hear David chuckle from above. “I ken ye weren’t a Sassenach the first time I met ye! And yer Gaelic be improvin’, lass!” he said. “I must go now. Just ken that we’re nearby, watchin’. If things get too ugly, we’ll no’ wait for Wee William. We’ll get ye out, I promise.”

David replaced the plank before Nora had a chance to thank him.

Although it was dark again, her spirits had been lifted a thousand fold. She sat back against the wall and carefully unwrapped the contents of the blanket. She felt the flagon of water, a loaf of bread that smelled magnificent even in the musty confines of her prison. Further inspection found a hunk of cheese, dried meat that turned out to be venison, and a small pouch filled with ripe berries.

She drank greedily at first, the cold water soothing her scratchy throat. Not knowing how soon before she’d be rescued, she decided to ration out the water and the food. It might be days before Wee William arrived and it might be too risky for David to bring her more supplies.

Nora wrapped the blanket around her body and ate some of the bread and cheese and a few of the berries. Her stomach tried to protest the invasion of food, but she forced herself not to wretch again.

With her thirst sated and her belly as full as it could tolerate, she curled up under the blanket.
William is on his way!
As much as she wanted to shout that news out to the world, she knew better. It might be days from now, but her husband, her true husband, the man who loved her was on his way.

The despair and anguish she had felt only moments ago evaporated like an apparition. She felt happy, elated, and hopeful. This would all be over soon. Wee William was coming for her and soon she would be back in Scotland, back in their little cottage next to Castle Gregor. She would soon be reunited with John and Elise. Nora vowed she would never again leave any of them. And if she must leave, she’d have more sgian dubhs hidden about her person than any man could find.

And she would never again let her temper control her actions.

Horace couldn’t resist the urge to check on Nora. She’d been in the hole for two days now. He imagined he would find her curled up in a little ball, crying her stupid blue eyes out, trembling and terrified. The image excited him and put a little bounce in his step.

He would go check on Nora then head over to Castle Firth and find Fritz. Fritz would help to alleviate some of his physical needs. The image of his whore of a wife trembling with fear combined with the knowledge of Fritz’ expertise at certain things doubled his excitement.

He left the inn and practically skipped his way to the hole. Confusion began to set in as he neared the hole. Something was wrong. The closer he got to the hole, the louder the sound. Angrily, he flipped up the plank and peered down.

She was supposed to be huddled in a ball, terrified, overcome with fear and trepidation. She was
not
supposed to be singing.

“What the bloody hell are you doing Nora?” he blared down at her.

Nora looked up, shielded her eyes with the back of her hand, and smiled.

“Good morning to you, Horace,” she said cheerfully. “Did you sleep well?”

This was all wrong. “Why were you singing?” he demanded.

Her smile increased. “Well, I made a decision.”

Horace blinked, growing just as irate as he was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Nora giggled. “I decided that I’ll not let you win. Aye, I might die a horrible death down here, all alone in the dark. But I’ll die knowing that I did nothing wrong and that you are a despicable, perverse man who prefers the company of boys to women. I’ll die knowing you’ll burn in hell someday. That gives me a good deal of satisfaction and makes me want to sing!”

Horace could only conclude that she had lost her mind. She wasn’t
truly
happy—she was insane. It was the only plausible explanation. Oh, she would die in that hole, he was certain of it. Sooner or later, her smile would fade. She could pretend for now not to be worried, not to be fearful. He knew her better than that.

“Bah! You’ve lost your mind, woman! Sing all you want to. It won’t change the fact that I’m up here and you’re down there. It’s your grave you’re singing in.” He rolled his eyes and replaced the plank.

As he walked away, Nora began to sing again. He couldn’t make out the words, but the sound of her gleeful singing made his ballocks shrink. He cursed at her as he walked toward the castle.
I’ll have the last laugh
he swore to himself.

Singing helped to soothe Nora’s worries and to pass the time. She hadn’t expected to see Horace, but found a good deal of satisfaction in the confusion she saw on his face. It made her feel a bit happier knowing she had irritated and confused him. She was quite sure he had stomped off thinking he would have the last laugh. His ignorance, arrogance, and selfishness was going to be the death of him. A tingling sensation came over her when she thought of him finally dying. She couldn’t help herself. Knowing William would eventually arrive and Horace would finally get what was coming to him, brought forth the overwhelming urge to dance happily around the hole.

It won’t be long now, she thought happily. William will be here soon. He’ll take me home.

Settling down, Nora fell asleep with a smile on her face, happy in the belief that William was on his way. For the first time in many days, she actually dreamt of her cottage and flowers blooming across the Highlands, of her husband and John and Elise.

It had taken Wee William and their group two days to locate Gillon and Bree. It had taken only moments to extricate her from Gillon’s encampment.

Gillon had miscalculated several things. Firstly, he misjudged the amount of time required to make it to Bowie lands. While he thought he was safely ensconced in Bowie territory, he was in fact, camped on Carruthers land. Gillon and his band of fools had missed the mark by nearly thirty miles.

Secondly, he had misjudged his accomplices’ fealty. When they had seen the furious Angus McKenna, Wee William, Caelen McDunnah, and Nial McKee along with seventy-five equally furious Highlanders storm into their camp, not one of Gillon’s men stood to fight or defend him. Obviously, Gillon Randolph had not earned enough of their respect or admiration that they were willing to lay down their lives for him.

Thirdly, he misjudged his captive’s tenacity, intelligence, and determination entirely. Bree McKenna was every bit her father’s daughter and she was determined not to be one of Gillon Randolph’s victims.

Nial was the first man to dismount and with sword drawn, he demanded to know the whereabouts of Bree McKenna. The young man to whose throat Nial held the edge of his sword shakily told him she was in the tent with Gillon. Nial shoved the terrified young man to the side and bounded to the tent, threw open the flap and stepped inside.

Nial was beyond furious, his face red with anger, every muscle on full alert, ready to do battle if he must, in order to save Bree. He had been fully prepared to kill Gillon Randolph, either with sword or his bare hands, he didn’t care which. He had not, however, been prepared for the sight before him.

There was Bree, straddled over a prone, gagged and bound Gillon Randolph. She had a sgian dubh in one hand while her forearm was bearing down on the back of his neck. A blend of relief and admiration washed over Nial.

“I see ye have things well in hand,” Nial muttered, as he stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tent.

Bree had not seen him enter for she had been so focused on making certain Gillon understood that, in no uncertain terms, she would cut off his manly parts before she would ever become his wife. Startled, she raised her head at the sound of Nial’s voice. Nial watched as her shoulders sagged in what could only be relief.

She was a vision of beauty as far as he was concerned. Aye, she was covered in dust and dirt, her dress was torn in several places, and her hair had come loose from its braid.

“Well it’s about damned time!” she fumed at him, still straddled across Gillon’s back. Gillon jerked his own head around to see to whom she was talking. His eyes were wide with fear and Nial wasn’t sure if it was his presence that caused it, or the fact that Bree still held her sgian dubh next to his throat. “What the bloody hell took ye so long?” she demanded.

Nial didn’t know which he wanted to do more at the moment. Chastise her for getting herself into this mess to begin with, argue with her over her lack of gratitude, or scoop her into his arms and plant a passionate kiss on those lovely lips. He laughed in spite of himself.

“I do apologize, lass, if we took too long. It will no’ happen again, I can assure ye that,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Bree climbed off Gillon’s back and stood, kicking him once in his side for good measure. Gillon grumbled something indiscernible, but Nial was certain it was nothing that should be said in front of a lady.

Bree rolled her eyes and kicked him again. “Haud yer wheesht ye eejit! I’m still thinkin’ on whether or not I should let ye keep yer man parts.”

Bree then turned her attention back to Nial. “And what do ye mean
it won’t happen again?
” she asked as she returned her sgian dubh to the waist of her dress.

Nial uncrossed his arms and took a step forward. He was about to say something that he never thought he’d say to any woman, let alone Bree McKenna. “Because when ye become me wife, I shall assign guards to watch over ye, all the hours of the day. Save fer when yer with me. Then I shall be the one guardin’ ye and keepin’ ye out of trouble.”

Bree’s eyes widened. She was just as surprised to hear Nial speak in such a manner as he was to say the words aloud. She swallowed hard, brushed the wayward strands of hair away again. “Me marry ye? Ye canna be serious!”

Nial nodded his head and took another step forward. Bree could not retreat unless she walked over Gillon.

“Aye, lass, I am serious. I’m goin’ to make ye my wife if it’s the last thing I do.”

Bree laughed nervously. “Well then there be no sense in marryin’ ye if ye do no plan on stickin’ around afterward. I mean, if marryin’ me is the last thing ye do, then why do it?”

Nial took another step toward her, his smile growing larger. “Good, then it will no’ be the last thing I do. I’ll marry ye.”

Bree laughed again with the belief that he could not possibly be serious. Aye, she had grown quite fond of him, what with his broad shoulders, rippling muscles, and those odd colored gray blue eyes of his. Never before had she considered him attractive or anything more than a very good friend. But that had changed somehow, on that day not long ago when she had run into him in the hallway. Something dramatic had happened in that tiny moment of time. It was as though she were looking at him for the very first time.

It had been his braw smile and the twinkling in his eyes when he had looked at her that made her legs feel weak. Aye, she had seen Nial smile many times and had even witnessed the sparkle in his eyes on numerous occasions. Bree could not begin to fathom or understand what exactly had changed in that moment. But something had. Mayhap it was the first time she had really
looked
at him, with her heart as well as her eyes.

“Ye jest, Nial McKee. Ye canna jest about such a serious thing as marryin’.”

Nial was close enough now that he could kiss her if he chose to. “I would never jest about such a serious subject as marriage.”

Nial knew her heart was beating rapidly, for he could see it in that little spot on the base of her throat. However, he thought his own beat faster. He searched her eyes, looking for some sign that she too might be feeling the way he was feeling. Though there was little light inside the tent, Nial could see that her eyes were moist. His heart skipped a beat or two for he couldn’t be certain if it was fear he saw looking back at him or something else.