The Viking (16 page)

“Aye.”

She wanted to hear all about it, but Stefan never talked about the Vikings and did not seem to want to now, so she did not press him. Perhaps someday he would tell her. “I dinnae…I…”

“What?”

“Thank ye for not leaving us.” She smiled, dropped his hand and hurried on down the path.

Stefan rolled his eyes and patted the horse
’s nose. “Ye she loves already. Loving me will take a bit longer, it seems.”

*

The great hall inside the keep was empty as it usually was when Macoran was away. The twins were elsewhere occupied and Agnes took a seat at the table to wait. But it was not for her husband she waited. Toran hated Macoran as much as she did, having some months back been caught stealing and publicly whipped in the marketplace where all could see. Not long afterward, she struck up an alliance with him hoping someday she might think of a way out of her marriage and need his help

It was true, she knew about Jirvel, but not until recently did she know the truth about Kannak. No
t that she care how many children her husband had, but Kannak was another pawn in the plot she had been forming in her mind for days. Her only way out, she was convinced, lay in the death of her husband and she thought to poison him, if she could get her hands on the poison. But no matter how pleasant she was and how many times she prevented her sons from getting into mischief, Macoran still refused to let her go to her aging father and without guards, it was not safe crossing Limond land. Therefore, only one answer remained. There had to be a war.

For that, she needed something Macoran would deem worth fighting for and it had to be something so important to him, he would fight in the war personally. Kannak was the answer. The thought of having at last come up wi
th a sound plot made her smile.

Perhaps she might also entangle Jirvel somehow. Macoran would surely leave the village and go off to fight for his Jirvel. Time and time again, she heard her husband refuse to betroth Jirvel to a man who asked for her and Agnes found the whole matter repugnant. His reasons for denying them were unsound and to accept Macoran
’s answer made his men as witless as he was.

The more she thought about it the more she believed her plan would work beautifully. Macoran was far more fond of the boy Stefan than he was of his own sons and hopefully, Stefan would die too. Every time Jirvel and her brood came to a festival, Macoran was as happy to see Stefan as he was Kannak and always asked him to join them on the landing. It irked Agnes to the bone.

At last Toran opened the door and came to her. “Ye sent for me, milady?”

“I would have ye take a message to my father
and say these words exact. Say…”

CHAPTER XIII

“Yer mother dinnae want u
s to go far away,” said Stefan.

“But she did say ye could teach me how to swim. The water in the loc
h be warmer, there are no currents and we will not stay long.” She turned her horse toward the river and did not look back to see if he was following. Kannak knew he would never let her go off alone even if he was convinced she would be safe. When she reached the river bank, she turned west. It would be an easier ride on the path, but then he would see Blair’s cottage and know they were off Macoran land.

“I dinnae know, Kannak. We dinnae tell Jirvel where we were going. What if something happens?”

“Nothing will happen, bletherskite. The lads tend the spring planting and there are none to bother us. Even the hunters have gone farther inland to find food for the village. We will be safe.”

Stefan was not so sure. He had a foreboding and could not shake it. Nevertheless, when Kannak had a mind to do something, he was powerless to prevent her short of physically stopping her, which he had never
done even once in the past.

He was becoming less awkward, but he was not in complete control of his strength and feared hurting Kannak more than he feared other dangers. At least the Macorans were not at war with anyone. The trees were thickest near the river and he followed her for quite a distance before they at last came to the loch. The beauty of the pristine water with the mountains behind it thrilled him. This place looked more like the home he left in Scandinavia than any other he had seen in Scotland.

Kannak pointed to the far end of the loch where two steep hills nearly touched the water’s edge. “The water be the most shallow at that end.”

“Ye have come here afore?”

“With my…Eogan. He brought me and my mother here once when he was feeling kindly. Mother brought bread and meat, spread a plaid and we ate under those trees over there.” Kannak turned her horse that direction and led Stefan to the end of the loch. Then she halted and waited for him to help her down.

Stefan tied the reins of his horse to a tree and then went to her. A thousand times in the past he had helped her mount and dismount, but during the last few weeks, he savored touching her more each time. Nearly all of Kannak
’s freckles had disappeared into the creamy complexion of a young woman. Together with her auburn hair and the deep dimples in her cheeks when she smiled, her complexion served to bring out the brightness of her green eyes and her beauty had certainly not gone unnoticed by him. Each day he more acutely felt her nearness and longed to hold her. If only she would let him.

She too felt a change in the two of them. While she still teased him at every opportunity, she noticed a different look in his eyes and it perplexed her. It was the same look he had now, so when he put his hands on her waist, waited for her to put hers on his wide shoulders and slowly lowered her to the ground, she quickly let go. But he did not let go and she looked up at him. “Why do ye look at me like that?”

“Like what?”

She moved his hands away and slipped around him. “Like ye are seeing me for the first time.”

“Ye have change, ye have grown up.”

“I thought something was different, ye have not called me wee bairn in weeks.”

“Perhaps because yer no longer a wee bairn.”

She hid her smile and went to stand at the edge of the water. “Well, I am happy to hear it. I can hardly find a husband if ye keep calling me that.”

He tied the reins of her horse and went to stand next to her to take in the beauty of the loch. “Then ye have found a lad ye prefer above all others?”

“Nay, not yet. I begin to believe only a laird will do. I want to be mistress o
’ all I see and am convinced only that will satisfy me.”

“How many lairds are there for ye to choose from?”

She stuck her nose in the air and started to walk around the edge of the loch toward the two hills, “Ye need not remind me o’ my limited opportunities. I intend to ask my father to find me one.”

“I see. Will ye marry this laird even if ye dinnae love him?”

“I can learn to love him.”

“Ye will learn to love the power over others he gives ye, ye mean. But what if he be cruel?”

“There are no cruel lairds in Scotland.”

He rolled his eyes, “Ye are not so grown up as I thought. There are many cruel lads in the world and some even become lairds?”

“Then I will
not
learn to love him.” She lifted her skirt a little, stepped over a log and then walked on around the shore.

“If ye dinnae love him, ye will make him miserable. What will ye do if he beats ye for his unhappiness?”

She stopped walking to think about that and then turned around to face him. “I will send for ye and ye will come to save me.”

Stefan laughed. “Am I expected to kill him for ye?”

“Of course,” she said, and was on her way around the loch again.

“I
cannae come to save ye.”

Again she stopped, turned around and this time she put her hands on her hips. “Any why not?”

“Because I will have a wife by then and I cannae leave her. What would she think o’ me going off to save another lass?”

Kannak
’s demeanor suddenly changed. She had not thought of him taking a wife until now and found it disturbing. She intended to take a husband someday, but she did not consider being separated from Stefan. The thought of them not being together oddly hurt her heart. “What sort o’ wife will ye take?”

“I have given that a great deal o
’ thought. She must be shy when ‘tis fitting to be shy, cheerful when ‘tis fitting to be cheerful and she must love me. I will not consider a wife who dinnae not love me wholly and completely afore I marry her.”

“And will ye love her?”

“If I am forced.” He passed her by and left her standing there with her mouth agape. Just as he expected, she ran to catch up.

“I curse yer long legs, Stefan Rossetti. Ye are always making me run after ye.”

She was right of course and it would not do in the future. He wanted to walk with her, talk to her and just look at her when Jirvel was not with them. “I will try to amend my ways, but only for yer sake and none other.”

“Thank ye. Now I must know; how can a lad be forced to love his wife?”

“‘Tis not easy, I assure ye. But there are times when a lad falls under a lass’ spell.”

“What spell? Do tell me Stefan so I may use this spell on my husband.”

He had already said too much. “Ye are too young still.”

“I am a wee bairn again so soon?” She smacked his arm and got ahead of him. “I hate ye sometimes.”

He smiled. “I know.” It was then he realized what was in front of them. Between the trees he could see some sort of structure. It appeared to be in the crevice between the two hills.

Kannak couldn
’t help but beam. “‘Tis the hidden castle.”

“Ye have tricked me.”

“Aye, but ye will find it well worth the trickery.” She grabbed his hand as she had a million times before, but this time her heart fluttered at his touch, it startled her and she quickly let go. “Come, I will show ye.”

“I dinnae know, Kannak.
‘Tis not safe.”

“We need not go in, we will only see it from the outside and then we will leave.”

“Alright, but ye will stay behind me just in case.” Stefan waited for her nod, pulled his sword and led her through the trees. The closer they got to the castle, the larger it looked until all three stories of the round structure were visible and Stefan stopped. Instead of normal windows, narrow slits, some vertical and some horizontal, were visible in the brown stone and it looked to be sturdy still, unlike some of the older abandoned structures he had seen in his country. The wooden door was the only thing he could see with any damage.

“They say the King o
’ Scotland once lived here.”

“Why did he leave?”

“‘Tis haunted.”

Stefan smiled. “I am tempted to see this ghost.”

“Nay, we must not.”

“Frightened, wee bairn?”

“Aye.”

Stefan laughed. “Wait here then, but I will see this ghost.” He pushed through the last of the tall bushes and walked closer to the castle. He wondered for a moment why he had not seen the structure from afar, but then realized the stones in the structure matched the color of the hills perfectly and the windows were too small to give it away unless a man had a keen enough eye to spot them.

He put his sword away and this time when she took his hand, she did not remove it. It was worth being tricked, he thought, just to have her hand in his. Cautiously, he took hold of the aged leather strap and gently pulled until the door opened a crack. Then he slipped his hand in the crack and opened it wide.

A musty smell greeted them, but it soon dissipated and when he took a step inside and his eyes adjusted to the scant light from the doorway, he discovered the great hall lavishly furnished with a fine oak table and several chairs still intact. A thick layer of dust lay on the table together with wooden bowls containing dry contents that might have onc
e been someone’s evening meal.

Caked with dust as well, a once magnificent tapestry still hung on one wall, although a corner of it had come loose. A stone staircase led to the next level and he started toward it but Kannak held back. He squeezed her hand to reassure her. “I see no ghost here; we must go up to find it.”

“But what if the stairs …” Suddenly, a low groaning sound filled the whole castle. Kannak gripped his hand, wrapped her other arm around his upper arm and then hid behind him. “‘Tis the ghost. Come away, Stefan.”

“Listen.” He put his hand on her arm to comfort her and waited. He did not have to wait long. When the sound filled the castle again, he smiled.
“‘Tis a wind chamber.”

“A what?”

“A wind chamber. ‘Tis like a flute. The roof must have a hole in it and when the wind blows in, it escapes through the narrow windows and makes that sound.”

“Well I dinnae like it here. Come away, Stefan.”

“But I will see the rest o’ it.” He expected her to let go when he started for the stairs, but she was not about to be left alone and held on. Carefully, he tested each of the stone stairs, taking them one at a time and then testing the next to make sure it would hold his weight. They seemed just as strong as the day they were first laid and soon the two were at the top staring into a room still filled with a bed and the belongings of the last occupants.