It was beautiful here. She had never been to the Highlands before. But she missed the hustle and bustle of Aberdeen. The isle was beautiful, but it was remote. It seemed to hover on the edge of the very earth itself.
She looked back at the Castle. Tall and foreboding. What secrets did it hide? She had heard them sometimes, those secrets, whispering through the stone walls. Wanting to be told.
“You look cold.”
She spun around. It was Douglas.
“What are you doing here?” She looked around them, twisting her head from left to right. “Anyone could see us together.”
“If anyone is looking, they will see a man talking to his future sister-in-law,” he answered. “Nothing more.” He looked at the ground. “I saw you leave. As soon as that meeting was done, I made my excuses and left.”
Lily resumed her contemplation of the water. “You must leave me alone, Douglas. No good can come of this!”
“I can no more leave you alone, Lily McEwan, than a dying man can turn away from water,” he stated simply. “I cannot. You are in my soul, now.”
“Don’t say things like that!”
“I must!” He approached her, grabbing her. “Sweet Lily.” He brushed the black curls which were whipping around her face in the wind. “My own true love.”
They kissed. At that moment, the rain which had been threatening suddenly poured down.
Holding hands, they ran through the deluge.
“Follow me,” he shouted. “I know a place.”
He led her to a hut which was not far away. They ran into it, drenched to the bone.
“We will wait it out here,” he said to her. She looked concerned. “Don’t worry. No one will find us here. It is an old shepherd’s hut, when they used to keep sheep on the isle. I have been coming here since I was a boy.”
She was shivering.
“Here, let me take off your cloak,” he said. “You are drenched, poor lassie.”
She let him take off her cloak, and didn’t stop him when he took off her gown, as well. She was left in her chemise, which was clinging to her body.
He looked at her. “Holy Mary Mother of God, but you are beautiful.”
She flushed.
“Take off my clothes,” he ordered. With shaking hands, she obeyed him.
He was as wet as her. His kilt was saturated, and heavy. Eventually he was naked before her.
She thought she had never seen anything more lovely in her life.
He came to her. “Let us lie down together, my love,” he said. “It will keep us warm, until our clothes are a bit drier. There is an old blanket over here.”
They laid down. His eyes were burning into her body. They cuddled for a while, until her shaking subsided. Then she became conscious of his hardness, pressing against her leg.
She stiffened. “Douglas, I cannot…”
He sighed. “I know,” he answered painfully. “It’s enough for now just having you here in my arms. I won’t ask anything more of you, though I want you so badly it hurts.”
She felt safe, and warm. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” A voice caused them to wake in alarm.
It was her brother. It was Neil!
“Hello, little sister,” he drawled. “I was wondering where you had both skittered off to. Lily, you have some explaining to do.”
He turned to Douglas. “And you, Sir, are about to die.”
Chapter Seven
Neil lunged at Douglas, pulling him to his feet.
Lily screamed. “No, Neil, no! Don’t hurt him!”
Neil was shaking in fury. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t drag his naked arse out of here and smash his head to a pulp!”
Lily started to cry. “Neil, please, I am begging you…”
He turned to her. “You! You’re nothing but a whore. Spreading your legs for this blaggard. I’ve a mind to drag you to a nunnery!”
Douglas grabbed him. “You will not lay a hand on her head, or by God…”
“Or you will what?” Neil spat. “Get your clothes on, both of you.” He walked outside.
When they emerged from the hut, Neil was sitting on a rock. He seemed to have calmed down. His face was closed.
“I will tell you both what will happen here,” he stated. “You will both never be alone again. Everything stays the same. Lily will marry the laird as planned.” He spat at their feet. “Ye ken?”
Lily felt slow tears trickling down her face. “Aye.”
Douglas looked at her. “Lily, you don’t have to do this…”
She squared her shoulders. “And if I don’t, what happens to us?”
Neil laughed mirthlessly. “You don’t want to know.” He turned to Douglas. “Do ye ken? You will not lay another hand on my sister!”
Douglas looked at him with loathing. “I ken.”
Neil took a breath. “Good. And now I will escort my sister back to the Castle. Neither one of you breathes a word of what happened here today.”
He looked back at Douglas as they started to walk off.
“You will have her blood on your hands, if you do.”
***
Lily lay in bed that night unable to sleep. It seemed she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
The most wonderful day of her life. And one of her worst. To be so close to Douglas, to lay in his arms and feel him next to her in such an intimate way….and then for it all to turn to ashes around her.
She had been numb when Neil had led her back to the castle.
“Ach, aye! You look like a drowned rat, lassie.” Aila had descended upon them, taking off her drenched cloak. “I’ll run you another bath. Shona! Cora! Start heating the water!”
Lily let herself be led up the stairs to her chamber by the old woman. She didn’t look back at her brother.
She had endured a dinner with them all that night. A wedding date had been set. She was to be married to the laird very soon.
Douglas was not at the dinner.
Every time the door opened, she turned in expectation. And was always disappointed, as another servant entered with another dish to set upon the table. She knew Neil was watching her, but she couldn’t help it.
Where was he?
Finally, it ended. She was just about to make her excuses and retreat to her chamber, when Richard came up to her.
“So.” He took her hand. His was as cold as ice. “Our wedding date has been set. I look forward to the wedding night.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Be prepared to conceive my child, my lovely.”
Lily snatched her hand out of his, and fled the room. She knew that her father and Neil were looking at her, but she was past caring.
And now, here she lay in bed, crying. Douglas was gone. She must marry a man she despised. Was there a more wretched soul than her in the world?
Suddenly, she sat upright in the bed. Of course. It was what she should have done, all along. It was so obvious it blinded her.
She climbed out of bed, dressing quickly.
There was no other way.
Chapter Eight
“Scour the grounds again! Do not come back until she is found!”
The grounds men bolted. They didn’t have to be told twice. None of them wanted to be on the receiving end of a kick from their laird. They had witnessed his temper before, and it wasn’t pretty.
Richard, the Laird of Loneshire, ran a distracted hand through his hair. He glared at the two men opposite him.
Henry, the Laird of Aberdeen, paled. Neil shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
“Tell me again,” said Richard, through gritted teeth, “how this has come to pass.”
Henry started babbling. “She is but a stupid girl! They get flights of fancy in their heads at that age, I am sure you know…?”
Richard walked up to him slowly. He stopped within an inch of Henry’s face.
“No, I don’t know,” he said. “Why don’t you explain it to m
e? How a girl of supposed good breeding, awaiting her wedding day to a laird, suddenly disappears without a trace?”
Henry swallowed painfully. “I cannot.” He hung his head.
Richard let out a slow breath. “I’ll tell you both this. If she isn’t found, I shall call off the wedding. And the clans will battle!”
Glancing contemptuously at his father, Neil answered. “That won’t be necessary. We will find her.”
Richard looked from one to the other slowly. “There’s a story here, I can smell it. I will find out, believe me. And if I find that either one of you has been a party to this, or knew anything about it…!” He clenched his fists.
Neil looked him in the eye. “We both did not know,” he lied.
Richard barked derisively. “Fools. The lot of you. I should have known better than align my clan with any of Clan Douglas!”
Henry paled again. “Now, my laird, there is no need for talk like that…”
Neil cut off his father. “Lord Loneshire, we will find her. It is a mere glitch; the lassie has pre-wedding nerves, nothing more. The wedding will go ahead, as planned.”
Richard raised his eyebrows. “Aye, well, make sure that it does. I will not be made a fool of by a lassie, ye ken?”
Both men nodded.
Richard got up to leave the room. “I have other matters to attend to. I need not remind you both that this stays in this room. I have my sources. I will know if either of you speak of it to anyone outside this castle.” And he was gone.
Henry walked to the drinks cabinet, and shakily poured himself a whiskey. “I need a dram.”
Neil shook his head impatiently. “There’s no time for that! We must find her, or the whole deal is off. You heard him.”
“Aye. I heard him. I told you to keep an eye on her. What went wrong?”
Neil’s face darkened. “The laird’s brother is what went wrong. I found them together yesterday, naked in a hut.” He snorted. “Your daughter is a fool and a whore, Laird Aberdeen.”
“Mother of God!” Henry turned on his heel toward his son. “Why didn’t you tell me before now?”
“I thought I had contained it. I put the wind up both. They seemed to accept it.”
Henry smashed his fist onto the table. “This is a nightmare!” he hissed. “I thought she was nervous, that was all. This takes it to a whole other level.” He started pacing. “If the laird finds out, we are done – whether we find her or not. We have to contain it.”
Neil looked at him. “What should we do?”
Henry looked thoughtful. “Find her, obviously,” he answered. “That is the number one thing. But if we find her or not, we must take care of the other issue. Permanently.”
Neil nodded. “Get rid of the brother?”
“Aye. He may blab.”
Neil stood up. “What are we waiting for, then?”
***
Lily held her breath as she accidentally brushed against a keg of whiskey, causing it to wobble dangerously. She reached to steady it, breaking its fall. Relief flooded through her.
She had been here two days, and the tension was driving her crazy.
When Lily had got up that night to dress, she didn’t have much of a plan in her head. She only knew she had to get out of the castle, leave the place entirely. She would find Douglas somewhere, or get a message to him somehow, and they would elope.
Aila had intercepted her as she left her chamber. The maid was in her night attire, holding a candle in one hand and a plate in the other. She looked sheepish when she saw Lily.
“Ach aye, my lady, I was just bringing this plate to old Jock. He missed supper and hasn’t eaten today….” Her voice trailed away, as she saw that Lily was fully dressed. “My lady?”
Lily was done for. Either she tossed the whole idea away, or tried to get Aila to help her.
She looked up and down the hallway. There was no sound except for the soft hiss of snores coming from the chambers. The torches on the walls had been doused hours ago. They were in darkness, save for the illumination of Aila’s candle.
She approached the maid. “Aila. You have to help me.”
“My lady? Do you need your chamber pot emptied?”
Lily took a deep breath. “I need your help to leave the castle. I am running away.”
Aila was horrified. “No, my lady, say you aren’t! The laird will skin you alive.”
Lily started to weep, softly. “I have to leave Aila. I can’t marry that monster! You know what he did to his first wife.”
Aila paled. “Aye, well, he treated her badly, I know that much. I don’t know what happened to her after the bairn was born.”
“I can’t go through with it, Aila. I will leave whether I have your help or not.” She turned to walk away from her.
“Stop, my lady!”
Aila took a deep breath. “I will help you, God forgive me. But if the laird ever finds out, he will have my guts for garters, make no mistake.”
And that was how Lily ended up in the cellar.
She hadn’t agreed, when Aila had suggested it. She wanted to leave the castle, now, and get as far away from them all as possible.
But, as Aila softly talked to her, she began to see the sense in it. There was nothing to be done tonight. Aila would hide her in the cellar; and she would make plans for a boat to come to the isle, to take her to the mainland. From there, she knew people Lily could lie low with.
“They won’t think to look here, my lady. They will be scouring the grounds and the rest of the isle, and when they don’t find you, they will go to the mainland. Once they are gone, we will get you out of here and to the boat.”
Aila brought her food and drink, but not much. “I don’t want to arouse the suspicions of the kitchen, ye ken? Don’t move around much. You can hear if someone is rattling around from upstairs. Sit still, and be patient.”
Two days ago. Two days of slowly going out of her mind. Every time she heard movement above the cellar, she tensed. Every time the door handle turned, she hid behind a keg in the corner. Trembling in fear.
What would they do to her, if they found her?
The door knob was slowly turning now. Lily hid behind the barrel.
“It’s only me, my lady.” Aila’s voice was a low whisper.
Lily emerged, blinking. Aila approached her, being careful to tread softly.
“My lady.” Aila looked at her somberly. “I have good news for you, and bad. The good is that the boat is coming tonight. The men have left the isle looking for you, so you should be safe. The laird and your father and brother are all on the mainland.” She hesitated, looking down.
Lily prompted her. “And? What is the bad news?”
“Because you haven’t been found, the Laird is going to battle against your clan. Clan Stewart and Clan Douglas will battle, my lady. Blood will be spilt.”
Lily felt her head spinning. What had she done? But it was too late now.
“And the Laird’s brother, Douglas? Where is he?” She tried to keep her voice even.
Aila looked at her knowingly. “The laird’s brother left the isle days ago. No one has seen him. The laird is looking for him as well, to prepare him for the battle to come.”
Chapter Nine
Lily was crouched in the brush, waiting for the boat. Something was wrong.
She had been told that the boat would be waiting for her. But she had been there for hours, and there was no sign of it.
Aila had opened the cellar door just past midnight. Gesturing for Lily to follow, the maid had led her through a labyrinth of corridors at the base of the Castle. “Very few people know of this way through the Castle,” Aila had whispered. “It is a secret escape, built in case the English lay siege.” The corridors were narrow, and very dark. Cobwebs brushed against her. The light from Aila’s candle barely illuminated the way. But they had got through, and Aila had left her to traverse the rest of the journey to the shoreline alone.
It would be daylight soon. With a
sinking heart, she realized that there would be no boat. Aila’s cousin had lost his nerve, obviously. She had to decide, and quickly. People would be getting up soon. She could go back to the castle, hide in the cellar again, and arrange another meeting time.
Or she could swim.
She felt a fission of fear run through her at the thought. The waters were deep, and it was still dark. She feared not just the waters themselves, but what was in them.
Legends of water horses addled her mind. And she thought of the tale that Mairi had told her when she was little, of the Kelpy who lived in water. He would turn into a man by night, and lure people to the water’s edge to drown them. You could tell the man was not quite right if you saw river pebbles threaded through his hair.
She shivered.
But if she didn’t go now, there was no guarantee she would get another chance. And she was a strong swimmer. Alistair, the head groom at Aberdeen, had taught her to swim in the River Dee, which ran alongside the castle, after she had almost drowned after falling in one day when she was a child.
She could make it.
Resolved, she stood up quickly. If she took her dress off, it would aid her. But then she would be running around in her chemise on the other side, and that would not be good. She would stand out like a sore thumb. She would just have to risk it.
She approached the water’s edge. It was darker than she thought, and very cold. She gasped as she slipped into it.
Darkness was all around her.
She swam. The dress made it more difficult, but it was alright. She could see a dim light in the distance – maybe from a cottage on the other side. She tried to keep that in her sights.
Once, she thought she felt something brush against her leg. Thoughts of water horses and the Kelpy again filled her mind with fear. Her breathing quickened. She slowed. She couldn’t see anymore. How far was she from the shore?
Her pace was slowing. Every time she lifted her arms, a sharp pain pressed into her side. Surely I must be close, she thought desperately. But the light in the distance seemed to be receding, not getting closer.
Hail Mary, she prayed. Full of grace. The Lord is with thee…
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