by Elise Ramsay
This had been easy. His sister, as it turned out, was the perfect witness. She knew nothing of what had happened, and the slain woman was her very best friend. It was all beginning to come together nicely. Catriona would weep and wail and be broken hearted and it would all look so genuine, because it was genuine! All Kyle needed to do now was straighten out that wretch of a man, Mackinnon, and all would go to plan. With his spirits soaring, Kyle fought hard not to smile. He must not give himself away. Not now, or ever!
“So, sister, is the body still there?”
“Aye, we had to leave her behind.”
In that awful moment, Catriona knew she had made the worst mistake of her life. Her fear and exhaustion had finally won the day and led her to betray herself, when she had been so close to the end.
“We?” Kyle’s voice was low and calm. Evan’s eyes opened wide. Who had she been there with? Could he not trust her now? For he knew that he could not trust Kyle.
“Me. I had to leave her there. Sorry, Kyle, I’m just exhausted. I feel so sick and wretched. I dinnae know how I can help you further.”
Kyle’s mind raced. She was lying, the wee mare. He would find out whom she had been there with, but he’d need to be clever about it. Force her now, and she might never tell. Furthermore, he would struggle to beat it out of her with Evan there. Of course, he could order his brother to leave them, but that would raise suspicion. Kyle fought, for the first time in his life, to think with his head. With a mental image of the Sheriff’s Court, Kyle looked as kindly as he could.
“Of course you are. Fiona was your friend, how could you feel aught else, lass?”
Catriona’s skin was crawling as if it were alive with insects. He knew! He knew she was lying!
Chapter Sixteen
“Go down the stairs and fetch some wine up for yourself. You need a drink and sleep.” Kyle’s forced demeanor was sickening to Catriona.
“Aye, I shall. Maybe I’ll sit and see Ma a while.” Catriona was desperate to buy herself some time to wander. Just up and down the stairs for wine could only take her so far. She needed to get to Thomas Mackinnon. Catriona had no doubt that he was a part of this. She also had no doubt that, for some reason, he was Kyle’s prisoner.
“Ma?” Kyle seemed confused. Catriona was hoping that he would tell her of their mother’s death and be forced to let her see the body. Since he never bothered with the woman himself, Catriona was hoping for time alone with her. Time in which she could say the goodbye she had not been able say all those hours ago, and take her leave to find the ever more important evidence.
“Catriona, Ma is dead.” Kyle was looking at her quizzically, as if she should have known this. Catriona looked up at him. Something in his tone told her that he knew she had found her Ma’s body.
“I thought you knew. I thought that was maybe why you flew from the Castle with such haste earlier.” Kyle could not stop the corners of his mouth turning up. She was caught like a rat in a trap. Kyle could almost feel her panic and fear. She looked like she was trying to swallow a whole bannock!
“Dead?” Catriona could think of no other disguise than further weeping. She knew the game was over and she had lost. Why was Kyle still playing?
“Aye, I’m sorry, you seem not to have known, after all.”
Evan looked on impassively. What a mad and callous bastard his brother was!
“I... I...” Catriona could think of nothing.
“So, where were you going then, sister, in such a dreadful hurry?”
“Just... Just out for a ride, that’s all. Can I see Ma?” If nothing else now, just let me say goodbye.
“Ach, no, lass. That’s a wee bit too much for one day. We’ll go together tomorrow. For tonight, you just get yourself downstairs for that wine, then take yourself away to your bed. Straight to your bed.”
Catriona made her way down stairs and found herself some wine. She would carry it back up as she had been told, except that she would go via Kyle’s rooms. It was a ridiculous hope to think that she would find Mackinnon alone and be able to wrest the truth from him, but there was nothing left to do.
Catriona knew it was a fool’s mission. It didnae matter what evidence she had now, she would never leave this Castle alive. Still, she knew that there was nothing else she could do. She had decided to atone or die in the attempt. Perhaps if she found the evidence she had set out to, she would atone as well as die. With nothing else to hold on to, Catriona resolved to carry on.
Thoughts of Darach waiting for her at Glannoch nearly broke her heart. How glad she was that she had come to know real love in the last hours of her life. At least she would leave this world with something good and pure in her heart.
Kyle now had two problems to deal with. Catriona and Thomas. He would have to bide his time before digging the truth out of Catriona. At the moment, she was playing her part well. The grieving and shocked wee friend who had stumbled upon a scene of horror. He would need to keep her alive long enough to make her a witness. Still, she was up to something and he intended to get it from her. If he hurt her now, Evan, not to mention the rest of the Clan, would grow suspicious. Damn her to hell! All he could do was to keep her a prisoner in the Castle until he either had the truth, or she had outgrown her usefulness as a witness. After he had dealt with Mackinnon, he would seek her out and keep her to her rooms. In the meantime, he would have another wee talk with Thomas.
Catriona could see that the door to Kyle’s chamber was closed. Looking about her and listening with a keenness she had never used before, she waited until she was sure she was completely alone in the corridor.
Catriona could hear the faintest mumbling coming from the room itself. Being able to make nothing out, she knew she must creep to the very door and listen.
Surely this was a trap? Kyle couldnae be so foolish as to let her get this far? Could he?
She knew her brother to be a devious and cruel man, who acted on his pride, rather than use his brain. Perhaps this was just another example. Kyle was powerful, not clever.
Fortified by the notion, Catriona found herself standing right outside the door. If it opened now, there would be naught she could do. It would be the end. As her hands began to shake, Catriona wished she were not carrying the wine. God help her if her shaking hands dropped it right there outside his door.
Suddenly, Catriona could hear weeping inside the room. It was not Kyle, of that she was certain. She had to assume that it was Thomas Mackinnon. Catriona had never been fond of Thomas. He had always struck her as weak and lazy, the sort of man who could do naught but disappoint those around him. It was little wonder that Kyle had taken to him. Kyle loved to surround himself with what he saw as lesser men. Catriona felt herself smirk as she thought that, in reality, there were fewer lesser men around than Kyle had thought!
Mackinnon was talking through his sobs, but he was completely incoherent. Catriona almost pressed her ear to the door.
“Mackinnon, I cannae make myself clearer than this. You need to get a hold of yourself. I cannae keep you here, and I cannae let you leave either. Sooner or later, everything will be discovered if you don’t shut your noise and act like a man!”
Come on, say it. Say it!
“Kyle, I cannae get over what I saw. What you did...” He fell to sobbing once more.
“What we did! Ach, believe me, if I fall, you will fall with me. You will be judged just the verra same!”
“I am not the same as you, Kyle Sinclair!” Thomas sounded drunk, yet Catriona could not imagine he was. Had he helped Kyle to kill Fiona? Was this shock, she was hearing?
“Ach, but everyone will think you are, for believe me, if I am caught, I shall tell everybody that it was you!”
“There’s none who will believe you.” Thomas spat the words, suddenly much more coherent.
“Aye, they will. They will. For, how else can you explain your presence there?”
“What?”
“How will you explain it all? How you watched as I b
eat the wench unconscious. How you rode out with me for over an hour as her body lay across my saddle. How you stood by and watched as I gutted her like a fish! And all the time, you did nothing to help her.”
“I... I...”
Catriona could hear Thomas suddenly ready to bend to Kyle’s will. The pathetic creature would save himself after all, and in doing so, he would also save Kyle.
Finally, Catriona had the truth. She had all the evidence she needed, yet she would never be able to do anything with it. She would languish and die in this awful castle, the truth of what had happened dying right there with her. However, something inside her felt like shouting her victory. For, in the end, it was a victory. Catriona had found the truth and atoned. She would sleep peacefully and guiltlessly that night, for the first time in years.
The weeping had ceased, as had the talking. Catriona could hear signs of movement within. She had all she needed and there was no sense to being caught outside. Setting off as silently as she could, she scampered back down the corridor and made her way to her own chamber.
Chapter Seventeen
Catriona had decided to drink some of the wine after all. Sensing that she had nothing more to lose, she greedily gulped down a full goblet in just moments.
Feeling oddly relieved, she made herself ready for sleep as she always had done. With her very bones aching from pure exhaustion, Catriona flopped down onto her welcoming bed.
As her mind began to drift absently though the space which lay between waking and sleeping, Catriona wondered if she should be trying to escape. The thought brought her back into an unwelcome consciousness. Perhaps she should have been trying, but her body was so riddled with exhaustion that night, that any attempt would surely be doomed to failure.
Catriona knew that Kyle would be watching her closely. Maybe he was even outside her door at that very moment. Catriona knew that she would be better able to think more clearly once rested. Her body would stand a better chance of executing any plan she might then come up with. Nay, she was for resting, and there was naught she could do but give in to it. Once again, Catriona allowed herself to drift into sleep.
Catriona had no idea how long she had been asleep for when the terrible crash forced her eyes open. Startled awake, she felt groggy and confused. With her body still aching, she knew that she was far from being well rested.
A seemingly disembodied torch lit the room, its flames causing menacing shadows to rise up on every wall of her chamber. Catriona gathered that the crashing noise had been the door to her chamber being roughly kicked open. The torch light was so bright in her eyes that Catriona could not see who held it. Whoever it was had been shrouded in the blackness which lay behind the torch.
Catriona knew, of course, who had kicked her door open and stood in its wake holding the torch.
“You seem surprised, sister. Surely you knew I would come?”
“I hadnae thought about it Kyle.” It was the simple truth.
“Ach, Catriona. You know I could never let you get away with lying like that?”
“Oh? Yet your own lies are to go unpunished, are they?”
“What”
“You heard me. You’ve told the worst of the lies tonight.”
For a surreal moment, Catriona thought that Kyle was actually going to object. Back to being the wee laddie caught in a lie, was he now going to say he had been telling the truth?
“I...”
“Well, Kyle?”
“How dare you speak to me that way?”
“Ach, you stupid wee boy! We are beyond this now. The things you have done this day! How dare you think you have any right to be offended by me?” Catriona was up on her feet, pure rage coursing through her veins. If only Catriona had a weapon, she felt sure she would kill him this moment. Walking slowly towards him, she continued.
“You’ve slain two women, one of them the very woman who gave you life. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Dinnae yell at me, Catriona!”
“What? Dinnae yell at you? For God’s sake, listen to what you’re saying man! For once in your sad, pathetic life, take notice of how truly appalling you are. For one day, you will need to stand before God Almighty and explain your vile sins!”
Catriona could hardly believe what she was seeing. Kyle stood, open mouthed, his eyes full of pain. Could he really be hurt? Catriona’s skin crawled once again.
“Do you think this is normal? Really, Kyle, do you think that this is how the rest of the Highlands conducts themselves? Their lives?”
“I’m warning you, you wee hoor!”
“Hoor? Again? I’ve heard it all already. Beyond taking my life, there’s no way left for you to hurt me. You’ve already insulted and brutalized me. You’ve taken my Ma. You banished one friend and mutilated another. So help me God, if I were a man.... If I had all the advantages of strength which you yourself take for granted, I would kill you this night. I would kill you with my bare hands. I would punch my fist through your chest and rip out your evil heart!” Catriona was screaming at Kyle at the very top of her voice. She could feel her face flaming and her fists clenching. No longer would Catriona be frightened. No more would she be intimidated and humiliated. Catriona was breathing so hard and fast that her throat had dried, leaving it painfully raw. Kyle made a noise. It wasn’t speech. It sounded like a wet clicking coming from his mouth. Catriona stared at him open mouthed. Tears had begun to stream down his face. He was crying! Catriona had never seen him cry since he was a wee boy. It sickened her. How could this beast, this taker of human life, stand there and openly pity himself in such a way? Catriona looked at him, disgusted.
“Ach, you’re a vile wee woman. No wonder that Da hated you.”
“Kyle, I’m glad he hated me. Had he loved me as he appeared to have loved you, I might well be the very same monster I can see in you this moment. You are welcome to his love. I dinnae want anything so twisted and stained.”
Kyle scrubbed at his face roughly with his free hand. He was coming back to himself, Catriona could feel it. There was no doubt in her mind that her time on earth was almost over.
“Who were you with?” Kyle spoke so quietly, she could hardly hear him.
“I’ll not tell ye.”
“Aye, you will. If I have to break every bone in your body, you will tell me.”
“I’ll not. Go ahead. Break every one of my bones. Do it now. I’ll not tell ye.”
To Catriona’s utter amazement, Kyle turned and left the room. Hearing the huge iron key turn in the lock, she knew she was a prisoner for certain. Her body began to shake. It had clearly feared death where her soul had not.
“You’ll stay here ‘till you die. No food, no water, no company. You hear? And, with your last breath, you will tell me who you were with.”
Darach paced up and down the stream, looking all around him as he went. He was early. Naturally. Darach had arrived hours ago. He had not wanted to risk missing her if she’d escaped sooner than she had thought she would.
Darach had prepared well. He had come out with his bow and a collection of knives. Looking to the clansmen at Kincaid like a man who was simply going out to hunt, he was doubly prepared for whatever he might need to do. For Darach had determined upon a plan of action. If Catriona did not arrive safe and sound, he would collect Gawain Dunbar from the farm and force the man to help him. Still, he did not believe the man would take much forcing. Despite trying to cultivate new allegiances to a new Clan, Gawain was Catriona’s oldest friend. Darach had seen it in his eyes that day in the clearing. He would do whatever it took to bring Kyle Sinclair down.
All he would need Dunbar to do was get him into Sinclair Castle unseen. Who better than a man who had lived on those lands all his life? Dunbar would know every doorway into that Castle.
Darach would, of course, keep the man’s involvement hidden from his Kincaid kin. He didnae want Gawain to suffer a second banishment.
Noon was fast approaching. Darach listened intently for the
clatter of approaching hooves, but could hear naught. Where is she?
His impatience to move was so strong, but Darach knew he must give her time. Catriona might be late, and what would she do if she arrived and found Darach gone? She would think he had abandoned her after all!
Darach was a man in agony. He paced, and paced, and waited, knowing in his heart that something had gone dreadfully wrong. That his love was in danger.
The daytime had come round so quickly. When the sun was full up above the Castle, Catriona knew it to be noon. Poor Darach. There was naught he could do. He couldnae come for her unless supported by the might of the entire Kincaid Clan. Catriona remembered well what an awe inspiring sight they had been when they turned up in force to rescue Isobel Gillies. However, they would not, she knew, be coming for her. She was a Sinclair.
Catriona had slept fitfully in the end. The dreadful conversation with Kyle rolled over and over in her mind. The things she had said to him! Yet there was naught in it that she had not meant with every fiber of her being. Still, the words had been spent, along with the worst of her own vile rage.
Now, all she could feel was sadness. To know that she would die in that place, painfully starving, going mad in her thirst and hunger was all that would occupy her day. All day she had dwelt upon the subject. Perhaps she really would have been better off if Kyle had broken her bones and killed her in the night. How long would she last? Until she was so thin she would fit through the window?
The window? Catriona rose from her bed.
Three hours after noon, Darach and Gawain Dunbar headed out on horseback. Darach had been all set to invent an unplanned hunting trip and beg for the use of his guide. In the event, he had found Dunbar alone at Gillies Farm. Gawain himself had been making ready to really go out hunting. He had wanted to use his downtime wisely, by catching some meat for his kind benefactors.