by Alisa Adams
When she reached the dungeons she saw two guards standing by the entrance. When she went to walk briskly by them, they stood firm and blocked her path. She tried to walk around them, but they shifted their position and wouldn’t let her through. She curled her fists into balls and glared at them.
“What is the meaning of this!” she thundered.
“I’m sorry Lady Browne, but we’re not supposed to let anyone in, aside from your uncle. The prisoner is dangerous, so under his orders we’re to prevent anyone from visiting with him.”
Catherine was flabbergasted. “I am the Lady of this estate and I demand you let me through!”
She had never been barred from anything before, not even when she had been little.
“I’m sorry Ma’am, but we’re under direct orders. If you like you can take it up with your uncle himself.”
Catherine glared at them fiercely, but in the end she turned and marched away, her entire body bristling with frustration. She needed to think about how to save Bryan before her new husband appeared. If saving Bryan was the last free choice she made then it would be a worthy thing for her to do, and she could go off to be married at least knowing that she had saved Bryan’s life and given him the chance to find happiness himself, even if it was being denied to her.
But how to help him…that was the question that plagued her, and as she returned to her chambers, she thought of nothing else. She only knew one thing for certain—she wasn’t going to let her uncle win.
11
Bryan had struggled and writhed in the grip of the guards as he had been taken away unceremoniously from Catherine’s room. He hated the cruel look that Nathaniel had given him, and all Bryan had wanted to do was kill that man on the spot for all the misery he’d caused. Bryan remembered Stephen telling him about how Nathaniel treated his prisoners, and Bryan wondered if a smashed skull was the fate that awaited him.
The guards showed him no respect as they dragged him through the courtyard. When Bryan stumbled they dragged him along, not giving him the chance to regain his footing. People came out to see what the commotion was about, and Bryan hid with shame as he saw Stephen looking at him. Word would soon spread about Bryan being a Highlander and the servants would know he had lied to them about being mute. He wished he could apologize, but he thought that was for nothing now. Nothing else mattered if he couldn’t be with Catherine, and he was likely never going to see her again.
As he passed the stable he gazed longingly at the place that held his sword. If he had been able to get to his weapon at least he might have been able to fend a few of them off, and a quick death would be preferable to a lifetime of torture.
The guards pushed him down the stone stairs of the dungeon and then tied his hands in chains, linking the chains with a padlock to an iron circle lodged into the wall. The dungeon was a circular chamber. It was dark and damp and no natural light came through. The guards carried lanterns, but they carried these away, leaving Bryan in the pitch black darkness. He felt around the cold stones to try and measure his surroundings. He found the chain and heaved it with all his might, but it was no use. He was locked in this dungeon. He called out, but there was no response. His words echoed around and then faded into the mist of silence. He was entirely alone.
He sat hunched down, with his knees drawn into his chest, and wondered what he had ever done to deserve such a wretched fate. Was the Pressley name still cursed? He had only tried to follow his heart, had only defended the innocent, and it had led him into this dungeon. Soon enough Catherine would be taken away to begin a new life with a husband who could never care about her as much as he did, and he would be left to rot. Perhaps he should just grimly accept his fate and let death come to him. He started to wonder if he was even made for a happy ending. He had lost everything else in his life, so why not his actual life too?
The night was cold and long, and eventually he slept, but he kept waking up as the hard stones dug into his body and water dripped down, splashing intermittently against the emotionless edges of the stones.
When Bryan awoke he had no idea if it was morning or not because no natural light came through. For all he knew he could only have been sleeping for a matter of minutes. It was a far cry from the freedom he had enjoyed when he had lived off the land. He awoke when the sun rose and followed the same rhythm as the birds and the animals all around him, but there were no animals here, apart from a stray scrawny rat that scuttled across the dungeon floor.
Bryan waited for someone to come down, wondering if anyone would. He remembered what Stephen had told him about Nathaniel’s particular brand of torture, how sometimes the prisoner would be left alone for days, made to believe that everyone had forgotten about him, and only then pulled up for a brief glimpse of sunlight. Bryan had cut the man’s face. That wasn’t a wound that Nathaniel would forgive, and Bryan could only imagine the world of pain and torture that lay in store for him.
There were few things in this world that Bryan feared. His father had taught him from a young age that fear could easily ruin a man’s life and prevent him from seeking out opportunities, but one thing that did chill Bryan to the bone was a cruel man with power, like Nathaniel. He’d met cruel men before, but mostly they had been bandits and their sphere of influence had been small and easily dealt with. Nathaniel was another matter entirely. He had a garrison of guards that answered to him, and few people to deny him what he wanted. He had free reign to do whatever he wished, and that was why he had felt so entitled to Janie’s body. He’d only go on punishing people, taking what he wanted without any remorse or regret, and once again Bryan was frustrated that he hadn’t killed Nathaniel when he had had the chance. It was likely that Janie would suffer again, and if not Janie then someone else Nathaniel took a fancy to. And now that Bryan was in chains there was nobody to stop him.
At some point during the day, Bryan heard movement above and then the sound of footsteps. His heart leapt at the thought that Catherine had come to see him before she left, but that notion was quickly dispelled when he saw the thin, gaunt figure of Nathaniel. Bryan gazed up at Nathaniel, who kept his distance. He was alone, without guards, and wore a smug smile.
“Well, it seems I finally have you where you belong. You know, I was entirely frustrated that day when I couldn’t find you. I thought I might never see you again, but if there’s one thing I can count on it’s the foolishness of a Highlander’s heart. I must say that it was quite ingenious how you hid right under my nose, but you can’t have expected to escape my notice for too long. And now I have you exactly where I want you.”
“What are ye gaeing tae dae with me?”
Nathaniel examined his fingernails and sighed. “Well, that’s a matter that I’m taking a great deal of time deliberating over. I’d hate to make a mistake. People like you need to know you can’t simply walk into our home and go into a lady’s chamber to lay your hands upon her.”
“I did nae such thing! Ye are the one who did that.”
“Well, in the end all that matters is who believes what. Do you really think anyone is going to accuse me of lying?”
“Catherine will.”
“Ah yes, the lady in question, well, I’m sure people will take her seriously, after all, it’s not like she wouldn’t want to save herself the embarrassment or anything. She might try to stick to her story that the two of you were having an innocent conversation, but she won’t ever admit that she loved you. It would be very rude for her to admit that when she is to be married. Besides, she’ll be down in London and it will be difficult for her to get word back up here. No, I am controlling what people get told, and they’ll believe it, because they have no reason to doubt me.”
“Ye are a monster!” Bryan tugged at the chains. They rattled, but were too steadfast to break. All he wanted was to wrap his hands around Nathaniel’s throat and choke him to death.
“I’ve been called worse,” Nathaniel said, the insult not seeming to have bothered him in the slightest.
&nb
sp; “What are ye even daeing here? Is this where ye tell me how ye’re gaeing tae torture me? How ye’re gaeing tae make me lose my mind? I’ve heard stories of ye, and ye dinnae scare me. I’ve lost just about everything a man can lose. What more can ye take from me?”
“Just one more thing,” Nathaniel replied calmly. He began to pace back and forth, but not in a frantic manner. In fact, he seemed quite in control of the situation. “I’m assuming that you are under the impression that Catherine is leaving with her husband today, ready to begin her new life. You no doubt thought that last night was going to be the last time you ever saw each other, but it’s not quite the last time. No, you see, unfortunately Lord Ralls has been detained by a very urgent matter, which means that Catherine is going to remain here for a little longer than anticipated. Now, ordinarily you are correct in that I like to make my prisoners really suffer, especially when they have wronged me in such an egregious manner. I could think of a thousand different ways to hurt you, but I don’t think any of them will be as satisfying as the one I have settled on.
“You’re not the only one I’m frustrated with. Catherine has been a constant thorn in my side, and when I asked her to do me one simple task she pointed in the wrong direction and almost cost me my chance at finding you. She thought she was saving you, but in fact she was only condemning herself. That, coupled with the fact she has gotten on my nerves with this entire marriage ordeal, means that she needs to be taught a lesson too. So instead of my usual drawn out punishment I’m going to make yours as swift as possible, for maximum impact.”
He stopped pacing and gave Bryan a stare that was as cold and harsh as the northerly winter winds. “You’re going to be executed Bryan, and I’m going to make her watch every minute of it so that the last memory you both have of each other is death. And you’ll know that after you die she’s going to begin her new life with her husband.”
Nathaniel paused after he spoke, waiting to see the horror that spread over Bryan’s face, and he wasn’t disappointed. Nathaniel wore a smug sneer and had the confidence of a man who thought he was untouchable. But Bryan knew he wasn’t. Any man who had that kind of hubris and arrogance would fall a great height. Bryan knew this all too well, as it had happened to his family, and if it could happen to his family then it could happen to anyone. The thought of Catherine being forced to marry someone she didn’t love was monstrous. Freedom was the only thing Bryan had known. It was the most precious thing to him in the world and the thought of someone having that choice taken away from them was the worst thing that could happen.
“Ye’ll never get away with it,” he growled.
“I already have. What do you think will happen next? You’re in here. There’s nothing more you can do, and in a few days Catherine will watch as your head rolls. It’s going to be glorious. I won’t be coming to see you again. In fact, nobody will. You’re going to die a nobody, because that’s what you are. Nobody will mourn you, not even Catherine, because soon enough she’ll have more things to worry about than some Highland barbarian.”
With that he walked away, turning his back on Bryan. Bryan yelled out at him, threatening him, trying to strike fear into his black heart, but it was no use. Nathaniel thought he was invincible and at that moment Bryan couldn’t blame him. He certainly felt helpless enough, so in that dark, dank dungeon he curled against a wall and stared into the black abyss that wrapped around him. He listened to the trickling drips of water and the occasional patter of footsteps of a scurrying rat. He thought about all his hopes and dreams and how none of them would ever come true anymore, but most of all he thought of Catherine. In some ways she was just an English girl, little more than a stranger, but in other ways she was…well, she was everything.
She filled his heart with warmth and her image in his mind put a smile on his face. There was an excited tingle whenever he thought of her, but that was immediately followed by a bitter emotion. Nathaniel was taking it away from him before he had even had a chance to enjoy it. That man was a curse. He had already threatened Bryan’s friends, and goodness knows what evil he would do for the rest of the time he walked this mortal realm, and it made Bryan’s gut twist uncomfortably to think of the havoc he could wreak. Someone had to stop him, and Bryan hoped that he would have an opportunity.
His only chance would be when he was released to be executed. He had to hope that one of the guards would slip up; even if he was killed it didn’t matter, not as long as he took Nathaniel with him first. At least then Catherine might be free to marry whomever she wanted, at least then she might be happy. That was really the only thing Bryan had left to him now. If he was to die, then he wanted his death to mean something. If he was to be the last of the Pressleys then he wanted to leave a legacy of honor.
12
Catherine returned to her chambers after her futile visit to the dungeons. Her heart went out to Bryan as she thought of him in that cold, dark place and she wondered what must have been going through his mind. She paced fretfully, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to think of a way to save his life, but it seemed as though her uncle had maneuvered them into an unwinnable situation, and all because Bryan had stopped him from raping a young woman. It sickened her to think that a man like her uncle could prosper while someone heroic like Bryan was condemned. It didn’t make sense, and for once her faith in the Almighty wavered. What kind of God was it that allowed such injustice to happen?
Unfortunately, she was not a scholar and answers to those kinds of questions did not present themselves easily. Besides, the pressing matter was about how to help Bryan. She could only hope that her father would be able to convince Nathaniel to stop what he was doing, even though that meant she would have to leave and marry Lord Ralls, but was that not a small price to pay to ensure Bryan’s safety?
In truth it was, but now that she thought of Bryan she realized how sorry she would be to marry someone who did not make her as excited as the Highlander. But such was the duty of women…
“The household is alive with talk of the prisoner,” Betsy said when she arrived. Catherine had stopped pacing and was now sitting by her window, gazing out at the world, wondering how the beauty of the land could be so simple and the interactions of humans so complex.
“He was here Betsy. He was right here.” She gestured to her chambers. “And now he’s being held in a dungeon. He might as well be half a world away.”
“I know Catherine. I don’t suppose you had any luck with your father?”
“None at all. I begged him to be lenient on Bryan, but he is incensed that somebody could sneak into our estate and into my chambers. I think he feels responsible, that my life could have been in danger, even though I have never felt safer than when I have been in Bryan’s presence. The only way I can promise him to be more lenient on Bryan is to stop resisting what he wants for me. I think the only way I can save Bryan is to willingly give myself to Lord Ralls and be his dutiful wife.”
“But how can you give yourself to such a life? It is not fair Catherine, not fair at all.”
“And what else can I do?”
“You must escape. There must be a way you can flee, with Bryan too. You could run off into the Highlands and disappear.”
“Are those my only two choices?” Catherine asked bitterly. “To be shackled in a loveless marriage or to be a fugitive from everything I know and love?”
Her face was pale and she looked as fragile as a baby bird. Betsy moved over to her and sat beside her, placing her hands upon Catherine’s. Catherine appreciated the support.
“These are the moments that define your life Catherine, the moments that define what kind of woman you want to be, and what kind of life you will have. Men become soldiers and fight in deadly wars all over the land, in strange worlds, against men who speak in a foreign tongue. Our battlefields are here, in English courts, and we have to fight for everything. There will be a way out, we simply have to plan it, if that is what you want?”
Betsy’s enquiring gaze was
leveled at Catherine, and Catherine turned her eyes to the window once again. She was transfixed on the open world, with all its possibilities and opportunities. Her window faced north, and she thought about the two directions her life could take, for it seemed that she only had the two binary possibilities. Either she would travel south with Lord Ralls or she would find a way to escape north with Bryan, to the Highlands. Each one had its risks.
“I suppose there is no way for me to stay here,” she said hopelessly.
“Your destiny has never been in this place. Perhaps if you had been born a man, but then your life would be much different in a variety of ways,” Betsy said with a wicked smile. “The question you have to ask yourself is which path do you think will lead you to the most happiness?”
Catherine pondered the question for the moment. “Father would be terribly upset if I escaped north. I don’t want to incur his wrath, but the more I think about Bryan the more I do not want to let him go from my life. He came so far just because he was enchanted by my beauty, what other man would do such a thing?”
“There are none, my Lady,” Betsy replied.
“What other man would risk his life and face death just for the chance to have a single conversation with me?”
“There are none, my Lady.”
Catherine smiled as she realized the game they were playing.
“What other man could elicit such strong feelings in a girl such as I? What other man could be as handsome, as brave, as heroic as he? What other man could have captured my attention from the first time we met? What other man could even make me consider such different possibilities in life? What other man could make me feel such strong desire?”