He didn’t answer, and with a sinking sense of inevitability, Alenna saw stubbornness engulf his expression. He believed in this curse, in these horrible tragedies, more than he did her. If he could set her aside so easily, then maybe he’d read the writing on the wall more clearly than she had.
Their passion couldn’t continue.
"I canna do this to ye. I’ve got this demon inside of me."
"There is no demon."
Tynan reached up and pulled her hands from his face, but he held her hands within his. "Ye mean too much to me to let anything happen to you."
She stood slowly, forcing tears away with effort. "Goodbye, Tynan."
He stood with her as she headed for the door. He stepped in front of her, as he had other times when she’d attempted to get away from him.
"Yer not goin’. I’ve vowed to take care of ye. ‘Tis the least I can do."
"No, Tynan. You’re right. You’ve got to let me go. I can’t stay in this room with you for the next fortnight without wanting to make love to you. Without needing your touch. There, I’ve admitted it. I want you, and I know you want me. But you can’t or won’t let me in. Not where I want to be. Just let me go." Alenna sucked a breath in, and knew it sounded like a sob.
A flicker of something like pain passed over his face, momentarily shifting his steely countenance.
"What are you going to do? Keep me prisoner here? Tie me to the bed or the chair?" she asked, turning her words hard. "Would you be like the baron or the other men who abuse their lovers or their wives? Their daughters?"
She saw the fight leave him … the horrifying idea he might in some way be like his own father, like Angus. Like the murderer who had ended Florie’s life. She had used his own fears against him, and the shame burned her as deep as a knife wound.
"I’ll stay with Elizabet if she’ll let me, until I find a way to get out of this God forsaken century. Out of your life," she said, choking the words out.
Slowly he moved out of her way. As she went out the door, anguish gripped her, powerful and devastating. Tears flowed into Alenna’s eyes and she almost sobbed. Slamming down the impulse to scream, she left and never looked back.
* * *
Tynan’s black mood deepened when he saw Dougald standing at his door later that day.
"What the bluidy hell are ye doin’ here?" Tynan asked, scowling.
"I’ve a guid reason for comin’ by. Can we speak? ‘Tis most urgent."
Tynan nodded reluctantly and let Dougald inside.
As they settled down at the table he grumbled, "This better be worth it."
Dougald glanced around the room. "Where is Mistress Carstairs?"
"‘Tis none of yer concern."
At Tynan’s rough statement, Dougald grunted. "Ye are in a most foul mood this morn. Considerin’ the way ye ran out of the donjon last night I wad have—"
"I dinna wish to speak of it."
Dougald shook his head. "I dinna ken what has got to ye. Before Mistress Carstairs arrived ye used to have some humor. Now ye do little but snarl. Is there no help for it?"
Tynan let the truth of the words soak into him. Aye, he’d been a bastard sometimes since Alenna had arrived. "Ye ken how I am. Wad ye seek to change me now?"
Dougald sighed in exasperation. "Nay."
"Then what have ye come here for, other than to counsel me on women?"
"The baron sent a message out, sayin’ he wants you and me to go to Ruthven’s stronghold and negotiate a peace."
"Eh?"
Dougald shifted in his chair as if eager to take some action. "He wishes to talk with us today on it."
"There are many ears and eyes here I no longer trust," Tynan said. "But ye ken how I feel about the baron."
"Nay. Ye have no told me everythin’ about what ye suspect."
Tynan knew he’d been so caught in Alenna’s web he hadn’t spent time with his friend, and hadn’t explained the suspicion growing in his gut. He wouldn’t let Alenna distract him from important matters any longer.
"Caithleen has suffered at his hands. She told me what he’s done. But for her guid nature, I wad no have believed it," Dougald said.
Dougald was a fine man, and even though Tynan had heard from Alenna what Caithleen had suffered, he knew Dougald believed in few people but the very innocent. In fact, their friendship would not have been solid but for the battles they had fought and won together against Ruthven’s forces.
"Then ye will ken what I say next to be true." Tynan reached for a flagon of wine and poured them each a goblet. Reaching for his own portion of wine, he slammed back the bitter liquid and grimaced.
"I believe the baron has murdered many women," Tynan said.
"Murder," Dougald repeated, a stunned look dulling his usually bright eyes.
"Though I canna prove it, he has murdered most of his mistresses. Florie, to be sure. And he might do the same to Caithleen and Alenna. I’ve stayed here and kept my fidelity to the bastard so I might seek the truth. I wanted proof of his murdering soul."
Dougald’s stunned expression changed to anger as he slammed his fist down on the wooden table."Why wad he stoop so low?"
"Ye forget. I have seen men much like him, many years ago."
Recognition dawned over Dougald’s face like a new sunrise. "Yer father? Angus?"
"Aye. My father. And Angus." Tynan’s pain twisted in his gut like a knife. "‘Tis a curse I see their black souls better than others. Mayhap my own dark soul sees a kindred evil within them."
He recognized a beast and a devil when he saw one.
And Baron MacAulay was the beast.
"Nay," Dougald said. "Ye are no like that man. Dinna ever think that. A more noble soul I have yet to meet, Tynan."
His friend’s kind words couldn’t comfort him. He struggled for a way to ask Dougald something he might not agree to support. "When yer fortnight with Caithleen is over, do ye want to keep her with ye?"
Dougald’s face reddened. "Aye." He gave Tynan a sheepish grin. "Aye. I love her."
Tynan managed a small smile. "Love? Are ye cuif? The baron may want her back."
"Aye. I have been thinkin’ on it. Caithleen and I will go away together."
"What of Clandon?"
"We will get him out somehow."
Resigned that Dougald had lost his heart to Caithleen, Tynan said, "Then ‘tis settled."
"How are we to stop the baron?"
"When we go to the Ruthvens to negotiate, we must show Baron Ruthven we are on his side. We will help him bring down MacAulay Castle."
"He might as soon kill us as look at us."
"Aye. He might."
With a sigh, Dougald reached for the wine, slammed it back, and poured himself another portion. He held up his goblet.
"To the love of a guid woman. Now that I have had it, I can die a happy man," Dougald said.
Despite the heaviness in Tynan’s chest, he laughed. "Aye. For the love of a guid woman."
After they consumed the draught, they poured another.
"To the most beautiful women we know. Caithleen and Alenna!" Dougald said.
"Aye!"
As the wine simmered his blood, Tynan sobered. The plan weighed on his soul. If all went well, the baron would no longer be able to hurt women nor defenseless boys ever again.
If his plan failed, if Ruthven decided to cut Tynan down where he stood, he would never see Alenna again. She would be at Baron MacAulay’s mercy.
* * *
CHAPTER 19
The dungeons remained as dismal and dank as the last time Alenna had descended into their revolting depths. Despite her resolve, the stench nauseated her.
Having Elizabet by her side gave her strength. The woman’s serenity, her sense of peace, made going into the hell pit more palatable.
As she descended the steps, Alenna shoved aside the fear threatening to close around the edges of her being like a smothering, ghostly shroud.
"Are ye well?" Elizabet asked, her voice
unruffled.
"Yes."
"I’m glad ye thought to bring the bread," Elizabet said.
Alenna had succeeded in bribing her way into the dungeons by giving the guards two loaves of bread Elizabet had made earlier that morning. She had a loaf of bread left to give Clandon, as well as rabbit meat. While the thought of rabbit made Alenna’s stomach lurch, she imagined Clandon would appreciate the meat. She’d thoroughly cooked it, though she doubted Clandon would have cared much, considering the slop they fed him now.
Once in the dungeon, she noted the two thieves chained against the wall. Both of them hung from their shackles like wet rags. Sores covered parts of their bodies, and one of them had been whipped. The man who had accosted them during her last trip to the dungeon appeared alive, but his eyes were closed.
"Ghastly," Elizabet murmured as they scooted by the pitiful pair.
"A swift death would have been easier for them than this," Alenna said, turning her gaze away. "Why couldn’t the baron just have killed them?"
Elizabet’s eyes burned with a special fire of distaste, something Alenna couldn’t remember seeing in her eyes before.
"Because the man is without a soul. He’ll do whatever to whoever he likes. And make no mistake, his nasty work is still no done."
"Have you heard if Caithleen and Dougald have left the castle?" Alenna asked softly, as if the walls did have ears.
"Nay. She willna leave the castle knowing Clandon is in this pit."
"Damn it," Alenna hissed. "But I thought Dougald planned to take her out of here?"
"Well, if she’s as stubborn as ye are, lass, it no may be possible for Dougald to change her mind."
Alenna wanted to scream. Her only consolation came in knowing Caithleen had Dougald’s protection.
When they reached Clandon’s cell, they could see that his skinny body was propped against one of the slimy walls and his eyes were closed. Alenna’s heart practically stopped. Quickly she clasped the bars and gave them a shake.
"Clandon!"
The boy’s eyes popped open.
She smiled and sighed with relief as he jumped up and ran to the bars.
"Are ye doin’ well, young lad?" Elizabet asked, smiling.
"I’m doin’ well," he said, eyeing the bundle under Alenna’s arm.
"I’ve brought you something to eat," Alenna said, quickly passing him the bundle. "A loaf of bread and meat."
"Zounds!" He took the food with enthusiasm and tore at the bundle like a child digging into presents on Christmas morning. He stuffed the bread into his mouth like a starving animal.
"How long has it been since you ate?" Alenna asked.
"Only last night. Some sort of pig’s swill."
She thought he looked thinner, and her worry grew rather than subsided.
"Tynan tried to get me out," Clandon said between bites of bread and meat.
"What?" Alenna said, taken by surprise. Another part of her knew she shouldn’t be surprised.
"Aye, he did. But the baron said no."
"How do ye ken this?" Elizabet asked.
"Dougald told me. He came to see me last night and brought Caithleen with him. He tells me they are goin’ away soon and they will take me with them."
This news heartened Alenna’s soul. At least Caithleen had been able to see Clandon. But if Tynan hadn’t managed to get Clandon out of the dungeon, what made Dougald believe he’d be able to win the boy’s freedom?
"He has a plan?" Alenna asked.
The boy nodded. "Aye, though he dinna tell me what it was. He feared if I would be beaten by the guards, and he no wanted me to be able to tell."
So far the boy had managed to fair well. She could only hope his imprisonment wouldn’t be much longer. If she had anything more to say, he’d be out before the end of the day.
"Elizabet and I are going to talk to the baron after we leave here. We may be able to get him to see reason."
Reason. She sincerely doubted the man knew the meaning of the word. His actions thus far had proven his cruelty.
Behind them came a thin laugh, high and edged with an eerie quality. A quiver shimmied over Alenna’s skin.
Alenna and Elizabet turned to the men chained to the wall. The man who had provoked Tynan leered at them, his grin as nasty and sickening as she remembered. She turned away, ready to ignore him. Clandon stopped eating and stared at the man, his expression filled with loathing.
"Could ye spare me some bread, missy?" the man asked.
"Not on your life," Alenna said.
"Not even for word to help the boy and yer man?"
Leaning back against the bars of Clandon’s cell, she glared at him. "What type of word?"
The man tilted his head to the side, and she could see a festering cut on his neck. Amazing the man hadn’t died already.
"Ye dinna think that little tussle me friend and I had with MacBrahin was to rob him, do ye?"
"What?" Alenna asked, uncertain she’d heard him correctly.
"We was hired to kill him, but I guess we dinna ken his strength. We came upon ye for sport, but we was layin’ in wait for MacBrahin." He jerked his head in the direction of his deceased friend, his detestable grin exposing his black teeth. "Jack here, rest his soul, he were the one that got cut bad. But me friend Will, he got kilt by MacBrahin."
Alenna gave a scathing laugh. "And you want me to give you food for that information?"
"We was hired by the baron. Wad have gutted MacBrahin, too, if it had no been for yer pryin’ arse."
Dread seeped into her heart like an icicle. Never mind that she’d tried for hours to harden her feelings. She couldn’t. At least not where Tynan’s safety was concerned.
"Why would the baron pay ye to kill his best knight?" Elizabet asked so softly that Alenna barely heard her.
The slimy man chuckled, the high pitched sound grating on Alenna’s ears like proverbial nails over a blackboard. The guffaw bounced and cackled, rolling along the dim room like a fairy tale witch’s chortle.
"I dinna ken. He wanted him dead and paid us well for it, too. But here I am, mores the pity."
She couldn’t feel charity or anything other than loathing for the man. She wasn’t about to give the man bread for information that may not be true.
Elizabet turned back to Clandon, finished listening to the miscreant. "We’ll see to it one way or the other ye get out, Clandon."
Clandon’s disposition had turned, his dark eyes blighted by a haunted mien. "Ye have to help him, Mistress."
"Tynan?" Alenna asked, though certain who he meant.
"Aye. I was thinkin’ I am safer here than he is out there." He gestured toward the small window high on the wall behind him. "He is a great warrior, but …"
"‘Tis all right, Clandon. We will get ye out of here soon, and we will tell Tynan what this beast behind us said," Elizabet said.
The man sniggered again. This time his tone had turned harsh and hoarse. "Well, ye might be too late, at that."
Alenna turned swiftly and glared at the man. "What are you jabbering about?"
"I ain’t sayin’ more until I get some of that boy’s bread."
Alenna hesitated, but Elizabet turned to Clandon and held out her hand. "Give me a bit of the bread."
Clandon passed a portion of the bread to Elizabet. Alenna reached for Elizabet’s arm. "Don’t."
"I am no beyond a little charity." Elizabet said. "Even for a man as horrid as this one."
Alenna gauged the stubbornness in her friend’s eyes for several moments before she relinquished her grip on Elizabet’s arm. Elizabet crossed the room and stuffed the bread into the vile man’s mouth quickly. He growled as he chewed, and Elizabet backed away swiftly.
His black eyes sparkled with unholy zeal as he devoured the small portion of bread like it was his last meal. Crumbs fell from his mouth. Perhaps it was his last meal, Alenna thought with revulsion. She saw the nastiness, the despicable lack of remorse for anything and everything he’d done in his
life. She imagined his foul deeds would easily fill a book.
When he’d consumed the bread, he licked his lips. "There’s a guid chance the great Tynan of MacBrahin won’t live to see the day passed if he goes out of this castle."
"What are you talking about?" Alenna asked, annoyed and fearful.
"The baron said he’d see to it that if I failed, he’d send MacBrahin on a false errand of truce to Ruthven’s castle. Ruthven will kill MacBrahin for sure. Or mayhap he will have him killed along the way."
A gasp of dread slipped between Alenna’s lips before she could stop it. The odious man’s rheumy eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. "And there’s more like me that can be bought to do the deed. Mark my word."
Elizabet made a sound of disgust. "May God have mercy on yer soul."
Like a man on his last edge, his laugh echoed with alarming insanity. Turning away, Alenna and Elizabet moved back to Clandon’s cell.
"Do ye think he speaks the truth?" Clandon asked.
Elizabet nodded, her face grave and thoughtful. "Aye. We must seek out Tynan and warn him."
Alenna’s eyes filled with tears. "We’ve got to find him immediately and make sure he doesn’t leave the castle."
As they walked by, the man spit at them, but they moved away too briskly for him to hit them. His incomprehensible and no doubt uncomplimentary curses followed them out of the stone prison.
Once into the fresh air, Alenna took a revitalizing breath, but her heart was filled with anxiety for Tynan. "Would the baron have a reason to kill Tynan?"
Elizabet nodded, worry lines etching her forehead. "Lord help us, I think he would. Ye have no idea how truly evil a man he can be."
Apprehension added heaviness to Alenna’s heart. Elizabet’s declaration made her suspicious. "What else do you know, Elizabet?"
"He’s a foul man, I wish now I’d said somethin’ much earlier. I might have kept some of this from happenin’."
"What do you mean? Tynan is the baron’s best warrior. And Dougald is not far behind. Why would he cut down his own defenses?"
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