Her eyes flamed at him, but she knew that he was right. She let her temper get away from her and had been shouting again, something that would guarantee Gabriel would find and hurt her. But in this moment, she had forgotten all about it, because his lips were directly in front of his hand which was on her mouth. If he were to move his hand their lips would be but inches from each other. Her entire body grew hot and in that moment the look on Bran's face softened.
She watched as his eyes moved over her, and his hand slowly slid down from her lips to her chin and onto her neck. Her chest heaved up and down, as her breath became rapid.
"Are you going to kiss me?" she whispered. She didn't know where the question came from, but it left her mouth before she could gather her thoughts.
The scowl returned to Bran's face. He pushed away from her and moved toward the table where he poured himself an excessive amount of wine in his cup. "No. I am not. You belong to another man, though you do not love him, and he obviously does not deserve any woman, but I have my morals. I will not take of another man's wife."
Edith felt her face turn red. She was so embarrassed. Why had she said something like that? Now he'd rejected her and she only felt so incredibly stupid.
"I didn't want you to anyway," she said petulantly, sitting down on the bed and crossing her arms over her chest.
Bran scoffed, letting her know he did not believe her statement. "You are not a virgin maid any longer. You're ruined for men. And you modern times women run loose in your time, but it is not like that here. Women do not give their virginity until marriage. No matter what happens with you and your husband, there will be no other man that would want you here. You're used property," he said, and then drank of the wine.
"You're an infuriating jerk. Yes, we are not old fashioned in my time. We allow women to do as they please, as they have the right to do. Women of my time have just as much right to… to sew their wild oats just as much as any man!" Edith's eyes flashed with anger and hurt and she wanted to wound his ego as much as he'd wounded hers. "No woman of my time wants to get stuck with a lame lover."
He turned to her seething in anger. "Are you implying that I am a lame lover?"
"I did not, you did," she threw back at him.
"I will have you know that I am a very damn good lover."
"Oh, and what practice have you had?" She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Sleeping around with unmarried young women? Ruining their reputation so that they cannot have an honorable marriage? You are not a good honorable man."
Bran took several steps toward her, incensed. "You know nothing of me and my life."
"I can say the same thing about you and my life. Yet you are saying that I'm ruined for other men simply because I have had the same experiences that you have had as a man."
Suddenly there was a banging at the door. Without hesitation, Bran grabbed Edith and put her behind his body and drew his sword to face the door ready to fight. It all happened so fast that she was shocked by the sudden movement. But standing behind him, she felt more protected than she had ever had in her entire life.
"Cousin, it is I, Cameron."
Bran relaxed and went to the door. " I am here cousin." Bran moved the chair from under the latch, and then the door was unlocked from the outside. Cameron and Maria stepped inside and close the door behind them. They did not look happy.
"What is it? Did you find him? What happened?"
Edith felt her heart dropped to her stomach. The amount of anxiety was overwhelming. She was glad to see her friends, to know that they were alive, and that Gabriel had not found them. She was trying to remain grateful that Gabriel did not have them at knifepoint to lead him to her. But although she was happy and grateful for the majority of these things, she could tell that there was something very wrong. This was not going to be good at all and she held her breath waiting for them to say something, anything.
"Maria?" Edith's voice was barely a whisper.
Maria moved to Edith and put her hand on her shoulder preparing her for bad news. Her blue eyes grew wide, waiting to hear what the fate of her husband would be.
Edith stood there waiting for the news about her husband and his escape. She was filled with anxiety and on edge. By the looks on the faces of Maria and Cameron, it didn't seem like it was going to be very good news.
"What news do you bring us, cousin?" Bran asked.
"It seems that the prisoners have escaped us completely. Every inch of the castle has been searched, and we have not found them. But there is evidence that they have left the island completely," Cameron said.
"What evidence? What do you mean?"
"There have been horses stolen from the stables, four of them to be exact. Then we found a rowboat missing and our guards found it further down the mainland," Cameron explained.
"So, they escaped away from the castle. How do you know that my husband is among them?" Edith asked.
"Because only four prisoners are missing. The Three Irish criminals and your husband. The rest are still locked away," Maria said.
"So that's it then. Gabriel is out there, just waiting to assault me. What am I supposed to do?" Edith asked.
"You will stay in the confines of the castle, of course. The storms might last for days, and once it's clear we will figure out what is to be done then. For now, you do not leave the castle or the castle courtyard and if you wish to walk the outer walls of the castle or along the beaches inform Maria, myself, or Bran and we will have guards escort you. That is what we can do for now, but our attention must be diverted to dealing with the flooding of the castle. Guards are still posted, and we will have two guards posted outside your door, but we are quite sure they have left the castle."
"All right, I guess there's nothing I can do anyway. If there is anything I can do to help," Edith said.
"You can stay in your room," Bran said giving her a stern look.
Edith didn't like it one bit, it made her feel like she was a child being forced to stay in her room because she was grounded.
"Yes, that part is obvious," she snapped back.
Maria and Cameron exchanged a look but said nothing.
"Are the guards posted at this door now?" Bran asked.
" Yes. Right outside," Cameron said.
"Good. I must get back to my responsibilities," Bran said heading for the door.
Cameron followed but Maria stayed behind for a moment.
"Do not worry. The door will be locked, and your meals will be brought to you. I know it's hard to stay locked up in here, as I have said before, I have been subjected to the exact same thing."
"I know. It's just, I don't know who Gabriel really is. He was a very charming and charismatic leader in his job, and he might have the skills to rally up some people to come get me. He's very persuasive, he persuaded me to marry him, hiding the fact that he was a monster the entire time," Edith said.
"I am sure that once the storm is over, my husband will gather a small group of soldiers to track them down, they are prisoners of our castle after all. But with the raging storms outside it is just too dangerous. It is possible that they are lost at sea, and with any luck, maybe they drowned," Maria said.
"True. Thank you for everything, Maria."
"Get some sleep. It will be dawn in a couple of hours."
The group left Edith alone. She heard the lock rattle on the other side. Then she distinctively heard Bran giving orders to the guards.
"None of you are to leave this door at all. Piss in a jar in the corner if you need to relieve yourself, but don't leave her unguarded. There will be fresh guards to relieve you in a few hours." Bran's voice sounded harsh and angry.
"Aye," the guards replied.
He seemed to be in such a bad and dark mood and she couldn't figure out why. Was this just the way he always was? Or was it because she had asked him for a kiss?
Oh how stupid that made her feel just thinking about it!
Edith threw herself on the bed, and buried her face in the pillo
w, trying not to think about how embarrassed she was. With every sound, she was startled. The thought that Gabriel could be outside her door looking for her brought chills up and down her spine.
Eventually, she drifted off to sleep having been completely exhausted by the entire ordeal.
Chapter 18
Bran was filled with rage. He did not want that maniac loose in the castle. But most importantly he was angry with himself. It had been known that the dungeons would flood during severe storms, but that had not happened in his lifetime. There were only stories that had been passed down to him by the elders. It had been almost seventy years since they had flooded, and they were told that the flooding entry to the sea had been fixed. But apparently the ocean was much stronger than any stone or rock and had made its way through.
Now, Bran was extremely angry with himself for not having those areas checked on a weekly basis especially during a storm. Now it was too late, and the prisoners were loose. Edith was in danger, as well as anyone else who crossed the path of the Irish bandits. They had already killed two of his men, and he did not want any more casualties in the castle.
He also wanted to make good on his promise to Edith. He, as well as Cameron and Lady MacLeod had promised Edith that she was safe in the castle from her husband. They had promised he would not get out of the prison, and that promise had been broken. So, he had to see the second part of their promise through and make sure that she was safe. That was why he'd guarded her personally within her room. Or at least that was what he told himself.
Now that he was aware that the prisoners were off of the island, he could go about his responsibilities and leave her protected by the guards.
"What say you of the flooding?" Cameron asked as he and Bran walked down the spiral staircase leading to the dungeons.
"It's not good. Ocean water all the way up to the waist in some parts. The prisoners that have been moved are secure and we have the blacksmith reinforcing those doors as well as five guards outside each door. But it is going to take some time to get the dungeon back to its original state."
"There is no point in working on it now, Bran. We have to wait until the storms stop and then we can have the water pumped out by hand if it has not receded by then. Then we will have our men look at how to prevent it from happening in the future. But now that it is flooded there is no use in worrying about it."
"I would like to take a look along the shoreline to see exactly where the water is coming in. That could be a safety risk. Anyone on a boat could come in through that direction," Bran said.
"I doubt anyone would risk their lives in that storm crashing against rocks just to come inside the castle. They would have a better chance coming straight on across the bridge head-to-head," Cameron said.
"Perhaps you are right, cousin," Bran said knowing that he was going to take a look anyway when he got the chance. But there was no point in telling his cousin because he would try to talk him out of it.
"Look at this," Cameron said as they got to the last steps of the spiral staircase that led down to the dungeons. The bottom two steps were under water before they even stepped off.
"Have all the prisoners been relocated?" Bran shouted to a guard coming their direction.
"Yes, I just did another round of each cell there is no one else there."
"Get your men out of there and upstairs," Cameron said.
"Yes, my Laird," the guard said and moved back down the flooded Corridor to get the rest of the men.
"It is worse than I thought. Let's go back upstairs, Bran, to my meeting rooms where we can put a plan of action into place."
"Yes, after you," Bran said following Cameron back up the stairs.
When they got to the top of the stairs, Bran posted a guard.
"Once all the men from the lower area are accounted for, I want this door sealed. I want four guards posted here at all times. But make sure the door is not closed and sealed until all of the men are accounted for. Then I want a full report. I will be with the Laird in his chambers."
"Yes, Tanist," the guard said.
"Good thinking, cousin," Cameron said. "Actually, find us in the great hall. All guards are to report there in shifts starting in half an hour's time. It has been a long night and you have all done well. We will be serving food for the next four hours. Come in shifts to eat and rest," Cameron said to the guard.
"Yes, that is a wise decision," Bran said as he and Cameron walked away from the guards and made their way down to the kitchens.
There they alerted the maids and cooks to start heating up leftover food to take into the hall for an informal meal and then to start cooking new batches of food to serve all the guards at the castle over the next few hours.
Both Cameron and Bran grabbed a cold meat pie and took a bite as they walked out of the kitchen and made their way to the grand room hall. A fire was burning in the great hearth and Bran set about immediately adding more wood to the fire, while Cameron set a few of the outer fires a blaze. This was to be their headquarters to figure out how to deal with the flooding, the escaped prisoners, and their exhausted men.
Bran sat next to Cameron and began to formulate a plan for dealing with the escaped prisoners. Once the storms passed, which could be days or weeks, they would set out along the countryside to look for them but by then it might be too late. It was still required of them and they would set out an alert to every village as soon as a rider was able to go out in the storm. It was simply too dangerous with the current conditions. Even for a hard Scottish man that was used to riding in the rain, the rain storm outside would cause a man to drop dead from a strike of lightning or hit by a plank of wood riding the high winds.
As they formulated a plan, a few maids and cooks that had been awakened from their slumber stumbled in carrying trays of food. It was bread and cheese to start off with as well as cold game hen that they set on the stone hearth near the fire to warm up so that men could grab what they needed as they came along.
Large tin pitchers of water were brought in on trays with cups. As well as wash basins set up in the corners of the room for the men to wash their hands and splash water on their tired faces.
All of this was routine as it had been done many times before and everyone knew what to do. Any time there was a skirmish or a threat of battle, the men would take to the hall and bunker down taking shifts eating and resting while others stood guard on the bridge and along the walls of the castle. It was the safest place as well as a place where Bran and Cameron could watch over the men and give orders.
Throughout the night, both men stood by their guards making sure all had enough to eat and had some rest. But periodically Bran would steal away, making an excuse to get something from his room or go on a break of nature. But truthfully, he was going to check on Edith, simply checking in on the guards who protected her door to make sure that Gabriel indeed was not anywhere to be found and that the petite young woman who had given him such frustrations was well and safe. For he did not know what he would do if anything happened to her, and he did not think about it because it would make him feel very ill.
Chapter 19
Two days passed while Edith was confined to her room with meals brought to her. She didn't see any of her new friends, not even Maria. She really had no idea what was going on with the flooding or with Gabriel and it made her very anxious. Heigl brought her meals every now and then, but every time she questioned her, Heigl had the same response.
"I know nothing much about what goes on, lass, except I do know the flooding has stopped because the rains have stopped for now."
That was all that she could get out of the plump maid.
Finally, on the third day there was a knock at the door, it was Maria. Edith was happy and eager to have someone to talk to and to find out the latest information.
"I am so glad you have come to see me. I've been going out of my mind," Edith said.
"I know. I am sorry I have just been incredibly busy. Come on let's go for a walk," M
aria said opening the door wide.
"Is it safe?" Edith asked.
"Yes, the island has been searched thoroughly and there is no sign of your husband. There are guards that are on the bridge and all around the shoreline of the island if anyone comes onto the island we will know. I think it's even possible that you only have to lock your door from the inside of your room now, we won't be locking it from outside or have guards at your door, unless you want them to be there," Maria said walking down the corridor with Edith at her side.
"Really? Well I'm glad to hear that. I have not been feeling very good confined to that small room. I need to stretch my legs, walk around and get some sunlight and fresh air."
"Yes, those things are important. From now on you can move around the castle as much as you want, though I don't recommend walking around by yourself late in the evening, especially after a night of feasting where there are drunken men roaming the halls. Their manners can be very different."
"I understand."
Edith grabbed a cloak and tied it on to her shoulders. Then she pulled on her boots, lacing them up to her ankles. Finally, she was ready to go. Together she followed Maria out of her room and into the corridor. Edith felt immediate relief letting the blood flow through her legs. It was nice to walk, and to get out of the room even walking the dark halls of the castle.
"Can we go to the courtyard please?" Edith asked.
"Yes, of course. That is a good place. Still within the walls of the castle and the sun is directly overhead so there will be no shadows. It should be nice, and we'll be able to get some sun on your skin."
The two women walked out of the large doors into the courtyard. It was the first time that Edith had been outside since Maria had taken her on a tour of the castle. She stopped and let the sunshine hit her face and took in a deep breath of air.
Kiss A Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (A Highlander Across Time Book 2) Page 9