Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes

by Ceci Giltenan

  For an instant she thought to refuse, but in truth she was dreadfully thirsty. She swallowed greedily until he pulled it away from her lips. He held an oatcake out to her. She took it with her bound hands, bringing it to her mouth and taking a bite. It was dry and stale, but she was starving.

  She surveyed the surroundings. It appeared that they had made camp in a small clearing. The horses had been secured for the night. The men sat around a small fire, silently staring at her as she ate. In addition to Roddy there were five others: a young man, younger than she was by the looks of him; two older men, one of whom had burn scars on his face; and two more who looked to be about the same age as Roddy, perhaps either side of a score and ten.

  Now that she saw them closer, she remembered having seen them all before. She certainly recognized the scarred man. He would be hard to forget. If she had noticed him when she first entered the great hall she would have known immediately who they were.

  When she had finished eating the oatcake, Roddy put the costrel to her lips again, taking it away before she had drunk her fill.

  Despair washed over her. She thought the pain of losing her husband and parents had been unbearable. Then, she met Bram. Every instinct had warned her not to open her heart but she had. After glimpsing love for a second time, she had lost him too. She didn’t think anything could be worse than the pain of hurting him, pushing him away, letting him go for the good of the clan.

  What a fool she was. Today she had lost her whole world. She had no doubt what lay in store at Fearchar’s hands. Even if she could escape, what would she do? The Sutherlands believed she was a demented stranger. She would never again be welcomed there nor would they return Kristen to her. She looked away and fought back tears. She wanted to curl up in a ball and give up.

  Still, part of her refused to let them see she was beaten or let them see her cry. When she had regained her composure, she looked at Roddy. “Why?”

  “Because Fearchar wanted ye, Grace. He told ye that. He told ye if ye resisted him he would make ye sorry. I’d say you look right sorry now.”

  Aye, surely her heart was damaged beyond repair. “But why was it necessary to take my daughter from me? Fearchar would still have gotten what he wanted.”

  “Now that was something he and I disagreed on. I thought we should say ye kidnapped another couple’s baby and bring her along. I reckon ye’d do anything ye were asked to do if it meant keeping her safe. But Fearchar wanted rid of her. He figured it would be best to leave her among her kin. He also predicted ye’d cause an uproar when ye realized she was being left behind. I have to admit, that was quite a show. Too bad Kenneth had to knock ye out. Ye should have seen the looks on their faces. The Sutherlands are convinced ye’re barking mad. Making the sign of the cross they were as we dragged ye away. And they’re pretty sure ye bewitched that guardsman, Michael.”

  Michael. The only Sutherland who tried to help her. Nay, that wasn’t true, Lady Sutherland made an attempt too, but was silenced by her husband. Lady Sutherland would certainly be alright, but what would happen to Michael? Lord, please help Michael. She was fairly sure that was wasted effort but she had to ask. After a few moments she asked Roddy, “Who is Nina?”

  “She was my wife. A pretty face, but weak and useless. She died of a fever shortly after we were married a few years back. That is why Fearchar picked me.”

  It had always been said Fearchar was ruthless but she had no idea another human being could be this cruel. Still, in spite of the pain it caused her, she realized that Roddy had been right. If they had brought Kristen, Grace would do anything to keep her safe. She would have gone like a lamb to the slaughter if it meant Kristen would be unharmed. But with her daughter safely back with Innes, Grace could do whatever she needed to do to escape without fear. She had nothing more to lose. If she kept her wits about her, she believed she could get away. Furthermore, if she could reach Dugald and Mary in Durness they would be able to help her. They knew who she was. Perhaps they would help her convince the Sutherlands of the truth. She wasn’t sure it would work but it was her only option and she had to try.

  *

  Grace had been left bound all night.

  “We can’t have ye tryin’ to sneak away,” Roddy had said. But he and a couple of the other men laughed. Clearly they believed it was unlikely she could accomplish that.

  When she had asked him to remove her bonds and give her a few moments of privacy to answer nature’s call that morning she expected him to refuse. But he simply removed her bonds and told her to hurry. “The sun is well up and we need to get going.”

  She was still sore from yesterday and laying bound all night on the ground had left her stiff. She walked into the trees a bit to relieve herself without an audience. She couldn’t help think that in her current condition she moved with less agility that Innes. Perhaps that is why he doesn’t fear I’ll run. Even as she had the thought she realized this might be her only chance. She ran further into the forest as swiftly and quietly as she could. She hadn’t planned to, or even thought her actions through. She simply seized the moment, which was probably her first mistake.

  Her second mistake occurred when she heard the cry go up that she was missing. She hadn’t gone far yet. If she had been thinking, she would have turned back then and lied. She would have told them that she had only gone a bit deeper into the wood than she intended. But instead she kept running, as fast as her feet would carry her. It had been absolutely foolhardy.

  The man called Derek caught her quickly, dragging her back to the clearing.

  Roddy was furious. He backhanded her. “Ye stupid wench! Ye have no chance of eluding us and only make things worse for yerself by trying.” He slapped her again and she braced herself for a beating. He laughed at her when she cringed. “Nay, I won’t beat ye now. Fearchar wants ye alive and generally unharmed. He wants the pleasure of breaking ye, and believe me, break ye he will. But I’ll see that ye don’t run away again. If ye want to travel by foot, I’ll let ye. Today, ye walk.”

  Without warning, he kicked her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Before she realized what he was doing, he had removed her boots. Then he tied her wrists together again before yanking her to her feet.

  “Mount up lads,” he ordered, giving her a wicked sneer. He tied one end of another length of rope to the one binding her wrists, held onto the other end, and mounted his horse.

  “I’ll warrant ye won’t be so anxious to run away after today. I’ll be surprised if ye can even walk.”

  The youngest man asked, “Are ye sure that’s a good idea Roddy? Ye said yerself, Fearchar didn’t want her harmed.”

  “Shut yer gob, Augie. Fearchar doesn’t want her to escape him again either. After a day of walking barefoot there will be no chance of that.”

  None of the other men seemed inclined to interfere so as Roddy had promised, he forced Grace to walk barefooted while being practically dragged by the rope attached to her hands. Her feet were bruised and scraped within an hour. By the late afternoon, she had sustained several cuts from sharp stones. The cuts oozed blood and made each step more painful than the last. She fell occasionally but each time Roddy dragged her a few steps before yanking her upright by her tether, causing the ropes binding her wrists to cut into her tender flesh. Eventually, hot, exhausted, and in pain, she fell every few minutes slowing their pace tremendously.

  After one such fall he didn’t yank Grace up from her knees immediately. He stopped his horse, turning to watch as she struggled to her feet. “Have ye had enough, Grace?” Roddy sneered.

  “Roddy, she can barely walk,” observed Augie. “We are moving at a snail’s pace. We can make up some time if ye let her ride now.”

  “She brought it on herself,” said Roddy.

  The oldest man among them, who had been riding in the lead, said, “Aye, she did. But God’s bones, Roddy, it will take ages for us to get to Durness at this pace. I have children and a wife at hom
e. No offence lad, but I’d rather share a bed with her than the cold ground with ye lot.”

  “Ye hear that, Grace? Gordon here is anxious to swive his wife and tender-hearted young Augie fears for the state of yer feet. They think I should let ye ride. Now that I think on it, I might be convinced to let ye ride for what is left of the day…if ye are willing to pay the price.”

  Grace stared at him mutely. She wouldn’t ask the price. She was fairly sure she wouldn’t pay it, whatever it was.

  “Don’t ye wish to hear what it is?”

  Not wanting to give in to him at all, Grace said, “I feel sure if ye want me to know, ye’ll tell me in yer own time.”

  “Ye might want to curb that insolent tongue, Grace. I am a tolerant man but Fearchar is not so forbearing.”

  “Aye,” agreed Derek. “Give him that kind of lip and he’ll skelp ye good.”

  As if any of them cared what happened to her. Grace simply stood there.

  When it became obvious she wasn’t going to respond, Roddy said, “As it happens, I too grow weary of this plodding pace, so I will tell ye my price. It’s simple enough. Ye can ride the rest of the afternoon if ye kneel and beg me sweetly for mercy…or ye give me one kiss.”

  Again Augie spoke up. “Roddy, Fearchar didn’t want her touched.”

  Conan, the older man with the scarred face, scowled. “Augie, would ye shut up? Fearchar didn’t want her raped. Teaching her insolent tongue a lesson hardly counts and if it gets us on our way, I don’t care. Kiss him, lass, and save yerself a bit of pain.”

  Grace remained silent. Frankly, she was in no hurry to get to Fearchar and she wasn’t about to pay either price. Roddy could drag her by her wrists all the way to Cape Wrath and she wouldn’t willingly kiss him or beg him for mercy. Part of her longed to tell him so, but the wiser part of her urged caution, lest he actually drag her to death behind his horse.

  “Well, Grace? Will ye pay the price and ride for what remains of the day?” Roddy smirked. She felt sure he didn’t expect her to. This was meant to humiliate her.

  She glared at him. “Nay.”

  “Nay?” Roddy asked. “Stubbornness will bring ye naught but pain and heartache, but have it yer way.” He yanked on the tether as he urged his horse back to a walk.

  Even though she had turned down his offer, she had hoped Roddy would take heed of the men who had urged him to let her ride in the interest of making up some lost time. She doubted they had even covered a league over the last three hours of travel. Even so, he didn’t relent and she refused to beg him for mercy.

  Just as Roddy had predicted, by the time they stopped that evening she could barely walk. She would never be able to escape on foot, she thought bitterly. However, she had learned a few tidbits of useful information. Augie had said Fearchar wanted her alive and generally unharmed. Perhaps that is why, after they had stopped, Roddy unbound her hands and pointed her to a small burn where she could wash the dirt out of her destroyed feet.

  She had also learned their destination. They were traveling to Durness. She had assumed they were traveling to a port as they would have to travel by ship to Lewis, but it could have been one of several along the northern or western coast. But if they were heading to Durness, she certainly had a better chance of reaching her friends if she stayed with her Morrison captors until they reached the port. Then, just maybe, she’d have another opportunity to escape.

  She prayed her feet would have enough time to heal a bit before then. When she travelled with Dugald and Mary by wagon, it had taken four and a half days to reach Sutherland Castle from Durness. Men on horses could travel almost twice as fast. She wasn’t sure how far they had come the previous day when she was unconscious. However, having forced her to walk barefooted, they hadn’t made much progress today. It was likely they were barely a day’s ride from Castle Sutherland, if that. She guessed they might have one more night on the road before reaching Durness. That was a bit less than two days to recover…and to plan.

  Chapter 27

  Bram stepped off the boat followed by Ian and the guardsmen who had accompanied them. A cool evening breeze blew away the heat of the day. Over the last few days Bram hadn’t done anything more strenuous than lift a full tankard but he felt weary to the bone. His time away had done little to exorcise Grace from his thoughts. Of course, this was only made worse by seeing Eoin and Fiona MacKay at the funeral. They were blissfully happy and the envy he felt nearly bore a hole in him.

  Ian, on the other hand, was energy personified. Oh the wonders of a happy heart. For Ian, Saundra Ross had turned out to be a light in what was otherwise a sorrowful event. Lovely, gentle and soft spoken, he had been instantly smitten with her. She too seemed equally as taken with Ian. She blushed sweetly whenever he spoke to her, which was as often as he could maneuver to her side.

  They could have returned the day after the funeral but instead, Ian had convinced Bram to linger for another day. He wanted a little more time with Saundra. In truth there was nothing for Bram to race back to. Still, after the days of tedium, he pried Ian away by telling him the faster they returned home, the faster Da could open negotiations with Saundra’s father, the new Earl of Ross. That was a wee stretch of the truth. He knew, out of respect, Da wouldn’t raise the issue until a suitable mourning period had passed.

  On their way to Clan Ross, they had stabled their horses at the small inn in the port village. Returning there now, Bram paid the inn keeper and they saddled their mounts, setting out for home immediately. It was less than an hour’s ride to Sutherland castle. Ian and the other men exchanged friendly banter. Bram soon grew tired of it and fell back a bit, riding in brooding silence. Soon Ian slowed his mount to ride next to Bram.

  “What has ye bothered, Bram?”

  “Ye.”

  Ian snorted. “Well, that’s good to know. I thought it might be thoughts of a certain widow.”

  Bram clenched his jaw, angry that Ian had read him so well.

  They rode in silence for a few moments before Ian said, “Ye may not want to hear what I’m about to say.”

  “Any conversation that begins with those words is probably best avoided.”

  Ian chuckled. “Nevertheless, I will tell ye. I have given this a lot of thought over the last few days and I think ye are making a mistake.”

  “Do ye? That’s a pretty fair guess. I’ve made so many recently. To which one do ye refer?”

  “Ye believed Grace when she told ye she loved someone else.”

  “Ian this isn’t any of yer concern.”

  His brother continued to push. “Bram, ye loved her.”

  Bram snorted. “I don’t think it was love after all. I enjoyed her company. Nothing more. Evidently she didn’t enjoy mine. Michael is more enticing these days.”

  It was Ian’s turn to snort. “Ye enjoyed her company? Bram, ye loved her and ye still do, which is going to irritate Da beyond all understanding.”

  “What does Da have to do with it?”

  “He wants ye married to Annice Sinclair.”

  “And I’ll marry her, damn it all. I’ve agreed to that. I gave Da the month that he asked for and I’m glad I did.”

  “Nay, brother. I don’t think this has ever really been about whether or not ye would marry Grace. Looking back on it, Da could have made sure that didn’t happen in any number of ways. At the moment ye told him ye wanted to marry her, he could have thrown ye in the dungeon and taken steps to ensure that didn’t happen.”

  “If he had done that, I would have left anyway.”

  “And Da had to know that. I think he bought time with his offer of a month. He was hoping to change yer mind or figure out a way to get rid of her that wouldn’t push ye to leave too. Laird Sinclair added a particularly troublesome wrinkle to the problem.”

  “How so?”

  “Perhaps Grace had yer head too muddled, but have ye forgotten? Laird Sinclair will only agree to a betrothal for Annice if she is willing. How willing do ye think she’d be if she h
eard whispers about ye and Grace and ye clearly loved another woman? Da is canny enough to know this. He needed to get Grace out of yer sights and for yer only focus to be on winning Annice’s hand.”

  “Well, he got his wish. Grace doesn’t love me.”

  “Bram, would ye put yer damn pride aside and think? Until Friday did she ever give ye that idea?”

  “There were rumors.”

  “That ye knew were false.”

  “Ian, drop it.”

  “By all that’s holy, Bram, Da started working to separate the two of ye at the first whisper that ye were attracted to her. He sent ye out for three days to review crops, in June when things are barely started. Mother had her make that blasted ribbon and then Da doubled the order. Looking back that was pure genius. Grace must have spent ten hours or more a day bent over her loom, knowing it was for the lass ye would marry. After ye told Da about Grace, it only got worse. He retired Innes, moving her from her home to the farthest edge of the village. Then the rumors started and the clan began to turn on Grace.”

  “Da wouldn’t have done that.”

  Ian shook his head. “I would have thought not, but now I’m not sure. Someone had to have started the rumors and Da had the most to gain.

  Bram said nothing. He had no rebuttal. Da had made it clear for weeks that he wanted Bram to stay away from Grace but Bram hadn’t listened.

  “Something Da said to me on Saturday makes me think he was growing desperate to end the relationship.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Ye had been an ogre all day. I had only heard rumors and I asked if he knew what happened. He told me the rumor version but he also said, ‘thankfully it happened well before the Sinclairs are due to arrive.’ He thought ye’d have time to get over it.”

  Bram was stunned. “He thought I’d get over this in a week?”

  Ian grinned. “That’s what I told him. But clearly his focus was much more on ye being ready to win Annice’s hand than anything else.”