“Kirstine, what’s the matter? Is it time for yer bairn to be born?”
“I dinna ken,” she said, seeming worried. “I think it is too early yet, but I’ve been feelin’ contractions.”
“The time is gettin’ closer. Yer bairn could be born any time now. Ye need to rest and stay off yer feet.”
“Mayhap ye’re right, Sister. I dinna want to lose another child.”
“Ye stay here with Isobel. I’ll play the part of the ghost again to scare away Ethan and Caleb, although I despise doin’ it. I ken how frightened Ethan is of ghosts ever since he saw one as a child. It doesna seem right to use his weakness against him.”
“It’s for his own guid,” Kirstine reminded her once again. “We have no choice but to do it.”
“Finn will have to be sure to pick up the dummy as soon as I throw it out the tower window and scream. I dinna want Ethan to find it.”
“I’ve already told him and he’ll be waitin’.” Kirstine moaned again.
“Ye need to lay down.” Alana helped her sister lay down on the bed next to Isobel who was already sleeping. Then she walked around the bed and kissed her daughter on the head, tucking her in, thinking how much she looked like Ethan. Those same wide, brown, curious eyes and the little wave in her dark hair that Ethan had made it undeniable that he was her father. How could Ethan not have noticed the first time he set eyes on her?
Alana never liked playing the ghost because she was afraid somehow it was going to scare her daughter. But she’d explained to Isobel years ago that it was just a game. It didn’t seem to bother Isobel and the girl could even sleep right through it now. But something was different lately. Isobel had seemed spooked at the castle, claiming she saw someone following her, and that someone was after her doll. She’d seemed so happy at the MacKeefe camp, but here, as soon as nightfall came, she was sure her daughter would be frightened again.
Alana couldn’t blame her. Lately, this old castle seemed eerier than usual. And as much as Alana didn’t like when her father’s men were present, at least she didn’t seem so spooked when they were near. Every time they went on a smuggling run, she felt frightened, thinking she saw someone in the shadows. She supposed it was her own mind playing tricks on her and hoped that was all it was. She needed to be strong and stay in control – and think with a level head.
Hurrying up the stairs to the vacant tower, she pulled the dummy stuffed with straw over to the window. It was in the shape of a woman, even wearing one of the white nightrails that Alana had found in a trunk that she supposed belonged to the last lady of the castle. That is, the bride who was killed by her husband. Horsehair was used for the fake ghost’s hair.
“Ugh,” she said, not liking to touch the thing. This was all her father and Diarmad’s idea to keep people away from the isle. It had worked well this past year until Ethan and his friends decided to show up. “I hate this,” she mumbled to herself, thinking she hated herself and her life as well. If only she could find the treasure her mother spoke of, mayhap things would be different. Then she could provide for her siblings and father if they were ever able to escape Diarmad. But now that Ethan had her key, that might never happen.
She hauled the dummy up to the window ledge, looking out into the courtyard but not seeing Ethan anywhere. Since Kirstine said he was out there, she figured he’d see this and hear the scream and get spooked and leave. She had no choice but to do it. Ethan was very superstitious, and especially wary of ghosts. She had no choice but to scare him away.
Hoping Finn was in position, she flipped the dummy out the tower window and let out a bloodcurdling scream, hating herself more than ever now.
Then she stepped back into the room with her heart thudding in her chest. Every time she looked out the tower window, she got a bad feeling. She wondered about that poor woman and how she must have felt going to her death. Then, from the corners of her eyes, she thought she saw the flash of white floating by in the room behind her. She spun around, holding on to the windowsill, but saw nothing or no one in the room.
“Nay,” she said aloud. “It must just be my imagination.”
Even so, it spooked her, and Alana ran from the room and down the stairs, wanting to be safe again in Ethan’s arms.
* * *
Ethan had wandered outside the castle walls with Trapper when, all of a sudden, he heard that awful scream again. His head popped up to see a woman falling from the tower and hitting the ground.
“The ghost,” he said, his senses already on high alert. It didn’t matter that he saw a ghost in broad daylight, it was still unsettling to him. All those emotions from his childhood surfaced and the hairs stood up on the back of his neck.
Trapper took off at a run toward the tower.
“Nay. Come back here, Trapper,” he called out, running after his dog. When he made it to the spot just below the tower, he saw Trapper walking back to him with something big in his mouth. It resembled a person.
“What have ye got there?” asked Ethan, bending down to see it was a stuffed dummy made to look like a woman. “What the hell?” Suddenly things were starting to make sense. He realized he’d been made a fool of once again. There was no ghost at Blackbriar Castle. Someone was just trying to scare him away and he had a pretty good idea who was behind it all.
He heard the rustling of branches and turned to see Finn walk out of the thicket.
“Finn?” he asked, holding up the dummy. “Is this yer idea of a jest?” he asked through gritted teeth.
The boy stopped in his tracks and his eyes opened wide. “Nay,” said the boy, looking frightened of Ethan. “I’m just here to pick it up. None of this was my idea at all.”
“Alana,” he growled. “She’s purposely tryin’ to scare me away, isna she?”
When the boy didn’t answer, Ethan grabbed the back of Finn’s cloak in one hand, still holding the dummy in the other and stormed back to the castle.
“I want an explanation for all of this,” spat Ethan. “I want to ken what’s goin’ on here, and when I find out, someone is goin’ to pay.”
* * *
Alana rushed down the stairs, meeting her sister coming up.
“Alana, what’s the matter?” asked Kirstine. “Ye look like ye’ve seen a ghost.” Kirstine suddenly realized the humor in the situation and started to giggle.
“I thought I told ye to rest,” scolded Alana. “Why are ye climbin’ stairs in yer condition?”
“I was restin’ but I thought I saw someone walk by the door to the room and I came out to investigate.”
“I think I saw the ghost, Kirstine,” Alana blurted out, her body shaking. “It floated right by me up in the tower room.”
“Slow down, Alana, I canna understand what ye mean. Did ye play yer part or no’? I thought I heard ye scream.”
“I did. But afterwards, I swear I saw someone in the room behind me.”
“That’s impossible,” said answered. “Finn is outside, Isobel is sleepin’, and the two guards are on the battlements. Besides the few servants in the kitchen, it’s only us here. There is no one else besides Caleb sleepin’ in the great hall and Ethan who is out in the courtyard.”
“Aye, but I ken what I saw. I’m tellin’ ye there really is a ghost in this castle. I’m frightened. I need to find Ethan.”
“Lookin’ for me?” asked Ethan hauling Finn inside. Trapper led the way.
“Ethan!” cried Alana, running to him and throwing herself against him in a protective hug. “I’m frightened. There is a ghost in the tower.”
“Oh, ye mean this one?” He pushed her away from him and held up the dummy.
“Och!” she cried. Her eyes immediately darted over to Finn.
“He got there before me. I’m sorry,” said Finn, lifting his hands and shrugging his shoulders.
“I want an explanation,” growled Ethan. “And dinna even think of lyin’ because I ken ye have been actin’ like a ghost tryin’ to scare me away and I want to ken why. Now everyone,
let’s get to the great hall so we can discuss this at once.”
They were turning to leave when another scream was heard from above stairs, and this time it wasn’t Alana.
“That sounded like Isobel!” cried Alana, turning and running up the stairs with the rest of the entourage right behind her. “Isobel, are ye all right?” she cried, pushing open the chamber door to see her daughter sitting up on the bed clutching her doll and crying.
“I’m scared,” said the little girl. Alana ran to her, but Ethan passed her up, getting to the bed first. He scooped her up in his arms and held her to his chest.
“Shhhh,” he said, running a hand over her head. “Everythin’ is all right.”
“I saw a ghost!” she said, sniffling.
“Nay, ye didna see a ghost,” Ethan told her, looking over at Alana. “That was just yer mathair playin’ a little game.”
“Nay, it wasna. I saw it, too!” Kirstine said, rubbing her belly. “It was a man in a dark cloak.”
“Nay, it wasna,” said Alana. “It was a woman in a white gown.”
“Alana,” said Ethan, scowling at her. “Stop this nonsense. The game is up.”
“Ethan, I admit I played the ghost, but this is different. This is real.”
Isobel started crying and Ethan pulled her closer.
“Stop it. All of ye. Ye are scarin’ Isobel. Now, I suggest we all go down to the great hall and discuss this.” He kissed Isobel on the head. “Are ye all right, sweetheart?”
“Aye, Da,” said the little girl, wiping a tear from her eye. “But I’m hungry.”
Isobel surprised him by saying that and he chuckled. “Ye are startin’ to sound like Caleb.”
“Hungry?” asked Alana. “Sweetheart, we just ate.”
“My daughter is a growin’ lass and needs to eat,” said Ethan. “I could go for a hot bowl of soup right now myself.”
“Did I hear someone mention soup?” Caleb appeared at the door holding Slink. “What’s all the noise about? It sure is hard to take a nap around here.”
“We have a traitor in our midst,” said Ethan, his glance shooting over to Alana.
“A traitor? What do ye mean?” asked Caleb with a yawn.
“I mean that my wife doesna want us here and will do anythin’ to get us to leave.”
“Nay, I do want ye here, Ethan,” protested Alana. “I love ye.”
“Well, if that is love, then I have a lot to learn,” said Ethan. “Because to me, it seems that ye are nothin’ but a big liar.”
“I’m sorry, Ethan,” said Alana, tears trailing down her cheeks. “I never wanted it to be this way between us, but I had no choice.”
“We all have choices,” he told her. “And ye chose to leave me and lie to me. I think it was a mistake to come here in the first place. I’m leavin’ Alana. I’m leavin’ and I’m takin’ my daughter with me as soon as we eat and pack a few things for her.”
He turned to go and Alana’s heart felt as if she had a dagger sticking in it. “I canna live this way anymore,” she said. “Please stay, Ethan. Stay, and I promise I will tell ye everythin’.”
“Alana, nay,” begged Kirstine as Alana continued to cry. “Ye canna,” she whispered.
“I have to,” said Alana wiping her tears. “Kirstine, I refuse to keep livin’ this way.”
“What are ye sayin’?” asked Ethan, holding little Isobel to his chest and kissing the top of her head.
“We need to go to my faither’s chamber,” Alana told him. “Since he is a part of this, too, I think he should be present when I tell ye what’s been goin’ on for the past five years.”
“Does this mean we’re no’ havin’ soup?” asked Caleb, looking disappointed.
“Let’s go,” growled Ethan, scowling at Caleb. “But this is yer last chance, Alana. Ye either tell me everythin’ or I swear I will take Isobel and leave and never return.”
Chapter 14
“Alana? What’s goin’ on?” asked Gil Chisholm, sitting up in his bed as soon as they entered the room.
“Faither, we need to talk with ye.” Alana led the procession into the room.
“Close the door, Caleb,” commanded Ethan, walking over to a chair and sitting down, still holding his daughter. Isobel’s little body trembled and he swore he wouldn’t let her go as long as she was still frightened.
“All right,” said Caleb, closing the door and walking back, holding his pet.
“Can I hold the weasel?” asked Finn anxiously.
“Finn, no’ now,” scolded Kirstine, sitting down on the edge of her father’s bed.
“It’s all right,” said Caleb, handing his pet to Finn. “But Slink isna a weasel so dinna insult him. He’s a pine marten. He likes to slink around.”
Ethan cleared his throat. “If ye’re quite done discussin’ rodents, Alana has a lot of explainin’ to do.”
“Rodent?” Caleb reached out and covered his pet’s head with his hand. “Dinna let Slink hear ye call him that!”
“Caleb,” said Ethan in a stern voice.
“All right, all right, I’m sittin’ down so we can discuss ghosts.” Caleb looked around and plopped down on the floor next to Finn.
“What are ye doin’ here?” asked Gil, jumping up, but being stopped by the chain around his leg that held him to the bed.
“I’m here with my wife and daughter, and I’m waitin’ for answers,” Ethan told him.
“Wife and daughter?” Gil’s eyes darted over to Alana.
“Da, we were married today,” Alana explained. “And Ethan kens Isobel is his daughter.”
“Oh, Alana, nay.” Her father sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands. “This canna be. Do ye ken what kind of danger ye just put us all in?”
“I’d like to ken the answer to that. Go ahead and explain,” Ethan told Alana.
Alana paced the room as she spoke.
“It all happened so fast,” she told Ethan. “I wasna sure what to do. And I dinna ken where to start.”
“Start at the beginnin’,” said Ethan, holding Isobel to his chest and gently rubbing her back to calm her. “Tell me why ye left me at the altar. And then tell me why ye couldna take the time to find me and tell me I had a daughter.”
Isobel laid her head against Ethan’s chest, still holding tightly to the doll he’d made her, feeling very content in his arms.
“I – I had every intention of marryin’ ye,” Alana told him. “But I found out right before the weddin’ from my faither’s friend, Albert, that there was trouble. He told me my mathair had been abducted and that my faither needed me.” She turned and held a hand out to include her siblings. “He needed all of us. He was in trouble and we had to leave Scotland right away. His life depended on it.”
“Oh, we ken what kind of trouble yer faither caused with his thievin’ ways,” retorted Ethan.
“No’ just with us. He caused a lot of trouble and I hear his own clan willna even welcome him back,” added Caleb.
“Dinna talk about me as if I’m no’ in the room,” growled Gil. “And dinna blame my children for any of this. It is my fault that their mathair is dead and that Diarmad keeps us as prisoners and fearin’ for our lives.”
“Prisoners?” Ethan’s body stiffened. He didn’t like the sound of this at all. “So ye’re tellin’ me that Diarmad is real?” asked Ethan, surprised since he thought Alana had fabricated that story, too.
“Of course he is!” snapped Gil. “Who do ye think got my daughter pregnant?” Ethan’s heart jumped, thinking he was talking about Alana, until the man nodded to Kirstine who groaned and looked like she was in pain.
“Och, I’m sorry,” said Ethan, feeling bad for Kirstine but relieved that he didn’t mean Alana. “So why is Diarmad holdin’ ye as prisoners? Especially after all this time?”
“He’s after the treasure,” said Gil. “And he willna give up or set us free until he finds it. Meanwhile, he runs a smugglin’ ring from the cove and forces us to be a part of it.”
>
“A smugglin’ ring?” asked Caleb.
“He’s after treasure?” asked Ethan. “Alana, does this key have somethin’ to do with this?” He pulled out the key and held it up. “Because I’m guessin’ it isna the key to yer faither’s shackle or ye would have used it by now.”
“Aye,” Alana answered with a sigh. “My mathair and uncle died to protect some hidden treasure, but I swear I dinna ken much about it, or where it is.”
“It’s right here in the castle, I tell ye,” said her father. “It’s here and we need to find it before Diarmad does.”
“Alana, why didna ye tell me all this right away? If so, I would have handled it with the rest of the MacKeefes.”
“That’s exactly why,” she told him, holding out her hands and shaking her head. “I dinna want ye or any of the MacKeefes involved. No one else will die over this.”
Feeling agitated, angry, and ready to fight, Ethan put his daughter down on the chair and stood up with his hands balling up into fists. “I’ll kill the men responsible for makin’ ye live like this! I will kill every one of them to make them pay for what they’ve put ye through. And I’ll start with yer faither.” He took a step toward the bed with his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Ethan, stop it!” cried Alana, grabbing him by the arm. “It was my choice to go with my faither. No one made me leave ye. Kill me if ye need to kill someone, because I am just as guilty as him.”
Ethan paced the floor now, running a hand through his dark hair in thought. “What am I supposed to do with this information, Alana?” He stopped and looked at her and glared. “Ye purposely put yerself in danger, no’ to mention ye’ve endangered my daughter, too. How could ye do such a thing? And how can I no’ turn ye all in for what ye’ve been doin’ here in secret? It’s no’ right.”
“Isobel wasna even born when this all happened,” spat Alana. “So I didna purposely put her in danger. I did what I had to do, Ethan. My faither’s life was at stake. Wouldna ye have done the same thing?”
Highland Spirit: Highland Chronicles Series - Book 2 Page 16