The sight of Aggie’s urgency as she rushed towards the lower floors wasn’t what caught her attention that morning. It was the expression on the elderly woman’s face. It was definitely a worried look and she wondered what the problem was. She followed her down the stairs and out to the small courtyard in front of the building.
“I finished cleaning the bedrooms,” she said.
“Oh it’s terrible…, terrible,” Aggie said in an agitated tone.
“Are you alright?” Jenny asked as her brow creased in a frown. The old woman looked up and there was no missing the fearful expression that flashed across her face. “Aggie, what is it?”
“Trouble,” she replied in a hushed tone and hesitated before going on. “A trouble that will surely bring disaster to the clan.”
Jenny grabbed her arm to stop her pacing back and forth.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I’m talking about war,” Aggie replied ominously.
The hair rose on the back of Jenny’s neck. She remembered listening to James telling the story of the feud between the Dungannon and Glennet clans a few weeks previously, but in the time since nothing more had been said about it. At least nothing more was said in the building where James was master.
Jenny couldn’t speak for the rest of the castle because she avoided it for fear of bumping into Donald or one of his loyal supporters. She recalled the threats made to her life during the council meeting and although she was under the protection of James, staying out of the rest of the castle seemed like the sensible thing to do. There was no doubt in her mind that she was still viewed suspiciously by many and she wasn’t planning to give anyone the chance to carry out the threats.
“Tell me what you’re talking about,” Jenny implored the older woman.
“A scouting party returned a few hours ago,” Aggie answered. “The news is that the Glennet clan is marching on the castle with murder in their hearts. The call to war has been raised.”
“Shit,” Jenny cursed as she realized what it meant. “Where is James?”
“There’s a meeting going on the Great Hall just now,” Aggie informed her. “He’ll be at that.”
Jenny was running straight away. She raced through the passageway that led to the larger courtyard and ignored the looks of the people she passed. The loud sound of Donald’s voice came to her as she hurried inside the main castle towards the meeting. She wanted to heat what was going on, but stopped short of going in the hall and stood just outside the door.
“We must ride out and face up to them,” Donald shouted in a rallying cry that rose above the cacophony of noise. “If we remain in the castle, we’ll be trapped inside and put under siege. We need to stop their progress and put them to the sword before they get here.”
His father held up a hand and the noise of the men’s cheering lowered.
“Donald is right,” he said. “The time for diplomacy has passed. Unless we defeat them, we will never have a peaceful life.” His voice rose to an almost deafening yell. “The time for war is here and now.”
Another huge cheer went up in the room and Jenny could sense her pulse racing. War meant people dying and she couldn’t bear the thought of that for James. She listened as she heard his call to arms.
“We must repel these bastard invaders,” he yelled above the noise. “The moment is upon us to show that the Dungannon clan will not be cowed into submission by anyone. Gather your weapons and your shields and prepare for battle.”
Jenny moved to the side and pressed against the wall as men came charging out the Great Hall. The initial flood of people gradually slowed to a trickle as the clansmen heeded the call of their leaders and went to arm themselves. One of the last to walk out of the hall was Donald and she recoiled when he turned his head to catch sight of her.
“This is your doing bitch,” he spat out in a venomous voice. He pointed an accusing finger at her. “My brother might be fooled by you, but I’m not.”
“No, I…” Jenny started and cowered as he moved menacingly towards her.
A voice stopped him in his tracks and he turned to look.
“We need to talk Donald,” his father said as he came out the hall. “Walk with me.”
The evil glare remained on her for a few seconds more.
“I’ll be seeing you,” he hissed as he moved to walk off with his father.
“Jenny,” James said when he came out of the hall seconds later and saw her. “What are you doing here?”
She raced forward and threw herself in his arms as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I…, I heard the news,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “It will soon be all over.”
She couldn’t bring herself to say anything for a few seconds as the sobs made her chest heave, but she managed to get control of herself.
“I don’t want to lose you,” she let out as she moved back to catch his gaze.
“You won’t lose me,” he said as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.
She closed her eyes as his lips crushed hers in a passionate kiss. His arms went around her as they embraced tightly and she never wanted him to let her go…, but he did.
“It’s time for me to join the men,” he told her.
“Be careful,” she said. “And come back to me.”
She watched him hurry off and couldn’t bring herself to move as the terrible thought of never seeing him alive again once he left the castle burned into her mind. It was a notion she couldn’t get out of her head. She heard the sound of hooves in the courtyard outside and finally walked to the door. James was on horseback along with a number of the other leading men in the clan. The sight of their swords and shields brought home what they were about to ride out to do. The remainder of the clansmen were on foot and in a matter of minutes their numbers swelled until the courtyard was full.
“Lower the gate,” Donald shouted.
The creak of wood came straight away as the drawbridge lowered into place and she watched as the Dungannon clan army marched across it and onwards to the open land beyond. She ran back through the narrow passageway to the sight of Aggie still standing in the smaller courtyard. The distress of the older woman was clear to see and Jenny put a hand around her shoulder to guide her back inside the building.
She then raced up the stairs to the bedroom she first used on her arrival at the castle and moved to the window. It gave a view out towards the army and she looked into the distance beyond it. There was no sign of the clan Glennet, but it seemed certain they were approaching. A battle was about to take place and when the men in green tartan disappeared from view at the far side of the glen, Jenny fell to her knees and prayed for their safe return.
She sat staring into space as the time passed and the ominous silence made her tremble. Not knowing what was going on was the worst part and her mind began to conjure up terrible images of death and destruction that made tears run down her cheeks. Minutes ticked by to become hours without any word of how the battle was progressing and her fears grew stronger.
She jumped to her feet at the sound of an approaching rider and looked out the window to see the man racing fast towards the castle. The color red stained his green tartan and the way his arm hung at his side made it obvious he’d been injured in the fighting. He was well enough to be shouting something, but at first she couldn’t make it out. It was only when he got to the end of the bridge that his words could be heard properly and Jenny needed to lean against the wall to stop herself collapsing to the floor.
“He’s dead,” the man shouted. “James is dead. The battle is being lost.”
Her desperate wail filled the room as the man kept shouting the same words over and over. Her worst fears were being realized and she finally couldn’t support herself. She slumped down on the cold stone as the tears flowed and her despair welled up.
The drawbridge was lowered to let the man cross and his shouts grew louder as he rode into the large courtyard. Jenny pu
t her hands over her ears to try and block them out, but it was impossible to do and she was confronted by the terrible truth that the man she loved was not coming back. Her anguish intensified, but she tried to get back to her feet. She managed it to see out the small window that there were more injured men returning to the castle. Her blood ran cold when she saw that one of them was Donald and knew what it meant. She ducked away from the window as he rode onto the bridge and desperately tried to think of what to do. Her legs were paralyzed and when she heard the sound of hooves coming into the smaller courtyard, she knew that it could only mean one thing.
Donald intended to carry out the threat to end her life.
Fear erupted in her mind and she ran to the bed to try and drag it across the room, so she could barricade the door. It was too heavy and she dropped to her knees as footsteps came up the stairs. The door was almost ripped from its hinges as the powerful kick crashed it open. She backed away, but knew there was no escape from the blood-stained figure staring across the room at her. The gash on his shoulder was all too evident, but he raised his good arm and pointed at her.
“This is your fault,” Donald accused her. “I told my father we should have gutted you the minute James brought you back.”
“No…,” Jenny cried. “It’s not true. I…”
“Witch,” Donald yelled. “You cursed this clan the minute you entered Lochbrae Castle. Whatever evil spell you used on my brother didn’t work on me and I’ll see to it that you never curse anyone again.”
Jenny continued to back away when he stepped further in the room, but there was nowhere for her to go and she dropped to the floor when she got to the wall behind her.
“Now look at us,” Donald went on in a harsh voice “James is lying dead on the battlefield along with many others from our clan and we have lost to a hated enemy. It’s only a matter of time before they march on the castle and try their best to kill the rest of us.”
Jenny let out a despairing cry as he rushed across the room toward her. She put up her hands to try and defend herself, but she was no match for Donald’s strength. His fury made it all the more potent and he knocked her arms aside and grabbed her hair to drag her to her feet. Her screams were loud, but she knew that no one was going to come and help her.
“Bitch,” Donald bawled in her face. “My clansmen won’t be the only ones to die today.”
He let go of her hair and the back of his hand smashed across her cheekbone to send her crashing to the floor. The pain flared on her face, but she lay still as Donald ominously moved towards her.
“If the Glennet clansmen follow me here,” he spat out in a malicious tone. “It will be to the sight of their bitch spy dying.”
“No…, please,” Jenny let out as she looked up.
Her voice was wretched as she pleaded, but Donald ignored her to drag her back to her feet. She was powerless to stop him as he led her to the door of the room and out to the stairs. He let go of her arm to draw his sword and pointed it at her.
“Climb,” he said.
“Please…,” Jenny begged as the terror of the situation paralyzed her.
“CLIMB,” he screamed.
There was no choice but to do what she was being told and she stumbled up the stairs until she got to the door at the very top. She knew what was outside and her fear grew stronger.
“Open it,” Donald ordered.
The touch of the sword in her lower back made Jenny comply. The area outside was bathed in bright sunlight and she was forced outside towards the low wall at the edge of the turret. The shaking of her legs made her collapse before she got there.
“You get on your feet or I’ll kill you right now,” Donald threatened and pointed his sword straight at her.
The sobs wracked Jenny’s body as she managed to get back to her feet. The vicious shove on her shoulder sent her towards the wall and she crashed against it to find herself looking down to the ground far below. The fate that was about to befall her was one she didn’t deserve, but as she turned to see the murderous intent in Donald’s expression, she resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to survive the encounter with him.
Chapter Seven
Jenny’s scream split the air as her hair was grabbed to make her look at the ground far below the castle turret. It was a long way down and there was no way anyone falling that distance would survive it. She sure of that and the terror of the situation gripped her as Donald’s snarling words came out.
“Your bastard leaders will get here to the sight of your smashed and broken body down there,” he told her as he forced her head further out over the wall.
“They’re not my leaders,” Jenny said through sobbing gasps. “This has nothing to do with me. I don’t…”
“You’ve ruined us,” Donald interrupted in a menacing tone and his voice grew louder. “But you won’t survive to take any pleasure in it.”
“It’s not true,” Jenny yelled, but knew she was wasting her breath.
Donald didn’t want to hear what she was saying. He’d made up his mind that she was a spy for his enemies before he even met her for the first time and he wasn’t going to believe anything she said now. From the time he first saw her at the meeting of the clan council in the Great Hall he wanted to kill her and his threats were about to become a reality. All he was doing now was waiting for the moment he saw the Glennet clan approaching to throw her over the wall to her death.
“You would happily see every one of us dead,” he went on as his accusations against her continued.
Jenny knew there was no point in protesting and remained silent. It seemed her fate was sealed and that she was taking her last breaths. She still tried to struggle against the painful grip on her hair, but she was no match for the strength of Donald.
“But you won’t get the chance now,” he said in a mocking tone “You’re the one that’s going to die a terrible death.”
He went quiet as he stared into the distance and listened. The faint sound of a horn echoed across the glen a few times, but it eventually stopped. An ominous silence surrounded them that lasted for a few minutes, but it was eventually broken by the thundering noise of hooves that gout louder as it closed in on the castle.
The despair was overwhelming and Jenny closed her eyes as the grip on her hair tightened even more. She was about to be thrown to her death and there was nothing she could do about it. Her muttered prayers were quiet as she said what she thought would be her last words.
“Shut up bitch,” Donald growled aggressively. “Prayers won’t help you now.”
The tears rolled from the corners of Jenny’s eyes as she went quiet and waited for the end.
“What the…”
She heard the surprise in Donald’s voice and was aware of his grasp loosening. It made her open her eyes and she saw the men heading towards the castle were swathed in green tartan. It was the Dungannon clansman returning from the battle. She looked to the countryside beyond in the expectation of seeing an enemy coming after them, but there was none.
“Open the drawbridge,” a cry went up from down below.
The men raced towards the caste entrance and the drawbridge was raised after all of them crossed it. The loud noise of their entrance to the courtyard came up to the turret then all went quiet. Jenny kept her gaze on the open space of the glen to watch for others approaching the castle, but after a minute or two it became clear that no one else was coming.
The sound of the door crashing open caught her attention and her eyes opened wide as she looked towards it.
James,” she screamed as he walked towards them.
He didn’t acknowledge her as he stared directly at Donald.
“Let her go,” he told his older brother
“You’re…, you’re dead,” Donald let out in a hushed voice. “I saw you being struck and falling from your horse.”
“Knocked out,” James replied. “Not dead.”
Jenny put her hand to her mouth as she stared at his injury.
Blood stained the side of his face and the tartan on his shoulder, with the gash on his head being the damage caused by the glancing blow of a weapon. Tears streamed down her face.
“What happened out there?” Donald asked as he narrowed his eyes.
“The horns you just heard were the sound of a retreat,” James told him. “Cameron Glennet is dead and his clan fled after it happened. When I came around after being struck I rallied our forces with father and victory is ours…, so let her go.”
A Time Apart: Time Travel Historical Highlander Romance Page 6