Highland Lies (The Band of Cousins Book 4)

by Keira Montclair

  “She is. And you’ve heard the news about Kyla as well?”

  “Aye. ‘Twill be wondrous to have two at once. Which one will come first?”

  “Your mama is not certain yet. She thinks Gracie, but they’re verra close and you know the bairns make up their own mind about when they’ll choose to arrive. A man can say all he wants, but nature rules all.”

  Roddy noticed how the lines around his sire’s eyes were deepening, how age was beginning to creep up on him. He hadn’t lost much of his golden hair, but it was turning a silvery white in places. He kept a trimmed beard of late, and his mother approved. Fortunately, he didn’t have the physical problems that plagued Uncle Alex after his near miss with death, though his joints had started bothering him at times.

  “Problems on your journey?” his father asked.

  “Nay, Will and Maggie have found some information and we’re to follow up on it. There is something I wish to ask you, though. I’ve been having a strange dream…a memory, mayhap…and Uncle Brodie suggested I speak with you.”

  His sire’s only response was a brief lift of his eyebrows. “Go on.”

  Roddy decided to tell all. If he couldn’t tell his father, who could he tell? When he’d been young and foolish, around ten and five or so, he’d thought his parents were ignorant, but he’d learned better. His father possessed a wisdom he only hoped to emulate someday.

  “In the dream, I am in a pool of water and cannot rise to the surface. I always die in the end.” He paused, then said in a gush, “I’ve been struggling with the fear of dying, and it’s making me freeze up in combat. I don’t know what to make of it, but Uncle Brodie said he recalled a time when I nearly drowned. I don’t remember anything like that. Do you?”

  “Aye, I recall it verra well.” He cleared his throat, then paused for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts, before continuing. “You and Gracie were both underwater. She fell in and you went after her. I was just coming back from the lists when I heard the other bairns screaming, so I dove in after you. You don’t recall it?”

  “Nay,” he rubbed his forehead as if it could force the memory to come forward, but to no avail. “Where in the loch?”

  “Not far. Gracie had gotten caught in some netting, and you were trying to pull her out. Somehow you got caught in the same netting.” His sire rubbed his beard, staring up at the stars for some time before he finished. “’Twas an old fisherman’s net, not one of mine. Must have been there for years. Don’t know why you never got caught in it before except it was quite deep. I freed you first and shoved you up to the surface. You must have been almost out of air because you kicked in a fury.”

  “And Gracie?”

  “Gracie didn’t fare so well. She was tangled pretty good. You, I just tugged out. I had to pull my knife out to cut her free. I saw her take her last breath. Watched her last bubble come out of her.”

  “What? You did?”

  “I managed to grab her just as the fight left her. I feared we’d lost her. Your mother arrived just in time to see me drag her out of the loch.”

  “She’d stopped breathing?” How the hell could he have forgotten such an event?

  “Aye. I carried her out and laid her on her side in the grass. Slapped her hard on her back a few times. She spewed quite a bit of water, but then your mother rolled her onto her belly and kept pushing on her back to get rid of the rest of the water. Gracie did not move much until she heaved all of her insides out.”

  “And she started breathing again?” He shook his head. “Aye, obviously, she’s still here.”

  “After she heaved, she coughed and started breathing again, crying for your mother.” His sire glanced at the glassy surface of the loch in front of them, the moon reflecting on the small ripples. “Scared the hell out of me. Never seen a lass heave so much. Thought she’d never stop. She took in quite a bit of water.” He turned his head to glance at his son. “Did not seem to affect you much at the time. You weren’t afraid to jump right back in the next day.” A small grin started from one corner of his mouth. “Gracie didn’t go back for over a fortnight. Scared the hell out of her.”

  “How old were we, Papa?” Maybe he’d been too young to recall.

  He stroked his beard again before he spoke. “Must have been around your seventh summer because Gracie was just changing. Maybe around twelve. She remembers. If you see her before you leave, ask her. I think she’ll be able to tell you more than I have.”

  He planned on it.

  The next morn, he said his farewells before he headed up to the keep to meet with Connor. Thoughts of Gracie nearly dying had plagued him all night.

  What would he have done without his dear sister?

  Gracie had the heart of an angel. He didn’t know anyone in Clan Grant who didn’t think so. She’d always been an early riser, so he hoped she’d be up when he arrived at the hall.

  He hurried up to the keep, careful not to bang the door loud enough to awaken anyone. The stone walls echoed every noise, especially when the hall was empty.

  Thankfully, it was not quite empty this morn. Connor sat at one of the trestle tables with Uncle Alex and Jamie. He rushed over to them, barely able to contain himself. “Jamie, is Gracie up yet?”

  “Good morn to you, too, cousin,” Jamie said, winging his eyebrows up. “She’s in the kitchens.”

  Roddy blushed and gave a hurried, “Good morn,” to his uncle and Connor before heading off in search of Gracie.

  He found her just inside the door to the kitchens. “There you are, Gracie. I’d hoped to see you before I left.”

  “Greetings to you, Roddy. How have your travels been?” She gave him the angelic smile they all knew so well, the same one that had driven all the lads in the clan daft.

  “Fine, fine. We’re having a successful mission, but I wished to congratulate you. I hear you and Jamie are going to make me an uncle.”

  She patted her belly, though it hadn’t grown much yet. “Aye, we’ll have a lad or a lassie in the spring, though please do not ask Jamie about it. He’s quite obnoxious about it being a laddie.”

  “I’m happy for both of you.” Roddy leaned in and kissed her cheek. “There’s something I hoped to ask you about… I was talking with Papa last night. We sat out on the loch well into the night, chatting about when we were younger.” How the hell could he abruptly ask if she remembered falling into the loch?

  “We had many summer days on the loch, though you were in the water more than I was. ’Twas too cold for me many days.”

  “Papa mentioned something that troubled me. Do you recall the day we both nearly drowned?”

  “Drowned?” She paused, drumming her fingers on her chin for a few moments. “Do you mean the time I heaved all that water up?”

  “Aye.” She was a wee bit older, but he couldn’t believe she recalled the incident so easily. “Do you recall being under the water?”

  “Hmm…Vaguely. I remember the netting. Why?”

  Roddy wasn’t quite sure how to answer her question, though this was Gracie, someone he trusted completely. “Have you ever had any dreams about it?”

  Gracie clearly knew him better than he thought. She stared into his eyes and said, “Tell me all. You’re holding back. What is this about dreams?”

  “’Tis not important,” he lied. “I’ve just had a couple of dreams about drowning in the loch. I’m sure you haven’t had anything like that…”

  “Nay.” She sighed and leaned toward him, wrapping her arms around him for a hug. “Dear brother, stop torturing yourself about things that happened so long ago. I’ve had to. If you do, you’ll be much happier.”

  Gracie would know the truth of that statement better than anyone. Her start in life had been far from pleasant.

  Not wishing to bother her anymore, he said, “My thanks, Gracie. You always give good advice.”

  Now if he could only follow it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Someone knocked on the door of the sick chamber,
then Constance crept inside just as Rose sat up. Seeing her dearest friend, she hopped out of bed and embraced the other girl, squeezing her hard. She gave her the sign they shared for “happy” to let her know how pleased she was to see her.

  Only after the joy of seeing her wore off did Rose notice the troubled expression on Constance’s face. “Oh, how I wish this had never happened to you,” Constance mumbled. “I need to know exactly what happened. The tales they’re telling in the hall are awful.”

  Rose took both her hands and sat cross-legged on the bed, indicating Constance should do the same.

  She stared at her friend and teared up. “Your mother is horrible. She is the nastiest, meanest person ever. If she hadn’t forced you to live alone, this never would have happened.”

  Rose shrugged, for she had no disagreement, and mouthed the words, “Tell me about stories.”

  “Tell you about the stories? Oh, I will. The story is they found you outside with naught on. The girls say the monks did it to you and they beat you, too, and now you’re up here. Is it true?”

  Rose shook her head. Through a process that was easier than their previous method of communication, Constance went through a multitude of guesses while Rose either nodded or shook her head. When she had the whole story, Constance scowled and said, “Euphemie is so cruel. Even so, I’m glad you’re up here for a while. They wouldn’t have let me visit you in your room. What are you going to do? They’ll probably call that mean mother of yours.”

  Rose took her time conveying her message: she needed to see Roddy. When Constance finally guessed at her meaning, Rose asked her if she thought there was a way she could send a message to him.

  Constance shook her head. “Nay, but I wouldn’t worry about it. He kissed you. He’ll be back.”

  Rose didn’t know what to make of that statement and tipped her head, her latest method of telling her friend she didn’t understand.

  Constance giggled. “He likes you. He’ll be back. ’Tis the way of lads. You’ll see.”

  How Rose prayed she was right.

  ***

  Two nights later, Roddy stood in the trees outside the abbey glancing up at the tall structure, Connor and Daniel standing beside him. The group had been unsuccessful in learning anything about the Englishman because he’d disappeared. They’d traveled back to the new abbey, but it had been empty the day before. MacDole Castle was silent and there had been no activity on the sea loch, though they were all headed back for another patrol while Roddy’s group returned to Sona Abbey.

  Not knowing where else to go, they’d decided to return to Sona Abbey to see if anything had changed at the Abbey of Angels, and their only connection to that abbey was Rose and the novices in training. They’d first learned about the Abbey of Angels from one of the nuns serving meals.

  “I have a bad feeling about this. I cannot explain it,” Roddy said, his hands on his hips as he stood next to his horse.

  “I’m glad to go with you,” Daniel said. “I know exactly where her room is. I’ll lead you there. Connor, you’re on watch by yourself.”

  “Mayhap I’ll sneak inside, too,” Connor said, “I can make a different approach.”

  Daniel said, “Nay, we need someone outside to keep the horses ready. We could be on the run when we return. If what Maggie said is right, and someone here is connected with the Channel, they won’t be happy to see anyone snooping around.”

  Roddy added, “There’s naught going on elsewhere. There could be a meeting of sorts here about the Channel of Dubh, especially since it’s due to have a new shipment. We must be careful. But I’m certain we’ll learn something here. Connor and I agreed there was something odd about this place.”

  Connor added, “I didn’t like the feeling between the abbess and the priest. I thought it could be the two of them at first, but they don’t get along.”

  “Mayhap it’s just one of them,” Daniel said, raising eyebrows.

  Roddy said, “The only person I suspect at the moment is Rose’s mother, but she doesn’t seem like someone who would sell girls. She has one of her own.”

  “That means naught,” Daniel said. “She could sell others and keep her own.”

  Roddy said, “True. We’re wasting time. The only way we’ll find out anything is to get inside and speak with Rose or Constance.”

  Ten minutes later, Roddy and Daniel crept down the passageway where the novices slept, Daniel peeking in to each chamber, but they didn’t find Rose. Daniel led the way down the hall to the room where he thought they might be. He motioned for Roddy to enter first.

  As he crept into the dark chamber, Roddy’s heart was beating so hard he thought it would rip a hole in his chest. What if another lass had been moved to this room? What if she screamed?

  The lass sat up. To his relief, it was her friend, Constance.

  She remembered him. Her voice whispered, “Roddy Grant?”

  He whispered, “Aye. Where’s Rose?”

  “She’s in the infirmary. I’ll take you to her if I can.”

  “What happened?”

  “She was attacked, but she wasn’t hurt badly.”

  “I knew it,” Roddy said bitterly, chastising himself for not coming back sooner. “Something in my gut told me something bad happened to her.”

  “Your gut was right. Poor Rose.” She reached for his arm to still him, then said, “Before we go, I have something to tell you. Her mother came and has forbidden her to be around other lasses. She’s kept in a chamber alone. It was because she was alone that she was attacked.”

  Roddy was stunned, but not surprised. If Lady MacDole were involved in the trade, she’d want to keep her daughter isolated to ensure she wasn’t kidnapped. She’d also want to keep her ignorant of her part in this fiasco.

  “Constance, I have a friend named Daniel outside. He’ll help us get into the infirmary. I suspect ’twill be more difficult than getting on this floor.

  “Follow me.” The lass got up and grabbed her robe, so Roddy took the opportunity to open the door and tug Daniel inside.

  “What is it?” He peered at the lass and asked, “Where’s Rose?”

  Roddy replied, “She’s in the infirmary. This is her friend Constance.”

  Daniel asked her “Can you take us there?”

  “Aye, but there’s a problem. There are always nuns checking the rooms in the infirmary.”

  “Good, you lead us there,” Daniel said at once. “Will you take her place in the bed? If you cover your head with the blankets and face the wall, the nun will think you’re Rose sleeping. Just bury your head under the covers so they won’t notice your red hair. Can you do that, lass? They need time to talk.”

  Constance whispered, “Aye, but what happened to your arm?” looking at his amputated arm from an accident in a swordfight when he was younger.

  Daniel lifted his arm and glanced at it, then widened his eyes dramatically and said, “What’s wrong with my arm? Och, where’d it go? My hand was here a minute ago. I swear it!”

  Constance giggled and he shushed her with his other hand.

  “Help us find Rose,” he said, “and I’ll explain it to you on another visit.”

  She nodded, doing her best to calm her laughter. “I can lead you to the infirmary, but how will we get inside? There are usually at least two nuns watching. One may be sleeping, but anything wakes them up.”

  Roddy looked to Daniel for ideas. His gaze narrowed, then his eyes popped open wider and a smile filled his face. “I know exactly what to do. Come with me and wait in the staircase. I’ll run outside for a few moments and be back in a moment.”

  They made it to the staircase without being seen. The infirmary was on the third floor, so they had one more level to go up. Daniel disappeared then, leaving Constance and Roddy alone.

  Roddy was desperate for more information about Rose. “So what happened to her? Can you not tell me? ’Twill be much quicker if you do.”

  Constance chewed on her lower lip, but finally sai
d, “All right. She was attacked by a group of lasses. Three of them tied her up and took her gown, leaving her in just her shift. There were monks visiting at the time, and they hoped the monks would find her and embarrass her. The monks walk about at night.”

  “And who did find her?”

  “Father Seward. He untied her and escorted her to the infirmary. He didn’t want her to be left alone until he uncovered who was responsible for the nasty deed.”

  “And has he?”

  “One of the girls squealed on the leader. I have not seen her about, so she is probably in the punishment cell. They have to stay alone for several days.”

  “Mayhap I’ll have a word with her,” Roddy said, an edge to his voice that he didn’t even try to disguise.

  “Nay, visit Rose first. She’s anxious to speak with you. She needs to learn how to protect herself against those cruel bitches. Can you help her?”

  A door closed, so they cut off their conversation and readied themselves to run up the staircase if need be, but Daniel’s voice stopped them. “’Tis only me.”

  He climbed the staircase, and when he came up next to them, he whispered, “Allow me to go first. Where exactly do the nuns sit in the infirmary? I need to enter closest to them.”

  “Second door to the left down the passageway. They’re just inside the entrance to the infirmary. There are several doors on the floor, mostly chambers for the nuns.” She gave Daniel a puzzled look, likely wondering what he’d done and what he was planning, but Roddy didn’t say a word. He trusted Ghost completely.

  “Perfect,” Daniel said, his eyes lit up as a grin spread across his face. Then he reached into his sporran and pulled out a wriggling mouse with his one hand.

  “Do not scream,” he cautioned Constance.

  Constance’s eyes widened, but she bit her lips and didn’t cry out.

  Daniel scoffed, “What’s bothering you? ’Tis only a wee mouse.”

  Roddy said, “I think ’tis a bit big for a mouse.”

  Daniel advised, “This will work. I promise. Keep your eyes on the door, and when the two nuns run out, you must run in.”