He had given orders that no one was to go into what was known locally as ‘the Vikings hiding-place’.
Now, to the present Duke’s utter astonishment, Sir Ewen’s carriage, which bore his crest, was standing beside the entrance to the tunnel.
“If that is where His Grace is.”
Sir Ewen has taken Sheinna,” he cried angrily, speaking for the first time since they left the Castle, “there is every likelihood she will be buried alive!”
“I’ll kill that man for interfering,” the Earl growled.
“Let’s get Sheinna to safety first,” the Duke said. “She is more important than anyone else.”
As if the Earl felt he could not argue about that, he was silent.
The Earl’s carriage then turned off the road and it moved rather rockily across the ground towards Sir Ewen’s carriage.
Even as the horses came to a standstill, four men appeared out of the tunnel.
They saw that the Earl was approaching and that there was a string of carriages behind him, so they threw down the tools they were carrying and fled up the moor above the tunnel.
The Earl jumped out almost nimbly for a man of his age and hurried across the rough ground towards Sir Ewen.
He had almost reached him with the Duke close behind, when to his complete amazement Sir Ewen, who looked even more unpleasant than he recalled, shouted,
“If I cannot have her, no one else shall!”
Somewhat breathlessly the Earl snapped at him,
“Where have you taken my daughter? How dare you interfere, I told you I would deal with the Duke and you were to wait for me to bring her back.”
By this time the Duke was standing beside the Earl and the McBaren Clansmen who had come with them in their carriages were only a yard or so away.
In fact some from another carriage were coming up behind Sir Ewen.
“Get out of my way!” the Earl shouted. “I will not have my daughter carried off by you or anyone else.”
As he spat out the last words, he looked towards the Duke and as he did so, Sir Ewen raised his hand in which he was holding a small pistol and shot at the Earl.
The bullet grazed the top of the Earl’s scalp and, as he fell backwards, he gave a shriek of agony.
For a moment the Duke was so dumbfounded he could not move.
Then one of his Clansmen who had approached Sir Ewen from behind struck him violently with a heavy stick.
He too fell over, dropping his pistol and sprawling on the ground.
The Duke ran to the opening of the tunnel.
As he did so he saw an oil lamp lying on the ground that had obviously been used by Sir Ewen’s men when they carried Sheinna in.
He picked it up, saw it was still burning and looked round. Behind him were two of his own men and several others who had followed in his carriage.
“See that no one follows me. It’s very dangerous,” he called out sharply and disappeared into the tunnel.
He had been there as a boy many years ago.
He now saw that there was a great deal of sand on the ground and he thought, although he could not be sure, that the roof overhead had partially collapsed.
The opening, however, was still just wide enough to have allowed sufficient room for the two men to carry Sheinna in.
The Duke now pressed on as quickly as he could towards the ‘Vikings hiding-place’.
He reached the end of the tunnel and, raising his lamp to see more clearly, he looked around.
At once he saw Sheinna at the far end of the cave and ran towards her.
She was lying on the ground.
A rope pulled tight around her breasts bound her arms behind her back and she had a gag over her mouth.
The Duke knelt beside her.
He could see her eyes above the gag, which was only a rough tie, looking at him pleadingly.
“It is all right, my darling,” he soothed her. “You are safe and no one will ever hurt you again.”
He pulled away the gag and then she breathed in a broken little voice,
“You came, you came, I prayed that you would save me.”
As she was speaking the Duke looked down at her frightened face and he thought it was impossible that this could ever have happened.
Quite involuntarily his lips came down on hers.
As he kissed her gently, he knew that it was the most wonderful moment in his entire life.
He loved her as he had never loved any woman before.
When he raised his head, she whispered, although it was difficult to hear her,
“I love you, Alpin”
“I love you too, Sheinna. I think I loved you from the first moment I saw you. I knew when you were carried away that if I lost you, I had lost something more precious than anything I have ever known.”
He saw her eyes light up and he suggested gently,
“Let me release you. How could those devils treat you in such an appalling way?”
It was easy to untie the ropes because the men had not expected anyone to find her.
He could not help thinking that if, as undoubtedly Sir Ewen had intended, they had blocked up the entrance, he would never, nor would anyone else, have thought of looking for her there.
When he pulled the ropes from across her chest and round her arms, he kissed her again.
“Do you think you can walk, Sheinna?” he asked.
“I will try, but when I kicked and fought them as they were carrying me away, I hurt one of them and they hit my legs with a heavy stick.”
“This will never happen to you again, my darling,” the Duke promised.
“I have been praying and praying that you would save me. I think it is a miracle that God sent you.”
“It is indeed an incredible miracle and one I am eternally grateful for. I could sense your distress and I could hear you calling me.”
He pulled Sheinna very gently to her feet.
Then, as if he could not help himself, he placed his arms round her and kissed her again.
“You are mine,” he sighed, “and I am prepared to fight for you, although I am afraid, my darling, it is going to be a long and bitter battle.”
Then he suddenly remembered, and to be honest he had forgotten, that the Earl had fallen after Sir Ewen had fired his pistol at him.
He thought that perhaps it was not a very serious wound and although the Earl had collapsed onto the ground he doubted if he was dead or badly wounded.
However, he did not say anything to Sheinna as it would upset her.
She was leaning against him and he knew, although she did not complain, that her legs were hurting.
“If you will hold the lantern, my precious,” he said, “I will carry you.”
“You cannot do that,” she protested.
“Are you insulting me?” he asked her with a smile. “You weigh very little and I have carried, in my time, far heavier things.”
He put the lantern into her hand as he spoke and then he lifted her up into his arms.
“Now I feel safe,” she sighed from her heart as she nestled herself into his strong chest.
“Don’t speak too soon, Sheinna. I have to take out of this place. Don’t forget this tunnel and cave were closed, as I expect you were told, a long time ago because it was considered unsafe and unstable. In fact it was my great-grandfather who boarded it up and said it was never to be opened again.”
“It was clever if them to put me here,” Sheinna said breathlessly. “Sir Ewen kept saying, ‘if I cannot have you, then no one else shall’. I think he has gone a little mad. That is how he sounded to me.”
“He is not only mad but an attempted murderer and the sooner he goes to prison the better!”
Sheinna did not answer him.
The Duke carried her across the cave and they entered the tunnel that would lead them from the hiding-place.
It was then, as the Duke was moving very slowly, that Sheinna suddenly cried,
“Look, there is somethi
ng shining there. I wonder if it is anything worth taking back with us.”
The Duke put her down carefully and, taking the lantern from her, he held it up over his head.
Now he could see, as Sheinna had said, something was sticking out from the wall of the tunnel and shining in the light of the lantern.
The sandy soil had clearly fallen away and a little further down from the roof he could see something else shining.
The Duke thought perhaps it was a piece of tin or some implement that had been left by ancient workmen.
Thinking that it would please Sheinna to have a souvenir of this peculiar and most unexpected adventure, he put up his hand to draw out the gleaming object.
When he pulled it down, it was to his surprise a gold goblet.
It looked old and very discoloured and as he turned it over, he saw that there were jewels ornamenting the rim of the goblet and at the base.
Sheinna gave a little cry.
“It’s a drinking cup – and a very very old one. Oh, Alpin, we have found treasure!”
The Duke smiled at her.
“Treasure?” he questioned.
He turned back and felt round the place from which he had pulled the cup.
Then, hardly able to believe it, he drew out another gold cup.
Behind it was a plate, also of gold, and ornamented with dozens of what were undoubtedly precious stones.
Even as Sheinna was looking at it, he put it back again in the soil and then squeezed the two cups in with it.
“Why are you doing that?” she asked. “They are yours because they are on your land.”
“They are mine,” he agreed, “but I think, although I may be mistaken, that you, my darling, have discovered for me the famous treasure we always believed the Vikings had taken away from my family in their ships.”
Sheinna’s eyes widened.
“You really think it is here?” she asked him.
“I think it has been here all the time. Perhaps the Vikings could not get it to their ships and decided to come back later and take their ill-gotten gains away with them. In the meantime they hid it under the sand in the nearest uninhabited moorland near to where they had landed.”
“Oh, Alpin, what a wonderful idea! Of course I had heard about the treasure your family lost and how upset they were, but everyone always assumed that the Vikings had taken it home with them.”
“We all thought so, Sheinna, but you have brought me the luck I never expected. However, the treasure must be very carefully removed in case the whole place falls in and buries it for ever. After all these years we don’t want to find it only to have it all torn from us again.”
“It is so exciting and it will be difficult for you not to tell your mother. She will be really thrilled, I am sure.”
The Duke felt that was true and at least some of the anxiety about the upkeep of the Castle and the estate would be taken off his shoulders.
“Come along, my darling,” he said. “Now we must go back and face the music – or rather your father. I think he will be feeling rather sorry for himself after Sir Ewen took a potshot at him when he came out of the tunnel.”
“How dare he shoot at Papa. He is a horrid wicked man and I was quite right when I vowed that I would rather die than marry him.”
‘I am not going to let you marry anyone but me,’ the Duke wanted to say.
However, at that moment they could see light at the end of the tunnel and the faces of his men were peeping in.
It was Rory who reached them first.
“You found her Ladyship, Your Grace!” he cried gleefully.
“Yes, Rory, I have and now I want to take her back to the Castle as quickly as possible.”
“You be quite right, Your Grace, because there be trouble outside.”
They had reached the end of the tunnel, but were still standing just inside it.
“What has happened, Rory?” the Duke asked.
“I think Sir Ewen be dead, Your Grace.”
“Dead!” the Duke exclaimed. “I saw him fall, but I cannot believe that such a blow could have killed him.”
“He be unconscious when they takes him away to the doctor,” added Rory.
“What about my father,” Sheinna asked anxiously.
“I don’t think the bullet hit him very hard,” the Duke said quickly.
“It just grazed his scalp,” Rory explained, “and after that he were conscious, but didn’t seem to make any sense.”
“So he too has gone to the doctor?”
“Yes, Your Grace, they were taken in the carriage together, and all that’s left now be the MacFallin Clansmen and of course our own.”
“I will go and speak to them, but first I will carry her Ladyship to our carriage.”
“I thought as that’s what you’d want, Your Grace, and I puts it just outside the opening of the tunnel, it’s only a step or two to reach it.”
“You think of everything, Rory.”
He handed Rory the lantern, then picked Sheinna up in his arms.
“Now, my darling one, I am going to send you back to the Castle and you are to go straight to bed and rest.”
“But I want to stay with you,” murmured Sheinna.
“I want that too, but this is a great opportunity to talk to the MacFallins which I may never have again.”
“Yes, of course you are right, Alpin, and I will wait for you.”
“You must promise me you will,” the Duke insisted firmly.
“I promise,” she replied.
She looked into his eyes as she spoke and he knew that she wanted him to kiss her.
“I love you, Sheinna” he whispered tenderly.
Then, as they reached the carriage, he lifted her very gently into it.
“Take her home, Rory, and I expect there will be some other conveyance for me.”
“Quite a lot of our men’ve joined us, Your Grace, and they’ll want to hear what be said. Then they’ll escort Your Grace safely back to the Castle.”
“I am sure they will, Rory.”
He noticed that there was another of his carriages just inside the field.
Then he walked over to where the MacFallins were gathered in a large group and they were obviously waiting for him.
They must have remained after the Earl had been taken off to the doctor and were waiting to see if the Duke had rescued Lady Sheinna or if she had been lost inside the Vikings hiding-place.
As he walked towards them, he saw that some of them were sitting down on the ground and his own men were talking to them in quite a friendly fashion.
There was nothing, he mused, like a tragedy or an unexpected excitement to bring men together.
As he reached them, they made a move as if to get up and he put up his hand.
“Stay where you are,” he called out, “I want to talk to you and this is an opportunity I don’t want to lose.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sheinna was dreaming that the Duke was kissing her.
Then suddenly she felt that he was!
She looked up and he was saying,
“You look so very lovely when you are asleep, my darling.”
“Where have you been? What has happened?” she asked a little breathlessly.
“I have so much to tell you, Sheinna. I should not be in your room, but I could not wait.”
“Tell me, please tell me,” she begged.
She pulled herself up a little further on her pillows.
The Duke was gazing at her with such love in his eyes that she felt her heart turn a somersault.
“Please tell me, Alpin, what you did after you sent me back to the Castle.”
“I went to talk to the Clansmen and to my surprise they listened attentively to me and then the elders of your father’s Clan actually agreed with me!”
“Oh, how wonderful,” Sheinna exclaimed.
“I was very thrilled. The leader of the elders, who is indeed an intelligent man, said he believed I was right that hostili
ties had gone too far and for too long. It was time we thought of Scotland rather than the feud between our own Clans.”
“That is exactly what you have said, Alpin.”
“They then told me that the one change they would enjoy more than anything and which would unite the two Clans would be our marriage.”
Sheinna drew in her breath.
“You really mean I can marry you, Alpin?”
“I have every intention of marrying you even if everyone in the world was against it,” replied the Duke. “But it makes it far easier if the Clans willingly unite as we are uniting and we can therefore start afresh without this endless disagreeableness between our peoples.”
“It will be wonderful,” Sheinna sighed. “I want to love your Clansmen as well as mine.”
“All you have to do,” the Duke said very softly, “is to love me.”
“I do love you, Alpin. I love you more than I can possibly say. But please you must go on telling me what else has happened.”
“It’s very difficult for me when I want to kiss you, but I think you should know and I hope it does not upset you too much, that your father is unlikely to recover from the pistol-shot wound.”
Sheinna drew in her breath.
“Is it as bad – as that?” she asked hesitantly.
“He is alive and the doctors think he will live for perhaps a year or more. But his brain will undoubtedly be affected.”
“Oh, poor Papa! Even though I do find him very difficult and to be truthful, I cannot love him, but I don’t want him to suffer.”
“I don’t think he will suffer. He has what they call a brain haemorrhage and the world will seem indistinct to him, but we will see he is comfortable and has two nurses to look after him, which on my instructions the doctor has now organised.”
“Then I must not worry too much.”
“That is what I was thinking about when I arranged it,” the Duke told her.
“And – Sir Ewen?”
“He had a stroke when he was hit on the back of the head. He is unconscious and the doctors expect him to die at any moment. Although it may sound unkind, I don’t think that anyone will grieve for him. They assured me that, as he is unconscious, he is not in any pain.”
Sheinna closed her eyes for a moment and the Duke knew that she was thinking there was no possibility now of her being forced into marriage with Sir Ewen.
Love and the Clans Page 12