“Welcome aboard thae Red Selkie, Scourge of thae Mediterranean and the dread of French merchants,” she greeted him.
“Well, now ye’re lookin’ more like a pirate queen,” he said with a chuckle.
She was dressed in black breeches with leather boots up to the knee. She wore a black tunic beneath her black leather vest. She bristled with weapons, the sword on her hip, and her collection of blades secreted away all over her body. The red and black tricorn hat sat atop her head, completing her look. She supposed she did look like a pirate queen.
“Aye. Tis how I put thae fear of God intae merchants everywhere,” she said.
He nodded. “Merchants are a delicate bunch.”
She cocked her head at him. “Are ye takin’ a slap at me? Are ye callin’ me soft?”
“Nay. I’d never call ye soft.”
“What then? That because I’m a woman, I cannae handle a blade as well as ye?”
A cocky smile stretched across his face. “Well, tae be fair tae ye, there arenae many who can handle a blade as well as me. Has nothin’ tae dae with ye bein’ a woman.”
“But in general, ye daenae think I’m as good with a blade as a man, eh?” she pressed, her voice low and husky.
From the corner of her eye, she caught Dand, making a gesture to Headen, as if warning him not to press the issue. She turned and glared at him, and her cousin dropped his hands to his sides, giving her a wolfish grin. Aileas turned back to Headen, squaring her shoulders and giving him a stern look.
“When this is all over, ye and me are goin’ tae have at it. I’m going tae show ye just how good I am with a blade,” she said.
“I’d nae want tae embarrass ye like that,” he said.
“Tis very kind of ye, but tis nae for ye tae say. If I want tae embarrass meself, I’ll dae it.”
“And she has. Often,” Dand cracked.
“Shut yer hole,” she snapped.
Aileas turned back to Headen and glared icily at him. “Tis goin’ tae happen. I’m goin’ tae teach ye a lesson, ye cocky bastard.”
He shrugged, a small smile upon his lips. “If ye say so.”
“Aye. I dae.”
She stood still for a moment, glaring at him. He just looked back at her, that amused smirk still playing across his face. She wanted nothing more than to punch him and knock that smile from his lips. But she held herself back. They were allies for the moment, and the last thing she wanted was enemies in front of her and one bearing a grudge and a blade standing behind her.
“So what did thae baron say,” she asked.
“Tis what ye kent,” he replied. “Pringle claimed he found Luke breakin’ intae his keep. Claimed thae right under thae old ways tae put him on trial. But offered a deal tae return him. Offered thae baron terms, which included surrenderin’ his barony.”
Aileas chuckled. “Thae cheek on that man.”
“Indeed. Thae baron said he’d consider it before withdrawing from Pringle’s keep and marshaling thae men.”
“Excellent. And are they in position?”
“They will be soon. We just need tae wait for thae signal,” Headen replied.
“Good. Thae sooner thae better,” she said.
Headen looked at her evenly for a moment. There was clearly something on his mind that he was refraining from telling her. But looking at the pinched expression on his face, she could tell it was important.
“What is it?” she asked.
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Thae baron doesnae want ye tae kill Pringle.”
As if it was an involuntary reaction, Aileas’s fists balled up at her sides, her eyes narrowed, and her jaw clenched. A flood of anger washed through her, warming her belly and twisting it around itself.
“We talked about this,” she said.
The previous night, they’d talked about the plan at length. And Aileas had been steadfast in her belief that it was her right to kill Pringle as recompense for his murdering her family. She understood his concerns about the continuation of the blood feud between the clans. But the fact of the matter was, Pringle had very few kin left. And aside from Dand, she was the last of her clan. Put that way, telling the baron there was nobody left to carry on the blood feud after they died seemed like a non-issue. Or at least, not one that was a real concern.
He had finally agreed to let her exact her vengeance on Pringle. It had been reluctant, but he’d finally said yes, only because of her reasoning that there would be no kin to carry on the feud. That the feud would die with him. That, and she had to swear her fealty to him. That bit had been difficult for her to swallow… she’d never sworn fealty to anybody and did not like the idea of owing her allegiance or her loyalty to any one man.
But in the end, she had decided it was merely a matter of her pride. It was her pride keeping her from bending her knee to Fin and accepting him as her baron. If she ended up staying in Sowkirk, that would mean coming when he called. But in the end, she decided that swallowing her pride was worth it. Being able to do that convinced Fin to aid her in Aileas’s quest for vengeance and to save the man she loved.
“Are ye tellin’ me he’s goin’ back on his word now, then? Is that what I’m hearin?” she growled.
“Nae necessarily. I mean, if it’s a matter of your life or his, thae baron would understand that ye had tae take his life. But he’d prefer it if ye found another way. That he’d prefer it if ye dinnae kill him at all, but rather bound him and forced him tae stand trial for his crimes,” he said.
Aileas could have chewed through iron as she looked at him, disbelieving the words that were coming out of his mouth.
“We did a deal,” she hissed. “And now he’s tryin’ tae change thae terms. And he expects me tae trust him after this? Shall me loyalty be as flexible as his word?”
Headen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “He kens what he’s askin’, and he said he’d talk tae ye when this is all over. He’d find a way tae make it up tae ye. But he doesnae want thae people in town tae think he participated in an assassination. He fears it might set some bad blood tae brewin’.”
Aileas turned around and stared out at the open sea, taking in a deep breath and trying to get control of herself. The rage that boiled within her was coming perilously close to her not being able to control it. As Headen began to speak, she turned around, ready to give him a verbal thrashing to take back to his baron.
“It’d be a damn shame if he couldnae be subdued peacefully,” Headen said. “But thae baron would understand if I told him Pringle put ye in a position where ye had tae kill or be killed.”
Listening to Headen’s tone, Aileas was positive he was telling her that he was on her side and would believe her if she told him Pringle put her in a position of life or death. He was thae baron’s man to his core, and she knew that telling her what he was had to go against his very nature and had to be burning him up inside. But he’d said it anyway and gave her a tight smile.
“Well, let’s hope it doesnae come tae that then,” she said.
“Indeed.”
Headen shifted on his feet, suddenly looking uncomfortable. With a heavy sigh and an air of resignation about him, he reached into his vest and pulled a white silk handkerchief embroidered with blue flowers and handed it to Dand. A flush of color crept into Headen’s face as her cousin took the cloth and looked at Headen, an inscrutable expression on his face.
“Tis from Mira. Ivy’s handmaiden,” Headen said, sounding as uncomfortable as he looked. “She said it was her token for ye. Tae bring you luck. So that ye’d… come back to her safely.”
Dand’s eyes widened, and he pressed the handkerchief to his nose, breathing deeply. His face turned red, and a smile stretched from ear to ear as he practically began dancing on the deck. Aileas and Headen exchanged a look, both of them with small smiles on their faces as Dand continued to breathe deeply into the handkerchief Mira had sent along for him. She was glad for her cousin.
“Look,” Aileas said.
Dand stopped dancing, but the smile persisted as they followed to where she was pointing and saw a flaming arrow arcing high into the air. Aileas noted it seemed to have come from the bluff where she and Luke had lain together. The memory sent a shiver of delight through her as a warmth blossomed in her belly.
“Tis thae signal,” Headen said. “Thae baron’s almost in position.”
“Excellent,” she said, then turned to her crew and shouted. “Make ready, ye dogs. Raise thae sails. We’re puttin’ out tae sea.”
* * * * *
The Selkie rounded a bend, and she ordered her men to drop the sails and anchor. Once they’d been secured, the men lowered the longboat and dropped the ladder. She, Dand, and Headen jumped down into the boat. Half a dozen of her crew jumped in and took up their sweeps. And it wasn’t long before they were moving toward the keep. Or at least, moving toward the bluff, Pringle’s keep sat atop of.
They reached the beach and pulled it ashore. She turned to the men who’d rowed the boat and gave them all a nod.
“Good work, lads. Now, I need ye tae guard thae boat. Ye’re thae only way we’re gettin’ out of here if it all goes sideways,” she said, cutting them off before they could grumble about being left out of the action.
The truth was, she intended to move fast and light. She thought they stood a better chance of success if she kept it to just her, Dand, and Headen than if they went in at the head of a column of hard-looking men. She turned to them and nodded.
“Are ye two ready?” she asked.
“Need ye ask?” Dand replied.
“Then let’s go.”
The bluff was a hundred feet up to the keep, but somebody had carved a back and forth staircase into the sheer stone wall, giving them free access. With Fin out in front of the keep with all of his mean, looking as if they were preparing either for a battle or a siege, Aileas knew that all eyes would be on them. It would likely leave the rear of the keep unguarded, letting the three of them sneak inside and find Luke.
They climbed the stairs up the face of the bluff. The stone was old and cracked and unsteady. She felt as if they would crumble beneath their boots at any moment, but they held. Aileas guessed these stairs were not used often, if at all. But they made it to the top without incident and found themselves behind a tall, thick screen of bushes.
Aileas peered out through the foliage and saw that high, thick walls surrounded the three sides that faced the front, but only a low wall ran along the rear of the keep. When the keep had been built, whoever designed it apparently did not think he’d need to guard against attack from the sea. It wasn’t unreasonable, given the hundred-foot drop to the sea, but Aileas thought it a stupid oversight nonetheless.
“Dae ye see any guards?” Headen asked.
Aileas shook her head. “Nay. Seems like they’re all watchin’ thae baron.”
“Tis just like ye said,” Dand remarked.
She grinned at him. “See? I’m nae as big an idiot as ye think.”
“Nae this time, mebbe.”
She laughed softly and punched him in the arm. Aileas turned to Headen and gave him a firm nod.
“Are ye ready?” she asked.
“Aye. Let’s go get Luke.”
They slipped through the bushes and ran low, across the fifty feet or so of open ground, vaulting themselves over the low wall. They were at the rear of the keep and did not find any doors. Crouching low, they moved beneath the windows set into the walls. They made their way around to the side of the keep. Aileas leaned out and scanned the yard. Stables stood against the curtain wall on the right, but they looked empty of Pringle’s men. The horses snorted and stamped at the ground.
Sticking close to the wall, they rounded the corner and kept moving until they found a door. It was propped open slightly, and judging by the aromas wafting out of it, Aileas assumed it was the kitchens. She looked first at Dand, then at Headen, and gave them both a firm nod.
“Here we go,” she whispered.
Throwing open the door, they moved in quickly. Shocked gasps sounded from the scullery maids who had been busy preparing food and cleaning dishes. The maids all looked at them with wide eyes and open mouths. Aileas held her finger up to her lips to keep them quiet.
“We’re nae here for ye,” she said. “First, where are all yer master’s men at arms and conscriptions?”
“All along thae walls and in thae bailey,” a younger blonde woman replied, fear etched upon her face. “There’s an army outside thae gates.”
That was good news, and a small wave of relief washed through her. So far, her plan seemed to have gone off without a hitch. But she was a superstitious woman and always feared her luck would not hold. She wanted to get this done quickly, to allow the fates less time to screw everything up and get them all killed. She looked at all of the women gathered around in the kitchens.
“We’re here for a man yer master abducted,” she said. “ Where would he be keepin’ him?”
“In thae dungeons,” an older, portly woman responded. “I’ve seen yer man. They’ve been workin’ on him pretty badly. He was still breathin’ as of a few hours ago, but I cannae say if he’s still alive at this point.”
Her words sent a jolt of fear shooting through Aileas, but she pushed it away. She knew she couldn’t afford to let her emotions get the better of her. Right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand, which was finding Luke.
“Where’s thae dungeons?” Headen asked.
The woman told them where to go, then Aileas turned to Headen. “What dae we dae with them?”
Headen looked at her, then at Dand, finally seeming to come to the same realization she had－they couldn’t just leave them, lest one of the maids went running to Pringle and sounded the alarm. But like her, Headen was not interested in killing them.
“Lock ‘em in thae larder,” Dand offered.
She looked at him, surprise crossing her features. “And they say ye’re an idiot.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got me moments.”
“Listen up,” Aileas said. “I need ye ladies tae move intae thae larder.”
There was more gasping and wailing as tears began rolling down their faces. The women fell to their knees and began pleading for their lives. Aileas rolled her eyes, but both Dand and Headen looked amused.
“Tis nae funny,” she snapped.
“Tis a wee bit funny,” Dand said.
“A wee bit,” Headen agreed.
Aileas blew out a frustrated breath. “On yer feet, ladies. Now. Get intae thae larder, or I will start loppin’ heads off.”
That got them moving. The women all dashed into the larder, and Dand closed the door behind them. He then wedged a chair beneath the handle and tugged at it. It stayed in place and ensured it wouldn’t open easily. It would hopefully give them enough time to find Luke and get out of there. Silent in, silent out, and draw no attention. That was what they needed most.
As they moved out of the kitchens and started to walk swiftly through the corridors, following the directions the scullery maid had given them, the sound of battle began out front. The three of them stopped and turned to one another, surprise dawning on all of their faces. Aileas dashed over to a window and looked out at the bailey out in front of the window.
“Christ, what’s he thinkin’?” Headen gasped. “He ‘twas nae supposed tae attack!”
“Looks like he had his own idea,” Dand remarked.
In the bailey below, men streamed through the front gates, and the sound of steel ringing on steel filled the air around them as men paired up and tried to kill each other. Aileas didn’t know how Fin had gotten Pringle to open the gates, but he’d somehow managed it. And now, the battle was pitched. The screams of the wounded and dying rang out as the battle grew in intensity.
Headen looked over at her, his expression inscrutable, but definite concern in his eyes. Aileas didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what was going through his head at that moment.
“Go. Fin
d yer baron,” she told him. “Do what ye have tae dae.”
He gave her a tight smile. “I’ll find ye after.”
She watched him turn and sprint off, looking for a way out and into the action beyond the window. All was chaos and death as steel flashed and men fell. At the rate they were going, both sides would run out of men soon, and the battle would be over. She turned to Dand.
Every Highland Sin: Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Page 23
