The Gift: The Pocket Watch Chronicles
Page 24
~ * ~
Andrew tried to shake the disturbing image of the trembling MacKay lass with terror-filled eyes out of his mind as he returned to his son’s side.
Isla still held David on her lap near the fire, but he was awake and drinking the soup that she patiently spooned into him.
“Da, I told Isla about the angel who saved me.”
“And I have been telling David that it wasn’t an angel, it was Nessa.”
“Well it wasn’t Nessa,” said Andrew. “We don’t know what happened to her.” He shook his head slightly at her questioning look.
David frowned. “I told ye Nessa didn’t save me, Isla. But, Da, nothing happened to her.”
“Son, drink yer soup. Ye need it to warm ye up.”
David acquiesced and finished the bowl. He curled up in Isla’s lap again and began to doze off. When she thought he was asleep she asked, “What happened?”
“It isn’t clear. We think the MacKays attacked and abducted David, but we won’t know for sure until we find the men I left to guard him—or their bodies.”
Isla made the sign of the cross. “God protect them. But if Nessa didn’t dry Davy, whose plaid and mantle was he wrapped in?”
“They belong to a MacKay lass who we found him with. We think she didn’t act alone. There had to have been others. She might have lured him away while they attacked. Davy doesn’t seem to remember the attack, and for that I’m thankful. Apparently, while fleeing with him, she let him fall through the ice. Da is keeping her in the dungeon until we find out for certain exactly how she was involved.”
“Is she the one that stripped his wet clothes from him?”
“Aye.”
“Well, at least she did that much. But poor Nessa, I hope she’s all right. She doesn’t deserve to be ravaged by a horde of MacKays.”
“Nessa’s all right. She was talking by the fire when I left,” said David.
“Oh, lad, I thought ye were asleep. I didn’t mean to wake ye,” said Isla.
Andrew was puzzled by his son’s statement. “What do ye mean ‘Nessa was talking by the fire’? Was that when the MacKays took ye?”
“No one took me, Da. I already told ye, I went dragon hunting. Nessa didn’t want to play so I went by myself.”
“Ye went into the woods alone? The lass wasn’t with ye?”
“Nessa was busy talking. I didn’t mean to go far but I got lost.”
“I meant the MacKay lass. Didn’t she lead ye away?”
“Nay. I was alone until I fell through the ice and the angel with red hair came and saved me.”
“David, there was no angel, just the MacKay lass who stole ye.”
“No one stole me, and I saw the angel.” He frowned. “She ran down off the bluff waving at me before I fell through the ice. Then she slid on her tummy and pulled me out of the water. I wonder why she didn’t fly. That would have been something to see. Anyway, I’m not sure exactly what happened next, but all of a sudden ye were there and ye took me from her before I could see her wings.”
David seemed so sure of his story. His confidence disturbed Andrew.
“Maybe he dreamt it?” Isla suggested.
“He must have.”
“I didn’t dream it, Da! Why won’t ye believe me? Ye saw her too.”
“All right, son, let’s not talk about the angel anymore. Come here. I’ll tuck ye under the covers and stay with ye till ye fall asleep. Ye need to rest now.”
He helped his son into the bed and sat with him until the lad was sleeping deeply. It chilled his heart to realize how close he had come today to losing his child, the last precious link to his wife. He wanted those responsible to pay. When David was sleeping soundly, Andrew rose to leave. “I’ll come back later. Send for me if ye need me, Isla.”
The things David had said confused Andrew. He believed the MacKays had to be behind this, but the lad’s story never varied. When Andrew reached the great hall he joined his father and brother at the refectory table, sitting down wearily. “Is there any news?”
“Not yet. Only Rory returned with me,” said Graham. “I sent the rest of the men to try to find out what happened. As soon as I arrived back here I sent another contingent out as well. I couldn’t get the lass to give me a clue about how many of them there were.”
“Did she tell ye anything?” Andrew asked.
“She wanted me to believe she saw Davy from the bluff. According to her, he was alone on the ice. She tried to get him to turn back but he fell in before she reached him.”
“She said she came from the bluff?” Andrew asked in disbelief.
“Aye.”
“Lies,” said their father.
“I would have thought so, but Davy said the same thing. What else did she say?”
“Something about sliding on her stomach to pull him out and taking his wet clothes off.”
Andrew swore, scrubbing his face with his hands. “It can’t be.”
“I believe he fell in and she was panicked enough about losing her hostage to get him out and try to warm him up. But I don’t believe she wasn’t involved with kidnapping him. She’s just lying to protect herself,” said Graham.
“Graham, Davy has talked about the ‘angel’ who saved him every waking moment since we found them.”
“It was just his imagination, son,” said their father reasonably. “There are no MacKay saints. How does he explain them stealing him in the first place?”
“That’s just it, Da, he says no one stole him, he wandered away. He tells the same story she told ye. The ‘angel’ as he calls her, ran down off the bluff and pulled him from the water.”
“Why would an innocent MacKay lass, and I use the term ‘innocent’ loosely, be on the bluff alone, that far from Naomh-dùn on a bitter cold day like today?” Dougal asked. “If she was there, she was probably up to no good. Nay, son, the MacKays are behind this.”
At that moment, the men who had stayed with Nessa and David, along with the additional men Graham sent to find them, entered the great hall with a tearful Nessa in tow.
Nessa rushed forward saying, “Laird, please forgive me. I was playing with little Davy and lost him. We looked everywhere. I never imagined he could walk all the way down to the loch. Please, Laird, I am so sorry.”
“What?” roared Dougal.
“Donald, explain,” demanded Andrew.
Donald, the captain of the MacLeod guard could barely keep the irritation out of his voice. “I rode back from the loch expecting to find those left behind slaughtered. When we reached the clearing, we found everyone searching for Davy. There had not been an attack. It appears that Nessa simply hadn’t watched him properly and he wandered off. Everyone thought he was with someone else. I don’t know what that damned MacKay lass was doing at that end of the loch but it’s probably a good thing she was there. Everything seems to suggest she was alone. We found no signs of anyone else.”
Dougal put his head in his hands and Andrew trembled with suppressed fury. He strode toward the stairs leading to the dungeon as he ordered, “Make a room ready.”
Donald asked, “Andrew, is David all right? Where are ye going?”
“Davy’s fine,” Graham answered. “It appears the ‘damned MacKay lass’ saved his life, and I suspect Andrew is going to release her from the dungeon.”
When Andrew reached the cell, he found the lass huddled in a ball, wrapped in the thin plaid she had been given. “Come, angel, let me get ye out of here.” He lifted her from the wooden bed. She was blue with cold and her breathing was shallow. He prayed fervently that it wasn’t too late.
He carried her to the empty chamber the servants were preparing and tucked her into the bed. Isla arrived shortly, clucked her tongue and started working to warm her. Andrew couldn’t bring himself to leave until he knew the lass would be all right. But, in spite of all Isla did, later that evening the little MacKay began to tremble violently as she succumbed to a fever.
Andrew still stayed with her, unab
le to do anything but unwilling to leave. Her fever raged through the night and into the next day as he sat helplessly by.
~ * ~
Anna became vaguely aware that she was in a soft bed. Clearly she was no longer in the dungeon. Everything hurt and, no longer cold, she was so hot she knew she must surely be surrounded by fire. I must have died and gone to hell, she thought. She forced her eyes open, sending a piercing pain through her head. She closed them again, smiling grimly. If she was in hell she thought, at least one of those MacLeod devils was here too. With that she slipped back into oblivion.
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About The Author
Ceci started her career as an oncology nurse at a leading research hospital, and eventually became a successful medical writer. In 1991, she married a young Irish carpenter whom she met when his brother married her dear friend. They raised their family in central New Jersey but now live with their dogs and birds in paradise, also known as southwest Florida. Although still working occasionally as a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, Ceci spends most of her time now writing “happily ever afters.”
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Other titles by Ceci Giltenan
The Fated Hearts Series
Highland Revenge
Highland Echoes
Highland Angels
The Duncurra Series
Highland Solution
Highland Courage
Highland Intrigue
Duncurra Legacy series
Highland Redemption
A Wee Highland Predicament
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