“I used to come out here all the time when I first got to Dounie. Actually, Hugh and I had our very first kiss here.”
“Really?” Kenna asked, suddenly fascinated. “Tell me more.”
Ellen sat down on the dock and patted the space beside her, where Kenna settled herself as Ellen started to spin the tale.
“Well, I had been here fer a few months, and I finally worked up the courage to ask Rob to come walk down here with me. I thought we could talk in private, maybe get to know one another, but he never showed up. I found out that he had gone off riding instead. So, I walked down here by myself and started to cry. ‘Tis a lonely place, isn’t it? It matched how I felt so perfectly. I told Hugh so when he found me here. But then he promised me that I would never be alone again, not so long as he stood on this Earth. And, well, that was all it took fer me to fall.”
Kenna shifted, not knowing what to say. It was not really a particularly good story, nor did it sound like the Rob she knew. But Ellen had come to the castle and experienced him in a way that Kenna never would. For that, she should probably be grateful.
“I was just thinking how this place seemed to feel a bit sad,” Kenna said, reverting the subject back to a place where she was comfortable.
“Maybe we are secret sisters,” Ellen said, slipping her arm through Kenna’s as if they were the best of friends. Perhaps, in Ellen’s mind, they were. “Though, of course, ye grew up in a big castle, and I grew up on a farm.”
Kenna rolled her eyes. Ellen had used this argument a time or two against Florence, and each time Kenna had found it to be a particularly odd stance to take.
“Why do ye feel the need to bring that up?”
“Because it made me who I am, and it made ye who you are.”
“I am more than my father’s coin purse.”
“Are ye? Ye see, when I was growing up, I understood that I would be marrying into a world that was far different than my own. So I worked hard. I became the best at everything—sewing, posture, etiquette, and more. My father paid for the best tutors to teach me languages and letters. I thought that if I could accomplish all that, my upbringing would no longer matter. I would eclipse it with success.
“But ye—ye grew up knowing that, regardless of how ye behaved, ye would be able to live in a castle without anyone questioning yer authority to be there. Life was never threatening to ye. So, while I had to work hard to be accepted because of my lack of a name, ye were allowed to never work fer anything because ye already had the name that guaranteed yer future. Ye were allowed to be mediocre.”
Had this been the reason Ellen invited her out here? To demean her with words that she would never be able to take back? Kenna tried to pull her arm away, but Ellen’s grip was tight and unyielding.
“Look at ye,” Kenna said. “Ye are even proving that ye are the best at holding people against their will. Well done, point taken, now may ye let me go?”
“Ye ken, when I got pregnant, I was furious with myself. All my life, I had been preparing to be the Lady of Lovat, and I had just thrown that away fer the sake of a few hours of pleasure with a man. Aye, I love Hugh, but he had never been the plan. The title—that had been the plan. To rise above my station to a post that demanded respect—that had been the plan. Hugh knew how upset I was about it all, so the clever man came to me with what he called the new plan. A plan that would take a bit longer, but that would allow me to both have the man I loved and the title I wished fer. Fer, ye see, Hugh reminded me that one day Rob would die.”
Kenna stiffened at her words, at the thin threat that was now rising between them.
“When Rob dies, Hugh is next in line. He inherits the title of Laird, and I the title of Lady. Sure, I would have achieved it faster by marrying Rob, but it will eventually be mine if I am just patient fer it. The plan would work so long as one thing remained true: Rob retained his position as a bachelor.”
“Well, the Queen of Scotland intervened on that point, I am afraid. Maybe ye could call her here and have her sit out here with ye.”
“Would ye just shut up, fer once.” Ellen hissed. “This is what I am talking about. What proper lady, a lady from a fine clan in regards to both marriage and birth, speaks the way ye do? I’ll admit, when Hugh first arrived in Aberdeen and came to me to tell me the news of ye being married into the family, I was nervous. Hugh swore to me that he would kill ye. He had tried once and failed but was sure he would succeed in due time. I was all fer that plan, until, of course, I met ye. I saw ye then fer what ye are: a lesser version of me. And if I had already been rejected by Rob, then yer rejection was imminent.
“Hugh confirmed my suspicions about yer relationship, saying that every night he listened outside of yer tent and never so much as heard a pleasant conversation, let alone a consummation. So, I thought the matter was over and done with. I told Hugh to stop any attempts, to just focus on maintaining the wedge between ye. So long as ye never bore any children, the plan would still work. Ye would be cast aside as soon as Rob died, relegated to some room in the castle where the old and forgotten things belong.”
“Delightful, really,” Kenna said. “So, let me deduce—when ye found out that Rob is not, in fact, a woman hater, just a ye hater, ye put a snake in my room?”
Ellen smirked. “Was not one of my better plans, but ‘twas interesting to see ye panic a bit.”
“And then, on the road here, ye wanted us to share a tent because ye thought ye would be preventing Rob from siring a child. Too bad ‘twas coming a little too late.”
Ellen shook her head. “What did ye do to him to make him choose ye? Did ye just throw yerself at him? Promise to leave him alone if ye came down with child? What did ye do?”
“I didn’t do anything. Rob was in love with me from the moment he saw me. He told me so himself just last night. He can be so loving, ye ken. Oh, I suppose ye do not since ye are not quite as great as ye seem to think ye are.” Kenna hoped that the comment would wound Ellen. “So, what now, dear sister? It seems that we have reached a point of no return. What is yer plan?”
Ellen turned, looking back toward the shore. Kenna followed her gaze and there, standing silently, with Kenna’s missing red cloak draped over his arm, was Hugh. Now that they had noticed him, he came walking out toward them, the dock swaying just a bit under his heavy footfalls.
“Kenna, while we were out on this walk today, ye admitted to me that ye had not moved past the Gordon rebellion. Ye felt like a traitor to yer clan and family and could not take it anymore.”
Hugh arrived behind them and handed Ellen Kenna’s cloak. Ellen took Kenna’s hair and pulled it aside, giving her space to draw the red laces around her neck and knot them. When she was done, she stood, and Hugh reached down, grabbing Kenna by the arm and pulling her to her feet. As she rose, she felt the heaviness of her cloak. It was far too heavy, unnaturally heavy.
“We came out to this dock, and ye jumped. I thought ye would rise back up, but ‘twas discovered later that ye had sewn rocks into the seams of yer cloak so that ye would sink to the bottom of the river.”
With a sharp shove, Hugh pushed her forward, moving her along the dock until she had just reached its edge.
Kenna laughed, fully understanding that it was the wrong response for the situation, but what else could she do? She didn’t even know what was happening. The recent events were incomprehensible.
“Quiet,” Hugh said, then growled.
“Or what?” Kenna asked. “Ye’re going to kill me?”
“I have many things to do today, ye ken. Why don’t ye just jump and get it over with.”
“Sure, that is what I am going to do,” Kenna said, trying to sound confident despite her voice cracking.
“Come on, Kenna. I ken that it seems terrifying now but think of how much better things will be this way. No one will be coming after ye anymore. Ye’ll finally be safe. I ken that is all ye want,” Ellen said.
“But I don’t want to do this. Stop telling me that I wa
nt to drown when I certainly do not want to drown,” Kenna snapped.
“I’ve heard that those who just accept it suffer far less than those who fight it,” Hugh said.
“And which one came back to life to tell ye that?” Kenna challenged, feeling the tears coming down her face.
It was starting to feel real. This wasn’t a dream. She would never wake up from this. Her child… Christ. My child. A mother was supposed to keep a babe safe. She would fail at that before she ever held them in her arms.
Hugh placed his hand on her back. “Jump, now, or I’ll push ye.”
“Please, I’ll leave Dounie. I’ll leave and never come back. I’ll tell everyone that the child isn’t Rob’s. I’ll do whatever ye want if ye just let me live long enough fer the child to live.”
“Ye do not seem to be understanding… The child is the greatest problem.”
“But—” Kenna was frantic. Her mind had overworked itself, spinning so quickly that now it was out of control and unable to string one thought together with the next. But she needed to stall, to talk herself out of this. She didn’t have a sword, she didn’t have any strength; all she had was her foolish mouth, and if that failed her, then she would have nothing.
“Shall I count down fer ye?”
“Wait! Just let me say one more thing.”
“No,” Hugh said, and she felt his hand push against her.
Her body tipped forward, falling down and down and down until there was only darkness and cold.
19
Rob ran out into the yard and looked this way and that. Where could they have gone?
When he had returned to Dounie, he had immediately gone looking for Kenna. When he barged into their room, a servant girl changing the blankets on their bed had jumped nearly out of her skin.
“Where is Kenna?” Rob demanded.
“O-o-out for a walk with M-m-mistress Ellen,” the maid had replied.
Rob had raced from the castle, plowing over any who crossed his path until he reached the yard. The damn yard. There were endless possibilities from there.
Old Alec looked up from his work and gave him a confused look. “Lookin’ fer something, Laird Rob?”
“Aye, my wife, and Ellen. Seen them?”
“Oh, aye. They went walking down the river path.”
Rob was away before Alec could finish, telling himself that he would have to thank and reward the man later.
“The bloody river walk,” Rob said to himself, huffing as he ran.
It had always been one of Ellen’s favorites, starting way back when she had first come to Dounie. She used to talk for hours about the dock out there and how it was her favorite place at the castle.
As the dirt path curved, Rob saw the dock jutting out into the river. At its edge was Kenna, her dark curls swirling in the wind. Behind her stood Hugh, unmistakable with his height and red hair. His hand was raised and pressed to Kenna’s back. Ellen was a few steps back from them, standing safely in the middle of the dock.
Don’t let this be what I think it is, Rob thought.
When he drew close enough, he forced himself to slow his pace so that the thundering footfalls of his feet would not reveal him before he was ready to be noticed. He strode, slowly and silently, along the last stretch of the path. Now that he was this close, his worst fears were confirmed. Hugh and Ellen wanted her to jump.
Stay there, Kenna, just hold on.
The dock was too long for him to simply charge ahead. Hugh would either push her or pull out a blade long before Rob reached them. He would just have to take it step by step until he was close enough to do something.
Rob lifted one foot and placed it carefully on the dock, and then the next, and the next.
“Shall I count down fer ye?” Hugh was asking Kenna, who was crying as she seemed to try and come up with something to say.
Rob took another step forward, but this time, the board beneath him let out a soft squeak.
Hugh’s head swiveled, his eyes locking onto Rob.
“Wait! Just let me say one more thing,” Kenna said.
Hugh’s lips curled into a grim smile.
“No.”
Hugh’s arm extended and there was a sudden unfurling of red as Kenna’s cloak billowed behind her, but then, marked by a splash, she was gone.
“Kenna!” Rob charged forward.
Hugh pulled his sword from its sheath, brandishing it at Rob, who had to stop to keep from impaling himself.
“Well, big brother, ye said that ye would forgive me fer the mess. I am sorry that I did not get this done sooner. I had hoped to handle it before ye found out about the babe. I thought it would be less painful fer ye that way.”
“Move, Hugh.”
“I canna do that. Not fer this.”
Rob cursed and pulled out his own sword. Hugh had gone mad; that was clear to see. Hugh lunged for Rob first, trying to take advantage of the time it would take for Rob to settle into a fencing stance, but Rob had been the one who had taught Hugh that move. He wasn’t about to fall for it himself.
He countered Hugh’s strikes with his own, with Ellen screaming for them to stop just behind him. She knew it as well as the brothers did; Hugh was no match for Rob with a sword. Rob drove his sword down onto Hugh’s with all of his might, knocking the blade from his brother’s hand. Then, he twisted his sword up and slashed across Hugh’s front, creating a gash that crossed him diagonally from hip to shoulder. It wasn’t deep enough to kill him, but it sure would keep him out of Rob’s way.
Hugh crumpled down onto the dock, crying out in agony, as Rob rushed forward, throwing his sword aside just as he dove.
The coldness of the water slammed against him, crushing into him from every angle. With the sky so gray above him, there was hardly any way for him to see beneath the water’s surface. All he could do was kick down toward the bottom and flail madly around him, hoping to find Kenna through pure dumb luck.
Please, Kenna, please let me find ye.
Then, slipping across his fingertips, he swore he felt a bit of cloth. He swam toward it, fighting the current and reaching his hands out in that direction. Then, yes, it was. He grabbed hold of the cloth and followed it until he found her, Kenna, her body thrashing as she tugged at something tied around her neck.
Rob reached out and pulled her hands away from whatever it was, placing his fingers between her neck and the small cord and pulling with all of his might. The cord gave with a pleasing snap, but Kenna did not start swimming to the surface. She had stopped moving altogether.
Rob grabbed her and kicked up off the bottom of the riverbed, kicking his feet like mad while he held onto his bride, the pair of them satisfying through the surface of the water with a loud gasp. Or at least Rob gasped; Kenna just lay still in his arms.
Rob did his best to swim to shore, allowing the current to carry him a little downstream, to a place where the river was surrounded by dense forest—Hugh would never be able to hike out there in his current condition. As he swam, he begged for Kenna to take a breath, giving her gentle shakes and the occasional pound to the back to try and dislodge the water in her throat that was keeping her from breathing.
By the time they reached the shallows, Kenna’s lips were starting to turn blue. Rob stumbled to regain his footing on his numbed legs, but he kept moving forward, dragging Kenna along behind him. When they finally reached the riverbank, Rob pulled her up onto the grass and pounded on her chest once, then twice, and then, when he was raising his hand for a third strike, she started to cough and splutter, the river water escaping from her lips.
“Kenna, Kenna, come on, say something.”
“Hugh…”She gasped. “Hugh and Ellen. They did this.”
“I ken, I ken. But, Kenna, we have to go. I have no way to warm ye up out here. Try and hold onto me, please hold on.”
Rob hoisted Kenna into his arms and began to run, his cold and aching joints tense and resistant. But he couldn’t let them slow him down—if he did, Kenna w
ould die. Her skin was already turning a pale shade of blue, her shivers so violent that she nearly bucked herself out of his grasp. The only thing that could slow him down now would be Hugh, but he and Ellen had to have retreated to the castle by now.
Rob slipped through the trees with as much grace as he could, though he caught himself stumbling over tall brush on more than one occasion, each time only barely maintaining his footing. Finally, the trees thinned, and he catapulted himself out and onto the cleared field, the dock now just to his side. The path back up to Dounie was rough and winding, but it was at least familiar.
“Hold on, Kenna, we are almost there.”
Kenna’s shivering had started to slow, but not in a good way. She was growing weak. Her body was starting to surrender to an inevitable death. Her eyes, so wide and frightful, were starting to drop, their perfect blueness starting to turn dull and glassy.
“No, no, no, Kenna, stay awake, stay with me. Help!” Rob shouted as they approached the castle gates. “Anybody!”
Florence, the castle smith right behind her, came running from the gates. Her look, so full of horror, only became more frightful when she saw Kenna in his arms.
“She’s freezing to death,” Rob said, though the words came out in choking sputters. How long had he been crying?
“The forge,” the smith said. “‘tis the closest fire to here.”
Rob nodded and followed the smith, rushing Kenna into the tiny forge and setting her directly in front of the blazing flames. Florence rushed forward, opening her cloak and pulling Kenna underneath it with her, giving her access to her own body heat.
“Rob,” Florence said, “what the devil is going on? Hugh just came back all bloodied and ye two look frozen half to death—”
“Hugh—where did he go?” Rob asked, feeling that the only thing that mattered now was to make sure the bastard did not get away.
“Father’s solar. Ellen said that it was important to tell Father what… Where are you going? Rob!” Florence called after him as he went tearing from the forge at full speed.
Highlander's Haunted Past (Highlander's Seductive Lasses Book 1) Page 24
