by Terry Spear
When he returned to Lockton Castle before he had to witness the wedding between Edana and Angus, he'd stewed about the situation the whole way back and come to the conclusion that even if it took more work to obtain his final goal—having Edana for his wife—it would be worth just about any sacrifice.
He was having a devil of a time not looking back over his shoulder to see how Edana fared in the torrent of rain pummeling them now. And to see if Angus was still watching her like an infatuated fool.
Then he laughed to himself because that's just what he was with regard to Edana. Why had he not visited Tibold once he had gained his title and lands?
He let out his breath in exasperation. Frankly, he hadn't given her a thought because he had only seen Edana when she was a young lass, and though he had loved her dark red hair and her fetching blue eyes, he had been more interested in older lasses at the time. As he recalled, she hadn't shown any interest in the lads, which for now was a good thing as she was unspoiled. Or had been until Angus got hold of her.
She had grown into a veritable beauty. And now that he had seen her, spoken with her, saw how much his sister liked her even, he wanted Edana for his own.
Tibold seemed lost in his own thoughts, probably worrying about his sons, while Keary kept puzzling over Edana and how she knew where her brothers had been. How had she known?
He stared straight ahead, rode maybe another mile before he couldn't stand not knowing. But he couldn't ask her or alert Angus he was still interested in the lass. He would have to speak with Angus on the matter and learn what he could from him. If Keary continued to be as friendly as he could toward Angus, mayhap Edana would see Keary as a friend also. And Angus would not suspect Keary had designs on his wife.
***
To Angus's surprise, Keary rode from a place alongside Tibold near the front to join Angus and indicated he wanted to speak in private, saying only, "May I have a word?"
Angus dropped back behind the women and rode alongside Keary, wondering what he was up to.
"I would never have thought to take the lass on a journey like this," Keary said, his tone filled with haughty disapproval.
Angus didn't say anything as the rain poured down from the heavens even worse than before. They were barely able to see the riders in front of Edana and her maid now. He wanted the lass out of this weather as soon as possible. And to that end, he could barely think of anything else.
"She appears hardy enough. It just doesna seem to be the place for a woman," Keary persisted.
Angus suspected Keary was trying to learn why she rode with them. Their reasoning was none of his business.
Every breath Angus took and released, just like his horse's and Keary's, came out in a cold white mist. He prayed Edana and Una would not get sick.
"How does the lass know where her brothers are?" Keary asked, poking into the matter again with another pointed question. "When she didna even know the place. She hadna seen her brothers there. How did she know they met with the wench?"
"Why did you come with us?" Angus asked, wondering if he would get the truth or a lie or something halfway in between. He was not about to discuss Edana's gift with him.
Keary took a deep breath, yanked at his plaid covering his head, attempting to keep it in place as a hood, the wind tugging it back again. "Everyone knows how much animosity I have for the whore."
"Oppida? I didna know." This was news to Angus. And he worried that Keary could cause more trouble than good when they arrived at the keep in question if the man wanted vengeance.
"She rallied our father against me and my brothers. Aye, not one of us was legitimate, and my da was always killing off a new wife who couldna manage childbirth. Or so we thought. Oppida canna have a child. But she is young and beautiful, and she greatly influenced him. I came to believe she actually murdered his two wives during childbirth because she feared if he had a legitimate son, my da would force Oppida to leave. Then he tried to marry another woman—the woman your brother wed—and when that didna come to pass, Oppida murdered my own da, knowing he would find yet another wife."
Angus glanced at Keary and saw he was serious, his face dark and grim.
"Someone poisoned him. 'Twas thought one of my brothers had done the deed so he could take his place. But I never believed it. Poison is a woman's method of murder. As soon as da was dead, Oppida tried to pit brother against brother. I saw right through her. She convinced one of my youngest half-brothers that she loved him and tried to get him to fight me. She wanted a younger man. One she thought to control. She knew she couldna wield any power over me. But he would never have an heir by her."
"I understand," Angus said, more than a little shocked over the matter. He understood the woman's wish to eliminate those who their father had loved—his wives and future legitimate heirs. But Angus couldn't comprehend the other matter. Certainly, not all families were close like he and his brothers or Edana and her brothers were. But to allow a conniving woman to lead them into battling each other? He couldn't imagine what was wrong with Keary's brothers.
Keary patted his horse's neck. "Thankfully, Finbar liked me well enough not to attempt to kill me and left our lands instead, ashamed, beaten. I would have eliminated the wench for everything she had done. Before I could locate her in all the turmoil, she escaped. Her meddling at Lockton had come to an end. Think you I would show the woman any mercy if I got hold of her? Nay."
"Some believe you forced her to leave."
"Aye, and I left it at that. I truly believed she wouldna make it on her own. In a roundabout way, 'tis my fault Edana's brothers are incarcerated. 'Twill be the last time that whore causes trouble in the Highlands."
Angus pondered the notion. He feared Keary still harbored a plan to somehow take Edana for his wife. The thought did occur that if Angus was conveniently killed in a skirmish, Keary could step in and offer to marry the grieving widow. So mayhap Keary still did have such a design in mind. But Angus also grew concerned Keary could cause more trouble between the clans should he attempt to kill Oppida for her past murderous deeds. Whoever the chief was who currently gave her a place in his home would not like that.
***
A stabbing pain struck Kayne in the arse, and he came off the pallet swinging his manacled wrists, clanging and clanking. A gray rat scurried off, squeaking, and disappeared through a small hole in the rock wall near the stone floor. Kayne cursed the bloody beast. Then he guessed where it had bitten him was better than some other place he might have suffered a bite, if he was willing to see this in a more positive light. Which he wasn't.
His brothers eyed him warily.
"Rat." Kayne glanced at Drummond, who was still shivering. Kayne had already piled his own threadbare blanket on top of his youngest brother to warm him.
Kayne thought he heard a noise near the cell door and turned and suddenly realized why he could see somewhat in the dark cell. A boy of eight or nine, thin, small of stature, round green eyes set in an owlish face, and wild red hair, stood with candle in hand, staring at him, his mouth gaping.
"How now?" Kayne eased to a sitting position so as not to alarm the boy, surprised to see the lad at whatever ungodly hour it was in this place. He had to be a guard's son, or…the chief's to gain entrance?
The boy didn't say anything as Gildas wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up. Drummond shook with fever, mumbling something incoherent. Despite not wanting Edana to search for them on her own, Kayne had to get word to her that Drummond was ill and could die. He'd tried to alert her several times, praying she had received his message.
"What is your name, son?" Kayne asked.
"Pol," the lad said, his voice so quiet that Kayne had to strain to hear it.
"Why, you are a strapping young lad, Pol. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Maybe if he could garner a friendship with the wee lad, he might help them win their freedom one way or another.
"They…they say you were with Oppida," Pol said, hesitantly at first, then bl
urting the rest out.
"Aye, but no' mayhap in the way you have heard. Drummond is very ill and could die," Kayne said, motioning to his brother. Kayne himself was sick with worry that his youngest brother might not make it. And then who would be the next to succumb to the hardships of life in a dank dungeon?
The boy studied Drummond.
"He made the mistake of kissing…Oppida. She has a way of enticing a man to do such that he should not do. Drummond is the youngest of my brothers, so he doesna think about the consequences as much as he should," Kayne said.
Tying his long dark hair back in a tail, Halwn sat up now, watching the exchange.
Pol turned to look at Halwn briefly, then his eyes riveted back to Kayne. "They said he did more. That all of you did."
Kayne and Halwn snorted in unison. The boy's eyes widened again.
Halwn tugged his blanket around his bare shoulders and leaned close to the moss-covered wall. "We dinna kiss that kind of woman or avail ourselves of anything further."
"What do you mean?" Pol asked, curious.
"Ah, lad, 'tis no' for us to say about such a matter. Only to say we didna touch the woman in any manner. We only defended our brother when he was attacked, as any brother would another. Do you have brothers?" Kayne asked.
Pol shook his head. "I…I wish I did. Like you." He again surveyed the men.
Kayne's eldest brother, Egan, opened his eyes, but he didn't sit up and Kayne believed Egan didn't wish to spook the lad. If Kayne or Halwn could gain the lad's trust, all the better.
"You have lost your mother?" Kayne asked, assuming he must have and that was the reason Oppida was here.
Pol nodded, his eyes bright with tears.
"Och, lass, we lost ours only last winter. 'Tis a terrible thing to lose your mother." It wasn't the same—as they were grown men, but the lad seemed to believe it was because as a young boy he could only think of it from his standpoint.
"Can you get Drummond another blanket?" Halwn asked. "He shakes something awful from the chills."
"Aye," Pol said, his voice again soft. He raced to an empty cell, the candle flame flickering wildly.
Kayne exchanged a hopeful look with his brothers. Mayhap the lad could truly help them.
Pol dashed back with a blanket and shoved it through the cell bars. When Kayne took it, Pol quickly stepped away from the cell as if he knew he should not get so close to the dangerous men.
"Our da and sister will be fairly worried about us when we dinna return. I can imagine our sister in tears."
"You have a sister, too?" Pol marveled.
"Aye. She is verra bonny indeed. She has red hair, mayhap darker than yours and blue eyes instead of green like yours. If people didna know, they might think she was your sister," Kayne said.
"Is she my age?"
"Nay, but she is the youngest of us."
"Will she come for you?"
"We fear she might and then what would your…" Kayne almost said chief. The boy might be just a guard's son, allowed to see what it was like for the prisoners kept down here because one day he would be a guard. But what if he was the chief's son? "What would your da do then if she came looking for us? Put her in here with us?"
Pol licked his lips with nervousness.
"Would he strip her of her clothes?" Halwn asked, his voice hard with anger.
"Would…would she look for you…here?" Pol asked, his voice wilting.
"Aye. We fear for her safety. She, who is a sweet innocent, unlike Oppida," Kayne said.
Pol stiffened, his red brows furrowing.
Kayne feared he'd said the wrong thing and forced the lad to side with the witch.
"She…she is no innocent," Pol said, his words bitter.
Halwn was about to make exception to the boy's comment, but Kayne put his hand on his chest, willing him to silence his tongue. "Oppida?" Kayne asked.
"Aye. She is the devil," Pol said.
Kayne smiled, albeit a wee bit evilly. "Aye, lad. The witch blinds a man to do her bidding. She is no innocent."
"She scowls at me when she thinks I dinna see. She tries to make me drink things that I dinna want to drink. She pretends to love me when my da watches. I dinna like her," Pol said.
"What of the other men in your da's castle?" Kayne asked, still attempting to verify that the lad was the chief's son.
Pol said nothing, just stared at him solemnly.
"They like her?" Kayne prompted.
"They…want her…like my da does. I hear the men talk. She…smiles at them. Teases them. But at least no' that I have ever seen, she doesna allow the men to touch her. Mayhap they are afraid they will end up down here. Or mayhap she is afraid she will." Pol let out his breath and the candle flame flickered. "I wish he would send her away and find me a real mother."
Kayne didn't want to suggest it as he was afraid of where this might lead, but he didn't know what else to say that might encourage the lad to help them. "Our sister, Edana, is sweetness and light. She loves children and we had hoped she would find a husband soon as she needs one to keep her safe."
Halwn jumped in and added, "She wishes wee bairns of her own, but she could use a good stout lad such as yourself who would help her and protect her when your da is away."
"She would look as though she were your mother as red haired as she is, and she would treat you as her own son, mark my word," Kayne said.
"Is…she bonny? My da wouldna look at her if she was no'."
"Oh, aye," Kayne said. "Once her eyes capture a mon's gaze, he finds himself looking into those pools of blue, entranced. Her hair catches the sunlight and fairly sparkles. Her cheeks blush the most beautiful red when she is embarrassed," Kayne said, Halwn nodding.
"Alas, we are but her brothers, meant to protect her, and now we are here," Halwn said, spreading his hand out to emphasize just where that meant.
"How…how will she know to come to the MacRae keep?"
Kayne felt the anvil pressed against his chest lighten a wee bit. Now they knew where they were. "She loves us so dearly, Pol, as she does anyone she grows close to, that she will do everything in her power to find us. But we fear your da will do to her what he has done to us."
Pol shook his head. "He canna."
"But what if he does if she comes here? Or what if Oppida does something evil to her? Tells your da something that makes him believe our sweet dear sister isna an innocent?"
Pol chewed on his bottom lip, then swallowed hard. He reached inside his tunic and pulled out a bannock and slipped it through the cell door. "I will come back. I…I dinna know what to do. Where are you from?"
"Like you, our father is a chief."
The boy's eyes rounded.
"Aye. Our sister is the daughter of a chief. A suitable wife for a chief." Kayne wanted the lad to know they were of the same rank as him so that he could see their plight better, if he envisioned himself in Kayne's place. Yet he feared the boy might believe the Clan Chattan would wage war on the MacRaes if they learned of this and so no word would be leaked of their imprisonment.
"I…I canna unlock the door or your manacles. The guard let me come down here to talk to you. But he wouldna let me have the keys to free you." Pol slipped his hand underneath his tunic again, and this time he pulled out a flask. "Drink of the honey mead. I will fill it back up and return again later. But I canna let my da know I came to see you."
"Thank you, lad. When we see Edana, we will tell her of your kindness to us."
The boy waited while Kayne took the flask and tried to get Drummond to drink of the mead. He had already tossed the extra worn blanket off, his skin flushed, his eyes wild. "Drink, Drummond. The lad, Pol, has brought you something to help with your fever," Kayne said, reminding the boy that their brother was ill and could die.
"I…I will see if our healer can give me something to give to him…or…mayhap I can ask how to go about ridding a body of fever." Pol seemed contemplative.
"Can you trust her?" Halwn asked. "If she gave y
ou something to give Drummond?"
"Oh, aye, she wouldna harm him."
"Nay, I am meaning, would she tell your da you had spoken to her about such?"
"Nay," Pol said with conviction. "We are friends. I aid her in finding the herbs she needs. She says I am a great help to her. She has even been closer to me since my mother died."
"Good," Kayne said. "We thank you for your kindness, Pol. You will make a fine chief someday."
A shadow of a smile ghosted across Pol's small face.
The brothers quickly finished off the mead, then Kayne handed the empty flask back to Pol. "No' that she intends you any harm, lad, but if Oppida attempts to force you to eat or drink that which you dinna want, tell your da, and dinna allow her to make you succumb to her wishes."
"Aye." Pol jammed his flask back inside his tunic and said, "Later." Then he hurried off, leaving them behind in darkness.
Chapter 13
Angus, Edana, her maid, and all the men who had traveled with them arrived at the Fitzburn Tavern later than they intended because the weather held them back. Angus had hoped they would arrive earlier so they could learn where Oppida lived and continue on their way. He didn't want Edana out in this weather further. He had hoped to leave her at the tavern with a guard posted while he and her father and his men continued to the place where Edana's brothers were being held prisoner.
The two-story tavern's gray stone walls and thatched roof blended with the gray sky and day. It was late afternoon, the rain slackening off, and no one in the village was out in the dreary weather. The men and women were all drenched and exhausted. Several had taken refuge in the tavern while Angus and Tibold hastened to pay for rooms, taking six of the eight rooms that were available. Some of the men would bed down in the stables. Others found owners of crofts who would take them in. Gunnolf and Niall shared a room with Tibold and Keary.
Since Tibold was the father of the men who were incarcerated, he kept four of his guards with him as they questioned everyone already eating or drinking in the common room of the tavern, concerning the whereabouts of Oppida. Did any of them know where she lived? Hopefully, answers would soon be forthcoming.
