A Bridge Through The Mist

by Denise A. Agnew

  Alenna turned to the baron. "She was only protecting Johanna—"

  He snorted. "She is too late." He moved closer to the bed. With lightning speed he reached out and grabbed Johanna by the chin. "She is a whore … just like my sweet daughter here–"

  "What?" Alenna asked, uncertain she’d heard the incriminating, vile statement correctly.

  Johanna wrenched back and almost fell on top of her prone mother. Her eyes widened, terrified, and disbelieving.

  He laughed, and the crazy sound reminded Alenna of the prisoner in the dungeon. "Johanna is my child. And she is mine to do with as I will."

  Sickness rose into Alenna’s throat, and she covered her mouth and took a deep breath.

  He turned away from Johanna and advanced on Alenna. Alenna stepped back until she came up against a table. "Didn’t Elizabet tell you? Or did she keep that wee secret all to herself?"

  A thousand questions came to mind. How could Elizabet have stood being in the same castle with this man? Despite the number of questions assaulting her mind, Alenna feared for Johanna’s life, Elizabet’s life, and her own. Evil seemed to be etched in every wrinkle on the baron’s face.

  Johanna sat on the bed, holding her mother’s hand and shivering. The vacant look in her eyes said she would be useless as an ally.

  Apparently, the baron took Alenna’s momentary acquiescence for compliance and smiled. "I see you understand the way of things. Elizabet is not the saint you thought. We had a … liaison all those years ago, when this castle was still under my father’s power. Then she disappeared and I didn’t see her again until six years ago, when she came back and demanded money for her upkeep and her bastard child."

  "You gave her money?" Alenna asked.

  He shrugged and then looked at Johanna like an indulgent father. A very sick, obscene father. "Enough to keep her in the rags she wears. I could have sent her away, but when I saw this tempting bit of flesh, I thought it might be nice to have her when she was grown." He reached for Alenna, yanking her close to him so she was pressed against his smelly body. "Now you are a tempting morsel. When I came into your room that night—"

  "You!" Alenna gasped. "You came into my room—"

  "Aye. ‘Tis unfortunate you woke so soon. We might have had a wee bit of fun."

  "How dare ye!" Johanna’s piercing shriek battered Alenna’s ears.

  Alenna turned in time to see Johanna hurl a heavy pewter goblet directly at the baron’s head. He dodged the thrown object with ease, then reached across the bed and pulled Johanna by the arm over her mother’s legs and onto the floor. Johanna cried out in pain as the sheet fell from her body.

  "Stop it!" Alenna grabbed at the baron’s arm. "You’re hurting her!"

  He shoved her back and she hit her hip against the table with a bruising force. The pain radiated down her leg, and she gasped.

  "Bitch," he hissed, reaching down to yank Johanna up by her arm. Moving quickly he grabbed Alenna and started towards the outer chamber.

  As he dragged Johanna and Alenna along behind him, he cursed. Alenna stumbled and landed on her knees. Pain slammed into her. The baron jerked her up again.

  "Stand up, bitch!"

  Kicking open the door, he yelled down the staircase, "Guards! Guards!"

  He loosened his grip slightly, and Alenna saw her chance. Kicking back at him with the heel of her shoe, she made a solid connect to his knee. She heard his cry of rage and pain as she jerked away from him and started down the stairs at the fastest pace she dared. If she could get outside before the guards realized—

  As she rounded a turn she ran right into a burly guard.

  "Seize her!" The baron bellowed down the tower stairway.

  The guard took no chances and landed a blow to Alenna’s midsection with his forearm. The pain doubled her over as the impact forced the air from her lungs and she almost fell. The guard, though, had other ideas. He dragged her back up the stairs. Her diaphragm seemed paralyzed, and she gasped for air like a beached whale.

  The guard pitched her into the room, and she landed at the baron’s feet on her hands and knees, head hanging down as she tried to get her breath.

  Any moment she expected another blow, or for someone to wrench her up again. Instead, she felt Johanna’s gentle hands on her back.

  "Alenna," Johanna whimpered.

  Alenna lifted her head and saw nothing but the baron’s legs.

  "You can’t escape from me, Mistress Carstairs. And you’ve been a very, very wicked girl. Guard, take them to the dungeon."

  * * *

  Dark clouds, pregnant with snow, hung like shrouds over the sky. A cold wind thrashed the tall grass as Tynan and Dougald made their way over the last mile to Ruthven’s castle.

  The ride had taken a few hours, and Tynan’s body and mind tossed with troubling thoughts he couldn’t deny. As they urged their war horses to pick up the pace, Tynan thought of Alenna, alone and vulnerable.

  If his plan succeeded, he would make certain Ruthven’s men understood no women or children could be harmed in the attack. Above all, Tynan wanted to get to Alenna first and assure her safety.

  God help him, how he wished now he’d taken a deep, passionate kiss from her before he’d left the castle. If something happened to him, it would be his deepest regret that he hadn’t sampled her sweet lips again. She did care for him, at least a little. He’d seen the worry in her teary eyes.

  Shoving thoughts of her away with an effort, he concentrated on the task ahead. Perspiration ran down the back of his neck, and he flexed his fingers inside his gauntlets. They had but a mile to go before they reached Duncarval, the Ruthven’s stronghold. As yet they’d seen no sign of Ruthven’s soldiers. With their flag of truce flying, they could only hope no soldiers from Duncarval would attack.

  "Do ye think Baron MacAulay trusts us?" Dougald asked suddenly.

  "He does no believe we’ll betray him."

  "Are ye sorry to do this?"

  Giving his friend a hard look, Tynan said, "Nay. The man is a murderer."

  "Do ye believe what that scum told Alenna? That the baron sent the man to kill ye?"

  "Aye."

  "Why wad he do it?"

  "Mayhap he saw that Alenna and I … that I lusted for her."

  Dougald’s laugh boomed out over the countryside. "Lust?"

  "Lust. ‘Twas all—"

  Dougald laughed again. "I’ve seen the way ye look at her. Why do ye deny that ye love her?"

  Tynan refused to answer, knowing he couldn’t … wouldn’t love Alenna. Not saying it … not giving these feelings a name meant they didn’t exist.

  Silence covered the men until a short time later.

  "I am worried about Caithleen, and about what William of Ruthven will say when we tell him what we have a mind to do," Dougald said.

  Tynan threw a confident smile in Dougald’s direction. "Never ye mind. We can hope Ruthven is a man of reason, and his fault is he hates Baron MacAulay. To us, it might be our savin’ grace."

  As they reached the crest of the hill, Tynan took a breath and prepared himself for the sight of Duncarval.

  Standing like a colossal sentinel over the entire countryside, Duncarval was slightly smaller than Baron MacAulay’s stronghold. Though Ruthven had fewer holdings than MacAulay, he remained powerful in his own right. His family had once consisted of a wife and three sons, and a daughter. His eldest son died in a skirmish with the English several months ago. Above all, Tynan wanted to hear what Ruthven said about rumors that he besieged MacAulay Castle as revenge for his daughter’s alleged kidnapping and death at the hands of MacAulay.

  "Let us move along. No sense in waitin’ here with naught to do," Tynan said.

  They moved down the hill and soon came to the Duncarval’s outer defense, a very large, deep looking moat. Tynan saw movement in the towers and knew someone watched. Dougald made sure he hoisted the flag of truce high. Moments later the drawbridge came down and several knights on horseback crossed the bridge and
proceeded toward them.

  "Dinna make sudden moves," Tynan said, certain their lives hung in the balance. Outnumbered six to one, Tynan knew he’d be able to kill his share, and Dougald the same. Still, he didn’t want a fight, anymore than he’d wanted to leave Alenna at the castle.

  The six knights halted in front of them and took off their helms. A sign of trust, no less. One knight at the front of the pack moved his horse forward, until his animal stopped close to Dragon. Tall in the saddle, with long, blond hair, the man looked rough and course. Closer to the appearance of a Highlander than a lowland knight.

  The man spoke in Gaelic rather than Scots or English. Dougald, who didn’t understand much Gaelic, let Tynan speak. Moments later, the blond knight turned his horse away and beckoned to Tynan and Dougald to follow.

  "What did he say?" Dougald asked warily. "It dinna all sound friendly."

  "The baron will see us," Tynan said, leaving out the harsh words the man had peppered them with. Threats that assured him if he made a wrong move and attempted to slaughter William of Ruthven, the both of them would be put to death before the morn.

  As they crossed the drawbridge, Tynan sent up a prayer, hoping he hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his life.

  * * *

  As Alenna leaned against the wall behind her, the dungeon stayed as silent as a graveyard at midnight.

  She shivered as cold seeped into her bones like the insistent call of death. As a cramp struck her right leg, she moaned and closed her eyes.

  Her side ached where the guard had hit her, but nothing else appeared broken or otherwise damaged. She stayed upright for as long as she could. Soon her back ached, and a thin, annoying throb started in her temple. After four hours in the semi-darkness of the dungeon, she sank against the wall and slid into sitting position on the floor.

  God only knew what lived on the floor with her.

  She thought of the garnet ring and wished she wore it now. Then she could have transported herself out of this nightmare that had no end. A sharp pang of hunger drew her attention away from the ring. Placing her hand on her stomach, she wondered how she could even think of food at a time like this.

  "Are we goin’ to die here?" Johanna asked, her thin voice scarcely filtering through the murkiness of the dungeon cell.

  Alenna glanced at Johanna, who sank onto the rancid floor next to her. Johanna’s hair hung in a stringy, dirty tangle along her pale cheeks, her once sharp eyes vacant and shocked.

  Thank God the baron had allowed Johanna to put on her clothes before throwing them both in this hellhole. Spared the humiliation of being paraded through the castle nude, Johanna’s clothing also offered protection against the unheated dungeon.

  "No," Alenna said finally, as much to soothe herself as anything. "We’ll find a way out, or the baron will come to his senses."

  Alenna doubted the baron would release them, but she hoped the fib would make Johanna feel better. Although not a psychology expert, she’d witnessed enough of the baron’s antics to know more than sheer ruthless blood thirst motivated the man.

  Serial killer. Definitely a sociopath.

  Alenna knew the baron was all these things and more. Her skin crawled when she thought of Johanna being taken by the baron. Incestuous bastard! Alenna took a deep breath and let it out slowly, realizing she could easily work herself into a frenzy.

  Elizabet.

  How could she have given so little thought to Elizabet’s plight? Elizabet might be dying or already be dead. Self-recriminations piled high as she thought how she might have avoided their predicament. Going to the baron had been stupid. Utterly stupid.

  Tynan.

  A sharp pang of mental pain at the thought of Tynan’s possible capture and death made tears come to her eyes. Alenna hoped against hope she would awaken and find this entire trip through time a cruel, demented nightmare.

  "Mistress!" Clandon hissed from the next cell.

  Alenna couldn’t see Clandon because of the stone wall between them. But, she could see his hands as he poked them between the metal bars of his cell. She glanced over at the empty shackles, and the vacant iron maiden as it swung from its hook like a birdcage.

  "Mistress," Clandon said again, breaking her out of her nightmare thoughts.

  "Yes, Clandon."

  "Are ye well?"

  "We are well," she said, knowing it wouldn’t help to admit otherwise.

  "What if the baron finds Caithleen?" he asked.

  Although beaten down by circumstances, Caithleen didn’t realize how capable she’d become. Was there a chance she might help them escape? How would she know where to find them?

  "I’m sure she’s making plans to hide. If she realized we aren’t coming to meet her at Elizabet’s—"

  "Mistress, we have to help my sister," Clandon said, a pleading edge climbing into his voice. "The baron will kill her. He will!"

  "First we must find a way out of here," Alenna said, knowing they had to start at the beginning. "We cannot do anything from here."

  Clandon sighed. "The walls are thick, the bars hard. How can we get out?"

  For too long Alenna had allowed weakness to dominate her actions. Back in her time she’d allowed her fiancé to dictate her actions, and as a result had lost her job. She couldn’t do that now. For death stood just around the corner, its ugly face ready to claim them. To stare helplessness in the face grated on her deeply and swelled her anger. She took a shuddering breath to calm her desire to cry.

  "We’ll think of something," she said.

  She leaned her head against the wall and tried to think, tried to keep the fear from overwhelming her. Sympathy and her own need for comfort drove her to approach Johanna. Johanna huddled against the corner, staring out of the cell. With both hands she gripped the metal bars like they were her anchor in a raging sea.

  Alenna knelt next to Johanna, but the girl didn’t move.

  "We’ll be all right." Alenna made a statement of faith. "If we don’t find our own way out, Tynan will come for us."

  Even if he didn’t love her, she knew he’d fight for her and do anything to help her.

  A spark of life interrupted the glassy consistency of Johanna’s stare. "What of my mathair?"

  What could she say? The girl might break down if she told her Elizabet might die. Then again, Johanna had endured a hard life and had survived. Johanna might be tougher than she looked.

  "Ye dinna think she is alive," Johanna said, retaining a tight hold on the bars.

  Alenna gripped Johanna’s shoulder. "Your mother is strong. If anyone can survive, she can. Just as you can."

  Johanna’s gaze drifted to hers. "I did an evil thing." Johanna’s voice reminded Alenna of a small child. As if she’d retreated into a safer past. "An evil thing."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The baron. I … I let him … I let him …" Johanna’s arms began to shake, then it transferred to the rest of her body. "He’s my father."

  "It is no fault of yours," Alenna said.

  "I should not have gone to him."

  "Why did you?"

  Johanna shrugged her thin shoulders and shifted until she no longer gripped the bars. "I was angry at mathair for not lettin’ me go where I pleased. She treats me like a child."

  "She worries about you."

  "She treats me like a child."

  At the girl’s petulant tone, Alenna wondered if all the fight had truly gone out of her. "That doesn’t explain why you went to the baron."

  "I thought he could … I fancied him takin’ me as his mistress. Just as he had Caithleen. I dinna ken he hurt Caithleen until mathair told me. But I dinna believe her. I thought she was just doin’ it to keep me away from him."

  Family dynamics, Alenna thought fleetingly. Even in this day and age, teens and parents clashed. "Your mother was trying to protect you."

  Johanna nodded, and her eyes filled with tears.

  Alenna knew she had to distract Johanna from thoughts of her mother. "We need
to think about getting out of here. What can we do for ourselves? With the three of us working together, we may be able to think of a way."

  The barest of smiles moved Johanna’s lips. "Nay. We are doomed for our evil."

  "We are no evil!" Clandon banged something against the bars. "‘Tis the baron. I spit on him."

  "Clandon, hush," Alenna said. "The guards may hear you."

  "Beggin’ yer pardon, Mistress."

  "It’s all right. I just don’t want to attract their attention. We don’t know what they might do." She turned her concentration to Johanna. "We haven’t done anything evil."

  Johanna’s eyes widened and her tears fell once more. "I have. God is punishin’ me."

  Alenna realized Johanna often did foolish things. But after Alenna’s wild night with Tynan, she felt foolish herself. One part of her regretted their lovemaking, the other part knew she had experienced something rare and soul-shatteringly deep with Tynan. Nothing could erase from her memory those moments of ecstasy.

  "I think God forgives us when we have remorse. I don’t think he expects us to be perfect," Alenna said.

  Johanna’s tears slowed. Alenna thought she could see a new respect in the girl’s expression.

  "I’m sorry for all I said to ye before. For my spiteful ways. I … I have always had a feelin’ for Tynan. Thought mayhap someday he’d care for me. I see that … that he loves you."

  Alenna’s heart swelled as she fought back tears. "Love. I’m not sure it is love."

  Johanna nodded vigorously. "Oh, aye. ‘Tis love if I ever saw it."

  Smiling, Alenna said, "Love or not, it isn’t getting us out of here right now. Let’s think how to escape."

  Alenna knew it was the only way the three of them would remain sane.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 21

  "You are either the most addle-pated sirrah I have had the pleasure of meeting, or you are the bravest of knights," William Sewall, Baron Ruthven said to Tynan quietly.

  Shifting in his throne in the great hall, the tall man looked down on Tynan and Dougald with an imperial glare. Thin, with sharp features and a long face, the baron appeared to be a man from whom time and tragedy had taken its toll. Equal parts cunning, resolve, and sadness lurking under the surface of Ruthven’s lined face.