Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes

by Ceci Giltenan

  That evening when they made camp, she overheard Roddy say he expected to reach Durness sometime after midday tomorrow. “The captain should be waiting for us. He was to be ready to sail yesterday. With a bit of luck we could reach Lewis late tomorrow night. Just think, Gordon, ye might be swiving yer wife by the wee hours.”

  “And Fearchar will be teaching Grace what happens to wenches who defy him,” said Kenneth.

  “For the love of the saints, Kenneth, find yerself a woman to spill yer seed in and stop imagining what Fearchar is doing while ye yank yer knob yerself,” said Derek. The argument only escalated from there.

  She stopped paying attention. With a bit of luck we could reach Lewis late tomorrow night. Although she had clung steadfastly to the hope that she could get away from them before they boarded a boat to Lewis, her hope was swiftly being supplanted by doubt. Her feet were swollen and had barely begun to heal. While Roddy had given her back her boots, she couldn’t get them on, so she still hobbled barefooted. Now they were less than a day’s ride away, and she still hadn’t thought of a viable escape plan.

  Just when she felt ready to curl up and give into tears, her sweet Kristen filled her thoughts. Nay, she wouldn’t give up. She would figure out a way to escape them in Durness. She prayed fervently to the Blessed Mother to guide her. Surely one mother would understand the heart of another and maybe she would listen and bend God’s ear, as Grace believed He had stopped listening to her pleas months ago.

  *

  When she woke the next day it was with new resolve. In the absence of a better plan, she would do her best to befriend Augie in the little time she had left. Perhaps the Blessed Mother had intervened because Roddy declared that she would ride with Augie that day. After they had been on the road a while she began asking him questions and unlike the other men, he responded. He told her about his family. She told him about hers, particularly about Kristen. However, before long Conan growled, rode up beside them, and shut Augie up in the same way he had Kenneth, by dragging Grace onto his own horse.

  Grace was angry and frustrated. She could only hope that the brief conversation they had was enough to make Augie more kindly disposed to help her when the time came.

  As they drew nearer to the village of Durness, Grace paid close attention to everything around her. She hoped to see something or someone that would help her.

  Focused as she was, she failed to notice that Roddy had spoken to her. She only realized it when Conan nudged her and Roddy vented his anger on her. “Ye are a widowed, penniless, peasant, Grace, and are in no position to snub anyone. What will ye do when Fearchar is done with ye? Having a friend who doesn’t mind his leavings could serve ye well.”

  She could barely believe her ears and she couldn’t hold her tongue. “Having a friend who wouldn’t hand me over to him in the first place would serve me a good deal better.”

  Roddy laughed. “Ye’ll not find that among the likes of us. Fearchar will be laird soon enough and it’s the men who serve him well now that will benefit the most then.”

  Grace looked over her shoulder at him. “Ye are quite certain of that?”

  “Aye, I am,” he said confidently.

  Grace suspected Fearchar’s loyalty would only stretch as far as what served him at the moment and for some reason she felt compelled to point that out. “I’ve always heard that Fearchar is relentless in gaining what he wants.”

  Roddy rode up beside her. “Aye, he is. He wanted ye, didn’t he?”

  “Aye he did.” She remained quiet for a few moments before asking, “so what if he wants something precious to ye someday? Do any of ye have women that ye care about? What if he turns his eye to yer sister or mayhap yer wife…or even yer daughter? Won’t he be equally as relentless then?”

  “Ye’re daft, Grace. He won’t reward those who serve him well that way.”

  There was a nervous edge to Roddy’s voice, so she pushed. “Ye said he stops at nothing to get what he wants. So what’s to stop him?”

  “Common sense.”

  “Ah,” said Grace. “So ye think Fearchar is sensible?”

  Conan snorted.

  “Aye, I think he is,” Roddy answered.

  “I see. Sending six men across the Highlands, for the sole purpose of bringing him a woman he fancies, is sensible.”

  Now Roddy was visibly agitated. “Shut up, Grace.”

  “If ye ask me, he is more guided by his urges than any bit of sense. So I don’t think knocking one of ye senseless to have his way with another woman he desires seems that farfetched.”

  “I said shut up, Grace. If ye say another word, I will bind and gag ye until I hand ye over to Fearchar.”

  She said no more. She had made her point.

  Chapter 29

  They rode through the village to the docks. Roddy had a dark scowl on his face. Grace knew she probably shouldn’t have goaded him—after all, making him angry wouldn’t help her escape—but it had certainly felt good.

  She returned her focus to her surroundings, searching for anyone she knew. She had met a few people in the month she stayed with Dugald and Mary who might get a message to them. Now, she didn’t see a single familiar face.

  As they reached the docks, her hopes rose again. If Lachie or one of the other men she knew who owned larger vessels waited for them, maybe they could help her. But as they drew closer to the ship, she didn’t recognize it…still, perhaps. Roddy dismounted and called a greeting to the captain. The man who disembarked to speak with Roddy was a stranger to her. Her shoulders slumped, and she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

  As if reading her thoughts, Conan growled in her ear, “Roddy’s an eejit but even he isn’t stupid enough to hire a friend of yer da’s.”

  Grace swallowed hard but said nothing. It was better to pretend she hadn’t heard him.

  “Oh, and if ye were thinkin’ of talkin’ young Augie into helping ye, think again. It won’t work, ye’ll be recaptured and Fearchar would horsewhip the lad to within a hair’s breadth of his life. Do ye want that?”

  Dear God, was Conan right? If she could convince Augie to help her, would that be the price he’d pay? “Nay,” she whispered. But without help she had no hope of escaping. An errant tear slipped down her cheek before she was able to blink it back. It landed on the back of Conan’s hand. He lifted his hand and wiped it on his knee. “Ye’re going to break now? I thought ye were made of sterner stuff. When the devil’s on yer heels, lass, ye can’t stop and cry.”

  Somehow, instead of bringing on more tears, his callous action hardened her. She wouldn’t ask Augie for help, but she would keep watching for an opportunity. She had Kristen to think of. She couldn’t give up. Not ever.

  She might still have a chance today. One look at the harbor told her the tide was going out and it was unlikely they would set sail for hours. What’s more, clouds were thickening on the horizon. A summer storm was brewing. The captain might not wish to sail into it.

  Even if she didn’t escape them before they sailed for Lewis, she would try to escape before they reached the castle. And if not then, she would endure what lay in store for her and find a way to escape Fearchar someday. She had done it once and she could do it again. She would get her daughter back.

  When Roddy had finished talking to the captain, he returned looking irritated. “We can’t sail yet. He said we are an hour or so from low tide.”

  “When can we sail?” Kenneth asked, sounding more like a whiny child than a warrior.

  “The next high tide isn’t until after sunset.”

  “He can’t sail then,” Gordon said.

  “He can if ye order him to, Roddy,” Kenneth said.

  Derek rolled his eyes, and Gordon shook his head in frustration. “Would ye look at the western sky, Kenneth? There’s a storm brewing. It would be reckless and foolhardy to sail into it.”

  Roddy scowled. “The captain said the same thing.”

  “So when do we sail?” Kenneth asked.
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br />   “The captain said if the storm blows itself out in the night, we can sail on the next high tide, sometime after terce tomorrow morning.”

  Kenneth frowned. “What do we do with her until then?”

  “Just what we’ve done with her for the past three days. Guard her.” Roddy was clearly losing his temper with Kenneth. “I wanted to lock her in the ship’s hold for the night, but the captain wouldn’t hear to it.”

  Conan barked a laugh. “No surprise there. I’m surprised ye had the stones to ask in the first place.”

  “Why?” Roddy demanded. “It seemed reasonable. It would have been secure. She certainly couldn’t have gotten out.”

  It was all Grace could do to suppress a grin. She knew exactly why the captain refused.

  Gordon explained, “Having a women aboard ship is bad luck. If one must be aboard, most captains prefer it to be for as short a time as possible.”

  “How was I supposed to know that?” snapped Roddy.

  “Roddy, ye grew up on an island, don’t ye know any captains or fishermen?” Derek asked.

  “Of course I do, but the subject of women on their ships never came up.”

  “Well, now that ye know, it is best if we secure her elsewhere,” Gordon said. He was clearly more used to being a leader than a follower. “The inn where we hired the horses is not far from here. Ye can secure a room for her and a couple more for us. We’ll guard her in shifts.

  “I’ll take the first shift,” volunteered Kenneth.

  “Of course ye will, ye little shite,” muttered Conan under his breath. In a louder voice he said, “Augie should take the second one. He’s green enough, he might fall asleep.”

  Augie looked affronted. “I have served the late watch many times.”

  “Nevertheless, ye’ll take the second watch and Derek, ye take the third,” said Roddy. “Then Gordon, Conan, and me. Kenneth, ye can stand guard again in the morning until we leave for the ship.”

  When they arrived at the inn Roddy paid for three rooms, two on the third floor and one on the second. The innkeeper’s wife cast one look in Grace’s direction and said, “I’ll send some water up so ye can have a bit of a wash, dear.”

  “Thank ye, mistress.” Grace took no offense. She hadn’t had a proper wash or changed clothes in three days.

  Roddy showed her to the last room at the end of the hall on the second floor. “It’s the only room they have with a door which locks from either side.”

  It didn’t matter to Grace. She could only have gotten past a guard if he fell asleep and the three men least likely to do that would have the watches in the wee hours.

  Grace had hoped to have a moment alone with the innkeeper’s wife. The woman surely knew Dugald and maybe could get a message to him. However, Roddy didn’t allow anyone in the room alone with her. He guarded her himself until the wash water had been taken away and Grace had finished her dinner. Then he locked her in and set Kenneth to guard.

  At least she was clean and had eaten a decent meal. The innkeeper’s wife had also brought her a small crock of salve and clean linen strips. “Put that salve on nice and thick, then wrap yer feet with the linen. It will help those cuts heal.”

  There was a window in the little room that looked out onto the stable yard. Sadly, there was nothing she could use to climb down on. She’d break her legs…or her neck if she tried to jump. She refused to let despair take hold again. There was still tomorrow.

  She should sleep. If the chance did present itself tomorrow, she would need to be rested. Laying on the bed, she stared at the ceiling. She was still awake but the day’s light was fading when the lock rattled and the door opened several hours later.

  Kenneth said, “I don’t know why Roddy insisted on ye seeing her before ye start yer shift. She can’t have gone anywhere, the door’s been locked.”

  “If she goes missing on anyone’s watch, he says they’ll have to answer to Fearchar,” answered Augie.

  “Well, as ye can see, she’s there. I’m going down and having a few tankards of ale. And then a good sleep in a proper bed.”

  Grace glanced up to see Augie looking at her, his gaze filled with pity. Conan had been right. She might have been able to talk Augie into helping her but he would pay dearly for it if she did. He closed the door and locked it.

  Before long, the wind whipped up and the rain that had threatened all evening started. She sighed, rising from the bed to close the shutters against the deluge. Oddly, even as the storm raged outside a peace came over her. She loved the sound of rain when she was safe and warm inside. Safe? Well, at least safe for now. Eventually, listening to the rain, she gave into her exhaustion and fell asleep.

  It seemed as if only minutes had passed before the door opened again. She woke instantly. This time Derek held a candle in the room to check on her.

  “I haven’t learned to fly yet,” she assured them.

  “I’ve warned ye about that sharp tongue,” Derek said before locking the door again.

  She would worry about her sharp tongue later. The rain still hammered the little inn, quickly lulling her to sleep again.

  When next she woke, Derek was handing over the watch to Gordon. This time, she ignored them hoping to drift back to sleep as easily as she had several hours ago, but she didn’t. She lay listening to the sounds of the night. The rain, which had drowned out all other noise, had tapered off to a gentle patter. The clatter of hooves on cobbles drifted up from the stable yard. More lodgers at the inn, she supposed. Again she let the steady patter of the rain soothe her but this time she fell into a restless sleep, plagued by dreams of a monstrous Fearchar.

  Grace jerked awake suddenly, shaken from her fitful sleep, when Conan opened her door at the start of his watch. Of all of the men with Roddy, Conan scared her the most. Kenneth was a disgusting, spineless bully who enjoyed exerting power over people he believed were weaker. However, these were the hallmarks of a coward who would turn tail and run from a fight with a real opponent. Conan, on the other hand, appeared to be a hardened, emotionless warrior. He was not the first person she would pick to see upon waking from a nightmare. The sooner he locked her in again, the better.

  But unlike the others, he didn’t shut the door and lock it immediately. He looked over his shoulder and said to Gordon, “Keep an eye out until I’m done.”

  Shutting her eyes she held very still. Maybe he would leave if he thought she was asleep.

  “Grace, I know ye are awake. Sit up, lass. I need to talk with ye.”

  Of course he knew she was awake. How did he do that? And what could he possibly need to talk with her about? She sat up, pulling the blanket with her. She wasn’t sure she had ever been more frightened.

  “Calm yerself, I won’t hurt ye, lass.”

  “Ye haven’t seemed terribly concerned about that before now.” By all the saint’s, Grace, why would ye goad the man who scares ye witless?

  “I know the last few days have been hard, and I didn’t make them any easier, but truly I’m here to help ye, lass. Do ye know anyone in Durness who would be willing to hide ye?”

  Help her? That didn’t seem likely. Was he trying to find out so he could make sure she didn’t get help in the morning? “Why would ye want to help me? Ye said ye didn’t care what Fearchar does with his whores.”

  “And I don’t. But ye aren’t one of them. Ye are the daughter of the man who saved my family.”

  Grace blinked. “What? I don’t understand. How did my father save yer family?”

  “It was years ago, ye were just a bairn. God made certain he was in the right place at the right time. Yer da had helped Lachie deliver some goods, which Lady Morrison had sent for from the mainland. It was a bitter, cold evening and they stopped at the village tavern for a hot meal and a tankard of ale before heading home. Apparently they hadn’t intended to stay long, but there was a merry crowd in the tavern that night. I’ll always be thankful they didn’t rush because when they were finally on their way, they saw smoke ri
sing and raced towards it. The thatch on the roof of my cottage was on fire. I woke to the house filling with smoke. I couldn’t wake my wife, so I dragged her out and went back for our children. Just as I stepped back in the house, a beam fell, hitting me in the head and knocking me out.” He pointed to the burn scars on his face. “Apparently, that’s when yer da and Lachie arrived. Lachie said yer da ran straight into the burning cottage without a moment of hesitation. He carried my two children out, one under each arm, while Lachie dragged me to safety.”

  Grace was speechless.

  “I owe yer da everything. When I overheard Fearchar boasting that he meant to have ye, it sickened me. I went to the village the next day to warn ye, hoping to find a way to hide ye, but thankfully ye were already gone. I figured Lachie brought ye here but the less anyone knew the better so I didn’t ask. Then Sutherland’s damn messenger showed up a little over a week ago. The laird was away and not expected back for several days. Fearchar met with the man, then sent him back to Sutherland with the message that ye had lied. In no time he had concocted the story about ye being married to Roddy, forged a letter from his da, and was choosing men to go fetch ye. He wanted them gone before Laird Morrison returned. When I caught wind of what Fearchar was doing, I made sure Gordon and I were assigned to the task.”

  “Why didn’t ye just tell Laird Sutherland the truth?”

  “Because the bastard was too willing to believe the lie. If he had shown the slightest doubt, Gordon or I would have found a way to tell him the truth privately. As it was, he might have called us out in front of the others. We couldn’t risk Fearchar taking revenge on our families. We thought it better to get ye away and sort out what to do with ye later. We never would have let Fearchar get his hands on ye. Which brings me back to my first question, do ye have friends here?”