by Jennae Vale
Lena smiled at her and seemed to be able to read Jenna’s expression. “I’m Lady Lena and you must be Lady Jenna,” Lena said. “Robert, if you and Ewan would excuse us, I’d like to have a chance to get to know Jenna.”
“Of course, my love,” Ewan responded and he and Robert disappeared into the crowd.
“I just discovered that you’re Edna’s daughter,” Jenna said.
“Please don’t be angry with me,” Lena teased. “I had nothing to do with your being here. My mother fancies herself to be a bit of a matchmaker.”
“No worries. I’m not angry with you. I just wondered how you got here. Did your mother send you to meet Ewan?”
“No. I found my way here all on my own. It was a case of a willful teenager ignoring her mother’s warnings to stay away from the bridge. Obviously, I didn’t, but I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could. I’ve been verra happy here.”
Jenna sighed heavily. “I guess I’m the only time traveler who hasn’t wanted to stay.”
Lena arched an eyebrow. “No?”
“No. I plan on leaving when my time here is up.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Cormac obviously hasn’t been able to convince you to hang up your time-travelling boots,” Lena asked.
“He hasn’t. Not for lack of trying though.”
“Well, you know what’s best for yourself and there’s no point in staying, if you’d rather be elsewhere.”
Lena was the first person who hadn’t tried to convince her she belonged at Breaghacraig. Jenna was surprised by that, but was happy to have someone finally in her corner.
“How much time do you have left, Jenna?” Lena asked.
“Today’s my fifth day, so I guess I’ll have to leave tomorrow in order to get back to the bridge in time to go home. Your mother is pretty accurate with her timing, isn’t she?” Jenna suffered a moment of worry.
“Some of this time travelling stuff is new to her. Cormac is the first person she’s sent from here to another time and place, but I’m sure if she did it once, she can do it again. I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Besides what’s the worst that could happen?”
Jenna didn’t want to think about that idea. She could end up in the wrong place and the wrong time, completely alone - no Cormac, no Ashley and no Dylan. The thought of it had her feeling a bit woozy.
“I’m going to go find Irene and see about getting something to drink. Would you care to join me?” Lena asked.
“No. I’ll stay here. Thanks though.” She watched as Lena went off in search of Irene. Jenna scanned the room and couldn’t see Cormac anywhere. Cailin was missing as well. Where could they be, she wondered? She was headed for the doors, thinking to look outside for them, when a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into an outer passageway. Jenna almost screamed, but stopped when she realized who it was.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, Jenna,” Sophia said. Jenna searched for Latharn, but he was nowhere in sight.
“What do you want?” Jenna snapped.
“Don’t be mad at me, Jenna. I need your help,” Sophia explained.
“Help? With what?”
“It’s Latharn. There’s something wrong with him. I think he’s sick. I looked around for Cormac, but I couldn’t find him. Please, I’m really worried about him.”
Jenna searched the great hall once again for Cormac or Cailin, but they weren’t there. “Okay. Lead the way.” She reluctantly followed Sophia, all the while on the lookout for someone else from the castle that could help. She hesitated when she noticed that surprisingly, none of the men she’d seen earlier were at their posts.
“Hurry, please,” Sophia pleaded, grabbing her arm and dragging her outside to the courtyard.
At first, Jenna couldn’t see. It was so dark outside and the few torches placed here and there around the courtyard gave off very little light. “Where is he?” she asked as her eyes slowly adjusted.
“This way. In the stables,” Sophia said, sounding frantic.
“Are you sure?” Jenna asked. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones, but Sophia seemed so distraught. Jenna had to help her.
“Yes, please hurry, there’s not much time.”
“I don’t understand. What happened to him that has you so worried? Did he injure himself?” Jenna was trying to make sense of this situation, but Sophia wasn’t listening to her. Instead, she was practically dragging Jenna in through the stable doors.
The sight that met Jenna’s eyes immediately filled her with terror. Standing over the very still body of Latharn was Jonathan, a gun in his hand.
“Nice of you to join me, Jenna,” he said.
“What are you doing, Jonathan?” Jenna gasped.
“I’m waiting for you. We’re going to steal a few horses and we’re going to ride back to that bridge so we can go home to San Francisco.”
“You’re crazy, if you think I’m going anywhere with you,” Jenna yelled.
“You’re the crazy one, Jenna. We’re leaving and you’re coming with us.” Jonathan stated.
Jenna looked at Sophia who was now sobbing uncontrollably. Obviously, this was not her doing. “No. I’m not leaving.”
“Okay, but poor Latharn here is going to have to die, if you don’t. Next on the list after him will be your man, Cormac.”
“Cormac isn’t going to let you leave here with me. He’ll stop you and you know it,” Jenna stated.
“He might have stopped me, but Cormac, Cailin, every guard, and anyone else I thought might be a threat got a little surprise in their ale tonight.”
“What did you do to them?” Jenna was beginning to panic.
“I drugged them. They’ll all get a good night’s sleep and won’t know anything’s amiss until tomorrow morning when they wake up.”
“Sir Richard gave Jonathan a vial of some potion he said would make everyone sleep.” Sophia cried. “Jonathan made me put it in the ale. He said he’d kill Latharn if I didn’t.”
“Jonathan, you’re even more devious than I gave you credit for.” Jenna looked down at Latharn who was completely knocked out. He obviously wasn’t going to be any help and from the sounds of it, no one else would either.
“Devious. Yeah, that’s me. You’re a smart woman, Jenna. Get your horse and let’s get out of here. You too, Sophia.” Jonathan ordered.
Jenna knew she didn’t stand a chance of escaping. If she tried, he’d surely kill Latharn and then, as he said, Cormac would be next. She’d do as she was told and hope there was a chance to escape sometime during the night.
Jonathan, Sophia and Jenna mounted their horses and headed off through the gates. “We’ll have to hurry,” Jonathan said, as he urged his horse into a gallop, whacking Rose on the rump as he went by. Rose jumped forward into a dead run and Jenna almost lost her seat, but Rose, true to form, slowed just a bit until Jenna was solidly seated in a balanced position. From that point on, they were off down the path and into the woods, riding for all they were worth and as if the hounds of hell were on their tails. Jenna kept alert, waiting for an opportunity to escape, but Jonathan made sure he stayed right with her at all times. Sophia hadn’t stopped crying once and Jonathan was getting quite irritated with her.
“Shut up, Sophia. I’m getting tired of your wailing.”
“Leave her alone, Jonathan,” Jenna shouted. “She’s worried about Latharn!”
“He’ll be fine when he wakes up, but he’ll probably never forgive Sophia for drugging him,” Jonathan laughed cruelly.
Jenna lapsed into silence at that. She really wasn’t interested in engaging Jonathan in conversation anyway. She prayed that Cormac would find her before Jonathan got them to the bridge, but deep down, she didn’t believe it would happen. Especially if, as Jonathan said, they wouldn’t wake up until the morning.
After hours of riding, Jonathan slowed and came to a stop. “I think we’re safe to rest here for a while,” he said. He dismounted and waited for Sophia and Jenna to do the sam
e. “No fire. We don’t want anyone to see us,” he commanded.
“We’ll freeze,” Jenna complained furiously.
“Too bad,” Jonathan barked.
Jenna wasn’t the least bit surprised by the Jonathan she was seeing. Sophia wouldn’t meet Jenna’s eyes, instead keeping her eyes focused anywhere but in her direction. Rose was covered in sweat and Jenna did her best to wipe her down with a plaid she found in her saddlebag. “Rosie, I hope you’re going to be warm enough,” she whispered to the horse. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
“Who are you talking to, Jenna?” Jonathan demanded.
“No one. I’m just making sure Rose is okay.”
“What do you care? You can’t take her with you. Besides, she’s just a dumb animal.” Jonathan kicked some pine needles into a flat spot at the base of a nearby tree, making a bed for himself. “I never understood your thing with animals. Take Chester for instance. That dog should be locked away in the pound. He’s the meanest pooch I’ve ever seen. Yet you and your dumbass cousin love him.”
“Chester is a very good judge of character. He didn’t like you. It’s as simple as that,” Jenna snapped.
“Yeah, well, if it were up to me. He’d be long gone.”
Sophia sat quietly, her back resting against a huge tree trunk. The expression on her face was a troubled one. She met Jenna’s eyes in a silent show of support. Jenna joined her and they sat as close together as possible, to ward off the chill of the night. Jonathan had wrapped himself in the plaid Jenna had used to wipe down Rose, leaving Sophia and Jenna to freeze. It wasn’t long before he dozed off and they could hear soft snores emitting from him, as he lay on his bed of pine needles.
“Sophia,” Jenna whispered. “We’ve got to get out of here. Now’s our chance while he’s sleeping.” Sophia appeared too frightened to move and Jenna felt bad for her. “Come on Sophia let’s go - unless you’d rather stay here.”
“I’m coming,” Sophia said softly.
There were good reasons for them to be afraid of Jonathan, and this could be their only opportunity to escape. Jenna decided they should head back to Breaghacraig, and hope Jonathan would sleep through their departure and long into the night. That would give them the time they needed to get safely away from him. Sophia put her finger to her lips and the two women got up and moved towards the horses, as quietly as possible. They continued to check on Jonathan every few feet, to make sure he was asleep. Once they reached the horses, Jenna motioned to Sophia that they should take Jonathan’s horse along with them. Sophia nodded her understanding and reached for one of the leads. They had all three of the horses and were beginning to creep away when Jenna heard the unmistakeable sound of a pistol being cocked.
“Where do you ladies think you’re going?” Jonathan was standing up and had the gun pointed in their direction. “You really didn’t think I’d be fool enough to fall asleep around you two, did you?”
Jenna and Sophia huddled together miserably. “Jonathan, put that gun away. You aren’t going to use it.” Jenna tried to sound strong and determined, despite the fact that she wasn’t.
“I guess you don’t know me very well then. I’ll do whatever I have to do, to get you back to San Francisco. Once we’re back, you’re going to be so distraught over our breakup, you’re going to decide to kill yourself.”
Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about? I’d never kill myself.”
“No. You probably wouldn’t, but I certainly would. You see, I took out a life insurance policy on you, while we were still married. The only way I can collect on it, is if you’re dead. I thought about killing you here in this medieval hellhole, but that wouldn’t work. You’d just be missing back in our time and then I’d need to wait seven years to collect. I can’t wait that long, I’m afraid. I need the money now.”
“Jonathan, think about what you’re saying! I can give you money! You don’t have to kill me. I’ll give you as much money as you want, I promise,” Jenna pleaded desperately.
“Sorry, babe. You had the chance to do that already, but you blew it. Now, get back over here. Leave the horses,” Jonathan ordered.
Jenna exchanged a ‘better-do-what-he-says’ look with Sophia. They dropped the reins and went back to sitting beneath the shelter of the tree. This time, when Jonathan lay back down, he faced them and kept the gun in his hand. “I’m a light sleeper. Don’t try anything,” he threatened.
THIRTY
Head throbbing, Cormac tried to stand up, but his legs had a mind of their own and insisted that he stay seated. “What happened,” he groaned. Off to his left, he heard the sound of another groan.
“Cormac,” Cailin rasped.
“Aye, brother, I am here. What goes on here? I’m having difficulty remembering.”
Cailin sat up, just as a frantic Ashley made her way to his side. “Cailin, are you alright?”
“Nay,” Cailin responded.
“What happened? I was so tired that I decided to retire for the evening. I just woke and realized you hadn’t come to bed.”
“Ashley, where’s Jenna?” Cormac said, his head pounding with the force of a thousand drummers drumming against his skull.
“I haven’t seen her. I lost track of her during the evening and I thought she was with you.”
“Something’s not right here,” Cailin stated the obvious.
“I’m going to search for Jenna. You two should try to get up. Did you drink too much last night?” Ashley asked.
“Nay. Not enough to have this effect,” Cailin answered.
“The last thing I remember is Sophia refilling my cup with ale,” Cormac rubbed his head and squinted. “Cailin do ye think she gave us a sleeping draught?”
“Aye. Mayhap she did, but why?”
“We’d best see if we can find Jenna.” Cormac had a bad feeling about this. Panic seized him as he forced his way up from the ground. His legs swayed beneath him, but he fought to maintain his balance and won.
Ashley reached down to help Cailin up. “Cailin, we have to find her. Let’s check the guards and see if they’ve seen anything. Where are Latharn, Donal and Fergus? They were supposed to be keeping an eye on Sophia and Jonathan.”
The three began their search and were not surprised to find that Latharn, Donal and Fergus, along with all the guards, were in the same state. Worse, nobody had seen Jenna, Jonathan or Sophia in hours.
“I’m sorry, Cailin. I’ve let ye down. Sophia filled me cup with ale and I stupidly drank it,” Latharn apologized.
“As did Fergus and I,” Donal added.
It seemed that all the guards were telling the same story.
“Where would she get a sleeping draught from?” Cormac wondered aloud. He felt a bit nauseous from the aftereffects of the drink and abject fear for Jenna’s safety. The other men all seemed to be experiencing similar symptoms and swayed precariously on their feet.
“Sir, Sir!” one of the stable boys came running over to them, breathing heavily. “Sir, someone has stolen three of the horses!”
“Are ye sure?” Cailin asked.
“Aye. I went in to feed them this morning, and they were gone.”
“Which horses are missing?” Cormac demanded.
“Rose, Sir, and Donal and Fergus’ horses are both gone, too.”
Donal and Fergus both let loose with a guttural curse.
“Saddle up my horse, lad. I must go after them,” Cormac announced.
“Cormac, you don’t look very good,” Ashley said doubtfully. “Maybe you should take a few minutes to rest. Get some food in your stomach. You all should,” she insisted.
Cormac shook his head impatiently. “We dinnae have time for that. They must be headed for the bridge. We have to stop them. We cannae allow Jonathan to take Jenna back to San Francisco.” Cormac was almost overwhelmed with worry and unanswered questions. Did Jenna go with them willingly? Surely not? Or had Jonathan kidnapped her? How much of a head start did they have? Standing ar
ound was not going to locate her. He needed to act now.
“I’ll come with ye,” Cailin stated.
“We will all go,” Latharn volunteered and Donal and Fergus nodded in agreement, although it was obvious that it made their heads ache to do so.
“Let’s be off then. Ashley, go back inside and tell Robert what has happened. Make sure the other guards are looked after.”
“Okay, but you all be careful. Jonathan is a sleaze bag,” Ashley said.
“A what?” Cailin asked, his eyebrows rising almost to his hairline. Cormac exchanged a long look with his brother that confirmed they both chalked it up to twenty first century slang.
The horses were brought out, everyone mounted swiftly, and they galloped out through the gates in search of Jonathan, Sophia, and Jenna.
Jonathan stretched and yawned. “Happy you two didn’t decide to make a run for it again. Smart. Let’s get on those horses and head for the bridge.”
“Do you even know where it is?” Jenna questioned curtly.
“I do. I happen to have a perfect sense of direction. It’s not too much further.” He mounted his horse and ordered Sophia and Jenna to do the same with a wave of the gun.
“I’m so sorry, Jenna,” Sophia said unhappily.
“I know. I believe you wouldn’t have been involved, unless Jonathan threatened you.” Jenna wasn’t interested in blaming Sophia for her predicament. She blamed herself - for being stupid enough to become involved with Jonathan in the first place. Jenna mentally shook her head, warning herself that laying blame would do little good at this point. She could remind herself of all the warning signs that were blatantly obvious to her now, but what good would that do? She was in trouble right now. She had to believe that Cormac would come searching for her. But what if he didn’t. Then what? The thought terrified her. She might have to plot her own escape. And where was Edna? She’d been all about getting Jenna to Breaghacraig. Why wasn’t she helping out? Grrr…
“Jenna, are you okay?” Sophia asked quietly.
