After birthing her baby in Ireland, Alana continued to play the role of mother to not only her daughter but her siblings as well. Kirstine was married to Diarmad now, and none of them had been able to do anything to stop it. Kirstine birthed him a baby nearly four years ago, but the boy was a stillborn. Since then she’d miscarried twice, but was once again almost ready to birth another baby. Diarmad was insistent on having a son, and would not give up. Alana was thankful he’d never touched her because she was pregnant with Ethan’s child. She breathed a sigh of relief but still felt sorry and sickened because her sister had no choice in marrying the evil man.
While Kirstine adapted to her new life as Diarmad’s wife, Alana could never accept it. But they were all a part of this life of hell, and could do naught to escape it. Diarmad insisted Alana knew where the secret treasure was hidden and, even after all these years, he wouldn’t give up the notion of finding it. Her family would never be truly free of the man until he had it. And even so, Alana wasn’t sure if it would even matter anymore. Her father worked with Diarmad running the smuggling ring, and they were all part of this immoral act whether they liked it or not.
Alana had always been the strength of her family, but after almost dying when she birthed her daughter, Isobel, it had taken her a long time to get her strength back. And even then, she was never the same knowing Ethan had been killed on their wedding day. When that happened, it had taken her will of living from her and she had lost all hope.
But at night when she rocked her daughter to sleep, she somehow felt as if Ethan were still there with her and this was her only comforting thought that got her through each day.
She still had the ring as well as the key her mother had given her the day she’d died. Alana had dismissed any thought of finding the treasure through the years, honestly not knowing where it could be. But lately, she’d been remembering more and more about the bedtime stories her uncle used to tell her when she was a child. They weren’t normal stories to comfort a child. Nay, they had to do with a haunted castle and a crazy man named Mad Murdock instead. He’d been talking about Blackbriar Castle on the Isle of Kerrera off the coast of Scotland. Odd, that he chose that to tell her, out of all the stories he could have told.
So when Diarmad decided to move the smuggling ring back to the Isle of Kerrera since it had a hidden cove, she was almost glad. They were back in Scotland again, and this is where her heart longed to be.
Her uncle’s bedtime stories about Blackbriar Castle made it sound as if he’d been here. That started her thinking that with its reputation, mayhap the treasure was hidden here. It would be a perfect spot and wouldn’t be disturbed. Now, all she had to do was find it and all her prayers would be answered. Perhaps she had a little hope left that someday she and her family could be happy again, and mayhap one day even rejoin their clan.
Their presence here had been kept a secret. They rarely lit torches outside, and the sheep they raised that were stolen and smuggled in were usually kept in a barn that looked abandoned. They were prisoners of Diarmad, even though they were now his family. It was an ill jest of fate that their lives had turned out this way. Her father’s health had been failing lately. Still, Diarmad made him work with him at smuggling goods in and out of England, saying he needed to pay back his debt to him, though she knew it could never be repaid. One bad deed done by her father only led to more, she realized. He no longer questioned Diarmad, but just did as he instructed. When had this gotten so out of hand?
Gossip had it that there was once a laird of Blackbriar Castle who lived here and had gone mad. He murdered his bride on their wedding day and threw her out the tower window. Whether or not this really happened, she couldn’t be sure. The stories were legends now, and never diminished even after all these years.
To protect their secret, Diarmad made sure the legend lived on to keep outsiders far away. He forced Alana to scream and throw a dummy dressed like a ghost out the window to scare away any intruders or people even thinking about visiting the isle.
“Alana, I saw a boy and two big men in a boat,” said her brother. Finn was tall now with blond hair and had a lithe frame. He’d just turned three and ten years of age recently. Her sister, Kirstine, was one and twenty years of age and Alana was three and twenty.
“What boy?” she asked. “Do you mean Oliver, the boy who used to live on the island?” Alana asked anxiously, thinking that the children might have been killed when they disappeared.
“Aye, I’m sure it was him,” said Finn. “And the two men on the boat are wearin’ plaids. I think they’re Highlanders.”
“Really.” This interested Alana. She hadn’t had contact with anyone except for the English smugglers who brought the deliveries to them in secret, docking their ship on the far side of the isle in a hidden cove. She longed to see or perhaps talk to a Highlander again that had naught to do with Diarmad and the others. “What do ye think they want?” she wondered.
“I’m no’ sure. I thought I heard them say they were lookin’ for somethin’ that was left here.”
Alana feared for the men’s lives. She wasn’t sure what Diarmad would do if they wandered closer to the castle. “Mayhap they’ll find what they came for and leave quickly.”
“Mayhap,” said the boy, trying to catch his breath. He sounded as if he had run all the way back from the shore. “But the big, burly Highlander has a hound. I couldna see his face but I’m sure he is mean. The dog followed me up here and is probably right behind me.”
“A hound?” she asked.
“It was huge! I think it was a wolfhound.”
“By the rood, we’ve got to close the gate!” she cried. “Fast, Finn, run up to the battlements and tell the guards to lower the gate and raise the drawbridge anon. If they enter the castle, Diarmad will most likely kill them.” This was her only way of protecting the strangers, whoever they were.
“I will,” he said, taking off at a run.
“Everyone, get inside,” Alana shouted, sending the occupants of the castle scurrying about. There weren’t many people living at Blackbriar. Diarmad had about a dozen men and a handful of servants. Of course, her family and her father’s friends, Albert and Graeme, who had been captured with them now worked for Diarmad as well.
“Alana, what is it?” Her sister, Kirstine, ran up, pulling her cloak tighter around her body. She was carrying her baby low now, and the birth could happen at any time. The wind picked up, making a light flurry of snow swirl around them.
“Strangers are on the isle,” Alana reported. “I’ve instructed Finn to tell the guards to close the gate and raise the drawbridge immediately for their own protection. Where are Diarmad and his men?”
“They’re down at the cove, preparin’ for the next shipment.”
“Guid. Hopefully, the intruders will leave before Diarmad ever sees them.”
“Look!” Kirstine’s eyes opened wide and she pointed to a large wolfhound that ran right under the descending gate and entered the courtyard. In the light of a few dimly burning torches, Alana saw the terrifying, large beast as it headed right for her.
“Nay!” She held out her hands and turned her head as the dog leapt up and knocked her to the ground. She was sure it was going to bite her or perhaps tear her to shreds. But instead, the hound started licking her face.
She pulled back, looking at the huge white dog that seemed to know her. She had a feeling she knew it, too.
“Trapper?” she said, running a hand over the dog’s head, not believing her eyes.
“Whose dog is it?” asked Kirstine curiously.
“It belongs to the Highlanders who docked on the isle,” said Alana, getting to her feet. “Kirstine, I think this is Ethan’s dog.”
“Oh,” she said, perusing it. “It must belong to another of his clan now since his death.”
“Should we kill it?” asked Graeme, calling down from the battlements, always ready to use his sword.
“Nay, it’s just a dog,” she answered. “Tr
y to catch it and put it outside the gate. Everyone get inside the keep. Kirstine, where is Isobel?” Alana looked around for her four-year-old daughter but didn’t see her anywhere.
“I dinna ken,” said Kirstine. “She was here just a moment ago.”
“I want ye to find her quickly.” Alana started away.
“Where are ye goin’?” asked Kirstine.
“I think it’s time I do somethin’ to scare those Highlanders away before Diarmad kills them.”
“I understand,” said her sister with a nod. “I’ll find Isobel and keep her in the great hall until ye are finished.”
* * *
“Open the gate,” shouted Ethan, sure he’d seen Trapper run under the gate and into the castle’s courtyard when he approached. It shocked him that the castle seemed to be occupied when he was sure it was abandoned. But when he saw two guards up on the wallwalk, he realized he’d been mistaken.
“Nay! Go away,” shouted the guard atop the battlements. “No strangers are allowed in Blackbriar Castle.”
“I’m only lookin’ for my hound,” he told them. “I’m sure he went inside. Now, I’ll tell ye again, open the bluidy gate before I have to knock it down.”
The guard chuckled. “Ye just try,” he shouted down to Ethan. “If ye ken what’s guid for ye, ye’ll leave here and never return.”
“God’s eyes,” Ethan mumbled under his breath. All he wanted was to find his dog and leave, but they weren’t making it easy for him. He didn’t fancy being so close to this wretched place. If it weren’t for his hound running inside the courtyard, he’d gladly turn around and leave right now. “Trapper!” he called out, hearing the dog barking from somewhere inside the castle walls.
“Leave now, before we’re forced to make ye go.” Another guard from atop the battlements pulled back a bowstring with an arrow aimed right at Ethan.
“What in the Clootie’s name are ye doin’?” shouted Ethan in surprise. “Put down the bow! I’m leavin’,” he said, lifting his hands in the air. What the hell was the matter with these people? They were the most unfriendly lot of people he’d ever encountered in his life.
Ethan pretended to go but, instead, snuck around the back of the castle where he was sure there must be some sort of hidden postern gate. Now, if only he could find it. The winds picked up, blowing his cloak around him and sending a chill up his spine.
He was getting that bad feeling again. It was like something was about to happen and he shouldn’t be here.
The castle was in disrepair, with the outer curtain wall crumbling. He walked over the dry moat and pushed his way through the small opening that led to the wall of the inner bailey. Stopping directly under the window of a tower, he looked up, surveying the situation. There were thick vines on the walls and he was sure he could climb them if he tried. If he could just peek over the battlements, he might be able to spot his hound.
Holding on tightly to the vines, Ethan shimmied up the wall. It was high, but he was an experienced climber and had no trouble. When he got to the top, he hesitantly poked his head over the wall, surprised by what he saw. A little girl with dark curly hair and big brown eyes stared at him, her face bathed in moonlight.
“Hello,” he said, wondering what a young girl this age was doing unsupervised atop the battlements at night. He swore she had to be no more than about four years of age. She held a doll clutched to her chest that looked to be made of old rags in colors of red and blue. “Have ye seen a big white dog?” he asked, hoisting one leg up to the top of the battlements. “My hound, Trapper, is lost and I’m tryin’ to find him.”
The little girl nodded and pointed down into the courtyard. “The doggy is down there.” When Ethan got one leg over the wall, he heard barking and caught a glimpse of Trapper in the courtyard with several guards chasing him. That was probably why there were no guards on the battlements to stop him.
“Ah, there he is. Now, I’ll just have to find a way to sneak him out. Is there by any chance a hidden postern door nearby?”
The little girl once again nodded and pointed, this time to a wall covered in ivy, right behind the gong pit. “There’s one down there.”
“It figures,” he grumbled, not wanting to have to walk knee-deep through human waste to escape with his dog. “Oh well, if that’s what it takes,” he said, starting to hoist himself over the wall. He stopped abruptly when he heard the bloodcurdling scream of a woman coming from the tower directly above him. His head jerked upward and he saw what looked like the body of a falling woman. A whoosh of air went right past him, as well as a fluttering white gown and long, black hair trailing in the breeze.
“Losh me! What was that?” He was so startled at hearing and seeing the ghost so close up that he lost his grip on the wall. As he fell backward, his eyes fastened to the little girl still watching him curiously. She didn’t even seem shaken by what they’d just witnessed.
“Naaaaaay!” he cried out as he fell, trying to grab at the vines along the way so he wouldn’t break his damned neck when he hit the ground. He landed with a thud on his back, thankfully falling atop something soft. When he smelled the stench, he realized that he’d fallen into a large mound of horse manure that was hidden under dead leaves and a dusting of snow. Then again, mayhap he was closer to the garderobe than he thought. He could only hope it was a mare’s nest that was now smeared over his cloak and plaid and not something else. “God’s teeth, this isna turnin’ out to be a guid night at all.”
From his position on the ground, he could see the tower above him in the moonlight. To his surprise, a very beautiful woman peered out the tower window and glanced down to the ground. Her hair was long and blond and she wore a dark cloak over her plaid. The wind blew her hood from her head. Her eyes met his, and when they did, his mouth fell open. He couldn’t move nor could he believe what he saw.
Flat on his back and looking up at the sky, the woman looked very familiar to Ethan. Mayhap he’d died and gone to heaven or perhaps he was transported into the past somehow because he knew that girl! Aye, he recognized her face and it was one he despised as well as never wanted to forget for as long as he lived.
“Alana?” he said in confusion, blinking a few more times, not sure if he was only hallucinating because of the fall he’d just taken. Perhaps he’d hit his head.
The woman raised her hood, covering her head and hiding her face. Then she slowly stepped back into the shadows of the tower.
“Alana!” he called out again. Then he was distracted by an animal licking his face. “There ye are, Trapper.” He sat up and checked himself for broken bones. Thankfully, he didn’t find any. “Trapper, ye are in big trouble, boy,” he scolded the dog, standing up and brushing off his hands and plaid as best as possible. He could have stayed to investigate the ghost, but he didn’t want to. He was so shaken right now that all he wanted to do was leave. “Come on, boy. Let’s get the hell out of here before we’re hit with another ghost.”
He made his way down to the water, just as Hawke and Oliver were starting to sail away without him. “Hold up,” he called out, running for the boat with Trapper leading the way.
“It’s about time ye got here. I wasna goin’ to wait,” snorted Hawke.
“I can see that,” remarked Ethan, getting into the boat. His dog followed.
“Where the hell were ye and what is that wretched smell?”
“Ye wouldna believe me if I told ye,” said Ethan, settling himself on the seat. He looked over at Oliver who was sitting there with a frown on his face, sulking. “Did ye find yer sister’s doll, lad?”
“Nay,” snapped Oliver. “It’s gone forever and now Sophie will never stop cryin’.”
“Well, then there’s no need to ever come back here.” Ethan looked back toward the castle high on the cliff. He was still shaken from hearing the scream of the dead woman and seeing her body fall right past him. But what haunted him even more than that was the fact he saw Alana in the tower window, because he never thought he’d ever
see his past betrothed again.
Chapter 2
“What did ye say?” asked Kirstine, brushing little Isobel’s hair as she and Alana got ready for bed in the main solar.
“I said I looked out the tower window after I played the ghost, and I saw Ethan MacKeefe. I’m sure it was him although Diarmad said he was dead.” Alana wrung her hands and paced the solar floor. She was overwhelmed with emotions. She had thought her lover was dead but now she wasn’t so sure. Hope filled her that it really was Ethan she saw.
“Ye saw Ethan?” gasped Kirstine. “Alana, perhaps it was his ghost.”
“Nay, he was just as real as ye and me. Or, at least I think he was.”
“Well, if so, what would he be doin’ here? No one comes to this isle.”
“I’m no’ sure. But I’m guessin’ that hound that wandered into the courtyard was really his after all. It all makes sense now. He was here lookin’ for his dog.”
“Did he see ye?” asked her sister anxiously.
Alana bit her lip and shrugged. “I dinna ken for sure. Even if he did, I canna be certain he kent it was me. At least he left before Diarmad saw him.”
“Sister, ye have had a hard night and should get some rest. Then mayhap ye’ll stop seein’ hauntin’ visions of the man ye were supposed to marry.”
“Haud yer wheesht!” Alana warned her, throwing her a nasty glare. Alana didn’t want her daughter hearing too much about Ethan. “Time for bed, sweetie,” she said, guiding the little girl to the bed they shared. That is when she noticed her daughter holding a doll she’d never seen before. “Did ye give her that doll?” Alana asked her sister.
“Nay, I thought ye did,” replied Kirstine.
“Who’s Ethan?” asked Isobel. “Is he that nice man I saw up on the battlements?”
“Isobel, quiet,” said Alana, trying to think. “And that reminds me. What were ye doin’ up on the battlements? Ye are no’ supposed to go up there alone.”
Highland Spirit: Highland Chronicles Series - Book 2 Page 3
