“Och!” Caelen whispered to Lily. “We’ll have ye warm soon enough, lassie.”
“Caelen,” Rowan began. “I leave me daughter in yer care. We’ll no’ be far behind. Our men are expecting us on the other side of the keep. We shall retrieve our horses and meet you at dawn, at the forests west of Tulach Cultraidh.
Lily chose that moment to find her voice. “Nay, da! I want ye!” she exclaimed, trying to free herself from Caelen’s grip.
Rowan shushed her with a caress on her cheek. “Lily, this be me verra good friend, Caelen. He’ll no’ let anythin’ happen to ye, I promise.”
While he could not see his daughter’s face clearly, he could hear the tears in her voice. “Are ye goin’ to get Lady Arline?”
Rowan swallowed down the guilt he felt over leaving Arline behind. At the time, he felt he had no choice in the matter. If they had come for her and discovered both she and Lily missing then all hell would have broken loose. Chances were good that he would either be heading to Blackthorn’s dungeons or dead.
“Nay, lass,” he told her. “Lady Arline will be fine though.”
“But da, she’s me angel! Just like I’m yer angel.”
Rowan knew exactly what his daughter meant. He had told her time and time again that God had given her to him to watch over him after Kate’s death. Lily apparently thought the same of Lady Arline.
“Da, ye must help her! If the mean man finds her, he’ll hurt her again. He doesna like her, but I do. She would no’ let them hit me again, da. Ye must get her!” Her words tumbled out, making it even more difficult for Rowan to understand her. She was upset, crying, and begging for him to help her angel, Lady Arline.
His guilt blended with his anger over the harsh treatment of both the lady and his daughter. There was no time now to question her. The hour was growing late and every moment they stayed here arguing, the greater their risk of being caught.
Caelen thankfully interjected. “Little one, if ye are quiet and good, I will come back fer yer lady meself.”
Rowan could have hugged him.
“Ye promise?” Lily asked.
“I do so promise,” Caelen said. He gave her no time to question him further. He pulled rein and tapped the flanks of his horse, quietly leading his men away from Rowan.
Before Garrick entered the chapel to exchange vows with the woman he loved, his beautiful Ona, he pulled Gunther aside. They spoke in hushed tones. To the untrained eye it would have appeared nothing more than a harmless conversation between a laird and one of his men. The unsuspecting observer might believe the laird was speaking about his soon-to-be bride, or the upcoming winter.
But the shadow man knew better.
Years of training had taught him that things are not always what they appear to be.
And spending the past three years inside Blackthorn keep, earning his way up through Blackthorn’s army, had taught him much. Garrick Blackthorn was cunning and devious. He was far more intelligent than he lead others to believe. And he had a mean streak as long as the river Tay.
The shadow man hid in plain sight. No one would suspect him to be anything other than a devoted follower of Garrick Blackthorn. He had made sure of that, even going so far as to show a strong dislike of the laird’s wife; behavior that was strongly encouraged by the laird himself.
Garrick’s attitude and his mistreatment of Lady Arline sickened the shadow man. There were many times when he had to stop himself from running a sword through Garrick’s gut. Far too much was at stake to allow his honor and his vow to protect the innocent, to get in the way of the mission at hand.
The shadow man had felt confident that Lady Arline would be safely away from Blackthorn keep before the rest of his mission was put in place. But Garrick had surprised him by taking Rowan Graham’s daughter. And Lady Arline’s actions the night they had returned with the child had changed everything.
He should have known that Lady Arline would not stand by and allow an innocent child to suffer. He should not have expected anything less from her. Time and again the woman had proven she possessed a sense of honor as strong as his own.
Were circumstances different, had he not made a pledge and taken a vow ten years ago, he would have been sorely tempted to take Lady Arline as a wife.
As far as he was concerned, Garrick Blackthorn was nothing more than a spoiled brat in a man’s body. The fool did not know what a good woman he had in Lady Arline.
He stood not far from Garrick now. Though he could not hear the conversation he could read the man’s lips. A wave of anger scraped across his skin when he saw Garrick’s intent.
If he did not move now, Lady Arline would not leave the keep alive.
Being cast out of the castle in the middle of the night, without escort or even the use of a horse, was not the most ideal situation. However, Arline was grateful that she now had the freedom she had been longing for this past year.
As soon as Lily and her rescuers were in the hidden corridor, Arline scooted the trunk back against the wall and began packing. There was no sense in trying to pack everything for she had no means of transporting it. Once she settled somewhere, she could send for the things she was leaving behind. Granted, her worldly possession only filled two trunks, but still, they were hers.
Gunther’s words kept jumping to the forefront of her thoughts. If she spent too much time thinking of highwaymen or other men of that ilk, she would not be able to focus on the tasks at hand.
She grabbed a satchel and stuffed it with extra woolens, a clean chemise and a spare dress. It would hold little else.
Each time she bent to retrieve something from her trunk, it was a new adventure in pain. As she packed, she cursed Garrick Blackthorn to the devil and wished him a very painful and agonizing death. Arline knew it wasn’t very Christian like, but she didn’t care. The man did not deserve her respect let alone any wishes of good fortune or health.
She took a pillow and tucked it under the blankets to make it appear that Lily was asleep. She could only pray that if someone entered the room, they would think the child was still abed. Arline also prayed that they would not look for Lily until long after dawn.
Grabbing a cloth she took care in scrubbing the dried blood from her chin. The cold water felt good against her swollen and throbbing cheek. The pain when she raised her arms to lift off her bloody nightdress nearly sent her to her knees. She swallowed hard and took deep breaths in hopes of quelling the overwhelming sense of nausea.
She struggled, but managed to don a clean chemise, heavy skirt and over dress. She had just slipped on her boots when her heart leapt to her throat when the door to her room opened suddenly and without warning.
Archie quickly closed the door behind him and strode across the room. “Me lady,” he said with some urgency.
Arline shot to her feet, her fingers shaking, quite fearful.
“We’ve no’ much time.”
Arline understood all too well that her life hung precariously by a very thin thread. Archie didn’t need to explain that to her.
“Me lady, I need ye to listen verra carefully,” Archie said as he grabbed the cloak from the end of her bed. “I’ve no’ much time to explain, but ye have to trust me that I do mean to help ye.”
Arline stood quietly, curious as to what Archie meant and why he felt this sudden urge to help her. Instinct warned her not to trust this man. She took the cloak from him and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“When ye leave the gates of the keep, I need ye to take the road east. About a mile down, ye’ll come to a fork in the road. I need ye to go right, me lady. I shall meet ye there before the sun rises.”
She could not resist the urge to ask him why he was helping.
“Me lady, there be no time to explain it, but I do need ye to trust me. I mean ye no harm.”
Arline had serious doubts as to his sincerity. Not once in the year she had been here had Archie acted in any type of friendly manner. If anything, he had been completely indifferent.
Archie grabbed her satchel and ushered her to the door. “Pray tell, why should I trust ye?” she asked indignantly.
He stopped and turned to look at her. The candlelight flickered in his hazel eyes as he appeared to do battle with some inner dilemma.
“Do ye have Carlich’s box with ye?” he asked quietly.
Arline’s eyes grew wide, stunned by his question. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how he knew of Carlich or his box. She could think of only one other person who might know that she had kept that box all of these years.
“Do ye, me lady?” His voice held an urgent tone to it.
Arline nodded her head as a thousand questions ran through her mind. The box was tucked safely into the pocket of her dress. In it, a letter from Robert Stewart, a letter she would not use unless her life was in danger from forces other than Garrick Blackthorn. That letter could not protect her from Garrick, but it might, in the future, be a very useful tool.
Archie studied her for a moment before giving a quick nod. “Good,” he said, sounding quite relieved as he guided her out of the room. Her voice was lost as he lead her down the quiet corridors, torch lit stairs, and out of the keep.
How could he know? Who is this man and why does he wish to help me? She had no answers. Very few people knew about Carlich’s box. She searched her memory hoping to find Archie’s face somewhere among the men who had been at Stirling Castle all those many years ago. Had he been there? Had he been one of the witnesses?
It had been so long ago that, try as she might, she could not place his face among those in the crowd. Arline doubted she would recognize anyone, save for the brave MacDougall men who had helped her and Robert Stewart.
Mutely, she decided to trust Archie, at least for now. She allowed him to escort her from her room, down the stairs and out of the keep.
She saw no one, save for the men who stood guard along the walk wall, as Archie took her to the gates. She shivered, not so much from the crisp night air, but from the fear that had wrapped itself around her.
“I shall meet ye before dawn, I swear it. I’ll have the child with me.”
Panic welled. Archie did not know yet that Lily was long gone and she did not think she could tell him. She would feign ignorance for now, allowing Rowan and his men the time they needed to get as far away from Blackthorn keep as they could.
There was no moon, but the courtyard was bright enough, lit from the dozens of torches flickering in the late night breeze. Archie whistled twice and a moment later, the heavy wooden gate began to open.
“Remember, me lady,” Archie whispered into her ear. “the men in the shadows are always there fer ye.”
There was no way for her to hide the tremendous shock she felt. The slightest bit of wind would have knocked her over. Archie gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Wheesht, me lady,” he whispered. “I’ll meet ye in the woods before the sun rises.”
And with that, he gently pushed her through the gates, turned and walked away. There was no time to explain that Lily was already safely away from the keep and no time to ask him any questions. Was he one of the men, the silent and invisible protectors that Robert Stewart had promised so long ago would always be there, watching over her? Or, did he simply know of their existence? She had not thought of the Stewart or his silent army in many years. Why hadn’t Archie made his presence known sooner? She supposed there had been no need until this night.
For a year now, she had dreamt about the day she would leave Blackthorn Castle. But traipsing down a rutted dirt road in the middle of the night was not how she had imagined leaving. Cast out or not, she was finally free. Arline knew she had to focus on that fact and that fact alone, otherwise she would not make it to the fork in the road before turning into a heap of babbling and fear-filled insanity.
Although the night air was cold and damp, tiny beads of sweat covered her brow, the back of her neck and the palms of her hands. It was the combination of tripping in the deep ruts and fear that made her heart pound so ferociously and her skin feel so clammy. Still, she pushed on. She had to. Freedom lay at the fork in road.
The men in the shadows are always there fer ye. She ran Archie’s words over and over in her mind as she trudged onward. Could he truly be one of the shadow men?
It had been years since she had thought of the men in the shadows or of Robert Stewart, the great steward of Scotland. She had supposed Robert Stewart had forgotten all about her and his promise of protection should she need it. Honestly, she could not remember the last time she had looked into the darkness and wondered if one of Robert Stewart’s men were there watching over her.
Why now? Why after all these years had one suddenly unveiled himself to her? She had nearly been killed seven years ago when she had helped prove the innocence of two men, men she had never met. She could not in good conscience allow the two men to hang for crimes she knew they had not committed. She had helped because Carlich had asked her and because she knew she could not have lived with herself if she didn’t.
And now here she was seven years later, walking down a road in the pitch black of night, cast out, alone, cold and terrified. Arline wondered if Garrick would have acted differently had she not begged and pleaded to stay to take care of Lily. Would he have given her an escort back to Ireland? She supposed it did not matter for she could not change what had happened.
She stumbled again for the fourth time and fell forward into a large puddle of mud. It soaked through her skirt and chemise. Cursing Garrick to the bowls of hell as she pulled herself to her feet, she wiped mud from her hands as best she could on her cloak. She imagined she’d be covered head to toe in mud before she reached the fork in the road.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her satchel and moved forward.
So focused on not tripping and falling again, Lady Arline did not hear the men on horseback approaching until they were but a few feet away from her.
She spun around in time to see three men on three large horses heading right for her. Caught unaware and completely by surprise, she had very little time to react. She dropped her satchel, picked up her skirts and ran as fast as she could, heading toward the forest.
She was at the edge, just steps away from jumping into the dense line of trees when one of the men jumped from his horse and gave a quick pursuit. Before she could run and hide in the forest, he had an arm wrapped about her waist and had lifted her off her feet.
Surprised and terrified, Arline let out a scream as she kicked her feet, struggling to get out of the man’s tight hold. He tightened his grip around her waist and laughed at her.
“Settle down ye wench!” a familiar voice spoke in her ear before he clamped his hand over her mouth. He pulled her deeper into the woods before calling out to his partners.
“I have her, lads!” he shouted and laughed again, dragging her further away from the road.
Arline knew that voice. Gunther.
She knew his intent.
Arline continued to kick and pound at his arms with her fists. Her actions seemed to urge him on more than they did to convince him to let her go. Her heart pounded against her breastbone and blood rushed in her ears.
Gunther laughed in her ear again. “Ye be a fighter, aye? I like that in a woman,” he told her. “But I canna figure out why ye be fightin’. Ye’ve no’ had a man betwixt yer legs the whole time ye were married to me laird. One would think ye’d be ready fer it.”
The thought of Gunther having his way with her was revolting. Had he not had a hand over her mouth, he would have received an earful. Over my dead body! She screamed in her mind.
He would have to kill her first.
Rowan saw the men approaching Lady Arline before she did. His first thought was to call out to her, to not only warn her but to draw the men away from her. In the end, the bastards had moved so quickly there was no time to do either.
They had retrieved their horses and were making their way silently along the edge of the forest when they first
caught a glimpse of Lady Arline walking -- stumbling was more like it -- in the same direction they were heading. Rowan and his men were about to make their presence known when they heard pounding of hoof beats heading their way.
Rowan jumped from his horse, followed quickly by Daniel and Frederick. Dirks were drawn as they silently yet quickly made their way toward Lady Arline and the men who surrounded her.
In the span of a heartbeat, Arline had decided she hadn’t gone through all she had gone through in her life only to end up raped and dying in the cold dirt of a forest floor. She’d fight these men tooth and nail before she would allow them to do her any harm.
She went limp in Gunther’s arms, pretending she had fainted. She slumped toward the ground. Gunther laughed as he bent slightly at the waist, adjusted his grip around her and started to haul her back up. It was just what Arline needed.
As soon as he bent, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and lunged backward. The back of her skull landed hard against Gunther’s lips and nose, catching him completely off guard. He groaned and let loose his grip enough that Arline could fall away.
She landed on hands and knees. She took one fast breath, pushed herself up and ran.
Gunther was momentarily dazed. He covered his face with his hand and felt the blood oozing from his nose. His nose throbbed painfully, his eyes watered, making it quite difficult them to focus. He cursed out loud at the darkness, scanning the woods for a glimpse of her.
A murderous rage coursed over him as he let out a low, deep growl. He’d find her and kill her if it was the last thing he did.
It was too dark to see exactly where she was going. Her heart pounded and her chest heaved as she raced through the trees. She could hear Gunther yelling and cursing as he crashed through the brush. Fear of dying kept her moving forward no matter how badly her ribs screamed in protest.
Running as fast as the uneven terrain would allow, with her arms out before her, she pushed through low lying branches. Soon, the brush and trees were so thick she could barely make her way through them. She veered to her right, trying to find her way through the darkness, hoping for an opening that would allow her to run faster.
Rowan's Lady Page 7
