Once Upon A Haunted Castle: A Celtic Romance Anthology

by Eliza Knight

  Not only were several pots of cream pushed out of place on Lady Edana’s table, the wooden cross was missing.

  Senara knew it would be she who would take the blame for its loss.

  While she knew she could bring her issues with Lady Edana to Gavin, Senara did not wish to. She didn’t want him to think she only lay with him for special favors.

  Even more though, Da had raised a tough lass, one who met the challenge of her own issues. And Ma had taught her to make the best of any bad situation.

  Senara’s chest squeezed at the thought of them. Their faces rose to her mind, happy and loving and altogether so heartbreaking. Senara found it suddenly difficult to draw breath. There was not a day she did not think of them, nor make good on the lessons they’d taught her.

  Nor was there a day she did not buckle beneath the weight of their loss.

  Were it not for Gavin, she might have succumbed to the force of her broken heart. He was the one glimmer of joy which she’d clung to in the recent dark days.

  “Get away from there, ye wretch.” Lady Edana’s voice snarled from the doorway to the room.

  Senara jumped back and accidentally knocked several pots from the table. They fell to the floor with a series of pops and cracks. She stepped away from a blue one with a greasy brown liquid oozing from its broken shell.

  “Forgive me, my lady, I—”

  “Enough.” Lady Edana stomped toward her and threw something onto the table. The missing cross.

  Edana’s face was a brilliant shade of red and her eyes glittered like stars of hate. “I wish I dinna ever bring ye here. Ye’re no’ anything but a country whore.”

  Senara’s cheeks burned despite the coolness of the room. Her defense caught in her throat, stuck fast with shame. She hated how Edana’s words cut into her, how she gave the other woman an undeserving level of power over her.

  Senara’s fists clenched at her sides and her breath puffed white into the air in front of her.

  “It’s a good thing yer da is dead.” Lady Edana’s upper lip curled upward, as if she tasted something spoilt. “So he canna see what a slattern ye’ve beco—”

  The chain of the cross rattled against the wooden tabletop.

  Edana turned toward the sound and froze.

  Balthasar stood beside the table with one fingertip pressed to the loop of the chain. He glared at Edana, the deep hate in his eyes glowing gray-white.

  Senara knew those looks were never intended for her, yet she could not help the chilling effect they had on her soul regardless.

  Edana gave a sharp gasp. It was the first time Senara realized anyone other than her might be able to see Balthasar.

  “Do ye see him?” Senara asked.

  Edana’s wide eyes never left the chain. “Who?” Her mouth formed the word, but no sound came out.

  It was at that exact moment Balthasar’s face contorted into something ugly and fierce. He flicked his wrist hard and sent the cross flying across the room. It smashed into the wall with such force, only splinters remained of the relic.

  Lady Edana dragged in a hard breath. Gone was her rage when she finally turned to Senara, and in its place was a helpless fear. “Who was that? You said him. Who is ‘him?’”

  Senara looked toward the table where Balthasar had been and was no longer. “You dinna see him?”

  Edana grabbed Senara’s shoulders hard enough to make her wince. “Who?”

  Senara met the old woman’s frightened stare. “Balthasar.”

  The old woman’s hand came at her like a snake strike, silent and too fast to deflect. It connected with Senara’s face in a stinging slap.

  Before offense could set in or even rational thought could prevail, Senara’s own hand flew out toward Lady Edana. Her fist met hard bone and sent the woman sprawling backward in a cry of outrage.

  “Enough, Edana.” Gavin’s voice bellowed from behind Senara, heavy with authority and barely-constrained rage.

  “This is what ye want?” Edana snarled. “A woman who hits like a man?” A red spot showed just under her right eye and stood out brilliantly against the paleness of her skin.

  She threw open her clothing chest and wrenched out a gown. “Send me Anice at once. I’m leaving.”

  Senara’s heart slammed in her chest. Was Edana serious?

  She looked to Gavin for confirmation. His expression was set firm and deeply serious. “My laird?”

  He gave a shrug. “If she intends to leave, I willna stop her. Please go ask that Anice come up, and then I would like to speak with ye.”

  The process of clearing Lady Edana from the house took far less time and effort than Senara would have thought possible for a woman so particular. Once it had all come to pass, she found herself in the solar with Gavin, alone.

  She hadn’t realized how oppressive the old woman’s watchful gaze had been until her chest swelled with carefree joy, the same as one breathes in the air on a fine crisp day.

  Gavin strode across the room and pulled Senara into his arms. He was warm and strong and smelled of spicy soap. She closed her eyes to better revel in the exhilaration of her senses.

  “Edana willna be gone long.” Gavin’s voice rumbled in his chest just under her ear. “But she willna bother ye upon her return.”

  He gently pulled Senara away from him and stared down at her with the warm brown gaze which made her feel as though her heart were melting. “Senara, when we first met, I thought ye were mad for no’ wanting a marriage matched for power or wealth.”

  Senara laughed in spite of herself.

  Gavin smiled but did not join in her mirth. “I realize now that it is a lucky man who can afford to marry for love.” He held her face in his hand and gently stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I’m such a lucky man, for I’ve found the lass I want to wed.”

  Senara’s corset was too tight around her chest and breathing seemed suddenly too difficult. “An advantageous match?” she asked.

  “A match worth more than all the coin in Scotland.” His gaze caressed her face. “For no amount of coin can put a price on love.”

  “Gavin,” she gasped. “What are ye saying?”

  She knew well what he meant, but she needed to hear the words spoken aloud by him to truly believe them.

  “I love ye, Senara.” His voice was hoarse with the passion of his words. “I think I’ve loved ye since ye first dinna notice my fine clothes or try to impress me. I love how ye dinna care what others think of ye, nor waste yer days trying to please others. I’ve fallen in love with ye and would have ye marry me if ye’re willing.”

  Tears burned hot in Senara’s eyes. “Aye.” She nodded.

  He tilted his head to the side in a playful gesture. “And this means ye love me, since ye’d no’ ever marry a man ye dinna love.”

  Something between a laugh and a cry sounded from her throat. “Aye, ye wonderful man. I love ye.”

  He caught her in her arms and spun her around. When he finally settled her to the floor, a wide smile split his face, turning his handsome expression into something boyish and charming.

  “So, now that ye intend to be my wife,” he winked at her, “I beg ye to tell me what happened the night ye arrived when I found ye in the dark hallway.”

  The lightness of her mood faltered.

  His smile faded. “I dinna mean—”

  Senara shook her head. “Nay, ye’re right. I dinna want secrets between us. This is something I should have told ye about long ago.”

  The time had come to tell Gavin about Balthasar.

  *

  If there was a body, Gavin would find it.

  He stood in the empty hallway where he had found Senara that fateful night. Where the monk named Balthasar was buried.

  For the countless time in a fortnight, Gavin found himself bent over the stone he knew to have been loosened. As with the times before, it did not give.

  The stone was as intact as if it’d never once fallen from its place in the wall. Were it not
for having replaced it himself, Gavin would have never believed it had ever been removed.

  He crouched beside the wall to inspect the impossible stone. When the weather was warmer, he’d need a mason to come out and have the wall torn down.

  Senara had been cautious in telling Gavin the tale, as if she hadn’t expected him to believe her. In truth, it was an easy tale to dismiss.

  But he knew Senara and he knew the pureness of her heart. Ghosts were drawn to good souls when they sought help. It was no wonder Balthasar had found Senara.

  Strange though it may seem, it made Gavin proud of Senara’s genuine kindness. One more week of banns being announced and she would officially be his to wed. A smile came to his face at the very thought.

  Regarding his aunt, he wished he could think better of her than having allowed a man to be walled up and left to die. And yet he could not.

  Since Edana had left, the staff reported no further issues with items being relocated or broken in the castle.

  Surely no further proof than that was required.

  A rapid pattering of footsteps echoed around him and Renny came round the corner at breakneck speed. “Laird, she’s back.”

  Gavin frowned. “Ye mean Edana?”

  She hadn’t specified where she’d meant to go and had not removed all of her items. He’d truly hoped she would be gone longer than a fortnight.

  “Aye, laird, she—”

  “She figured ye’d be coming to tell the laird of my arrival, ye wee brat.” Edana came around the corner with a look of displeasure creasing her face.

  He inclined his head respectfully. “Aunt.”

  She grasped Renny’s ear and tugged him in the opposite direction. “Go see to my horse.”

  Before Gavin could put a stop to her torment, Renny scuttled off toward the stables.

  Gavin pointed to the wall. “Is there a monk behind here?” Direct was always the best approach with his aunt.

  In reply, she shoved a piece of folded parchment in his direction. “Here is yer wedding arrangement with the MacKintosh lass.”

  He took the missive, and she eased back with a look of self-satisfaction practically glowing on her face.

  “I’m marrying Senara.” His voice was intentionally hard.

  Edana smirked. “There would have only been two banns read as yet. Without the third, the agreement is still no’ binding.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve given her my word.”

  Edana’s eyes went wide in a show of mock innocence. The expression sat on her face as well as milk sits in vinegar. “And I’ve given them yer word ye’d be there posthaste as well. If ye dinna go, ye’ll greatly offend Lady MacKintosh’s honor.” She covered her mouth with her withered hand. “That’d cause a war.”

  A dry tsking click came from her throat and she shook her head in a scolding manner.

  “I know what ye’re doing—”

  “Ye mean, ye know what I’ve done. The men of the family aren’t the only ones with power.” Edana lifted her brow. “And now ye must undo it or suffer the consequences.” She offered him a sweet smile and patted his cheek as she’d often done when he was a lad. Right before she pinched his ear – to keep him honest, she used to say, or some such nonsense.

  The odor of powder and herbs was as familiar now as it had been then.

  “My journey took some time to return,” she said. “They expected ye to arrive yesterday, so ye’d best be on yer way.”

  Gavin balled his hand into a fist. The parchment crackled in his palm and the distinct crack of the wax seal breaking snapped in the air.

  “Is there a monk behind this wall?” he demanded.

  Edana blinked in surprise before turning to the referred wall. “I imagine he’s no’ much of a monk now. Most likely a pile of bones and cloth rattier than it’d been when he was alive.”

  She turned in victory and strode away, leaving him stoking the flames of his rage.

  Damn the woman.

  And damn his father for making him swear the oath to keep her safe and by his side. She should be married to an aged man she could make miserable and leave Gavin to his own affairs.

  He loosed a vicious curse which echoed around him.

  “Laird?” A feminine voice sounded from the end of the hall and a young woman with brilliant red hair stepped forward. Anice, the lass whose coquettish smile always left him eager to leave the room and be free of her overdone attempts to snare attention.

  But seeing her now was fortunate. He was in need of assistance to leave as soon as possible. “Have Senara meet me in my solar immediately.”

  “She went to the village to see about getting some new cloth. I’m guessing her gown is getting a bit snug. It happens when women settle down with men sometimes.” Anice shifted her shoulders in a slight shrug while pushing her breasts toward him.

  He would have rolled his eyes at her attempts if he weren’t so damn irritated with Edana.

  Senara was in the village. By the time he got word to her, it would already be evening, and he needed to leave within the hour.

  He hissed out a sigh of frustration. It was a two and a half day ride to Dalmunzie Castle, if the weather held. He could make it two if he pushed hard. “Tell her I’ve had an urgent matter arise and will be back within a week.”

  Anice nodded and gave him a deep curtsey with a purposeful view. “Aye, laird.”

  Though he’d left a message for her, Gavin departed for Dalmunzie with a cloud of uncertainty looming over him. He didn’t like having left without speaking to Senara. He liked even less leaving her alone with Edana.

  If Balthasar was, indeed, a real and true spirit, Gavin prayed he would keep Senara safe.

  Chapter Nine

  Gavin had not come home the prior evening.

  And Edana had returned.

  Senara woke with a hollow ache in her chest. Edana had avoided Senara all evening, but now she would get answers.

  She put on her most regal dress, the one made of deep blue velvet and trimmed in the softest white fur she’d ever run her fingers over. Gavin had smiled when the tailor brought it. He had declared it made her eyes look like emeralds. The memory brought a pleasant warmth to Senara’s cheeks.

  While she loved the feel of the fine fabric on her skin, she still had not become used to wearing such finery and still felt as though she were a girl again playing in Ma’s old clothing.

  Senara found Edana in the great hall and tried to ignore the swirling unease in her stomach.

  Edana’s brow lifted with incredulity at Senara’s approach. “I see ye took no time to dress the part of a lady.”

  Her comment made the foreign feel of the clothing all the more uncomfortable. Senara kept her posture straight, in the same calm, measured way Ma did when she’d been affronted.

  She stood beside Edana’s chair, but did not sit herself. “As is fitting my station.”

  Edana snorted. “Ye have no station. And ye willna either.”

  “Ye are mistaken—”

  “Nay, it is ye who are mistaken.” Edana regarded her with a cold look in her dark eyes. “Do ye know where the laird is?”

  This question left Senara mute.

  “Ach, he dinna tell ye?” Edana pressed a hand to her chest in a play of horror.

  Senara curled her hand at her side. The memory was still fresh on the satisfaction of landing a blow on the cruel woman.

  Anice strolled into the room with her hips swinging and her hands laden with a tray full of food. She nodded to Senara. “Morning, my lady. Do ye need anything?”

  She set the trencher in front of Edana. Near a floury disk of bannocks was a pile of sausage sitting in a puddle of grease.

  Senara’s stomach churned and her mouth began to sweat with the need to vomit.

  “Ye’re looking quite ill this morning,” Edana said. Her knife cut through the sausage with a soft pop and a line of clear grease oozed from the slit.

  Senara swallowed hard and let her nails nip into her pal
ms to keep her composure. In an effort to save herself, she wrenched her gaze from the plate of food and regarded Anice. “Have ye heard from the laird?”

  Anice shook her head. “I only know he left with haste.”

  “Ah, now that I can answer for ye.” Edana pulled the slice of sausage from the blade with her flat teeth. “He finally received the agreement to wed Colina MacKintosh.”

  It was a trick. Some sort of mean trick, and Senara did not believe it.

  She lifted her brow in the same manner as Edana often did. “He is marrying me. The banns—”

  “Have no’ been completed.” Edana smirked. “And ye’re pregnant. What will ye do with the babe when ye dinna even have parents to return home to?”

  This time Senara’s composure did falter. Edana’s chin notched upward with her victory. “Do ye think Anice wouldna report to me that ye’d no’ asked for yer monthly rags?” She indicated Senara with the point of her eating knife. “Look at ye, practically green at the appearance of food. Dinna tell me ye dinna know or I’ll think ye an even greater fool.”

  Senara had suspected the pregnancy, in truth, but had wanted absolute certainty before telling Gavin. Her courses were late by only a week. While uncommon for her, she had wanted to wait a bit longer. Just in case.

  She looked to Anice, who watched her with a pleasant little smile on her red lips. “Anice?”

  The servant flung her red braid over her shoulder. “I guess knowing yer letters doesna make ye better than the rest of us after all.”

  Senara opened her mouth to protest, but Anice was already sauntering from the room.

  Edana rose from the table and lifted that damn eyebrow. “Ye should leave. Ye and yer babe are unwanted, especially when my nephew returns with his new wife.”

  Senara met Edana’s gaze with all the determination and strength she could muster. “Then he can tell me himself when he arrives.”

  Edana gave a little shrug and strolled away, as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

  Time would tell, however long that might be, if Gavin had been true to Senara. She could not imagine him leaving her so abruptly to wed another woman. An edge of doubt slipped into her mind.

  Colina MacKintosh.