He had to shout for Isa to hear what he was saying.
She laughed and, feeling that she must not miss anything while they were there, she turned round and moved towards the back of the cave.
It was easy to see that the cave was far deeper than she anticipated and because she was curious she walked to the far end of it and the Duke followed her.
It was not high enough for him not to have to bend his head.
But when they had gone for quite some way he said,
“I think in a moment we shall have gone far enough. If we want to explore further, we must come again with a lantern.”
Isa stopped when he spoke to her and she realised that they were now the length of a large room from the cascade.
Yet there was still, unless she was mistaken, some way to go.
“It seems a pity to turn back,” she said. “I cannot imagine why you have never known of this place before.”
“I suppose because, as I have just said, it was thought to be dangerous. At the same time, I would rather we came back again with lanterns than step into the darkness, which might be dangerous.”
“How right you are!” a voice said unexpectedly.
Both Isa and the Duke started and would have turned round.
But at that moment Isa felt her arms pulled behind her and her hands tied together.
She screamed and struggled and then realised that the Duke was fighting violently against two men.
Another was enveloping her whole body with a rope.
For a moment she could hardly believe that it was happening.
Then, as she gave another scream of fear, the man behind her tied a handkerchief over her mouth and gagged her.
He dragged her away while the Duke was still fighting.
The man half-carrying her turned the corner of what she thought was the end of the cave and now she realised that they were in another one.
There was a lantern set in the centre of the floor and it revealed how large and high it was.
However, it was difficult for her to see anything except the face of the man who was carrying her.
He was a Scot, unshaven and rather dirty, who was very strong.
He set her down with her back against a rock and chained her ankles together without speaking.
He then hurried back to where she could hear the Duke shouting, although she could not understand what he was saying.
Suddenly there was silence and a few minutes later three men came in carrying the Duke.
He was silent and she thought in terror that they had killed him.
They laid him down not beside her, but on the opposite side of the cave to where they had put her.
She could see from the way his head drooped forward onto his chest that, if they had not killed him, they had rendered him unconscious.
They had tied his hands behind him as hers had been tied, wound a rope around his body and put chains round his ankles.
But he was not gagged as she was.
She wanted to scream, although it was impossible.
At the same time she was rigid with fear and she could see by the light of the lantern that a fourth man, who she knew now was Talbot McNaver, was looking at them both with satisfaction.
There was just a faint family likeness to the Duke which told her that she was not mistaken in thinking that this was his cousin and his Heir Presumptive.
His face was debauched and there was something repulsive about him that made her shrink in fear when he looked at her.
One of the men who had tied him up was like the one who had carried her and the other was the Englishman.
He was the type that anyone would distrust on sight. There was a shifty foxy look about him with his fair hair and small moustache and a chin that receded into a thick neck.
He was, however, she thought, strong and sturdy, as were the other two men who had fought with the Duke.
They were Scots, but only one of them was wearing a tattered and dirty tartan.
She had the idea, although there was nothing to substantiate it, that they were fishermen.
“You hit him too hard,” Talbot McNaver said, “and I want him to hear what I have to say. Get a pail of water and throw it over him.”
A man picked up a small pail that was standing on the floor beside the lantern.
He went back towards the cascade and there was silence as the three that were left watched the Duke.
No one spoke and, then just as the man’s footsteps could be heard returning with the water, the Duke groaned and with what was an obvious effort, he lifted his head and opened his eyes.
“What – has – happened?” he asked and tried to move his arms, which was impossible.
“Can you hear me, Bruce?” Talbot McNaver asked.
With difficulty the Duke focused his eyes on his cousin as he moved forward into the light of the lantern.
“Oh, it – is you – Talbot!” he said. “Up to your – tricks as usual?”
He spoke slowly and with difficulty, but the words were distinct.
“Yes, up to my tricks, as you say, Bruce,” Talbot said. “But this is the last time as far as you are concerned.”
The Duke glanced at the rough men standing beside him and asked,
“So you intend to -–kill me!”
“Not in the way you might anticipate,” Talbot McNaver said with a sneer in his voice. “That would be too good for you! Instead, you are going to die slowly here where no one will find you, and with a charming companion to keep you company.”
He was jeering at them, Isa knew, and she only wished that she could tell him what she thought of him.
“I have always hated you, Bruce,” Talbot was saying. “But now when I take your place as Chieftain of the Clan, I will speak regretfully of your disappearance and tell your friends how much I miss you.”
There was no doubt that he was making every word he spoke offensive and the Duke asked,
“Do you – really intend to – leave us here in a place that I – did not until – now even know – existed?”
“What could be more appropriate than that you should die on your own land?” Talbot asked. “While your servants and friends will search for you, they will never be able to find you.”
He smiled evilly and went on,
“Of course, I will spread the rumour that perhaps you have run away with this charming young lady, who will also be missing, a very reprehensible act on the part of the Duke!”
“What I am going to suggest,” the Duke said quietly, “is that – while your quarrel may be with me, Talbot, it has nothing to do with Isa McNaver. Let her go. I am certain – that you can swear her to secrecy and trust her word.”
Talbot McNaver laughed and it was a very unpleasant sound.
“Do you really think that I am so half-witted and foolish as to trust a woman?” he asked. “You trusted one once and look how she treated you! My dear cousin, I would trust no one with my secrets except my English friend and these two stalwart men who are well paid to keep their mouths shut.”
He glanced at the two disreputable men who had tied them up and who now grinned at him ingratiatingly.
Then the Englishman intervened.
“Come on, Talbot,” he said. “All this talking is getting us nowhere and we have to get out of this place without being seen.”
“That is easy enough, as you are well aware,” Talbot McNaver snapped. “You go ahead and I shall say a last fond farewell to my inestimable cousin!”
Then to Isa’s surprise the three men walked, not as she expected back to the cascade, but beyond the cavern where she and the Duke were lying.
A few seconds later there was visible a shaft of light in the far distance and it was then that Talbot picked up the lantern and said,
“Goodbye, my dear Bruce! When you are dead, I will come back to take away your ropes so that, if you are discovered, no one will know why you are here except perhaps to disport yourself with a pretty young woman!”
He laughed mockingly.
“You know as well as I do that just as these caves have remained undiscovered and unknown for centuries, so if your bones are found in the year 2,000 AD, they will be a museum piece.”
His voice rose excitedly.
“No one will know that it was I who was clever enough not only to discover the cave but also to incarcerate you, my dear cousin, in a tomb that there is no escape from.”
He laughed again and added,
“Now you will understand that I am the victor and no longer the insignificant undesirable Talbot you all despise. From this moment, I am the sixth Duke of Strathnaver and how I shall enjoy spending the money that you have been so measly with and making the Clan that has bowed down to you do exactly as I tell them.”
He walked a few paces and then turned back.
“Goodbye, my dear cousin! Goodbye pretty lady! May you die slowly! May the worms eat your flesh and your bones rot!”
His last three words were almost a shout and he went off in the same direction as the other men.
Isa could see the light of the lantern like a firefly against the darkness.
There was a shaft of light, as there had been before, which she thought must come from the roof above his head.
She reckoned that he scrambled up and out onto the ground above before there was the sound of a cover or a heavy stone being put into place.
For a moment she was too frightened to move.
When her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she could just see a very faint light coming from the first cave beyond which was the cascade.
Then she heard the Duke say very quietly,
“Try not to be afraid! We have to think of some way out of this intolerable situation we now find ourselves in.”
He spoke without the slightest hint of panic or agitation in his voice.
But Isa knew even as he spoke that there was no chance of their escaping.
They would die slowly of starvation as Talbot McNaver intended that they should.
Chapter Five
Isa struggled against her gag, but found that, as it had been tied between her teeth, it was impossible for her to move it.
She wanted to talk to the Duke, she wanted him to reassure her and, most of all, she wanted self-control.
She felt the fear of what was happening rising within her and she was terrified that she would try to scream and choke herself.
Worse still, the Duke would be aware that she had broken down, losing her pride and becoming hysterical.
It was dark in the cave, but there was as she had already noticed a faint light coming from the cascade.
As she sat with her back against a rock that was cold and uncomfortable with her legs stuck out in front of her, she was suddenly aware that the Duke was moving.
She could not see what he was doing and she longed to ask him what was happening but could not speak.
Then, as if he knew what she was thinking, he said,
“I am going to try to reach you and see if it is possible for me to remove your gag with my teeth. At least then we shall be able to talk to each other.”
He was still speaking in that calm quiet manner that made her feel as if he was laying a cool hand against her forehead.
She was afraid, desperately afraid and terrified, but she tried to think only of the Duke attempting to reach her.
Again she moved her head from side to side hoping that the gag would loosen. It was knotted behind her head and all she succeeded in doing was to make it pull her hair.
She could hear the chains around the Duke’s feet rattling and she realised that he was rolling himself over and over on the ground towards her.
She knew because the floor was rough that he would find it painful.
She longed to tell him not to worry, but instead to think of how they could escape, but still she could feel him edging nearer to her until he bumped against her outstretched feet.
Then she saw that he was trying to sit beside her, but it took a very long time.
She was sure that it was about half an hour before finally, although he was unable to use his hands, she felt his shoulder brush against hers.
He had succeeded in doing what he intended.
She could hear him breathing quickly, as if it had been a tremendous effort.
Then, when they were side by side, he gave a deep sigh and said,
“So far, so good! But if we roll ourselves into the cascade, I am afraid we may become unconscious on the rocks and be swept out to sea before we can save ourselves.”
Once again he was answering a question that was already in her mind.
Then, because she was still very frightened, it was a comfort to feel that he was so near to her and that somehow the vibrations from him were reassuring, although she knew that there was really no escape for either of them.
After he had rested a little while after the exertion of reaching her, he said,
“Do you think you could bend your head towards me so that I can endeavour to undo the knot of your gag?”
She slipped down a little lower and then managed to bend her head in front of where she thought his lips would be.
“Try to keep still,” he murmured.
As she did so, she could feel his mouth feeling for the knot in the gag. It was uncomfortable for Isa because of the rope that encircled her breasts and as she had bent nearer to the Duke it felt as if it was cutting into her.
But she wanted to talk to him and she thought that she could endure anything rather than have to remain silent.
Again it was a long time before, as he worked with his teeth on what must have been a very tight knot, she felt at first a faint loosening.
Then, as she moved her chin and her lips, the Duke gave a final tug and she was free.
“You have – done it! You have – done – it!” she exclaimed, and her voice was very hoarse.
“Thank God for that,” the Duke said. “Now at least we can hold a council of war.”
She felt that he was being very optimistic, but still it was a joy to be able to talk to him.
She turned her head towards him, saying as she did so,
“Thank you – thank – you! That was – wonderful of – you!”
Then, as she finished speaking, to her astonishment the Duke bent his head forward and his lips were on hers.
She thought that she should be surprised or even angry that he kissed her.
Yet in the excitement of the moment it seemed quite natural.
Without even thinking about it, she moved closer to him and her lips responded to his.
Now his kiss was more possessive and suddenly Isa was aware of a strange sensation within her that she had never known before.
It was not just the elation she felt because her mouth was free, but it was something warm and wonderful like a tide moving up within her body, from her heart to her breasts, up until it reached her lips and the Duke’s.
Then she knew that it was what she had always thought a kiss would be like!
What was more, because he was kissing her, nothing mattered, not even the trouble they were in or the desperate fear she felt.
He kissed her until they were flying side by side into the sky.
The stars were twinkling above them as they had last night, and the moonlight was moving through her in an inexpressible manner that made it turn from silver to gold and then to flame.
Only when the Duke raised his head and her lips were free did she feel as if he had brought her back to earth again.
“My darling,” he breathed. “Could anyone be more wonderful?”
“What – did you call – me?”
“I called you ‘my darling’,” the Duke replied, “as you have been ever since the first time I saw you.”
“But – you– condemned me as a – liar!”
“I was fighting against what I was feeling, but actually I knew that you were the woman I have been looking for all my life.”
&nb
sp; “You did call me – a liar!”
“What I said and what I thought were not what I felt.”
“And – what do you – feel now?”
“I feel, although no one will believe me, as if I have reached Heaven,” the Duke said quietly. “That is where you have taken me.”
“That is– what I – feel too,” Isa whispered.
“You have never been kissed before?”
“No – of course – not.”
“That I am prepared to believe,” he said and she felt that he was laughing at her.
“Was I – so inexperienced – so ignorant?” she questioned.
She was thinking of the beautiful lady who had been sitting beside him last night.
“You are what I have always wanted to find,” the Duke answered. “Someone sweet, innocent and unspoilt. But I did not expect her to look like you!”
“Because – I am a – singer?”
“Because of your red hair.”
There was a little silence.
Then he said hoarsely,
“Let me kiss you again, my darling. Then we must decide how we can get out of this hellhole.”
She lifted her lips to his and he kissed her passionately and possessively.
She thought that if they died together it would not matter and the ecstasy she felt was from Heaven.
The Duke took his lips from hers and said,
“Let me think! I do not intend to die to please my cousin Talbot and we have to contrive how we can save ourselves.”
For a moment it was impossible for Isa to think coherently.
All she was aware of was that her whole body was pulsating with the wonder that the Duke had given her.
She wanted him to kiss her and go on kissing her so that everything else could be forgotten.
Then she told herself that she must think of him.
It was ignominious for a man of his strength and his importance to be trussed up like a chicken and left to die in the cave.
No one would know what had happened except for the man who had just left them.
Because she was trying to concentrate on their predicament she said in a low voice,
“What – can I – do? Shall I try to – bite away the – knots of your rope as you have done to– my gag?”
169. A Cheiftain finds Love (The Eternal Collection) Page 8
