by Sky Winters
Rather than returning to her family hut, Aileen stayed in Thomas’s from that day on. Many of the villagers deemed her unstable, the victim of a broken heart so bad it had driven her mad, but Aileen paid them no mind. Thomas would come back for her. She was sure of it.
A year passed in the blink of the eye with no word from him, no sign of him. Aileen remained steadfast in her belief that he would come for her. Then, one day, she saw a man watching her as she washed clothes in the river nearby. He was tall and dark, foreboding looking. His clothes were fine and he never took his eyes off of her, not even when she scowled at him from where she stood.
“Who is that man?” she asked one of the girls nearby.
“Lord Robert MacAulay,” the girl replied. “I saw him looking at you. You should talk to him. I hear tell he is looking for a wife.”
“Then he’d best look at someone else,” Aileen told her. “My heart and all that surrounds it belongs to Thomas.”
“You’re a fool, Aileen,” the girl told her, returning to her wash. Aileen shrugged, doing the same.
Aileen noticed that though Lord MacAuley had moved on to talk to some of the men of the village, he still stole glances her way from time to time. She could feel his eyes on her even when he was behind her and she found it completely unnerving. There was something dark about him, she could sense it.
“Who is that girl?” she heard him asked one of the men, though she pretended not to hear.
“Aileen? Oh, you wouldn’t be interested in her, Sir. She is quite the loon, that one,” the man told him. Aileen recognized his voice as that of Caleb, one of Thomas’s kinsmen and she had to wonder if he meant it or perhaps was keeping her out of harm’s way, because he also expected Thomas to return.
“Nothing a strong hand and a lack of tolerance for such nonsense won’t cure. She’s quite the beauty,” Lord MacAuley responded.
“Perhaps, Sir, but she is not eligible for marriage. She has a betrothed,” Caleb told him.
“That is too bad then. I quite fancy her,” he replied.
Aileen drifted away from the conversation making a mental note to thank Caleb for trying to steer the awful man away from his pursuit of her. Hopefully, he was successful in his efforts.
In the days that followed, Aileen wasn’t so sure. It seemed that Lord MacAuley was constantly looking at her whenever she was within his view. She made every effort to stay far from him, unsuccessfully.
“Hello, Aileen,” he said to her as she pulled clothes from the line by Thomas’s hut.
“Hello,” she said, being as short and unfriendly as possible so as not to encourage conversation.
“We haven’t met. I’m Lord Robert MacAuley. It is a pleasure to finally meet such a beautiful young woman,” he said with a smile that gave Eileen inexplicable chills.
“You already know my name,” Aileen replied unpleasantly. “So, no need to introduce myself.”
“You are a feisty one, I see,” he smiled. Then, leaning in closer to her, “That will make it all the more my pleasure to break you in.”
Aileen flinched as if he had slapped her, but then gathered her resolve and looked him in the eye defiantly.
“That is something you will never be doing. I am betrothed to another,” she said venomously.
“You see, I keep hearing that, but where is this intended of yours? I have seen him not once since I’ve been here,” he said knowingly.
“Thomas is away for the moment. He will be back,” she smiled.
“I don’t think so Aileen, my petal. From what I hear, he ran away and left you behind a year or more ago. It seems to me that you are waiting on someone who is not waiting on you,” he said.
“You don’t know what you are talking about! Thomas will be back. He is my true love and I will wait,” she said.
“Don’t be so sure about that,” he said with a sickening smile.
The following day, Aileen overheard Lord MacAuley, but I’m sure you are aware of her delicate state of mind,” her father was saying.
“I am not concerned with that. It is just the remnants of a broken heart. Nothing that won’t pass with time,” he told him.
“Still, she is not my only daughter. My sons are all away or lost to the reaper. I don’t feel I can let her go so lightly,” her father replied.
“I see. It is payment you seek,” Lord MacAuley told him.
“Now, that is not what I said,” her father replied.
“Perhaps not, but it is what you meant. You will find that I am a man who does not mince his words. You will also see that I can be incredibly generous in order to get what I desire,” he told her father.
“What is going on out here?” Aileen’s mother said, apparently overhearing the conversation, as well.
“Nothing you need know of, woman,” Aileen’s father replied. “Get back in the house.”
“I’ll do no such thing. My daughter is not a commodity to be bought or sold like an ox,” she said angrily.
“Our business does not concern you, woman,” Lord MacAuley roared at her.
“My daughter is of the utmost concern to me. You are not the man whose hand she seeks,” her mother replied stubbornly.
Aileen cowered around the corner. How could her father even consider bartering with such a vile man for her hand? Thank goodness her mother had intervened. Still, there was a chance she wouldn’t dissuade them.
“Do you always let your woman make your decisions for you?” Lord MacAuley was asking her father.
“Of course not, but it is her only daughter too and I’ll not be breaking her heart by letting Aileen go with you,” her father told him.
“You are a bigger fool than I imagined then,” Lord MacAuley spat back at him.
Aileen could hear Lord MacAuley’s boots stomping away and her parents arguing before they retreated back into the house. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped around the house, only to find herself standing face to face with Lord MacAuley. Where had he come from? Hadn’t she heard him going to other way?
“I see you are a curious little thing,” he replied.
“Leave me be! I’ve already told you that I belong to another and my parents have declined your request for my hand,” she said haughtily.
“Don’t be so sure about that. I never lose a negotiation,” he said, flashing her that same unsettling smile as before.
“Perhaps that is why you cannot find a wife, Lord MacAuley. Women are not something to be traded or bought. Only love will bring you a wife who will be by your side no matter what falls,” Aileen told him.
“So sweet and foolish, you are. Women are indeed possessions and you will be mine very soon. I can give you every luxury” you can imagine. No more sleeping in the abandoned hut of a man that has forsaken you. You will have jewels, richly threaded clothing and people to serve you as you wish. You have only to submit to me,” he said
“I will never submit to you! Thomas is my only love,” she yelled at him.
“I do adore your spunk,” he laughed, turning to walk away.
Aileen was shaking as she walked away, returning to Thomas’s hut and laying down in his bed until the sun was falling from the sky. She had hoped to sleep during her rest, but instead had only stared at the ceiling, longing for Thomas.
Rising, she sat at the small table and ate an apple and a handful of nuts, all she could manage at the moment. She had begun to drop weight rapidly in Thomas’s absence and the villagers had done their best to take care of her, always bringing her portions from the meals they prepared for their families or leaving things like the apples and nuts on the table inside her hut when she was away. It was no unusual to find new items each time she returned home and she did her best to eat what her appetite would allow though she didn’t usually feel very hungry. She knew Thomas would want her to take care of herself, to be healthy when he returned to her.
“Where are you, Thomas? I need you. You’ve been gone so long and I am afraid,” she had said to the empty air ar
ound her.
Now, she returned to his bed and lay there crying until she fell asleep. Thomas came to her in her dreams, his red hair aflame in the sunshine like that first day she had met him.
“Aileen, I need you to leave here,” he told her softly, putting his hand on her cheek.
“Thomas, where have you gone? I need you to come home. I won’t leave until you come for me,” she said.
“Listen to me. You are not safe. Get out of her, Aileen. Now! I will find you. I will find you. Wherever you go, I will find you. I love you!” he said, fading before her eyes.
“Don’t go. Please don’t . . .,” she began to say, but it was too late.
It took a moment to register what was happening, but Aileen quickly realized there were hands over her mouth and hands pulling her up from the bed. She tried to scream, fighting whoever had hold of her. The laugh that cut through the darkness terrified her as she recognized the blackness of the depths from which it rose. Lord MacAuley was taking her, snatching her away in her sleep lie the evil monster that he was.
She fought him, trying to bite and kick him, but it was no use. She was too weak and he was much larger, stronger. He made quick work of having her bound, gagged and tossed across his shoulder and then onto the back of his horse, carrying her away into the night.
It seemed that they rode for hours. She felt bruised and exhausted as her tiny frame bounced up and down on the back of the horse, her hands secured to the saddle to prevent her from jumping. She closed her eyes and sent herself far away to a place that wasn’t filled with the terror she was feeling at this moment. Her last day with Thomas unfolded in front of her, how he had kissed her in the meadow and looked at her calmed her a little as she was lead towards whatever horrors awaited her.
“Ah, we’ve arrived, my dear. Home Sweet Home!” Lord MacAuley said out of the blue.
Aileen could not speak for the cloth he had placed in her mouth. She looked forlornly up at the large castle that came into sight in the distance. It was not her home. It never would be. Her home was only with Thomas.
“You are going to love it here. I’ve already had the servants prepare your quarters. You will be most comfortable in them until we are wed and you come into my bed,” he told her.
Tears fell down Aileen’s cheeks at the thought of being forced to give herself to such a despicable man. How could she ever face Thomas when he returned having given up her innocence to another man? Truly, all was lost. Thomas had not come for her. He was never going to return. Perhaps he was dead. For all she knew, he would never forsake her like this.
“Don’t worry, I will be gentle with you and I will let you adjust to your new life while we plan a wedding fit for a King. I don’t care for such things, but it is what is expected from a man of my stature. I wouldn’t want to appear unseemly, after all,” he said, laughing in a way that made Aileen’s skin crawl.
As they entered the castle walls, Lord MacAuley took a small corridor just inside the entrance that led around and down through the tunnel. She could only assume he didn’t want anyone knowing his future bride was arriving bound and gagged. After a few minutes, they entered an underground area and he stopped the horse to remove her from the saddle before escorting her to a small room.
“You’ll be okay in here while I stable the horse,” he told her, pushing her roughly inside. She heard the door latch behind her as she sat in a corner and wept.
“Why have you forsaken me, Thomas?” she whispered into the darkness, but there was no answer. Curling up into a ball, she lay shivering on the cold stone floor. It seemed like she was there for hours, though it was probably much less.
“Alright, my beloved, we need to talk. I am going to take you upstairs now, but you need to understand that if you utter a word to anyone about not having arrived here under your own free will, you will not enjoy the consequences. You can also rest assured that they will not only extend to you, but to all your villagers. I will burn them to the ground for your disobedience,” he told her.
Aileen looked at his shadowy figure standing in the doorway between the near darkness of the room and the little bit of light that shined inside the door from behind him. She had managed to stop sobbing before he had returned and now only felt numb. Cowering still in the corner she could say nothing. Her mouth felt dry from the gag and her hands ached from being tied to the saddle.
“I am going to untie and ungag you now. You won’t want to be screaming or any such senseless thing. Do you understand?” he asked, pulling the gag from her mouth.
“Yes,” she croaked with what voice she had left.
“Very good. Now, let’s get you to a room more suitable for my blushing bride,” he said as he placed his hand on her arm and led her up a steep staircase into ta hallway that led to the sleeping quarters of the castle.
“Can I have some water, please?” she managed.
“Of course, my darling. Let’s get you into your room and I will send up a servant to get you anything you want,” he told her.
Aileen nodded as she tried to keep from crying. She had no idea what he would do if she let anyone see her face wet with tears.
“This, of course, is my room. It will be our room once we are married,” he told her, showing her the large opulent room filled with very fine linens and draperies of expensive silk. She could imagine sharing a room like this with Thomas would be a joy, but the thought of spending even one night in this horrible man’s bed repulsed her. Tears fell down her face before she could bid them to stay away.
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake!” he exclaimed, obviously annoyed by her weeping. He grabbed her hand and yanked her down the hall, showing her into a room only a few doors down. “This is your room. Get yourself together before the servant arrives.”
With that, he turned and left, locking the heavy iron doors behind him. It was dark in the room. Rather than looking for candles, she felt her way around until she found the bed. She lay staring at the ceiling, tears still falling down her face.
“Please, Thomas. Please save me,” she pleaded into the darkness that surrounded her. Hearing the door lock turning, she quickly brushed away her tears and sat up on the edge of the bed, waiting.
“Miss?” came a soft voice, closing and locking the door behind her. A young woman, not much older than Aileen entered with a lantern. She lit a pillar candle near the bed and another on the opposite side. Aileen said nothing.
“My name is Hannah,” the young servant continued. Lord MacAuley sent me to attend to you,” she told her, pouring her a glass of water from a pitcher in her hand before setting the large metal vessel aside. She extended her arm toward her and Aileen accepted the glass.
“Can you help me get out of here?” Aileen said, once she had consumed the water.
“Best not to say such things,” Hannah told her, looking incredibly nervous. Her head nodded toward the door as a warning before she leaned closer and whispered, “He would kill both of us, then our kin.”
“Wretched man,” Aileen said beneath the breath.
“What do you need that I can do for you?” Hannah asked.
“I need something else to sleep in. My clothes are dirty from the travel here,” Aileen told her.
“There are garments for you in the bureau over there,” Hannah replied.
Aileen looked at her curiously. “Whose clothes?” she asked.
“Lord MacAuley told us you would be coming soon and had everything you should need put into the room for your arrival,” Hannah said, leading her to the large wooden bureau that held her things. Aileen looked at the contents as the young servant opened it for her. It was full of beautiful gowns, stockings and dresses. There were even shoes in her size. How long had he planned this? Feeling ill, she reached for a nightgown and pulled it free
“I don’t feel well. I don’t think I need anything else tonight. If you could just leave the water, I will be fine until morning,” Aileen told the girl.
“Yes, M’lady,” the servant replied.<
br />
“Please, we seem to be almost the same age. Call me Aileen,” she replied.
“I’d prefer to keep it formal, if you don’t mind. Lord MacAuley requires it,” she added, saying the last part much more quietly as if to let Aileen know it wasn’t her choice to be standoffish.
“I understand. Goodnight, Hannah,” Aileen told her, watching as the girl left.
She waited for the lock to turn before changing into the night gown and walking slowly around the room to see what her options for escape might be. She was quite surprised to look out one of the windows that overlooked the dark forest just beyond the castle walls and see a large bear standing at its edge. It seemed to almost be looking at her as she stood there wondering what it was doing out in the open like that. Several more joined the large reddish brown animal, all seeming to look toward her and then they disappeared into the woods again. Stepping away from the window, Aileen dressed for bed and fell asleep quickly, more from mental and physical exhaustion than anything.
In the following days, Lord MacAuley kept his word. He did not attempt to come into her room without announcing himself or, more to the point, into her bed. She was well tended by servants and given whatever she asked for, within reason, but she remained locked away in the room. Having found no way out of it, she decided the only way was to win MacAuley’s trust. If she could make him believe she was content here and had no intentions of running away, perhaps he would give her more freedom and that might give her an opening for escape.
“Good Morning, My Love,” he told her as he stepped inside that morning.
“Good Morning,” she replied with a soft smile. He looked at her suspiciously.
“You seem in high spirits this morning,” he told her.
“I am feeling better. I have come to see that it is not so bad here. I do enjoy the finer things that it has to offer,” she replied.
“It is good that you do,” he told her. “It is only going to get better. We’ve only two weeks left to our blessed nuptials.”
