It felt strange, to be in league with someone who… well, she may not have been a criminal, exactly, but she was certainly running from law enforcement. Elena crept up the stairs as quietly as she could, leaving footprints in the dust as she went. Should she come back later and dust the prints away? That was probably overkill… if anyone discovered the footprints and linked them to her (unlikely in the extreme) she’d just say they were from an afternoon spent exploring the castle. After all, she only had the one pair of boots, still — maybe that could be something she did with Brendan on their little date tomorrow to the village.
Focus, Elena, she scolded herself. First things first was to escape the notice of the guards. She found herself at the top of the stairs — there was an old wooden door in the wall, and she pressed on it carefully, letting it creak open. It was a few dozen paces down from the door she’d gone through, and to her relief there were no guards in sight. She moved through the door and shut it behind her. She couldn’t risk going around the front of the castle — better to go around the back. After all, thanks to her first day here, she knew there was a door to the kitchen in the back. She’d slip through there, claim she was grabbing an evening snack, then head up the stairs. Perfect.
It worked like clockwork. Nobody saw her coming around the side of the castle — a servant raised a curious eyebrow when she slipped into the kitchen, but he quickly went back to peeling potatoes when she gave him her best confident ‘this is where I’m supposed to be’ smile. She grabbed a bread roll from a pile leftover from dinner as a cover story and slipped back through the kitchen and out into the main foyer. Then — and only then — did she let herself breathe. She took a bite of the bread roll and headed up the stairs, trying not to pant audibly as she did. That had been a close call — her body was full of adrenaline. What would she have said, if Brendan caught her out there?
It doesn’t matter, she told herself firmly. She hadn’t been caught — and neither had Una, thankfully. She wasn’t sure what the guards would have done to her if they had caught her, but if Una’s suspicions were correct, it wouldn’t have been anything good. They were all armed with cold iron, and though Una had been evasive about whether or not it was the iron that had driven her away, on the chance that it had been, they’d have been more than capable of doing her serious damage. Elena ground her teeth as she headed into her room, frustrated. She needed so much more information than she’d gotten… why had the monster had to turn up then and there?
There’ll be time, she told herself, trying to calm herself down as she climbed into bed, far too restless to sleep but hoping the exertion of the day would change that soon enough. There’d be plenty of time to find all this out. Una was safe, and so was Elena — the men would hopefully go back to the walls, assuming the monster had called them out on a false alarm. Maybe she’d find out from Brendan tomorrow. For now, all she could do was go back to sleep… and hopefully, if she met up with Una the following night, they’d have a little more time to talk.
She slept pretty well, all things considered, and awoke as dawn crept over the windowsill. She’d had vague ideas of going back out to see Una if she woke before dawn, but the light of the sun put an end to that plan. Ah, well. She had a day planned with Brendan — it would be good to go down and see this village everyone had been talking about, and to get a bit more riding practice in. And — if she was honest — she was really looking forward to spending some more time with Brendan. That was allowed, wasn’t it? She was allowed to have feelings — so long as she didn’t let them cloud her sharp investigative mind.
Nancy still wasn’t at breakfast — Anna and Elena exchanged sympathetic glances when they noticed her absence, and Maeve breezed through with some kind of covered cup in her hands, clearly headed for the upstairs.
“Are you taking that to Nancy?” Elena asked, recognizing it as the kind of thing she’d brought to her when she was sick. The woman nodded, sympathy in her bright silver eyes.
“Aye, I suffered terribly of the morning sickness when I bore my boys. This was the only thing that helped me. Every woman’s different, of course, but I thought I may as well let her try it.”
“The only thing that helped me was just getting through the first trimester,” Anna shrugged, smiling a little ruefully once Maeve had gone. “But maybe the herbs will help.”
Elena headed out into the foyer after breakfast, ready to meet Brendan. He was there soon enough — he’d changed out of the armor that made up his guard uniform, and his beard looked freshly trimmed. Her heart skipped a beat when he smiled at her, and she scolded herself a little for being so easily won over, reminding herself that this was the man who’d planted an iron coin on her without her knowledge or consent.
“How are you this morning, lass?”
“Well, I haven’t found any more strange things secreted about my person lately,” she said archly, and he grinned, pulling her into an embrace that she didn’t bother resisting.
“Do you have it on you, or did you fling it from the window of the keep in a rage?” he asked teasingly, and she bit her lip, a little amused by how close he was to the truth. But she shook her head.
“No. It’s tucked away still, safe and sound.”
“Oh, aye?” A flirtatious look crossed his face. “In your bodice, is it?”
“Yes,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “And no, you can’t see.”
An expression of dramatic disappointment crossed his face — then he winked at her and took her hand in his, leading her out to the stables. She felt a vague prickle of guilt and unease at having misled him — but he’d misled her first, hadn’t he, by hiding it on her without telling her. At any rate, she wasn’t going to worry about it. It was a fine, clear day and she was going riding with a handsome man who liked her. That would be her primary focus.
Well, her primary focus probably ought to be the investigation, she thought with a frown. But her secondary focus, absolutely. “Brendan? Have we heard back from Maggie and Darter?”
“Oh, aye, I’d forgotten,” Brendan said, turning back to look at her as he led two horses out of the stables — the same ones as the other day, Elena noted, pleased to see her old white mare again. “Oh! Maybe that’s what had the Monster so out of sorts last night.”
Elena took a deep breath, trying to look like she had no idea what he meant. “The monster?”
“You didn’t hear it? It was loud enough to wake half the castle. Nessie was down at the docks last night, roaring at us about something or other. She usually only does that when there are Unseelie Fae about, but there was nothing to be found but a few footsteps.” He tilted his head, giving her a sharp look. “You didn’t happen to be down on the docks last night, did you?”
She’d prepared her answer to this one. “I was there for a little bit, after dinner. Just wanted some fresh air. But I went in afterwards. Definitely didn’t see the monster.” Drawing on her acting skills, she pouted a little. “It’s a shame, I really want to see her. If I’d known she was going to come out, I’d have stayed on the docks.”
“Probably best you didn’t, if there was something dangerous lurking about,” Brendan said, frowning. “Then again, you’ve got your token, so you’d have been safe.”
“Exactly,” she said brightly, suppressing her twinge of guilt as she thought of the iron token, probably sitting at the bottom of the Loch by now. But soon enough the conversation moved on to happier things — it was clear Brendan wasn’t too concerned about what the Monster had been roaring about. That was good, she thought, exhaling. But hopefully when she met with Una again tonight, the monster wouldn’t come back. She wasn’t sure two nights in a row would be as easy to get away with.
“Anyway, we’ll stop at Maggie’s on the ride down to the village to see what Darter’s got to say. Maybe he’s the one who got the Monster riled up. She does love visitors.” He chuckled fondly.
Elena couldn’t help but grin. They talked about the Loch Ness Monster like a beloved family dog.
Perhaps she was, in a way. Nancy felt a pang of guilt for disturbing the creature — was it possible that throwing the iron into the loch had been what stirred her up in the first place? If iron was harmful to Fae, and Nessie was a Fae monster, it was likely.
Well, she’d just have to apologize later. Maybe she’d take another fish down, as an offering. For now, she had an investigation to focus on.
And a date.
Chapter 38
She felt a lot more comfortable as she swung up onto the horse’s back, this time aided only a little bit by the very patient Brendan. Silver moved cautiously under her, but she had a lot more confidence than she had the day before, and it wasn’t long before she felt the horse relax. She glanced at Brendan as he rode, envying the smooth movements, the utter confidence with which he steered his chestnut mount toward the gate. He’d been practicing it all his life, she reminded herself, feeling the old competitive urges flaring up to bother her. Being raised with four older brothers really had done a number on her self-esteem, hadn’t it? The minute someone was better than her at something, all the demons came out to play.
Well, she’d get good at riding, that was the only thing for it. Smiling to herself, she reined Silver to a stop while the gate was raised, then squeezed her into an easy walk across the land bridge that connected the almost-island where the castle stood to the mainland. She felt a vague stirring of anxiety as they walked past the place where she’d fallen off on their last ride, and Brendan shot her a quick look, a smile dancing in his eyes.
“No problems this time, lassie. You know what you’re doing now.”
“I do,” she repeated firmly, making herself believe it too. And sure enough, the turn was easily made — with her heels pressed firmly down, there was no chance of losing the stirrups, and the easy but firm grip she maintained on the reins kept the horse’s movements smooth. Before long, they were ambling along the shoreline, and she actually felt herself relax a little. That was a big step — going from falling off the horse to actually feeling comfortable on her back.
“You’re a natural,” Brendan told her, grinning.
She waved away the compliment, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks. He is just being nice, she told herself irritably — she was still so awkward and clumsy on horseback, she’d have months of practice ahead of her before she even looked halfway decent. Still, it felt good to be practicing. Especially if horseback was going to be the fastest way of getting around for a little while…
They reached Maggie’s cottage soon enough, and this time, she was determined to get down from the horse without assistance. Brendan lingered nearby, clearly a little worried about her, but that only fueled her determination to do a good job. Slipping both feet out of the stirrups, she took a deep breath, then swung one leg over the horse’s back and slid — not particularly gracefully — down to the ground. She staggered a little as she caught her weight, but she didn’t fall. Not the most gracious dismount in recorded history, Elena thought, frowning — but it would do as a start. Brendan gave her a genteel little round of applause, grinning.
“Good progress, Elena Cross. You’ll be racing the local lads up and down the high street within a week, you mark my words.”
She laughed, remembering how frightened she’d felt when Silver lurched into a faster gait than a walk the last time she’d gone riding. “Maybe. Maybe two weeks. Just for safety.”
Maggie was on her porch, soaking up the sun — she looked like a pile of rags basking in the afternoon sun, and she gave Brendan and Elena a cheery little wave from her position, though she didn’t get up. She’d been expecting them, clearly. Had she seen them coming, or was it a Fae thing? Hard to say — and she suspected that Maggie wouldn’t give her a straight answer if she asked. She had that in common with Una, Elena thought with a frown ghosting across her face.
“Is Darter back yet?”
“Oh, aye. Got back this morning. You’ll have to duck inside to see him, you know how he is about daylight,” Maggie replied, rolling her eyes.
“Is he nocturnal?”
“No, he just doesn’t like the sun. Frightened of being seen. I told him nobody comes along here who’d mind the sight of a goblin, but he’s a stubborn little bastard when he wants to be.” There was a lot of affection in Maggie’s voice for the little creature, and Elena couldn’t help smiling. She may try to project the persona of a crotchety old woman, but Elena knew a soft-hearted woman when she met one. Detective instinct.
Sure enough, Darter was sitting in Maggie’s armchair when they got into the house — his ears stood up when he saw them, and Elena couldn’t help but grin at the greeting.
“Hiya, Darter. How was your trip?” Brendan asked, ducking his head a little to avoid knocking it on the various hanging baskets of plant life that hung from several random points on the ceiling. Elena narrowly avoided one, too — this wasn’t a house that was intended for tall people, that was for sure.
“Hullo,” the goblin squeaked. “It was fine. Good to go for a good long swim. It’s been a while.” But there was a hesitant look on his face that told Elena’s instincts that he was avoiding saying something. Something important, she reckoned — even though his facial features were very different from most humans’ she’d seen, she’d recognize evasion anywhere.
“What did you find out?” she asked, moving over to take a seat on the couch. Brendan followed, to her quiet pleasure — this was an excellent couch to share with him. She liked the way their knees were forced to touch, the way she didn’t even have to lean against him to feel the warmth of his body… but she shook herself a little, trying to focus on Darter. This was an investigation, remember? An interrogation, of a sort… not that she really had much power to get Darter to tell her anything he didn’t want to tell her.
The little goblin uttered a heavy sigh. “I found out a few things, but not much. Had to go through the Burgh, in the end, there was nobody within distance of the door… and then of course it was a hassle to get back home.”
Brendan frowned. “The Sidhe tried to keep you there?”
“There were a few misunderstandings,” the goblin said, and though he was trying to keep his voice casual, Elena could hear the worry in him. “They didn’t quite realize I’d, uh — changed sides. The guards were rather keen to … keep me there, for the time being.”
“I’m sorry,” Brendan said gently. “Had I known it was going to be such an ordeal for you, I’d not have suggested you go —”
But Darter shook his head. “No. It was good to go back. I hadn’t been since — since the goblins were defeated, since I met Nancy and changed sides. It was important for me to face the Sidhe, to apologize for what I did when I was Unseelie. And they let me go, so… I suppose I’m officially a Seelie Hob, now,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “Fancy that.”
“Congratulations,” Brendan said warmly, reaching out to shake the little goblin’s paw in an oddly formal gesture that was touching, somehow, even though Elena barely had any idea what was going on.
“So you’re — officially a good guy now, huh?” she attempted, and Darter giggled.
“Something like that. But the Sidhe were distracted. From what I could gather, they’d had a recent breakout.”
“A breakout? From where?”
“They keep cells, deep under their palace,” Darter explained. “They’re a peaceful group and not particularly fond of keeping prisoners, but some Unseelie are too powerful — and too corrupted — to keep anywhere else. This was one such creature.”
Brendan took a sharp breath. “A powerful Unseelie Fae escaped the Sidhe? That’s not good.”
“Aye, it’s not. And they’re not sure where she went, more’s the trouble. They told me she’s prone to slipping through any doors they open — past, present or future — and causing havoc before she’s recaptured. They’ve brought her in a few dozen times now, and she keeps escaping.”
“What is she?” Brendan wanted to know. “Did they say?”
/> “They didn’t,” Darter said. “I was lucky enough to hear the information I did hear from the guards while I was waiting to be seen… it sounds like there’s been a lot of chaos down there of late. But they did mention the nature of the chaos she’s been making when she bursts through doorways. She hunts men. Human men. Hunts them… and harms them.”
Brendan’s eyes widened. “The sick men in the village.”
“Perhaps.” Darter shrugged. “Not knowing what kind of a creature she is, I don’t know much about the harm she could be doing… but it might be worth thinking about.”
“I knew it,” Brendan said to Elena, his face lit up with an expression she’d seen in the mirror a few times. It was the expression of making a major break in a case — and it was the expression of having a hunch confirmed, too.
She smiled, happy for him.
“I knew it was supernatural — an enchantment, or something. Wait!” He reached out and grabbed her hand suddenly, and she laughed, startled. “What did the men say in their dreams? When they were at their sickest?”
“I don’t remember,” Elena said. “I was pretty sick myself when you were investigating…”
“A woman. They talked about a woman — they had those… scandalous dreams… maybe it’s connected to this creature, whatever she is.”
“Helpful, then?” Darter said inquisitively.
Brendan beamed at him.
“More helpful than you could imagine, Darter. I owe you a great debt. Call in a favor any time you need, you hear?”
“It was the least I could do,” Darter demurred — but Brendan insisted.
They chatted with Maggie and Darter for a little longer before they headed off, but Elena could tell that Brendan was distracted with this new break in his case. They continued along the path, and she laughed as he almost led them straight past the turn that even she could tell led up to the village.
Swept By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 3 Page 23
