Owen’s head snapped up. “What is it?”
“The lasses, M’Laird.” Sawyer ran forward, brandishing a piece of paper. He slid it onto the table, in front of Owen. “Edith has gone, M’Laird. She’s gone to kill Elias, and… I think Heather has gone after her. She wasnae in her chambers, and a couple of lasses who were in the courtyard said they’d seen two women runnin’ for the loch.”
Owen’s eyes flitted across the letter in a hurry. It was a short, blunt note, that simply said:
Thank ye for all ye’ve done. It’s time for me to join me beloved now, for I doubt I’ll escape killing Elias Spencer with me own life intact. I’m acting alone and I pray ye daenae try to prevent me, but I hope that I might be able to prevent Elias from reaching this castle. I meant what I said, Heather. I cherish ye and I’m sorry that this might be the end.
Yers,
Edith
“Why would Heather go after her? There’s nay mention of Heather joinin’ her in this.” Owen scraped back his chair, crumpling the letter in his hand.
Sawyer shook his head. “I daenae ken, M’Laird. She must’ve seen Edith or suspected her of doin’ somethin’ like this.”
“We must go after her.” Owen addressed the gray guard, as fury gathered inside him like a winter storm. “Instruct the cavalry, the archers, and the musketeers to prepare. We’re nae waitin’ for the Sassenachs to attack anymore. We’ll take the attack to them.”
The gray guard got up and nodded in unison, before filing out of the council chamber to do as their Laird had commanded. Before long, a small army would be leaving the castle, but Owen did not know if it was going to be enough. He could not think about that, now. If Heather and Edith were out there, theyneeded to be retrieved as soon as possible, no matter what odds were stacked against Owen and his men.
After almost an hour of determined running, Heather came to a lumbering halt on the edge of the dense forest that stretched away from Castle Dunn, for miles upon miles. Edith had paused, too, still unaware that she was being followed.
“Edith?” Heather hissed, walking on toward the woman.
With a jump of fright, Edith whirled around. “Heather? What in heaven’s name are ye doin’ here?”
“I saw you.” Heather held onto her aching sides, as she fought to catch her burning breath. “I came after you. I know what you intend to do, and I am here to prevent you from making a grave mistake. This is not what William would have wanted from you. He would want you to be safe, as he did in life.”
Just then, Edith grabbed Heather and pulled her back into the defensive shadows of the forest, clamping a hand around her mouth. At first, Heather did not understand, but then she heard it: the steady percussion of countless footfalls, thudding along the forest path.
A moment later, pools of light cascaded down from the front row of a battalion of infantry, wielding torches to find their way through the woodland. They wore gruff and weary expressions,their steps reluctant yet obedient. Clearly, they did not want to be here.
They are so close. Owen does not know. I must get back to him. I must tell him how many men he is about to face.Heather knew thatshewas the one who had made a mistake by following Edith, without informing her beloved of where she was going. On horseback, they could have caught Edith within ten minutes of her leaving, but she had forgotten such things in her rush to save her sister-in-law.
Concealed by the thorny web of a briar, Edith kept her hand over Heather’s mouth, as they watched the parade of seemingly endless soldiers. Indeed, it was not just a small battalion of Elias’ men, but a considerable army.
He summoned his bannermen, just as Edith suspected he would.Horror made Heather’s blood run cold as she tried to count the number of soldiers, but there were too many for her mind to keep up. Surely, there was no way that Owen could emerge victorious against such a quantity of fighters.
Eventually, the regiments thinned to a small collection of cavalrymen. Twelve horses in total, riding three abreast. Not particularly intimidating, Heather supposed, for she knew that Owen had far more in the way of cavalry. But would that offer Owen the advantage against an army of at least two hundred? She did not know.
At that moment, Edith broke away from her, running full pelt toward one of the riders at the rear of the marching columns. Aglint of metal flashed in her hand—a concealed blade, that she wholly intended to use upon one of the cavalrymen. The one riding in the center of the last three.
Heather’s father.
“Edith, no!” Heather roared, charging after her newfound sister.
The desperate cry caught the attention of the riders, but a moment too late for them to do much about the dervish who whirled toward them.
With all the strength of her fury, Edith leaped up at Heather’s father. The horse spooked first, rearing up and sending the wretched old man crashing to the ground, before it took off into the trees. A second later, Edith was on Elias, trying to sink her blade into the despicable man.
But he was stronger than he appeared, wrestling with Edith. “Help me!” he bellowed to his accompanying soldiers. “Get this creature off me!”
The command appeared to remind the other soldiers why they were there, and they jumped into action. A few of them slid down from the saddle of their horses and surrounded Edith, hauling her away from her prize. Yet, she would not give up so easily, and though the men were larger and more numerous than her, she managed to wrench away from them and resume her attack upon Elias.
“Do something!” Elias howled, as the blade caught him across the chest. A deep scratch, but not fatal.
The rest of the cavalrymen dismounted, and though Edith managed to cut Elias a few more times, she was soon dragged away. One of the soldiers had the sense to twist the blade out of her hand, in case they met a similar fate to their commander.
On the edge of the tree line, Heather hesitated. She could not fight against so many men, yet it did not seem as though they knew she was there. If she slipped away, to warn Owen, no one would know. But something held her there. A duty to Edith. If she left and her father killed Edith, she would never forgive herself.
