It would be scary, no doubt, riding all the way back to the MacDonell lands on her own through the night. But she believedshe could do it, and it would be preferable to forcing herself to wait until dawn, thus running the risk of seeing him again upon his return.
So she continued to follow Lachlan, until his pace began to slow. She looked ahead, and saw a female figure ahead of them in the gloom. There was a copse of trees nearby, but she saw no sign of Alex.
We have arrived too early, she thought, her heart sinking,and now Lady Romilly has seen us. It is too late to catch them at it. I have failed, and now I will have to invent some excuse as to why we’re out here…
But just as she started trying to come up with a convincing story to tell Romilly, the trees began to rustle sharply. She felt a surge of terror that bandits might jump out, and turned to warn Lachlan to be ready.
Except Lachlan had his sword out, and was pointing it at her.
“Remain still, my lady,” he sneered, “and this shall all be over soon enough!”
Four men, armed and armored, emerged from the foliage with crossbows pointed at her.
Isla’s stomach lurched, and her entire body tensed. For a moment, she considered turning and fleeing—after all, her beloved Thistledown had never let her down before, and it was a long way back to Castle Oliphant. Perhaps her mare might have a miracle in her.
Lachlan was already positioning himself on the other side of her, though. And in the moonlight, his blade shined like the scythe of Death itself. Plus, though Thistledown might be able to outrun these men, she could not outrun their arrows.
“What is all this?” Isla asked in a quivering voice as the men dragged her down from her steed.
Her wrists were bound with a rough length of rope. Romilly swaggered toward her with a triumphant smirk.
“This is a trap, ye foolish lass,” Romilly informed her smugly. “Set for a foolish girl who thought she could replace me as Laird Alex’s bride… and intended tae divide and conquer, but we MacGregors may rule over all the land!”
“What sort of fiendish blather is that?” Isla demanded. “I have done nothing tae harm or offend you! I dinnae ‘replace’ you, I was betrothed tae Laird Alex after his courtship of ye had ended!”
“Aye… and then, when you heard that Alex might still be carrying on with me, ye came here tae expose us! Taedestroymy good name, along with his!”
“Nay, nothing of the sort! I only wished tae see with my own eyes whether it was true, so that I might then decide whether it would be best tae end the betrothal and return home!”
“Unfortunately for ye, ye shall never see your home again!” Romilly laughed darkly. “He will pay for humiliating me by ending our engagement, and you will pay for thinking you could ever replace me.” She turned to the other men. “Take her away at once!”
18
Now that Isla’s hands were bound, the men lowered their weapons, marching her across the moor to where they’d tied up their horses. Lachlan led Thistledown, and the sight of him with his hand on her reins filled Isla with a dreadful fury and revulsion.
She was still trying to make sense of his betrayal, how the shy and humble fellow he’d been before had suddenly melted away to reveal the treacherous villain underneath. There was a terrible eagerness in his eyes now, as though he could scarcely contain his desire to see her harmed. Every time he turned to leer at her, his horrid grin grew wider.
Isla was slung across the front of Lachlan’s saddle, and they rode for another hour, into lands which were unfamiliar to Isla… but which she suspected belonged to the MacGregors.
Sure enough, a tall and dreary tower loomed miles ahead, with a steep roof that seemed to pierce the dark clouds gathered above like a monstrous talon. Emerald banners hung from the stone ramparts’ entrance, depicting a charging silver deer with a twisted crown of lethal-looking antlers.
Yes, this was MacGregor Tower, right enough. But what fate awaited her there?
Kidnap for ransom, she supposed at first, but the longer she pondered it, the less it seemed like a prudent course of action for her captors. How would it benefit them, to commit an act of war against not one buttwolarge clans? MacGregor warriors were known for their ruthlessness, true, but even so, they would be too drastically outnumbered to even hope for victory.
What, then, did they plan to do with her? And to what end?
The more she tried to untangle that knot in her mind, the more she began to feel submerged in an icy and implacable horror, as though she was slowly being dipped into winter-black water. Romilly seemed spiteful enough to imprison and torture Isla, for no reason other than her own amusement.
How would Alex know where to look for her?
After the way she had left things with him, would he even try? Or would he simply assume she had left of her own free will, never to return?
Romilly had said Isla would never see her home again, but surely, that was only meant to frighten her. It had to be.
All of these rustling and ominous thoughts were swept away at once, though, when Isla saw who was standing in the grass ahead, waiting for her. “Moira?”
The servant girl stood, her round face sad and solemn. “Aye, my lady. Lachlan and I are both loyal tae Lady Romilly, for she’s paid us well and promised us much in return. We do mean tae marry, that much is true… but first, we wish tae improve our respective stations, if you see what I mean.”
