“Ye may be telling the truth,” the man answered in a neutral tone. His mouth was next to her ear, and the strange warm tickle of his breath made her skin feel as though ants were crawling upon it. “However, that will likely matter little tae the man who sent me.”
“Tell me, I beg ye, is my sister alive?”
He let out a dry chuckle. “She lives, aye, and with a vengeance. And so shall ye, so long as ye dinnae cause any trouble.”
“But how is she? Has she been hurt?”
There was a tight pause. “We Oliphants dinnae harm innocent women. Pity ye and yers cannae make that claim.”
Katherine did not know what to make of his second remark, but she was flooded with relief that Romilly still lived.
“Will I be allowed tae see her?” she asked.
“That will nae be up tae me. Now, I have a handkerchief with me tae stifle ye. Will I be needing it?”
Katherine shook her head quickly.
“Good. Then we’ll have silence from ye until we’ve crossed over into Oliphant lands.”
Katherine did not know whether her captor was joking about the handkerchief. However, she was in no hurry to find out, so she remained quiet until they left her homeland. By then, nighthad fallen, and the moon was high. Now and then, the shrieks of owls pierced the gloom and echoed across the hillsides, their sounds giving voice to the sharp pangs of terror that Katherine dared not utter aloud.
What sort of man would drag an unarmed lass off into the night? How could his assurances with regard to her safety possibly be trusted?
What evil things might he do to her along the way to Castle Oliphant if he took a mind to?
4
Katherine had no way of knowingpreciselywhen they had crossed the border into Oliphant lands, due to the sack on her head impairing her vision. Nevertheless, she kept her mouth shut, trying not even to breathe too loudly until she felt the horse slow to a stop. Still, it seemed too soon for them to have reached the castle.
“Surely, we have not arrived yet?” she inquired, her voice muffled. She did her best to keep the abject fright from her tone. She worried that it might encourage him to terrorize her further if he knew he was able to get under her skin.
Her captor yanked the sack off her head, and she peered around her into the gloom of the evening.
“Nay,” he answered flatly, “but my horse has a thirst, and I thought ye might as well.” He gestured to a stream which reflected the moonlight, making it appear as a ribbon of shimmering silver.
The man dismounted, then offered a hand up to her so that she might do likewise despite her bound hands. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if this might be some ghastly trick in the offing. Perhaps he meant to jerk her down roughly so that shewould fall face-down in the dirt, and he might enjoy a good laugh at her expense.
But for the first time since he’d scooped her from her own steed, she was able to get a proper look at him. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with chestnut-brown hair that rakishly hung to his shoulders. He was, easily, the tallest man she’d ever encountered, for starters. She supposed that ought to have made her all the more wary of him, due to his imposing frame; there was a lithe grace and power within it that barely seemed contained, like the body of a dancer rather than a fighter. His physique was supple, calling to mind the image of a spruce branch, meant to bend instead of break.
She caught herself blushing at these mental comparisons, and wondered whether she was going mad, admiring a man who she ought to be terrified by. It was his eyes most of all, though, that kept her from trembling before him in fright.
They were a piercing green, like a pair of keen-faceted emeralds, catching and reflecting all the rays of the sunlight into a hypnotic ring of verdant hues. She saw guile in them, but no malice or violence, nothing that made her feel threatened.
Isn’t that terribly peculiar?she wondered to herself.I do believe I would fear my own father’s wrath and contempt over that of this stranger who has whisked me away!
“Drink, if ye will,” the man said. His voice was a rich yet lilting baritone, as though it was never wholly far from amusement, no matter how serious the matter at hand. “I can assure ye, I didnae somehow poison the whole blasted stream the last time I passed it, anticipating tricking ye, or anything so nefarious as that.”
Katherine allowed herself a wry half-smile at the fellow’s droll jest, though her heart was still pounding at the strife and uncertainty of her situation.
“That would be quite a feat indeed. Might ye have accomplished it, I would surely die, knowing the Oliphants’ inventiveness might well allow them tae prevail against my father’s clan.”
“Och, so it’s yerfather’sclan, now that ye’re my captive?” he chuckled. “Allow me tae guess; ye’ve always hated the man, ye’ve lived as a prisoner in yer own home yer entire bloody life. Why, ye’ve always truly been an Oliphant at heart, and if we’ll merely treat ye as an honored guest instead of tossing ye in the dungeons with yer vile sister, if we’ll only make ye privy tae ourmost secret plansagainst yer brutish father, ye’ll be a positive boon tae us. Ye’d swear it! Something like that, aye, as ye judge me tae have been born by the light of the last full moon?”
“I shall endure most of that smirking tirade without comment or complaint, for ye are more correct than ye know in yer estimation of my loyalty tae my father,” Katherine shot back. “But I’ll nae stand for my sister being called ‘vile,’ and certainly not by a man who wages wars by snatching up innocent women!”
“It is my goal taepreventa war so it need not be waged,” he responded indignantly.
Again, she wondered if she was going mad after all, for did she not detect a trace of genuine offense in his tone at his honor being questioned?
