Annabel looked in the direction he pointed, and her eyes swept over Bryan and her daughter. “I see nothing, Angus. Nothing at all. Yer eyes must be playing tricks on ye.”
He spluttered and stammered, his cheeks turning red. Before he could form any words, Romilly stood at his other side, looking deeply worried. “What is the meaning of all this shouting, Father? Why, ye will have every member of our clan thinking ye have taken leave of yer blood senses.”
“Katherine is escaping,” he howled, pointing again with a trembling finger. “She is in the company of that callow young Oliphant thug. He is stealing her away! How can ye be so damned blind?”
“Ye have nae been sleeping well these past nights, Father,” Romilly said in a pacifying tone. “Ye have been at war with the Oliphants in yer mind day and night, and now ye have driven yerself into a frenzy, so that ye can no longer tell the difference between what occurs within yer imagination and what transpires outside of it.”
“Aye, it seems this is so, husband,” Annabel chimed in quickly. “Ye have put so much pressure on yerself of late, ye have endured so much on behalf of yer clan. Is it any wonder that it has ye jumping at some hare running across the valley, thinking it is some terrible skulking enemy?”
“But it is no hare,” Angus roared, foaming at the mouth. “What is the matter with ye? I am no madman, do ye hear?”
Bryan watched this scene unfold, astonished. He glanced over at Katherine, and saw that she was similarly dumbstruck.
One of Angus’s oldest and most trusted guardsmen came running. Katherine recognized him. He was called Stump, for his height and girth lent him to such a nickname quite easily. He had always been kind and attentive toward Katherine and Romilly, ever since they were wee lasses.
“What transpires, Laird Angus?” he huffed, out of breath.
Angus gesticulated wildly once more. “My daughter is fleeing! She is being abducted again by the same damned blackguard as last time. Tell me ye see it, Stump.” He seized the front of Stump’s tunic desperately, his bloodshot eyes rolling in his head. “I am no madman, ye must say it. Ye must say I am no madman!”
Now Stump’s eyes were wide as well, and filled with terror. He peered down into the gloom of the valley, and his eyes met Katherine’s.
She gave him the smallest shake of her head, her lower lip quivering.
Stump turned, first to Annabel, then to Romilly. They gazed back, their eyes intense, and after several seconds, understanding dawned on him.
He took Angus by the shoulder, gently but firmly. “There is nothing there but the tall grasses, Laird Angus. And the breeze that moves them, which ye no doubt mistook for the shapes of those ye described. Ye have been under great strain, my laird, and ye have not rested or ta’en care of yerself. Come, let us get ye back tae yer chamber before ye catch yer death out here.”
Angus gazed down at his daughter and her companion once more, and his jaw went slack. He mumbled and shook his head, mystified. “I am no madman. I-I…”
“Nay, ye are no madman, my dear husband,” Annabel said soothingly, patting his shoulder. “Just a leader pushed tae hisextreme, that is all. A night of sleep is all ye need. Mayhap one of my headache powders might help.”
One final mad-eyed stare from Angus, and then he was coaxed into the stronghold.
Romilly and her mother likewise gave Katherine a last look, offering a pair of reassuring smiles and nods before following him in.
Bryan and Katherine stared at each other, unsure of what to say after having borne witness to such a strange thing.
After a few moments, they turned toward the wooded ring around the stronghold’s grounds and ran toward it as fast as they could. Bryan led Katherine to the place where he had secured his horse, and found that Romilly had tied up another steed in hope of their plan’s success.
“yer sister is a shrewd woman,” Bryan remarked as they mounted their horses and rode toward the Oliphant lands.
“Aye, she ought tae be,” Katherine replied, flicking the reins of her steed. “She was taught by the best.”
They rode hard toward the Oliphant territories, stopping only briefly here and there to let their horses recover and to kiss each other passionately. Though they wished to tarry beneath the moonlight and enjoy each other’s company more thoroughly, without anyone around to stop them for a change, they did not dare to push their luck, having escaped from the stronghold so narrowly.
So they continued through the night and all the following day, expecting to hear McGregor horses at their heels at any moment, even after they crossed over the border.
Katherine’s mind raced. Had her mother and sister truly been able to convince Angus that everything he had seen had merely been in his head? What would happen if he went down to check the dungeons the following day and found Katherine gone?
Would Romilly be punished? Would Lady Annabel?
Would the McGregor clansmen even follow orders that came from Angus anymore, having seen the extent of his madness?
She did not know. She could only tell herself that it was all behind her now, and that she would soon be carried safely through the gates of Castle Oliphant.
Sure enough, as the sun started to set behind the rolling hillsides, the castle’s towers came into view. Bryan felt a surge of apprehension, and when he looked over at Katherine, he saw uncertainty on her face as well. He had already told her along the way that his rescue of her had not been approved by Laird Alex.
What sort of reception, then, would await them?
