“I swear to you, sweeting, ye will never wed Rory.”
“’Tis our duty to try to escape,” she murmured, hoping that by repeating that she could convince herself of it.
“Aye, because of the ransom and because of what he is doing to ye. There is no honor for ye in this arrangement. If he would but offer to wed ye…” he began.
“I will wed no man for honor’s sake.”
“Ah, loving, many is the man that speaks of honor but is wedding a woman because he wishes to.”
“Mayhaps.” She sighed. “I cannae stay only because I wish to.”
“Nay. Because ye are his captive, there are many who will pay little heed to the bedding of ye. If ye stay of your own will, ye are agreeing to the arrangement and that is when all will think ye but a whore, or most all.”
“I ken it.” Her mind cringed at the very thought of it. “When do we leave?”
“This night. I wished to go last eve but I needed to be certain of the best place to slip away through. It took longer than I had thought. ’Tis a weel-guarded place. Even the place I have found is watched but nae as keenly as others. Also, less time is needed to go from one place of cover to another then out beyond the walls.”
“What time do we try this then?”
“After the evening meal. We will retire as always and, as soon as the place quiets for the night, we will be gone.”
She smiled when he kissed her cheek, but her smile faded quickly when he left. Leaving was the very last thing she wanted to do. All of Leith’s reasoning was perfectly sound. There was no arguing with it yet she desperately wished that there was. Once she was back home, Parlan would never get near her again. She could not even feel sure that he would try.
There was also the possibility that, if he did hold some feelings for her, her escape would hurt him. He would probably understand what drove her to it, but emotions could be irrational things. She knew that all too well. No matter how solid her reasoning, there was no ignoring the fact that she was escaping not only Dubhglenn but his bed. She did not relish delivering that dart. She could almost wish that he held no more feelings for her than a healthy lust.
Shaking her head, she sought to disperse such thoughts. She needed to convince herself of the need to escape, of the rightness of the action. To view the unpleasant even painful side of it all would weaken her and she needed strength.
It proved difficult to keep up a facade of normality during the evening meal. Aimil found herself almost glad of Catarine’s presence and her continued acrimonious talk. It kept her thoughts from dwelling on how soon she would be gone from Dubhglenn and Parlan. So too did it give others a reason for her less than cheerful mood. They no doubt felt that she was simply angry with or tired of Catarine.
As she waited for Leith in Parlan’s room after they had retired, Aimil thought on Catarine and wished she had not. The woman would heartily welcome a vacancy in Parlan’s bed. Aimil did not feel confident that since she had left him of her own free will, Parlan would suffer an empty bed. She felt sick over the thought of him with other women, especially Catarine. It was enough to make her determination waver, but then Leith arrived.
“Ready, love?” he murmured, his gaze soft with understanding as he recognized her distress.
“If we must.” She sighed.
Grasping her gently by the shoulders, he said, “We must try, Aimil. If the man cares for ye, he will come for ye.”
“I am betrothed to Rory.” She did not really want to cherish too many hopes concerning Parlan for it would only hurt her more when they came to nothing.
“Then Parlan will end that betrothal as he said he would. He can do that be we at Dubhglenn or at home.”
She nodded and allowed herself to be led from the room. It was tempting to look back but she resisted. Now was the time to look ahead and to concentrate upon the business of escaping. Memories and regrets could come later. She was sure that she would find herself heavily ladened with both when she finally gave them free rein.
Moving through the shadowed halls of Dubhglenn, she was a little surprised at the laxity of the guard. Soon after that, she grew insulted. It appeared that the men felt Parlan had her well and firmly shackled to the bed. That a woman would try to escape the Black Parlan’s arms was a possibility they plainly considered a remote one. In what she knew was a rather contrary and perverse way, she decided she was going to enjoy proving them all wrong.
Slipping out of a little-used door into the bailey, she and Leith pressed their backs to the wall, taking full advantage of the shadows while they surveyed the strength of the guard. Here she noted that it was far more in evidence even though the men’s attentions were mostly turned away from the keep. She realized that slipping through the keep had been the easy part of their plan.
“Where do we head, Leith?”
“To the stables, loving. Between the wall of the stables and the curtain wall is a small space, barely enough for us to slide into. There is a small door in the curtain wall there. Getting to the stables from here will be difficult, but it can be done. When I cry ‘now,’ ye are to bolt over the open ground toward the curtain wall. Flat against it, ye will see the space.”
Aimil felt her heart quicken with tense excitement. She held no fear for she felt sure that Parlan’s men would not harm her or Leith although there could be a few bruises forthcoming in their recapture. Despite her regrets and her desire to stay, there was a thrill in the thought of eluding Parlan’s men and escaping such a well-secured keep as Dubhglenn. She wished a successful escape did not mean an end to all she had shared with Parlan.
When Leith hissed the signal, she moved with no hesitation. She had seen that he watched for that brief moment when the two guards who could have spotted them had their attention elsewhere. That meant not only stealth was needed of her but speed, and she produced all she could as she silently raced across the open space to the stables.
Upon reaching the high stone wall beyond the stables, she clung to the cool stone and the safety of its shadows. It took a moment for her to espy the space Leith had spoken of. The shadows and its narrowness made it nearly invisible. Still clinging to the wall, she slid into the space, releasing her breath in a soft expulsion of relief when no outcry was made. She had made it without being discovered. Now she tensely waited for Leith to do the same.
Her tension, accumulating as she waited for her brother, was released in a soft squeak when he finally reached her side. There had been no warning of his approach by sight or by sound. One minute she had been alone, in the next he was there. It took her several deep breaths before she quieted the furious pounding of her heart. Despite that, she felt proud of his skill.
