When they reached the border where the armed men had been sighted, they found nothing but a few tracks. Though Ceann sent men to scout the area in each direction, they returned with no sightings; nothing. Neither were any of the farmers nearby missing any cattle. How very strange. What had the men been about, if not raiding or thieving?Ceann lingered a bit longer, and then, satisfied that there wasno immediate danger, started for home. He left a small patrol behind, to make sure the men did not return.
A wasted afternoon, Ceann thought. And there was so much to be done at Tulloch. He had been away for two months, no, longer, and now there were many things that needed his attention. His steward, Grant, kept things running smoothly in his absence, but now that he was home the full weight fell back onto his shoulders. Sometimes he almost preferred battle to the huge responsibility he bore for the health and welfare of his people. With both of his parents gone, and being their only child, he now and again felt as if he were alone in the world, except for Ethan, on whom he could always depend. Ethan, who thought he should take a wife. A wife who would share in his duties; a strong and capable woman who would stand by his side and help care for his people.But he wouldn’t take a wife. No, to do so would onlyproveto the world that he was cursed. It would weaken his authority as laird, perhaps even tempt others to rise against him and take what was his. It was best that there would always be doubt. But to have a wife to warm his bed, to tend his wounds after a good fight, and aye, to take over the care of the keep; a woman as beautiful and as intriguing as Ella…
To his utter dismay, Ceann found his heart sped up when he thought of her, and heat pooled in his groin, making the saddle increasingly uncomfortable.He uttered a series of vile curses, drawing the curious looks of several of the men who rode near him. Which made him curse again. Such thoughts would do him no good, would only make him long for things he couldn’t have.
Ella had watched from the window at the end of the hall as the group of warriors rode off.He had kissed her. She could still feel his lips on hers. Well, she admitted, it wasn’t so much of a kiss as just a brief touch of his lips, but even so, it had left her wanting more, much more. Strange, she had been kissed many times before, stolen moments with this sweetheart or that… but she had never felt heat race through her veins as it did with the touch of Ceann’s lips on hers. She shook herself, here she was dreaming when the laird had been called away, and now she could continue searching the library without risking his interference.On her way to the stairs she paused at the door to the study.Did she dare? She listened intently for anyone nearby, and then carefully tried the latch. But the door wouldn’t open; the study would have to wait for another day. She sighed, almost relieved that she would not have to intrude upon Ceann’s personal sanctuary this day. She went back to the library, instead, and carefully eased the door to the room closed behind her. She set out methodically going through the books, looking for anything out of the ordinary, though not really expecting to find it so easily.She had reached the second row and was pushing a book of poetry back into its place, when she heard a sound in the corridor.
Chapter 6
There was a dull thud, as if something large and heavy had fallen against the door.She stood abruptly, fearing she had been caught snooping again.Suddenly the door swung open, and a man’s lifeless body fell into the room, blood seeping out from under him in a slowly spreading pool of red.Ella had only just raised her hands to her mouth to stifle a scream when another man stepped over the lifeless body and into the room.
“Make a sound, lass, and you’re dead.”
She swallowed the scream and instead drew in a ragged breath.
He looked her over for a moment, as she stood frozen to the spot, willing herself to think of a way out of this. She knew with a cold certainty that this was not one of Ceann’s clansmen. He was dressed in breeks and a dirty, torn shirt, and he wore no plaid that would give away his identity. His eyes were cold and hard, and fear raced in a cold line up and down her back.
“Och, I see you’re every bit as pretty as they say”, he drawled. Grabbing her arm, he drew a small dagger and held it to her throat in one swift motion. His hand came up to squeeze one breast appreciatively, even as he dragged her from the room, and her stomach churned in panic and revulsion.
“Not a sound, my pretty little lass”, he hissed against her ear. “I’d hate to have to kill you to save me own hide, but know that I would without a second thought.”
Just a few paces down the hall, he kicked at a wooden panel, and to her bewilderment it swung open to reveal a second staircase.A hidden passage. Just my luck.She thought such things were only found in children’s tales, where the dashing hero crept through a secret entrance to rescue his lady love locked in a castle tower.
She worked hard to keep her fear in check, knowing it would do her no good. There was no light after the door closed behind them, and Ella had to feel her way down the steps, though she couldn’t have fallen, with the brute still holding her arm in an iron grip. Then they were in a dank tunnel where she could smell the damp earth all around. Underground. She was probably right under the bailey, where above the clansmen worked.And they could not help her, would not even hear her if she dared to cry out.
After what felt like an eternity, they turned a corner, and she saw a faint light up ahead, where a door stood slightly ajar. She felt a rush of relief that she would be outside again soon. Truth be told, she was rather frightened of the pitch dark, and the kind of places where the pitch dark existed with not even starlight to break it, like underground tunnels, for one. When her captor pushed her out of the tunnel ahead of him, she stood blinking for a moment while her eyes adjusted, then saw that he had not come alone. Two other men waited on horseback, and a third horse stood nearby. Behind her was the castle wall. It was the outer wall, far from the watch tower, and in front of her, the wood. No one would ever see them take her, probably not even if she shouted or screamed. The tunnel had no doubt been constructed so that the inhabitants of the castle could escape unseen by their enemies, even during a siege.
The man nearest them had pulled a length of rope from his saddle bag and silently tossed it to the one who still held her. He grabbed her arms roughly and tied her wrists together in front of her. He pulled her forcefully toward the waiting horse, and grunting, threw her up into the saddle, immediately swinging up behind. He nodded to the other men, and as one they rode off into the wood.
Ella’s first thought upon finding herself hurled up onto the horse was:oh, this ismad. How many times can I be dragged off by a man on a horse in less than a sennight? Only this time, she was afraid, andangry. She was being taken away from Tulloch Castle, where her duty lay. And from Ceann, who, although he had yet to say a kind word to her, had her stomach all tied up in knots… Would he come for her?Would he care?She could hold onto that hope. If he thought she hadescaped from Tulloch, he might just be angry enough to come after her. He would probably even think she had killed the man outside the library door. A man who had obviously been ordered to guard her. She had not been alone after all when she had tried the study door.Thank God it was locked, I would have been caught. Not that it matters now…
She struggled surreptitiously yet again to free her wrists, but the rope held tight. Well, she wouldn’t be jumping off a speeding horse anyway, nor would she be single-handedly defeating the three rough-looking men that surrounded her. She would have to bide her time and hope for a chance to escape. She closed her eyes and let her fury fill her, giving her courage and strength. Where could they be taking her? And why? Did someone know who she really was?
Ceann knew something was wrong the moment he rode through the gates, and a guard rushed to meet him, followed closely by Maggie. And he had a sinking feeling the something wrong had to do with Ella.
“What happened?” He struggled to keep his tone even.
“Taken, Laird,” the man rasped. It was then that Ceann saw that the guard was wounded, blood staining the front of his tunic. Maggie was pulling at him and fretting, trying to hold a rag to his wound, but he held her at bay, determined to first do his duty to his laird.
“Who was taken?” Ceann asked, though he already knew. “The lass?”
“Aye, and her guard gravely injured”.
“Who took her?” Ceann could feel the rage rising in his chest, his body tightening, preparing to fight. To protect. To avenge.
“I don’t know. They left me for dead. I climbed to the wall… saw... three men on horseback go into the wood… rode… east”. He paused to gasp for breath. “I don’t know how they got her out of the castle… they… just appeared…”
The tunnel.He knew it with a dead certainty.Someone knew of the tunnel under the wall… How could that be?“Go, man, let Maggie tend you…” A sudden horrible thought crossed his mind. “Wait…”
The wounded guard turned, wincing as he did so.
“The lass… she lives? Was she hurt?” He braced himself for the answer, wondering why he cared so much. If she was mortally wounded, it would solve the problem of what to do with her. But the thought of her harmed in any way made his stomach clench.
“Aye, she lives.When last I saw her, she was bound… and they… carried her off.”
Ceann felt a wave of something suspiciously like relief wash over him. She was alive, and she apparently she did not go willingly. But who would have taken her? The answer might have been easy if he knew who she was, but he didn’t. To the east lay his uncle’s small estate, but not much else for miles. Could his uncle’s men have taken her? No, that didn’t make sense. All he knew was that he had to get her back, needed to get to the bottom of this damned mystery so that he could get on with other things, like… Well, all other thought could come later. He called to his captain, Gregor. Then he raised his sword high in the air and shouted to his men.
“We ride! We’ll find who dares to attack my men on my own lands, aye, within my own walls!”
