He couldn’t risk killing him. Do that and the guards would hold him for murder before he could reach the Laird’s chamber. He should have done more. He should have planned better.
Stop.
He made himself concentrate on his breathing. That way he would be calm and ready. At some point the door to the cell would open. Guards would come in and try to remove him.
He was already working through the moves he would use to take them out. They had taken him by surprise in the keep. It would not happen again. Whoever came through that door next would not see daylight again. He swore to it.
Time passed.
He had no way of telling how long. Twice he stood and paced around the cell, ensuring his legs were exercised. Other than that, he only sat and waited and tried his best not to think.
To think invited thoughts of her, of that beguiling look she got in her eyes when she talked to him, of the way her body felt when he held her at night. He would save her. Nothing would stop him.
A scrape on the other side of the door and he was instantly alert. He retreated into the shadows in the furthest recesses of the stinking cell. There was no light, only darkness.
He needed to be ready in case a torch was thrust in, the light could be enough to distract him if he was not prepared. To go from pitch black to bright flame would favor the guards over him.
A key thudded home into the lock. He flexed his fingers, taking a deep breath. He rolled back onto his heels, bending his knees slightly, ready to spring.
The door opened and he pounced at the sight of the lit candle thrust inside. By the time the guard was inside he was on him. He had his hands around the man’s neck before he realized who it was.
“Stop,” the figure gasped. “Stop!” The candle fell to the floor but kept burning.
Eddard knocked his opponent’s hood from his head and gasped. “Jessica?” He let go of her neck, stepping back from her, afraid of his own strength. He had almost killed her. “I’m so sorry.”
“Is that how you greet all your friends?” she said, her voice hoarse as she collapsed into a fit of coughs.
“I thought you were one of the guards. What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to rescue you. I didn’t expect to get throttled for my trouble.”
He shook his head, grabbing both her cheeks and planting a rough kiss on her lips. “I can’t believe you’re here. Did they let you out?”
She shook her head. “I escaped.” She looked slightly dazed.
“You escaped the dungeon of MacGregor Castle? Impossible.”
“Then I guess I’m not really here and you didn’t really just kiss me and then act like nothing happened. Maybe you’re hallucinating.”
Voices echoed down to them from the floor above. “This way,” Eddard whispered. “We must be cautious.”
He took her hand and together they edged out of the cell, ascending the stairs as quietly as they could manage. The voices faded away.
“A patrol,” Eddard whispered in her ear. “They will notice our absence soon enough. We must get to the Laird and Lady and prove to them you are Morag before our escape is noticed.”
They passed along a narrow corridor and then another before pausing as more voices reached them. “In here,” Jessica said, pulling open a door and slipping through it.
Eddard joined her just in time, the voices turning a corner and walking past the closet where they’d squeezed themselves. They stopped outside and Eddard held his breath, ready to attack if they should open the door.
“Well, where has he gone?” one of the figures outside was saying.
“Rumor has it that he’s locked the Laird and Lady in their chamber while he goes off to do it.”
“To do what? Everyone’s talking about this thing he’s doing. Most of the guards are gone. How are the two of us supposed to patrol the entire place. What if we’re attacked while he’s away?”
“No one kens the guards have gone with him. We look like guards don’t we? We’re wearing guard uniform.”
“We look like kitchen boys in guard uniform.”
