Adam attempted to be patient with the lass who had willingly poisoned him little by little. The skull pain from the blow to the back of his head had not subsided. “Ye are beholden to me now,” he growled. “Guilty of many crimes against the future laird of Clan MacKay. Rejoice in the fact that I havena killed ye already.”
His words made the lass chuckle. “Kill us with what? Yer great sword?” Her gaze traveled up and down his body. “Ye have no weapons.”
“Ye impudent fool,” Adam said as he whipped his mother’ssgian-dubhfrom his boot and held it against the girl’s chest, aimed right at her heart. “Care to retract those words, lass? To wipe that half-witted grin from yer face?”
Her father pushed his way between them, visibly shaken by Adam’s threat. “Peace upon us all. If we do whatever ye wish, Master Adam, will ye promise to release us once ye have accomplished whatever goals ye have in mind?”
Finally, a man with practical thoughts. Adam nodded as he lowered the only weapon he had in his possession. “Yer freedom is dependent on my success. If I fail, the three of ye fail. If I die, ye all die. Am I clear on what I expect—your complete loyalty?”
The lass and her brother looked to their father for guidance first, and when the man nodded, they gazed back at Adam and said in unison, “Aye.”
“Then let us get back to the MacKay keep as quickly as possible.”
Chapter Seventeen
Though it took several hours for the maid to arrive, Heather finally joined Kali in Yvaine’s chamber, but only after two guards came in first and searched for anything suspicious. Once the men left, Heather ran to Kali and hugged her.
“I canna believe what the laird made ye do at the feast last evening,” she said, pulling back to seek her mistress’s face. “And that Lord Nelson.” She sighed, then greeted the other women, curtsying.
“Forget the formalities,” Kali said. “Where are me father, Lord Nelson, and Laird MacKay now?”
The maid rolled her eyes. “Where any men of power usually are once the sun sets.”
“Heather…” Kali had grown accustomed to Heather’s long-winded explanations, but now was not the time for such things. “Please tell us.”
“Stuffed like fatted roosters and drunk.”
“Aye?” Ariana asked.
“Aye. So full of themselves because of the upcomingdouble wedding. Cook is beside himself in the kitchens with such demands as Lord Nelson has put upon him—special sauces for the mutton that only the English would dare eat. And the Sassenach guards, thinking they have rights to whatever lass serves them a meal. As for Laird MacKay…” She gazed at Yvaine before she spoke again. “I doona know how he stays upon his chair after making no less than fifteen toasts to his nubile bride. Drunk on ale and his own self-importance, I say.”
Ariana scoffed at the idea of Laird MacKay being her husband. “I would rather join a nunnery than ever consider…” She paused. “I am sorry, Yvaine. It is difficult to curb me tongue in front of ye. I canna marry yer father.”
Yvaine laughed. “I doona want ye for a mother. Perhaps a friend or even a sister, but no’ a mam.”
They all laughed, but then Kali reminded them of their dire circumstances. “We must formulate a plan to escape this chamber, Heather.” She walked to the two arched windows overlooking the back of the keep. The chamber was located on what she would consider equivalent to the second floor of any home. Low enough to appreciate the splendor of nature but high enough to dissuade any daughter from breaking her neck by trying to jump out of the windows.
“Our only hope is escaping through these windows.” Kali shared her thoughts out loud. “The only scoundrels brave enough to help are the children.” She turned back to the young women, hopeful they’d agree.
“Ye want to jump out of the windows?” Yvaine asked, joining Kali and staring into the rising dark. “If ye would slip…there’s nothing but rocky ground below.”
“I am aware,” Kali reassured her. “But what choice do I have? We need to find Adam. What if something terrible has happened to him?”
Yvaine paced nervously. “Where is Sam, Heather?”
The maid shrugged. “He disappeared about the same time as Adam. Yer father summoned him, but none of the guards could find him.”
“And the twins?” Kali asked, remembering the brothers were also close friends of Adam’s.
“James and Joseph are in the keep, celebrating with all the guards.” Heather grimaced.
“They would never turn against me brother,” Yvaine said. “I am sure they are biding their time, waiting for Adam to return.”
“I agree,” Kali said. “Perhaps ye should seek them out, Heather. Request their help.”
“But Kali,” Ariana said, sounding worried. “The more people who know, the greater the risk.”
“We canna do this alone, Ariana.”
