“Naebody has followed us because of how cautious I was,” Ewan insisted.
“Never mind all of that now,” George said dismissively with a wave of his hand. “We need to focus on getting the letters to the lairds.” He reached for a piece of parchment and dipped a feathered quill in a small inkpot. “I trust that you will be able to deliver these ransom notes without any trouble.” The quill scratched across the piece of parchment as he spoke. “Or will you be needing a silk cushion to deliver them on?”
Ewan rolled his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. “How much money will we be asking for, in any case?” he asked, ignoring George’s slight.
“What we have here are the wives of two of the wealthiest men in Scotland.” George referred to his daughters as if they were strangers to him. “I think half of what each of them own will do quite nicely split between the two of us.”
“What will happen if they dinnae want to comply?” Ewan asked as he glanced at both sisters, then quickly looked away.
Melissa didn’t know if it was her imagination or not, but she could have sworn that she saw a hint of concern in Ewan’s eyes when he looked at them. The care he’d taken in getting her to the cottage without force was telling of his character. The only time she’d seen a harsher side to the man was when he’d lost his patience with her at the door and gripped her wrist. She wondered how he had gotten involved with a man like her father.
“Oh, they will comply,” George said with a smirk as he placed the quill back in the inkpot and lifted the pages in front of his face, blowing on the ink to help it dry. “Daniel and Darragh are head over heels in love with their wives.”
Her stomach fluttered with a strange sensation as her father described how Daniel loved her as much as Darragh loved Avery.
“And if they don’t.” George used his knees to push himself up as he folded the pages and handed them to Ewan. “Their precious wives will be tortured for as long as it takes.” He walked over to the fireplace and lifted an iron poker that had been resting in the flames. The sharp tip glowed bright red with heat as he held it out. “I learned a few things in the past few years living in the slums.” His voice was barely above a whisper as he focused all of his attention on the poker.
Melissa glanced to the side and saw the pain on her sister’s face as hot tears spilled down her cheeks. Avery had trusted him with her children and had insisted that they give him a second chance. Melissa could only imagine the guilt and hurt her sister must have been feeling witnessing their father holding them to ransom as if they were cattle that could be traded for convenience.
George snapped out of the daze he’d been in and addressed Ewan once again. “See that you deliver the letters soon, we can’t say how long it will take Daniel and Darragh to realize that the letters were fake.”
“Aye,” Ewan said hesitantly as he placed the letters in his belt. Looking up with concern on his face, he glanced at the poker in George’s hand and back at both sisters, who were tied to the chairs. “Are ye sure ye dinnae wish to deliver the letters yerself? I could stay here with the girls an’ ye could ensure that the letters get delivered,” he offered.
“No,” George snapped and threw the poker back into the fire, sending sparks shooting onto the floor of the cottage. “You will let them escape with some silly excuse to get a drink of water,” he spat bitterly as his eyes darkened with rage. “Just make sure that the letters get delivered.”
“Aye,” Ewan said as he gave Melissa and Avery a final look of concern and left the cottage, shutting the door behind him.
“And don’t either of you get any funny ideas.” George glared at his daughters. “There will be dire consequences for anyone that tries to ruin my plans this time.” The bitterness in his eyes let Melissa and Avery know that he meant what he said. “I’m going to go into the next room and have a rest,” he muttered after walking over to the table and downing a mug of ale. “I don’t want to hear so much as a peep while I am resting,” he warned. “I’ll be keeping the door open.”
Melissa waited for her father to enter the adjoining room before frantically rubbing her wrists together behind her back.
Avery’s eyes widened as she realized what her sister was trying to do. Shaking her head, she signaled for her to stop.
Ignoring the warning, Melissa looked at the bedroom door that was left ajar. She could see the soles of her father’s muddied boots at the end of the bed as he lay on his back.
It wasn’t long before she could feel the ropes cutting into her skin as she tried to break the bonds. They both jumped and froze in fear when a sudden sound from the bedroom reached their ears.
George had fallen asleep and was happily snoring away as the sound of wood being sawed came from the room.
Relaxing again, Melissa worked the gag in her mouth, moving her tongue and cheeks until she was able to spit the dirty rag onto the ground. “Are you hurt?” she immediately whispered to her sister as she tried to shimmy her chair closer.
Avery shook her head again and wiggled her wrists behind her back.
“I’m going to try and get my hands free,” Melissa explained. “I smelled the alcohol as soon as I came through the door. He’s had enough ale to put a horse to sleep. I think we can escape if we both work together. Can you move your tongue around?”
Nodding, Avery moved her mouth as she tried to maneuver the rag as Melissa had done.
“That’s it,” Melissa encouraged. “Try and move it to the front of your mouth until you can spit it out.”
Shutting her eyes as she worked, Avery struggled for a second before finally spewing the cloth onto her lap and gasping for air.
Hearing a noise coming from the bedroom, they both stopped what they were doing and watched, trying to ascertain if their father had heard.
George grumbled in his sleep and turned over on the bed, scratching his stomach and adjusting his position.
“How did he get you to come here?” Melissa whispered as she focused back on her sister.
“He said one of the children had wandered from the nursery,” Avery said with tears in her eyes. “I wasn’t thinking, I panicked and ran after him. It wasn’t until we were in the stables that he jumped on me with a rope and a gag. I was so shocked that I didn’t have time to overpower him or even think.” Her chest heaved with heavy breaths. “He threw me onto the back of a cart and covered me with hay. I tried to move in the hopes that I draw attention, but nobody came. We arrived at the cottage after what seemed like an eternity on the road.”
