Angus realized he had not told Blair about his brief conversation with the woman while he was filing her chains off.
“The wagon was made so neither scream nor shout could leave the box, but when I let her out, I didnae have to ask her questions. The poor lass was as keen to tell her story as I was to listen to it.”
“What did she say?”
“She said the men who took her from her village were bandits, brought there by the rumor of hidden gold.
“The story goes that the local Laird had uncovered a treasure of sorts, something left behind by the Norse raiders or Roman legions before them...it wasnae clear. When word got out about crocks o’ gold lying around the auld kerk, well, the next thing ye ken the place was attacked by bandits. The rogues who row from coastal inlet to cove, lookin’ for easy prey. All it took was one loose mouth at the village tavern.
“From her account, the attack was swift and brutal. But therein lay the flaw in their plan—the stupid ruffians killed everyone and expected to find the treasure layin’ around the kerk waiting for them! Of course, it wasnae, and there was no one left alive to tell them where it was hidden.”
“All except the woman,” Blair said.
“Aye.” Angus had a grim look on his face. “But she was nae a woman then, just a wee lass hiding under her bed, hardly auld enough to take communion. But they assured themselves she would ken where the gold was, except there was one hitch.”
“What was that?”
“Their usual methods of extracting information couldnae be used on a wee slip of a girl. What were they going to do? Hold her feet over burning coals until she spilled the beans? So, they had no choice other than to take her with them, force her into a life of slavery and servitude, and keep her in chains until she could bear it no longer and tell them the hiding place. She swore to them she didnae ken where the gold was...she was too young to be involved in such important village business at the time.
“But by then, the bandits had become used to having her with them. They left her maidenhead alone, there being plenty of willing women in the taverns to satisfy their lust, and besides, their slave would have been of no use to them if she’d had a pack o’ brats to raise and look after.”
“I suppose that’s some kind of a blessing,” Blair acknowledged, but then she remembered the sweet sensation of Slaine’s mouth on her lips and felt very sad for the woman to have never experienced such joy. “How long has she been held captive? Ye mentioned she was no longer in her youth.”
Angus gave Blair’s question some thought. “I can be held no judge of the woman’s age, and the poor wretch had no idea of how long she had been a thrall. I think she can be no older than forty years of age.”
Blair blanched and stood up. “And ye say she was taken as a child! Kept in bonds and slavery for over thirty years!”
The thought of the woman’s suffering made Blair’s head spin. Maybe it was the stuffiness of the room or the fatigue of her long journey catching up with her, but Blair felt herself stagger and stumble to the bedchamber, knowing she had to lie down so she could process the things she had just heard.
Slaine looked up as she banged open the door. “What’s wrong, lass? Are ye ill?” He moved to where Blair was swaying, picked her up in his arms as though she weighed nothing at all, and laid her gently down on the bed. Blair moaned softly and curled herself up into a ball under the covers, pulling a pillow over her head.
Slaine went into the parlor. “Whatever did ye say to her, sir? She looks as though she’s seen a ghost.”
Angus was slumped down in his armchair beside the fireplace, looking just as miserable as Blair. “Dinnae make me tell the whole story over again, I beg ye! Just ken the final errand I undertook was one entailing the transport of a woman. I tried to free her, they found out, and here we all are. Blair found it so upsetting, she had to go lie down. And I cannae blame her.”
Slaine grunted and seemed content to accept this explanation.
“Will they leave ye alone now? Ye mentioned it being yer final task.”
Angus rubbed the side of his injured face. “Aye, the bridge is burnt, thank the heavens for that. They no longer trust me and have given me such a beating as a farewell gift, I will never set foot in the Phoenix willingly again.”
“Will they nae seek revenge? Or demand their gold back?”
Angus shook his head wearily. “Nay, they will let bygones be bygones and leave well alone. They have their woman, I have me beating, and that’s the end of it.”
Slaine said softly, “So, it seems our adventure is at an end.”
Angus heaved himself up off the armchair and said, “Well, Blair’s and mine are, at any rate. I dinnae ken about yers. I just need a wee sleep, and then we’ll be on our way back home. I’ll get the gold off her when she rises in the morning, and once ye have yer fee in hand, ye can go.”
He pointed at the room in which Blair lay. “If that’s one bedchamber, and this is the parlor, I’m guessin’ this door over here is t’other bedchamber?”
Slaine was looking abstractedly at the flames dancing in the hearth and did not look up at Angus, just nodded his head briefly.
“Right then, that’s the one I’ll be using for me wee nap. Ye can use the truckle bed if ye promise nae to wake me, though I doubt any truckle bed would be big enough for ye. However, wake me at dawn, will ye? I need to arrange the hire of a horse and gig. I dinnae fancy the idea of Blair riding all the way back home on Pooka.”
And with those words, Angus opened the other bedchamber door to prepare for bed.
“Hoy there! Get out o’ me bedchamber, I say!” There was already a man in the middle of the bed in the other room. He had his nightcap pulled firmly over his head and was fumbling for the lantern on the table beside him.
