A few more tugs told her that she was indeed locked in, and Edna pressed her forehead to the cold wood, letting her fear radiate out her body.
No one would find her here. There was no indication that Neacal had taken her, and once her father sent out a party to look for her, he would only find her mare and no sign of what had happened to her. She could only imagine his panic, how he would scour the moors to ensure she hadn’t fallen and broken her neck, and when they didn’t find her body, wonder what had happened to her.
A cry escaped her lips, and Edna pushed away from the door, wrapping her arms around her waist. It wasn’t the time to panic. Just because she was locked away now didn’t mean that the door wouldn’t open at some point.
It was up to her to figure out how to defend herself when that time came so she could get out of this keep and back to her family.
Quickly, Edna looked around the sparse room. There was a window, but far too small for her to squeeze her arm through, much less her entire body. The bed was sturdy enough, piled high with furs to ward off the cold of the room, and there was a small chest at the foot, where Edna found a few serviceable dresses.
Other than the threadbare rug on the stone floor, there was nothing else. The fireplace was cold, and given the number of furs, Edna imagined there wasn’t going to be any fire burning in the hearth while she refused to marry the laird.
Nothing that she could defend herself with.
Edna tamped down the panic and walked over to the tiny opening that functioned as a window, glad that there wasn’t a pane over the opening. It overlooked the keep’s courtyard, but despite the shining sun, there was no one save a few guards patrolling the area. Unlike her family’s manor and the village beyond, the land seemed to be devoid of life.
Were the clan afraid of their laird that they stayed in their huts?
Or were there other things that kept them away? Edna couldn’t understand, given the clan she had come from and the warmth that her family bestowed on their fellow Scots.
Here, however, the warmth didn’t seem to exist, and that worried Edna. Was Neacal’s true reasoning for wanting to wed her to be to unite the clans or take them over?
Edna mulled over her thoughts until the shadows lengthened in the room and her stomach rumbled with hunger. When it seemed like there was no one coming, the door handle rattled, and she drew in a breath as she waited to see who would come through the door.
It was not much of a surprise when the same warrior from earlier came through, flanked by another warrior and a servant carrying a tray ladened with dishes.
“Please,” Edna immediately started, attempting to garner the eye of the young woman as she set the tray on the table. “I’m being held against mah will. Please help me.”
“Shut yer trap,” the warrior from earlier growled as the servant scurried past him. “She’s not going tae help ye. No one is.”
“Please!” Edna called out, seeing the woman’s shoulders stiffen before she exited the room.
The warrior huffed a response, and they filed out of the room once more, the lock sliding into place. Edna’s own shoulders slumped as she made her way over to the table, noting that the food she was being served could be eaten by her hands. There were no utensils, nothing she could use against her captors, and the dishes were tin, giving her nothing to break into jagged pieces.
It was as if they were anticipating her every move.
Despite the fact that she wished to starve herself to spite Neacal, her hunger won her over, and she picked at the food, finding it tasteless and unappealing. A lump formed in her throat as she forced herself to eat, washing it down with the bitter ale. It was evening, and if Edna closed her eyes, she could imagine herself at her family’s dinner table, smiling at something that her sister had said.
She would even wish to have Malcolm next to her, though he hadn’t told her the truth about who he was.
With a sigh, Edna finished her meal before climbing up onto the bed, wrapping the furs around her. This wasn’t to be her future. She would get out of this and back to her family.
A shadow in the corner caught her eye, and Edna swallowed as she thought she saw James’s figure there. She knew he wasn’t real, but the thought of him being here, watching over her, gave her some comfort. He hadn’t given up on her yet, doing what he promised he would do in her dreams.
At least there was some hope to cling to.
6
The sun was rising over the moors when the Belshes’ keep came into view, and Malcolm drew in a breath, his bones weary from the long, hard ride. The weather hadn’t held, and he was soaked to the bone, but if this was where Edna had been taken, then his suffering would be worth it.
Of course, he thought of all the things that could be happening with her during his ride, from how she had drowned herself in the loch where they found her horse to her being forced to do unspeakable things in the hands of a madman.
Malcolm’s mouth twisted, and he hastened his horse toward the gate, drawing up short as the guards stepped forward. “Whoa,” one of them said, holding up his hand. “State yer business.”
“I wish tae see yer laird,” Malcolm demanded, feeling the weight of his sword between his shoulder blades. He didn’t wish to use it just yet, but if he must fight an army to get into the keep and look for Edna, he would. “Tell him that Malcolm Lennox is here.”
“Wot would that mean tae him?” the guard sneered. “Where are ye coming from?”
“I come on behalf of Erik McGregor,” he continued, shifting in his saddle. “Regarding wot he wants the most.”
