“I should kill ye,” Rory said, whipping his dagger out. The point gleamed, but Finlay groaned inwardly. It was the worst thing he could have done. As soon as the dagger was presented, the bandit beside him drew his sword and prepared to fight Rory. Rory, for all his heart, was just a boy. Finlay had to do something.
“The deal’s off,” he said quickly as he grabbed the bandit’s wrist and bent it around behind his back, twisting it so sharply that he dislocated the bone. The bandit cried out in pain and dropped the sword. Finlay picked it up, twisted the blade around, and drove it through the bandit’s stomach. He slammed the man into a wall, and when he stepped back, the bandit slumped lifelessly to the ground, a crimson shadow covering his stomach. Finlay glanced towards the door, knowing that Gavin would open it soon.
He grabbed Rory’s arm, intending to lead him back to the horse. “Come on,” Finlay urged. Rory was shocked to have seen the swift, brutal act of violence. His face was pale.
“Where…where are ye gaeing?”
“Tae save Anne. Now come with me, otherwise, ye will be in more trouble,” Finlay said. The animosity between them seemed to have faded for the moment. When they reached the horse, Finlay quickly told Rory about the deal he had made with Murdoch, and how he had made it with the guarantee that Anne would be safe from harm. He promised Rory that he would save Anne, and together they rode back to the tavern. It wouldn’t be long before Gavin discovered what had happened, so he would be hot-footing back to the tavern as well to tell Murdoch that Finlay had betrayed them. But it was Murdoch who had betrayed Finlay, and Finlay wasn’t going to let him get away with it. Finlay had run away once before, believing it to be his only way out. This time he was rushing back into the lion’s den. The more he thought of Anne being in trouble, the more desperate he became.
They alighted from the horse and he told Rory to stay quiet and to get Anne to safety as quickly as possible. “Things might gae awry in there, and if they dae, I dinnae want ye tae get ideas of bravery above yer station. Just get Anne out of there and gaesomewhere safe. I’m the one that Murdoch really wants,” Finlay said. He knew he might well have been walking towards his doom, but it was the only thing he could do.
He kicked the door open and walked into the tavern. All eyes were on him. He went straight up to Murdoch.
“Back already?” Murdoch asked, a suspicious gleam in his eye, especially when he saw that Finlay was not accompanied by the men Murdoch had sent with him.
“Ye broke the deal, Murdoch. I know she’s here. Ye said she would nae be harmed.”
“And she is nae. I hae nae touched a hair on her bonny head. I just thought I would keep her here tae make sure ye followed through with the task, and with other jobs I may hae for ye in the future.”
Finlay pressed his lips together. He knew he couldn’t fight his way out of this, not with the number of men Murdoch commanded, but perhaps there was another way. It only required him to sacrifice his freedom.
“Ye hae my word that I will be loyal tae ye, Murdoch. I’ll dae anything ye want, as long as ye let her gae. I’ll work for ye and dae any task ye assign me, nae matter how grim or how illegal. Just let her gae,” he said, and he meant every word.
18
Anne hung her head. She was trapped in the basement, and there was no sign that she would be rescued. She had tried to escape, but Murdoch had tied her bindings tightly around her wrists and ankles. Struggling only made the pain worse, and tired her out.
She was still reeling from what Murdoch had said to her as well. She kept telling herself that he must have been lying to get under her skin, but he seemed to know so much about Finlay. At first, she was angry with Finlay, devastated even, but she couldn’t deny the fact that she had lied to him as well. As it turned out, they had both been conning each other without realizing it. However, the more she thought about things the more she realized that there had been a lot of truth shared between them. She remembered the way Finlay spoke about his father. She couldn’t imagine him making up the emotion he displayed there, and wondered if he was talking about his real father. They seemed more alike than she had believed at first, and if so, he might have done what she did when she lied; sprinkle enough truth so that it was believable.
It didn’t really help her in this situation, though. She would not get the marriage she wanted, and Finlay was clearly not rich enough to buy her freedom from Murdoch. Finlay still thought she was the niece of a wealthy merchant, so he might think that her freedom would be bought easily. The only person she had to rely on was Rory, but what could he do? He was still a child, even if he would have scowled at the description, but he was. She had led him here and now he was alone. She had been reckless to help Finlay, and now she had left Rory alone, just like her father had left them alone. Was she always doomed to repeat the mistakes of her parents? She cast her gaze to the ceiling and wished that she was anywhere else, for she felt awful. A part of her hoped that Rory would be hard-hearted enough to leave her here and run away to join some prosperous clan. He had a good heart and a strong work ethic. He could make himself useful to anyone, and they might be able to give him a better life than she could.
But she knew Rory wouldn’t do that. He saw himself as the protector of the family, and he would try to rescue her. She just hoped he wouldn’t be foolish enough to try and do anything by himself, for it would likely end up with him being killed.
A sob swelled and slipped through her lips as she bemoaned her current state. But then, from above, she could hear a commotion. While she could not discern the details, there was a lot of movement and it became clear that something important was happening. A few moments later the door to the basement was opened and two burly men came stomping down the stairs. They grabbed Anne and did not heed her frantic cries for help. Their fingers were as sharp as daggers and she was certain that they would leave bruises on her skin. She wondered what fresh hell she was being taken to, and hoped that Murdoch had not changed his mind about keeping her safe.
She was hauled up the stairs, her ankles knocking against the wooden steps, and carried into the tavern. There, she saw Finlay, standing in the middle of the room. Seeing him there elicited a strong emotional response. Anger flowed through her. She had lost her prized possession and her freedom because she had tried to rescue him, but their love had been a lie.
“Ye liar!” she cried out, her words coated with fire. “All this time ye hae lied tae me. Dae ye know what I hae done for ye? Dae ye know what I hae given up?!”
“I think ye two should hae a moment alone,” Murdoch said, chuckling to himself as he moved to the bar and fetched a drink. Finlay grabbed Anne and led her outside. Rory was waiting there, at a distance. Finlay undid the bindings on her wrists, and as soon as her hands were free, she slapped him and glared at him, her cheeks red with anger. Finlay bore the brunt of the impact and slowly turned his head back.
“I dinnae think there’s a need for that, lass. I did just save ye, after all.”
“Save me? I would nae hae been in this situation if it was nae for ye!”
“I hae just given up the rest of my life tae serve that man tae ensure yer release,” Finlay fired back.
“Well, that should nae be a problem for ye since ye are a criminal already, and ye hae been since before the moment we met,” she crossed her arms and moved her head from side to side as she spoke. Her voice rose to a loud volume, but she didn’t much care about who could hear.
Finlay recoiled, struck deeply by the description of being a criminal. “I’m nae a criminal. I just…I did what I needed in ordertae survive,” he spoke in a small voice, and Anne knew how he felt for she had done the same thing. Her anger softened a little. “I never meant for ye tae get involved in this. I already agreed tae dae something for Murdoch because he promised tae leave ye alone. The only way tae keep ye safe is tae work for him from now on, but Rory told me what ye did. I appreciate that ye tried tae save me and I want tae make it up tae ye. I will pay ye back. My things…they’re back in the tavern. All the gold I possess is there. Please, take it and maybe that will make up in some small measure for the strife that ye hae been through.”
Anne turned her head away in shame. Perhaps one reason why she was so angry at him was because she was angry at herself. After all, was she so different from Finlay? She had spent the night with him and then robbed him in the first place, as well as pretending to be someone she was not.
“That may be hard tae dae…” she said in a small voice. “Half the money I used tae pay yer debt tae Murdoch was that gold anyway. I… well… I took it this morning,” her voice was flat now, devoid of the febrile emotion that had given it such life. She ran her hand along the back of her neck and kept looking away at Finlay. She couldn’t very well chastise him for being a liar without telling him the truth as well, especially not after he had just condemned himself to a life working for Murdoch in order to save her. “There’s something ye should know about me as well, Finlay. I’m nae exactly who I said I was. Ye see, I’m nae the niece of a wealthy merchant, and he is nae a merchant’s apprentice. In fact, he’s my brother. Our parents are dead, I dinnae lie about that, but I was hoping, well…”
“Ye were hoping tae take advantage of a wealthy man at this gathering, and when ye met a Laird’s son ye thought ye couldsnare him intae marriage sae ye and Rory would never hae tae struggle again,” Finlay finished the thought for her.
Anne pursed her lips and nodded. “I dinnae mean tae deceive ye, it’s just that, well, life hae been hard for sae long and I’m getting tired of lying and stealing just tae survive.”
