Just ahead, she saw a flash of chestnut hair that felt familiar. Her heart soared, and she was about to call for him again when she realized the scene that she had come across. Brimstone wasn’t alone.
Three men, dressed in worn jackets with knives hanging from their hands, were guiding him away. She didn’t recognize them, but she could tell they were dangerous. Even from where she was standing, she could see their sneers and knew they wouldn’t hesitate to use the knives they held.
And they look hungry. That means they’re even more dangerous.
For a moment, she was frozen. She couldn’t approach them, but she couldn’t go back to the castle without Brimstone. But then, one of the men lifted his hand, pulling back and smacking the horse with the blunt end of his knife.
“What do ye think ye’re doin’?” Katherine screamed, rushing forward, guided by a desperate instinct to protect the first friend she’d made here.
The sound of her screaming pulled their attention away from Brimstone, giving him an opportunity to break free. He reared, nearly knocking one of the men over before he took off through the trees. Katherine turned to run in the opposite direction, vowing to herself that she would look for the animal as soon as she was sure she was no longer being followed.
“Tyler!” she screamed as she pushed further away from the men.
They were closing in on her, their footsteps coming closer. Mud squelched, but it didn’t seem to slow them down a bit. It seemed as if they were used to running through difficult terrain and that they were much stronger than Katherine could have imagined at first glance.
When she spotted Tyler coming toward her, hope glimmered in her chest. The two of them might be able to get away together or at the very least, make enough noise that someone would come to their aid.
This is what Liam has been worried about.
“There are intruders!” she screamed at Tyler. “Call for help!”
“Get the lad,” one of the bandits demanded, his voice much closer than she thought he would be. “I will get the lass.”
“Go to the castle!” Katherine yelled, realizing that there was nothing either of them could do. “Bring help! They were takin’ Brimstone!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a hand grabbed her wrist. She was pulled back hard, stumbling and collapsing into someone solid. Before she could think about fighting free, the sharp end of a knife was pressed against her throat.
Tyler turned quickly, running off without saying another word. Katherine opened her mouth to call after him again, but the man holding her pressed the knife even harder against her skin. She clenched her teeth, swallowed hard, and prayed to every saint she could remember that she would survive this.
“That’s right!” one of the other men called after the stableboy as he fled. “Tell yer Laird that we are here to finish what we started, and we are never goin’ to stop.”
“Get the ropes,” the man holding onto Katherine said, the blade nicking her skin.
Nay. This cannae be happenin’.
* * *
“I cannae stand the crowd,” Liam scoffed as he poured himself a tall glass of whiskey.
The ceilidh was just starting with guests arriving in the great hall, all dressed in their finest clothes. It was exactly the kind of gathering that Lady Agnes had envisioned for him. Now, he was just waiting in his study for a servant to inform him that Katherine had arrived.
And controllin’ meself around her tonight is goin’ to be hell, I already ken it.
At that moment, the stableboy came running into the room, throwing Liam’s door open with more force than necessary. He was covered in mud, his face bright red, his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. When his gaze landed on Liam, he crossed the room in a few long, swift strides.
“Me Laird,” Tyler said, gasping for breath as he spoke. “It is Lady MacDougal. She and I went after Brimstone, and she came across bandits. They said to tell ye that they were here to finish what they started.”
Liam’s limbs turned to ice as he slammed his whiskey glass onto his desk. It wasn’t bandits. Every single report he received about bandits was incorrect.
It was the pirates. It had always been the pirates.
“I think they were thieves,” Tyler continued, placing a hand over his chest. “And I think they are comin’ for us and that they willnae stop until they get what they want.”
“I ken,” Liam said, already on his way out of the study. “Go to the healer before ye keel over.”
He didn’t hear the boy’s stuttered response; he was already halfway to the great hall. He needed to find Cillian immediately. Someone had to be in charge of the castle while he left.
Luck seemed to be on his side in this matter as he found Cillian standing just outside the hall. As soon as his man-at-arms saw him, he took in the dire expression on his face and abandoned his conversation with Tilly. He followed Liam to an alcove that was set apart from the guests.
