“What has happened?” Cillian asked, his voice low. “Is it Lady Katherine? I havenae seen her.”
“Aye,” Liam confirmed. “She has been taken. I will go after her. I need ye to remain here. Protect Agnes. Handle the guests.”
“Aye, Me Laird,” Cillian said. He didn’t need any further information, just the order. “I will do everythin’ in me power to keep her safe. If it comes to it, I will lay down me life for her.”
“I ken ye will,” Liam said, giving his man-at-arms a final nod before leaving the castle.
He took hold of one of the horses that was standing by, already saddled and positioned in the courtyard. As he swung himself into the saddle, he barked at the guards nearby, “Secure the edges of the forest and the port just as we’ve discussed. The pirates have returned, and we willnae let them get away this time. This ends today.”
We are more than prepared, and I will save Katherine.
Chapter Thirty-One
Katherine dug her heels into the muddy ground as the men dragged her deeper into the trees. With her teeth gritted and her hands balled into fists, she did everything in her power to make the journey more difficult. They hadn’t gotten far, and she was fairly certain it was because of her efforts.
“Pick yer feet up as ye walk,” the man holding onto her ropes hissed.
“Iam,” she retorted, somehow sounding far more indignant than scared. “Ye are walkin’ much too fast for a lady in a gown to keep up.”
“Is that so, lass?” the man to her left asked. “Perhaps ye’d prefer if we changed yer position.”
Without waiting for her response, he kicked the back of her legs,hard. She had absolutely no hope of staying upright, her armsbeing yanked one way, her feet being held in place by another set of binds. As she fell, she managed to turn her body, so she landed on her back.
“Would yer efforts have been worth it if ye drowned me in the mud?” she snapped, wincing at the sensation of being pulled over the ground.
Twigs and leaves caught in her hair, and her back was soaked through. She tried to fight, but the rope around her wrists was digging into her skin. Her shoulders felt as if they were going to be pulled out of their sockets. Even trying to kick her feet did nothing as the rope would just be yanked tighter.
“If we must get rid of ye here, we will,” the man who tripped her said, looking down at her with a disgusting snarl on his face.
His teeth looked as if they were dead, his gums nearly black. She’d never seen a person look like these three. She didn’t understand how a human’s body could look like that and still work.
“Ye could have gotten rid of me when ye saw me,” she said, thrashing against the ground but doing nothing but splashing in the mud. “Yet ye decided to tie me up and abduct me.”
“Ye’re assumin’ ye’re the person we’d like to get to,” he replied, snarling down at her, a sickening smile spreading across his face. “Ye’re nothin’ more than bait, lassie. We heard that Laird MacDougal had finally taken another wife, and imagine oursurprise when we heard that he was even havin’ a ceilidh to celebrate ye.”
“It is quite rude to arrive at a party that ye werenae invited to,” Katherine spat, lacking a proper response.
“Careful,” he warned, the corners of his mouth twitching downward and making his smirk look absolutely demented. “Ye are nae anythin’ more than bait. Yer purpose is gettin’ the Laird here. We will keep ye alive until he comes to get ye.”
Katherine barked out a bitter laugh. “Then ye will be waitin’ for quite a long time. He is nae comin’ for me.”
“He wouldnae have thrown ye a ceilidh and invited nearly everyone in the land to come and see ye if he didnae care for ye,” the man countered, indicating for the others to go faster. “And after that lad sent our message, I ken we willnae be waitin’ long.”
“And what if he comes to catch ye in the woods then?” Katherine replied, unsure of what compelled her to keep speaking. It felt much better than just lying there and accepting her fate. “Are ye nae worried about the guards he will bring?”
“Yer sharp tongue will be the death of ye if ye daenae learn to watch it,” the man warned, his tone stripped of everything but the threatening energy.
“Perhaps we should simply cut it out,” the man dragging her suggested. “It would save all of us a great bit of trouble.”
“Ye ken,” the first said, looking at the way the sunlight glinted off of his knife, “ye may have a point. Especially if we will be waitin’ for Laird MacDougal as the lass has suggested we will. That would save the three of us and the rest of the crew a massive headache.”
Katherine bit down on her tongue, her entire body beginning to shake. She kept her gaze fixed squarely on the man’s face, though. She wouldn’t allow herself to be intimidated. Or at least, she wouldn’t allow them to see just how frightened she was.
The men all laughed, loudly and raucously. The sound echoed off the trees, and several birds flew from their hiding spots in the branches above. Even they seemed to sense the evil unfolding below.
Thunk.
The dull sound echoed through the glen, and the menacing laughter suddenly stopped. Buried in the trunk of a nearby tree was a dagger. For a long moment, no one spoke.
