Page 53 of The Return of the Heir

Chapter Sixteen

As soon as the other women were back in their respective bedchambers, Gwendolyn and Rowena headed for her bedchamber. Rowena shut the door behind them. “Are you certain about this?”

“It is the only option we have—both of us.” Gwendolyn wasted no time in stripping off her petticoat and placing it on the bed. She didn’t need the extra volume slowing her down. She removed the pearls from her hair and gave them to Rowena before retrieving the grey cloak Garrick had forced her to wear. She’d kept the garment because she had no other. She slipped it over her shoulders. The dark colour would suit her purposes tonight.

“How will you leave here unseen?” Rowena worried her lip between her teeth.

“The window is too far from the ground and there are no trees to aid me, so I have no choice but to go through the hallway to the servants’ staircase. From there, it should be easy enough to disappear through the sea gate and into the night.”

“You make it sound simple enough.”

“It won’t be since the sea gate is guarded, but I have a plan.” Gwendolyn fastened the cloak, then headed for the door, but Rowena gripped her arm, stopping her.

Rowena shifted away and lifted the pillow on the bed to reveal a slim dagger no bigger than her hand. She slid it out of its sheath. The candlelight in the chamber glittered off the wickedly sharp blade. She returned it to its sheath then held it out. “Take this. Tuck it into the bodice of your gown. If you are discovered. . . If someone attacks you, do not hesitate to aim it right between their legs. You don’t have to be accurate in your aim, striking anything in that region will render them helpless.”

“How do you know this?” Gwendolyn accepted the weapon, and pushing her cloak aside, carefully fitted the short blade between her breasts. The tight bodice would hold it in place.

“Callum is a good brother, who at times has been concerned for my safety. He taught me several ways to defend myself.”

Gwendolyn studied Rowena’s solemn features. The young woman had been nothing but kind to her in the past few days despite the fact she truly owed Gwendolyn nothing. She took Rowena’s hands in her own. “Thank you, Rowena. You are a special young woman. And Marcus is very lucky to have fallen in love with you.”

Rowena flushed as she moved to the door, opened it, and scanned the hallway. “It’s all clear. You’d better go now, before someone comes along.”

“If all goes well, I’ll be back before dawn.” She lifted the cloak’s hood over her head and slipped from the chamber. Her heart pounded and her hands shook as she slipped silently down the hallway and stairs, until she came to the door outside the kitchen. The staff were still cleaning up after the evening’s meal. Fortunately for her, they were so busy, no one paid any heed to the door softly opening then closing once more.

The full moon sat high in the night sky, hanging like a shimmering pearl against a canvas of black velvet. Keeping to the shadows, Gwendolyn crept across the rear courtyard to the pathway that led to the sea gate. She paused and tossed a rock to the right and another to the left. Then two more. The guards went to investigate, leaving the gate clear. Quickly before they returned, she unlocked the iron gate, then partially closed it behind her. She needed the gate open for when she returned.

Forced to go slowly along the shoreline of the loch, Gwendolyn stepped carefully along the rocky shoreline below the castle. The next hurdle was a creek that fed into the loch. It was too wide to jump, and the ground surrounding it was too boggy to wade through without getting her shoes and feet soaking wet. There used to be a section closer to the castle where large rocks provided stepstones across the stream. It had been five years since she’d last navigated those rocks. With luck they were still there.

Her heart leapt when she saw that they were. Carefully leaping from one slick rock to another, she made her way across the water until she was once again on solid ground. From there, the path to the forest was easy to navigate. She only slowed as she passed the opening of a cave hidden amongst the trees. While living at Dunvegan she’d been told that cave was a portal to the fairy world.

Leaving the fairy story behind, Gwendolyn continued deeper into the woodland. As the night settled its ebon shroud around her, she took comfort in the steady rhythm of the water lapping against the shore in the distance. An eerie white mist formed close to the ground, forcing her to slow her steps so as not to trip over the exposed roots and rocks that riddled the forest floor. Now and again the moon pierced the tree branches overhead with its silvered light, creating an unearthly landscape of dark shapes rising from the mist. She kept going, deeper into the trees until one shape stood out amongst the rest—that of a man astride a horse. “Marcus?”

“Aye,” he confirmed.

Her madly beating heart settled into a steady rhythm at the knowledge that she’d made it this far without being detected. When she approached the horse, Marcus held down his hand and lifted her onto the saddle behind him.

“Hold on to me,” he said. “There is no time to waste. Let’s be on our way.”

Gwendolyn wrapped her arms around his waist as he set the horse in motion. The rushing wind snatched the woolen hood from her head, freeing her golden hair of its confining coil until her hair streamed out behind her. As they raced deeper into the trees, she threw a glance back over her shoulder. Her eyes swept along the trail as if expecting to find someone following in pursuit. Seeing no one, she finally relaxed. Very soon, she would retrieve the Fairy Flag and return its magic to the MacLeods.

*

The very airaround Dunvegan seemed to hang in breathless suspense as Gwendolyn raced across the rear courtyard.

From the top of the prison tower he’d made for her and her siblings, a pair of watchful eyes followed her progress as she moved towards the tree line. Hurrying down the spiral staircase so as not to lose sight of her, he erupted into the night and made his way to the sea gate. He was not so kind to the guards as he struck one with an arrow to the shoulder and the other in the back. He’d been waiting and watching for the past few days, keeping himself hidden, knowing that it was only a matter of time before he caught her alone once more. This time he would have his revenge.

Unbeknownst to the first observer, a second pair of eyes watched as both Gwendolyn and then a male figure moved along the castle wall. She concealed herself in the shadows as Gwendolyn stepped lightly across the creek. The foolish girl had left the safety of Dunvegan Castle and Alastair MacLeod.

A smile of satisfaction came to the woman’s lips. How perfect. She couldn’t have planned this any better. She clutched a dagger in her hands as a sense of satisfaction raced through her blood. No one could blame her if Gwendolyn met her demise at the hands of thugs while she’d slipped away from the castle to do who knows what. Gwendolyn’s purpose for leaving was unimportant. All that mattered was that she never return.

The second observer was unaware that she, too, was being followed. This pursuer had both a sword and a pistol on his person, and was more than capable of defending Gwendolyn.

Finally, following all of those who chased after Gwendolyn was something not of this world. Her ethereal body glided across the shoreline and over the creek without ever touching the ground. But at the trees, the often-seen specter stopped as a force beyond herself seemed to hold her back.

She struggled against its hold but could not break free. She was tethered to the castle, the place where she had died. She could not help the one she’d been protecting for years except from the safety of the castle. But there was someone else who could protect the girl.

She had to go find him, and fast.