Page 109 of Claimed Highland Brides

SPANISH INQUISITION

Delwyn woke up when the door opened, his mind clear for the first time. An old woman entered the room carrying two bowls of steaming food. Delwyn kept his eyes closed, feigning sleep. When she bent to put the bowls on the table he lurched towards her, grabbing hold of her plaid skirt and pulling her to the ground. She squeaked in surprise, but he got his hand over her mouth before she could scream.

She bit his palm but he gritted his teeth and held on, straddling her waist as he smashed her head on the wooden floor, once, twice, hoping the pounding could not be heard from below. Eventually, she went limp and he got to his feet.

“What did you do that for?” his sister demanded from the corner where she’d wedged herself, hand over her mouth.

“We have to get out of here. My wife is in danger.”

“I’m not going anywhere; I have to wait for Neacel to come for me.”

Delwyn gritted his teeth harder, wanting to shake his sister until he realized that the Scotsman was no good, but he had no time. He did not know how long it would take before the old lady was missed or if there was someone waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her.

He crossed to the window, looking down to see if the ground was near enough to jump out. It wasn’t but the roof of the inn sloped downward and if they were careful, they could slide down and then jump the remaining six feet to the ground.

He turned to look at Maegan, who was currently shaking the old woman like she planned to revive her. With a growl, he dashed to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her away. “We have to go.”

She struggled, trying to get away from him, but he would not let her. He pulled her to the window and began hustling her out of it. “No! I don’t want to go, Delwyn. Leave me alone!”

He slapped her face in frustration and they both froze, mouths agape.

“I-I’m sorry,” Delwyn said. “That was uncalled for.” He took a deep breath. “Maegan, Neacel Hunter didn’t steal you away because he wanted to marry you. He asked the family for ransom. For you. He has no intention of marrying you.”

“No.” She shook her head forcefully, refusing to believe him. “If he wanted to abduct me then why did he bring me to Scotland?”

“I expect it’s because he wants the Douglass mine. Perhaps he meant to use the money from your ransom to buy it, I don’t know. But when father refused to pay⁠—”

“Father refused to pay?” Maegan interrupted in shock.

“Y-yes but I came to find you, Maegan. Mother gave me the means to and I came.”

He could see her shrinking in on herself in hurt.

“Maegan, please...you need to hold yourself together so that we can escape. Please, just help me. Climb out of the window.”

She hesitated for a moment more before putting her foot on the ledge.

“That’s it. Go on.”

“What if…what if I fall?”

“You won’t. Your boots are sturdy. Just go carefully. Slide down to the edge and then jump. You’re a brave girl, Maegan, I know you can do it.”

“Alright. I’m going.”

Behind him, he heard the old lady groan. Leaving hold of Maegan’s arm he hurried to her and banged her head on the floor once again. She lay still, and Delwyn really hoped he hadn’t killed her. He turned to the window and saw that Maegan had disappeared. He jumped towards the window, looking frantically for her and found that she was hanging by her fingertips at the edge of the roof. Even as he watched, she jumped to the ground, landing lightly on her feet.

Nodding and grinning with approval, Delwyn climbed out to the window himself, bracing himself as much as he could and then slid down the edge. Thankfully the slate-covered roof curved a little at the edge and so he did not go flying off but managed to dig his feet in and stop his forward motion.

Carefully, he turned, shimmying to the edge and letting his legs drop into the air before letting go. The landing was a bit jarring but he didn’t break or sprain anything for which he was grateful. He turned, seeing Maegan pressed against the wall, hands crossed as tears rolled down her face. Even in the cold windy drizzle that had thankfully kept everyone indoors and thus left the courtyard empty, he could tell that those were tear tracks.

He sighed, reaching out to rub her arms. She moved out of his grip, turning her face away, shoulders hunched. He sighed. “Come on, let’s go and see if my horse is still in the stables.”

She followed him silently, not making any more demur at their escape. He wondered how she was feeling, if she was alright, but he didn’t have time to worry about it.

I shall ask her about it after we get to the keep. She’ll be safe there.

He was both gratified and surprised to find that his horse was still housed in the stables. He supposed that the brigands either hadn’t had a chance to move it or did not know which horse was his. He walked boldly towards it, wondering if one of the grooms would try to stop him.