Page 58 of Bewitching her Highland Savior

It didn't take Liam long to pack everything he had with him, including the extra gold he had received from the laird, as well as a change of clothes and a ratty cloak he had stolen from one of the servants who appeared to be about his size. When he was ready, a guard escorted him to the port down the hill, stealing curious, suspicious glances at him the entire time while Liam stared straight ahead, refusing to show that he had noticed anything. The guard didn't stay long enough to confirm Liam had boarded the boat, perhaps confident that he wouldn't return or perhaps eager to see someone now that he had permission to leave the keep. Liam waited until he was out of sight before approaching the man who was supposed to take him to the mainland, offering him a large portion of his gold as a bribe to have him sail alone.

Even if he ended up telling the truth to Laird McNeil, Liam and Muriel would be long gone by the time he would return.

It was then time to put on the servant's clothes, pull the hood over his head, and wait. He crept into the forest near the keep, as he had done in Lewis, looking for a good place to hide. It wasn't as dense as the other forest, and there weren't as many good hiding spots, so Liam only sat down to rest every now and then, but mainly kept walking around, leaving as many confusing tracks as possible. If he couldn't hide somewhere, he could at least use the opportunity to create a distraction.

The hours passed slowly, so much so that Liam was beginning to grow restless by the time the sun set below the horizon. He barely managed to force himself to wait longer, watching the keep until late into the night. He only made his way there when the sky was pitch black; a sliver of the moon showing through the clouds that obscured the stars.

Liam was quiet as he moved toward the keep, careful not to step on any branches or dead leaves that could betray his presence.

He easily found a side door that he had spotted while walking around the courtyard but two guards stood post outside, just as he had suspected. He cursed his luck and Laird McNeil’s insistence to have his keep so heavily guarded but there was nothing he could do but trick them into leaving. He couldn’t take both at once, not when so many other guards were around – ready to jump to their defense.

Liam took a deep breath and began to run, making as much noise as he could. The guards were quick to hear him, and he saw them pause for a second before running in his direction out of the corner of his eye.

He was confident that he could outrun them. He'd always been a fast runner, and they didn't appear to be as athletic as him.

The darkness of the night provided him with adequate cover, and it wasn't long before the men lost sight of him. He could hear them, the two of them whispering to each other, their feet and mouths making too much noise for them to remain hidden. After determining their location, Liam ran the opposite direction from the door; causing quite a commotion, before turning around and quietly returning to the walls.

He walked with his breath held, constantly looking back at the forest but he could still hear the two guards fumbling around in the dark. Even if they did spot him, they might mistake him for one of Macleod's servants.

Liam slipped into the keep undetected. Just as he had expected, no one gave him a second glance since he was dressed as a servant. The darkness and the hood kept him anonymous, even as he wove his way through the grounds to one of the grain storages. He checked to see if it was empty and crept inside, sniffing the air.

It smelled exactly like stale alcohol, as he had predicted. In his clan, too, the grain storages were frequently used as a gathering place for servants or guards to have a few drinks without being discovered.

Who would suspect foul play if it was a well-kept secret that drunks frequented that storage? Perhaps burning down one of the clan's reserves was cruel but what the laird was doing to his daughter was worse.

Before sneaking back out, Liam grabbed one of the torches that hung outside the storage and purposefully dropped it on top of a few sacks of grain. The fire quickly spread to the other sacks, engulfing the entire storage facility and sending servants and guards alike into a frenzy.

It was the perfect distraction to divert the guards' attention away from the main building. People poured out of it in groups, and Liam noticed Kenneth, who was barking orders at his men left and right, commanding them to put out the fire.

Liam stuck to the shadows as he made his way to the main building. He walked inside, unnoticed in the middle of all the commotion and tried to locate the room where the laird kept Muriel’s mother. He remembered seeing her window from the front courtyard, which could only mean that it overlooked it and Liam headed to the front part of the keep, locating the right corridor with ease.

His diversion had worked. There were no guards there. Then again, several doors could be the right one.

He began knocking on the doors, hoping that this part of the keep was empty except for Muriel's mother. He got to the fifth one before he heard a sound and he held his breath; hoping with all his heart that the person on the other side of the door was the one he was looking for.

He sighed in relief as the door opened and he saw the familiar glint of strawberry blonde hair. Despite the fact that he had never met the woman, she gave him a knowing smile the moment she laid her eyes on him.

“Liam McAlpine, I presume?” she asked.

“Russell McAlpine,” Liam corrected her. “Miss… Muriel’s maither?”

The question drew a laugh out of the woman and she nodded. “Aye, but ye can call me Ailis,” she said. “Noo, tell me… what are ye here for?”

“I’m here to rescue ye, of course,” Liam said. “Ye and Muriel.”

“I see,” Ailis said. “Even though she said that she doesnae want ye to?”

“Ye ken about that?”

“Och, aye. I ken about everythin’.”

Ailis was a hard woman to read but Liam didn’t see a reason to lie. “Aye, even though she said she doesnae want me to. I ken that she doesnae want Macleod either. She made that verra clear on our journey to Lewis.”

Ailis sighed and walked back into the room but left the door open. Liam took it as an invitation and walked inside; joining her where she was standing by the window.

“And I suppose that’s yer doin’, too?” she asked.

“I had to get ye out of here somehow,” Liam said with a shrug. “A distraction seemed like the easiest option.”

“Ye’re a clever lad,” Ailis said. “Verra weel. Even if me daughter doesnae think ye’re doin’ the right thing, I do. Thank ye for comin’ back for her, Liam. For both of us.”

As she spoke, Ailis gripped his shoulder with a surprisingly strong hand; giving him a little shake.

“Go noo,” she said. “I’ll make me way out on me own.”

“Are ye certain?” Liam asked. “It’s still dangerous, ye ken. I can help ye get out—”

“I’ve been fightin’ this fool of a man since before ye were born, laddie,” Ailis said. “He has beaten me sometimes and I have beaten him some others but I willnae let him beat me noo.”

“I can see who Muriel takes after,” Liam said – raising an impressed eyebrow. “Can ye tell me where she is? She wouldnae tell me when I asked her.”

“Of course she wouldnae,” Ailis said fondly. “Ye’ll find her in the room at the other side of the keep. Follow the hallway down and turn left, it’s the last room there. There willnae be any guards. Her faither doesnae like to put people outside her doors.”

Laird McNeil's decision to leave Muriel unguarded was surprising, but he reasoned that he could give her the illusion of freedom by foregoing guards at her door when there were so many throughout the keep. He rushed out of the room, one last nod to Ailis, and followed her directions. Sweat dripped from his brow as he ran and by the time he arrived, he was panting and trying to catch his breath.

Despite the fact that there were no guards, as Ailis had promised, Liam could hear voices on the other side of the door. No, not the voices. Screams.

He didn't even pause to hear what they said before kicking the door down, his eyes searching for Muriel.