Page 10 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

“Yes, please,” Elspeth said. “Thank ye, Sean.”

“Ye can put yer feet up on this here stool, Miss,” Jeremy placed a wooden stool by her feet.

“This bread is fresh from the oven,” Drew said, offering her a bun.

Big Nate, a man so large he made everything around him look small, grunted as he wordlessly thrust a cushion under her nose. Elspeth took it gingerly. “Thank ye, Nate.”

Leo looked at his men falling over themselves to make her comfortable, frowned for a few seconds, then laughed. “Upstaged by my men. Aye, I apologize, dear Lady Buchan. Will ye forgive this lowly cad?”

“There’s naught to forgive,” Elspeth said, smiling. And she meant it. It was a misunderstanding on both their parts. Tensions were high. They were on an impossible mission that might go wrong at any moment and land them all in prison, or worse. “When does our friend arrive?”

Leo opened his mouth to answer, but a knock on the door interrupted him. He got up swiftly and marched to the door. His hand gripped the doorknob, but he didn’t open it. Instead, he called through. “There’s something wrong with the soup,” he said.

A tense moment passed, and then a voice carried through.

“An excess of garlic.”

Leo sighed in relief and pulled the door open. A gaunt young man entered the room. His face was pale, and he looked like a swift wind could knock him over. Nothing about him inspired trust or much hope of a miracle. He sat down on the chair nearest the fireplace, depositing a heavy sack on the table, not looking anyone in the face.

Leo offered him a drink. He guzzled it down like a man dying of thirst, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his scrawny neck. “When’s dinner?” he asked, his accent grating on Elspeth’s ears. It sounded uncouth and base to her. But she supposed her bias played heavily into her judgment of the stranger.

“In a bit,” Leo said, unable to mask his distaste for the man. “Men, this is Simon Drake, our key into Bass Rock Prison.”

Simon laughed in derision. “I’m your key in, but I make no promises about your way out.”

“Leave that to us.” Leo sat down and pulled the sack toward himself. He opened it up to reveal the red uniforms of English soldiers. “How many did ye bring?”

“Three,” Simon spat, sounding more like a petulant child caught doing something naughty, than a man who believed in their mission. It gave Elspeth an uneasy feeling. “And I’ll need ‘em back sharpish without nary a rip or tear. I’ll not be risking me neck for the likes of you.”

The mood had already cooled considerably when Simon Drake had arrived; now a dangerous chill pervaded through the room. The men were on edge, their dislike for the English soldier wafted off of them like steam. Elspeth was surprised at his bold words in a room full of Scotsmen. How brave the English were, how confident in their suppression of Scotland.

“Ye’ll keep a decent tongue in yer head if ye ken what’s good for ye,” Leo said. His voice didn’t rise, his casual tone was just the same, but it carried an undercurrent of warning that was unmistakable. “We thank ye for the uniforms, but we’re paying ye a pretty penny for yer troubles. And donae forget, we didnae drag ye here, or force ye to play a part in this. Ye came willingly.”

“Aye,” Jeremy muttered. “Treachery is in English blood.”

Simon ground his teeth, the look of hate in his face was fighting with the little sensibility he possessed. Elspeth watched with bated breath. The tense moment was broken by the door opening and the chambermaid from earlier walking in with a tray full of food.

There was beef stew with spring greens, haggis, roasted potatoes, butter, apples drizzled in honey, and hot fife bannocks. It was a feast they deserved after riding without much sleep or food. Elspeth’s mouth watered but she was a lady trained in hosting guests. She served the men before she could take any for herself.

It was delicious. Elspeth was so engrossed in the food, she forgot about the English soldier in their midst. It seemed all of them had relaxed somewhat. Once the last morsels of food had been sopped up and the dishes cleared, the men lit their pipes and poured over a piece of paper Leo extracted from an inner pocket.

“There is but one way in and out of Bass Rock Castle,” Leo said. “The castle is on an island, so we’ll need men in the boat, ready to take us back to the mainland as soon as we get Bruce out of there.”

“There are two men on guard duty at the entrance, but the inside is a small garrison,” Simon piped in. “You’ll find Bruce here,” he pointed to a specific location on the map. “He’s being kept in solitary confinement. Three guards are on solitary duty at all times. I have a shift there tomorrow night. I can make sure the other two are too sick to perform their duty.”

“Excellent,” Leo nodded approval. “I’ll don one of the uniforms, Drew can wear the other.”

Big Nate grunted.

“Yer much too large, though I appreciate yer spirit,” Leo said, understanding Big Nate’s grunts perfectly. “Ye can man the boat. We’ll need yer strong arms to row us against the tide.”

“How high up is his window?” Emory asked.

“Three feet, but it’s not big enough for him to crawl out of,” Simon shrugged.

“We’ll have to get him out of the solitary wing and a floor down before we can attempt to escape. There are ramparts here,” Leo pointed to the East wall. “We can escape from there.”

“There’ll be men on guard,” Simon said, licking his lips nervously. “You’ll get caught.”