Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes (20 page)

Michael tried again. “Dear God, nay. Laird please, listen.”

Roddy said, “Nay Laird, not that. Please forgive her. She isn’t in her right mind. Let me take her home.” He stepped toward her again, attempting to put his arm around her.

Michael shoved him away, nearly sending him sprawling. He pulled Grace behind him.

“I am not his wife. I swear, I don’t know him.”

“Maybe a whipping will help her remember who she is,” muttered a Sutherland servant.

“Aye, and teach her a bit of respect,” said another.

“Get her out of my sight,” Laird Sutherland ordered.

“Please, Laird, hear me out,” begged Michael.

“Not another word, Michael.”

This was happening. They didn’t believe her and she was being taken back to Lewis. To Fearchar Morrison.
Keep yerself together, Grace, and keep Kristen. They know the truth on Lewis.
“Fine. I’ll go. Just let me fetch my daughter.”

“She isn’t yer daughter, Nina,” said Roddy.

“Nay, she isn’t,” said Laird Sutherland. “She was Tristan Murray’s granddaughter and thus a Sutherland. She will stay here.”

Leave Kristen?
“Nay!” she screamed.

Michael put his arms around her. “Laird, ye can’t do this! Grace is Kristen’s mother, I don’t care what papers they have. Ye need only see them together. Please, Laird, after what she did for ye don’t do this to her.”

“What’s he talking about, Eanraig?”

“Silence, Rodina. Michael, I warned ye.” To the other guardsmen in the room he said, “throw him in the dungeon for a few days and see if he can learn to respect his laird.” Two guardsmen grabbed Michael. He fought like berserker.

In spite of the number of times she had given her mother the answer
panicking never helps
, panic engulfed Grace. She turned to run with one goal, get to her daughter. She had barely gone a few steps when strong arms gripped her from behind.

“Let go of her!” Michael still struggled to reach her until one of his fellow guardsmen knocked him out.

Grace screamed and fought with everything in her. She struck out, kicking at the Morrison guards who tried to subdue her. Several times her feet struck hard flesh, resulting in masculine grunts of pain. She refused to give up. She couldn’t lose her beloved child. Then someone struck her hard in the face, sending her into black oblivion.

When Grace awoke, her head throbbed and every bit of her ached. She lay on the ground, her hands and feet bound. Her thoughts were foggy. Where was she and why was she bound? She opened her eyes slightly, the light causing a piercing pain in her head. As much as she wanted to close them again, she had to figure out where she was, so she forced her eyes fully open. Although the summer days were long and the sun had not yet set, the heat of the day was gone. The combination of the damp earth and a cool evening breeze chilled her. As her head began to clear, images of what had happened in the Sutherlands’ great hall flooded her. She groaned.

“Well lads, look who has joined us.” She recognized the voice as the man called Roddy.

Grace tried to push herself to a sitting position. A hand grabbed her upper arm, roughly jerking her upright. Roddy thrust a costrel to her lips. “Drink,” he ordered.

For an instant she thought to refuse, but in truth she was dreadfully thirsty. She swallowed greedily until he pulled it away from her lips. He held an oatcake out to her. She took it with her bound hands, bringing it to her mouth and taking a bite. It was dry and stale, but she was starving.

She surveyed the surroundings. It appeared that they had made camp in a small clearing. The horses had been secured for the night. The men sat around a small fire, silently staring at her as she ate. In addition to Roddy there were five others: a young man, younger than she was by the looks of him; two older men, one of whom had burn scars on his face; and two more who looked to be about the same age as Roddy, perhaps either side of a score and ten.

Now that she saw them closer, she remembered having seen them all before. She certainly recognized the scarred man. He would be hard to forget. If she had noticed him when she first entered the great hall she would have known immediately who they were.

When she had finished eating the oatcake, Roddy put the costrel to her lips again, taking it away before she had drunk her fill.

Despair washed over her. She thought the pain of losing her husband and parents had been unbearable. Then, she met Bram. Every instinct had warned her not to open her heart but she had. After glimpsing love for a second time, she had lost him too. She didn’t think anything could be worse than the pain of hurting him, pushing him away, letting him go for the good of the clan.

What a fool she was. Today she had lost her whole world. She had no doubt what lay in store at Fearchar’s hands. Even if she could escape, what would she do? The Sutherlands believed she was a demented stranger. She would never again be welcomed there nor would they return Kristen to her. She looked away and fought back tears. She wanted to curl up in a ball and give up.

Still, part of her refused to let them see she was beaten or let them see her cry. When she had regained her composure, she looked at Roddy. “Why?”

“Because Fearchar wanted ye, Grace. He told ye that. He told ye if ye resisted him he would make ye sorry. I’d say you look right sorry now.”

Aye, surely her heart was damaged beyond repair. “But why was it necessary to take my daughter from me? Fearchar would still have gotten what he wanted.”

“Now that was something he and I disagreed on. I thought we should say ye kidnapped another couple’s baby and bring her along. I reckon ye’d do anything ye were asked to do if it meant keeping her safe. But Fearchar wanted rid of her. He figured it would be best to leave her among her kin. He also predicted ye’d cause an uproar when ye realized she was being left behind. I have to admit, that was quite a show. Too bad Kenneth had to knock ye out. Ye should have seen the looks on their faces. The Sutherlands are convinced ye’re barking mad. Making the sign of the cross they were as we dragged ye away. And they’re pretty sure ye bewitched that guardsman, Michael.”

Michael. The only Sutherland who tried to help her. Nay, that wasn’t true, Lady Sutherland made an attempt too, but was silenced by her husband. Lady Sutherland would certainly be alright, but what would happen to Michael?
Lord, please help Michael
. She was fairly sure that was wasted effort but she had to ask. After a few moments she asked Roddy, “Who is Nina?”

“She was my wife. A pretty face, but weak and useless. She died of a fever shortly after we were married a few years back. That is why Fearchar picked me.”

It had always been said Fearchar was ruthless but she had no idea another human being could be this cruel. Still, in spite of the pain it caused her, she realized that Roddy had been right. If they had brought Kristen, Grace would do anything to keep her safe. She would have gone like a lamb to the slaughter if it meant Kristen would be unharmed. But with her daughter safely back with Innes, Grace could do whatever she needed to do to escape without fear. She had nothing more to lose. If she kept her wits about her, she believed she could get away. Furthermore, if she could reach Dugald and Mary in Durness they would be able to help her. They knew who she was. Perhaps they would help her convince the Sutherlands of the truth. She wasn’t sure it would work but it was her only option and she had to try.

*

Grace had been left bound all night.

“We can’t have ye tryin’ to sneak away,” Roddy had said. But he and a couple of the other men laughed. Clearly they believed it was unlikely she could accomplish that.

When she had asked him to remove her bonds and give her a few moments of privacy to answer nature’s call that morning she expected him to refuse. But he simply removed her bonds and told her to hurry. “The sun is well up and we need to get going.”

She was still sore from yesterday and laying bound all night on the ground had left her stiff. She walked into the trees a bit to relieve herself without an audience. She couldn’t help think that in her current condition she moved with less agility that Innes.
Perhaps that is why he doesn’t fear I’ll run
. Even as she had the thought she realized this might be her only chance. She ran further into the forest as swiftly and quietly as she could. She hadn’t planned to, or even thought her actions through. She simply seized the moment, which was probably her first mistake.

Her second mistake occurred when she heard the cry go up that she was missing. She hadn’t gone far yet. If she had been thinking, she would have turned back then and lied. She would have told them that she had only gone a bit deeper into the wood than she intended. But instead she kept running, as fast as her feet would carry her. It had been absolutely foolhardy.

The man called Derek caught her quickly, dragging her back to the clearing.

Roddy was furious. He backhanded her. “Ye stupid wench! Ye have no chance of eluding us and only make things worse for yerself by trying.” He slapped her again and she braced herself for a beating. He laughed at her when she cringed. “Nay, I won’t beat ye now. Fearchar wants ye alive and generally unharmed. He wants the pleasure of breaking ye, and believe me, break ye he will. But I’ll see that ye don’t run away again. If ye want to travel by foot, I’ll let ye. Today, ye walk.”

Without warning, he kicked her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Before she realized what he was doing, he had removed her boots. Then he tied her wrists together again before yanking her to her feet.

“Mount up lads,” he ordered, giving her a wicked sneer. He tied one end of another length of rope to the one binding her wrists, held onto the other end, and mounted his horse.

“I’ll warrant ye won’t be so anxious to run away after today. I’ll be surprised if ye can even walk.”

The youngest man asked, “Are ye sure that’s a good idea Roddy? Ye said yerself, Fearchar didn’t want her harmed.”

“Shut yer gob, Augie. Fearchar doesn’t want her to escape him again either. After a day of walking barefoot there will be no chance of that.”

None of the other men seemed inclined to interfere so as Roddy had promised, he forced Grace to walk barefooted while being practically dragged by the rope attached to her hands. Her feet were bruised and scraped within an hour. By the late afternoon, she had sustained several cuts from sharp stones. The cuts oozed blood and made each step more painful than the last. She fell occasionally but each time Roddy dragged her a few steps before yanking her upright by her tether, causing the ropes binding her wrists to cut into her tender flesh. Eventually, hot, exhausted, and in pain, she fell every few minutes slowing their pace tremendously.

After one such fall he didn’t yank Grace up from her knees immediately. He stopped his horse, turning to watch as she struggled to her feet. “Have ye had enough, Grace?” Roddy sneered.

“Roddy, she can barely walk,” observed Augie. “We are moving at a snail’s pace. We can make up some time if ye let her ride now.”

“She brought it on herself,” said Roddy.

The oldest man among them, who had been riding in the lead, said, “Aye, she did. But God’s bones, Roddy, it will take ages for us to get to Durness at this pace. I have children and a wife at home. No offence lad, but I’d rather share a bed with her than the cold ground with ye lot.”

“Ye hear that, Grace? Gordon here is anxious to swive his wife and tender-hearted young Augie fears for the state of yer feet. They think I should let ye ride. Now that I think on it, I might be convinced to let ye ride for what is left of the day…if ye are willing to pay the price.”

Grace stared at him mutely. She wouldn’t ask the price. She was fairly sure she wouldn’t pay it, whatever it was.

“Don’t ye wish to hear what it is?”

Not wanting to give in to him at all, Grace said, “I feel sure if ye want me to know, ye’ll tell me in yer own time.”

“Ye might want to curb that insolent tongue, Grace. I am a tolerant man but Fearchar is not so forbearing.”

“Aye,” agreed Derek. “Give him that kind of lip and he’ll skelp ye good.”

As if any of them cared what happened to her. Grace simply stood there.

When it became obvious she wasn’t going to respond, Roddy said, “As it happens, I too grow weary of this plodding pace, so I will tell ye my price. It’s simple enough. Ye can ride the rest of the afternoon if ye kneel and beg me sweetly for mercy…or ye give me one kiss.”

Again Augie spoke up. “Roddy, Fearchar didn’t want her touched.”

Conan, the older man with the scarred face, scowled. “Augie, would ye shut up? Fearchar didn’t want her raped. Teaching her
insolent tongue
a lesson hardly counts and if it gets us on our way, I don’t care. Kiss him, lass, and save yerself a bit of pain.”

Grace remained silent. Frankly, she was in no hurry to get to Fearchar and she wasn’t about to pay either price. Roddy could drag her by her wrists all the way to Cape Wrath and she wouldn’t willingly kiss him or beg him for mercy. Part of her longed to tell him so, but the wiser part of her urged caution, lest he actually drag her to death behind his horse.

“Well, Grace? Will ye pay the price and ride for what remains of the day?” Roddy smirked. She felt sure he didn’t expect her to. This was meant to humiliate her.

She glared at him. “Nay.”

“Nay?” Roddy asked. “Stubbornness will bring ye naught but pain and heartache, but have it yer way.” He yanked on the tether as he urged his horse back to a walk.

Even though she had turned down his offer, she had hoped Roddy would take heed of the men who had urged him to let her ride in the interest of making up some lost time. She doubted they had even covered a league over the last three hours of travel. Even so, he didn’t relent and she refused to beg him for mercy.

Just as Roddy had predicted, by the time they stopped that evening she could barely walk. She would never be able to escape on foot, she thought bitterly. However, she had learned a few tidbits of useful information. Augie had said Fearchar wanted her
alive and generally unharmed
. Perhaps that is why, after they had stopped, Roddy unbound her hands and pointed her to a small burn where she could wash the dirt out of her destroyed feet.

She had also learned their destination. They were traveling to Durness. She had assumed they were traveling to a port as they would have to travel by ship to Lewis, but it could have been one of several along the northern or western coast. But if they were heading to Durness, she certainly had a better chance of reaching her friends if she stayed with her Morrison captors until they reached the port. Then, just maybe, she’d have another opportunity to escape.

She prayed her feet would have enough time to heal a bit before then. When she travelled with Dugald and Mary by wagon, it had taken four and a half days to reach Sutherland Castle from Durness. Men on horses could travel almost twice as fast. She wasn’t sure how far they had come the previous day when she was unconscious. However, having forced her to walk barefooted, they hadn’t made much progress today. It was likely they were barely a day’s ride from Castle Sutherland, if that. She guessed they might have one more night on the road before reaching Durness. That was a bit less than two days to recover…and to plan.